Wal-Mart Tailgate Taco Soup

I've been searching Pinterest for an EASY recipe for tailgating, and boy did I hit the jackpot! I found this little gem over at highheelsandgrills.blogspot.com and it was such a huge hit and SO easy. She didn't specify the nutritional value of her ingredients but mine were all either 98% fat free, low sodium, or all natural ... and they all came from WAL-MART! Now, I understand that some of you have your issues with shopping at Wal-Mart and if you choose not to get your ingredients from there I'll understand ... but this soup served at least twelve people and was less than $10.00, and if you haven't yet caught wind of how cheap I am you soon will and the price of this recipe MADE MY DAY.

 This is copied directly from her website...

Ingredients:
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 (15.25 oz.) can sweet corn, drained
1 (12.5 oz.) can white chicken breast, drained
1 (10.75 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 oz.) can green enchilada sauce
 1 (14 oz.) can chicken broth
 1 packet taco seasoning

 Directions: Mix all ingredients together in a large pot. Heat until warm, stirring occasionally. Serve with tortilla chips.

NOW ... me being the uneducated cook that I am, instead of getting "green enchilada sauce," brilliant me got "enchilada sauce" in a green can. It was a mis-advertisement ... I'm not claiming fault (publicly.) Although I got the wrong ingredient, I rolled with it and it turned out perfectly fine! I am so glad that I found this great recipe and I'm so excited to share it with you! Happy cooking! 

Wal-Mart (nor tailgating) had any part in the composition of this recipe.

The Elizabethan Breakfast Casserole

Who doesn't like waking up to the sweet aroma of breakfast food on the stove? No one. The other day my sweet room mate / cousin woke me up at the CRACK OF DAWN knocking at my door & when she opened it a little piece of heaven drifted into my room. She was cooking sausage for a casserole that she was making for her FAVORITE police officer (who shall remain nameless) and it smelled absolutely divine. Her name is Elizabeth - in case that wasn't completely obvious by the title of this entry. Any who, once I got over the shock of her banging on my door at 4:30 am ... I made my way to the kitchen to make myself some coffee. Sister-girl had already browned her sausage AND had a Pyrex dish ready to pop into the oven that was ALREADY preheated. She wasn't trying to impress anybody ... (Lucy got some 'splainin' to do)

I don't mind said police officer visiting us in the A.M. - because I definitely benefited. Iphus (pronounced "eh-fuss" ... which is what I called Elizabeth when I was a kid... and still do) had made the most glorious and amazing breakfast dish that I have ever tasted. SOOO I decided to make my own version and tell all of you about it. My version being one that has far less calories but still just as yum. :)

Here goes ...

Ingredients:

• Two cans of crescent rolls (reduced fat) 
• One package of ground sausage (reduced fat) 
• One boxed package of cream cheese (fat free) 
• (Okay, so mine wasn't fat free -- whatever)

How To:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 

1. Step one ... take one of the crescent rolls and roll it out flat and place it in the bottom of a rectangular Pyrex dish. For those of you in my situation who have never worked with crescent rolls before, they are perforated down the center so that you can roll them out flat with your hands. I'm now fully aware that you do not need to roll them out with a rolling pin directly out of the can. It doesn't work. Don't try it. I hope my admission of stupidity helps you in your cooking adventures. I'm sure there are more to come.
2. Step two ... (I'm not sure why I'm titling each step AND using bullets to identify them. Maybe it's because I'm extra thorough. Or maybe that just makes me feel better.) ANYWAYS ... Using a skillet, brown your entire package of sausage. OH man ... your kitchen will smell amazing.
3. Step three ... (because why stop now?) --- Mix your sausage with your package of cream cheese. Once you have your mixture, spread it evenly on top of the crescent roll that you have already placed in your Pyrex dish. 
4. Step four ... Roll out the other crescent roll and place on top of the mixture in the dish. 
1. If you want to add butter (& I did,) you can melt a small amount and brush it on top of the top crescent roll. Not too much though, or your crescent roll will take forever to cook. 
5.  Step five ... stick it in the oven for about 30 minutes. 
6. VOILA! Easy breakfast casserole that takes very little time to prepare and tastes SO GOOD ... that you might want to slap ya' mama. Although I do need to advise against that. 

Let your casserole cool for a few minutes before you taste it. This dish is best served warm, but it can be served cool and is still phenomenal. Also, I cut my casserole into squares for easier serving.

I've also heard of other ingredients being added to this recipe to add a little flavor. Have you made this before? What are your variations? Let us know!

Dunkin' Punkin' Muffins

Runners don't begin by running marathons, right? Well, that's the logic I'm using anyways. I can cope better with baby steps than I can with giant strides - at least for startsies. 

The recipe I used for my first adventure is SUPER easy and SUPER cheap. I'm not sure that there's an actual name for these muffins, so I took it upon myself to name them the "Dunkin' Punkin's" ... for obvious reasons.

Ingredients:

• Duncan Hines Cake Mix
• Libby's Pumpkin

That's all folks. No eggs. No water. No milk. No oil. Just punkin' & cake mix. Idiot proof. Ohhh, but not Ryn proof. Not because I can't follow simple instructions ... mostly just because I think I know best. Also because I'm stubborn. As a mule. 

How to:

1. Pour your cake mix in your bowl. Make it a big one. Things might get messy.
2. Open your Libby's Pumpkin and spoon all of it in at once.
3. Stir. If you're Ryn Tomlinson you stir with a tiny spoon when there's a perfectly good wire whisk sitting on the counter staring at you. Not to mention, a kitchenaid mixer plugged in and ready to use - also sitting on the counter staring at you.  
1. At this point - I decided that the recipe was fibbing and that the mixture needed alilbit of oil.  It doesn't. Adding oil doesn't affect the taste - just don't expect those bad boys to pop right out of the muffin pan all willy-nilly like. They WILL fall apart.
4. Once all of the lumps are out, spoon your mixture into a muffin pan. To make the outside of your muffins somewhat more tasty, you might try sprinkling some sugar & cinnamon into the pan before you put the mixture in. 
5. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. 
1. About 15 minutes in, I pulled the pans out and sprinkled the tops of the muffins with sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. I've also seen this done with powdered sugar.  Oh, yum. 
6.  Let your muffins sit for about 5 or 10 minutes so that they don't fall apart when you take them out of the pan. Which of course, yours might not fall apart like my oil-muffins :-/ 
7. Chow down :) You're welcome. 

Finished Product: 

  Have you tried this recipe? Are there variations? Let me know! Also, enjoy your muffins!

...The Cups...

To preface (i.e. – to save my butt from getting chewed out by my mom,) I’d like to start out by saying that my mom actually did teach me quite a bit. She always taught me to be the absolute best at everything and pushed me past what I THOUGHT my limits were … so for that, Mama, I thank you. 

HOWEVER, if I’ve heard “get outta my kitchen” one time, I’ve heard it one million times. She wasn’t so patient when it came to teaching me anything domestic … at all.

Year after year I go to family functions feeling that my kitchen skills are less than adequate. When the sign-up list is passed around for “things to bring” I always sign up for soft drinks or potato chips or some other random item that requires no prior preparation.

 “Ryn, what did you bring?”

 … 

“… the cups…”

My cooking knowledge is literally non-existent. So, I’ve decided to tone my cooking muscles. I’ll be using my favorite new website, Pinterest.com, to instruct and inspire me throughout this journey. Considering my absolute lack of knowledge about anything kitchen related, this should be a fun ride. Buckle up.