RECIPES: Cowboy Up!

Cowboy Caviar

1 (15.5 oz.) can black beans, drained

1 (15.5 oz.) can black-eyed peas, drained

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained

2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/4 green bell pepper, finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped pickled jalapeno peppers

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 cup Italian salad dressing

3/4 cup chopped cilantro

Mix beans, peas, tomatoes, corn, onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno peppers in a large bowl. Season with garlic salt. Add dressing and cilantro; toss to coat. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until ready to serve.

-- Pam Anderson

Cowboy Casserole

1/2 lb. bacon

1 lb. ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

2 (15 oz.) cans baked beans with pork

1/3 cup barbeque sauce

1 (7.5 oz.) package refrigerated biscuit dough

Cook bacon in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat until evenly browned. Drain, and cut into bite size pieces. Set aside. Add hamburger and onion to the skillet, and cook until no longer pink, and the onion is tender. Drain.

Stir bacon, baked beans and barbeque sauce into the ground beef, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, and place biscuits in a single layer over the top of the mixture. Cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the biscuits are done. Place two biscuits on each plate, and spoon beans over.

-- Alex Donaldson

Cowboy Chicken

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (16 oz.) jar prepared salsa

3 tbs brown sugar

1 tsp brown mustard

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish. In a medium bowl, stir together the salsa, brown sugar and mustard; pour over the chicken. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.

Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, until chicken is cooked through. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes to brown the chicken.

-- Elaine Han

Cowboy Lasagna

2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 (6 oz.) can chopped black olives

1 (4.5 oz.) can mushrooms, drained

1 onion, chopped

1 (16 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce

9 lasagne noodles, cooked and drained

1 1/4 cups frozen corn kernels

1 1/4 cups frozen green peas

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

1 pinch ground black pepper

1 pinch dried oregano

1 pinch Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Brown beef in a skillet over medium heat and drain excess grease. Add the olives, mushrooms, and onion. Stir and cook until the onions are soft. Stir in the spaghetti sauce, pepper, oregano, and Italian seasoning.

In a small bowl combine the peas and corn.

To assemble, lay 3 noodles on bottom of prepared pan, then one half of the beef mixture, half of the corn and pea mixture. Repeat. End the layers with the remaining noodles.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Sprinkle the top with cheese and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

-- Karen Alder

Cowboy Bread

1/2 cup boiling water

3/4 cup cold milk

1 tsp white sugar

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1 egg, beaten

2 tbs butter, melted and cooled

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, stir together the water, milk, and sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the top, and let stand for 5 minutes to dissolve.

Stir the egg and butter into the yeast mixture, then stir in the salt, nutmeg, and 2 cups of the flour. Mix until everything is well blended. Mix in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead for 10 minutes (no cheating!). Place dough into a greased bowl, and let rise until doubled in size.

Divide the dough into 8 balls, and let rest for another 20 minutes. Roll each ball out to 8 to 10 inches in diameter.

Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Fry each of the pieces of bread fro 30 to 60 seconds on each side, or until light to medium brown spots appear. Keep covered with a damp cloth, or store in a plastic bag until serving.

-- Kasien Koplan

Cowboy Tacos

1 plb. cubed or minced pork stew meat

1 (1.25 oz.) package taco seasoning mix

1 tbs vegetable oil

1 cup chunky salsa

1 (16 oz.) can chili beans, undrained

1/3 cup apricot preserves

12 taco shells

1 (10 oz.) can sliced ripe olives, for topping

In a large resealable bag, toss pork meat with the taco seasoning mix until coated. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the seasoned pork in the hot oil, stirring occasionally until pork is no longer pink.

Stir the beans, salsa and apricot preserves into the skillet with the pork. Reduce heat to low, and simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes.

Spoon 1/3 cup of the pork mixture into each taco shell, and top with sliced olives.

-- Joan Schweger

Cowboy Margarita

1 (12 oz.) container frozen limeade concentrate

6 fluid oz.s tequila

3 fluid oz. raspberry-flavored liqueur

1 (12 fluid oz.) can or bottle light beer

Blend limeade, tequila, and raspberry-flavored liqueur in a blender until well mixed. Slowly stir light beer into limeade mixture.

-- Henry Lee Martin