Cheesy Pasta

The original name of this is "Cheesy Spirals" but I used Penne pasta, so I changed the name :)  This recipe is so easy and the kids loved, I was so sad I haven't tried it before now!

Ingredients:
16 oz pasta
1 lb ground beef
onion
garlic
28 oz spaghetti sauce
1 10.5oz can cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
italian seasoning
pepper
2 cups mozzarella cheese

Cook the pasta until right before "al dente".  Brown the ground beef with some onion and garlic.  Add the spaghetti sauce and cheddar cheese soup.  Stir until it is uniform throughout.  Add the italian seasoning and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat, add 2 cups of mozzarella cheese.  Mix in the pasta and put it into a greased casserole dish.  Bake in the oven at 350* for 30 minutes. 

You can also freeze this before you bake it.  Then thaw it and bake at 350* for 40 minutes.

Next time I'll try throwing in some veggies.

Cola Pork Chops

Sorry, no picture for this one... but I'm sure you wouldn't want to make it if you had seen the picture.  They don't come out looking very pretty but they taste great!

4 pork chops
1 can cola drink (I used Diet Dr Pepper, and it was great!  Just use your drink of choice)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 - 3 tbsp soy sauce

Put the pork chops into a crock pot, then add the rest of the ingredients.  Cook on low for 3-4 hours until pork chops are done.  I wouldn't let this one cook all day, the pork chops will get too dry.  Serve with rice or pasta.

If you prefer to do this in the oven, place everything in a casserole dish, cover and cook at 350 degrees until the pork is done, 30-45 minutes (I highly recommend using a meat thermometer!)

Chicken Pot Pie

 I'll warn you right now, the way I did it (below) was pretty labor intensive, but well worth it.  I'm in a very "from scratch" mode right now.  Feel free to use frozen pie crust to make your job a little easier.

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts, skinless
• 2 cups chicken broth (see below)
•  1 potato
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 stalks celery
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

1. Wash chicken breasts in water and then place in a pot with water just to cover the chicken add some salt and pepper and garlic powder. Bring to a boil, turn off heat and cover. Let cool in the pot. Save the broth.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Wash and cut potatoes into bite size pieces and boil till almost fork tender. Drain and set aside.
4. Wash celery and cut to bite-size pieces. Cut onion to bite-size pieces.
5. In a large heavy skillet, over medium heat, saute celery and onion with 2 tablespoons oil, for 5 to 8 minutes. Add the frozen vegetables and cook another 5 minutes. Add flour and cook about 30 seconds.
6. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. After it has become thick, add the potato.
7. Remove chicken from pot and cut into bite-size pieces and add to vegetable mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Pour mixture into a 9x13 pan and cover with pie shell. Make sure you crimp the edges of the pie shell to the plate so no juices spill in oven. 
9. Brush both sides of the pie shell with egg whites or butter.
10. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes or until pie shell is cooked and golden brown.

Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening, chilled
• 1/2 cup cube butter, chilled
•  1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons ice water

Directions

1. Mix the flour and salt together in a medium size bowl.  Cut in the cold shortening & butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (since the shortening and butter are chilled, you'll have to mix for a few minutes).  Drizzle the ice water ice water over the mixture until the dough comes together in a ball - add more water a few drops at at a time if needed..
2. Gently gather dough particles together into a ball.  Put it between two pieces of wax paper to make it easier to roll out.  At this point you can either divide the dough into two balls and use one crust on bottom and one on top, or leave it as is for one thick crust on top.

 Done this way, the filling doesn't have much juice or moisture.  I've also done this with a can of cream of chicken soup + 1 can milk in lieu of the chicken broth and flour. 

These are the two recipes I used as a basis for this one:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Pot-Pie-II-2/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Basic-Flaky-Pie-Crust/Detail.aspx 

Porcupine Meatballs

Porcupine Meatballs

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound lean ground beef
2/3 cup long-grain rice, uncooked
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 large can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 - 1 cup water
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Mix ground beef with rice, 1/2 cup of water, chopped onion, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Shape porcupine ground beef mixtureinto 1 1/2-inch balls.
Place the meatballs in an ungreased 2-quart shallow baking dish. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the meatballs. Cover and bake at 350° F. oven for about 45 minutes.

Uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer.

Serves 4 to 6.

Chicken with Cider and Bacon Sauce

Got this recipe from recipegirl.com at the suggestion of a friend. The chicken turned out so moist and yummy, even the next day as leftovers!

Chicken with Cider and Bacon Sauce

Four skinless, boneless chicken breasts
salt & pepper
2-4 slices bacon, finely chopped
1/4 cup minced sweet onion
3/4 cup unsweetened apple cider
1/2 cup chicken broth

1. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap (or waxed paper); pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper.

