My favorite recipes

When it comes to cooking, I am all about as easy & fast as possible. I love quick breads, I've canned my own pinto beans so that when I get a craving for chili, I can have it as quickly as it takes to heat everything through, and I love to use an easy recipe that I can change out ingredients to mix up the meal. One of my favorites that I'm sure will become a kid favorite is Spiral Pepperoni Pizza Bake. It is tasty, filling, and makes great leftovers.

1 package (16 ounces) spiral pasta
2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cans (15 ounces each) pizza sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 package (3-1/2 ounces) sliced pepperoni

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook the beef, onion, salt and pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the pizza sauce, garlic salt and Italian seasoning; remove from the heat and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, milk and Parmesan cheese. Drain pasta; toss with egg mixture. Transfer to a greased 3-qt. baking dish. Top with beef mixture, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 20-25 minutes longer or until golden brown. Yield: 12 servings.

Another favorite meal that we eat frequently, basically whenever I don't feel like cooking, is Chicken Tacos. These tacos are so simple, but they are our favorite meal because they are exactly like the ones we can get while in Mexico.

Corn tortillas
Cooked, shredded chicken (I use my home canned chicken breasts, but you could use store-bought canned chicken, or just cook your own & then cut it in small pieces)
Finely chopped sweet onion
Finely chopped cilantro
Green salsa

Chop your onion & cilantro & combine them in a small bowl. Heat up your tortillas inside a hand towel for about 20 seconds in the microwave. Top a tortilla with chicken, onion, cilantro & a bit of salsa & gobble it down. You can also add beans (black, pinto, white, whatever you happen to have, or use whatever salsa you want, these are pretty versatile).