5-Minute Southwestern Salad

1 head of romaine lettuce
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 cup cheddar cheese
crushed tortilla chips

Chop up lettuce and place in bowl. Toss with remaining ingredients and serve.

We had this for dinner last night. I found this recipe a few months ago and it has been a regular in our house ever since. It is super fast and tastes really yummy. I would recommend putting the chips on each individual serving if you are going to have any leftovers because after an hour or two the chips get soggy if mixed in with the salad.

Strawberry Whipped Sensation

I got this recipe out of a Kraft recipe book I got in the mail. It's pretty yummy but after making it I decided to change a few things. Here is the recipe from the book:

Strawberry Whipped Sensation

4 cups fresh strawberries, divided
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tub (8 oz.) cool whip, thawed
8 oreo's

Shape foil onto outside of a large loaf pan. Line inside of pan with shaped foil, with ends extending over sides of pan.

Mash 2 cups of the strawberries in large bowl. Stir in condensed milk and juice.

Stir 2 cups of whipped topping into strawberry mixture. Pour into prepared pan.

Finely chop oreo cookies and gently press into whipped topping mixture. Cover with the ends of foil and freeze for 6 hours or until firm.

Invert dessert onto serving plate when ready to serve. Spread remaining whipped topping onto top and sides of dessert.

Slice remaining 2 cups strawberries; arrange on dessert.

This dessert is very refreshing and perfect for a hot summer night. But I thought the oreos and strawberries tasted a little wierd together. Next time I'm going to use vanilla wafers and strawberries. Or oreos mixed in the whipped topping instead of strawberries. You can pretty much use anything you want. Enjoy!

Leslie's Banana Bread Recipe

I was in the process of making banana bread today when I realized I didn't have enough sugar. Aubrey was napping so I improvised and substituted vanilla instant pudding for some of the sugar. Wow, this bread tastes really good. Enjoy!

Leslie's Banana Bread Recipe

3 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 small package of instant vanilla pudding
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour

In a mixing bowl, beat bananas, vanilla instant pudding, eggs, and sugar until smooth. Add the shortening and mix well. Add flour, salt, and baking soda.

Muffins... cook at 325 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes
loaf pan...cook at 300 degrees for about 50 minutes to an hour