Seasons Greetings to Everyone

Well, it's been a very busy season for everyone including us. I hope everyone had a great Christmas day! We are now on to boxing day here, so after a bit of post Christmas shopping, it should be a nice relaxing time from here on in. Ginger found her cozy spot under the tree as I was off cooking the turkey and Ike was off playing with new toys. I am super happy with all my Christmas gifts and looking forward to get my time to start playing with them too. Now that the house is well stocked with left overs I should be able to find the time. Wishing you all the best of the holidays:)

During the holidays especially I may find myself in need of a really quick and kid friendly supper option. This recipe was given to me by a swap-bot swapper (Adolpha) in a recipe post card swap. It was interested to try this recipe for my son......but after trying it.....I also liked it. You do need to be very sparing on the bottom (first macaroni layer) as those boxes of KD are not as big as they used to be. And I use an extra 1/4 cup of cheese and salsa over what is called for in the recipe below.

TACO BAKE
1 pkg (14oz) Macaroni and Cheese Dinner
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 pkg (1-1/4 oz) Taco Seasoning Mix
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sour cream
1-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup salsa

Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare macaroni dinner as directed on package. While macaroni cooks, brown meat, and drain any fat. Add taco seasoning mix and water to the meat and simmer 5 minutes. Stir sour cream into the prepared macaroni and cheese. Spoon 1/2 of the macaroni into a 8 inch square baking dish. Top with layers of the meat mixture, 1 cup of the cheese and the remaining macaroni and cheese dinner. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes. Top with the salsa and remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake, uncovered, for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. You might want to make sure to use mild salsa if you are making this for your kids.
And just in case you don't have a packet of taco seasoning mix....like me.....Here's a recipe to make your own.

TACO SEASONING MIX

1/4 cup dried minced onion
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1-1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp marjoram
1 Tbsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin

Mix all together in a small bowl. Store in a sealed container. Use 2 Tbsp to equal 1 packet of taco seasoning mix. Makes enough for 6 packets.