Steak Quesadillas

Serves 4

FOR THE BLACK-BEAN SALSA
1 can (15 1/2 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
2 plum tomatoes, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Coarse salt and ground pepper

FOR THE QUESADILLAS
1 strip steak (8 ounces and 1 inch thick)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 teaspoons olive oil
4 flour tortillas (10-inch or burrito-style)
1 1/2 cups grated pepper jack cheese (6 ounces)
1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Directions
In a medium bowl, combine black beans, cilantro, tomatoes, avocado, lime juice, and cayenne; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Rub steak with oregano; season with salt and pepper. In a 10-inch skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over high. Add steak to skillet, and cook, turning once, until browned and still rare, 2 to 3 minutes per side. (Steak will cook a little longer in the quesadillas during baking.)Transfer steak to a cutting board; let rest 5 minutes before slicing 1/4 inch thick.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Brush one side of each tortilla with remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Place 1 tortilla, oiled side down, on each of two baking sheets. Dividing evenly, layer with half the cheese, then onion and steak, ending with remaining cheese. Top with remaining tortillas, oiled side up. Press lightly to seal. Bake, turning over once (with a wide spatula), until lightly browned and crispy, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board; cut each quesadilla into 6 triangles. Serve with black-bean salsa and sour cream.

Recipe from everyday food.

Meat Loaf

This recipe is from Betty Crocker.

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup milk
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. chopped fresh or 1/4 tsp. dried sage leaves
1/2 tsp tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground mustard (dry)
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 clove garlic, finely chopped, or 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 large egg
3 slices bread, torn into small pieces (or 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs)
1 small onion, chopped (1/4 cup)
1/2 cup ketchup, chili sauce or barbecue sauce

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients except ketchup. Spread mixture in ungreased loaf pan. Spread ketchup over top.

Insert meat thermometer so tip is in center of loaf. Bake uncovered 1 to 1 1/4 hour until thermometer reads 160 degrees.

Let stand 5 minutes; remove from pan.

Mom's Meatloaf

2/3 cup cracker crumbs
1 cup milk
mix together

2 eggs
1/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sage
Dash pepper
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
Mix together

Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees

Reuben Dip

This is yummy! This is from Frank's Kraut.

1/2 cup Frank's Kraut, drained and chopped
1 (3 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 (8 oz) container sour cream
1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
4 oz sliced corned beef, finely diced
2-3 Tbs milk

1. Combine and heat all ingredients, except milk, in a small saucepan over low heat until hot.

2. Thin with milk if necessary

Microwave Directions:
1. Combine and heat all ingredients, except milk, in a microwave-safe bowl until hot (approximately 4 minutes). Stir after 2 minutes.

2. Thin with milk, if necessary.

Servings: 1-1/2 cups
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes

Cheesy Basil-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Serves 4

Avoid thin chicken breasts for this recipe; they are difficult to stuff without tearing. Whole-milk block mozzarella will provide the creamiest filling; preshredded or part-skim mozzarella will also work, but the filling will be grainy. To make fresh bread crumbs, process 2 slices of hearty white sandwich bread in the food processor.

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (see note above)
1/4 cup minced fresh basil
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each)
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine cheese, 2 tablespoons basil, cream, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in medium bowl.

2. Cut pocket in chicken breasts, stuff with cheese mixture, and seal. Transfer stuffed breasts to 13 by 9-inch baking dish and spread tops evenly with mayonnaise.

3. Combine bread crumbs, remaining garlic, remaining 2 tablespoons basil, and 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle crumb mixture over chicken, pressing lightly to adhere.

4. Toss tomatoes with remaining tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Arrange in baking dish around chicken. Bake until crumbs are golden brown and thickest part of chicken registers 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer, about 25 minutes. Serve.

Chicken, Cheese and Stuffing Bake

Ingredients:
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
6-8 slices of American cheese
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 cup of white wine
1 stick of butter
herb stuffing crumbs

Place chicken breast in a 9 X 13 glass pan. Put cheese slices over the chicken. Mix mushroom soup and white wine together and pour over chicken. Sprinkle with stuffing. Drizzle melted butter over the top. Cover with tinfoil and bake for 45 min. at 350 degrees, remove the tinfoil and bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.

Herb Crusted Chicken

1 package cut chicken (best o' fryer whole cut up chicken works best) thawed
1 stick butter melted
3/4 cup instant potato flakes
3 tbsp grated parmesean cheese
1 - 2 tsp garlic salt

Combine all dry ingredients. Preheat oven to 375. Dip chicken in butter then roll in dry mixture and place in 9x13 pan (glass works the best but not required).

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 20 min or until juices from chicken run clear.

Hamburger Layer Hot Dish

Pre-heat oven to 375

In a 9x13 cake pan, Spread a pound of ground hamburger evenly on bottom. Then, on top of that, spread a can of French style green beans. On top of that, spread out tator tots (note, cover half the pan). Then mix a can of cream of mushroom soup and a little milk and spread half of that. Then cover the other half of the tator tots. Spread the remaining half of the soup/milk mix to cover the whole dish.

Place onion rings on top of whole cake pan.

Bake at 375 for 1 hour.