Taco Mac

Courtsey of Semi Homemade Mom

Link to recipe at Semi Homemade Mom

I'm sorry I've been slacking so much on posting these recipes as we make them!  But school is really kicking my butt since it's the end of the semester. 

Anyway, a couple of nights ago I introduced Shannon to Taco Mac.  Once we dove into the cheesy goodness, it was a moment where we asked ourselve "why haven't we thought of this?"  The recipe is very simple and very tasty so I won't keep you waiting any longer!

Ingredients:

• 1lb ground beef or turkey *we used turkey*   

  
• 1 box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• 2/3 cup of water
• 2 Tbsp butter or margarine
• 1/3 cup of milk
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 1/3 cup sour cream

*Changed from original recipe--we omitted 2 Tbsp of butter because it doesn't need it, and we omitted the salsa because we didn't have any on hand, but it was still good!*

Instructions:

Make boxed mac & cheese using butter, milk and sour cream, set aside.  Brown ground meat in a skillet, drain access fat, and add the taco seasoning and 2/3 cup of water.  Heat to boiling reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until most of water mixture is aborbed.  In a small sprayed oven dish, layer half the macaroni mixture on the bottom.  Top with half the meat mixture and 1/2 cup shredded cheese.  Repeat the layer.  Put the dish in an oven preheated to 250 degrees and warm until cheese on top is melted, about 5-8 minutes. 

Nutritional information:

This is definitely not the healthiest dish, but we have to indulge and take shortcuts sometimes!

Chili Cheese Nachos--the EASY way

Recipe courtesy of Semi Homemade Mom

Link to Semi Homemade Mom

So Saturday night, Wichita State faced off against Louisville and Syracuse faced off against Michigan in the NCAA Final Four.  For those of you who know me well, you know that March is my FAVORITE time of year because I LOVE basketball, especially college basketball. 

In honor of the sporting event I thought I would make some great game day food.  I found this recipe, and oh MY is it SIMPLE on one of my favorite food blogs, Semi Homemade Mom.   This blog features some great recipes that are made with love, but a lot of the ingredients are made from box mixes (much like the way I cook!). 

I will warn you, this is NOT the healthiest recipe in the world by any means.  I did save a few fat grams and calories by substituting fat-free and turkey ingredients, but still the nutritional info might shock you.  Now I halfed the original recipe because it is just me and Shannon.  Granted, Shannon could probably eat the other two servings by himself, but I thought I'd save some money.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of Hormel turkey chili with no beans (you can use any kind of chili you want though)
• 1/2 bag of restuarant style tortilla chips
• 1 cup of fat-free shredded cheddar cheese

Optional ingredients:                                    

• sliced jalapenos
• sour cream
• quacamole
• diced tomatoes, onions and lettuce

Instructions:

Place tortilla chips in two separate bowls (or one large serving platter if you're the sharing type).  Warm the chili on the stove or in the microwave until at desired temperature.  Pour warm chili over the chips, then top with 1/2 cup cheese for each bowl (or obviously the entire cup of cheese for a platter).  Then feel free to top with any toppings that you'd like and bam, you got dinner!

Nutritional information:

Turkey Joes

Recipe courtesy of Food on the Table

Hello fans!  First, I would like to apologize for the lack of links and pictures for this recipe.  I am having technical difficulties with my computer again. . .I guess I will have to find a way to blog on my break at work until I figure out what is wrong.

Anyway,  you didn't visit the blog to hear about my troubles, you visited to find out how to make these yummy joes!  Like all my posts, this recipe was modified from the original, but in my opinion it makes it much more tasty!

Ingredients:

1lb ground turkey

1/2 med onion diced

1 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp hot sauce

1/2 cup tomato sause

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp yellow mustard

4 hamburger buns

Instructions:

Brown turkey in a skillet.  Once cooked, drain of excess fat.  Return meat to skillet and mix with all remaining ingredients except buns.  Bring mixture to a boil, then simmer on med-low for about 10 minutes.  Scoop mixture onto buns and top with your favorite toppings!

