Reesie's Ranch Chicken & Rice

1- 6.9 oz. box Chicken Low Sodium Rice-A-Roni
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/3 yellow onion, diced
1 - 1 1/2 lb. boneless chicken breast
1 pkg. Hidden Valley dry ranch seasoning
1 tsp. chili powder
1 T. paprika
1/8 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. taco seasoning
2 T. lime juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet. Use the seasonings on the chicken breast. Cook until the chicken is done. 

Prepare the rice following the directions on the package. Cook onions and peppers with the rice. Put the peas and carrots in the rice until cooked. 

Serve by squeezing the lime juice on top of the chicken and rice on a plate. 

Serving Suggestions:

• Serve with chips and salsa.
• Add black olives to the rice mixture. Top with shredded cheese and sour cream.
• Substitute chili peppers for the green peppers to add more heat.
• Cut up chicken and mix with rice. Then serve with tortilla shells.

Reesie's Orange Creamsicle Dessert

6 oz. box orange flavored jello
1 cup water
2 - 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese
1/2 pint whipping cream
1 tsp. lemon flavoring
1/4 cup powdered sugar
16 oz. can mandarin oranges
2 sleeves Ritz crackers
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sugar

Pull out a 9x13 pan. Heat over to 350 degrees.

In a small sauce pan, boil water and add jello. Whisk together until dissolved. Pour mixture into bowl and put into fridge until jello sets. 

Drain the juice from the can of oranges. Pat dry the oranges to remove some of the liquid. You can use a paper towel for this.

Using a hand mixer and a mixing bowl, beat whipping cream, powdered sugar and lemon flavoring. Keep beating until it looks like whipped topping. Add in cream cheese until combined, using the hand mixer on low (or folding in by hand). Add in set jello. Combine until it looks all orange. 

Melt butter in microwave. Using a food processor, crush up the crackers. You could also use a rolling pin to crush the crackers, making sure your crackers are in a zip lock bag. After crumbs are ready, add in cinnamon and sugar. Mix in the butter. Using your clean hands, push the crumbs evenly into the pan. Cook the crust for 10-12 minutes, making sure that the butter all looks absorbed.

Put cream cheese mixture into the pan on top of the crust. Spread out until smooth. Arrange oranges on the top. Put in refrigerator for 5-6 hours.

Suggestion:

• If you don't want to make your own whipped topping, substitute in an 8 oz. tub of prepared whipped topping.
• You can also use club crackers or vanilla wafers in substitute for the Ritz crackers.
• Make in individual containers instead of a one large pan. 
• Try making with different flavors. Use strawberry jello with fresh strawberries on top. Or raspberry jello with fresh raspberries on top.

Reesie's Sloppy Joes

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground sausage, mild or spicy depending on your preference
1 T. beefy onion dry soup mix
1 tsp. chili powder
1 - 10.5 oz. can Campbell's Roasted Red Pepper soup
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
dash salt
dash pepper
1/2 C. beef stock, only if it looks dry

In a larger frying pan over medium heat, brown meat. If the meat looks pretty greasy, drain the meat prior to adding your spices. Add the spices. Add in the soup and the Worcestershire sauce. If it looks dry still, add in small amounts of beef stock until it holds together. 

Serving Suggestions:

• Serve on a bun. Try different types of buns like a Hawaiian, wheat or a pretzel bun. 
• Roll in a large lettuce leaf if you are cutting back on carbs.
• Sweet potato fries go really well with it. 
• Serve as an appetizer on a small slider bun. 
• Roll up inside a crescent roll and bake. 

Reesie's Cranberry Orange Muffin

2 1/4 C. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C sugar
1 egg
1/2 C milk
1/2 C sour cream
1/3 C canola oil
1 1/2 C fresh cranberries, chopped
1 T grated orange peel

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour baking powder, soda, salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center. 

In another bowl, mix sugar & egg. Add in milk, sour cream, and oil. Blend well. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix batter until just moistened. Fold in cranberries & orange zest. 

