Thursday, January 28, 2010

Baked Spaghetti

My husband really liked this the other night!  It did take a little work but its pretty simple to make and older children could help mix!

1 1/2 lbs hamburger
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
4 oz med. cheddar cheese
8 oz package of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 lb. spaghetti
1/2 med. onion
1/4 green pepper (I left this out only because Chris doesn't like this in his food...)
1 tsp. salt
1 c milk

Cook spaghetti.  Cook meat, onion, and green pepper; pour off grease.  Add salt, soups, milk, and medium cheddar cheese to meat mixture.  Put spaghetti in 9 x 13 greased pan (I used a 3 qt casserole dish).  Top with meat and soup mixture. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Then uncover, add mozzarella cheese, and bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes until cheese melts and slightly browns.

Crock Pot Italian Chicken

We had this tonight and we really liked these sandwiches.  Thank you, Kara, for this recipe! 

It took 3 minutes to throw everything in the crock pot before I left this morning and 1 minute to wipe down the counter!

Frozen Chicken Breasts
2 pkts of dry Italian Seasoning Mix
Jar of Pepperoncinis with Juice
Fill the jar with water and add to the crockpot, too.

Put crock pot on high - 5 hrs - drain juice, and remove peppers.

Shred for sandwiches

Pizza Rolls

My friend Julie made this for her family and they loved it!  I think this is excellent for this little hands to pick up!! :)  And... who doesn't like pizza?  YUM!

She said it does take a little effort, but she made 2 13x9 pans of it and froze some of the leftovers! What a great idea!

Ingredients
* 1 2/3 cups warm water (70 to 80 degrees F)
* 2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 2 tablespoons shortening
* 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
* 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
* 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
* 1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1/3 cup pizza sauce
* 1/2 cup diced pepperoni
* 1 cup shredded pizza cheese blend
* 1/4 cup chopped ripe olives
* 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

- Mix the first six ingredients on dough setting in the bread maker. (I used my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook. Once it was kneaded, I let it rise until doubled.) You could also use frozen bread dough - thaw and rise.

- Saute the peppers, onions, mushrooms in the oil until tender. Cool.

- Divide dough into two balls. Turn dough onto a floured surface. Let rest 5 mins. Roll into a 10x16 in. rectangle.

-Top with sauce, veggies, pepperoni, and cheese. Add any extra topping you like.

-From the long side of the rectangle, roll up. (Like cinnamon rolls.) Pinch seam. Cut each roll into 12 pieces. Place 12 rolls in each 9x13 pan.

-Sprinkle with parmesean, cover and let rise until doubled. Bake 18-22 mins. at 375.

-Serve with extra pizza sauce for dipping.

Betty's Easy Supper

My friend Betty send this recipe to me for an easy meal!!!  I can't wait to try it!

1 can pillsbury seamless dough sheet
1-1 1/2 lbs hamburger
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can refried beans
1 can chili beans
shredded cheese

Place the pillsbury dough on a cookie sheet. 
On the stove, cook the hamburger till brown and drain the grease.
Put in the skillet, browned hamburger, diced tomatoes, refried beans, chili beans, and shredded cheese.  Once stirred together, put this mixture on top of the dough. 
Top with more cheese, if desired.
Bake at 350 degrees till the dough is done.

Betty also suggested putting this in a baking dish without dough and put the mixture on top of baked potatoes.
Enjoy!!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

FAST and EASY Tuna Noodle Casserole

My friend Ashley K. gave this recipe to me when we were driving to work together.  I can't believe I never thought about this before!!!!

Cook whatever kind of noodles you want to use for your casserole:  elbow macoroni, bowtie pasta, spaghetti noodles, mostaccioli, etc.
In another pan, combine the following until cheese is melted:
1 can of tuna, drained
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
6-7 slices of american cheese

Mix the noodles and tuna mixture together and SERVE. 
Make some garlic bread on the side.

Super easy, isn't it??

Chili Mac - Chili 3-Way

This recipe is a favorite of my husbands!  He finds this super easy for him to make after both of us have had busy days.  He found the recipe on a can of Steak 'n Shake chili...

Place a pile of spaghetti noodles on each plate.

Top the noodles with a pile of chili (great idea for leftovers).

Some people like to add seasoned ground beef on top of this, but we usually have the meat in our chili.