Nutritional Information:

Simple Salisbury Steak

Courtesy of Food on the Table

Link to Recipe on Food on the Table

Hello bloggers!  First of all, thank you to everyone who visits my blog!  I love this new way to share and try new recipes and I hope that you find it useful. 

It's been a couple days since I've updated and that is due to late work nights, left overs and school. 

On Wednesday night, I made fresh simple Salisbury steaks with rice and gravy.  Previous to this recipe, Shannon and I had always purchased the frozen Banquet family pack of Salisbury steaks and added whatever side we wanted.  It was a cheap and easy meal that we could make on a whim.  Well the idea of those frozen dinners seem to give Shannon and I the creeps sometimes.  All of the preservatives and things that we don't know is in there.  And there is always the mystery meat scare.  So I decided to try a recipe that we could make for cheap AND know exactly what we are eating.

So here it is...slightly modified as aways, but always good!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 lbs of ground beef (we use 85/15)
• 2 packs of brown gravy mix
• 2 cups hot water
• 1/2 cup room temp water
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion
• 1/4 tsp of onion powder
• 1/4 tsp of garlic powder

Instructions:

In a mixing bowl, combine ground beef, 1 package brown gravy mix, 1/2 cup water, onion, onion powder and garlic powder. Shape into 4 patties and place in pan at least 1 inch deep. Broil in oven turning to brown on both sides.

When browned, combine remaining package of gravy mix with 2 cups of hot water (instead of 1 cup recommended on package). Pour gravy over patties after they have been drained of grease.

Place in oven again and turn heat to 450 degrees (425 degrees for glass). When gravy begins to boil, leave in oven until it thickens a little, about 10 minutes, depending on pan size. Makes 4 servings.

We served this dish over brown rice and had salad for our veggie.  It would be good with mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, or any other side you'd prefer.

Make it healthier:

Use 1 1/4lb ground white meat turkey instead of ground beef and save yourself  43 calories, 10 grams of fat, and add 12 grams of protein!

Nutritional information:

Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta

Bienvenue!  Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Good day blog fans!  As I've mentioned in previous blogs, we are from South East Texas.  Well my hometown, Deweyville, is actually RIGHT on the Louisianna border.  What this means is that our culture, food and way of life is influenced heavily by the cajun french culture and we love it! 

 

In fact, we miss the great cajun food sooo much that we try very hard to re-create the flavors and tastes in our kitchen here in Kissimmee, FL.   I made one of our favorite dishes this week which is Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta.  I will warn you, if you're not careful with the cajun seasoning salt on this one it could end up A LOT hotter than you'd bargained for! 

I would just like caution my health conscious people, this is NOT a super healthy recipe there is a ton of sodium from the cajun seasoning and a lot of carbs.  So be careful if your watching those sorts of things. 

It is hard to give credit for the recipe today because I found this recipe online a long time ago, I'm not sure where from because I make it from memory now. 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 16 oz of small shrimp (peeled and deviened)
• 8 oz of your favorite pasta (we used thin spaghetti but it works well with anything!)
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine (you could also use olive oil for heart healthiness!)
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I added a pinch more for a thicker sauce)
• Cajun seasoning, such as Tony Chachere's*  (see special notes)
• 2 cups milk
• 1 Tbsp of lemon juice

Instructions:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 4 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute shrimp for 1 minute on each side. Stir in garlic, and cook for 1 minute. Remove shrimp with a slotted spoon; set aside. Stir in flour and Cajun seasoning. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk, then cook until thickened. Season with lemon juice. Return shrimp to sauce, heat for an additional minute and spoon over cooked pasta.

*Special Notes*:

1.  I did not put an amount to the Cajun seasoning and the reason why is because the original recipe called for like 2 Tbsp or something to that effect and the dish was ENTIRELY too hot for us, and Shannon likes hot food.  So my advice would be to add dashes of the seasoning until you have it to your liking.  And we prefer Tony's over any other cajun seasoning except for maybe Zataran's but that is hard to find here. 

