spam pie (first posted 4/7/13)

I have been making this dish for many many years now...my own kids loved it when they were little so at least 30 some years...hubby absolutely will not touch anything at all with Spam in it...but, I was raised on Spam and when much younger could eat it straight out of the can as a sandwich, not anymore it has to be cooked for me now (getting too old I guess)...

with all of the furor on Facebook lately about who's recipe is who's, I could take credit for this one since I have had the recipe for so long and I have tweaked it so many times to fit our family likes, but I am an honest person and will not lay claim to something that was not mine to start with...I found this recipe in a magazine so long ago...it was an advertisement for Hormel for Spam and it sounded good so I copied it down and made it...recently I looked at Hormel's web site and this was not listed...

I actually think they should put the recipe on their site and promote Spam to a new generation...
my grand daughter absolutely loves this and begs me all of the time time for her and she was so happy on Friday night when she came over and it was ready for her...

recipe:

2 rolls of Pillsbury crescent rolls, spread out into a 9 x 13 pan, sealing all of the perforations, set aside...
small dice a can of Spam, 1 cup of cheddar cheese, 1 cup of montery jack cheese and 4 beaten eggs and pour into prepared casserole pan...
bake at 250 for approx 30 minutes, until egg in middle is cooked...

this recipe is known in our house as a "cat's away" dinner...we only make it when hubby is out of town, like now, visiting his mom...

I always make an extra one and take to my neighbor, who is American Indian and was raised on Spam and loves it....

not sure (my memory is fading, haha) if crescent rolls were part of original recipe or mine...

pls try this you will not regret it, even if you hate Spam...I have had people that say they hate Spam and would never eat it, try this not knowing and they love it...you could also subsitute bacon, ham or sausage instead...

yummy

easy macaroni casserole

this was a fantastic recipe and very easy as you do not cook the pasta before making the casserole...this resembles a mock lasagna recipe that I have been making for years...


http://www.skinnytaste.com/2014/01/easy-macaroni-casserole.html




the only change I would make to this dish, is that my pasta sauce needed to be a little more watered down...other than that everyone loved it and said they would like me to make it again...

layered chicken bake

love this dish and have posted previously about it...so easy to throw together for a fast but totally delicious dinner...
it reminds all of us of Thanksgiving all rolled into one dish...




http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-layered-chicken-bake-75568.aspx




I make the almadine version and make a few changes, which suit our family just fine...instead of green beans, I add peas...I add a few tablespoons of sour cream to the soup mixture and we also add some dried cranberries to the stuffing mix...


try it you will love it...

corn and bacon griddle cakes

this is another one, that I forgot the date...but is also one that I was not too sure that hubby would like so I waited till he was in the hospital to try them...we call these kind of recipes, "when the cat is away," dinners...
and OMGosh these are to die for and we most definitely will try these again...one change is that I would add some sugar to the pancake batter, otherwise perfection...


Tim, Zoie and I loved them so much...


http://www.recipegirl.com/2012/02/16/bacon-and-corn-griddle-cakes/

creamy pasta, bacon and peas

please do not pay attention to dates right now...I am late posting...
forget which night this was, but it was delicious and great at leftovers too...


everyone in the family liked it, I had no complaints...


will definitely add to menu rotation especially since it was so easy too...


http://veryculinary.com/2014/02/20/creamy-pasta-with-bacon-and-peas/

slow cooker macaroni and cheese

I am always on the hunt for THE macaroni and cheese that will be my go to...I love mac and cheese made just about any way, but I have yet to find the perfect one (to me) that I can use all of the time...
I may have found it...at least hubby liked it tonight and he hates mac and cheese...it really was pretty good...
to go with, I made Italian green beans, biscuits and BBQ little smokies...


I have not heard a single complaint about dinner tonight, so that is a plus...


here is the link:


http://www.melissassouthernstylekitchen.com/2012/04/slow-cooked-triple-cheddar-mac-cheese.html


I was going to make this dish according to the recipe and then at the end of it, she said that you can also make it in the oven, so that is what I did...


very good will definitely make this again, especially since hubby liked it...

