5 minute, 5 ingredient million dollar dip

http://therecipecritic.com/2016/09/5-minute-million-dollar-dip/
this seriously is one of the best things I have ever tasted...I was leary at first...I do not like eating mayo...but OMGosh with all 5 of the ingredients mixed together and let sit and marry together and get all nice and cold...this definitely was a favorite tonight and will be made many more times...

New Year's Eve dinner

I have been sick for a whole week and finally today see a light at the end of the tunnel, I hope...have had a cough for well over a month now and at the first of the month was on steroids and antibiotics and for about a week thought I felt better...then, it hit me full force on Christmas Eve...went to Urgent Care on Christmas...they really thought I should go to the ER as my O2 saturations were low and I was wheezing...instead I waited to see my primary and he was sort of on the same page but he understands me and also seeing how hubby is in the hospital, he said as long as I stayed on bed rest as much as possible and kept oxygen on he was all right with me staying home...he prescribed high dose prednisone and frequent nebulizer treatments...sorry did not mean to go on and on...but the moral of the story is that I am so glad I am finally feeling a little better...

so Sam and I wanted a nice night tonight but not a lot of work...typically what we do is have an appetizer night reminicent of Christmas Eve but we do not replicate...so we came up with an alternate menu...
here is what we did...

we roasted a turkey breast (mostly cause we had one...)
our homemade pasta salad
homemade egg rolls
hot ham and cheese rolls (YUM)
million dollar dip with crackers
asst veggies
Bisquick fried cheese

so yummy...everyones favorite (well there was 2) was the million dollar dip and the ham and cheese rolls...

January 2017 monthly menu post

here we go for 2017...going to try a bunch of new recipes...

cornbread chicken enchilada bake
apple cider pork roast
cabbage, noodles and sausage
sicilian mac and cheese
taco lasagna
potato soup
chicken tortilla soup
chicken, noodle casserole
pull apart pizza bread
huli huli chicken'
chicken lazone
frito casserole
cashew chicken'
chicken fried fingers
salisbury steak
bacony bourbon chicken
slow cooker beef on rice
creamy tomato tortelloni with bacon
layered chicken bake
tator tot casserole
hamburger, rice and gravy
slow cooker lasagna
beef parmesan
swiss steak
korean beef
stuffed shells
chicken parmesan with bacon
chimichangas
seasoned chicken, green beans and potatoes

and of course New Years Day...beef stroganoff

Christmas Day menu

woke up this morning with my heart failure acting up so it was a good thing I had help for dinner...

spiral glazed ham
mashed potatoes
roasted brussel sprouts
fresh green beans
dinner rolls
apple crisp

Christmas Eve buffet

I started this tradition when my own kids were little...in theory, a buffet seems like less work but in reality it is much more work...but, everyone loves our Christmas Eve and so I continue to do it...some of the items are a must every year but on others we change from year to year...

here is what we had:

my own cheddar and sour cream potatoes
swedish meatballs
popcorn chicken
little smokies in bbq sauce
pizza rolls
assorted veggies and dip
velveeta dip with tortilla chips
Tim made scallops wrapped in bacon
potato skins
pumpkin bread
mocha brownies

the leftovers are always nice too

scalloped potatoes and ham

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/scalloped-potatoes-and-ham/

leftover ham from Christmas and this sounded good tonight...I am sick, supposed to be on bed rest with continuous oxygen...but, I a cheating a doing a few things as I am able...besides Sam and Zoie have been staying and she is a big help too..

so we this recipe as a base and kind of did our own thing...we added garlic salt and pepper...the other thing we did not do was add flour to the milk mixture and this still came out very nicely...

yum

3rd day of soup...chicken and wild rice...yum

Tim and I both seem a little better, but still not 100% so I decided to make tonight another soup night...have not made this for awhile now and it seemed perfect for tonight...
I was kind of surprised to find out that Tim and I are not the only ones feeling kind of yucky...there seems to be this virus going around that really when you think about it is not horrible, just bad enough to make you feel sort of yuck...you have mild stomach issues, general aches and pains, but you can still eat, if you want to deal with the nausea...we both thought it was new meds we were both on but I have heard from others that have the same thing with no new medicine issues...it is short lived that is the good thing...

here is how I made my chicken and wild rice soup...

2 cooked chicken breasts chopped, about 1 cups of cooked wild rice, about 1 cup of cooked white rice, tonight I added some shredded carrots...I like my soup to be very easy and uncomplicated...
the sauce I used was a roux out of 8 tablespoons of butter melted with 8 tablespoons of wondra flour, I added about 32 oz of chicken broth and about 2 cups of milk...

make sure you rince the wild rice real well before adding...it turned the soup a little bit of a weird color...

this was very good for tonight...

hamburger soup

I have posted about this many many times...I never would have wanted to even try this kind of soup but, I had tasted one several years ago at Elks...and one day I just decided I was going to look for a recipe and try it...
and voila this is what I came up with and I love it and so does everyone in the family...I will eat this for several days for lunch...

I read many different recipes and came up with one that serves us well...

here is what I do...

5 cups of water, 1 package of Lipton onion soup mix, and 2 cans of 16 oz each of tomato sauce (most other recipes call for diced or stewed tomatoes but my family hates chunks of tomatoes), and today I added 1 frozen package of mixed vegetables (usually I add corn, peas and carrots) and tonight I liked the different cuts of vegetables for variety, then I add about 1 1/2 pounds of browned ground beef and tonight I also added some Italian sausage...this was all browned last night when I did the sour cream beef rice bake and it was so simple to just pull the ground beef and sausage from the frig all ready to go...and bring all of this to a boil...I then add 1/2 package of ditalini and tonight I let it come back to a boil and I turned the heat off, and covered the pan and just let the macaroni cook by itself and it came out great...

we all seem to have some bug here that we just keep passing around and from the looks of it I cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel till maybe, I don't know, summer??  so I am going thru all of my easy soup recipes...cause even this tonight still caused several of us to feel quesy...

yum happy eating makes for a good dinner even if you do not have a bug visiting your house like we do...

sour cream beef and rice with cornbread casserole

http://www.plainchicken.com/2015/11/sour-cream-beef-and-rice-casserole.html?utm_content=bufferd5b8b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

this recipe intrigued me but as I was assembling it I was not sure if anyone in my family would like it...imagine my surprise when everyone ate everything on their plate and said that they liked it...

the only thing I changed was that I added some italian sausage to the hamburger when I was browning it...(I made up enough of the ground beef and sausage for tomorrow's dinner too...)

I also put the sour cream and cottage cheese in the blender as my family does not like the chunks in the cottage cheese...

so this is a keeper and I might also try it with pasta too...

http://www.jiffymix.com/recipe.php/jiffy+corn+muffin+mix/156-spoon+bread+casserole

 this is go to recipe for a delicious cornbread casserole...we love this stuff...

yummy

sweet potato and coconut bread

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/232551/sweet-potato-and-coconut-bread/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=alr_588686621_ar_dailycontent

this is the recipe I followed...it turned out very nice...I made little loaves and put them in teacher's cubbies...

for the sweet potatoes, I used baby food sweet potatoes...

will definitely will make this again

homemade pea soup in the crock pot

I read several different posts on how to make split pea soup in the crock pot and then took my favorites and tried to incorporate them into one recipe that would please my family...

for the past week, I have made many family favorites, down home comfort dinners but, have posted about all of them before...but tonight it is a a little cold for us and I just felt like a good soup and I have not made homemade pea soup in quite awhile...everyone in the family likes pea soup except for hubby...
growing up in my huge family of 12 kids we often had pea soup but it was always the canned variety but since that is what I was used to I loved it...and Tim has a knack of making it just so that warms my heart...not sure of his secret...but tonight I wanted a homemade one...

read about 3 or 4 different recipes and decided to take a little from each one and make my own so, here is what I did...

after I put a slow cooker liner into my crock pot (seriously what did I ever do without these?), I added one package of split green peas and put in 48 ounces of chicken stock and to that I added one diced and chopped onion, 2 carrots, 3 stalks of celery, some diced ham and tons of seasonings (garlic salt, pepper, onion powder and some celery salt...)  and I turned the crock pot on high for about 5-6 hours...I took out the ham and some of the carrots and I then blended the soup on high (I do not particularly like the little peas...and after I blended, I added some heavy cream to give it a rich texture and added back in the ham and carrots and also some
diced up potatoes (just enough to not overwhelm the soup)...

we made some grilled cheese croutons to go with it...

everyone loved it and definitely wants this again and really it was super easy...

bacon cheeseburger pasta

http://amandascookin.com/bacon-cheeseburger-pasta/

when my kids were little, they loved the box variety of this recipe but, as they grew up one of them decided he hated it...but, I still missed it and when I saw a homemade type I could not wait to try it...

this is like the grown up version of it and my grand daughter said that next time, I should add some velveeta cheese and maybe a little cream to it too...otherwise this is definitely a keeper and I will make it again, especially for the little kids...

note...it takes a little more constarch than is called for...

yummy

apple butter pork chop skillet

http://www.thecookierookie.com/apple-butter-pork-chop-skillet/

this is what I made for dinner tonight and it was very good...I used the thinner pork chops and would not do it next time...the apples and the sauce had a very nice taste to them...

paired with leftover stuffing and mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving

definitely a keeper

Thanksgiving dinner...

