Pasta Salad

I made this pasta salad for our cookout Saturday night and it makes a lot and keeps really well.  Its sweet and can be made with tri-color pasta to give it more color.  I love to have something a little sweet to even out all the salty stuff.  The recipe is from a friend but I added the cheese to give it some color.  Otherwise it would be all one color because I didn't have the tri color pasta in the cabinet.

Pasta Salad
1 - 1 1/2 boxes of rotini
1 cucumber diced
1 onion diced

Sauce:
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c oil
1/2 c vinegar
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion salt
salt/pepper to taste

Cook pasta, drain and add veggies.  Combine sauce ingredients and pour over pasta.  Its better if made ahead.

It keeps well and just needs to be stirred up if you make it ahead.  My family LOVED it and I plan on taking it to our Girl Scout Pot Luck in 2 weeks.

Congo Bars

We had so much family in this weekend for my son's First Communion and I fed them all weekend.  I planned a brunch for Sunday before Mass and a barbaque for Saturday night.  These are a hit with everyone and are super easy to make.  I whipped them up quickly and they were finished off this morning by the boys before brunch :)
Hope you enjoy the chocolatey bars.  Not sure where the name came from but my mom always made these and called them Congo bars.

Congo Bars
1 pkg brown sugar (2 1/3 cups)
2/3 cup oleo
3 eggs
2 3/4 c flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 (12oz) bag of chocolate chips

Melt oleo in large saucepan, stir in brown sugar.  Add eggs and rest of the ingredients.  Mix well and add chocolate chips.  Pour into a greased 13x9 inch pan and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cool and cut with a knife!!!  Cover well.  They get hard easily if you don't eat them fast or cover them up.

Hamburger Stroganoff

Tonight I made one of my all time favorite recipes.  Its perfect for a chilly night and I had everything in the pantry and freezer.  It super easy and my kids are getting good at picking out the mushrooms and onions.  I should have taken a photo of my son's plate.  He is becoming a master at sorting everything out.  I figure maybe some of it will make it in his mouth without him knowing. 

Hamburger Stroganoff
1 lb ground beef
1 onion
1 garlic clove or 1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1 small can mushrooms
1/2 pkg of egg noodles



Cook noodles according to directions. Meanwhile, brown onion, beef, garlic and mushrooms over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes.  Stir in soup and salt.  Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.  Stir in sour cream, cook until hot (about 5 minutes).  Drain noodles and put back in pot.  Add beef mixture to noodles and stir until noodles are coated.  Serve hot!!!

3 Cheese Chicken Alfredo Pasta

My hubby is gone for the night and we get to eat PASTA.  I don't have to prepare something that is "Carb free friendly" for him and something else my kids will eat too.  I love hubby dearly but this "diet" of his is driving me crazy!!  So, I had 3 recipes pinned that all pretty much where the same and I took them and made what worked with what I had on hand.  I of course tweaked it for me because I NEVER have fresh garlic or parsley on hand. 

3 Cheese Alfredo Pasta

1(16-ounce) package penne or elbow macaroni
1 (10-ounce) container Alfredo sauce
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbl parsley
2 cups mozzarella cheese

Prepare pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot. Stir together all ingredients except mozzarella cheese. Spread mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Here is the photo of it dipped up on my plate.  It was great leftover as well.

Mom's Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole

I made one of my all time favorites today while trying my hand at OAMC (Once A Month Cooking) and thought I would share it with you all.  You will be shocked at how simple it is and all you need are 3 main ingredients.  I love the cheesy, creamy potatoes and the crunch of the fried onions.  You can make this for a family of 5 or a crowd so adjust accordingly.  Hope you enjoy!!!

Mom's Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole

Mashed Potatoes
Velveeta Cheese
French Fried Onions

Place half of mashed potatoes in a greased casserole dish.  Slice Velveeta cheese and lay on top of mashed potato layer.  Cover the cheese with the remaining 1/2 of mashed potatoes.  Sprinkle with french fried onions.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

I used 5 medium potatoes and 6 slices of cheese for my casserole.  Its all up to you.

Hubby cooked supper tonight while I was at adoration.  So I don't have a photo of them after it was backed so you can see the cheesiness.  I will try and update this with one from my lunch tomorrow.

"OAMC" Freezer Cooking

Well I am going to dip my toe in and try Freezer Cooking this Sunday.  We have NOTHING on the calendar and those precious empty squares make me so very happy to see.  I have been wanting to try this and have been doing A LOT of research on the web about it.  The biggest issue I am having is finding recipes that look good, freeze well and are easy for me to do in one sitting. 

I put together a list last night of what I was thinking of trying:
Banana bread
Taco Meat
Chicken - cooked & chunked in 2 cup containers
Meatballs, Mashed Pototoes and Gravy
Chicken Tetrazzini
Cookie Dough
BBQ Beef

I made a list for the store.  I did find 3lbs of hamburger, $4 off of $8.50 original price.  I bought both of them that were marked down.  So, I have most of what I need.  I know I have potatoes, a 5lb bag of chicken I got on sale at Walmart for $6 and bananas turning brown on the counter.  So, I should just be able to make a quick run to get it done. 

I typed the above up Friday night and never got it finished.  I have my photos from today of what I got done and I did most of what is on that list.  I also learned ALOT about "Once A Month Cooking". 

