This is such a GREAT summer meal....it's so refreshing with the mango salsa. We had some corn on the cob on the side and it all tasted ridiculously amazing!!

Grilled Steak Tacos with Mango Salsa

Marinade:

1/4 c. orange juice (juice of 1 orange)

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. honey

1 1/2 tsp. orange zest

1.2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2-2 Tbsp. chili powder (depending on desired heat)

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. oregano

1 1/2-2 lbs. flank steak

uncooked tortillas

Mix all of the marinade ingredients together. Score steak in 1 inch intervals. Place steak and marinade in a resealable bag. Allow to marinate for at least 4 hours. Remove steak from bag and discard marinade. Place on grill over medium heat. Grill for 10-15 minutes per side, or to desired doneness, I cooked mine for 12 minutes on each side and it ended up being perfect (med)!! Remove from grill and cover for 5 minutes. Cut in thin slices against the grain. Place in cooked, uncooked tortillas Ü and top with mango salsa!!

Mango salsa

1 mango. diced

1/4-1/3 c. red onion. finely diced

1/4 c. cilantro, chopped

juice of 1 lime

salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients and set aside in refrigerator until ready to serve.

This is my favorite side dish EVER, I could eat this for days!!!!

Hashbrown Casserole

1 (2 lbs) pkg. frozen shredded hashbrowns (I can't find the 2 lbs bag anymore so I just use the 26 oz. pkg. and it's works just fine)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 soup can of milk

1 cube margarine or butter (melted)

1 16 oz. sour cream

2 tsp. onion flakes

salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients and put in a 9x13 baking dish.

Top with 2 c. cheese.

Mix 1/2 c. cornflake crumbs with 3 Tbsp. melted butter/marg. and sprinkle on top. (To save money I just buy a box of Smith's Kroger Value brand Corn Flakes for .99 instead of the already crumbed corn flakes for quite a bit more.)

Bake at 350 for 30-45 min.

This lasagne recipe is pretty much the only lasagne I'll eat.....most recipes use ricotta cheese, but this one calls for cottage cheese, it's soooo good and my family loves it!!

My Mom's Amazing Lasagne

1lb. hamburger

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 t. garlic, minced

1 t. oregano

1 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1 (16 oz.) can diced tomatoes

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

1/2 lb. lasagne noodles (I usually figure about 3 per layer)

2 eggs

2 c. cottage cheese

4 c. mozzarella cheese, grated

In large skillet over med high heat cook together hamburger, onion and garlic. Once hamburger is browned add oregano, salt, pepper, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste stir, cover and simmer for 30 min. stirring occasionally. While meat sauce is simmering, in a large saucepan bring water to a boil for the lasagne noodles, cook to al dente, drain and set aside. In a small bowl mix together cottage cheese and eggs. In a 9 x 13 pan layer as follows: 1/3 meat sauce, 1/2 noodles, 1/2 cottage cheese mixture, 1/2 mozzarella cheese, repeat, ending with meat sauce. Bake at 350 for 45 min.-1hr or until bubbly Ü

Jalapeno poppers

jalapenos

cream cheese

bacon

Cut jalapenos in half lengthwise, clean out center. Fill with cream cheese and wrap with half of a slice of bacon. Hold bacon in place with a toothpick and set on baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes and then broil for 5 minutes or until bacon is somewhat crispy. Warning: Do not broil if you have a gas broiler....I made that mistake....I have blonde moments....don't judge me. Ü

All I can say is........MMM....MMM.....GOOD!!

Pork Barbacoa Burritos

These measurements are what I used for a 1.5 lb roast.

1.5 lb pork loin roast

garlic salt

salt

1/4 c. water

1 1/4 c. green enchilada sauce

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

fresh tortillas (the ones I found were by the pkg. sliced cheeses at Walmart) see pkg. for cooking instructions.

Put pork in crockpot with water, garlic salt, and salt. Cook on low for 7 hours. When done put it on a cutting board or plate and shred..... discard some of the water/juices from the crockpot depending on how saucy you want it to be. I transfered everything to a medium saucepan to finish the process, but you could keep it in the crockpot for less of a clean up. Combine remaining juices, shredded pork, enchilada sauce and brown sugar, heat through and load up that burrito.......I made ours with rice, black beans, cheese, and cilantro. My preference is LOTS of pork and little of the rest!!! Some fresh pico de gallo would be great with it as well, but I didn't have anything on hand to make it at the time.

Again.....another one of my favorite dinners growing up Ü You'll love this!!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

4-5 chicken boneless skinless breasts

garlic salt

corn starch

egg

oil

Rice-A-Roni, preferably chicken flavor

Sauce for chicken:

1/4 c. chicken broth

4 T ketchup

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. vinegar

1 T soy sauce

1 tsp salt

1 tsp. accent

Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt, roll in corn starch, dip in egg and deep fry until brown.

Set chicken in a large casserole or baking dish.

Heat sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan and pour over chicken. Bake at 375 for 30 min., turning once. While baking prepare Rice-A-Roni, when serving use the sweet and sour sauce on top of the rice.

Tip: for easier clean up my mom would use shortening instead of oil to brown the chicken, you've got to use a lot, but when it cools it hardens back up and makes it easy to clean and dispose of, I hate figuring out where to dump my used oil!!

If you're ever asked to bring something to a party or a get together this is the way to go. Who wants to spend 10 bucks on a vegetable tray that hardly comes with a variety of veggies and a SMALL container of runny dip. This way you can get a lot more for your money, you can pick and choose whatever veggies you want, and the recipe makes a good amount of dip. This is just a basic dill dip recipe, but for some reason my buddies at work started to call it "jill dip" . It's so yummy and is great with any kind of vegetables!!

Jill Dip

1 c. mayonnaise

1 c. sour cream

1 T. onion flakes

1 T. parsley

1 tsp. seasoning salt

1 tsp. dill weed

Mix all together and chill for an hour or so.