So this is something that my mom always made when I was a kid, it was usually a summer dish. Come to think of it my dad would throw it together a lot too. Anyhow it was something we would have in the summertime and whoever made it would usually make a good sized batch and we would eat it for a few days till it was gone. It's pretty tasty and not a super heavy pasta salad, especially once it has sat for a day or 2 in the fridge and everything has set together. It's a pretty simple dish to make and especially great as a make-ahead meal.
I never got around to taking a pic of this dish, maybe next time I make it I will edit this post. Ha. Let's face it working full time and having 3 kids and trying to keep this up is a bit much. I think I will be sticking with my 2 recipes per week with a possible hiatus for the month of July; it will be a busy time at work for me and I will most likely be working 7 days a week.
Anyhow so on to the recipe.
Ingredients
1 lb elbow macaroni
1-1 1/2 cups mayo
1 can peas (DO NOT use frozen. unless you really like frozen peas. I loooove canned peas and hate frozen. mostly a texture thing but I think the taste is different too)
1 can tuna
Onion powder
Dill Weed
Celery Seed
Black pepper
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water until noodles are cooled off a bit. Return to the pot. Add the peas and tuna and toss everything together (you can use a spoon but I always dig in with my hands). next add the mayo. I never measure the mayo it's more of tossing some on and mixing it in and seeing if it's too dry still. It's always better to add a little at a time if you are not sure than to add too much, you can't really take it back once it's in. If you like your pasta salad really mayo-y then by all means add a whole bunch. What I tossed on looked like about a cup or so to me. Next Add your seasoning, I have no clue what the measurements are, maybe a tbsp of onion, a tsp of all the rest? idk I just add some and mix it in, taste it and see if it tastes okay, and add more if I need to. Aren't I a wonderful teacher. Ha ha.
Anyways the little girl from next door was over when I made this and she ate 2 helpings and LOVED it. My kids barely touched theirs. Go figure. Maybe if I could find pasta shaped like lightning mcqueen and buzz lightyear I could trick them into eating it.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
New Recipe 9/52: Radiatore Pasta with Alfredo Sauce and Diced Tomatoes
So this recipe I totally made up on the fly. My cupboards were looking kinda bare and I decided to take a chance and throw a few things together and it actually turned out pretty good!!!
I know I took a picture of this dish but now I cannot find where it was uploaded to. GRRRRRRR. So you will have to make it yourself to see how delicious it looks.
Ingredients
1 lb Radiatore pasta
1 jar alfredo sauce
Heavy cream-1/2-1cup
Mozzerella cheese-maybe a cup or so
Parmesan Cheese-1/8 of a cup or so
1 can diced tomatoes
Boil the pasta according to the package directions. In a saucepan, heat up the alfredo sauce. Add the heavy cream and the mozzerella and the parmesan. Once everything is blended and the cheese is melted, add in the tomatoes (drain them first). When pasta is cooked and drained, mix with the sauce mix. Top with parmesan. I served it with garlic bread.
This was such an easy way to make a jar of alfredo stretch to cover more pasta. The radiatore pasta I had had sitting in my cupboard for a while, I had picked it up on a whim cause it was a different shape. All the nooks and crannies of the pasta sucked up the sauce and it clung really well to the noodles. The whole dish came out well and even my picky kids ate some. Leftovers were not as good as the first time around but still pretty tasty. This is definitely something I will try again, maybe with some chicken next time and make it a slightly more complete meal.
I know I took a picture of this dish but now I cannot find where it was uploaded to. GRRRRRRR. So you will have to make it yourself to see how delicious it looks.
Ingredients
1 lb Radiatore pasta
1 jar alfredo sauce
Heavy cream-1/2-1cup
Mozzerella cheese-maybe a cup or so
Parmesan Cheese-1/8 of a cup or so
1 can diced tomatoes
Boil the pasta according to the package directions. In a saucepan, heat up the alfredo sauce. Add the heavy cream and the mozzerella and the parmesan. Once everything is blended and the cheese is melted, add in the tomatoes (drain them first). When pasta is cooked and drained, mix with the sauce mix. Top with parmesan. I served it with garlic bread.
