CHICKEN ENCHILADAS (Crock-Pot Recipe) Ingredients 3 skinless chicken breasts 1/4 oz. can green chilies - chopped or diced 1 medium onion (chopped) Small package of CORN tortillas A package of your favorite shredded cheese - a mix is good. Half a head of shredded lettuce. Everyone has a crock-pot. If you don't, get with the program. Ever since my wife won a crock-pot in a bunco game I've been enjoying "slow" cooking. I didn't think this recipe would taste that great, it was so simple. But lordy-lordy, was I mistaken. Place the chicken, can of chilies and chopped onion in pot. Pour the gravy over the three ingredients and cook low for 4 to 5 hours. Take the chicken breasts out of the pot after it's cooked and shred it apart with a couple of forks - leave some nice junks. Mix the chicken back into the sauce. Turn the pot off - daaa. Spoon some chicken and sauce into a corn tortilla. Roll it up and place in a lightly greased 6X9 casserole dish. If the tortillas are cold and you can't roll them, put them in the oven for a moment to get them soft or warm them one at a time in a frying pan with a little oil. About 8 will fit into the dish. Then cover them all with the rest of the sauce and top with the cheese. Bake approximately 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees. I like serving this with re-fried beans and shredded lettuce. You'll be impressed.

CORNY CASSEROLE Ingredients 5 ears of FRESH corn. 2 tablespoons margarine (divided use) 1 tablespoon flour 1/3 cup milk 1/2 cup of shredded cheese (divided use) Salt & pepper 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs Remove husks and silk from corn (daah). Cut kernels from corn (big mess-especially if you're married to a clean freak that's going to question you later about a piece of corn that landed over by the book case. Set aside corn. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a saucepan, blend in flour, and stir in milk. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Add the corn and 1/4 cup of cheese into the milk mixture (I seldom measure this cheese - just throw some in) Salt, pepper and mix well. Place the finished mixture in a buttered 1-quart casserole. Sprinkle some more cheese over the top. Get creative, throw some cheese over your shoulder and see how much gets in the dish. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and toss with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle crumbs over casserole. Bake at 350 degrees about 20 to 25 minutes or until crumbs are golden - if they turn black - you failed, Martha Steward.

CRAZY CAKE Ingredients 1-1/2 cups flour (sifted) 1 cup of sugar 3 Tablespoons of dry cocoa 1 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon of baking soda 1 teaspoon of vanilla 1 Tablespoon of vinegar (yes - -vinegar - -any color) 6 Tablespoons of shorting (Wesson oil is o.k.) 1 cup of cold water I beat up a mother of two children to get this recipe, our former neighbor, Sherry. She told me that she could make a cake without eggs or milk. I agreed that she probably could, but it would taste terrible. It ended up matching my mom's chocolate cake - so moist - and now it's my children's favorite. Sift all the dry ingredients together into a medium size bowl. Sherry doesn't even use a bowl, just mixes it in the cake pan - to crazy for me. Add the vanilla, vinegar, shorting and water. Fold over and over until blended. IT WILL BE LUMPY. Pour mix into a lightly greased 6X9 or 9X9 cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. It's a must that the cake be topped with a white frosting - preferably my mom's butter-cream, unless your one of those sick chocolate freaks that wants chocolate on top of chocolate on top of chocolate on top of chocolate! MOM'S BUTTER-CREAM FROSTING Melt 1/4 cup of butter and mix it with about 3/4 box of powder sugar. Add a Tablespoon of vanilla and carefully add an itty-bitty tiny bit of milk slowly - mixing continually until it looks like frosting. If suddenly you find yourself to be an idiot by putting too much milk in at one time - add a little more powder sugar. Or just buy a can of frosting. I prefer moms.

DAD'S MEXICAN HOME SALSA Ingredients: 4 large tomatoes or 6 medium tomatoes or 1-1/2 humongous tomatoes or 8 Italian tomatoes or a million cherry tomatoes. You get the picture. 1 bunch of cilantro 1 small chili pepper - depending whether you have any guts at all - 2 o 3 for the "brave hearts" and it doesn't matter what color the pepper. 1 or 1-1/2 Lemons 1 Lime 1 bunch of green onions 1 medium blue onion Fill one tall glass with ice and pour some tequila and marguerita mix to the brim. Sip. Next time you go to the Fair get a salsa maker - or you're going to have a lotta chop'n to do. Slice and diced or cut and chop all the tomatoes into a medium bowl. Do the same to the blue onion, pepper and cilantro. Mix it up. Clean the green onions and cut them up. Don't be afraid to cut up some of the green - at least half. How's the marguerita doing? Roll the lemon and lime on the counter like Martha Stewart to make them juicy. I usually forget this step. Squeeze and squeeze all the juice into the salsa and stir it up again. Some "salt freaks" add salt, go figure. Try not to finish it off before the guests arrive. Don't let anyone double-dip - unless they are family.

