White Chili

3 teaspoons cumin (at least!)

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 cans undrained white beans (15.5 oz cans)

1 can cooked chicken drained (12.5 oz can)

1 can chicken broth (14 oz can)

1 can green chilis undrained (4 oz can)

Throw it all together and let it bubble and brew for about 20 minutes.  The longer it brews, the spicier it tastes!  Enjoy!

Peace-

Nora

I made one fierce Beef Lo Mein tonight.

I had vacuum sealed some beef with an asian marinade- found here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Savory-Garlic-Marinated-Steaks/Detail.aspx

Then, I altered this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_32953,00.html?rsrc=search

The only meat I used was the beef, sliced.

I added green, yellow, orange and red peppers, and cabbage. (I debated running to the store for snow peas, but didn't have enough time.) 

I did run out of hoisin sauce, so I only had 1 TB.  I added a bit more soy sauce to compensate.

It was a hit. 

This is just a 2 serving recipe because it's kinda 'pricey' for a family - but SOOO good!  Just watch for frozen shrimp on sale!!

Pasta with Shrimp and Corn
2 servings

Cook 2 servings of your favorite pasta (about 4 oz. dry). 
I like fettucine or penne pasta for this dish; noodles or rice
work well, too!

2 Tbsp olive oil or 1 Tbsp each olive oil and butter
1 cup frozen young (petite) corn, thawed
½ lb. shelled medium to large shrimp
4 - 5 thin green onions, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil, thinly sliced

Heat oil in skillet on medium high; saute shrimp and corn about
3 minutes, until shrimp are just cooked through.  Stir in green
onions and basil, season with salt and pepper. Serve over pasta.
 

Family Reunion Macaroni Salad
Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 25 min
Makes: 15 servings, 2/3 cup each

• 2 pkg. (14 oz. each) KRAFT Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
• 1 cup MIRACLE WHIP Dressing
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 small red pepper, finely chopped
• 4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled, chopped
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions

1. PREPARE Dinners as directed on package.
2. ADD remaining ingredients; mix well.
3. SERVE immediately. Or, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. Prepare as directed, using MIRACLE WHIP Light Dressing and KRAFT Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner Made With 2% Milk Cheese.

Jazz It Up
Sprinkle with additional chopped green onions. if desired.

We cut this in half and added lots of extra celery and onions. Very yummy!

If you want to experament a little:

Peanut Butter Chicken  Soup has become my wife and my favorite.

Diced chicken or canned chicken.

Chicken broth.

Chunky peanut butter

Crushed red pepper.

serve over rice.

heat up the broth, add the cooked or canned chicken.  when it is all hot, stir in the peanut butter to thicken the soup.  add salt and crushed red pepper.  the soup is intended to be a bit spicy but you can tone it down  some if you cann't handle the spice.  but don't leave the rad pepper out in that it helps give the unique taste.  ENJOY>

Hot Dog Surprise

Just made this the other night, my kids love it!

8 hotdogs

8 buns

1 medium onion, chopped

1 half teaspoon salt

1 fourth teaspoon pepper

3 Tablespoons flour

1 half cup water

1 half to 3 fourth cups catsup

3 tablespoons oil

1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese (I always add more, we love cheese!)

Brown hotdogs and onion in oil (about 10 minutes or so)

Add in salt, pepper and water

then add flour and stir until thick and bubbly

take off burner and let cool for about 10 minutes, then add cheese.  Put filling inside buns and wrap up in foil and bake at 375 for about 15 minutes.....enjoy!!

This is a receipe my hubby made up several years ago when he was a single dad raising 3 kids.  This has been used in the family for over 35 yrs and I just made it for dinner tonight.

Gary's Hamburger Soup

1 lb hamburger browned and fat drained

I small onion chopped and browned with the hamburger

Pasta -2-3 cups uncooked depending on the variety used and how many you are feeding.  Use any variety you like such as elbow, shells, penne, bowtie.  You can use spaghetti but break it into 1 inch pieces before cooking.