This was such an easy way to make a jar of alfredo stretch to cover more pasta. The radiatore pasta I had had sitting in my cupboard for a while, I had picked it up on a whim cause it was a different shape. All the nooks and crannies of the pasta sucked up the sauce and it clung really well to the noodles. The whole dish came out well and even my picky kids ate some. Leftovers were not as good as the first time around but still pretty tasty. This is definitely something I will try again, maybe with some chicken next time and make it a slightly more complete meal.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Classic Recipe 8/52: Homemade Chicken Strips
This is something I have been playing around with for a while, I have made it several different ways, I will post the way I made them last night. It's nice to have fresh made chicken strips instead of the nuggets or popcorn chicken from the freezer section. It takes about the same amount of time you just have to watch them a little more than you would if you were throwing something in the oven.
Ingredients: 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I get the bag of frozen ones from walmart and thaw what I need as I need it, they are pretty cheap and taste okay)
Panko crumbs (I find these in the same aisle as regular bread crumbs, but they might be in the asian food section as well. They are lighter and crispier than regular breadcrumbs. Normally I used crushed corn flakes but I was all out so I used up some panko I had hanging around)
Flour (for dipping)
Heavy cream-a pint or so, maybe less. You could easily sub milk for this, I just had some cream I needed to use up
16 oz sour cream mixed with a ranch packet-this was something else I had laying around. I had not quite a whole package left. I mixed the sour cream and the cream together, but you could just as easily use an egg/milk mix to dip in as well.
Vegetable oil, for frying
Slice the chicken in half crossways (like you are butterflying them only cut them all the way) then slice them into strips. You can make whatever size you want, I try and make them all around the same size so they cook a little more evenly. Mix the sour cream with some heavy cream to thin it out. Dip the chicken in the flour, then cream mix, then panko. Heat the oil on the stove over a medium or so heat. Put in a few strips at a time and fry till they are golden brown on all sides. Add more veg oil as needed.
Ingredients: 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I get the bag of frozen ones from walmart and thaw what I need as I need it, they are pretty cheap and taste okay)
Panko crumbs (I find these in the same aisle as regular bread crumbs, but they might be in the asian food section as well. They are lighter and crispier than regular breadcrumbs. Normally I used crushed corn flakes but I was all out so I used up some panko I had hanging around)
Flour (for dipping)
Heavy cream-a pint or so, maybe less. You could easily sub milk for this, I just had some cream I needed to use up
16 oz sour cream mixed with a ranch packet-this was something else I had laying around. I had not quite a whole package left. I mixed the sour cream and the cream together, but you could just as easily use an egg/milk mix to dip in as well.
Vegetable oil, for frying
Slice the chicken in half crossways (like you are butterflying them only cut them all the way) then slice them into strips. You can make whatever size you want, I try and make them all around the same size so they cook a little more evenly. Mix the sour cream with some heavy cream to thin it out. Dip the chicken in the flour, then cream mix, then panko. Heat the oil on the stove over a medium or so heat. Put in a few strips at a time and fry till they are golden brown on all sides. Add more veg oil as needed.
Monday, May 23, 2011
New Recipe 8/52: Shepherd's Pie
Wow I am super slacking this week. Sorry to anyone who might look forward to this being posted on time. :) Work has been kicking my ass lately, and our fridge is dying a slow death so we have limited fridge/freezer space compared to what we normally have.
Anyhow, I tried this recipe out after seeing Anne Burrell make it on Food Network. here is a link to the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/shepherds-pie-recipe/index.html
Here is what I did different from the recipe: I used a lamb breast cut up small because it was a cheaper cut of meat. This was a bad idea, the breast meat was really fatty and so there was a lot of bits of fat I had to keep spitting out when I ate it. next time I will suck it ujp and buy the right cut of meat. I didn't have any leeks so I used an onion instead. And I used dried thyme instead of a bundle of fresh thyme. I also did not use nearly the amount of salt on everything, but I rarely salt anything.
