Fiesta Salad

So tonight I made my most favorite meal in the whole wide world! It's called fiesta salad and I actually got the recipe off Kraft, but I've tweaked it so much it really doesn't seem like the original any more. This is a great recipe if you are running behind or if you just don't want to cook.

Fiesta Salad

1 can black beans rinsed

1 can corn

torn lettuce (I use a combo of red leaf, green leaf and spinach)

chopped carrots (I use matchstick)

shredded cheese

salsa

mayo or miracle whip (optional)

I serve everything buffet style so every one can get what they want and however much they want. I mix the salsa and miracle whip together, like a 4:1 ratio, and used it like a salad dressing. Walmart has an amazing store brand salsa that my Grandpa Carter turned me on to. I use the mild black bean and corn and just a little of the hot because Jared likes the kick! You can serve this over chips or in home made tortilla bowls (recipe follows)

Tortilla Bowls

Tortillas

foil

cookie sheet

chili powder

Gently crumple to foil until it forms medium sized balls. I microwave the tortillas for about 30 seconds just so they're more pliable. Drape them over the foil balls and sprinkle with chili powder. Bake at 425 for 6-8 minutes. Jared and Melody gobble these up!

And here we begin!

I have been wondering how to start this blog and what recipe I should use. Tonight I had a victory and thought it would be good to start with one of those since they are so few and far between! Let me start by saying that most of the recipes I'll be posting on here will come from the Kraft website because their recipes are supper easy and supper fast! Both necessary for my life. I told Jared that the longer the recipe takes to make the more time it gives me to screw it up, so for now we're going to stick to the simple ones! Tonight I made Barbecue Beef Filled Biscuits and I think the thing I liked best about it is that Melody was able to help make it. I'm always looking for recipes that will allow her to help because she LOVES to cook. How yummy do these look! (by the way this is the pic from the website, not the ones I made!!)

Barbecue Beef Filled Biscuits

Prep Time:10 min Total Time:24 min Makes:4 servings, 2 each

1/2 lb. extra-lean ground beef 1 medium green pepper, finely chopped 1 medium carrot, shredded 1/3 cup BULL'S-EYE Original Barbecue Sauce 1 can (7.5 oz.) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits 1/2 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese

BROWN meat in medium skillet; drain. Add green pepper; cook and stir 5 minutes or until peppers are crisp-tender. Remove from heat. Add carrots and barbecue sauce (I cooked my carrots for a minute); mix well. SEPARATE biscuits. Press 1 biscuit onto bottom and up side of each of 8 medium muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray. (I used jumbo biscuits so they only came with eight, but if you use regular biscuits there is enough filling for al 10. I had to over stuff mine.)

SPOON meat-vegetable mixture evenly into biscuit cups, pressing filling into cups with back of spoon. (Filling will be mounded.) BAKE at 375°F for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Continue baking 3 to 4 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and cheese is melted.

I used red pepper because I didn't have a green one handy and I also added corn because I had some hanging around in my fridge that needed to be used! :op Also instead of shredded carrots I used the matchstick ones. I was going to serve this with a side salad and a fruit salad for dessert, but we were in a time crunch.

I made a double batch and froze what we didn't use for a quick meal later. I just heat them up in the oven at 375° for 3-5 minutes, but let them thaw most of the way first. I try to do this with the meals I know will freeze well, so on those nights that cooking is just not going to happen my family doesn't have to starve! :op

Please let me know how this turns out for you and if you have any of your own tips or tricks to add.