Upside Down German Chocolate Cake

1 cup coconut
1 cup butter; melted
1 cup pecans; chopped
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
German Chocolate cake mix
1 pound powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350*. Coat 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle coconut and pecans in bottom of prepared pan; set aside.
2. Prepare cake mix as directed on box. Pour over coconut and pecans.
3. Mix butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Pour over cake mixture.
4. Bake 60 minutes. Cool completely. Turn out cake onto rectangular cake plate.

Notes:
When you take the cake out, the white topping will look a little uncooked. This is on purpose; as it cools, it will melt down into the cake some.

Also, the cake does not have to be inverted and in some ways does better if left in the baking pan.

Mexican Meatloaf

2 lb. ground beef
1-1/2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1 envelope of taco seasoning
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup Salsa
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 clove garlic, minced

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Mix all ingredients until well blended.
COMBINE all ingredients
SHAPE into loaf in 9x5-inch loaf pan.
BAKE 1 hour or until center is no longer pink. Remove from oven. Let stand 3 minutes before removing from pan. Cut into slices to serve.

New Year... New plan...

I am sick of being in the food rut. Maybe it's because I try to keep costs down by doing our shopping every 2 weeks, maybe it's becasue I've just been really busy with the kids. I'm not sure, but I feel like I'm making the same dishes over and over again.
I have made a new year's resolution. One new recipe a week! Whether it be made up (to use up things in the pantry, fridge and freezer) or from one of the many cooking sites I visit... I will make a new dish a week!

This week it was Penne with olives, chicken, and tomoatoes. I want to come up with a good name for it, but haven't yet.
3 chicken breasts boiled and shredded
1/2 cup of sliced black olives
1/2 cup of sliced green olives
1 can of stewed tomatoes drained
4 cups of un-cooked penne cooked
3 cups Italian salad dressing



combine the chicken olives and tomotoes in the dressing to marinate.
boil noodles and drain
Combine mixture with noodles and serve.

We served this with cesar salad. The boys loved it! It made a lot, so I have an extra meal for later on this week or this weekend.