Recipes and pictures....

Last night I tackled way more of my plans than I thought. I managed to whip up the key lime pie, hamburger corn casserole, AND guacamole! I think the brownies will wait until Friday. I am so excited, I have a day off of school! I'll have plenty of time to do whatever....and then that night we are going to his parents house for dinner, so I'll bring them with us for dessert.

As promised... here are the recipes and pictures of my concoctions.

Hamburger Corn Casserole

(this recipe is one handed down to me from my mom, I don't know where it came from before that, but it is one of my childhood favorites!)

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef or turkey (I used a half lb of each)
• 1/2 of a green pepper
• 1/2 of an onion
• 8 oz. can of tomato sauce
• 8 oz. (about 1/2 bag) of frozen corn
• Chili Powder Seasoning
• Salt
• Pepper
• Tostitoes/corn chips (I use the whole grain ones because they are SUPER yummy!)
• Shredded cheddar cheese (do NOT use lowfat cheese.... it doesn't melt right and it's gross. Trust me, we've tried)

Directions:

1. Dice up 1/2 of the green pepper and onion and add to the ground beef in a large skillet, brown well.
2. Add salt, pepper, and 1-2 teaspoons of chili powder (to taste)
3. Add tomato sauce and corn, and simmer until heated through.
4. Pour into a large casserole dish. (at this point, I let the mixture cool, and put it into the fridge because we were not yet ready to eat, but I wanted it to be quick to finish when we were...)
5. Break up chips to bite size pieces and spread over the top of the beef mixture.
6. Cover with shredded cheese and bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted. (this part can also be done in the microwave)

I only covered 1/2 of the dish because I knew we would only eat that much... and then I could put the rest in the fridge and it will be super easy to heat up without having to worry about soggy chips! I'll just add chips and cheese to that half when I'm ready! YUM! It was sooooo good. This amount feeds us twice, so it's about 4 servings.

While I was working on this.... I was also working on my Guacamole! Or as mom calls is... Avocado Dip

Guacamole

(another one from Mom....)

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe avocados
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1-2 finely chopped jalapeno peppers (I usually use the pre-chopped ones in the jar... this time I had some ones in my freezer from his mom's garden that I used)
• 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
• miracle whip
• 1 medium tomato

Directions:

1. Scoop out avocado with a spoon into a large mixing bowl
2. Mash it up (I use a potato masher)
3. Blend all ingredients together, except for tomato and miracle whip
4. Add enough miracle whip to make it really creamy (I used a little too much this time, but it's pretty safe to start with about 2 large tablespoons and then add more to taste)
5. Stir in chopped tomato
6. Chill, and hide from my boyfriend who proceeded to eat the entire container when he got home from work. I may be making more of this before the week is over.

Now... on to the Pie!!!!

Key Lime Pie

(this recipe comes courtesy of my godmother. I've never had a better Key Lime Pie than hers!!)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup key lime juice
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 package of Philly cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 regular size graham crust pie shell

Directions:

1. Combine by hand the 1/2 cup of key lime juice with 1 can of condensed milk and set aside.
2. Combine by beater (or whisk if you are lazy like me) the cream cheese and the 2 egg yolks.
3. Combine by hand the key lime mixture and the cream cheese mixture until smooth.
4. Pour into pie crust
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes
6. Cool for 30 minutes
7. Cover and refrigerate
8. Top with cool whip if desired.... (I used a large crust and would normally put some cool whip around the edge to fill in the gap between the filling and top of the crust to make it look pretty)

I let Ed take it to work with him today to share with the boys at the firehouse so I don't get to sample it, but I'll let you know if it was a success.

Whew... that was a lot. Hope you all enjoy! Let me know if you try any of these!!!