Mexican Lasagna

Mexican Lasagna
2 lb. ground beef
1 box lasagna noodles
2 pkg. taco seasoning
1/4 c. water
2 c. salsa
1- 6 oz can black olives
1 tomato, chopped
2 sm. can green chilies (opt)
4 c. Cheddar cheese
2 c. pickled jalapenos, drained (opt)
sour cream (opt)
guacamole (opt)

1. Preheat oven to 400*.
2. Brown meat and cook noodles while you cut up olives. Drain meat; mix in taco seasoning and water. Add salsa, olives, tomatoes, and chilies.
3. Cover bottom of 9x13 pan with meat mixture, then a layer of noodles, then cheese. Repeat and end with a layer of noodles, then a thin layer of meat mixture and lastly cheese on top.
4. Sprinkle jalapenos on top and bake for 40 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before cutting.
5. Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream and/or guacamole.

**You can substitute flour tortilla strips for noodles - reduce bake time to 20 minutes**

Oreo Pie

A birthday tradition in our household!

Oreo Pie
1 package Oreos
1 "block" vanilla ice cream

1. Place ice cream in a large bowl to soften.
2. Slowly place a little more than 1/3 of the Oreos in the blender and crunch them up; line the bottom of a 9x13 pan with the crushed Oreos.
3. Slowly place the rest of the Oreos in the blender and crunch them up.
4. Once the ice cream has softened, mix in the second batch of crushed Oreos.
5. Pour the Oreo ice cream over the Oreo crust, cover, and place in the freezer.

I forgot to take a picture before we cut in to it and it thawed out a little.
But you get the idea. ;)

Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies
1 1/3 cups butter, softened
3 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
4 cups flour

1. Combine butter and sugar.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.
3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 350*

5a. Roll dough into 2" balls.
OR
5b. Divide dough into fourths. Sprinkle a little flour on a flat surface and roll out 1/4 of the dough. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes.

6. Space dough evenly on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 11-14 minutes.
Top with royal icing. 

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken
1 - 48oz. jug Jack's Special Salsa (you could use 6 cups of any salsa)
5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 oz cream cheese (opt)

The quick way:
1. Turn slow cooker on high.
2. Spread a cup of salsa on the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Layer chicken and salsa so that there is some salsa in between the chicken breasts.
4. After about 3.5 hours, take out all of the chicken, shred it, and put it back in. [It will look a little bit soupy, but once the chicken is shredded, it will soak up more of the salsa juices.]
5. Add cream cheese. Reduce heat to low and cook for another half hour. (4 hours total cook time)
6. Serve over rice, or as a side dish or dip with chips.

The all-day method:
Directions are the same except your slow cooker should be on low and you want to take the chicken out to shred after about 7.5-8 hours. (8-8.5 hours total cook time)

Over rice:

Black Forest Chocolate Cherry Cake

This is my Grams' delicious recipe.

Black Forest Chocolate Cherry Cake
Cake-
1 pkg. plain (or w/ pudding) devil's food cake mix
1 (21 oz.) can cherry pie filling
2 eggs
1 t pure almond extract
Glaze-
3/4 c sugar
1/4 c butter
1/4 c milk (whole or 2%)
3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350* (place rack in center of oven).
2. Mix all cake ingredients on low speed for 1 minute and then on medium speed for 2 minutes.
3. Pour batter into lightly greased 9x13 pan and smooth out with spatula.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes (until it passes toothpick test); remove from oven and set aside while you make the glaze.
5. Heat sugar, butter, and milk over medium-low heat until boiling, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute, continually stirring.
6. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and glaze is smooth; spread over warm cake.
7. Cool at least 20 minutes before serving.