Sam and Zoie are staying here until we know that Zoie is ok...so I had a lot of help with Thanksgiving dinner...

we made:

nice size turkey that was so good, so moist
spiral sliced ham that Sam put a very nice glaze on...
sausage cornbread stuffing (yum)
creamed peas
green beans with almonds
biscuits
of course mashed potatoes with gravy
apple tart with whipped cream...

no one in this house is really feeling all that good but it was nice to have help getting dinner to the table...

letting a very sick teen choose dinners...corn chowder, creamy pasta, hashbrown casserole

http://momsdutchoven.blogspot.com/2016/09/my-hashbrown-casserole-with-sausage.htmlso last Saturday, Zoie's 16th brithday, both of the oldest girls had recitals at their school...Tim went and both girls did great...from school Sam and Zoie went straight back to their apartment and I did not speak to them till the next day when we were supposed to meet up to celebrate Zoie's birthday...we went to Red Robin but birthday girl was not feeling good at all...she could not even order her lunch (tho she does not like to order her food anyway...)  we had a very good lunch but Zoie seemed to fade fast, using her inhaler much more than she should have...we came back to my house and Sam and I were going to go to the grocery store and we left Zo at home with Tim but by the time we got to the parking lot I had talked to Sam enough to tell her how worried I was about Zo so instead of shopping, we came back home and Sam took her first to an Urgent Care, but there was no sense of urgency there and so Sam got up, walked out and took her straight to the ER and once they got hold of here, things heated up very quickly...they took her straight back and they were worried...so, to make a long story short she was diagnosed with a severe asthma attack and told Sam she should have callled 911 and not messed around...when she was finally released, she looked and acted horrible...they gave Zoie a very stern talking to on how she is responsible now for her own health and which symptoms warrant a 911 call, they do not want her messing around with the health clerk at school...

I felt so bad for her that I let her choose dinners each night, even tho she was not eating...she at least tried...

while she was at ER, I knew Sam would need to come home to a great down home comfort dinner and they chose creamy pasta with bacon and peas and man did this deliver with a great comfort dinner...I have made this before and posted about it too...it was so good...

http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/one-pan-pasta-bacon-peas-recipe/

was terrific for leftover lunches too...

so Monday when I asked sickie girl what she wanted, it was corn chowder...
here is what I did...

made a roux with 8 tablespoons of butter, 8 tablespoons of flour, about 20+ ounces of chicken stock and about the same in milk..once thickened I added 1 bag of frozen corn, 1 can of whole potatoes (this is what Zoie likes best of this chowder) chopped, 1 can of carrots and some cooked chopped bacon...
this lasted Zoie for her lunch for the rest of the week...

So, Tuesday this girl wanted hashbrown casserole and that is what she got...

http://momsdutchoven.blogspot.com/2016/09/my-hashbrown-casserole-with-sausage.html

except that once I got dinner done this girl only wanted more corn chowder...LOL

So Sam and Zoie have stayed at my house from Sunday morning, well until they plan on going home on Sunday...haha...Zoie said she was scared to leave my house till she knew she was breathing all right and needed no help...(today Saturday, a whole week later we are finally starting to see her perk up a little...)  she has school on Monday so I am hoping she will be ready...

my mom's mac and cheese

I have posted about this before...my mom made this a lot for us kids growing up...we actually thought it more like the adult version of mac and cheese as we really like the box variety and my mom also made a good recipe with velveeta cheese...but as a grown up, when I really want comfort food (mac and cheese) I always go to this one...

and a funny story that bears repeating...when aerospace tanked here in California and my hubby lost his good paying job and times were very bad for us...one night all we had in the house to eat were the ingredients for this recipe...now, I was working and hubby was not and I asked him to make dinner so it would be ready when I got home...I was hungry and I so wanted comfort food...dug into dinner and it tasted awful too sweet...he had used sweetened condensed milk instead of the evaporated milk...needless to say I did not eat dinner that night...

here is what we do...
to al-dente cooked small shells or elbows, I add one layer of pasta to a baking pan, put cheese on top then another layer of pasta and final layer of cheese...(tonight I used sharp cheddar)...seasoned the top (sometimes I add a few pats of butter and some bread crumbs...) and add 2 cans of evaporated milk...
bake at 375 for about 20 minutes...

always (and I mean always...my family would revolt if I did not do this) paired with...
mixed veggies
bbq sauced little smokies
biscuits...

so good when you crae comfort food

grilled tri tip, twice baked potatoes

one of the highlights for me is to go to the grocery store first thing in the morning (love the time to myself, ha...) I get to see what meats they are marking down for the day, and I have really gotten some good deals...
such as it was with dinner tonight...

I had bought 2 pretty large tri tips, but we all love any roasted beef here and especially lately, I have been feeding a lot of people...
so I on the grill browned the meat on all sides, getting some good grill marks, and then left them on the grill on a slow cooking style for about 2 1/2 hours...(seasoned the meat really well first...)  and they came out perfectly...no one complained about dinner tonight at all...

for the twice baked potatoes, I threw the potatoes in the oven when I went to get kids from school at 2 pm and then when I was ready for dinner they were waiting for me...
I cut the potatoes in half and scooped out the insides and Zoie came home from school just in time that she wanted to mash up the potatoes...I let her do whatever she wanted...she put in some butter, a little milk, lots of seasonings, cheese and a little diced ham, oh and on my instruction, she added one beaten egg...she mixed all the ingredients together and put back into the potato shell and she pronounced herself a great chef...once again, everyone loved them...

paired with grilled garlic bread and green beans...

can I just say here that in California it is still in the high 80's...once it finally cools down here I will not be grilling...

porcupines

this was one of my favorite dinners when I was kid and I would always volunteer to make dinner when these were on the menu...I had to eat a few while they were cooking...can you imagine how many meatballs I had to make for a family of 12 kids?  now, I cannot even imagine...

I looked up the history of porcupines on google and most sites report that the recipe came about during the great depression...the thought being that adding rice to ground beef it would make the beef go farther and the rice would puff up during cooking...the name porcupine came about as the uncooked rice sticking out of the meatball resembles a porcupine...one time my kids convinced the neighbor boy that they were really eating porcupine meat...LOL...

here is what I do...

to approximately 2 1/2 pounds of good ground beef, I add about 1 cup of uncooked Minute rice, and then I add tons of seasonings (garlic salt, pepper, and onion powder...)  I shape them into meatballs and fry them in a sauce pan...once browned I add 1 tall can of tomato soup and about 1/3 cup of water...let come to a slow boil and turn off heat...my kids like to add some grated cheese to the top...

tonight paired with:

parmesan noodles
green beans
biscuits...

totally a family favorite...

my own chicken pot pie

I have made this pie since I was first married...changed the recipe many times to make it fit to all of our likings...

haha I used to boil a whole chicken and tear the meat off the bone...so much of a time saver when I started using boneless skinless breasts...

everyone I have ever served this to, always loves it...I once served it to a minister and his wife and he said that for a church fundraiser, they would sell homemade chicken pies and mine was the best he ever had...

for the past year or so, I make double portions of pie and I then offer one pie to the first friend to text me...I always have takers...haha...so tonight I had offered it to Cj's teacher...I feel for her as her kitchen has been torn up since July so no homecooked dinner for her and I wanted to treat her...

here is what I do...

I either boil or roast 5-6 chicken breasts and then dice into small pieces (I hate to bite into a huge chunk)...

ok here is where I sometimes make it easier also...
the all ready Pillsbury pie crusts in the refrigerated section are wonderful...I like to make my own crusts but these are so good and so easy...

so I line 2 baking pans (like 9x11) with the crusts...then I fill the bottom with the diced up chicken...I then add 3 (for 2 large pans of pie) bags of frozen peas and carrots on top of the chicken...I let it sit while I make the sauce...

for the sauce:
I make a roux of 16 tablespoons of butter, 16 tablespoons of Wondra flour (I think it makes it so much easier for lumps) and once cooked down I added 4 cans of evaporated milk and a 48 oz container of chicken broth, and enough seasonings to your taste and stirred repeatedly till thickened and then poured over the chicken and vegetables...
here is a small warning...when putting the crust on the bottom, make enough of a lip to curl over the top crust...(I have not always remembered to do this)...
I then add the top crust, put some steam slits on top and bake at 375 or 400 for about 35-40 minutes...

so so so yummy...you will love it

Sunday night yummy chicken and wild rice casserole

my absolute favorite...hands down...ever...

to give credit, I got this recipe from Southern Plate...