Top that with the Steak 'n Shake special sauce:  4 parts ketchup to 1 part Worcestershire sauce

YUMMY and super easy!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Hamburger Cheese Soup

Searching for a good soup recipe, I ran into this recipe on COOKS.com.  I decided to try it out and found that Gunner LOVED this soup!!!!  The 3 of us went through the entire crockpot of soup in one sitting, only leaving 1 bowl for my lunch the following day. 
Note:  The recipe calls for this to be put in the crock pot, but I just made it in my big deep skillet.  I simmered for close to 45 minutes to get the vegetables cooked. 

1 lb. browned hamburger
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c celery chunks (I left this out because Chris doesn't like celery in soup...)
1 1/2 c diced potatoes
2 tbsp Lipton onion soup mix  (I dumped an entire envelope in)
1 c chopped carrots (I used my Pampered Chef chopper to make them smaller chunks for Gunner)
1/2 c corn
1 large jar Cheez Wiz

Brown hamburger and onion.  Drain fat.  Place in crock pot and add soup mix.  Then add the remainder of the ingredients.  Add water until water is about 1 inch above ingredients.  Cover and cook 4 - 4 1/2 hours on high or all day on low.  (It looks watery and not very appetizing at this stage but it will get better...)  Before serving, add the Cheez Wiz.  Melt the Cheez Wiz in the soup.  You can garnish with shredded cheddar cheese.

Let me know what you think...

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Chad Britton's Pork Chop Rub

Our good friend, Chad, hooked us up with this recipe a few years ago for our pork chops.  This is the only way I like pork chops now! I promise you that they will melt in your mouth!!!

Before GRILLING, rub this seasoning all over your thawed pork chops.  Get it thick, too!

(for 2 chops)
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt

I usually throw everything in a big Tupperware container that has a flat bottom.  I press the pork chop into the rub, then turn it over to cover the other side.  If I see any parts of the meat that haven't been covered, I press it on there by hand. 

These are amazing! Thank you Chad!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Chicken Stroganoff

Submitted to me by my good friend Ashley...

Another crock pot recipe! I love these.

Ingredients:
2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
16 oz. carton reduced fat or fat free sour cream
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1pkg of noodles  (your choice)

Directions:
Put chicken in crockpot.  Mix soup, sour cream, onion soup mix, and pour over chicken.  Cook on low 6 to 8 hours. 

Shortly before chicken is done, cook noodles according to package directions.  Place mixture on top of cooked noodles when done.


I look forward to trying this recipe.  Thanks, Ashley!!

Vegetable Soup

By request from my friend Julie...

I don't have a pressure cooker to cook my roast, so I place a roast in the crockpot for about 8 hours.  I just cover the roast with water.

Once cooked, I drain the water from it, throw out any pieces of fat that may be in there, and shred the meat.

I add the following to the crock pot with the shredded roast meat:
2 large cans/jars of tomato juice (homemade juice is the best...)
Frozen vegetables - corn, green beans, carrots, peas, etc. 
My mom adds pieces of fresh cabbage - make sure they soften before eating.
I have also cubed potatoes and added them before - make sure they soften before eating.
Salt and Pepper to taste
I usually let it cook till veggies are ready to eat.

Even though this recipe is a 2 day ordeal unless you have a pressure cooker, we seem to have plenty of leftovers to take to work and to eat for another meal! 

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Kenny Mitchell Hamburgers

Yes, sounds like an interesting name for hamburgers, but it's a guy from Newton that both Chris and I got to know very well while we were dating.  He was a regular at the golf course and shared this recipe with us.  To our amazement, we fell in love and make these hamburgers every time we want to make hamburgers from scratch.    A big thanks to Kenny for sharing this great recipe!

1 lb of thawed hamburger meat
1/2 c milk
1/4 c bread crumbs
1/2 pack dry onion soup mix  (sometimes I dump the whole thing in... I love onion flavor...)

Mix together, make into patties, and grill. 

I think we were told to place it in the refrigerator for a short while before making into patties but we usually don't have time for that part.  :)   

I hope I get the chance to say to you, "I told you so."  They really are amazing.

My first recipe... CATALINA CHICKEN

Get out that Crock Pot! 

Before you leave for work, place the following items in your crock pot on low-

3-4 thawed chicken breasts
1 bottle of your favorite barbeque sauce
1/2 bottle of Catalina salad dressing
1 cup of water

When you get home, shred the chicken & place on your favorite style of bun.
Note:  Keep the chicken in the sauce to keep its yummy flavor.

Don't like sandwiches?  I have cut the chicken breasts in half and just placed the smaller chicken breasts on our supper plates.  Cover the pieces with a little sauce from the crock pot. 

Thank you, Monika, for introducing me to this easy meal that all of us enjoy.