 

 

 

 

Nutritional Info:   

  

Turkey, Bean and Rice Burritos with Fresh Pico de Gallo

This recipe is one from out of my head, well all except the pico de gallo, which I got out of a recipe book sometime somewhere.

If you know me, you know that I LOVE, I mean LOVE, Mexican food.  I am always trying to find a way to make it "different" and healthier.  I know this isn't the healthiest recipe, but its A LOT better than if you used whole fat ingredients.

Let me start off by saying that I don't normally like Spanish rice from a box mix.  For some reason it always turned out too dry, too flavorless or too moist for my liking.  But tonight I was looking for a way to stretch the pound of ground turkey a little farther without spending a lot of money.  And then I saw Rice a Roni WHOLE GRAIN Spanish Rice mix.  I had to try it because I love their other whole grain mixes, and whole grains are better for you of course!  It was OUTSTANDING!  I wish I had bought more!

Alright, let's get this thing rolling....we'll start with the Pico de Gallo.

Fresh Pico de Gallo

Ingredients:

• 4 Roma tomatoes, diced                                                  
  
• 2/3 cup red onion diced
• 1 jalapeno seeded and diced
• The juice from 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp fresh or dried cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

Instructions:

Dice all vegetables and put into a medium mixing bowl.  Cut lime in half and using your hands, squeeze all available juice on to diced vegetable mix.  Next add the cilantro and salt.  Mix the vegetables and juice together with your hands or a spoon until will blended.  

Nutritional Information:

 

 

 

 

 

Turkey, Bean and Rice Burritos

Ingredients:

• 1lb ground turkey                                                                         
• 1 envelope taco seasoning
• 1 can of refried beans
• 1 1/2 cups 2% shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 box of Rice a Roni Whole Grain Spanish rice
• 6 tortillas soft taco size

Instructions:

Brown ground turkey in skillet and drain any fat.  Add taco mix and 1/2 cup of water.  Bring meat mixture to boil, then cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently.  In a separate pan, make Rice a Roni following box directions OMITTING olive oil.  In yet another separate pan, heat canned beans up until creamy.  Heat tortillas in microwave.   

Building the burrito:  Spread beans in a layer onto the tortilla.  Scoop and spread 1/4 cup of the rice mixture on top of bean spread.  Scoop and spread meat mixture on top of rice.  Top with desired amount of cheese.  Roll burrito.  Top with any of your favorite toppings like:  Olives, Sour Cream, Guacamole, lettuce or tomatoes.  

Nutritional Information:

Greek Style Garlic Chicken

Courtesy of Food on the Table

Link to Food on the Table

So I must apologize for the lack of consistent blog posts.  Shannon came down with a cold and so I've been basically taking a break from cooking and have just been focus on getting him well.  He is feeling MUCH better now and so we tried a new chicken dish for supper last night. 

I found this recipe on a new app for my iPhone called "Food on the Table".  The app lists itself as a menu planner app, but you have to be a premium member to add more than 3 recipes to your "plan".  I do not like it and will probably try and find a more suitable app in the next few days. 

Basically this is the recipe for the marinade.  And it was a REALLY good marinade.  However, our chicken turned out a little tough*.    Oh and sorry for there not being any pictures.  I thought I had saved the pictures to the blog, so I deleted them off my phone, and in reality I did NOT save them to the blog. 

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves                                          
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil*
• 1 (lemon) lemon, juiced
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic*
• 1/2 (teaspoon) salt
• 1 1/2 (teaspoon) black pepper
• 1/3 (teaspoon) paprika

Instructions:

1.  Cut 3 slits in each chicken breast to allow marinade to penetrate. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and paprika for about 30 seconds. Place chicken in a large bowl, and pour marinade over; place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees*.  When chicken is done marinading place in a shallow baking dish and pour remaing marinade over the top of the chicken.  Bake for 25-35 minutes or until chicken has reached 165 degrees. 

*Special Notes*:

1.  I believe our chicken turned out tough because 30 minutes is not long enough for the marinade OR I should have tenderized the chicken with a meat mallet first.