4 chicken breasts, coooked and cubed...
add to 2 tall cans of cream of chicken soup
32 ounces of sour cream
2 packages of frozen peas
some almonds

once put into 2 large baking pans (I make this much as everyone loves it so much) (it is also great as leftovers...) (little boy will do anything for this)...ha

I sprinkle 2 sleeves of crushed ritz crackers on top and drizzle with some melted butter...

bake at 375 for about 30 minutes and you have the best darned casserole ever...so yummy...I always make this about once a month or more if I can...

Saturday night my version of taco casserole

I would have thought that Zoie and Samantha really were glad when they moved from the little house behind us into their own apartment...but, more and more they are asking to spend the night here...they really are out a little too far from us and their schools, etc. and so I think it is very beneficial to stay here where it is easier to come and go where they need to...

so they came to stay Friday night and I told Zoie that she could pick what I cooked or she could pick a restaurant of her choice...

this recipe was what she chose...

before I was even married, I would help out my fellow nurse friends and babysit for them...they would leave me dinner out to prepare for their kids and this one box dinner I fell in love with and the kids I watched loved it also...

so, it was a taco casserole and everything was included in the box except the ground meat...imagine our surprise when it disappeared and we couldn't find it anywhere...

so, I decided to try to make it my own and now my own family loves this version...

I brown approx 3 pounds of ground beef (I like it meaty) and then add it to one large can of tomato sauce (I think 32 oz) and 1 envelope of taco seasonings...I add one bag of frozen corn, 1 can of sliced black olives, a good amount of crushed (not too finely) tortilla chips and just a handful of shredded cheese...

put in baking pan, add some cheese to the top...bake 350 for about 30 minutes and you are done...

one of Zoie's and Tim's favorite dinners

weekend breakfast casserole

weekend breakfast casserole

this is definitely a keeper, everyone really liked it and I made extras for the little kids for tomorrow...

I followed recipe exactly but next time would add a ton of seasonings...

really made it a breakfast and made pancakes to go with it...

back to my quest for the perfect breakfast casserole...so far I am liking my own the best, this one is a close second...

swedish meatballs, buttered noodles and green beans

there is nothing special to my recipe...I use the Mc Cormick's seasoning mix for these meatballs and have used it for 40+ years...no reason to mess with what is good...everyone in the family loves these, we even make them for Christmas Eve...

lots of happy people for dinner tonight...

baked club pinwheels for dinner

http://www.plainchicken.com/2010/08/baked-club-pinwheels.html
these were very good and easy to prepare...I liked the ones I made without roast beef...ham turkey and bacon ones were so good...

paired with tator tots and raw veggies...

orange glazed chicken, rice and asian snap peas with homemade egg rolls

http://www.foodiecrush.com/asian-glazed-orange-chicken/

this went together fairly easy and everyone loved it...I added a little more orange juice and zest to it...

paired with a very dressed own fried rice...I fried the rice with some soy sauce, seasonings and some scrambled egg and peas...was very good...not sure why I have never made rice like this previously...I had leftovers the next day for lunch...
I hardly ever shop at Vons since they are a little more expensive, but they had some nice looking snap peas in an Asian sauce and man, were they good...I went today and got some more just to have in the freezer for another time...

also made egg rolls...mixed up packaged cole slaw mix with some seasonings and some Jimmy Dean sausage crumbles and wrapped them up in the egg roll wrappers and fried them...so delicious...

definitely will make this again...

tastes just like a good restaurant's orange chicken with not as much work...

November menu plans...for the month

not in any particular order...

will make weekly menus next...

so here goes...

Thanksgiving (of course)
cheesy ham chowder
chicken enchilada cornbread casserole
cashew chicken
navajo fry bread tacos
stuffed french bread or cheeseburger packets
korean beef
apple butter pork chop skillet
baked club pinwheels
chicken pot pie
chicekn and wild rice
hamburger soup
barley soup
shepards pie
breakfast
swiss steak
frito casserole
porcupines
roasted chicken
slow cooker lasagna
mac and cheese
1 pot chicken thighs
montery spaghetti
taco lasagna
pineapple chicken stew
cheesy chicken stew
something with Bisquick
Irish potato pie
pot roast
swedish meatballs

sounds good...

impossibly easy sausage breakfast pie

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/impossibly-easy-sausage-breakfast-pie/9aece503-9b48-4bdd-b801-9fd83c594553

want to try making breakfast at least 2 Sundays a month...this was easy to put together, especially since I use the Jimmy Dean already cooked sausage crumbles...

everyone liked this and I paired it with a homemade sour cream cinnamon coffee cake I made this morning...

Zoie is here this weekend and does not like sausage, so she made her own little casserole dish just as the recipe states except she did not add any meat...I tasted hers and it was pretty tasty...she said she would make it again at home for her and her mom...

I have stated many times before I much I love Bisquick...have loved them since I was a very young married cook, trying to impress her husband with her cooking...LOL

I love these impossible pies and told myself to try to make more of them each month...makes for a good variety...

round steak with onions, fried potatoes and green beans, reposted

I cannot believe I have not blogged about this before in the 5 years that I have been blogging...this used to be one of our favorites too...

Tim works on Saturdays and he did not take lunch today and was thrilled to come home to this recipe for dinner...he just came out and said that this was one of the best dinners we have had in a long time...

I found this recipe in an old magazine many many years ago when I was first trying to impress hubby with my cooking...(42 years?)  the original recipe called for this meat to be in pita bread with mayo, lettuce and tomatoes...but, I have always used it as a main dish...
tonight, I very thinly cut london broil into small strips and lightly sauteed in a small amount of oil, and added garlic salt, pepper, onion powder and some parsley...once the meat is browned on all sides, I add just enough hot water to cover the meat and cover with a lid and let boil till water is cooked down...(it makes it very tender)...

paired tonight with fried potatoes and green beans...

maybe one of these times, I will finally try it in pita bread...

chicken lazone...my version

not sure why I never tried this before last year...this has most definitely become one of our top family favorites ever and has been begged for lately a lot...

so so easy too...

I take 4 chicken breasts and cut them up into bite sized pieces and brown them in a little butter to which I have added garlic salt, black pepper and onion powder...once they are browned on all sides, I add about 1/2 to 3/4 carton of half and half...I let the sauce get nice and hot and I then add a little cornstarch diluted with some cold water to thicken the sauce...

serve over cooked thin spaghetti...

so yummy

corned beef, cabbage and mashed potatoes

we have had these corned beef in the freezer for like forever and I decided to make them for dinner...

put 2 corned beef in the crock pot (with a liner) and cooked them on high all day long...

Tim made his famous (LOL) mashed potatoes and I cooked cabbage...here is where I must say I do not care for cabbage...I can eat it uncooked but not once it is heated up, not sure if it is the smell or what...but hubby and Sam love it...Sam loves to mix her potatoes and cabbage together (hence why I made mashed potatoes instead of boiled tonight)...

so for the cabbage...sometime I will use the cole slaw mix of already shredded cabbage, but for dinner I had bought a whole head of cabbage and so I sliced it very thinly and added to the pan that I had fried some bacon in (just a little bit as I did not want it too greasy) with some sliced onion and tons of seasonings (garlic salt, onion powder, black pepper and some celery salt...) and I cooked until it cooked down and was tender...then I tossed in some bacon...Sam said it was the best I ever made..

and as usual once I make a big dinner, my heart failure acts up and I unfortunately did not eat but everyone else loved it and little boy got to have some of his beloved mashed potatoes...he did not care for corned beef, said it tasted like beef jerky...

homemade beef pot pie

am sure I have mentioned this before but, as a kid, I was one of 12 kids in a very poor family...for a treat my mom would buy us those frozen pot pies and we loved them...beef were my favorite...and to this day I am always trying to not only replicate those ones from my childhood but also make them better...

it is starting to cool down here, we have had some cooler temps and 2 days of what we call heavy rain...

I decided to make beef stew and it came out so perfectly, but then we decided to go to Olive Garden for their lasagna...
so, I had beef stew all ready (but I love it when it sits overnight and all of the flavors marry together anyway) and I thought that it would make a terrific pot pie...

so I went ahead and made a nice pie crust, lined a big casserole pan and filled it with the prepared beef stew, then put a top on it and baked it...

it came out so good...Sam and Zoie even came over to eat with us and declared it a winner...

sloppy joes and waffle fries

I use the Mc Cormicks seasoning for sloppy joes and they have always worked for me and so easy too and everyone loves them in the family...they come out perfectly every single time...