I never made it too the store and assumed I had everything I needed.  Well, I was without a lot of basics and I need to check those the next time.  I needed vegetable oil, flour and italian dressing.  Hubby ran once and I ran the second time.  So it took me from 10am - 3pm but I didn't work the entire time.  But I did get alot done and am so happy with my day.

Here is what I did get done today:
2 loaves of Banana Bread
2 1lb containers of Taco Meat
2 1lb containers of BBQ Beef
3 - 2 cup containers of cooked and cubed Chicken
Mashed Potatoes (This is the link from Good Cheap Eats for the mashed potatos I made)
5 Chicken Breasts Marinated in Zesty Italian dressing
2 dozen chocholate chip cookie dough balls

Plus - I made a Meatloaf and my Mom's Cheesy Mashed Potatoes for my family for supper.  It was such a great accomplishment for me with all 3 of my children in the house with all of the distractions and the help.  My oldest had a meltdown over a glogster book report in the middle of my cooking, but we survived.  I am looking forward to finding another square on my calendar to do this next month. 

I also had issues with freeze worthy containers for my food.  I found containers I had bought for my son's lego birthday are labeled as "freezer safe" so I used those for the taco meat and BBQ beef.  The chicken had an issue when I made it the last time.  It had a little freezer burn in the containers I used (Hickory Farms red-lid lunch meat containers) and I found some of my rubbermaid containers are all "freezer safe".  So watch for that.

Most important tip I can give you is Label everything with what it is, how to cook it and date it.

Enjoy and now it's time to fill out the forms I found to help me list what is in my freezer.  Here is the link to them for you from Organized Home Website.

Potato Foil Packets

I wish I had some beautiful Easter dishes to share with you today, but I didn't cook a thing over the Easter Holiday.  We ate at my in-laws, sisters and my mom's and had wonderful meals each time.  My only contribution was the veggie tray I bought to take to my sisters.  I feel bad that each of them put on a beautiful spread and I contributed nothing.  But living 3 hours away makes that a little hard to prepare something and bring.  Plus, our time at home is always jammed with stuff and buying something at the store seems to be the way I do it anymore.  But when they all come here in 3 weeks for 1st Communion, I will cook for the crowd and no one with bring a thing.  So it evens out :)

My husband is on his perpetual "modified Atkins" diet and it's driving me crazy.  It so hard to make a nice meal of pasta and know he won't eat it.  So, I have been trying to make things that are Atkins friendly but feed my kids and myself as well. 

So, last night we had steaks on the grill and I threw my favorite Potato Foil Packets together to go with them on the grill as well.  They are super easy and they are done in no time with very little work by me :)

Potato Foil Packets
5 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/2" thick
1 stick and 1/2 butter
salt/pepper
Parmesan cheese shred
aluminum foil

Tear off 4 aluminum foil sheets to be about 11" long.  Place 1/4 of the potatoes on each sheet of foil.  Salt and pepper to your taste. Slice butter in teaspoon pats and 4 or 5 pats on each portion of potatoes.  Sprinkle a handful of cheese on each portion of potatoes and wrap up so you have the seem side up and the sides foiled into nice packets.  Place on grill (my hubby puts them on the bottom for 10 minutes and then up top for the remaining time) for 20-25 minutes. 

When you open the packets be careful, they will be hot and the steam can be a little much.  The bottom few will be all crunchy goodness.  My FAVORITE part of the pack. 

Enjoy!!! 

I forgot to take a picture after and will update this the next time we have them. 

BBQ Beef

I made one of my favorite family recipes the other night.  My kids LOVE this and we have it for A LOT of family gatherings.  It doubles and even triples really well.  It is easy enough to do mid week and reheats well.  I always fix it with mac and cheese (I wish it was my homemade recipe) and fruit.  My kids eat it on buns or alone.  It can be made ahead and put into a crock pot for an event.  It is my "GO TO" main course for any event I need to feed a lot of people.  I hope you like the Tangy taste.

BBQ Beef
1/2 envelope (3 Tbls) dry onion soup mix
2 Tbl sugar
1/2 tsp salt
dash pepper
1 Tbl mustard
3/4 c water
1/2 c ketchup
1/4 c vinegar
1 Tbl lemon juice
1 or 1/1/2 lb hamburger

Combine all in saucepan; bring to boil.  Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Brown hamburger, drain, pour sauce over and simmer 5 - 10 minutes.  Serve on hamburger buns.

Here it is all ready to be served and the photo above is the sandwich on my plate!!!  I use hamburger buns but you could dress it up with some french rolls or whatever you have on hand.

Parmesan Tilapia

Another Friday night during lent and my hubby bought frozen Tilapia at the store thinking we could do something with it.  I had found this recipe and wanted to try it.  Mine didn't get "golden brown" but it was delicious and super easy.  I defrosted the fish first and then did mine in 2 pans because I had more than enough for one 9x13 dish.  My kids like it but my hubby LOVED it.  We had 2 pieces leftover and he polished those off later that night. 

 

 

Parmesan Tilapia
2 lbs tilapia fillets

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

3 tablespoons mayo

1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

black pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In buttered 13-by-9-inch baking dish, lay fillets in single layer. Brush tops with lemon juice.

In bowl combine cheese, butter, mayonnaise and seasonings. Mix well with fork.

Bake fish in preheated oven 10 to 20 minutes or until fish just starts to flake.
Spread cheese mixture over top and bake until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Baking time will depend on the thickness of the fish you use.
Watch fish closely so that it does not overcook.