This recipe came out sooo delicious. It was really hearty and the brown gravy was soooooo tasty. This is partly what inspired my bison meatloaf recipe. There was a good amount of leftovers and there was no issues with getting them eaten up. It was a bit time consuming to make, not something I would recommend for weeknight cooking but for a sunday afternoon it would be perfect, then you could do leftovers monday night and not have to cook! It was a bit pricy to make, lamb is not cheap. I imagine you could sub the lamb for a cut of beef but I think you would be hard pressed to find something that is that tender.
I could have sworn I had pics of this dish but alas, there are none. I suck at life. I promise there WILL be pictures of the next dish! I might not have time to post till wednesday though, so have patience with me. :)
Anyhow, I tried this recipe out after seeing Anne Burrell make it on Food Network. here is a link to the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/shepherds-pie-recipe/index.html
Here is what I did different from the recipe: I used a lamb breast cut up small because it was a cheaper cut of meat. This was a bad idea, the breast meat was really fatty and so there was a lot of bits of fat I had to keep spitting out when I ate it. next time I will suck it ujp and buy the right cut of meat. I didn't have any leeks so I used an onion instead. And I used dried thyme instead of a bundle of fresh thyme. I also did not use nearly the amount of salt on everything, but I rarely salt anything.
This recipe came out sooo delicious. It was really hearty and the brown gravy was soooooo tasty. This is partly what inspired my bison meatloaf recipe. There was a good amount of leftovers and there was no issues with getting them eaten up. It was a bit time consuming to make, not something I would recommend for weeknight cooking but for a sunday afternoon it would be perfect, then you could do leftovers monday night and not have to cook! It was a bit pricy to make, lamb is not cheap. I imagine you could sub the lamb for a cut of beef but I think you would be hard pressed to find something that is that tender.
I could have sworn I had pics of this dish but alas, there are none. I suck at life. I promise there WILL be pictures of the next dish! I might not have time to post till wednesday though, so have patience with me. :)
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Classic Recipe 7/52: Spaghetti and Meatballs
How much more basic can you get than spaghetti and meatballs? I love food with red sauce on it and I love meatballs and I love pasta. You just can't go wrong. This is my basic meatball/sauce recipe which is a combination of how my mom taught me to make it and other recipes I have seen and/or tried along the way.
For the meatballs: 1 lb ground beef, one lb pork sausage (I use the farmland's best breakfast sausage-cheap and tasty and comes in 1-lb rolls so I always have a handful of them in my freezer). Bread crumbs, parmesan cheese (the finely grated kind), oregano, parsley, italian seasoning, pepper. 2 eggs.
For the sauce: 1 jar spaghetti sauce, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 onion, 1 pepper, 1 can mushrooms (or some fresh), parmesan + all the seasonings you used in the meatballs.
Start the meatballs first. Preheat the oven to about 350. Put your meat into a mixing bowl and add in your eggs, bread crumbs (maybe 1/2 a cup or so) and parmesan (about 1/4 cup). For the seasonings you are maybe using 1 tsp or 2 of each. However you like your meat seasoned. It's one of those things where I just never have measured and probably never will. use your hands to mix everything together. if the mix seems to moist add some more breadcrumbs or parm. Too dry add a little water. Use a cookie sheet and spray with Pam. Form the meat into balls. I can usually get 2 dozen meatballs out of this mix which is the perfect amount to fit on my pan. Put them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, put some water on to boil for the spaghetti and get your sauce heated up. You want to put the jar of spaghetti sauce into a pot and then add the diced tomatoes (don't drain). Add some extra seasonings, chop your onion/pepper and add those in. I have also been known to add zucchini, yellow squash, or mushrooms to my sauce. Also if you have other veggies you need to get rid of like carrots and celery, you can chop or shred them so they are too small to notice and add them to the sauce. Sometimes you have to sneak extra veggies in where you can!! When the meatballs are done take them out of the oven and add to the sauce. I usually have it timed so that when the meatballs come out I can throw my garlic bread in and everything will be ready at the same time.