I tried a new potato side dish, seasoned waffle fries...

a good comfort food on a night when you need it...

one pot creamy pasta, bacon and peas

one pot creamy pasta, bacon and peas

I have made this before but forgot how really good it is...and it is so easy too, everything is made in one pot...love this...

since I made a huge dinner last night, I really wanted something easier tonight...I am feeling a little bit better but still not 100% (not really sure when I did feel that good, LOL)...my heart failure has been acting up for awhile now, but I am seeing a new cardiologist (who is absolutely wonderful and finding lots wrong to fix...) and I told someone today, something is finally working cause I did feel some better...they tweaked the pacemaker and said I might feel some relief and I do...my lips were not as blue today as they usually are...so my point was that I wanted easy tonight but I also wanted to make a great dinner for my oldest grand daughter who is doing some work for me for the school and she loves pasta...

this sure fit the bill...

instead of the milk, I added half and half for the extra creaminess, otherwise I followed directions exactly...

everyone except hubby liked this, he said he hates penne...

30 minute mini meatloaves, mashed potatoes

30 minute mini meatloaves

after many many years and searching for the perfect meat loaf, this one is now my go to recipe...I happen to love meat loaf very much...growing up this was always my requested birthday dinner...meat loaf and scalloped potatoes....yum...

this recipe comes out perfect every single time, but is the kind of recipe that you can change different ways...

I have added bacon before, I have made them in muffin tins and I have made them as a loaf too...the one way that I changed a little today was that for the pork, I substituted sweet Italian sausage...and I also added some shredded cheddar cheese...

every one ate today, including 2 of the littles and little boy was in heaven...he loves my mashed potatoes...for some reason Tim mixes up the potatoes for me and they are the bomb...not sure what he does to them, but they come out so creamy...

for the potatoes, I diced up 10 red potatoes into small pieces and boiled them...once done, Tim adds some cream cheese, a little sour cream, a little butter and seasonings...total perfection...

paired with green beans and boxed Famous Dave's cornbread...

great dinner even though I did dinner with a migraine...

7 up, bacon and cheddar biscuits

7-UP Bacon Cheddar Biscuits

these were so good, everyone loved them and I wish I had some right now...

I followed the recipe exactly...

pork chops and scalloped potatoes

Pork Chops and Scalloped Potatoes
this recipe was very very good...Sam and Zoie came for dinner and they loved it also...

easy to put together...one comment I had read from the original blogger said that she used evaporated milk instead of plain milk to make it thicker and that is what I did also...

otherwise I followed the recipe exactly and will definitely make this again...

million dollar spaghetti

http://ashleykaitlin.blogspot.com/2011/01/million-dollar-spaghetti.html

when I make this, this is the recipe I follow as everyone really loves this one...Sam and Zoie were spending the weekend and this is their favorite dinner...

it came out wonderful as always...

breakfast tator tot casserole with sausage

http://www.plainchicken.com/2016/02/tater-tot-sausage-breakfast-casserole.html

I am really liking the idea of breakfast for dinner...so I wanted to try a tator tot casserole for breakfast and I always know I can find what I am looking for at Plain Chicken...

this was good and I will make it again...the mistake I made was to put it into a too deep of a pan...and that did not give the egg mixture time to cook and the top then was too well done...
I will try this again and put it into a much more shallow pan, might even try the crock pot...

savory baked chicken and potatoes with Bisquick

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/savory-baked-chicken-and-potato-dinner/a6a6e43c-8e4c-4365-848b-86bed3f40fd7

this went together really well and baked up good also...everyone loved this especially little boy who was spending the night...

basically what I did, was baste chicken thighs with some honey mustard (store bought) and then covered them with Bisquick that I had added some seasonings to...
put the chicken onto a baking sheet around the edges of the sheet and then in the middle of the pan I added cut up onions, cut up potatoes and some baby carrots...

baked at 400 for about 40 minutes...

really good

easy meatball soup

http://momsdutchoven.blogspot.com/2016/03/wednesday-night-dinner-easy-meatball.html

not feeling real good so needed something easy tonight...

this fits the bill...here is what I do....

2 McCormick's  beef stew seasoning mix
7 cups of water
combine and add 1 bag of frozen meatballs

when boiling add 1/2 bag of noodles and cook till al-dente and then add 1/2 package of frozen peas...

and voila you are done, could not be any easier...

taco macaroni casserole and cornbread spoon bread

I am feeling brave right now, since it is still hot here but yet I am turning the oven more than I usually do in the summer...

but I also feel horrible today...along with some heart issues I am dealing with, I think I also caught what my youngest grand daughter had this week, basically a bad cold...but for me, it is hard to breathe, and the cough, is unrelenting...hopefully I only have for a couple of more days...

this was for dinner tonight...

http://www.the36thavenue.com/taco-macaroni-casserole/

and this was very good, everyone did like it...next time I would add a little more seasonings to it...I added about 3/4 of the pkg of taco seasonings...

I also made this to go along side of the macaroni...

http://www.jiffymix.com/recipe.php/jiffy+corn+muffin+mix/156-spoon+bread+casserole

totally yummy dinner

layered chicken and stuffing casserole a family favorite

Sunday, October 18, 2015

layered chicken casserole, like Thanksgiving in every bite...

I first got this recipe on the website of Kraft foods...everyone in the family loves it...but, when I looked for it today, it is no longer on line...I hope I have a good memory of how it went together...

here is what I remember:

4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
frozen peas
layer the 2 on the bottom of a 9 x 12 pan (I also made a cake pan size for my neighbors tonight) then I sprinkle some cranberries (dried) and some almonds on top..

mix together 1 large can and I small can of cream of chicken soup, 1/2 container of sour cream, a little milk (just to make it more like a gravy?) some seasonings and pour on top of the chicken and peas...

I used 3 boxes of the cornbread Stove Top stuffing, mixed with 3 cups of very hot water on layered on top of soup mixture and top that with a small amount of mozzarella cheese (next time I might leave this off...)

bake at 350 for about 45 minutes...

my family loves this as it tastes so much like Thanksgiving...

Wednesday night, super busy...mock lasagna

I have made this previously...declared it a hubby favorite and said that it is always my go to first cool day of Fall to make when I finally can turn on my oven after a long hot summer...

we have had 2 days of pretty nice weather, but they say the rest of the week through the weekend is going to be rough...yay...I cannot wait (being sarcastic here...)

I originally found this recipe in a very old magazine of my hubby's grandmothers...and the sauce always takes a little while to make and get ready...with all kinds of different tomatoes and sauces, etc.
so, I thought today I would try it with my regular spaghetti sauce and see if it turned out the same way...it did...

so here is what I did to cut some corners...I was super busy at school today and did not want to be in the kitchen forever...

so I took 2 tall cans of spaghetti sauce and added 1 tall can of tomato soup to it...I poured this over browned hamburger and some italian sausage and let it simmer for about 15 minutes...I think this is the key to the recipe, to have your sauce nice and hot...

I then put a single layer of meat mixture in the bottom of a baking pan, covered it pretty well and then added one layer of uncooked noodles over the top...I then completely covered the noodles with the rest of the sauce, till all the noodles had sauce on them...put mozzarella cheese on the top and cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes (too much longer and the noodle get soggy...)  let sit for about 10 minutes so it cuts up nice...

yummy

Monday night sleep over, impossible mini sausage muffins and pumpkin pancakes

so little boy was spending the night and I like to cook for him...he wants to be a chef and loves when I come up with new ideas, or old ideas he has not tried yet...
these are his favorites of mine:

1.  chicken mozzarella pasta
2.  chicken and wild rice
3.  these muffins from here
4.  hashbrown casserole

he says when he gets big, he is buying a bakery and I will be his cooker...haha...I will probably be too old by then...

this is the recipe used for the muffins (he called them cupcakes...) and he took them in his lunchbox for the next day too...

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/impossibly-easy-mini-breakfast-sausage-pies/daeffa4b-355d-466f-b712-86388de26b3f

and I made pumpkin pancakes from a box mix...

he pronounced dinner delicious...

Amish poor man's steak and homemade mashed potatoes and gravy

this has been on my favorite's list for awhile now and tonight seemed the right night for it and I happened to have all of the right ingredients...

this is the recipe I followed (somewhat)

http://www.sweetlittlebluebird.com/2016/08/amish-country-poor-mans-hamburger-steaks.html

and it was good...it reminds me of salisbury steak, except this has a white gravy...I followed this recipe to a T except for the gravy...instead of canned soup as the gravy, I kind of wanted a chicken fried type of gravy and so...

made a roux with 6 tbs flour and 6tbs butter and added 2 1/2 cups of milk till thickened...

Tim made the mashed potatoes and each time he does them, I swear that they get better...tonight he added a couple of tablespoons of onion soup mix to the potatoes along with some cream cheese and some shredded cheese...so yummy...

so in researching amish poor man's steak, I fould another recipe I would like to try next time...
she said to make up your meat mixture the night before, put into a log shape and refrigerate overnight and then when ready, slice into portion pieces and grill each side (as you would for a steak...) and then cover with the gravy...

so yummy

Saturday night appetizer dinner, catch up on DVR night

was only Tim and me home Saturday night...all week long, we DVR our favorite shows to watch when it is very quiet at the house...

decided to make an appetizer night, where I just put out different types of finger food...

tonight we had...
pizza rolls
popcorn chicken
cut up veggies and dip
tator tots
tacquitos

we got several shows watched that we had been waiting all summer for out of the way...
Elementary
Arrow

nice night with just the 2 of us

my hashbrown casserole with sausage...

not feeling 100% tonight, spent 3 1/2 hours in Urgent Care to find out that I have what I already googled...(hip bursitis) and that there is not too much that they can do about it...it hurts to stand, to sit, to cough, to sneeze, basically do just about anything...but since I was told today that I will have it for awhile, I had better learn quickly how to deal with life with pain...