2. Cook bacon (use real bacon, not turkey bacon... trust me!) in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from the pan. Add chicken to drippings in pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan and tuck it inside some foil to keep warm.

3. Add onion to pan; saute 2 minutes or until tender, stirring constantly. Add cider and broth; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen any browned bits. Cook until broth mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes). Stir in cooked bacon; serve sauce over chicken.

Serves 4

Pecan Chicken with Cranraspberry Sauce

Ingredients:
Chicken breast (I pound mine out a little)
Pecans - I put mine in the food processor to make them the consistency of bread crumbs)
Olive Oil
2 eggs



1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4-1/2 bag of frozen raspberries
Splash of white wine


1- Scramble the eggs in a bowl.
2- Dip chicken in the eggs.
3- Coat in crushed pecans.
4- Cook in pan with oil oil.


Sauce:
Put can of whole cranberry sauce, raspberries, and wine in a pan. Bring to a simmer.


Spoon sauce over chicken:

Quick & Easy Taco Soup

I LOVE fall season - it's SOUP time. Here is a relatively new taco soup we have been enjoying - very easy. This makes a 5 qt. pot/pan.

Quick & Easy Taco Soup
* 1 lb. turkey sausage (or ground beef)
* 1 onion
* 3 cans of beans (Light Kidney, Dark Kidney, Pinto, Black)
* 1 can of corn
* 2 cans of dices tomatoes (or chopped fresh, if you have them (3-4 cups)
* 1 cup of salsa
* 1 packet of taco season

Brown sausage and onion. I didn't have an onion, so I used a palm full of dried onion. Season with Salt & Pepper.
Open above cans and DUMP - you can rinse the black beans, if you don't want it to turn a funny color - but I just dump it all.
Add Salsa and packet of taco seasoning. Bring to a boil, cover and turn on low to simmer. NOTE: No water was added, just the juices from all your cans.
Serve with shredded cheese, a dollop of sour cream and tortilla chips (we love the chips with lime!)
Enjoy!!

All American Mini Meatloaves

Sorry I don't have a photo. Next time I make it I'll take pics.

17 Saltines crushed fine
¼ cup whole milk
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 large egg
1 ½ tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 ½ lbs meatloaf mix* (3/4 lb of ground pork and 3/4 lb 90% lean ground beef)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Glaze
½ cup Ketchup
¼ cup light brown sugar
4 teaspoons cider vinegar

*Walmart did not have meatloaf mix so I bought a pound of 90% lean ground beef and 1 lbs ground pork and mixed them together and took out what looked like 1/4 lb. of each And put it in the freezer for next time.

1. Heat oven to 500 degrees and put oven rack in the middle position.

2. Mix saltines, milk, parsley, wors. Sauce, egg, mustard, onion powder, garlic powder and meat together. I used my hands to make sure it got incorporated well. Shape the meat into 4 oval loaves.

3. Heat the oil in a nonstick 12 inch skillet and brown the meatloaves on one side for about 5 minutes then carefully flip them over to brown the other side. Neaten up the edges with a spatula. In the meantime, while the meat is browning mix the glaze.

4. If your skillet is oven safe, top the meatloaves with glaze and place in the oven until the center of the loaves reach 160 degrees, this takes about 15 minutes. My skillet was not oven safe so I rubbed the bottom of a casserole dish with vegetable oil and placed the meatloaves in there before glazing them. Bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

If you try it let me know what you think!

Baked Ziti

BAKED ZITI

~~Ingredients~~

1 lb. Lean Ground Turkey Breast (or ground beef)

1 jar Spaghetti Sauce (any kind)

1 box Ziti pasta (any brand)

16 ounce bag of shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 tsp. Olive Oil (for greasing casserole dish)

~~Kitchen Supplies Needed~~

Large Non-Stick Skillet to cook Turkey

Large Pot to cook Pasta

13x9 Casserole Baking Dish

~~Directions~~

Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees

Brown turkey in skillet, once cooked, add spaghetti sauce, simmer on low

Cook Ziti pasta while turkey & spaghetti sauce are simmering on low

Once pasta is cooked, DRAIN and keep in same pot

After draining, add turkey & sauce to pasta (Stir)

Grease casserole dish with olive oil

Layer casserole dish with 1/2 of turkey/sauce/ziti mixture

Sprinkle 1/2 of shredded cheese

Layer remaining turkey/sauce/ziti mixture over the cheese

Layer remaining shredded cheese

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until cheese is all melted

This is a modified recipe from Cooks.com