What to do with tortilla chips?

My husband Andy loves all Mexican and Tex-Mex foods.  I could make tacos and burritos every night of the week and he would be in heaven.  However, our daughter Celia, wouldn't like it very much.  You can imagine Andy's surprise when his daughter did not pop out of the womb wanting some nachos.  In fact, it took her three and a half years to find something on the Taco Bell menu that she actually likes besides cinnamon twists.  Lucky for Andy, they started selling cheese roll-ups- melted cheese and a tortilla, which Celia loves.  So now, we can regularly visit Taco Bell again. 

Last night, when I started to make dinner, I wanted to make something Mexicany for Andy, but I was tired of tacos.  I had a few tortilla chips at the bottom of the bag that I wanted to use, so I made a Tex-Mex Meatloaf for dinner.  It was really good and moist!  The best thing about it is, if you have any leftover, crumble it up, throw in some taco seasoning and beans and have tacos the next night. 

I did not make the meatloaf very spicy so Celia and Charlie would eat it.  Add some red peppers and use spicy salsa to heat it up.

Tex-Mex Meatloaf
Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Turkey
1/8 Cup Dried, Chopped Onions
1 TBSP Dried Green Peppers
1 TBSP Dried Red Bell Peppers
2 Eggs
1/2 TBSP Southwest Seasoning Mix (I used a Pampered Chef one)
3/4 Cup Crushed Tortilla Chips (divide into 1/4 Cup and 1/2 Cup)
1/4 Cup Bread Crumbs
3/4 Cup Salsa (divide into 1/4 Cup and 1/2 Cup)
3 Slices Colby Jack Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together ground turkey, onions, peppers, eggs, southwest seasoning, 1/4 cup crushed tortilla chips, bread crumbs, and 1/4 cup salsa.
3. Spray a glass bottom pie pan.  Form meat mixture into a log and place on pie pan.  I did this by making two large balls.  I placed them next to each other on the pan and filled in between them with the rest of the meatloaf mix.
4. Spread 1/2 cup of salsa on top of meatloaf.  Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, place cheese slices on top of meatloaf, bake for another 10 minutes.  When timer goes off spread 1/2 cup of crushed tortilla chips on top of melted cheese.  Bake for another 15 minutes.
5. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes after you take out of oven.  Serve with salsa.

What to do with left over pork steaks and turnips?

My dad owns his own business and has made friends with people who regularly come into "the shop". One of these customers is a farmer. He brings my dad boxes of fruits and vegetables and my dad hands them out to us, his family and friends. This is how I came to be the proud owner of about 15 turnips. I have quietly been adding them to all kinds of dishes: quiche, apples and tonight chili! Nobody ever notices. To make the chili extra special, I also used some left over pork steaks. It was a hit- my husband ate two bowls. I'm sending the rest of it to "the shop" tomorrow for lunch. Hopefully they'll like it just as much as Andy.

When cooking, I don't always use measuring spoons and cups. I'm definitely an eye-baller and a taste and add more kind of person. From now on, I'll be more diligent about measuring how much of everything I add.

Ingredients:
3 to 4 Leftover Pork Steaks cut up in small pieces
1/2 Green Pepper Chopped
1/2 Large Red Onion Chopped
1 Can Black Beans
1 Can Chili Beans
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1 Cup Water
1 Turnip chopped into very small pieces (Optional)
1/2 Cup Spaghetti Sauce
1/4 Cup of BBQ Sauce
1 TBSP of Minced Garlic
1 TBSP of Taco Seasoning
2 Packs Taco Bell Mild Sauce
Chili Powder to taste
Ground Cumin to taste
Dried Cilantro to taste
Salt to taste

Shredded Cheese (I used Colby)
Tortilla Chips (Mine were stale, so I heated them up in the oven to crunch them up.)

Mix all ingredients except shredded cheese and tortilla chips in a slow cooker. Cook on high for 3 hours. You will want to make sure that the turnips, green peppers, and onions are cooked thoroughly. If you would like your chili thicker, take out 1/2 cup of the liquid after everything's finished cooking. Mix it together with 1/4 cup of flour to make a paste. Pour this paste into the chili, let it cook until it thickens up.

Top each bowl off with tortilla chips and shredded cheese. Enjoy!