French Bread Beef & Cheese Casserole

This one is VERY fast, and Dave loves it.
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1 lb ground beef
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 package taco seasoning
1 can Cheddar Cheese Soup
2 C shredded cheddar cheese
1 loaf firm French bread
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Turn on the oven to 350 degrees. Brown the beef with the veggies and drain off the fat. While the beef is cooking, cut off the top of the bread and scoop out the inside of the loaf, making a shell about 1 inch thick. While the beef is still warm, stir in the seasoning, cheese soup, and breadcrumbs. Pour the mixture into the bread loaf shell and spread evenly. Cover with cheddar cheese and the top of the loaf. Wrap the loaf in foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Cafe Río Dressing/Dip

This is great served with veggies, on salads, or with the Cafe Río Pork.

Update: We've found we like this one from Our Best Bites even better. (Don't use light mayo, it tastes much better with regular.)

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1 pack (1oz) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
ignore directions on the packet
1C mayo
1/2 C buttermilk (or milk works, too)
1 lime, juiced
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro
1/4 C green salsa
hot sauce to taste
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Combine in blender and blend till smooth. Makes 2 cups. Best if allowed to set up in the fridge for at least an hour.

Old recipe (this one is less fattening)
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1 C Fat Free Mayo
1 C buttermilk
1 packet Ranch Dressing mix
2 Tomatillos
1/2 Jalapeño pepper (to taste)
1 bunch cilantro
Juice from 1 lime
1-2 cloves garlic (to taste)
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Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Makes 4 cups. (Be careful with the Jalapeño pepper, it doesn't take much to make it spicy. Same goes for the garlic)

NOTE: You can mess with the first two ingredients a bit to find what you like best. Mayo, buttermilk, and sour cream are the most common main ingredients for this dip. Two cups of Mayo, or a cup of mayo and a cup of sour cream, or 1/2 cup mayo and 1 1/2 cups sour cream, etc...


2 Tbsp = 0 WW Pts

Cafe Río Pork

This is one of our favorite recipes because not only is it tasty, but it's really easy and leaves us with plenty of leftovers for lunches. It could stand to be tweaked a bit because it doesn't taste exactly like the Cafe Río pork, but still, it's close, and it's delicious.
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3 lb Pork Roast
16 oz jar of salsa
1 can of Coca Cola (you can experiment with different colas)
1 C brown sugar
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(optional, add during last hour:)
1/2 package of fajita seasoning
1 can green chilis
2 Tbsp taco seasoning
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Put the roast in the crock pot and fill it halfway with water. Cook on high for 5 hours. Take the pork out and drain the liquid. Then cut the roast into 3 or 4 sections and put it back in the crock pot.
Puree the salsa, brown sugar, and coke in a blender and then pour the mixture over the roast. Cook on high for 3 more hours. If you want more kick to it, add the optional ingredients during the last hour of cooking. Once it is cooked, shred the meat with a fork.

We usually serve the meat in a salad with tortilla chips, lettuce, black beans, corn, cheese, and Cafe Rio Dressing/Dip. It can also be served in a burrito.

"Andersen Recipes"

So, we keep talking about putting together a recipe blog for the ladies in our family, and here's our first attempt.

I'm putting together some labels, so when you post a recipe, be sure to apply the appropriate labels (add more when needed) to make it easy to find a particular food when we're in a hurry to get something on the table.