Prepare muffin tins with liners. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake 15-18 minutes. 

Options: 

1. Mix in 3/4 C. of chopped walnuts or pecans at the same time you fold in the cranberries.
2. Glaze after the muffins are out of the oven while still a bit warm. For the glaze, just mix 1/2 C powdered sugar, 1 T orange juice, 1 tsp orange zest.

Serving Suggestion:

1. Serve as part of brunch spread. 
2. This tastes really good with vanilla ice cream. 

Reesie's Dirty Southwestern Rice

·         1 lb.  ground beef

·         1 lb. ground sausage

·         ½ medium onion, diced

·         ½ medium green pepper, diced

·         ½ medium red pepper, diced

·         1 - 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes 

·         1 T. green chilis, chopped

·         1 – 6 oz. can sliced black olives, drained

·         1 tsp. chili powder

·         1 pkt. Taco seasoning

·         1/3 c. beef stock

·         1 – 7 oz. box Zatarain’s Black Bean & Rice

·         4 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded

Steps

1.      Prepare rice according to directions on the box.

2.      Brown ground beef and sausage in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onions and peppers to the meat. Cook until the meat is done and the vegetables are still a little crunchy.

3.      Reduce heat to low and mix in the seasonings, tomatoes, beef stock. Add in the cooked rice and black olives. Mix together and warm with the other ingredients.

4.      Sprinkle with cheese and you are ready to serve.

Suggestions

1.      Cook rice in beef stock to add more flavor.

2.      If you like a more tomatoey flavor, add in a couple of spoonfuls of salsa at the end.

3.      Serve with tortilla chips. Top with sour cream.

4.      Break up taco chips and sprinkle on top right before serving.

Reesie's Turkey Veggie Lasagna

1 lb. ground mild Italian turkey sausage
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 c. Asiago cheese
1 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese
2 c. Italian blend cheese
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
24 oz. jar Pioneer Woman Spaghetti Sauce, Garden Blend
4 oz. tomato paste
4-5 larger mushrooms
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/3 onion, diced
2 handfuls of spinach
2 tsp. minced garlic
small can sliced black olives
4-5 artichoke hearts, chopped
Oven ready lasagna noodles
1 tsp. Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute green pepper, onions & garlic for about 10 minutes. Saute ground turkey and turkey sausage in a large frying pan, add the spinach until wilted. Once done, mix together in the pan the meat, the cooked vegetables, the artichoke hearts and black olives, the spices and sauce. 

In a 9x13 pan, spread a little bit of the sauce on the bottom. Layer the noodles so none of them overlap. Spread a third of the sauce. Sprinkle with a third of the cheese. Layer more noodles. Repeat sauce and cheese, then one last layer of noodles. Top the entire thing with the remaining sauce and cheese. Place a layer of parchment paper on top (this will keep the cheese from sticking to the foil). Cover with foil. Bake for 60 minutes. 

Serving suggestions:

• Serve with a side salad. A Cesar salad would be wonderful.
• Garlic bread would be a nice addition.  

Reesie's potato casserole

2 stalks celery, chopped 
1/4 C. onion, chopped 
4 potatoes chopped 
1/2 cup frozen peas 
1/8tsp. rosemary 
1/8 tsp. mrs.Dash 
1 can cream of mushroom soup 
1cup milk 
1/4 cup bread crumbs 
1/8 tsp. salt 
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup asiago cheese
one cup cheddar & swiss cheese 

Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Spray a smaller casserole dish (8x11 rectangle). 

Quarter and thickly slice potatoes. Mix the potatoes in a bowl with the onion, celery, peas, soup, milk & spices. Spread the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle asiago cheese, then the bread crumbs. Top with the cheddar & swiss mixture. 

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. 

Serving suggestions:
- Add crumbled cooked bacon to the top after it is done cooking. Also sprinkle with some chopped green onions or chives. 
- Serve alongside with any meat, like a pork loin or some chicken. 
- Serve at your brunch.