Cream Cheese Lasagna

This is my mother-in-law's recipe, and I've never had a better lasagna.  Hello, cream cheese.  The Mrs. Dash also adds such a lovely zip to the dish.  Everyone I have ever made this for loves it!

This is what my kids ask me to make for birthday dinners. I add a pint of Ricotta cheese instead of sour cream, and sometimes swap out hamburger for Italian sausage.  My sister-in-law Savanah taught me to add add two teaspoons of brown sugar to the tomato sauce and browned hamburger, which is also amazing. 

The birthday dinner was complemented by garlic bread and an incredible fresh salad from the garden.  The reason you don't see those other foods in this photo is because I made the lasagna in the morning before it got too hot (Truman's birthday is at the end of August).  So I had the above piece of lasagna for lunch while kids were at school and hubby was at work.  Then we all had lasagna for dinner.  It's that good.

Also, just my personal opinion, there is no such thing as "oven-ready" lasagna.  You have to boil the noodles, people.  There's no escaping it.

In the oven and ready to make my house smell like love . . .

Taco Soup

This is one of my mother-in-law's signature dishes and it is so satisfying.  The first time I had some, I knew I needed the recipe.  It's also one of the first recipe cards I ever made, and look how horrible it used to be:

Do not print this card--scroll down for new and improved recipe card.

The best thing about this taco soup is that you can have it in the crockpot (or in a regular large pot on your stove--I love making mine in my Amazon basics Dutch oven, one of my favorite Christmas gifts from my mom and dad!) in ten minutes.  It's fast and easy and the envelope of Ranch makes it so zesty.  Just be sure you buy a packet of Ranch DRESSING and not Ranch DIP.  I have made that mistake more than once, and believe me, they are not the same thing.

I really like to use elk burger or venison burger in taco soup, because the seasonings flavor the meat so well--no one can tell it's not beef.  I prefer frozen corn, but you can totally used canned corn. I also substitute other kinds of beans--usually Great Northern beans, sometimes black-eyed peas or garbanzo beans; Allen's mom always makes it with kidney beans.  I've added leftover rice, too--it's such a versatile, hearty soup!  I make it at least once a month, and always for hosting a large crowd.  The recipe makes a lot.  It feeds our family of six easily, and I freeze whatever is left (usually half) for a night when I don't feel like cooking.

My husband likes to crumble corn chips in his taco soup, but I prefer to DIP my chips.  Our kids each have their own style, too.  Leave a comment and tell me what your favorite brand of corn chips is!

Bacon-Wrapped Venison Roast

My hubby completely authored this recipe. When he gets in the mood to cook, he spends at least an hour "researching." He'll either sit down with a stack of our cookbooks, or peruse cooking sites on the Internet until he finds what he wants. In this case, he read dozens of venison roast recipes, then cobbled together his favorite ingredients and methods from each to create this: total Sunday dinner success. It was well worth the four-hour (not kidding) wait.

I have since made this roast countless times for Sunday dinner.  It is Summer as I write this, so I am cooking it in the crockpot instead of the roasting pan--then I don't have to heat up my whole house with the oven.

Rub the roast down with your flour, spices, and herbs, then brown
every side in garlic and butter (I used olive oil in this instance).
Cast iron skillet: accept no substitutions.
{Bobby Flay 12-In. Cast-Iron Skillet }

I used to put apple wedges around the roast, but now I blend up
an entire apple in my Vitamix blender (yes, I am bragging).

In the crockpot, I drizzle olive oil, then chopped up potatoes and
onions, then the bottom layer of bacon, then the browned roast, and
then I coat the browned roast with the minced apples.  Like so . . .

Finally, wrap the top of the roast in bacon, then pour in a cup of
beef broth and slowly roast on low for three hours.

So tender and flavorful when it's done!

Delicious with fresh salad and homemade bread.  If you happen to
have pie for dessert, you are officially eating the most celestial
meal possible . . . which is why we have roast on Sundays after church.

{If you don't have a tender venison roast in your freezer, you could probably make it almost as good with beef}.

Sweet & Saucy Meatballs with Rice

This is my favorite thing that my sister Ali makes--it's such an amazing flavor combination!  The meatballs are sweet, so kids love it, too.

Swedish Meatballs

This is a great dish when you want to break away from making the same old thing.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

I rarely make my own spaghetti sauce, but when I do, this recipe can't be beat.  However, I always use this meatball recipe--it is my very favorite way to eat spaghetti (it's also yummy with ground turkey in place of the ground beef).  My two boys don't like meatballs, but I never mind, because that means MORE FOR ME..

Taquitos

These are easy to make and my kids love 'em.

Eatmo' Meatloaf

This was a yummy recipe in FOOD magazine from Emeril Lagasse. I knew it would be a hit with my husband because he loves any food with sausage. It is a unique, delicious, spicy, totally amazing meatloaf that blows your mom's meatloaf out of the water.