2.  I actually only used about 1/4 of a cup.  The original recipe called for 1 cup, which seemed excessive and wasteful.

3.  I used minced garlic because I don't have crushed garlic, which the original recipe called for.  Also we like garlic, so I increased the amount.

4.  The original recipe calls for this chicken to be cooked on the grill, which would add so much more flavor, but it was late and we didn't feel like doing all of that, so we used the oven.

No Peek Chicken

(Courtesy of Pinterest)

Link to recipe on Pinterest

Dinner time is back!  Sorry for the hiatus, but there were just too many leftovers to eat, and I was lazy and didn't want to go to the grocery store, haha!

Tonight's dinner is one from Pinterest and it was SO easy to make.  Not to mention its one of those prepare, put in oven, time, and forget about it recipes!  In fact, while this was cooking, I wrote this blog as well as got started on some research for school!  Shannon works late tonight, so we'll find out how well this dish reheats too!

Ingredients:

• 1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain Wild Rice (original recipe)*
• 1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup**
• 1 can 98 % fat free cream of celery soup**
• 1 can water (You can add another can of water for moister rice.)
• 4-6 Chicken breasts

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• In a greased 9x13 pan, mix box of rice, cans of soup, and can(s) of water. 
• Arrange raw chicken on top of the rice mixture. 
• Cover and seal with foil. 
• Bake for 2 1/2 hours and NO PEEKING!

Notes:

*Uncle Ben's does make a brown rice mixture.  Our grocery store did not have it, so I went with the original.  But if you use the brown rice one, I would DEFINITELY recommend adding the additional can of water if not 2 additional cans. 

**Using these cream of soups added a TON of sodium to this dish.  To avoid this, use this recipe on Pinterest to make a cream of whatever soup substitute. I mean this dish is SALTY!  So DO NOT add additional salt unless that is all you want to taste!

Smoky Minestrone with Tortellini

Smoky Minestrone with Tortellini 

(Courtesy of Food 52)

Link to recipe on Food 52

I found this recipe randomly searching on AOL one day.  Of course I make it almost completely different than the original...joys of being a picky eater!  Shannon loves this recipe though, and its great when its cold outside!  You could make this with any variations of veggies and stock that you'd like, so feel free to experiment with it.  Oh and then let me know how it turns out!

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of bacon (we used fully cooked bacon cause its easier!)
• Variety of veggies, see below for our method:

1 small can of carrots
1 small can of green beans
1 small can of diced new potatoes
2 ribs of celery, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 of a large onion peeled and chopped
• 1 28 oz. can of peeled San Marzano tomatoes, with juice
• 1 9 oz package of cheese tortellini
• 3 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions:

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the bacon pieces and cook for a couple of minutes, until they start to brown.  Remove bacon and chop/crumble.  Add 2 more tablespoons of oil along with the chopped onion and garlic. Continue to cook, strirring occasionally, over medium heat until softened. Add the vegetables and stir around for a minute or two.  Add the stock and then the tomatoes, crushing them with your hands as you go. Bring the soup to a boil, add the tortellini, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15-30 minutes until the tortellini is tender.  Serve with grated Italian style cheese on top!

Yum!

Campbell's Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole

Campbell's Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole

(Courtesy of Campbell's Kitchen)

Link to recipe on Campbell's Kitchen

If Megan Mathews is reading this blog right now she is smiling.  She once said that all I ever made for dinner was something with rice, cheese and chicken in it.  Which is probably right, because I am a self-proclaimed picky eater!  Well due to my love for poultry, dairy and rice (I am from SE Texas y'all!) this recipe is like a staple in our househould and we eat it whenever we get the chance.  Because I am picky though, I do omit the frozen veggies from the original recipe.  I prefer to serve my veggies on the side!

Ingredients:

• 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/3 cups of water
• 3/4 UNCOOKED long grained WHITE rice **it has to be white rice to follow this recipe exactly, if you figure out a way to make it with brown rice, please share!**
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/14 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Stir the soup, water, rice, onion powder and pepper together in a casserole dish.  Top the rice mixture with the chicken.  Cover the baking dish with foil.  Bake for 50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and rice is tender.  Top with cheddar cheese and let sit for 2 minutes.  Stir the rice before serving.

