Cafe Rio Salads

Ingredients:
Tortillas (large, burrito size)
Crispy tortilla strips (like those skinny chips)
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Pico de Gallo
Tomatillo Dressing
Lettuce (I use Romaine, then shred it into strips)
Shredded cheese (Cheddar or Fiesta mix work well)
Chicken
Lime Rice
Corn Salsa

Directions:
Make above dishes as explained in previous posts (click on links above).
In a shallow, round, tin pan (like a pie crust pan, but with vertical sides instead of slanted), lay your warm tortilla. Then add shredded cheese (or add before warming up tortilla so the cheese will be melted). Then add rice, chicken, corn salsa, and lettuce. Then add remaining ingredients as desired. Dressing should be last.

Prep Time: Okay, honestly, it took me about 3 hours to make all this stuff on the same day. But it's so good and the left-overs can last for a long time. The other idea is to have a dinner party & then assign each person/couple one of the big dishes.

Source: My sister Erin

Variations: We turned this into burritos last week because I forgot to buy lettuce. The crispy tortilla strips aren't necessary, but they sure make it taste like the original salad.

Marcos' Rating: 9

Cheesy Garden Veggie Quesadilla Triangles

Ingredients:
6 Black Bean Burgers (vegetarian), thawed
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup monterey jack cheese
1 cup roasted tomato salsa
16 10-inch flour tortillas
melted butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut thawed burgers into 1/4 inch dice.

In a large mixing bowl, combine burger, peppers, cheeses, and salsa. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

Cut each tortilla into a 7-inch triangle.

Place 2 Tbsp of filling in the center of each triangle; fold each corner into the center, overlapping one another.

Brush quesadillas with melted butter and cook in a nonstick pan over medium heat until browned, about 1 minute per side. (This helps to seal the tortilla closed.) Place in the oven for 5 minutes, or until heated through.

Prep Time: At least a half hour

Source: In The Kitchen The Costco Way, 2008, pg 17.

Variations:
I used regular, mild salsa instead of roasted tomato salsa.
I also didn't cut the tortillas, we just folded them up like a burrito or folded them in half like a regular quesadilla.
I also cooked some ground beef to add to the quesadillas because I wasn't sure if Marcos would like the veggie burgers.
I cut up some spring onions to add & also some left-over shredded mozzarella cheese.
And finally, I'm cheap, so instead of buying 3 bags of cheese, I bought a bag of shredded Fiesta Blend cheese (Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero Cheese) and it was yummy!!

Marcos’ rating: 15 (out of 10, haha) I guess you can see that we really liked this recipe!

**There is also a Cilantro lime sour cream dipping sauce to go with this, but we just used Roasted Red Pepper Hummus.

Stuffed Turkey Burgers

Ingredients:
1 1/4 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers (drained & rinsed if from a jar)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
ground pepper
whole-wheat hamburger buns

Directions:
Preheat broiler or prepare grill.

Divide turkey into 4 equal sized rounds. Make 2 equal sized patties out of each round, for 8 patties total.

Sprinkle one side of 4 of the patties with 2 Tbsp each of roasted peppers & cheese. Top with remaining patties, working the turkey around the edges to seal the burgers closed.

Sprinkle patties with salt & pepper. Grill or broil until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Serve on the buns. Makes 4 servings.

Prep Time: 10 minutes + time to grill peppers if needed

Source: In The Kitchen The Costco Way, 2008, pg 110

Variations: I couldn't find any roasted peppers in a jar so I just cut up a pepper & grilled it on the stove.

Marcos’ rating: 20!

Pita Pizza

This recipe is so simple, so good, and so quick that you'll never want to make anything else. Just think, only one dirty cookie sheet and one knife to clean (unless you eat your pizza with a fork & knife like we do).

Ingredients:
Pita Bread
Pesto Sauce
Red Pepper, cut into thin slices
Mozzarella Cheese, shredded or pearls or cubed
Tomato, cut into thin slices

Directions:
Cut pita bread lengthwise so that you have two whole bases (so that it's no longer a pocket). Place bread on cookie sheet. Spread thin layer of pesto sauce on each piece of bread. Sprinkle on cheese and veggies. Cook on broiler at medium heat for 5-6 minutes.

Prep time: seriously like 2 minutes after you cut the bread

Source: Asda magazine

Variation: You can virtually add/delete any topping you want.

The thing I love most about this pizza is that it uses pesto sauce instead of tomato sauce so it just seems healthier (even though it probably isn't). Also, it makes for a perfect lunch right after church when you're starving!

Marcos' rating: 8

Tin Foil Dinners

Soon after I posted this recipe on my other blog, my best friend and one of my sisters made this. So I thought it appropriate for this EASY DINNER to be the first post!

Chicken-in-a-Packet
(aka Tin Foil Dinners)

Ingredients:
Boneless, skinless chicken (I cut it up)
Chopped Veggies (you can use anything you want, but here's what we did)
Small Potatoes
(red potatoes would be delicious but I couldn't find any in the store)
Carrots
Green Pepper
Red Pepper
Yellow Pepper
Zucchini
Broccoli
Mini Cobs (that looks like baby corn-on-the cobs)
Onions
Olives
Mushrooms
Green Peas (still in the pod)
Seasonings (really, just add whatever you want)
Salt
Pepper
Season-all
Garlic Salt
Italian Seasoning (basil, thyme, oregano)

Directions: Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Put about 1 Tbsp butter on foil. Pile desired veggies onto a large sheet of foil. Trim fat from chicken. Place chicken on top of veggies. Sprinkle with seasonings of your choice. Add desired amount of butter. Fold foil over to create sealed packets. You may have to add another sheet of foil to ensure that it is sealed so no juice escapes. Poke a couple holes in the top of the packets. Place packets on baking sheet and cook for 35-40 minutes. (If you don't cut up the chicken, you will need to allow it to cook for a bit longer.) Can be served over rice or pasta. But we like to eat it straight from the foil (after spreading butter on top) and then dip bread in the remaining juice.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can be as picky as you want and not hurt any one's feelings if you get to put your own "packet" together.

Preparation Time: however long it takes to cut up the veggies

Source: some recipe card that was mailed to me from some company

Vegetarian Style: leave out the meat!

Other Variations: It might be fun to add tator tots like we used to at girls' camp.

Marcos' Rating: 20