Fruit Salsa, Tortellini Salad, and Meat & Potato Casserole

Who is tired of all the rain?  I know my family is tired of all the dreary days.  And I'm tired of turtle necks, long sleeve shirts, and huddling under a mound of blankets.  Lately I've been wishing for sun, warmth, grilling...all the fun summer stuff.  Some day.....

 I have three recipes to share today - Meat and Potato Casserole, Tortellini Salad, and Fruit Salsa with cinnamon chips.  You can click on the recipe title to view the recipe and picture on the original site. I've made the meat and potato casserole for the last few years and it has always been a hit at our house.  As a matter of fact, my youngest son ate almost a third of it by himself last night.  I wonder if he's growing??

Meat and Potato Casserole
Recipe courtesy of Country Ground Beef Cookbook and Tasteofhome.com

3 to 4 cups thinly sliced peeled potatoes
2 tblsp. butter or margarine, melted
1/2 tsp. salt
1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg (10 oz.) frozen corn, thawed (I used 1 can of corn, drained)
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
1/3 cup milk
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tblsp. chopped onion
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
parsley, optional

Directions: 
Toss potatoes with butter and salt; arrange on the bottom and up the sides of a greased 12 x 8 x 2 inch casserole.  Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender.  Meanwhile, in a skillet, brown beef; drain.  Sprinkle beef and corn over potatoes.  Combine soup, milk, garlic powder, pepper, onion and 1/2 cup cheese; pour over beef mixture.  Bake at 400 degrees, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Remove from oven; top with remaining cheese.  Return to oven for 2 to 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Garnish with parsley if desired.  Yields 6 servings.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Recently I was at a scrapbook event where the next two recipes were shared at the pitch-in and I was surprised at how much my family like both of these when I made them at home.  Honestly, we couldn't stop eating the fruit salsa.  So yummy!!

Hearty Tortellini Salad

Recipe courtesy of TasteofHome.com

1 pkg. (19 oz.) frozen cheese tortellini

1 c grape tomatoes, halved

1 c chopped zucchini

1 c chopped yellow summer squash

4 oz. provolone cheese, cubed

1 pkg (3-1/2 oz.) sliced pepperoni

1/2 cup prepared pesto

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:

Cook the cheese tortellini according to the package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Drain tortellini and rinse in cold water. Add to vegetable mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Yield: 12 servings.

Fruit Salsa
Recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.com

2 kiwis, peeled and diced

2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced

8 oz. raspberries

1 lb. strawberries

2 tblsp. white sugar

1 tblsp. brown sugar

3 tblsp. fruit preserves, any flavor

10 (10 inch) flour tortillas

butter flavored cooking spray

2 tblsp. cinnamon sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray. Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

** I think the beauty of the fruit salsa is that you can put whatever fruit you like in it.  I didn't put the preserves in my recipe, but I did add red raspberries and some grapes. 

I hope you enjoy these recipes.  I'm linking up with Wow Us Wednesdays on Savvy Southern Style.  Please take a moment to look all the great blogs linked there.  And, stay tuned if you would like to see another Sillhouette project - the bedroom redo is almost complete.