We cheat with spaghetti, but this is a fast and easy meal. There's no real recipe involved. In our home the sauce comes from a bottle. We also cheat with the term "spaghetti". In our house that could mean just about anything. It usually means bow tie noodles and not actually spaghetti noodles. Here are our variations on this dinner.
Pasta Night
Noodles: Usually bow tie noodles, spaghetti or sometimes even shell noodles.
Sauce: From a bottle and usually just heated up in the microwave either in the bottle or in a covered bowl. The sauce will likely explode all over the microwave if it isn't covered well. Sometimes even when it IS covered well.
Spaghetti sauce is the preference of the parents, Alfredo sauce is the choice of the two oldest children. The youngest prefers his noodles with nothing but Parmesan. You can never please everyone with one way of cooking things.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Chili Cheese Burritos
Hubby likes to fix these for quick lunches, especially after he gets home from church and meetings on Sundays. Sister loves to eat them, too!
Chili Cheese Burritos
1 can chili
Flour tortillas - burrito size
Cheese, shredded
Lay the tortilla flat on a plate. Put a small amount of chili (about 1/4 - 1/2 cup) on one side of the tortilla. Sprinkle cheese on top of the chili and roll the tortilla to about the middle. Fold over the ends and then finish rolling the tortilla the rest of the way. Microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Chili Cheese Burritos
1 can chili
Flour tortillas - burrito size
Cheese, shredded
Lay the tortilla flat on a plate. Put a small amount of chili (about 1/4 - 1/2 cup) on one side of the tortilla. Sprinkle cheese on top of the chili and roll the tortilla to about the middle. Fold over the ends and then finish rolling the tortilla the rest of the way. Microwave for 1-2 minutes.
French Toast
Our family is pretty solidly a cold-cereal-in-the-morning family, but we love to eat breakfast foods for dinner! Again, this isn't really a recipe so much. It's just what we like to eat and how we eat it.
French Toast
1 package Texas Toast
7 eggs
Milk
Cinnamon, if you like
Crack the eggs into a bowl and add milk until the color is a lighter yellow color. (I've never actually measured my milk. I just do it by the look of the mixture.) Add cinnamon to taste. You could also sprinkle the cinnamon onto the toast when you put it on the griddle. Or you don't have to use it at all. Dredge a piece of bread through the egg mixture, turning once to cover well, and place on a hot griddle (that's greased if your griddle needs to be greased). Cook for a few minutes and flip to cook the other side. Serve with syrup, sugar, powdered sugar or fruit. Or whatever else you might like to use to top your breakfast foods.
French Toast
1 package Texas Toast
7 eggs
Milk
Cinnamon, if you like
Crack the eggs into a bowl and add milk until the color is a lighter yellow color. (I've never actually measured my milk. I just do it by the look of the mixture.) Add cinnamon to taste. You could also sprinkle the cinnamon onto the toast when you put it on the griddle. Or you don't have to use it at all. Dredge a piece of bread through the egg mixture, turning once to cover well, and place on a hot griddle (that's greased if your griddle needs to be greased). Cook for a few minutes and flip to cook the other side. Serve with syrup, sugar, powdered sugar or fruit. Or whatever else you might like to use to top your breakfast foods.
Tacos / Taco Salad
This isn't really a recipe as much as it is just letting you know it's one of the things we like to eat.
Tacos or Taco Salads
1 lb hamburger
1 package taco seasoning
Tomatoes, diced
Lettuce, shredded
Olives, sliced
Cheese, shredded
Sour Cream
Taco Shells OR Corn Chips OR Taco Salad Bowls
Brown the hamburger and add the taco seasoning, cooking according to the package directions. Build your tacos or taco salads with the additions you prefer. If using corn chips, use those as the first layer on the plate when building your salad.
Tacos or Taco Salads
1 lb hamburger
1 package taco seasoning
Tomatoes, diced
Lettuce, shredded
Olives, sliced
Cheese, shredded
Sour Cream
Taco Shells OR Corn Chips OR Taco Salad Bowls
Brown the hamburger and add the taco seasoning, cooking according to the package directions. Build your tacos or taco salads with the additions you prefer. If using corn chips, use those as the first layer on the plate when building your salad.
Taco Salad Bowls
We don't use this recipe too often because, quite simply, our family prefers to just use corn chips for our taco salads. These are fun to try, though, and healthier than the deep fried bowls you get from fast food places. I think the recipe came from the Kraft website but I don't remember for sure.
Taco Salad Bowls
Flour tortillas (8 inch)
Chili powder
Aluminum Foil - crumpled into 3-inch balls
Place one tortilla on top of each ball. Spray tortilla with cooking spray and sprinkle with chili powder. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. (Watch them carefully!) The tortillas will drape over the balls as they bake.