I wanted comfort food for dinner tonight...I need something to make me feel better...

I have posted about this recipe many times, it is one of our family favorites...little boy when he comes over tomorrow, will be delighted to see that this is made...he will love to come home from school tomorrow to have this for a snack...LOL...I like to see him happy...

I am posting about this tonight cause it turned out so so so yummy, absolute perfection...so I am trying to remember exactly what I did with it tonight that made it so delicious...

ok...

here is what I did tonight...

I took one bag of frozen hash browns and I let them sit on the counter for about 40 minutes or so to take some of the frozen-ness out of it and then I lightly fried them in a very small amount of oil till a little browned...
mixed in one container of sour cream (16 oz) and it was just enough to coat the other ingredients (think other times I might have put too much sour cream?), also added cheddar cheese, some garlic salt and black pepper and I used already browned sausage crumbles...also added 6 lightly scrambled eggs...mixed together and put into baking pan and added a layer of cheddar cheese to the top...

baked at 350 for about 35 minutes or until bubbly...

so good tonight...

was going to make pumpkin pancakes to go with this, but was hurting too much to stand and make them...Tim agreed...

hot ham and cheese party rolls for dinner

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/hot-ham-cheese-party-rolls/

this is one of those recipes that has been on my favorite list, like forever and I keep meaning to make them...they look so good and I figured everyone would like them..
I like to know the night before what I am making for dinner the next night...I just like to plan it in my head so I have most of the night and the next day to plan for the ingredients...if I do not plan ahead, we tend to eat out more...so for a couple of days I told myself that one day this week, I would definitely make them...tonight was the night...

and now I wish I had made them a lot sooner...let me tell you, they are so delicious...and everyone in this family loved them, well except for hubby who even refused to try them...(I give up with him) he is the one that lost out...Tim even went back for seconds and when I was telling Sam on the phone how good they were, she made me promise to save some for her...

I was a little worried about the sauce that is poured over the top of them...I really do not care for mustard, but the little bit of it that is mixed in with the rest of the sauce ingredients was not over the top...
these were so good and so easy, very do-able for a quick lunch, dinner or snack...I am also thinking of the other possibilities with this idea...

we paired with tator tots and veggies and dip...

yummy, you much try this, you will not be disappointed...

very hot day here, hamburgers, steak and potato salad

guess the heat thought we did not have enough of it this summer and decided to pay us another visit before fall hits...OMGosh 105 here today...I am dying (but not quite like I have in previous years...yes, people central air is sooooooo nice...what the heck did I do for 15 years in an unair conditioned house?)  now I am spoiled...was planning to BBQ hamburgers and steak and then thought it much too hot to go outside to cook...
made the burgers in a George Foreman and the steak I cooked on a grill pan...

not feeling good today, the hip pain is quite bad...hurts to take even one step, I am thinking like a bursitis...so Sam and Zo came over today and she made the potato salad...she knows how I like it made and she does a very good job at it...Tim had bought some teeny tiny potatoes of all colours at Whole Foods and we used those for the salad and it was so good...

for our potato salad here is what we do...
to diced cooked potatoes we add...
diced celery, green onions, chopped kosher dill pickles, black olives, plenty of hard boiled eggs, chopped, mustard, seasonings (garlic powder, celery salt, black pepper and onion powder...) a splash of pickle juice and just enough mayo to combine it all together...

yum...

playing at being on Chopped...cranberry bread strata for breakfast

Tim absolutely loves Whole Foods and since we do not have one around us, when he does go to one, he goes crazy...there is one very close to MIL's house and he takes advantage whenever he goes down there...
so, he came home with cranberry rubbed bacon and a loaf og cranberry nut bread and asked what I could do with it...thought for about a week and decided this morning was a good morning to try what I had come up with...

loosely based on this recipe:
http://www.recipetineats.com/cheese-and-bacon-breakfast-strata-cake-bread-bake/

and it turned out really good...altho there are a few changes I would make to it next time...I most definitely would make it the night before and let it soak in the milkk and eggs better...it calls for 6 eggs and 1 1/4 cups of milk...I might increase to 9 eggs and 2 cups of milk...

to be truthful in my whole life I have never tried a strata or bread pudding or anything along those lines but now am intrigued and want to try some more...

he also got some teeny tiny potatoes of all different colors and I am going to make potato salad with it for tonight...supposed to be 105 here today so we are BBQ'ing...

Monday night dinner chicken mozzarella pasta

little boy soent the night and I love to have a good stick to your ribs dinner for him...

http://www.365daysofbakingandmore.com/chicken-mozzarella-pasta/

this really fit  the bill an dhe loved it...said he might be making a decision to change his favorite from chicken and wild rice to this recipe...LOL...


this really made good leftovers too...

Zoie made orange dreamsicle pie

so I guess this girl has been craving this pie and has bugged me all weekend about making it...I bought the ingredients and left everything else up to her...

to softened cream cheese (8 ounces) she added 1 cup of orange juice and creamed together...she added 1 small package of orange jello and 1 small package of vanilla pudding...she then folded in 12 ounces of Cool Whip and put all ingredients into a prepared graham cracker pie shell...

she wanted to surprise Tim...

she is anxiously awaiting it to chill...

cat's away...tuna melts, pigs in blankets and creamed chipped beef

whenever my husband is away for a day or so, I always say that when the cat is away the nice will play and we left at home, will get to eat what we like for a change (things he will not eat...)
such has been the last couple of days...
he and Tim went to LA to see MIL who is 91 this week...cat is not doing that well health wise but I thought it important to see his mom...

yesterday for lunch Zoie and I had creamed chipped beef on toast...yum...she and I love this stuff and it was perfect and went pretty well for my gallbladder diet (I was surprised that it was OK)...

    I take a jar of dried beef (sold in the aisle of tuna and other canned meats...)  and I rinse the salt off and paper towel dry the meat and then stir into 8 tablespoons of butter in a fry pan...I let cook for a few minutes until almost crisp...I then add 8 tablespoons of flour and let cook off the flour tast lte and add 3 cups of milk and stir lumps out and continue stirring until thickened...yum...

 I cannot believe Zoie and Cj have never had pigs in blankets...that was lunch today...
    I take a refrigerated can of crescent rolls and wrap the biscuits around a hot dog and bake...LOL paired with tator tots...it also was OK for my diet...

then Zoie asked for tuna melts last night for dinner...she has not had one for a long time...she made chips and dip to go with hers...
    I make mine with sourdough bread and because of my diet I added minimal amount of mayo and used american cheese...they were so good last night...

alas, cat and Tim are home this afternoon...so back to my usual way of cooking...

chicken and wild rice casserole and hamburger soup

so little boy was spending the night and his favorite dinner is chicken and wild rice casserole and he was ecstatic to discover what was for dinner...and then also ate it for the rest of the week for an after school treat...I also made an extra pan of it and took it to my old neighbors (the ones that gave me the neat birdhouse...)  they love my cooking but they especially my homemade chicken pot pie...I thought maybe they would also love this recipe...

the next night I have been craving my hamburger soup and it really hit the spot and there is always plenty of leftovers of this for my lunch once I get back from school...

a couple of years ago, becasue of some tummy pain, I had an ultrasound and was found to have some gall stomes but my doctor said as long as the pain was not horrible, to try to deal the best I could unless I wanted surgery...surgery was not advised at the time because of my heart issues and I would have some pain but not bad at all and I learned to deal with it...fast forward to about 3 weeks ago and the pain got pretty bad...I went to Urgent Care to reaffirm diagnosis and then to primary doctor and was basically told the same thing...I need to go for a new unltrasound but he said until that is done to try and follow a strict diet of no fat, fried foods and red meat...I am really trying and so far I have done pretty well...the day before I saw my primary, I had gone to Jersey Mikes and I was in agony all night long...
this hamburger soup has fed me for 3 days now...I try to bypass the meat in it but what little I am getting has really been ok...
maybe I will also lose some weight this way too...

Sunday night dinner...Amish country casserole

this day today is the first time I have had my oven on all summer...today, finally is is a little cool-ish here...said to be in the high 80's...and it feels so good outside right now...even with this good news, I know not to count my chickens quite yet...supposed to get hot again this next week...I just go with the flow...what else can you do?  I personally cannot wait until the middle of October when it officially cools down...

this recipe has been bookmarked in my favorites for quite awhile and today I just decided to go ahead with it and see if the fuss I have heard about this, is true...I really had wanted to try it in the slow cooker but then when the weather was cooperating with me I thought I would just go ahead and bake it...