48 oz can of V-8 juice

Salt, pepper to taste

Garlic- optional- to taste

1/2 tsp dill weed- optional

1/2 tsp celery salt - optional

2 tsp chili powder or to taste - optional

Cook the pasta according to package directions.  Drain, rinse and put back into cooking pan.  Add the hamburger and onion mixture.  Add the V-8 juice and seasonings of choice- heat until juice is warmed and serve.

For variety you can add 1 can of whole kernal corn (do not drain) and/or 1 can kidney beans (do not drain).  If you like tomato chunks you can use diced or stewed tomatoes instead of the V-8 juice.  If you like a thicker sauce (more like a goulash) use less  V-8 juice.  We make it more like a soup.

This is great served with garlic bread, cornbread or hot cheesy biscuits.

Here's 1 of our favorites. In fact I think I'll see if there's any smoked sausage in the freezer=-)

Green Bean Skillet

• 12-16 oz. smoked sausage, sliced
• 2 cans green beans w/ the liquid
• 3-4 potatoes
• chopped onion (optional)

If time is short scrub potatoes and cook in microwave until slightly soft.  Meanwhile cook sausage and onion in skillet until sausage is browned.  Add sliced potatoes (raw or slightly cooked)  and green beans and the green bean liquid.   Simmer until potatoes are cooked through.

You can just throw everything in the skillet and cook until the potatoes are done, but I like the browned sausage flavor.  The longer you simmer this the more the flavors mingle. Add more potatoes or green beans depending on your families likes.

Thanks Bernie for the reminder about the Lasagna Skillet.  We tried it right after the magazine came, but I'd forgotten all about it.

Looking forward to trying some new recipes=-)

Sausage, Pineapple & Sauerkraut dinner

We do the same as catlingmex, but add a small can of crushed pineapple (juice included) with a little brown sugar, for a quick and tasty sweet-n-sour kraut dinner! We also keep a batch of frozen (nuke & eat) cornbread muffins on hand to eat with dinners like this. And I agree, the leftovers from this are great!

My great-grandfather learned this recipe while working in a lumberjack camp out west back in the late 1920's He taught it to my mother after she married my dad. We had it very often as kids either for breakfast or dinner. The main ingredients are potatoes, meat and eggs, anything else is up to your family's taste, just increase the number of eggs enough to combine everything in the skillet. It's very quick to cook if the veggies are cut up into small cubes. Hope you enjoy it.

Cowboy Supper

1 medium potato, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, cut up

1 small onion, diced

3/4 to 1 cup diced ham, hotdogs, or any leftover cooked meat

5 eggs, beaten, or more if needed

1 T. vegetable oil, or as needed

salt & pepper to taste

Cut up all meat and veggies into small pieces. Heat large skillet with oil. Cook potato, onion, and pepper until potatoes are done, stirring often. Add meat; cook until warmed through. Add beaten eggs. Cook, stirring constantly until eggs are done; add seasonings. Serve with garlic & butter toast. Enjoy!

I tried making pizza on french bread the other night...my daughter (a picky eater) loved it...what a great idea!  Thanks!

Kabobs from Kraft

1lb chicken breasts cubed (or shrimp or both)

can of pineapple chunks

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

3Tbsp frozen OJ concentrate (thawed)

2 red peppers Cubed

1 red onion cubed

Heat grill to medium high

alternate the veggies, pineapple and chicken on the skewers

Combine the barbecue sauce with the frozen OJ and blend well, brush sauce on chicken and vegies and grill until chicken is cooked through.

We had these last night and they were delicious. 

I
Hamburger Stroganoff
From Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious
COOK 15 min.
TOTAL 25 min.