This recipe is EASY PEASY, so I help you enjoy!

Finished Product yum!

Baked Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce

Baked Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce

Well blog flunkies I'm back!  Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but we've been having simple, soft dinners because I had dental work done.  I decided that pasta isn't too hard of a dish to eat with a sore mouth.  Now Shannon loves spaghetti.  If I ask him for dinner suggestions, at least one of them is spaghetti.  Well I get tired of the plain and simple spaghetti that I make, so I decided to try making it a new way last night.  This recipe can be made with ANY sauce, ANY cheese, and ANY pasta that you like.

Ingredients:

• 1lb ground turkey (or beef)
• 1 large jar of pasta sauce
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 2 cups Italian cheeses (divided)
• 1/2 a box of pasta (any kind)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground meat and onions in a skillet.  Drain away fat.  At the same time bring 1 qt of slightly salted water to boil in a 2 qt pan.  When boiling, add pasta and boil until al dente, about 8 minutes.  Drain.  Add sauce to meat and simmer on low for about 5 minutes.  Place about half of the noodles in the bottom of a casserole dish and cover with sauce/meat mixture.  Cover with 1 cup of cheese.  Place the remaining noodles, sauce/meat mixture and cheese over this layer.  Cover with foil and bake for about 10-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly.  Enjoy!

Finished product!

Yum!!

We're from Texas...So We Need a Litte Tex-Mex in Our Lives

Walking Taco Casserole

(Courtesy of Pinterest)

Link to recipe on Pinterest

For starters, I have NO idea why the name of this recipe is "Walking Taco" Casserole.  But hey, who am I to judge?

I really liked this recipe because I love love love Fritos AND I love love love tacos!  Now I went ahead and made this recipe a little different from the actual instructions on Pinterest.  Mainly because I made it a bit healthier and I used a smaller sized casserole dish than the recipe calls for. 

MY Ingredient list:

1 package taco seasoning

1/4 cup diced yellow onion

1 lbs ground turkey

4 cups Fritos corn chips

2 cups of fat-free shredded cheddar cheese

1 can rotel tomatoes (drained)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown ground turkey and onion. Add taco seasoning mix following directions on the package.  Once meat is fully seasoned, add the drained can of rotel tomatoes.  Spray casserole dish with cooking spray so that nothing sticks.  Pour 2 cups of Fritos into the bottom of the casserole dish, spreading evenly.  Pour half of the meat mixture on top of the Fritos.  Layer 1 cup of shredded cheese on top of the meat.  Pour the remaining 2 cups of Fritos on top, then the rest of the meat mixture and cheese.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Top dish with your favorite toppings:  lettuce, tomato, sour cream, guacamole, taco sauce, etc!

We LOVED this dish!***  It will definitely become a staple in our home.  The Fritos gave the dish just the right amount of crunch!  This dish is almost reminiscent of the Frito chili pies we would make back home in SE Texas!

Whats in it



The finished product!

***Special Notes***

Please note that this dish DOES NOT re-heat well!  The chips will be soggy the next day and the cheese will harden.  You must make it when you plan to eat it and it is not good for leftovers.  I am going to pay around with this recipe to try and remedy this problem, but unitl I do, I want my bloggers to know!

Night #2 of Pork: An Upcycle

Easy Pulled Pork (Upcycled from Easy Pork Roast)

(Another one I get to take credit for!)

Hellloooo blog flunkies!  Tonight's dinner is what I call and "upcycle" from last night.  If you've read last night's post then you might have a clue what I am talking about.  If not, well then let me explain.

Last night I cooked a crock-pot pork roast.  I got the roast on sale at Winn-Dixie and it was a little bigger than what Shannon and I need for just one meal.  So I cut off a portion (about 1 1/2 lbs) of the roast and saved it for dinner tonight and decided to make pulled pork sandwiches.  Smart right?  And a good way to save money if I do say so myself. 

You could also use a chuck (beef) roast if you'd prefer or if its the meat that's on sale!

