Week of Feb 9th

Monday-Taco Soup1 can pinto beans, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 can corn

1 can Italian-diced tomatoes

1 lb. hamburger

1 pkt. taco seasoning

1 tsp. dry minced onions

1/3 c. noodles

1 c. water

sour cream, optional

Brown hamburger and drain. Add all other ingredients and simmer until noodles are tender. Serve with grated cheese and sour cream.

The original recipe doesn't have the onions, noodles or water so if you prefer, make it without them. We like noodles in our soup. We also eat this by scooping it up with tortillas chips. We all love it!

Tuesday- Buffalo Wings

2 parts packed brown sugar

1 part Franks Red Hot sauce

chicken wings

Bake chicken wings on a rack with a pan underneath at 400 degrees for around 1 hour. (Longer is better because they just get more crunchy.) Combine sugar and sauce and heat until the sugar is dissolved. Once wings are crunchy, dip each wing in the sauce and return to oven for just a few minutes until the sauce is carmelized. Repeat the dip and carmelize process again and enjoy!

Just a note, if the sauce is too hot for you, just add some more brown sugar. We usually use about 1 c. brown sugar and 1/2 c. hot sauce for wings but we also use this sauce on hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, breaded chicken strips (they end up like sticky fingers) and for dipping french fries.

Wednesday- Riblets

Dry Rub:

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

2 Tbsp. paprika

2 Tbsp. black pepper

1/4 c. kosher salt

1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp. white sugar

Spray foil with Pam. Cut ribs into portions. Rub both sides generously with rub. Baste favorite BBQ sauce over rub, leaving fatty side up (if using real ribs). Wrap each piece loosely and put on pan. refridgerate and marinate overnight. Cook at 275 degrees for 3 hrs. Preheat your grill and oil. Carefully take ribs out of foil packet with tongs and place fatty side down on grill. (For only a few minutes.) Baste meat side with sauce from foil then flip over. Remove and let set 5 min.

The first time we made these it was with baby back ribs and we grilled them just like the recipe said, but only marinated them for a few hours. They were falling apart as I tried to put them on the grill but that was the only problem! They were wonderful! This time we used riblets and didn't grill them but marinated them as directed. They were tender but seemed pretty peppery to me this time, but I'm not a pepper person. I'm wondering if marinating time had to do with the pepper coming out so much this time. So next time I'll probably reduce the amount of pepper AND the marinating time. Let me know how it goes for you all!

Thursday- Taquitos

These are from the box. =) Just thought I'd show you how we do them up. We spread refried beans on them, then add salsa, lettuce and cheese. Then we just pick them up and eat!

Friday- Pizza

What can I say, it was date night. =)

Saturday- Lasagna

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 lb. hot breakfast sausage (I used Jimmy Dean's)

2 cloves minced garlic

Two 14.5-oz. cans diced tomatoes

Two 6-oz. cans tomato paste

2 Tbsp. parsley flakes

2 Tbsp. dried basil

Salt

1/4 c. water

One 10-oz. pkg. lasagna noodles

3 c. lowfat cottage cheese

2 beaten eggs

1/2 c. parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp. parsley flakes

1 lb. sliced mozzarella cheese

In a skillet, combine ground beef, sausage and minced garlic. Cook until brown, draining off half the fat. Pour in cans of tomatoes and tomato paste, dried parsly flakes, dried basil, 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 c. water. Mix together thoroughly and heat through.

Meanwhile, mix lowfat cottage cheese in a bowl with 2 beaten eggs. Add 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, 2 Tbsp. parsley flakes and 1 tsp. salt.

Set up your "assembly line": meat mixture, sliced mozzarella, cottage cheese and lasagna noodles. Lay four dry noodles in bottom of 9X13 pan, overlapping as you go. (This fills mine to brimming, so if you have a lasagna pan...use it!) Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over the noodles. Then lay 1/2 lb. of mozzarella cheese slices on top of the cottage cheese mixture. With a spoon, make a line through the middle of the meat mixture so you'll distribute it evenly. Spread a little less than half of the meat mixture over the mozzarella cheese slices. Spread it around until evenly distributed atop mozzarella.

Repeat the layering process. Four noodles, remaining cottage cheese mixture, mozzarella, and finish with the rest of the meat mixture. Top generously with parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Check to make sure noodles are done. If not, bake another 15 min.

I got this recipe from thepioneerwoman.com and it is great! I've changed it slightly by not cooking my noodles but it is soooo easy to make this way that even my honey was able to make it for us this week!

Sunday- Leftovers