Lasagna Pizza Cups

Yield:Makes 10 cups

Ingredients
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15-oz.) jar pizza sauce
1 (7.5-oz.) can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup (3 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375°. Cook first 3 ingredients in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain well. Return meat mixture to skillet; stir in 1 cup pizza sauce. Remove from heat.
2. Press biscuits on bottom and up sides of lightly greased muffin cups. Spoon about 1 rounded tablespoonful meat mixture into each biscuit cup; top with ricotta cheese (about 1 heaping teaspoonful each). Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
3. Bake at 375° for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven, and gently run a knife around outer edge of pizza cups to loosen from sides of pan. Remove cups from pan, using a spoon.
4. Place remaining pizza sauce in a small microwave-safe glass bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Microwave at HIGH 30 to 45 seconds or until thoroughly heated. Serve pizza cups with warm sauce.
Southern Living, AUGUST 2008

Citrus Shrimp Tacos

Prep: 25 min., Chill: 10 min., Grill: 6 min. Soak wooden skewers in water at least 30 minutes before grilling to keep them from burning.
Yield:Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients
2 pounds unpeeled, large raw shrimp
20 (12-inch-long) skewers
2 tablespoons Southwest seasoning
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup lime juice
3 tablespoons lemon juice
16 (8-inch) soft taco-size flour tortillas, warmed
1 head iceberg lettuce, finely shredded
1 head radicchio, finely shredded
Garnish: fresh cilantro leaves

Preparation
1. Peel shrimp; devein, if desired. Thread shrimp onto skewers.
2. Preheat grill to 350° to 400° (medium-high). Combine Southwest seasoning and garlic in a long shallow dish; add lime juice, lemon juice, and shrimp, turning to coat. Cover and chill 10 minutes. Remove shrimp from marinade, discarding marinade.
3. Grill shrimp, without grill lid, 2 to 3 minutes on each side or just until shrimp turn pink. Remove shrimp from skewers. Serve in warm tortillas with next 4 ingredients. Garnish, if desired.
Note: For testing purposes only, we used Emeril's Southwest Seasoning.
Southwest Cream Sauce: Whisk together 1 (16-oz.) container sour cream; 1 garlic clove, minced; 2 Tbsp. finely chopped red onion; 1 tsp. chili powder; 1/2 tsp. ground cumin; 1/2 tsp. ground red pepper; and 1/4 tsp. salt. Whisk in 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro and 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice until smooth. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Makes about 2 cups; Prep: 10 min.
Southern Living, AUGUST 2008

Chocolate Chip Cake

My friend Angel gave me this recipe and said it's no-fail, really moist, and easy to make. I agree!

1 box yellow cake mix
1 4 oz box chocolate instant pudding mix
3 eggs
8 oz sour cream
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup water
6 oz chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips. Beat for 2 minutes. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake in Bundt pan for 45 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean, may take closer to an hour). Cool for 10 minutes in pan.
I usually serve it as is (no frosting), but sometimes I pour a little caramel sauce and chopped nuts on top of the whole cake, or dust each serving with powdered sugar.

Corn and Cheese Dip

This is another recipe from Ashley's kitchen. This is really good with tortilla chips.

Mix the following:
2 cans of shoepeg corn (drained)
2 cups of Monterrey jack cheese
1 cup mayo
a dash of garlic powder
1 Tbs. chopped onion
2 Tbs. chopped jalapeno

Chill and serve.

Note from Ashley: I've made the dip even easier on myself by getting the jack cheese that comes with jalapenos in it and by using onion powder instead of real onions. It saves some time and effort and doesn't seem to change the taste.

Baked Chilean Sea Bass (or other mild fish)

You can use this recipe for as many fish fillets as you need - I like to get the thinner pieces rather than the really thick, short ones.

Preheat oven to 400.  Line a baking sheet with foil and place fish on foil.  Lightly drizzle some olive oil over top and using a brush, spread it evenly over each piece.  Salt and pepper each piece generously.  Place a couple of thin lemon slices on each piece.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Serve with your favorite veggies or rice.

Spaghetti w/Broccoli and Lemon

 from Living Simple - serves 4

12 oz spaghetti (I used the wheat)

3 Tbs. olive oil

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 pkg. frozen broccoli

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 lemon, zest and juice

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta per the instructions.  Reserve 1 cup water, drain pasta, return to pot.

Heat oil over medium heat and add garlic - cook 1-2 minutes.  Add broccoli, red pepper, salt and cook 1-2 minutes until broccoli is tender.  Add that to the pasta with lemon juice, Parmesan and the reserved water.  Cook 2-3 minutes.  Sprinkle with lemon zest and serve.  Also good with chicken or shrimp.