White Castle Casserole

Recipe from Beth! Sorry for not posting that earlier! :)

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
2 TBS Mayo (light may be used)
1.5 cups shredded cheddar (2% cheese can be used)
1 packet Onion Soup Mix
1 package dinner rolls (like Hawaiian or Sarah Lee)

Brown meat in pan. While browning, cut rolls in half. Leave all tops and bottoms together. Leave tops off, and place bottoms in a baking dish or pan that has aluminum foil in the bottom. Leave enough aluminum foil to cover the tops of the rolls later. When meat is browned, remove fat (if needed), and add in mayo, cheese, and soup mix. I leave the burner on low till all cheese is melted. Place mixture over the top of the roll bottoms. Smear the meat mixture over all the rolls, (you can add in pickles if you like, we do at my house) and place tops on. Wrap in aluminum foil and bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. This seams the burgers. When done, unwrap and use a knife to cut the sandwiches apart. Let cool and serve. 

They are an instant hit... and way more healthy than the real white castles.

Spinach Orzo Salad

• I was playing with the settings on may camera...sorry about this photo.
• 
  
• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 cups fresh spinach leaves, chopped
• 3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 5 green onions, chopped
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 
  

1. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add orzo pasta, cook for 5 minutes, or until al dente. Drain.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place the lamb and garlic in the skillet. Season lamb with coriander, salt, and pepper. Cook until evenly browned. Remove from heat, and drain.
3. In a large bowl, mix the spinach, tomatoes, lemon juice and zest, mint, parsley, green onions, and remaining olive oil. Toss with the orzo, lamb, and feta cheese to serve.

A good Apple Crisp

• 
  
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 2 quarts peeled, cored and sliced apples

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Cut butter into mixture until crumbly.
3. Take half of the mixture and pat it into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. Cover crumb mixture with apple slices, then sprinkle apple slices with remaining crumb mixture.
5. Bake at 350 for 45 to 50 minutes or until apples are tender.

Mexican Pizza

• 
  
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 (6 inch) corn tortillas
• 8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
• 8 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
• 2 green onion, chopped
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles, drained
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 1 tablespoon black olives, sliced

1. Heat the refried beans.
2. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef. Stir in the seasoning packet.
3. Preheat oven to 350.
4. Place a small amount of vegetable oil in a large skillet. Let the oil heat, then place one corn tortilla in the skillet. After 15 seconds, flip the tortilla over and let it fry another 15 seconds. Repeat this process with the remaining tortillas, letting them drain on paper towels once they have been heated. When the tortillas have drained, arrange them on a cookie sheet.
5. Spread a thin layer of beans on the tortillas, followed by a layer of beef, and cheese.
6. Bake the tortillas in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Slice the tortillas into wedges and arrange them on plates or a serving platter and garnish them with the sour cream, tomatoes, green onions, chiles, avocado, and olives.

Chocolate Macaroon Torte

1 18oz roll of chocolate chip cookie dough
1 8oz  package of cream cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of hot chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 package of mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup of chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350

Break up the dogh on the bottom of the pan to make a crust.

Beat cream cheese with egg and coconut and 1/4 cup of sugar, hot chocolate and vanilla. blend well, mix in 1/3 cup of chocolate chips.

Pour batter over uncooked cookie crust, and top with remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, pecans and remainng 2/3 cup of chocolate chips.

Bake for 45 minutes, and pop out of spring form pan.  Cool and then place in the refrigerator for 2 hours!

Sausage and Chicken Jambalya

1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 pound chicken (about 2 average-sized boneless skinless chicken breasts or the equivalent of another kind of cut, like thighs), cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium bell pepper (red or green), chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning (use a light hand with this if you don’t want it overly spicy)
1 can (10-ounces) Rotel tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups hot, steamed rice

Just a tip: start cooking the rice while you prepare the rest of the jambalaya so it is ready to add in during the last step.

In a 4-6 quart pot, cook sausage and poultry over medium heat. Drain the grease (you may only need to do this if you aren’t using a lean sausage), scrape the meat onto a plate and set aside. Melt the butter in the same pot. Stir in the flour and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for one minute. Add the vegetables, basil and Creole (or Cajun) seasoning, and the Rotel tomatoes and sugar. Stir well. Simmer the mixture over low or medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are mostly tender (they’ll continue to cook a few minutes longer in the next step). Add the sausage and chicken back to the pot, and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken broth and simmer 5 minutes longer. Stir in the hot, steamed rice until you achieve your desired consistency.

One Pot Chili Mac

Thanks Judi!

So good. So Easy. Perfect for Saturday nights or a night where you have NO time.

Olive Oil
1 medium sweet onion, very finely chopped
1 pepper, diced
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 can red kidney beans, drained (or, if they are ready-to-eat, not drained)
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 jar (26 oz) marinara sauce (I use Barilla or whatever is on sale)
1 package (1.25 oz) chili seasoning
1/2 box of elbow macaroni or other small pasta
Water (measure from the empty 14 oz. can of tomatoes)


*Shredded Cheese
*Sour Cream
*Minced Chives


Sautee onion and pepper in oil, add ground beef (or turkey/chicken) until cooked in a large Dutch oven. Add marinara sauce, beans, tomatoes, and chili seasoning; simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally; add macaroni and a 14.5 oz. can of water; cover and simmer on low for about 15 minutes or until pasta is tender; garnish* with cheese, sour cream and chives, if desired. Sit back and enjoy!

