My New Favorite Salad

I use the Red Butter and Baby Spinach - Chopped

Chopped

Crumbled

Quartered

Chopped

Blue Cheese - Crumbled

Balsamic Vinaigrette

MICROWAVE SHOWDOWN (and Fudge Recipe)

Last night here in the dorm my Residence Life staff hosted a little competition and demonstration called the "Microwave Showdown". It was our little version of the Food Network. We had two teams compete like "Iron Chef" using basics you might find in a dorm room or college cafeteria. It was great! After that my RAs demonstrated 9 different recipes. Some of them really hammed it up. We might even have the next Food Network Star in our midst!

One of my new favorite quick dessert recipes is...

MICROWAVE FUDGE

Ingredients:
12 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:
Combine ingredients in a microwave safe bowl.
Microwave on medium for 2 to 3 minutes
(stirring at 1 minute intervals)
until chips are melted and mixture is smooth and thick.
Pour into greased 8" sqaure dish and cool.

We also made...
Late-Night Asian Noodles
Mexican Chicken
Pizza Mac n Cheese
Microwave Veggies in Parmesan Sauce
Cheesy Mexi Rice Casserole
Cake in Coffee Cup (Delish!)
and Scrambled Eggs

(For those of you counting...the 9th was a cobbler but it didn't turn out well. Succesful on 8 out of 9, not too bad!)

Let me know if you guys want me to post any of the other recipes.

CROCK POT STEAK BURRITOS from Erin

Ingredients:

2-1lb flank steaks cut in half
2 pkg taco seasoning
1 onion, chopped
1 can Rotel
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 can chopped green chilies


Directions:

Place chopped onion in bottom of crock pot.
Shake steaks in a plastic bag with taco seasoning to coat.
Place in crock pot (She adds the extra taco seasoning as well).
Pour rotel and chilies over meat and add white vinegar.
Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Shred meat and assemeble burritos as desired.

CHICKEN ENCHILADA CASSEROLE from Erin

Ingredients:

1 chopped onion
2 tbsp oil
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 can black beans, drained
1 can diced Rotel
1 can mexicorn, drained
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
corn tortillas (about 10)
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
3 cups mexicheese


Directions:

Saute onion in oil until tender.
Add next 6 ingrediants and cook until warm (this is the sauce).
In a 9x13 pan, layer half of sauce, tortillas, chicken, cheese, chicken, tortillas, remaining sauce, top with cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly.

This meal also devides easily into two smaller pan and freezes well.
If freezing, assemble then freeze. Thaw then bake.

MEXICAN CORN DIP from Beth

I made this for the kids in Slovakia and they loved it. It's been a hit with friends and family as well.

Ingredients:
3 (11 ounce) cans mexicorn whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 (7 ounce) can diced green chilies
2/3 cup green onion, chopped
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

Directions:
Combine sour cream,mayonnaise and cumin and stir well.
Add corn,cheese,chiles,black pepper,and onions to the sour cream mixture.
Stir with a wooden spoon till all is combined.
Cover and chill for 2 hours or overnight to bring flavors out.
Serve with warm tortilla chips or corn chips.

CROCK POT MEXICAN STEW from Christy

Christy is a cousin of mine. She lives and dies by her crock pot so she emailed these to me from memory.

Ingredients:
2 cans creamed corn
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 small bag frozen corn
1 can sliced potatoes (then she sliced them some more)
2 cups chicken broth (or 1 small can)
2 big handfuls rice (used brown)

Spices to Taste:
dried/minced onion ('cause I hate chopping)
red pepper flakes
garlic
Tobasco
Cayenne pepper

She also added one can of black beans (drained). This one has to cook longer since the rice is dry... took about 5 hours on HIGH.
You could also cook the rice before if you have time.
They like thicker soup, so she only added enough chicken broth for the rice to soak up, then a little more right before she served it.
Check it around 3 hours to see what it tastes like and add more spices.

CROCK POT SPAGHETTI SAUCE from Christy

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef (or turkey if you prefer)
1 large can petite diced tomatoes (she uses the Italian)
1 packet thick and zesty sauce mix (she uses generic)
1 clove minced garlic
1 jar sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 can tomato paste (she uses the Italian)
pasta of choice

Directions:
Brown the ground beef and drain it.
drain the mushrooms.
Now, dump everything in the crock pot on low for at least 4 hours.
This EASILY serves 4, but she has also added additonal cans of tomoatoes and paste when she's had a bunch of people over.