Taco Salad Bowls
Flour tortillas (8 inch)
Chili powder
Aluminum Foil - crumpled into 3-inch balls
Place one tortilla on top of each ball. Spray tortilla with cooking spray and sprinkle with chili powder. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. (Watch them carefully!) The tortillas will drape over the balls as they bake.
Chicken Rice Soup
Chicken Rice Soup
from a Tyson Recipe Book
8 cups chicken broth
3 celery ribs, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups cooked, diced Tyson Fresh Chicken (or any cooked chicken to equal that amount)
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
Salt and Pepper to taste
In a large saucepan, combine broth, celery, onion, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add chicken and rice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender. Yield: 8-10 servings or 2 1/2 quarts
from a Tyson Recipe Book
8 cups chicken broth
3 celery ribs, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups cooked, diced Tyson Fresh Chicken (or any cooked chicken to equal that amount)
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
Salt and Pepper to taste
In a large saucepan, combine broth, celery, onion, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add chicken and rice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender. Yield: 8-10 servings or 2 1/2 quarts
Creamy Chicken & Noodles
Creamy Chicken and Noodles
from a Tyson Chicken box
1 9-ounce package Tyson Frozen Diced Chicken Breast (or any diced up chicken, cooked)
1 10 3/4-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 12-ounce package egg noodles, cooked according to package directions
Blend soup, milk, Parmesan and pepper in a large saucepan. Stir in chicken and cover. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for five minutes or until heated through. Serve over noodles.
from a Tyson Chicken box
1 9-ounce package Tyson Frozen Diced Chicken Breast (or any diced up chicken, cooked)
1 10 3/4-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 12-ounce package egg noodles, cooked according to package directions
Blend soup, milk, Parmesan and pepper in a large saucepan. Stir in chicken and cover. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for five minutes or until heated through. Serve over noodles.
Cornbread
This is a delicious recipe that I got from my friend, Jody. Yummy!
Cornbread
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 heaping Tablespoons cornmeal
Beat eggs, add milk. Add all dry ingredients and then add butter. Pour into well greased 8x8 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 34-40 minutes.
Cornbread
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 heaping Tablespoons cornmeal
Beat eggs, add milk. Add all dry ingredients and then add butter. Pour into well greased 8x8 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 34-40 minutes.
Cinnamon Chips
This was written on one of the index cards in "the box". I don't remember where it came from.
Cinnamon Chips
5 6-inch flour tortillas
2 Tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
Brush the tortillas with butter, then cut them into wedges. (I like to use a pizza cutter to do this. It's a lot faster than a knife or scissors.) Arrange the wedges on a greased baking sheet, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, somewhere around about 10 minutes.
Cinnamon Chips
5 6-inch flour tortillas
2 Tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
Brush the tortillas with butter, then cut them into wedges. (I like to use a pizza cutter to do this. It's a lot faster than a knife or scissors.) Arrange the wedges on a greased baking sheet, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, somewhere around about 10 minutes.
Crab Dip
I got this recipe from my friend, Sarra. I don't know where she got it from but isn't that how most recipes go? Someone got it from someone, who got it from someone else, etc. This is pretty yummy stuff!
Crab Dip
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
8 ounces crab, chopped fine
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup celery, chopped fine
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Miracle Whip
Mix together and serve with crackers.
Crab Dip
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
8 ounces crab, chopped fine
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup celery, chopped fine
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Miracle Whip
Mix together and serve with crackers.
Dinner in a Skillet
This recipe comes from my "Delectable Collectibles" cookbook and was submitted by Pat Turanski. As the original recipe stands it is fairly bland so I add a few spices, although I'm not very good with adding spices without instructions regarding WHAT to add, so you can add the spices that you think might work best.
My personal notes to the recipes are in parentheses.
Dinner in a Skillet
by Pat Turanski
1 lb ground beef
2 medium zucchini (or summer) squash
1 large tomato
1/2 medium onion
1/2 cup grated cheese
Salt (1 teaspoon)
Pepper (1/4 teaspoon)
(1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon thyme)
(1 teaspoon basil)
Brown the ground beef in a skillet. Drain excess grease. Dice squash, tomato and onion; add to meat. (I usually add the onion to the beef while it's being browned.) Season to taste. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.
Boy 1 (hubby's endearment) thinks we're trying to kill him in a slow and torturous way when I make this but Sister likes it for the most part. Boy 2 just doesn't eat. Period.
My personal notes to the recipes are in parentheses.
