The 5th of May---

What does that mean in English...absolutely nothing? But in Spanish it is Cinco de Mayo a huge Mexican holiday… at least for the Americans here. I think the ethnic diversity is a little crazy here in this country. For a country that is known as being a melting pot and people that come into this country that don't speak English, but need to because that is what everyone else speaks. So, why do we have all of our signs with two languages now? English and Spanish. Why? I am not racist, but I am an American. If I went to Mexico would I see their road signs in Spanish and English, probably not? Or If I talked to someone on the phone would they get me an interpreter, I think not. So what does that tell you? Mexican's or Hispanic, (for political reason), is taking over. I heard that California is about 40 percent Mexican, (I believe more), I used to live in southern CA and we had very small communities of Mexicans, they usually kept to themselves, no one would go there because we were afraid. Now everywhere you go it is all Mexican. They sold California back in the 1800's, but I am telling you that they have taken it back. Why is that? We are the blame, we are lazy and just want cheap labor, they come over the border to work and then go back, they don't spend their money here, why should they, you can take it back over the border and live a whole lot better life. We don't have to pay them any benefits so we get and they get, but they also bring over a lot of "friends", I have heard that some Mexican citizens buy homes and several families of illegals will live in them, so the citizens buy more homes and they have more illegals living in them, so pretty soon that is all you have, a bunch of Mexican citizens that get rich off all of the friendly illegals. This is a sad state of affairs. Well, I officially got off my soapbox. I love America, but it is and should be for Americans, that want to live and learn English. Do you see sign in this Country that have Italian/Irish/Indian/Polish/Russian or any other language on street signs and road signs? No! So, what the heck? I am sorry. Stop already! One thing I can say about Mexicans is they have the best food! Which is why I have created this blog?

Deluxe Nachos

Ingredients2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted1 cup salsa2 packages (10 ounces each) tortilla chips2 to 4 plum tomatoes, chopped1 medium green pepper, chopped1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped4 to 6 green onions, sliced2 cans (2-1/4 ounces each) sliced ripe olives, drained1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
Directions
In a small saucepan, combine soup and salsa; heat through. Arrange tortilla chips on two serving platters; top with soup mixture. Sprinkle with the tomatoes, peppers, onions and olives. Top with sour cream. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings.

Easy Crescent Taco Bake

Refrigerated crescent dinner rolls unite as a quick crust to hold ground beef, cheese, salsa and seasoning in this easy-to-assemble main dish.
Prep Time: 25 Min
Total Time: 50 Min
Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
3/4 cup Old El Paso® Thick 'n Chunky salsa
2 tablespoons Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix (from 1-oz package)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
Shredded lettuce, as desired
Diced tomato, as desired
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Unroll dough; separate into 8 triangles. Place in ungreased 9-inch square pan or 10-inch pie plate; press over bottom and up sides to form crust.
2. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in salsa and taco seasoning mix; simmer 5 minutes. Spoon meat mixture in crust-lined pan; sprinkle with cheese.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown and cheese is melted. Served topped with lettuce and tomato.

Fruity Dessert Tacos

Servings: 2

Prep: 10 min.Cook: 5 min.Total: 15 min.

Ingredients1/2 cup cubed fresh pineapple1/2 cup sliced peeled kiwifruit1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries3 teaspoons Domino® or C&H® Granulated Pure Cane Sugar, divided1 teaspoon chopped seeded jalapeno pepper, optional1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon2 whole wheat tortilla (8 inches)Butter-flavored cooking spray

DirectionsIn a small bowl, combine the pineapple, kiwifruit, strawberries, 1 teaspoon sugar and jalapeno if desired. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; set aside. Spray both sides of each tortilla with cooking spray. In a nonstick skillet, heat tortillas for 45-60 seconds on each side or until golden brown. Sprinkle both sides with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place half of fruit mixture on each tortilla; fold in half.

Granola "Fried" Ice Cream with Red Cinnamon Sauce Here's a twist on traditional Mexican fried ice cream. Scoops are rolled in crunchy granola bar crumbs and served with a cinnamon sauce.

