Taco Salad Bowls

4 flour tortillas (8 inch)
¾ lb. extra lean ground beef
1 tbsp. chilli powder
1 cup match-like carrot sticks
½ cup plus 2 tbsp. chunky salsa, divided
2 tbsp. light mayo
4 cups torn salad greens
1 large tomato, chopped
½ cup shredded reduced fat Mexican style cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

PREHEAT oven to 425°. Crumble 4 large sheets of foil to make four 3-inch balls; place on baking sheet. Place 1 tortilla on top of each ball, spray tortillas with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with ½ tsp. of the chili powder. Bake 6 – 8 min or until tortillas are golden brown (tortillas will drape over balls as they bake).
MEANWHILE, brown meat with carrots and remaining 2½ tsp. chili powder in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Add ½ cup of the salsa; cook 2 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.
MIX mayo and remaining 2 tbsp salsa in large bowl. Add salad greens and tomatoes; toss to coat. Spoon into tortilla shells; top with meat mixture, cheese and cilantro.
Makes 4 servings.
Kraft Food & Family magazine (I really like this magazine)

Easy Baked Manicotti

This was SO yummy! I couldn't find that brand of pesto sauce, so I just got a packet that you make yourself and it was the secret ingredient that made this so good!

2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 egg, slightly beaten
1¾ cups Ricotta cheese
1½ cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup Digiorno Basil Pesto Sauce (optional)
12 manicotti shells, cooked, rinsed in cold water

PREHEAT oven to 350°. Spread ¾ cup of the spaghetti sauce on bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish. Mix egg, cheeses and pesto sauce until well blended. Spoon cheese mixture into a large resealable plastic bag. Using scissors, cut off a small hole from one of the bottom corners of bag.
FILL manicotti shells, 1 at a time, squeezing cheese mixture into both sides of each shell. Place manicotti over sauce in dish; pour remaining 1¼ cups spaghetti sauce over manicotti. Cover with foil.
BAKE 40 min. or until heated through.
Makes 6 servings.

I got this from the Kraft Food & Family magazine

Lemon & Mint Ravioli

1/4 c. butter
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 lb. large size ravioli
2 tbsp. fresh mint, finely shopped
fresh ground pepper
parmesan cheese, grated

Cook ravioli according to package instructions. While it cooks, melt butter in small pot with lemon juice and stir. Drain ravioli and add to pot with butter and lemon. Stir well. Put on serving plates, sprinkle with mint,pepper and parmesan.

Bruschetta Pasta

1/2 lb pasta (whole wheat fettucine)
2 medium sized ripe tomatoes, seeds removed and roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
6-8 large basil leave, cut into thin ribbons
2 tbsp. olive oil
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
parmesan cheese, shredded

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Put tomatoes in bowl w/garlic, basil and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Drain pasta, add to bowl and toss well with tomato mixture. Top withshredded parmesan cheese and a few grinds of pepper

Easy Greek Gyros

Again, thanks Lacy!

2 lbs. petite sirloin steak--boneless
1/2 c. lemon juice
salt and pepper
1/2 c. oil

Marinate meat in above ingredients for a couple hours (or overnight).
After marinated, grill and slice into thin pieces.

6 pitas
lettuce, torn into pieces
tomatoes, sliced
onions (can be grilled with steak or eaten fresh in the pita)

Sauce:
2 c. plain yogurt
1/3 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. sour cream
2 lemons (juiced)
salt and pepper
tsp. garlic powder or fresh garlic
1 packet Italian seasoning mix (I like Good Seasons)
1 large cucumber, peeled and grated

Mix sauce ingredients together. Serve gyros in a pita with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, steak and TONS of sauce. Yum!

**If you make some extra steak, you will have TONS of leftover sauce. Its worth the effort!

South of the Border Taco Salad

Lacy has some great recipes

Brown:
1 lb. hamburger
1 onion (you can mix yellow and green)
add garlic powder
2 tsp. cumin powder (can use taco seasoning too!)
add juice of fresh lime (optional)

When meat is almost done, add:
1 can kidney beans (drained, rinsed)
1 green pepper, chopped
1 sweet chili (optional)
1 15 oz. can black olives, sliced
1 12 oz. can whole corn
2 tomatoes chopped (can use salsa to replace when tomatoes aren't in season)

Simmer until warmed through. Serve over regular Frito chips, lettuce, then top with cheese,guacamole, salsa and sour cream. YUMMY!

Neapolitan Tower Cake

1 pkg. (10 oz.) round angel food cake
2 JELL-O Vanilla Sugar Free Pudding Snacks
2 JELL-O Chocolate Sugar Free Pudding Snacks
3/4 cup thawed COOL WHIP Sugar Free or COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping
12 fresh strawberries
2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

CUT cake horizontally into three layers. Place bottom cake layer, cut-side up, on serving plate; spread top with vanilla pudding. Cover with middle cake layer, chocolate pudding and top cake layer. Spread top with whipped topping; top with strawberries. REFRIGERATE at least 1 hour. SPRINKLE with cocoa powder just before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Thanks Lacy - this looks delicious!!