March menus

every time I see a recipe that looks interesting on Facebook, I save it and so this month decided to make only menus from recipes from ones I have saved...


here you go...


1.    pasta, bacon and peas
2.    slow cooker mac and cheese (cannot wait for this one, in fact making for Sunday dinner)
3.    ham and potato casserole
4.    cheesy bacon chicken casserole
5.    cottage chicken salad
6.    bourbon chicken lettuce wraps
7     easy macaroni casserole
8.    crispy chicken and Italian pasta
9.    busy day lasagna toss
10.  BBQ pot roast
11.  kung pao chicken spaghetti
12.  slow cooker angel chicken
13.  chicken bacon tomato alfredo
14.  tator tot casserole
15.  sloppy joe casserole
16.  tamale pie
17.  loaded chicken potato casserole
18.  cheesy chicken spaghetti bake
19.  1 pot chicken sausage jambalya
20.  magic meat loaf
21.  slow cooker smothered pork chops
22.  corned beef and cabbage (of course for St Patty's day)
23.  cheesy hamburger skillet.  
24.  bacon hash
25.  new shepard's pie
26.  layered chicken bake
27.  meatballs with creamy rice
28.  slow cooker cranberry chicken
29.  bacon and corn griddle cakes
30.  chicken black pepper dumplings          

homemade chicken pot pie and meatball soup

even with my very busy life, I am trying to make dinner every night it is not always easy...
this week, I did make my easy meatball soup and it was so delicious...I have posted the recipe previously...this time instead of noodles, I added salad macaroni and I think I like it much better and was so good as leftovers the next day...


then one night decided to go all out and make chicken pot pie...recipe also posted previously...I like to make on extra small pie and give it to someone...I gave this one to Cj's teacher and she said she loved it...

roasted chicken, broccoli, and fried rice with sunflower bread

long before I was Zoie's age as soon as I got home from school each day, I was responsible for starting dinner for 14 people (that was a whole lot of potatoes to peel...) and tonight with not feeling 100% I decided that Zoie should really start more of the cooking each night to build up her confidence and self esteem...


she made tonight's dinner completely by herself, including rubbing the chicken with spices and roasting it, made the rice and even made the gravy by herself with no lumps (I was very proud of her for that...)


I told her she is responsible from now on to make the dinners and the menus for each day of the week...


tonight's menu:


  roasted chicken
  fried rice
  gravy
  broccoli
  sunflower honey bread


good job Zoie...


so she was so proud of herself that she started a whole new blog...here is the link"


http://sparklychefintraining.blogspot.com/

pot roast, mashed potatoes, gravy and carrots

I seriously need to take more pics when I post over here...

today I knew was going to be a very busy day and so I planned on a crock pot roast cooking all day...
and it was delicious...

at the commissary where we shop, they have these "mock tri tip" roasts and they are so tender and so yummy and most times I use it as a pot roast and cook it all day in onion soup mix in the crock pot and it comes out so tender you do not need a knife...

threw some carrots in towards the end of cooking...was going to just make boiled potatoes also, but my 9 year old wanted mashed and that is what I did and for some reason they were the best mashed I have ever made...mashed potatoes used to scare me and for some time I relied on instant...(yuck, now) but I over time have really gotten to come into my own with making potatoes...and they are so easy too...

I use red potatoes, boiled till tender and they throw them into the kitchen aid and whisk them with 1/2 block of cream cheese, couple of spoons of sour cream, a little butter, garlic salt and pepper then after all creamed together, I add one handful of instant potatoes in to help bind it all together...

yummy dinner

and thank goodness I made extra, enough to send home with the littles...(they had a ready made dinner)

sloppy joes

since I am trying to be a good girl and make dinner as many nights as I can, and being at school so much, I have to be one night ahead every night so that I am prepared...
this is pretty easy to get together for a school night...

sloppy joes and I use the McCormick's seasoning mix, my family loves it and made tator bites and corn...

everyone was happy tonight...

meatball and pasta soup (easy)

after a Disney packed 2 days with grandkids, this fit the bill for an easy dinner...