I actually googled several different versions of this recipe and kind of did my own thing...

here is what I did...

to a 12 oz pkg of cooked noodles, I added browned hamburger and some italian sausage, tons of seasonings, 1 cup of milk (I actually only added 1/2 to 3/4 cup), 1-10 3/4 oz can of tomato soup, 1-10 3/4 oz can of cream of chicken soup and mixed it all together...
now, this is where the second recipe that I read comes into play...

I used 2 square baking pans...in one pan I just put the whole mixture but in the other pan, the recipe said to put one layer of mixture in the pan and then add some american cheese slices to the top and then add the remaining mixture to the top...

they are in the oven and I cannot wait to see which one I like the most...

so everyone in the family liked this dish...they preferred the one that had the cheese in the middle...I am hoping this makes good leftovers...someone else, on their blog, said that this dish is not pretty, nor would you serve it to guests and I would have to agree with them tho the family liked it...even picky hubby did...

September menu plans...

porcupines
chicken and pea pod foil
chicken parmesan with bacon
pork roast
breakfast
huli huli chicken
seasoned potato with chicken and green beans in slow cooker
corn chowder
hoagies
slow cooker lasagna
alfredo
frito casserole
sweet and sour meatballs
BBQ corned beef
stacked chicken enchiladas
italian sausage and veggies
thai pork
spanish rice
chicken fried steak fingers
hamburger soup
taco lasagna
kabobs
grilled chicken and bacon sliders
chicken and wild rice casserole
amish casserole

does this look a little familiar?  most of the recipes, were on August's rotation and for some reason, I did not make them that month...school starting, weather, laziness, & not feeling good are all reasons why...
I am going to try really hard this month to cook more at home...

today being Sunday...and there is no school and thank goodness we have one more day with Labor Day...I boiled 3 dozen eggs (to have egg salad and to have some hard boiled eggs on hand...)  I also put 2 roasts in the crock pot to cook all day for lunches (I am sick of packing only lunch meats...and we have a no peanut butter rule at our school...)  and I cut up vegetables to have on hand for the kids to snack on...

smothered pork chops

hubby loves pork chops, to me they are just Ok but, decided maybe I just did not know how to cook them right...
been researching different recipes and came upon this one...

http://www.spendwithpennies.com/crock-pot-pork-chops/

and it sounded pretty good...besides, hubby had just bought a big pack of pork chops...
funny thing is, that this is the way I make one version of my swiss steak...

it came out really good and was very tender and it made me kind of change my mind about pork chops a little...

we paired it with some smashed potatoes that Tim made and some mixed veggies...

very yummy, you should try it, you will not be disappointed...

Tuesday night lazy family dinner...Applebees copycat chicken salad

http://mandysrecipeboxblog.com/applebees-oriental-chicken-salad/

this is the recipe I basically follow and since I have made it many many times, I have tweaked a few things to make it our own...and what is funny that everytime I make this everyone says, " wow mom that really hit the spot..."

first of all I make it so much easier by buying Carl's Jr chicken tenderloins, for some reason I love their chicken and this makes it so much easier to buy the chicken already done for you...

then I basically follow the above recipe but we put ours in a tortilla wrap...

the dressing is to die for and I always make more of it, to last for other salads in the week...

yum you must try it...

I love this so much that even tho I can make it at home, every single time we go to Applebees I order this exact thing...

Monday night family dinner, BBQ roasted whole chicken

this BBQ of mine has gotten a really good work out this summer...more than it ever has before...LOL...in the old house, the back yard was kind of hard to get to and in the heat of summer, it wiped me out having to walk thru the whole house with meat in my hand to get to the back yard to the BBQ and then adding to that, if I wanted to watch it, I had to sit outside, in said heat...that just was not me...I have said many many times that heat and I do not get along at all...do not ask me how we ended up living in a place that sometimes reaches high triple digits...
so in the new house (where we moved in May) when you are in the kitchen preparing the meat for BBQing, the back yard is literally 2 steps to the back door and outside...so so so much better...as long as we have charcoal and lighter fluid, it is so much easier to BBQ than heat up my kitchen...the BBQ and the slow cooker have certainly been my best friends this year...what in the heck did I do what I did for 15 years living in the old house?  I am so much happier with many things here, tho I do miss my old neighbors...

I do also have to say that having central air here, vs. having only window air sure has helped this summer pass better for me...a complete life savior...

tonight, anticipating sending some home with little kids, I prepared 2 whole chickens...I like to put some butter and some cut up onions in the cavity and also rub a spice mixture all over the skin...put them on grill using the side only slow cooking version that I taught myself to do...and it comes out wonderful...we had them on for approximately 2 hours...so moist and delicious...and we have lots of leftovers, even sending some home with littles...

paired with hobo potatoes...diced potatoes, seasoned, with some cut up onions, wrapped in foil and put with the chickens on the grill...also had broccoli...

a very good summer dinner...yum

fried macaroni and cheese

at various restaurants, this is my absolute favorite appetizer, especially at CPK...and so I decided to try to make it myself and OMGoodness were they ever good...

I used Kraft deluxe macaroni and cheese (next time I make homemade mac and cheese, I will freeze some for these...)
and the trick to these is to freeze the pasta and then just slightly defrost...then dip individual "balls" into flour, then beaten egg mixture and then into panko bread crumbs (making sure every bit is covered)...and fry in small amount of oil...

next time I will add garlic salt and pepper to the flour...

otherwise, so so good

Sunday night BBQ steaks

when we were first married, and I would ask hubby to BBQ, it never turned out the way I thought it should...the meat would be burned black on the outside and raw inside...I decided to teach myself to BBQ and over the years, I was so happy with myself that I did this...haha, this was in the days before computers and so what I did was go buy a "how to BBQ" cookbook...I love the slow cooking version of grilling...and of course everyone in the family is glad I taught myself to do this...

tonight?

we had some steaks in the freezer, I seasoned them yesterday and today I grilled them...the end...
perfection...LOL

paired with brussel sprouts, french bread and deli potato salad (at the end of the day, did not know what to make to go with steaks and sent Tim to the store...)

all in all a good meal, even though I do not care for steaks all that much...

Friday night beef stroganoff...yum

this is Tim's all time favorite dinner, the one he asks for on his birthday and such...he is having a few problems, a little depressed and I wanted to surprise him with a good dinner...

I use the McCormick's seasoning mix for my usual beef stroganoff and I have never gone wrong using it...

today I decided to try it a little different, here is what I did...

I cut about 2 1/2 pounds of london broil into very thin strips, floured them and seared them...put them into a lined slow cooker, poured some beef broth onto the meat and cooked on high for about 4-5 hours...

I take 2 packages of the seasoning mix and stir into 2 cups of the beef broth and let thicken, added 16 oz of sour cream and stirred till no lumps...

served over buttered noodles and made peas and carrots to go along with it...

Tim was very happy

slow cooker orange chicken and homemade chow mein

for dinner tonight, I wanted something different and orange chicken has been on my "I want to cook sometime" list for awhile...I just recently have started ordering orange chicken when we go out and I do like it...
now, hubby and Tim really like it and I wanted to surprise them with dinner tonight...

this is the recipe I used for the chicken:

http://www.averiecooks.com/2016/02/slow-cooker-orange-chicken.html

and since I have never even tried chow mein, but both guys love it, I decided to look for recipe and try it...

this is the one I used for the chow mein:

http://damndelicious.net/2014/07/02/panda-express-chow-mein-copycat/

everyone really liked both recipes...I invited Sam and Zoie over for dinner too, since they both like things like this and they were happy and props, Sam helped me cook too...

the one thing I would change for the chicken was I think it had too much cornstarch, so I would cut down on that...
and the thing about the noodles was, I would want them to be a little thicker...I had a hard time finding yaki-soba noodles, and I would not put brown sugar in it at all...

other than that, it was yummy and will be put on our regular rotation of meals...

sloppy joe dinner for a hot very hot evening

I made a huge batch of this tonight, so I could send enough home with the little kids...

I use the McCormick seasoning packet and paired them with tator tots, maple carrots and chopped salad...

yummy...

and just when I finished cooking, and sat down to eat, my a/c decided to play a joke on me and quit working...thought I would die...was ready to start looking for hotels...LOL
Tim figured it out, we had too many things going at one time and it just needed re-booting...

spaghetti carbonara

http://lilluna.com/spaghetti-carbonara/

I was intrigued by this recipe, as it did not have the egg tossed in like so many other recipes...this one has cream cheese with seasonings added...

everyone in the family liked it except me...I did not really care for the cream cheesy taste...