Below you will find the recipe if you were using the ENTIRE roast.  If you want it for a smaller portion just send me a comment.  

Ingredients:

• 3-5 lb pork or beef roast
• 1 chicken or beef broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 bottle of your favorite brand of BBQ sauce (more if you want to add some after it is done cooking)
• 3 Tbsp garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp of onion powder
• 1 1/2 tsp of chili powder
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt (or more to taste)

Instructions:

Mix together in a mixing bowl the last six (6) ingredients.  This will create a dry mix rub.  Rinse the roast with water.  Place the roast into the crock-pot and rub ALL over with the dry mix.  Next add water and broth.  Cook like this on high for 3-4 hours.  After the allotted cooking time, take out roast and shred with two forks.  Place shredded meat back into the crock-pot.  Add the bottle of BBQ sauce and mix well.  (There may be some water/broth left in the pot and thats GOOD).  Cook on low for another 1-2 hours or until meat is tender.  

I decided to serve our sandwiches with some box mac & cheese and a pickle on the side!

You can adjust the seasonings and water/broth/sauce mixture to suit your tastes.

Tomorrow night you're in for a real treat!  Two Pinterest recipes!  Stay tuned....

 

Easy Peasy Crock-pot Pork Roast

Easy Peasy Crock-pot Pork Roast

(I get to take all the credit for this one!)

I'm back blog lovers, and I am bringing you delicious easy crock-pot pork roast!  What I love about crock-pot meals is that you put everything in ONE dish, plug it in and forget about it for about 3-8 hours depending.  Crock-pot meals are great for busy moms on the go, or even you bachelor's out there that love home cook meals but don't want to make a big deal out of cooking. 

Below you will find my easy/cheap recipe for pork roast.  The recipe also works with chuck (beef) roast if you'd prefer that over pork.  Pork roasts were just on sale at Winn-Dixie when we went. 

Also I would like to note that the roast we purchased was about 3lbs.  There are only two of us, and I don't really do left overs much, so I actually divided the roast.  I cut it about 3/4 and 1/4.  I will use the smaller portion to make pulled BBQ pork sandwiches tonight!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2-3lbs of roast (beef or pork)
• 1 SM can of green beans*
• 1 SM can of cut carrots*
• 2-3 (or more if you'd like) med potatos, skinned or with skin on, chunked up
• 1-2 stalks of celery diced (depending on our like of celery)
• 1-2 stalks of green onions diced
• 1 package of beefy onion soup mix
• 2-4 cups of water (depends on size of crock-pot and roast)

Optional ingredients:

• 1 cup rice--prepared
• 1 package of brown gravy--prepared

Instructions:

Chop/skin/dice all of the veggies that require it.  Set aside.  Open small cans of green beans and carrots, drain completely and dump into empty crock-pot.  Add the fresh veggies that you prepared.  Open the package of beefy onion soup and sprinkle about 1/4 of the package on top of the veggies.  Rinse roast.  Place roast in middle of crock-pot.  You can either place it directly on top of the the veggies (what I did) or you can create a whole and arrange the veggies around the roast.  Sprinkle remaining soup mix on top.  Add the 2-4 cups of water to the pot.  You only want to add enough water to cover the veggies and half the roast.  Cook in crock-pot on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. 

*Special Notes*

You can definitely use all fresh veggies if you like.  I like the can variety for the cost and easiness of it.  Also add as many different types of veggies that you'd want.  I am a picky eater, so carrots, green beans and potatoes are about all I go for. 

Because we cooked such a small serving of everything (due to not wanting roast leftovers for weeks) I also cooked a small pot of rice & gravy to go with ours (See optional ingredients above).  I knew that my honey would want something of substance to make him full and rice is the cheapest way to go.  I used some of the water left in the crock-pot after the roast was finished cooking, mixed it with the brown gravy mix and it made the best taking gravy ever! 

What you'll need....

Deliciousness!

Wednesday Night Tried and True Tuna

Tuna and Noodles

Developed by Jennie McCabe (my mommy!)