8 cups of water, 2 pkgs of beef stew seasoning mix, add frozen meatballs and cook to a boil, add 1/2 pkg noodles of other desired pasta, and any frozen veggies (I always add peas, tonight I added carrots...)

makes a big pot and tonight, it is all gone...

what is for january? (everyday food holidays)

http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/March/clamshalfshellday.htm<<<

Bread Machine Baking Month
National Candy Month
National Egg Month
National Hot Tea Month
National Meat Month
National Oatmeal Month
National Soup Month
National Wheat Bread Month
Prune Breakfast Month
National Pizza Week	Second Week
National Meat Week	Fourth Week
National Irish Coffee Week	Fourth Week
Bloody Mary Day	January 1
Apple Gifting Day	January 1
National Cream Puff Day	January 2
Chocolate-Covered Cherry Day	January 3
National Spaghetti Day	January 4
National Whipped Cream Day	January 5
Bean Day	January 6
National Shortbread Day	January 6
National Tempura Day	January 7
English Toffee Day	January 8
National Apricot Day	January 9
Bittersweet Chocolate Day	January 10
Milk Day	January 11
Hot Toddy Day	January 11
Curried Chicken Day	January 12
National Peach Melba Day	January 13
National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day	January 14
Strawberry Ice Cream Day	January 15
National Fig Newton Day	January 16
International Hot & Spicy Food Day	January 16
Hot-Buttered Rum Day	January 17
Peking Duck Day	January 18
National Popcorn Day	January 19
National Buttercrunch Day	January 20
National Cheese Lover's Day	January 20
National Granola Bar Day	January 20
New England Clam Chowder Day	January 21
National Blonde Brownie Day	January 22
National Rhubarb Pie Day	January 23
National Peanut Butter Day	January 24
Lobster Thermidor Day	January 24
National Irish Coffee Day	January 25
National Pistachio Day	January 26
Chocolate Cake Day	January 27
National Blueberry Pancake Day	January 28
National Corn Chip Day	January 29
National Croissant Day	January 30
Brandy Alexander Day	January 31

breakfast for dinner

I had some sausage that I needed to use and so I made fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, sausage links and biscuits...everyone seemed to like it well enough, even though hubby does not like this kind of dinner...I also notice he got seconds...


nice change of pace for once...

roast turkey and cornbread dressing dinner

I usually do not make a big dinner on New Year's Day but we had an extra turkey in the freezer...I did not make Thanksgiving dinner as I usually do since I had bronchitis (we went to Pechanga an Indian casino, known for their great buffets...)
so today?
   roast turkey
   mashed potatoes
   cornbread and sausage dressing
   broccoli
   gravy
   pumpkin bread
   apple pie

for my dressing (cause everyone has their own recipe)  I use cornbread, cranberries, granny smith apples, onion, celery, melted butter, seasonings and chicken broth...this is the one my family loves...
oh almost forgot the sausage...in years past, we always used breakfast but today I decided to use Italian sausage and it worked rather well...

Salted peanut chews

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/salted-peanut-chews/d388e477-da50-448f-b5b0-ef3c479812ea?src=SH


I have made these for years, since they first came out but back then, you made the base yourself so it was a little time consuming...
this version calls for the refrigerated sugar cookie dough as your base and then you build the cookie...

this is Tim's favorite cookies and I decided to surprise him with them on NYE, since I have not made them in a couple of years...
he said it brought back tons of childhood memories when eating them...

try them please, you will not be disappointed

Happy New Year's with cheese fondue

fabulous recipe that I have been making for years now and mostly everyone loves it (hubby does not...)
basically my recipe is:

make a roux with 6 tbs butter melted...add 6 tbs of flour and cook off the flour taste, then add 3 cups of milk and seasonings...I add garlic salt and pepper...

cook till thick and then add your choice of cheeses, stir till melted...and voila you are done...

we like it with:
  wheat thins
  crusty bread
  mixed raw veggies
  little smokies...

Tim and I said we should make this our New Year's Eve tradition...