DUTCH'S PEA SOUP Ingredients Small package of dried peas 2 or 3 stalks of celery 1 medium onion 2 big potatoes or 3 medium - -what-ever 2 large carrots or a dozen dainty little ones you buy in a plastic bag. 6 to 8 cups of water (I don't remember - -read the dry pea package.) Some salt and pepper. (You figure it out.) Start with a big Teflon kettle - if you don't want to screw up royally. Pour yourself a glass of red or white wine. Both appropriate for the making of "pea soup." Fill the kettle with appropriate amount of water. Open package of peas with the kitchen scissors. Dump the dry peas in a strainer and rinse with cold water. Don't bother rinsing them if no one is watching. If you're alone just rip open the bag of peas and throw them in the pot. Make sure you pick out any little pieces of the plastic bag that could have fell in among the peas. Just use your fingers. Peel the potatoes and throw the peelings in the garbage. The garbage disposal doesn't always like the slippery potato peel and you might have to send your sister home to get the plunger like I did one Thanksgiving. Cut the potatoes into small pieces - -just don't dice them into confetti like an idiot - -you want a chunk of potato floating around in your bowl of soup. Dice the carrots into teeny pieces and they will become invisible in the soup for anyone like my wife who can't place a cooked carrot to her lips. If you like carrots - cut them bigger - duh. Sip some wine, relax Dice up the onion and the celery. If you're smart you would have bought a chopper for the onions - if not - tears are on the way. If you place your crying face over the pot you won't need to add salt. Once everything is in the pot stir with a wooden spoon and bring to a boil. Bring down to low or warm and cook it for two - three - four hours - I don't really care. Check on it periodically. Stir - taste - salt and pepper. If it's getting too thick - add a little water. Serve with sourdough bread - - hmmmmmmmmm good.

MY TACO HELPER SALAD Ingredients Head of lettuce (chopped) 1 Package of Hamburger Helper (Cheeseburger-macaroni) 2-1/2 oz. can sliced black olives A big cucumber (diced) Couple of celery stalks (diced) 2 or 3 carrots (thin slice or dice or buy some shredded - suit yourself) 1 bunch of green onions (dice them all up - and I mean the green too) Medium package of tortilla chips 1 Tablespoon of chili powder 1 avocado 1 green pepper (diced) Add and dice a couple tomatoes if you want. This recipe was originally my wife's, she found it on some kind of package?? I added the cucumber and made it MY recipe. Use the biggest bowl you have - trust me. Start by cooking the Hamburger Helper according to the directions - with one exception - ADD the tablespoon of chili to the mix. Set the finished product aside. Put the head of lettuce in the bowl. Add the avocado, green pepper, olives, cucumber, celery, carrots green onions and tomatoes. Mix the salad up and as close as you can get to serving the dish - add the warm Hamburger Helper and finally - mix the tortilla chips into the batch. Everyone will want seconds. Tell your guests that you just made it up, they will be impressed.

RHUBARB JAM Ingredients 5 cups of chopped rhubarb 4 cups of sugar 1 small strawberry Jell-O 1 small can of crushed pineapple This is so simple; it will make your head spoon. One problem - you have to like rhubarb - HELLO! Place all ingredients in pot and simmer for twenty minutes. I smash the rhubarb a little with the potato masher after it's done. I like the rhubarb small (makes 6 or 7 small jars). Just pour into the jars and refrigerate. If you're a kind sole you might want to give a couple jars away.

SPINACH LOVER'S CASSEROLE Double Recipe Ingredients 2 pounds of ground beef 1 medium onion 4 teaspoons garlic powder 2 teaspoons oregano 1/2 pound of mushrooms (or a couple small cans) 3 small packages of frozen chopped spinach 2 cans of cream of celery soup 1 small container of sour cream 1-1/2 cups UNCOOKED WHITE RICE 1 cup of grated jack cheese Salt and pepper to taste We always make this around the winter holidays -- that's why the double batch. If you are not a fan of spinach, find something else to cook--you little baby. My entire family likes this, along with the neighbors and even their dogs. In a large pot brown and saute ground beef and onions -- drain. Lay all three boxes of frozen spinach on top of the mixture. Cover and steam until you are able to mix it -- drain the water. Mix soup, sour cream, rice, mushrooms and spices into pot mixture. Put into greased casserole dishes. Probably need two. Cover with cheese and bake 1/2 hour at 350 degrees. Company will want this recipe. Don't give it to them