INGREDIENTS
    
* 4 cups uncooked wide egg noodles

    * 1 pound ground beef

    * 1/2 cup chopped onion

    * 1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms

    * 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

    * 2 teaspoons paprika

    * 1 teaspoon salt

    * 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

    * Dash cayenne pepper

    * 1/2 teaspoon beef bouillon granules

    * 1/2 cup boiling water

    * 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

    * 4 green onions, sliced

DIRECTIONS
Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the mushrooms, flour, paprika, salt, garlic powder and cayenne.
Dissolve bouillon in boiling water; add to beef mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, uncovered, for 5-7 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream. Drain noodles; top with beef mixture and green onions. Yield: 4 servings.

*I have tried to fix the formating 6 times now. I'm done. *lol*

Italian Parmesan Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breast filets

1 cup bottled italian salad dressing (oil and vinegar kind)

1/4 cup or so of parmesan cheese (the green can kind)

Pound chicken breast filets to 1/4 in thickness, or butterfly to make them thinner.  Marinate in italian dressing 10 minutes (or longer, if you have time).  Place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and broil a few minutes on each side until browned on both sides and cooked through.  Remove from oven and sprinkle parmesan cheese evenly over each piece of chicken and place back under the broiler for just a couple of minutes until cheese begins to lightly brown.

We like this served with angelhair pasta tossed with olive oil and italian spices, and a steamed veggie like broccoli or zuchinni, which both cook very quickly.  If you marinate the chicken overnight, this comes together in no time when it's time to cook.

Hamburger Rice Skillet

1 lb. hamburger

1 can cream of mushroom (or celery) soup

1 pkg. onion soup mix

1 c. instant rice

1 -1 1/2 c. water

Brown and drain hamburger.  Add soup, onion soup mix, water, and rice.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

All recipes up to here are gathered, Carolyn!

More can still be added folks, there is not limit, you know!!! 

Our family loves this

Italian Stew

1 lb ground italian sausage

1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans beef broth, not concentrated

2 cans diced italian flavored tomatoes, do not drain

1 small bag frozen corn

1 medium or 2 small zucchini, sliced

1 cup tiny sea shell pasta

Brown sausage and drain grease.  Return meat to pan and add all other ingredients except for pasta.  Bring to boil, add pasta, turn heat down and simmer 20 mins or so until pasta is tender.

I serve it with french bread and a salad.

Title: 15 Minute Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole

Dish: Main Dish/Casserole/Quick & Easy

Dish Type: Poultry

Cooking Method: Skillet & Bake

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 and 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 and 1/2 cups water

2 cups Minute white rice, uncooked

2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli florets

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat a small amount of oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 5 minutes each side, or until cooked through. Remove chicken from skillet.

Add soup, water, and frozen broccoli if using frozen instead of fresh. Stir and heat to a boil.

Stir in rice and fresh broccoli if using fresh instead of frozen.

Pour the rice/broccoli mixture and chicken in the casserole dish and stir to combine.

Sprinkle cheese on top of the casserole, cover, and put it in the oven for 10 minutes, or until warmed through and cheese melts.

Notes: This recipe came from a Kraft Foods magazine with the whole cooked chicken breasts layered over the rice and broccoli mix, but we found the chicken dried out, even with the cheese layered over it. The recipe notes that chicken thighs can be used instead of chicken breasts and cooked 7 minutes per side.

Baked Nachos

1 Med. Bag of Nacho cheese dorittos

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

1 pkg. of taco seasoning

1 jar of Picante' sauce

1 med. onion diced

2 med. tomatoes  diced

1 small can of black olives sliced

2 cups of shredded cheese

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.  Dump your dorittos in the bottom of the pan, and use your hand to push down.  You don't want them crumbled, but you don't want them all whole. Brown your beef, then add the taco seasoning as per directions on back of pack.

Spread on top of this your beef.  Then your picante' suace, tomatoes, onions, olives.  Put shredded cheese over top, and salt and pepper to your taste.  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Serve with sour cream. YUMMY

OPTIONAL:  I like refried beans, but my children don't. (or they think they don't)  If they are not in the kitchen while I am making this, I mix a can of refried beans in with the hamburger after it has been cooked and drained, and been simmered with the taco seasoning.  This hides the beans, while making it easier to spread on top of the chips.