I want to find the right one for me...to keep on looking...

slow cooker pot roast, mashed potatoes and egg salad

lately I have posted a lot about roasts...but I have a reason...ha...
I love to check the day old meats at Ralphs, and when I come upon a good piece of roast, I just cannot pass it up...(I mean who could, really?)  and with the slow cooker they are so darn easy...and taste so good in many ways...who doesn't love a good roast beef sandwich?  (my favorite)  but, I also love a really good tender roast beef with homemade mashed potatoes and gravy...I have to say that I think this is one of my absolute favorite dinners...and growing up, I never had roast beef (who could afford a roast with 12 kids?) until I had moved out on my own...now, we have roast a couple of times a month if not more...LOL

my way is simply to coat the beef in a little flour, and sear on all sides, then I put into the slow cooker with 1-2 packets of Lipton onion soup mix and enough water to cover the beef and I cook on high most of the day...yummy

and my mashed potatoes, oh my....I love mashed potatoes...and to think growing up mashed potatoes meant the box variety...little boy also loves my mashed potatoes...

I always use red potatoes and cook them till fork tender, then add them to the kitchen aid along with a brick of cream cheese, a couple of spoons of sour cream and a couple of tablespoons of butter...also add garlic salt and a lot of black pepper...

yummy dinner tonight and thankfully there are enough leftovers for a sandwich later on...


first thing this morning I boiled almost 3 dozen eggs, knowing that we would need something good in this heat for sandwiches...
and I made the best egg salad for the whole week...
not much to mine, I grate very finely and add just enough mayo to moisten with a teeny amount of garlic salt and lots of pepper...

Tim has lunch for the week

Saturday night taco salad it is hot hot hot here

what on earth did I ever do before we moved to this house that has central air?  I am loving being in a house where I am not melting...heat and I do not get along at all...it drains me and I get horrible headaches from it...

we are in triple digits here and I absolutely hate it...it severely affects the way I cook...I so want to try new recipes but it has to be slow cooker or BBQ (and even with that I still have to go outside, yuck...)

since hubby has been sick since we moved and mostly unable to drive, I get out first thing in the morning, when it still nice out and do all of my outside errands first thing and so it was this morning...I love Sunday mornings as I always go and get Tim and I our white chocolate mocha fraps and get what groceries I need at the same time, and then I go to Panera for muffins or bagels for our breakfast...this morning a little before 7am, I woke up our 2 little overnight "guest" had them do a few chores for me and made them walk up to the Plaza for my weekly tradition...I was surprised they got up so good and agreed to go with me...LOL...

Sian had never been to Panera, so I got both girls their breakfast and left them to eat while I did my shopping...these 2 love being given a little independence and were so happy to have breakfast by themselves...

so last night, I made taco salad and I am notorious for the way I like my salad...not sure why I call it a salad since I put no lettuce in mine at all...

here is how I make mine...

to browned ground beef (seasoned) I add some grated cheese, chopped tomatoes, green onions and some black olives...then I add some crushed tortilla chips and just enough ranch dressing to make it all come together and I LOVE it this way...well, yesterday I forgot to buy lettuce for everone else so everyone had to have theirs like mine, although hubby puts salsa in his...

slow cooker sausage tator tot casserole

little boy is spending the night here tonight and I let him choose what he wasnted for dinner...he loves my cooking and says when he is bigger he is buying a bakery and I will be his cooker...LOL

he loves my usual recipe of hashbrown casserole, but with summer here I do not turn my oven on and I remembered seeing this recipe and it is very similiar...this did not disappoint...it was very yummy...

http://slowcookergourmet.net/slow-cooker-breakfast-tater-tot-casserole/

I used turkey sausage crumbles for this and it would also be great with bacon or ham...

so yummy you must try it...

smoked sausage with apples, onions and potatoes...with corn cakes

this was a very yummy dinner that everyone in the family ended up loving...this is a little different than what I am used to making but I will surely make it again...fairly easy to put together...

I cut up 2 packages of smoked sausage and browned them in a little butter, added diced onion, chopped apples (I used granny smith) and seasonings, stirred them and conitinued cooking until onions and apples were cooked...now I have a thing about potatoes not being done, so I roasted my diced potatoes first and then added them to the skillet...added parsley to the top...

so good...

for the corn cakes...this is the recipe that I used...

https://www.pomanmeals.com/cheddar-scallion-corn-cakes/

OMGosh these were so good...you must try them...might add some corn and bacon next time...

korean beef with rice and homemade egg rolls

http://www.jimmydean.com/recipes/appetizers/margarets-sausage-egg-rolls

this is the recipe I have used for years for egg rolls and they never disappoint...

http://damndelicious.net/2013/07/07/korean-beef-bowl/

a new family favorite...I made a lot extras for leftovers...this is so good you must try it...yummy, this was not even on my menu rotation for the week, but I woke this morning craving it...

Zoie my 15 year old was a huge help in the kitchen today...my little sous chef...

Sunday afternoon dinner...grilled teriyaki chicken pineapple kebobs

I like Sunday afternoons when most of the family is here for dinner, we eat around 2 and it makes for a nice, easy restful afternoon...

today we grilled (Zoie, my 15 year old loves to BBQ) chicken, pineapple, broccoli and onion kebobs and finshed them off with a really good teriyaki sauce...

cheated and made chicken rice a roni with it...

yum...Tim was happy

Friday night, turkey bacon tortilla wraps

the very first time I had ever eaten a wrap was at Disneyland...and it was so good...it had turkey, bacon, cheese, olives, tomatoes, lettuce with some kind of dressing (too long ago for me to remember, and I don't think they even serve them anymore...)  and they served them with little tortilla chips in the shape of Mickey...
this was so good...

and the Rainforest Cafe serves a really good chicken cesar wrap that we love too...

so for many years I have made these wraps especially on a hot summer night...

I use the largest flour tortilla and spread a little of thousand island dressing on the tortilla and then everyone layers what they want on the tortilla...

tonight we served with tator tots made in the toaster over (no I did not turn my oven on in this heat...)

little kids came over while we were eating and they had never had a wrap before and declared these a very good idea...

ham, baked potatoes on the grill

I was so happy when I found ham on sale at Walmart for $1.00 a pound...I love me some ham...so of course I bought the biggest one I saw...

wrapped in foil and threw on the grill on indirect cooking with some foil wrapped baking potatoes...

it came out so good, will try this way again for potatoes for other meals...

paired with a nice green salad and garlic bread...

yum happy eating

hamburger soup

it seems a little hot here, temp wise for a soup, but I have been craving this so much...and it is so good as leftovers the next day...

here is what I did...

5 cups of water
1 pkg of onion soup mix
2 cans of 16 oz of tomato sauce and mix all together

add...
1 pkg of frozen peas, carrots and corn

bring to a boil and add 1/2 pkg of ditalini

cook till pasta is al-dente...

so good, yum   happy eating

BBQ brisket, homemade potato salad

have been wanting to make a brisket for awhile now and Ralph's had 2 nice sized ones in the day old bin...I was so happy...I love to check their bin almost daily and see what they have to offer...

so, I brought the briskets home and I had bought the new Weber's smokey dry rub and generously rubbed both sides and covered them with foil and I let them sit for 24 hours...

then the next day, we slow roasted them on the BBQ and it was so good...

for my potato salad, which everyone loves...

red potatoes, cut into small chunks and then boiled until still a little firm, and let cool...I add cut up celery, green onions, dill pickles, hard boiled eggs, black olives and mix it up with some mustard, mayo and some of the pickle juice...also a lot of seasonings like garlic salt, pepper, onion powder and some celery salt...
it was so good tonight...

we served with glazed carrots and some garlic bread...

yummy happy eating

my version of taco casserole, slow cooker style

I have made this casserole ever since my own children were little and everyone always loves it but, I usually make it in the oven...this summer, I am not turning my oven on at all, it is way too hot here...

so here is what I did...

I browned up 2 1/2 pounds of hamburger
I added to it, 32 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 pkg of taco seasoning
1 pkg of frozen corn
sliced black olives
cheddar cheese

I put all of these ingredients into a lined slow cooker on low for about 3-4 hours...then I added crushed tortilla chips and some cheddar cheese to the top and turned to high for about 30 minutes...

it was just as good as the oven version...

yum  happy eating

August menus...

I so do not want August to come...then that means school will soon follow and I have been enjoying my summer off from school so much...
since we had just moved to our new house in May, I still have so much to do...there are still boxes and bins to unpack but summer meant that I could take my time...having a heart attack right after we moved did not help the situation either...but I am feeling better and getting a lot done...but, while I had a few minutes I decided to go ahead and make the August line-up of food...

here goes...

porcupines
chicken and pea pod foil
chicken parmesan with bacon
pork roast
breakfast
huli huli chicken
seasoned potato with chicken and green beans in slow cooker
corn chowder
BBQ for hubby's dinner
hoagies
slow cooker lasagna
orange chicken
alfredo
smothered pork chops
frito casserole
polish sausage with apples and onions
sweet and sour meatballs
BBQ corned beef
stacked chicken enchiladas
lettuce wraps
slow cooker mac and cheese
italian sausage and veggies
thai pork
spanish rice
chicken fried steak fingers
hamburger soup
taco lasagna
taco salad
kabobs
grilled chicke and bacon sliders

happy eating

chicken fried rice and homemade egg rolls

I love fried rice and it is always what I get when we go to Pick Up Stix (my favorite place to eat...), I like it all coated but I still never have gotten anything else to eat there...
when we were first married I tried several times to make fried rice and it never came out like I wanted it to...

so a couple of years ago, I decided to try it again, but thoroughly researched different recipes to try to see what I had done wrong to begin with...I still am not sure what I did wrong, but everyone in this family loves my friend rice, especially my oldest grand daughter Zoie...but she likes to fry her own rice and put only what she likes into it...she made her own and then took it home with her for her dinner (smart girl...)

so, here is what I do...