Tonight we had a late start to dinner, so it was good that we decided to have our ace in the hole entree of what we call "Tuna and Noodles".  As stated above, credit for this recipe goes to my mom.  I do not know what gave her the idea for this dish but it was always a favorite dinner in our house growing up.  I introduced the dish to Shannon and Trey (Shannon's son) this past summer.  The first time Shannon ate SO much of the dish his tummy hurt!  Now on to the yummy...

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of tuna in water
• 1 family size can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2-1 cup of milk
• 1/2 box (8oz) of pasta

Instructions:

Bring about 2 qts of water to boil in a 4 qt pot.  (I don't actually measure this by the way, I just put enough water in the pot to cover the pasta).  Pour pasta into boiling water and boil until pasta reaches your desired tenderness.  Drain pasta.  Pour cooked pasta back into the pot and add the tuna, cream of mushroom soup, and milk.  Stir until well mixed.  Volia!  Dinner is done!

Serve entree with your favorite go to veggie.  Tonight we served ours with the remaining cucumber and tomato salad from yesterday.  

Ways to make it your own:

• Add a bag of your favorite frozen veggies (cook them first of course).
• Spread completed mixture into a casserole dish, top with French's Fried Onions or breadcrumbs, bake for 10 minutes at 300 degrees or until topping is crispy.

Sorry y'all, there will be no post tomorrow night.  It's date night in the Gibson/McCabe household and that means that someone else does the cooking!

What you will need....

Finished Product....

Paula Deen's French Onion Pork Chops

 

Paula Deen's French Onion Pork Chops

Courtesy of Pinterest

Link to recipe on Pinterest 

Tonight I decided to make this recipe, mainly because it sounded good and Shannon and I don't normally have pork very often.  The prep was very easy for this main course, it only took my about 20 minutes and that was including taking pictures, lol.  So without further ado, let's get to the yummy!

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless pork chops*
• 1/2 c breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs
• 2 packets of onion soup mix

Supplies:

• At least a 9x13 baking pan/sheet, larger would help if you have one.
• Cooking spray

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375-400 degrees*.  Spray the baking pan/sheet with cooking spray to prevent sticking.  Beat the eggs together in a bowl that is big enough to dip your raw pork chops in.  Mix together with a spoon or your hands the onion soup packets and dry breadcrumbs.  Wash then dip each pork chop into the egg first.  Once the pork chop is saturated, roll/dip the pork chop in the onion/breadcrumb mixture.  Place breaded pork chop into baking pan/sheet.  Repeat until all pork chops are breaded.  Place pan into the oven and bake for 20 minutes, flipping after 10 minutes.  

*Special Notes*

The recipe calls for boneless pork chops.  At Winn-Dixie assorted BONE-IN pork chops were the ones on sale.  What I did was simply remove the bone.  However, I am in possession of my dad's butchering knives so it was an easy task.  If you want to try removing the bone yourself, make sure the knife is sharp and you pay close attention to what you're doing.  If you don't want to remove the bone, then cooking them with bones will be fine.  

I say 375-400 degrees because all ovens vary.  Ours tends to cook at a higher temperature than it says, so I always bake things at least 25 degrees cooler.  

I served these pork chops with brown rice and brown gravy, along with cucumber and tomato salad (see recipe below, sorry folks no pictures except what's on our plates!)

Cucumber & Tomato Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 med cucumber
• 1 med tomato
• 1/2 Tbsp if olive oil
• 2 Tbsp vinegar
• 1/2 tsp parsley leaves
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions: 

Peel and slice cucumber, place in mixing bowl.  Slice and chunk up tomato (you could even dice it if you wanted to take a bit more time with it), place in mixing bowl with cucumber.  Add olive oil, vinegar, parsley and salt & pepper to mixing bowl.  Stir or toss to coat.  Chill in fridge for 10-20 minutes.  Toss again and serve!

Prep-what you'll need. 

Before going into the oven...

Finished product!

This recipe turned out so very good, that Shannon asked me to "Thank Pinterest!"  LOL.

On tomorrow night's menu is our old stand by...Tuna & Noodles!  Stay tuned!