Linguini Salad

This is my mother's recipe and she's been making this for as long as I can remember. It's a perfect side dish to go along with any sort of cookout type food. My husband drools every time he hears that she is preparing this. I hope you enjoy it too!

Linguini Salad:

courtesy of my mom

1 lb linguini, cooked

1 bottle Zesty Italian salad dressing - you can use Light

1 jar Salad Supreme

1 cup chopped pepperoni

1 cup chopped green pepper

1 cup chopped tomato - optional

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate overnight. Stir before serving.

Calico Beans

I love baked beans and was looking for a new way to prepare them. This is a nice change with the additions of multiple types of beans - baked, kidney, cannelini and butter. The bacon gives it a nice smokiness too. This is now a staple dish that I have to bring any time we have a cookout.

Calico Beans:
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 15 oz can kidney beans - dark red - drained

1 15 oz can cannelini beans - drained

1 15 oz can baby butter beans - drained

1 16 oz can baked beans - I used Bush's Country Style

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tsp. white vinegar

1 Tbsp. dry mustard

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

4 oz bacon, fried crisp and chopped

onion powder to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low all day, 8-10 hours.

Rice & Ground Meat

This is my mother-in-law's recipe for what she calls rice & ground meat. It's always served with mashed potatoes. Basically, it is the stuffing that is typically put into stuffed peppers...minus the peppers! It is actually quite tasty.

Rice & Ground Meat:
courtesy of my mother-in-law

1 lb ground beef
2 cans tomato with rice soup - condensed
1/3 cup Minute rice

Brown ground beef in skillet. Drain off fat and then add both cans of soup and the rice. Simmer for about a half hour to allow flavors to meld. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the BEST chocolate chip cookie I have ever made or tried. You can mix it up by changing the pudding flavor and the chips flavor. I also love making these with peanut butter chips and butterscotch pudding. They are very moist and almost melt in your mouth. The pudding is the key for this recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookies:
courtesy of allrecipes.com

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 3.5 oz package instant vanilla pudding mix

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add pudding mix, eggs and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.