Prep Time: 35 MinTotal Time: 45 MinMakes: 8 servings

Ingredients:Fried Ice Cream2 pints (4 cups) vanilla ice creamcup butter or margarine(8.9-oz.) box Nature Valley® Cinnamon Crunchy Granola Bars (12 bars), crushed*cup finely chopped pecansSauce1/2 cup sugar1/2 cup water1/2 cup red hot cinnamon candies (4 1/2 oz.)Directions:Line plate or tray with waxed paper. Scoop ice cream into 8 (1/2-cup) balls onto waxed paper-lined plate or tray; place in freezer until hard, about 30 minutes.Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add crushed granola bars and pecans; cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until deep golden brown and most of butter is absorbed (mixture will look foamy). Spread in 13x9-inch pan; cool completely, about 20 minutes.Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat all sauce ingredients over medium-high heat, just until mixture boils, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 4 to 5 minutes or until candies melt, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Pour sauce into glass measuring cup. Cool 10 minutes.Working quickly, remove 1 ice cream ball at a time from freezer; roll ball in crumb mixture, pressing mixture into ball until completely covered. Return to freezer until ready to serve.To serve, spoon 1 tablespoon cooled sauce onto each dessert plate. Place coated ice cream balls over sauce. Drizzle each with 1 tablespoon sauce, letting some run down sides (reheat sauce slightly if too thick to drizzle). Serve immediately.

Spring

Whoops! I think I put in the wrong picture, hmmm, maybe not since our spring is almost sprung and non-existent, we had some really bad weather over here. Even in Receipeville. We had snow a couple of weeks ago and we had sleet, hail, rain and wind. I think the beginning of March is pretty much gone, but it lingers on, (in like a lion), and won't let go. So what do I think about when I am in the house and looking outside at those gloomy skies. Well what do you think? Food, duh…So the reason for the spring, I have to spring into action to get myself together and get going and bake or something. I found some really great recipes that look good and they are so good, I am slobbering now as I type…..whoops, my finger just slipped off the keys…YUK!...how funny is that. So I am now turning on my oven and getting ready for a bake fest, but low and behold, my oven is not working…What is that about…you know what a oven not working is to a hungry baker like me. It is like no snow in the winter (hmmm, not a bad idea), you can see that everything is getting ready for it, but nothing happens. Well I have to get my springing down and find out what has happened. So I guess all I can do right now is type on this here Blog…Well when you see my recipes maybe you will turn on your ovens and I can live through you. So get reading and get baking… While you are doing that here are the recipes and I am going to find out what is wrong with this, (~! @#$%^&*()_), oven. Here are some Rhubarb recipes, when I get some I'll tell you how they were.

Five Ingredient Rhubarb Squares

Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 1 hour 25 min
Makes: 16 servings

Ingredients:

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix
1 cup cold butter or margarine, cut into small pieces
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs

4 cups sliced fresh rhubarb
Whipped cream, if desired

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cake mix. In a large bowl, cut the butter into the remaining cake mix and using the pastry blender, (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until it is crumbly. In bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan, pat 2 1/4 cups of the mixture (if mixture is sticky, lightly flour hands). Reserve the remaining crumbly mixture for topping. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven.
2. In large bowl, beat reserved 2 tablespoons cake mix, the sugar and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Stir in rhubarb. Pour over partially baked crust. Sprinkle remaining crumbly mixture over top.
3. Bake 45 to 55 minutes longer or until golden brown and center is set. Cool slightly before serving. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream. Store covered in refrigerator.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Decrease butter to 3/4 cup; decrease sugar to 1 1/4 cups.
Substitution
If fresh rhubarb isn't available, use 4 cups frozen (slightly thawed) rhubarb (from two 16-oz bags).
Time-Saver
If you have a food processor, you can use it to cut the butter into the cake mix, using on-and-off pulses, until crumbly.

