Dressing:

¼ cup olive oil or vegetable oil

¼ cup sour cream

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 (4.5 ounce) can green chilies, chopped

½ cup fresh orange juice

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons tequila (if desired)

In blender container, combine dressing ingredients.  Blend 30 seconds or until well blended.

4 cups uncooked rainbow rotini (spiral pasta)

1 pound skinned, boned chicken, cut in strips or pieces for frying

1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 (11 ounce) can mexicorn, drained

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

Cook pasta as directed on package.  Drain and rinse in cold water.  In resealable food storage plastic bag, combine chicken and taco seasoning mix; shake to coat.  In large non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium hot heat.  Add chicken, cook and stir 8-10 minutes or until golden brown and no longer pink.  Remove from heat.  In large serving bowl, combine cooked rotini, corn, beans and dressing.  Toss to coat.  Fold in cooked chicken.  Serve warm or cold.  Makes 8 servings.

1 ½ pounds lean ground beef

1 (23 ounce) can ranch-style beans

1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans

1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans

1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained

1 (14 ounce) can Mexican style tomatoes

1 large onion, chopped

3 ribs celery, chopped

2 (1 ounce) envelope taco seasoning

1 (1 ounce) envelope ranch salad dressing

Brown the ground beef in a skillet, stirring until crumble; drain.  Combine the browned beef, undrained ranch style beans, undrained pinto beans, undrained kidney beans, corn, undrained tomatoes, onion and celery in a slow cooker and mix well.  Stir in taco seasoning mix and salad dressing mix.  Cook, covered, on low for 8 hours.

2 2/3 cups ricotta cheese

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

2 egg yolks

¾ cup sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablesoon vanilla

16 (8-inch) flour tortillas

Melted butter

Fresh Strawberries, blueberries or peaches for topping

Combine cheeses, egg yolks, sugar, rind, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Mix well.  Soften tortillas and place 1/16 amount of filling on each tortilla.  Fold 2 sides in and over to enclose filling.  Brush top with melted butter.  Bake on cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until light brown.  Serve topped with fresh fruit.  These can be prepared ahead and frozen.  Makes 16 servings.

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/8 cup of water

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

5 tablespoons melted butter or margarine

2 packages buttermilk biscuits (tear apart in quarters)

1 teaspoon cinnamon mixed with ¼ cup sugar

Mix brown sugar, water, pecans, and butter together.  Spread in 9 x 13 inch pan.  Place quartered biscuits on top of mixture.  Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Turn upside down on a serving dish immediately.

4 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon salt

2 cups hop water

1 tablespoon (1 package) active dry yeast

3 cups unbleached white flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

2-4 cups additional flour

Start the dough mixture about 2 – 2 ½ hours before serving.

Mix together the honey, oil and salt.  Stir in the hot water.  Mix well.  Sprinkle yeast on top of mixture.  Cover with a cloth and allow to stand about 10 minutes or until yeast bubbles.  Add flour and baking powder.  Stir well.  Add more flour until mixture is firm and cleans the hands.  Use from 2-4 cups flour for this step.

Place dough in greased bowl.  Turn dough over to grease top.  Cover and allow to rise until double (about an hour).  Punch down and divide first in half, then each half into 8 parts.  Form each piece into a ball and permit to rise until ready to cool.

Heat deep fat to frying temperature.  Take ball of dough and flatten with hands, using stretching action.  When dough is very thin and about 6-8 inches in diameter, drop into hot fat and cook until golden (about 1 ½ minutes on each side).  Drain on paper towels and serve hot with honey and powered sugar.