Reuben Sandwiches

• 
  
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 8 slices rye bread
• 8 slices deli sliced corned beef
• 8 slices Swiss cheese
• 1 cup sauerkraut, drained
• 1/2 cup Thousand Island dressing

1. Preheat a large skillet or griddle on medium heat.
2. Lightly butter one side of bread slices. Spread non-buttered sides with Thousand Island dressing. On 4 bread slices, layer 1 slice Swiss cheese, 2 slices corned beef, 1/4 cup sauerkraut and second slice of Swiss cheese. Top with remaining bread slices, buttered sides out.
3. Grill sandwiches until both sides are golden brown, about 15 minutes per side. Serve hot.

Light Chicken Orzo

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1/2 pound orzo (1/2 box)

1 can french cut green beans

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 whole roasted chicken, (3 pounds), skin discarded, shredded (about 3 1/2 cups)

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook orzo until al dente, according to package instructions; add green beans during last 6 minutes of cooking. Drain; rinse under cold water until cooled.

Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add corn and 1 teaspoon salt; cook until warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Toss pasta and green beans with corn mixture and chicken. Season generously with salt and pepper.

I bought a whole chicken and cooked it like a rotissiree it was $4.50.

Orzo is in the pasta section because it's - PASTA!!! Which means its a great price $1.50

Everything else is canned or frozen so it is uber easy.

Total cost for this meal - $9.50ish for 6 people!

Lots of leftovers!

I served this with crisp cold apples. Its a favorite meal in my house!

Pretzel Dogs

• 
  1 1/2 cups warm water
  1 tablespoon sugar
  2 teaspoons kosher salt
  1 package dry active yeast
  4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  10 cups water
  2/3 cup baking soda*
  1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
  Pretzel salt (or kosher salt), for topping
  8 hot dogs, cut in half
  Directions:
  - Combine the warm water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes, until the yeast is foamy and begins to smell of yeast.
  - Add the flour and butter to the yeast mixture. Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and, on medium-low speed, combine the mixture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and appears shiny, roughly 4 to 5 minutes.
  - Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray (or lightly grease with vegetable oil) and place dough in greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Place bowl in a warm area (near the oven, perhaps) and let dough rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
  - Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Spray parchment paper with non-stick spray. Set aside.
  - In a large pot, bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a roiling boil.
  - Place the dough on a greased surface, and divide into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope, roughly 12 inches long. Carefully wrap each piece around a half hot dog. Pinch the ends together to seal the dough. Alternatively, to make regular pretzels, shape the rope into a U shape, cross the ends over each other and fold the twisted ends back onto the bottom of the U. Again, pinch the dough together to form a seal. Place each shaped pretzel on the parchment lined baking sheet.
  - Boil the shaped pretzels and pretzel dogs, one at a time, in the baking soda water for 30 seconds each. Using a slotted spatula, remove each pretzel dog from the water and place it on a drying rack to allow any extra baking soda mixture to drip off.
  - Place the boiled pretzel dogs back on the parchment lined baking sheets.
  - Brush with beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with pretzel or kosher salt.
  - Bake until golden brown, roughly 14 to 15 minutes. Transfer pretzel dogs to a cooling rack for a few minutes before serving. Serve with a variety of mustards.
  Makes 16 pretzel dogs.
  * Yes, I know that this seems like a crazy amount of baking soda, but trust me, you need it

Caramel Chex Mix

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Stick of Butter

1 TBS. White Corn Syrup

8-9 Cups Corn Chex

1 Cup Salted or Dry Roasted Peanuts

1 Cup White Chocolate Chips

In a large pan, melt butter. Add in brown sugar and corn syrup. Heat till it's bubbly and begins raising in the pan. Turn off heat and add in corn chex and peanuts. Mix well and then toss in the choco chips last minute so they slightly melt.Spread out on wax paper till cool and dry. Store in an air tight conatiner. 

*This recipe is best fresh. It's still good on day two, though. (Recipe from Beth)

Southwest Chicken Stacks

2 cups frozen corn
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

3 TBSP Taco Seasoning
2 large frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 cups salsa

Lightly grease the bottom and sides of the slow cooker. Pour frozen corn into the bottom of the slow cooker and place the frozen chicken breasts on top. Add taco seasoning and Cover with beans and salsa. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with forks. Return to the slow cooker and stir until the chicken, corn, beans and salsa are combined.

Serve on a bed of tortilla chips and top with additional garnishes: lettuce, tomato, avocado, sour cream, cheese, cilantro, lime wedges, etc.

Cowboy Casserole

We are adding a new category it is called CHEAP. This will be the first post. :) It isn't a pretty picture but it is so good and my kids LOVE it!

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 mini can diced green chilies
2 boxes of Jiffy Corn Bread
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 can cream style corn
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Preheat to 350.

Brown beef and onions add chilies when done.
In a bowl combine cornbread mix, salt baking soda, corn, milk and eggs. Spread half the batter on the bottom, then all of the meat, 1/2 of the cheese, then the rest of the corn bread mixture and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 35 minutes, serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Serve alone. No sides needed. :)

Total Cost of this meal $10.08 for 6-8 people