Strawberry Rhubarb Squares

Yum! A ruby-red dessert that serves a crowd!



Prep Time: 25 min

Total Time: 1 hour 45 min

Makes: 20 servings

Ingredients:

Crust and Topping

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

2/3 cup chopped nuts

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Strawberry-Rhubarb Filling

2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons milk
4 eggs
4 cups sliced strawberries (2 pints)
4 cups sliced rhubarb (8 stalks)
Topping
Whipped cream or ice cream, if desired

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and vanilla with spoon. Stir in 2 cups flour, the oats, nuts, baking soda and salt until crumbly. Reserve 2 cups crumbly mixture. Press remaining crumbly mixture in ungreased 15x10x1-inch pan.
2. In large bowl, mix granulated sugar, 2/3 cup flour, the milk and eggs with spoon until smooth. Fold in strawberries and rhubarb. Spoon filling onto crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumbly mixture.
3. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until topping is golden brown and filling is set. Cool slightly, about 30 minutes. For serving pieces, cut into 5 rows by 4 rows. Serve with whipped cream. Store covered in refrigerator.
Variation
Use blueberries for the strawberries, or make it an all-rhubarb dessert.

*****This is not baking, but I saw this and thought..hmmmm, that would be great right now, and with my oven being out. This and the next are fairly easy, try them. *****

Striped Delight---Yummmmmm!
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 4 hr 40 min
Makes: 24 servings

Ingredients:
35 OREO Cookies
6 Tbsp butter, melted
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cold milk
1 tub (12 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
3 1/4 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (3.9 oz. each) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
Directions:

PROCESS cookies in food processor until fine crumbs form. Transfer to medium bowl; mix in butter. Press onto bottom of 13x9-inch dish. Refrigerate until ready to use.
WHISK cream cheese, sugar and 2 Tbsp. milk in medium bowl until blended. Stir in 1-1/4 cups COOL WHIP; spread over crust.
BEAT pudding mixes and 3-1/4 cups milk with whisk 2 min.; pour over cream cheese layer. Let stand 5 min. or until thickened; cover with remaining COOL WHIP. Refrigerate 4 hours.
Kraft Kitchens Tips
Size-Wise
Enjoy this dessert on a special occasion, but stick to the serving size of this rich treat. How to Easily Cut Into Squares. Place dessert in freezer about 1 hour before cutting into squares to serve.
Special Extra
Drizzle each plate with melted BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate before topping with dessert square. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes or additional crushed OREO Cookies.

Frozen JELLO No Bake Peanut Butter Cups

Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 2 hr 15 min
Makes: 12 servings, 1 dessert cup each

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (16.1 oz.) JELL-O No Bake Peanut Butter Cup Dessert
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine or butter, melted
1-1/3 cups cold milk
Directions:
MIX Crust Mix and margarine thoroughly with fork until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press firmly onto bottoms of 12 foil-lined medium muffin cups. Set aside. POUR milk into deep medium bowl. Add Filling Mix and contents of Peanut Butter packet. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 30 sec. Increase mixer to high speed; beat an additional 3 min. (Do not under beat.) Spoon this mixture into prepared muffin cups. Place Topping Pouch in hot water 30 sec. Knead 30 sec. Squeeze topping equally over filling in cups.
Freeze for 2 hours or until firm. Store, it covered, in freezer up to 2 weeks.
Kraft Kitchens Tips:

Size It Up
With their built-in portion control, these peanut butter cups make a great treat!

Frozen No Bake OREO® Cups
Substitute JELL-O No Bake OREO Dessert for the JELL-O No Bake Peanut Butter Cup Dessert. Prepare Crumb mixture as directed on package; press firmly and evenly onto bottoms of 12 foil-lined medium muffin cups. Prepare filling as directed on package; spoon evenly over crusts. Top with the reserved cookies. Freeze 2 hours or until firm. Store, covered, in freezer up to 2 weeks.

Well I hope this get your juices flowing. I am going to try this Oreo cookie one right away…I wonder why that one?