Green Beans

28 oz. can green beans, not drained
3 tsp. sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp. (about) vinegar
2 beef bouillon cubes
Garlic powder, to taste
Dash of pepper
Dried minced onion, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a pot and allow to simmer on low for at least one hour.

My grandparents always had the most beautiful garden every year in Florence, Alabama. And each year, from that garden, they would can tomatoes, green beans, chow chow, etc. I remember the 3 bottom rows of their pantry being full of canned vegetables from their garden. By far, those were the absolute BEST vegetables I have and ever will eat. Out of all of the amazing things that my grandmother used to make (she has just gotten to the point where she can't cook anymore, but she's alive and kickin'!), her green beans were a staple. In fact, whenever I cook green beans, it makes me think of my grandmother and grandaddy back at their old house, and that is a wonderful memory to have! Although you can't beat fresh veggies, I tend to always have store-bought canned vegetables in the pantry at all times. Now, I will say, adjust the sugar and vinegar to your liking. I allow my green beans to simmer for a really long time, and all of the flavors are just absorbed. It is delicious. I will never be able to make green beans taste the way that my grandmother did, because hers will always reign supreme, but these are super awesome, I must say!

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

For the Chicken:
3-4 boneless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 canola oil

For the Sweet and Sour Sauce:
3/4 cup sugar
4 Tbsp. ketchup
1/2 cup vinegar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. garlic salt (we just used 1 tsp. garlic powder)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Rinse chicken breasts with water and cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken in cornstarch to coat, then dip into eggs. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Mix all of the sweet and sour ingredients together in a bowl with a whisk and pour evenly over chicken. Bake for one hour, turning chicken every 15 minutes.

Yeah, this was awesome. Courtesy of life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com (again!), this was our first try at Chinese, and it was so so so so good! I kind of freaked out when I started cooking the chicken because it looked like the coating was starting to turn into scrambled eggs, and I knew that the dish was doomed. I am just here to say that everything is going to be ok if that happens to you. It will turn out perfect! Seriously, perfect. Oh, and the vinegar in the sweet and sour sauce will smack you in the face when you first mix everything together, but once it cooks it is wonderful. We have a great Chinese restaurant here in Birmingham that delivers, but they have been unreliable at best when it comes to accurate delivery times...and they have been known to not bring all of our food. This tastes a million times better than anything we have ever gotten from a restaurant, and it doesn't come with a side of guilt. Best of all, the leftovers were delightful, which I have NEVER been able to say about Chinese restaurant leftovers. Inexpensive, relatively quick to throw together, and delicious.

Taco Cupcakes

1 lb. ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
2/3 cup water
1 can black beans, drained (we used pinto beans)
1 (10 oz.) can Rotel tomatoes, drained
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
36 wonton wrappers
Favorite taco toppings

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain grease. Stir in taco seasoning, water, black beans, and Rotel tomatoes. Bring mixture to a boil,and then reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 10 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Spray 18 regular muffin cups with cooking spray. Place on wonton wrapper in each muffin cup. Divide half of the meat mixture between muffin cups. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the meat. Repeat layers with another wonton wrapper, taco meat, and cheese. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and wrappers are golden brown. Serve with your favorite taco toppings.

While playing on Pinterest, I came across a pin that eventually led me to life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com. She has amazing recipes on there (which I have quickly added to my Recipes To Try folder!), and even though it was hard to decide exactly which one we were going to try, I finally chose this one. And holy cow am I glad that I did! These were absolutely wonderful, and extremely quick to throw together. The only thing that I added was the can of Rotel tomatoes (actually, Great Value tomatoes and chilis....Great Value tends to be a lot cheaper and just as good, if not better, than the original.). But anywho, I was looking to add a little bit more to it since Vann can't eat cheese since he gave it up for Lent, and it was a wonderful addition. We both happily agreed that next time we make these, it will either be on a Sunday or once Lent is over, and we will roll with the Cheesy Taco seasoning, add a little Velveeta to the meat mixture, and maybe add a little rice to the "cupcakes". This is one of those recipes that you can tweak to make it exactly how you want it, which is always a bonus. Can't wait to have these again for lunch tomorrow!