Hungry?

I'm not an especially good cook. Neither am I a terrible one. In fact, while I consider myself a moderately creative person, I have learned to take zero creative liberties in the kitchen. In the past I have had these grand visions of harmonizing different ingredients into a succulent entree--all from the cookbook in my brain. Truth be told, whenever I actually attempt this, dinner always falls somewhere between birch wood and bathwater on the taste spectrum. So my cooking mantra is "Stick to the recipe." Actually I have 2 cooking mantras. The other one is "The answer is always cilantro."
Therein lies the rub of finding recipes that actually taste good. No offense, Pinterest, but your alluring photos can be deceiving. This being said, I struck gold three times this week, so I thought I'd share my finds for anyone else out there who tires of cooking the same things over and over again.

Tuesday's dinner: Spaghetti Pie. This one is basically a spaghetti lasagna.

12 oz Spaghetti
2 T butter
1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated
1 egg
1 lb ground beef
1/4 c. Green Pepper, diced
1/4 c. onion, chopped
1 tsp sugar
1 c. tomato paste
16 oz can of tomatoes, diced
1/2 c. cottage cheese
2 c. monterey jack cheese, grated
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, grated. (I wasn't as generous with the cheeses. It seemed a little excessive.)

In a medium saucepan, cook  spaghetti according to package. Drain, mix in butter, Parmesan, and egg. Put into bottom of dish. In a skillet, brown ground beef with pepper and onion. Stir in sgar, paste, and tomatoes. Layer cottage cheese and monterey jack cheese onto spaghetti, then meat mixture. Top with grated mozzarella. Bake at 375 for 25 min.

Wednesday: Cafe Rio Imitation Pork Salad. (This could feed an army, so I halved it)

(Pork Recipe)
6 lb. pork roast
16 oz jar salsa
1 can coke or root beer
1 1/2 c brown sugar

Cook pork in crock pot for 5 hours half-full with water and some salt. Drain and cut roast in thirds. Pour mixture of salsa, coke, and brown sugar over and cook for 3 more hours. Shred before serving.

(Tortilla Recipe)
4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tb (or a little more) shortening
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. warm water

Mix dry ingredients. Cut shortening into it, add water and knead until flour is incorporated. Cover dough ball with plastic wrap and let rest at least 30 minutes. Roll golf ball sized pieces of dough into thin tortillas and cook on a hot ungreased skilled skillet or griddle (400 degrees is what temp I did) Leave the tortilla on just long enough to cook each side. (like 10-15 seconds, I think). Then they won't get dry.

(Improved Imitation Cilantro dressing) This stuff makes the salad!
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. mayo
1 bunch cilantro, with stems cut off
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
1/2-1 jalapeno (I like the whole thing in there)
2 cloves garlic
1/8 t. tabasco sauce
juice from 1 lime (I usually to 2)

Throw it all in a blender. If you find the taste needs tweaking, remember my 2nd cooking mantra.

So now you put the tortilla down on your plate, add romaine lettuce, throw pork, rice, black beans, and dressing on top, and enjoy!

Thursday's recipe did come from Pinterest, which came from Land-o-Lakes.(I suggest making lots of tortillas from the cafe rio night, and then using them for this too. They are so much better than store-bought).

http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/3441/thai-peanut-chicken-wrap

Obviously I used regular butter instead of the recommended stuff. 
Obviously also, do not consult this post if you are looking for healthy, low-fat recipes. You won't find them here.