I make up ahead of time 8 cups of white rice (I use the Minute rice)

and I fry it in a small amount of oil in 3 batches (easier that way to do in batches and also everyone can put their own spin on it with just basically rice///)
and then I add a ton of seasonings, garlic salt, onion powder, and black pepper and keep stirring and then I add enough soy sauce to lightly coat the rice (I hate to have white rice mixed in, in other words, I like to have each kernal coated...) LOL...

then to the last 2 batches I add...
diced cooked chicken
crumbled bacon
green onions
shredded carrots (I copied this from Pick Up Stix)
frozen green peas

once I remove the rice from the pan, I then add 6-8 lightly scrambled eggs to the bowl of rice and gently fold it in...then add some cashews to the top

voila...yummy

for the egg rolls...

I mix up some breakfast sausage
with some seasonings
and packaged cole slaw mix
and put inside an egg roll wrapper
fry in small amount of oil...

chicken lazone, my version...first posted 09/15

http://momsdutchoven.blogspot.com/2015/09/chicken-lazone-my-version.html

meatloaf patties, hash brown casserole and carrots

http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2016/06/27/crockpot-hashbrown-casserole/

this recipe I first made on Friday and then we decided to eat out instead and my son and the little kids ate the potatoes and loved them...little boy said (he says he is going to own a bakery when he gets big) these potatoes will be featured in his bakery...so I made them again for today...

paired with meat loaf patties and carrots...

this is the recipe I loosely base for my meat loaf...

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/30-minute-mini-meatloaves/d691ebd6-743b-4dc1-a04c-40ee7da480d5

chicken and wild rice casserole in the slow cooker

everyone that knows me, knows that this recipe is hands down my favorite ever...I could make this every week and never get tired of it...Tim also loves it but little boy especially does and since he is spending the night tonight decided I would make it in honor of him...he cannot wait until after water polo to get to eat...it is cute how excited he is about it...

http://www.southernplate.com/2014/08/chicken-and-wild-rice-casserole-bags-to-dishes.html

here in Riverside, we are in the depths of summer with triple digits forecasted till next Monday...oh my Lord, I hate summer...I melt in this heat...been battling a migraine all day because of it...and there is not way I will turn my oven on when it is this hot...

this works out great in the slow cooker...I had it on high for about 2-2 1/2 hours...I toasted the Ritz crackers by themselves in the toaster oven so they would be crispy and not soggy in the slow cooker...

Tim said there is no difference between this recipe in the oven and the slow cooker...yeah for me...

yum, happy eating

Wednesday night, chicken wraps, homemade pasta salad

for dinner I was going to make the Applebees copycat oriental chicken salad tortilla wraps but I made the mistake of going to the store without a shopping list and not once but twice last night and I still forgot a key ingredient...the honey...and I was not going to go back out when we have triple digits here in Riverside...
(can I please say, here, that it is sooooooo nice in the new house with air conditioning, how did we do it for 14+ years without one?)

so what I did was lay out all of the ingredients that I did have and let everyone make their own...Tim made a chicken wrap with honey mustard, I think Zoie did also and Sam made hers with BBQ sauce and ranch...and everyone loved their own creations...

I had out to add:
cole slaw mix
shredded carrots
sliced onion
almonds
chow mein noodles
chicken tenders and I cheated tonight and went to Carl's for their chicken so I did not have to cook it...


for my pasta salad

to al-dente cooked ditalini I add, 6 diced up hard boiled eggs, about 4 stalks of celery diced, green onions chopped, diced dill pickles, black olives, seasonings, a little mustard and some mayo...I also add a little of the pickle juice...

yum

honey sesame chicken with rice

http://damndelicious.net/2013/11/02/slow-cooker-crockpot-honey-sesame-chicken/

I have had this dinner bookmarked for a very long time and last night I decided that it would make a great dinner...(I have to make up my mind the night before, so that I make sure the meat is defrosted and I have all of the ingredients on hand...)  for some reason, if it is clear in my mind what I am making, it is so much easier...

this is definitely a keeper and the simplicity of the recipe makes it a winner...everyone loved it, in fact Zoie wanted me to put a bowl away for her for breakfast when she gets here in the mornings...haha...

a couple of very small changes I would make to it for next time...I would add just a couple of drops of sesame oil and maybe some shredded carrots to it...I also would not leave on for the whole 3 hours and 30 minutes, some of the chicken got a little more done than the rest...(I have come to the conclusion that my slow cooker cooks a little faster than some are stated...)  I would cut off the 30 minutes and Zoie also asked that I make a little more sauce...

otherwise, totally yum...

you will love the easy prep of this recipe...

smoked sausage foil packet hobo dinner, yum...

for many years I have made hobo but they were a side dish foil packet...I would put potatoes, onion, bacon and some cheese and put them on the BBQ...have wanted to try a main dish foil packet and tonight was the night...

here is how I did it...

3 packets of Hillshire smoked sausage (I planned on feeding a lot of people)
8 red potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
one red onion, chopped
baby carrots
small corn on the cob
1 bottle Bernsteins Italian dressing to taste
salt and pepper

mix all together in a large bowl and portion out into foil packets...put on indirect heat on the BBQ, turning once...they need to cook about 30-45 minutes...

everyone loved dinner tonight, paired with a loaf of french bread, warmed on the BBQ

yum, happy eating

my version of swiss steak, mashed potatoes and carrots

this recipe as well as last night's came from an old magazine, approximately 42 years ago, when I was trying to impress my new husband with my great cooking...growing up, I had never had swiss steak...we were a very poor family and usually what we had for dinner was whatever was in the frig or whatever someone brought to us...I never had things like pork chops, steak, bacon, etc. until I was 18 and working...
when I came upon this recipe it just sounded good to me and over the years, I have remade this to our likings...

here is how I do it...

I took a london broil and cut it up into small serving pieces, then dusted all over with some flour and browned on all sides...
then it goes into the crock pot... and I season real well with garlic salt, onion powder, pepper and some parsley...I layer...one of meat and then a layer of sliced onions...once the layers come together, I add one large can of cream of chicken soup (undiluted)...and I put crock pot on high for 2 hours and then on low for about 4-6 hours...
the soup makes a terrific gravy...

for the potatoes, I use red potatoes and boil in small chunks, when fork tender I pull off the stove and add to the kitchen aid bowl that I already have 1/2 block of cream cheese, 1/2 stick butter, 2 spoons of sour cream and I mix until most chunks are mixed in...I then add garlic salt and pepper...so easy, why did I ever think that boxed instant potatoes were acceptable?   silly old me...

this is definitely a dinner that Tim and I both love...

steak and onions, fried potatoes and green beans, yum...

I cannot believe I have not blogged about this before in the 5 years that I have been blogging...this used to be one of our favorites too...

Tim works on Saturdays and he did not take lunch today and was thrilled to come home to this recipe for dinner...he just came out and said that this was one of the best dinners we have had in a long time...

I found this recipe in an old magazine many many years ago when I was first trying to impress hubby with my cooking...(42 years?)  the original recipe called for this meat to be in pita bread with mayo, lettuce and tomatoes...but, I have always used it as a main dish...
tonight, I very thinly cut london broil into small strips and lightly sauteed in a small amount of oil, and added garlic salt, pepper, onion powder and some parsley...once the meat is browned on all sides, I add just enough hot water to cover the meat and cover with a lid and let boil till water is cooked down...(it makes it very tender)...

paired tonight with friend potatoes and green beans...

maybe one of these times, I will finally try it in pita bread...

Bacon cheeseburger tator tot casserole

when tator tot casseroles first became sort of popular, I thought they would be gross until I actually made one and I fell in love with them...

saw this recipe and really wanted to try it, but we are pretty hot here and I hate turning my oven on in these temps...the recipe is for the oven, but I researched a few other tator tot casserole recipes for the slow cooker and adjusted this recipe accordingly...

http://www.plainchicken.com/2016/07/bacon-cheeseburger-tater-tot-casserole.html

it is very good and everyone liked it...I thought it a little salty, but might have been my fault being a little heavy handed with garlic salt...

after I mixed it all together, I put inside a liner covered slow cooker and put on low for about 5 hours...

really good...