Texas Caviar

Beware. This stuff is addictive.

I recommend only making it when you have a large group to serve it to. That way, when you eat the leftovers all by yourself, you won't be able to overdo it too terribly. Not that I know from experience... (not that I'm eating it right now while I write this...)

1 can pinto beans
1 can black eyed peas
1 can shoepeg corn (white corn, comes in smaller jars)
1 small jar (2 oz?) pimentos
1 cup orange bell pepper, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 tsp chopped jalapenos (I use canned mild slices)

Marinade:
1 c vegetable oil
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

Whisk marinade together until sugar dissolves
Pour all ingredients together, refrigerate for as long as you want
Before serving, drain most of the marinade
Serve with tortilla scoops (or your corn chip or choice)

Tuna Burgers

My kids LOVE these and they are so easy to make!

2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
9 oz can of tuna (or two small cans)
1 cup mayo or Miracle Whip
2 tbsp. chopped sweet pickles
2 tbsp. chopped onion
1/2 cup cubed American cheese
Hamburger buns or sandwich thins

Combine the first 6 ingredients. Spread on bun or sandwich thin halves. Place on a cookie sheet and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake at 250 for 25-30 minutes until cheese is melted and they are heated through.

Corn Chili

My kids love this chili and it has a few more vegetables in it than more traditional chili.

1 lb.ground beef (or turkey)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped green peppers
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/8 tsp. Pepper
1/4 tsp. Dried thyme
14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
6 oz. can tomato paste, diluted with one can water
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
16 oz. can kidney beans
1 tbsp. Chili powder
1/3 cup brown sugar
Saute beef, onions, and peppers in a deep saucepan.  Drain and season with salt, proper, and thyme.  Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste and corn.   Heat until corn is thawed. Add kidney beans, chili powder and brown sugar. Pour into slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 5-6 hours.

Try this with Corn Muffins!

Hearty Pork Soup

I initially found this on allrecipes.com and adjusted it a bit to fit our tastes. It's not every day that you can find a good soup recipe that uses pork. I went searching for this recipe because I had leftover kidney beans but I will also use this recipe when I have left over pork chops or pork roast. After one try, it's a new favorite at our house!

Ingredients
3 pork chops, cooked and shredded
4 carrots, sliced
4 celery ribs, chopped
1 cup canned whole tomatoes, chopped ( I made w/o tomatoes because I forgot!)
1 onion, chopped
1 can kidney beans
3 potatoes, cubed
2 cubes beef bouillon cube
A little bit of garlic (optional)
salt to taste

1. Place meat, carrots, celery, and tomatoes in a large pot over medium heat. Fill with water, almost to the top of the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer while doing step 2.
2. In a frying pan, fry chopped onions with 1 tsp garlic until browned; put aside.
3. To the soup pot, add kidney beans, potatoes and fried onions; cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the beef bouillon cubes, and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Easy Winter Side Dish

This is a cold weather staple for us. This dish is easy easy -no measuring required! It's really hearty, it's inexpensive, it's colorful, it's healthy, and it goes with almost any type of meat. We like to serve it with pork chops or marinated chicken.
You will need to chop:
potatoes
carrots
celery
onion
pepper (red, green, or whatever color you like)

Start by boiling the potatoes, carrots and celery until soft.

Then melt some butter (or use olive oil) in a frying pan and saute the onion and pepper.
Drain the other ingredients and add them to the frying pan. Cook until all ingredients are soft. Be careful not to overcook or the potatoes will start getting mushy! Add salt and pepper and enjoy!

Philly Cheese Steak Pizza

This recipe is so easy and we all lived it. We ate the entire 9x13 pan in one sitting!

1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef
1 tablespoon prepared Italian salad dressing
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

Unroll crescent roll dough into one long rectangle; seal perforations. Press onto bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 375° for 7-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the green pepper and onion in oil and bouillon until tender.

Arrange beef over crust. Brush with salad dressing and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake 4-5 minutes longer until cheese is melted. Top with peppers and onions. Cut into squares.

Creamy Tuskegee Soup

This is a very different kind of soup. It's a semi-spicy peanut soup (it can be as bland or as spicy as you want it to be), and it's hard to explain the taste, but it has become a favorite over the past 3 years. We eat it a lot during the winter; it's a great meatless and one-pot recipe if you're willing to try it out.

4 Tbsp butter
1 onion, minced
2 celery ribs, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
3 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup peanut butter
Ground cayenne pepper
Chili powder
Pepper
3/4 cup cream
Peanuts

1) Melt butter in big pot; add onion and celery and cook 5 minutes.

2) Add flour, broth, and peanut butter. Stir until smooth.

3) Turn the heat to "low," add spices to taste***, and cook 20 minutes.

4) Add cream and cook 2 more minutes.

Serve in bowls and sprinkle peanuts within.

***NOTE: I just sprinkle the peppers in to taste, so I really don't know how much to put in; I would probably start with a teaspoon of each and work from there. If you want more spice, add more Cayenne pepper.

One last thing: to make it healthier, you can also add minced carrots and/or leeks, or any other vegetable you'd like to try.