Tamale Pie

We could have this dish at least once a week,

it's THAT GOOD

recipe from Joan Arrington (from Apache Park Ward)

1 lb. hamburger
1 chopped green bell pepper
1 chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced
16 oz. can diced tomatoes
6 oz. can tomato paste
12 oz. can corn, drained
1 can sliced olives (optional)
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2-3 tsp. chili powder
Dash of pepper
1 ½ c. sharp American cheese, grated
3 c. cold milk

1 c. yellow corn meal
1 tsp. salt


Brown the first four ingredients together. Drain the fat and add tomatoes, tomato paste, corn, olives, sugar, salt, chili powder, and pepper. Simmer heated through. Add cheese and stir until melted. Pour into 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

Make corn meal topping by heating milk to a boil. Remove from heat. Add salt and quickly stir in corn meal with a whisk (use a silicone coated whisk if you have non-stick pans). Mix completely. Spread over top of meat mixture. Bake at 400* for 30 minutes.

*For Kid Friendly, just use 1 tsp of Chili powder or omit it entirely. We just add Cholula hot sauce to the adults' plates and it's so GOOD!

In the photo, I ran out of green bell pepper so I improvised with zucchini instead. Tasted Great!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are SUPER EASY!

1 box Spice Cake Mix

1 can pumpkin puree (14oz) not pumpkin pie

1 bag milk chocolate chips

* Walnut/Pecans optional, chopped

Empty dry cake mix into a bowl. Add canned pumpkin puree. That's it! Do NOT add the other ingredients on the box to make a cake. Mix well. Add chocolate chips and stir. Drop onto cookie sheet and bake for 18 minutes at 350 F.

YUMMO!

**This is a vegan recipe too Becks, especially if you make it with cinnamon chips that you can special order at Hershey's website (they're not available in stores.) I got this recipe from my friend Charmaine and have made it several times!

Cheesy Stuffed Shells by Kraft

1 container (16 oz.) Low Fat Cottage Cheese
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1 cup 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/4 cup 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
20 jumbo pasta shells, cooked, drained
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 large tomato, chopped

PREHEAT oven to 400°F.

Mix cottage cheese, spinach, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning until well blended. Spoon 1 heaping Tbsp. of the cheese mixture evenly into each pasta shell.

COMBINE spaghetti sauce and tomatoes; spoon half of the sauce mixture into 13x9-inch baking dish. Place shells, filled sides up, in baking dish. Spoon remaining sauce mixture over shells. Cover with foil.

BAKE 25 min. or until heated through. Uncover; top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, an additional 2 min. or until cheese is melted.

KRAFT KITCHENS TIPS
Make it Easy Spray foil with cooking spray before using. Place, sprayed-side down, on casserole to prevent sticking.

Make Ahead Prepare as directed except for baking; cover. Refrigerate up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, bake, covered, at 400°F for 35 min.

*This one is from Kraft and is super easy and YUMMY! Healthy because it's made with cottage cheese and spinach too! The girls loved this, didn't even mind the green stuff! Very economical too!

You should hop on over to www.kraftfoods.com

They have a recipe search, tons of pics (because I won't make anything unless I've seen a pic of it first) and you can even make grocery lists, menu plans, find nutritional content, etc! Even formulate your own exercise/meal plan with calories or whatever. Really useful site!