To save time cook the ground beef and chop the lettuce and green onions a day in advance, amounts listed are only a guideline you may adjust to taste

Servings 6

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound ground beef, cooked

1 (12-1/2 ounce) package nacho tortilla chips

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup shredded lettuce

2 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup sliced ripe olives, optional

1/4 cup pickled jalapeno rings

I found that there wasn’t really a lot of chocolate chunks in the pouch so I added in 1/2 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Plan ahead there is a 2 hour chilling time for the dough

Yield 32 biscotti

INGREDIENTS:

2 large eggs

1/4 cup cola drink (such a Coke Cola or Pepsi, regular or diet)

1/3  to 1/2 cup sugar (if you have a sweet tooth use 1/2 cup which is what I used)

1/2 cup melted butter

1 (1 pound/1.5 oz) pouch Betty Crocker Double Chocolate Chunk cookie mix (Canadian weight is a 496 gram pouch)

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

INSTRUCTIONS:———————————————

In a medium bowl whisk the eggs with the cola, sugar and melted butter until thoroughly combined.

Mix in the cookie mix from the pouch and the flour.

Using an electric mixer on low speed or a wooden spoon mix until thoroughly combined (the dough will be thick and sticky).

Divide the dough equally into two lightly oiled bowls and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle (trust me it’s easier to divide the dough in half before chilling).

Refrigerate for 2 hours or more.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Generously spray a 10 x 15-inch baking sheet with cooking spray.

Place each half on the cookie sheet, then shape each half of dough into a 12 x 2-inch log (if you find that the logs are sticky to shape then brush with oil — make sure that you space the logs at least 3-inches, they really spread out while baking) .

Using you hands pat the logs down slightly.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

Cool 20 minutes or a little more .

Carefully lift and transfer the cookie cookie logs to cutting board.

With serrated knife carefully cut each log crosswise on a slight diagonal into 3/4-inch slices.

Place slices cut side down on cookie sheet.

Return the cookies to oven and bake 20-22 minutes gently turning cookies over once during baking or until dry and fairly crispy).

Cool 10 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack and  cool completely.

Store loosely covered at room temperature.

You will also find this recipe on www.recipezazz.com

Yield about 3 cups

INGREDIENTS:

4 ripe avocados, peeled and seeded

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, very soft (can use light cream cheese)

1/2 cup spicy picante sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon garlic powder (or 2 garlic cloves, minced)

1 teaspoon seasoned salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or adjust to taste

Taken from my “Favorites” folder!

Serve these on salads or alone as a snack

Yield 2 cups

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup sugar

2 cup warm water

2 cup pecan halves

1/4 cup sugar sugar

2 tablespoons mild chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (can use more depending on your heat level)

INSTRUCTIONS:——————————————————-

Taken from my “Favorites” folder!

One large regular orange may be used in place of the mandarin oranges

Servings 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

2 (5-ounce) bags mixed spring salad greens

1 large green onion, chopped (optional)

crumbled blue cheese (use as much as you like)

2 mandarin oranges , peeled and sectioned

1 pint fresh strawberries, quartered

Sweet “N” Heat Pecans

Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing

INSTRUCTIONS:—————————————

To save time the filling may be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated until ready to use, also you could cook the mushrooms with the sausage but the flavor is better if cooked separate

Finely grated mozzarella or an Italian cheese blend may be substituted for the Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top of the tarts

Yield 30 tarts

INGREDIENTS:

2 (15-count) packages mini phyllo shells

1 tablespoon oil (can use a little more, the oil is used to speed up the browning of the sausage)

1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage links, casings removed

1/4 to 1/3 cup finely diced onion

4 garlic cloves, minced (or can use 1  teaspoon garlic powder)

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan OR Romano cheese (more to sprinkle on top of the tarts before baking — make sure to use only fresh grated cheese for this, the cheese should be in small shreds, none of that powdered cheese!)

1 pound mushrooms, finely chopped

salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:———————————————————

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Arrange phyllo cups on an ungreased baking sheet.
3. Bake empty tarts shells for 5 minutes; set aside
4. In a large skillet over medium heat-high heat cook the sausage meat with oil and onion until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes; drain (or leave a small amount of fat in the skillet to cook the mushrooms).
5. Add in garlic; cook for 2 minutes; remove to a bowl.
6. To the skillet add in chopped mushrooms; cook stirring until all the liquid evaporates; transfer to the bowl with the sausage meat; add in Parmesan cheese; mix to combine then season with salt and pepper to taste then allow the mixture to cool slightly.
7. Fill each phyllo cup with about 1 tablespoon of the sausage mixture, and top with a small amount of Parmesan cheese.
8. Bake in a preheated oven minutes, or until the cheese melts and the pastry is golden brown (about 6-8 minutes).

You will also find this recipe on www.recipezazz.com

Serve these  spicy wings with blue cheese dip

Servings 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup hot sauce (such as Frank’s Red Hot)

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon sugar

5 tablespoons butter

3 pounds chicken wings, tips removed, wings separated at joints

INSTRUCTIONS:———————————————-