Taco Salad

This is just your ordinary taco salad, but "Real Mom Kitchen" made her own "taco bowls" and I thought they were so quick and easy! And the kids, even the boys loved them! And it kicked up the ordinary taco salad with crushed corn chips on the bottom!

4 flour tortillas (8-inch)
1 lb. ground beef
1 pkt. (1¼ oz.) taco seasoning mix
4 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup KRAFT Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese
1 large tomato, chopped
¼ cup ranch dressing

HEAT oven to 425°F.
CRUMPLE 4 large sheets of foil to make 4 (3-inch) balls; place on baking sheet. Place 1 tortilla over each ball; spray with cooking spray. Bake 6 to 8 min. or until tortillas are golden brown. (Tortillas will drape over balls as they bake.)
MEANWHILE, cook meat with taco seasoning mix as directed on package.
FILL shells with lettuce, meat mixture, cheese and tomatoes just before serving. Drizzle with dressing.
I made 8 taco bowls and used 2 pounds of ground beef. I also added olives, taco sauce, sour cream, and of course ya can't forget the ketchup. The kids ate their "bowls" after the filling was all gone just like chips along with some salsa! Serve along side the best fruit dip ever with cantaloupe and strawberries! Another winner at the Russell homestead!!

Cold Spaghetti Salad

This is my new favorite salad, my aunt made it for our 4th of July picnic and I just foundered on it! It's basically a pasta salad except with spaghetti! I found this recipe at Cook.com but I'm sure you could add or take away what you want!

1 pkg. thin spaghetti {I used Ronzoni's whole wheat thin spaghetti}
Cook spaghetti as directed on package. Rinse and set aside to cool for a bit.

Mix together...
1 jar Wishbone Italian dressing
1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian dressing
1/2 jar Salad Supreme spices by McCormicks ~ {this makes it taste so good}

Then add:
2 tomatoes, cut up
1 onion, cut up
1 green pepper, cut up ~ {didn't add this...green peppers are nasty}
sliced cucumber~ {added 2 of these...love these}

Let marinate overnight. Serve cold! Wish I would've taken a picture..it was yummy, yummy, to my tummy!

Mini Ham and Cheese Rolls

These were so yummy and fast to fix! Almost as good as the Mini White Castle-like Sliders she makes. They come from the Big Red Kitchen: Mini Ham and Cheese Rolls as does the picture.

2 T. dried minced onions
1 T. prepared mustard (I used Dijon)
1 T. poppy seeds
1 stick melted butter
1 dozen dinner rolls or 2 dozen party rolls- {I used the King's Hawaiian rolls found by the deli meat and cheese}
1/2 pound ham
1/2 pound thinly sliced Swiss cheese
Preheat oven to 325°. In a small mixing bowl mix onion, mustard, poppy seeds, and melted butter. Leaving the dinner rolls intact, slice them open so that you have one solid top and bottom. Place the bottom half on a baking sheet or in a 9x13 inch baking pan, the pan size will depend on choice of rolls. Line the bottom half of the rolls with cheese slices and ham. Return the top part of the rolls and drizzle the butter mixture evenly over top. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Now use a sharp knife and separate the little sandwiches. Place on a pretty platter and serve immediately.

Note- These can be made ahead of time and refrigerated, may require 5 more minutes of baking. Also can be prepared ahead and frozen. Defrost in refrigerator overnight and bake as directed. I love keeping a pan of these in the freezer for emergencies. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds.
I served these with green salad, chips, and grapes! A great summer meal!

Powdered Sugar Glaze

1 T. butter
1 c powdered sugar
½ t. vanilla
1½ to 2 T. milk
pinch of salt

In glass dish, melt butter in micro, add remaining ingredients. Start with the 1½ T. of milk and gradually add more if needed to get glaze consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Mountain Dew Cake

This recipe comes from "Real Mom Kitchen" as does the picture. She has lots of great recipes. Thought I could get my boys to eat a "bundt cake" if they knew it had Mountain Dew in it ~ well they had a bite and said..."it doesn't taste like mountain dew"! But I loved it!! It had such a great lemony-citrus flavor and it was so moist! I think the Mountain Dew added great flavor! I also made a quick powdered sugar glaze and drizzled it over the top! Definitely be making this again...who cares if the boys didn't like it...they're spoiled anyway!! Try it...

1 box lemon cake mix

1 box {3.4 oz.} lemon pudding mix

1 can {12 oz.} mountain dew

½ c. vegetable oil

4 large eggs

Preheat to 325º degrees. Lightly grease and flour the bundt pan. In a large bowl combine cake mix and pudding mix. Add oil, eggs, and mountain dew. Beat at medium speed with hand mixer till the batter is smooth. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool completely. Can drizzle with powdered sugar glaze if want to.