Dinner in a Skillet
by Pat Turanski
1 lb ground beef
2 medium zucchini (or summer) squash
1 large tomato
1/2 medium onion
1/2 cup grated cheese
Salt (1 teaspoon)
Pepper (1/4 teaspoon)
(1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon thyme)
(1 teaspoon basil)
Brown the ground beef in a skillet. Drain excess grease. Dice squash, tomato and onion; add to meat. (I usually add the onion to the beef while it's being browned.) Season to taste. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.
Boy 1 (hubby's endearment) thinks we're trying to kill him in a slow and torturous way when I make this but Sister likes it for the most part. Boy 2 just doesn't eat. Period.
Banana Bread
About two years ago I found an old Campus Crusade for Christ cookbook at a thrift store that some daughter had given her mother in May of 1974 (there was a personal note written in the front). If you paid attention to my very first post on this blog, you will remember that I have a weakness for cookbooks, especially ones that church groups have compiled. The cookbooks I use the most are ward cookbooks! I have something like eight of them. Maybe nine. Anyway, this banana bread recipe comes from this book called "Delectable Collectibles" and the person who submitted the recipe was named Lee Etta Lappen. I see this name and envision an elderly Scandinavian woman puttering around the kitchen with a half apron on slowly stirring the ingredients together with a wooden spoon. That visual image is what made me try this recipe. How can it not be good when a grandma makes it? (My extended family shouldn't answer that question. They should consider it rhetorical.) Anyway, on to the recipe.
Just as a side note I can NEVER write the word banana without having a flashback to the years when my sister was on a school cheer squad/drill team and had a period where she went through the house regularly doing a chant that spelled bananas over and over.
Banana Bread
by Lee Etta Lappen
(My notes to the recipe are in parentheses)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg, well beaten
3 bananas, mashed - over ripe are best
3 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 cups flour
Cream sugar and shortening. Add well beaten egg and bananas. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. (It will be thick batter.) Bake in a lightly greased loaf pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. (Although, I have to bake it for closer to 55 minutes in my oven.)
This has a slightly baking powder/soda-ish taste to it but not nearly as bad as other banana bread recipes I've tried. The kids love this one as well as one of our other favorites that I'll hopefully get up here soon.
Just as a side note I can NEVER write the word banana without having a flashback to the years when my sister was on a school cheer squad/drill team and had a period where she went through the house regularly doing a chant that spelled bananas over and over.
Banana Bread
by Lee Etta Lappen
(My notes to the recipe are in parentheses)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg, well beaten
3 bananas, mashed - over ripe are best
3 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 cups flour
Cream sugar and shortening. Add well beaten egg and bananas. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. (It will be thick batter.) Bake in a lightly greased loaf pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. (Although, I have to bake it for closer to 55 minutes in my oven.)
This has a slightly baking powder/soda-ish taste to it but not nearly as bad as other banana bread recipes I've tried. The kids love this one as well as one of our other favorites that I'll hopefully get up here soon.
Monday, April 26, 2010
It's just the beginning!
I am a cookbook collector. I've had to curb my addiction within the last year and I got rid of a LOT of cookbooks. I've held onto the ones that I use frequently and my method of remembering our favorite recipes is by using a recipe box. When we find a recipe we love (or the kids at least tolerate) we place a card with either the recipe on it or the reference to the appropriate cookbook including the title of the recipe, the book where it is located and the page number. This is all organized by category (beef, hamburger, chicken, bread, etc). This has worked for us, but I've recently decided that I would like to have all of these recipes in one place instead of spread all over my kitchen in different books. One of the leading reasons for this decision is when we got our new fridge and my cookbook cupboard had to be raised up an additional 5 or 6 inches. I now have to get a chair or the stepladder in order to get my cookbooks out of the cupboard! That's just a pain. It would be so much easier to just simply pull up a web page. Hence this new blog. Plus, this way I can share our favorite recipes with others, too. If you have recipes you would like to share, let me know and I can either put it on here for you or I can make you a contributor to the blog so you can enter them whenever you would like.
Now, what's with the name? If you're from the Midwest you won't think much of it. If you're from the west, like I am, the title makes sense. We lived here for a couple of months before we finally realized that a hot dish is really a casserole (or vice versa depending on where you're from). It's still a bit of a joke between my dear hubby and me. Hence the name. Enjoy!
P.S.
It will take me a while to put in all the recipes from "the box" as it's called in our home. Please be patient as I work on it!
Now, what's with the name? If you're from the Midwest you won't think much of it. If you're from the west, like I am, the title makes sense. We lived here for a couple of months before we finally realized that a hot dish is really a casserole (or vice versa depending on where you're from). It's still a bit of a joke between my dear hubby and me. Hence the name. Enjoy!
P.S.
It will take me a while to put in all the recipes from "the box" as it's called in our home. Please be patient as I work on it!
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