When your pasta is done boiling, drain it but don't add it to the sauce right away. Toss the pasta with some shredded parmesan cheese-this helps the sauce stick to the noodles, a trick I learned from Giada on food network-then add to the sauce, toss till coated, and serve. My garlic bread is always a cheat, I get a loaf of it from the bakery at walmart and freeze it. Then whenever we want garlic bread I take out however many slices and bake them. One loaf lasts us about 3 meals which is way better than the garlic bread that is in the frozen section.
For the meatballs: 1 lb ground beef, one lb pork sausage (I use the farmland's best breakfast sausage-cheap and tasty and comes in 1-lb rolls so I always have a handful of them in my freezer). Bread crumbs, parmesan cheese (the finely grated kind), oregano, parsley, italian seasoning, pepper. 2 eggs.
For the sauce: 1 jar spaghetti sauce, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 onion, 1 pepper, 1 can mushrooms (or some fresh), parmesan + all the seasonings you used in the meatballs.
Start the meatballs first. Preheat the oven to about 350. Put your meat into a mixing bowl and add in your eggs, bread crumbs (maybe 1/2 a cup or so) and parmesan (about 1/4 cup). For the seasonings you are maybe using 1 tsp or 2 of each. However you like your meat seasoned. It's one of those things where I just never have measured and probably never will. use your hands to mix everything together. if the mix seems to moist add some more breadcrumbs or parm. Too dry add a little water. Use a cookie sheet and spray with Pam. Form the meat into balls. I can usually get 2 dozen meatballs out of this mix which is the perfect amount to fit on my pan. Put them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, put some water on to boil for the spaghetti and get your sauce heated up. You want to put the jar of spaghetti sauce into a pot and then add the diced tomatoes (don't drain). Add some extra seasonings, chop your onion/pepper and add those in. I have also been known to add zucchini, yellow squash, or mushrooms to my sauce. Also if you have other veggies you need to get rid of like carrots and celery, you can chop or shred them so they are too small to notice and add them to the sauce. Sometimes you have to sneak extra veggies in where you can!! When the meatballs are done take them out of the oven and add to the sauce. I usually have it timed so that when the meatballs come out I can throw my garlic bread in and everything will be ready at the same time.
When your pasta is done boiling, drain it but don't add it to the sauce right away. Toss the pasta with some shredded parmesan cheese-this helps the sauce stick to the noodles, a trick I learned from Giada on food network-then add to the sauce, toss till coated, and serve. My garlic bread is always a cheat, I get a loaf of it from the bakery at walmart and freeze it. Then whenever we want garlic bread I take out however many slices and bake them. One loaf lasts us about 3 meals which is way better than the garlic bread that is in the frozen section.
Monday, May 16, 2011
New Recipe 7/52: Creamy Mushroom Soup
So this was pretty random, I wanted to see if I could make my own mushroom soup so I looked at a few different recipes and then winged it. Amazingly, it turned out pretty good! I didn't take any pictures again, but ya know, once you have seen one creamy mushroom soup you have kinda seen them all. I'm just sayin'...Anyways I will try and get back into the picture thing next week. it's not that my food doesn't look delicious I just have been forgetting to bust out the camera.
So here was the soup. ingredients: 16 oz whole mushrooms. Half of them sliced and half of them rough chopped. 1 onion, diced tiny. 6 carrots, diced finely (They were pretty small carrots. bigger carrots I would gone with 3 or 4). 3 celery stalks, diced. Chicken broth (the big box kind-i think that's like 32 oz?). Red cooking wine-maybe 1/4-1/2 cup or so. 8oz cream cheese and about a pint of heavy cream. about a cup of mozzerella cheese.
Get out a large pot and put a little water in it to boil. Not much, maybe 3-4 cups. Chop your celery, carrots, and onion and add it to the hot water. Add the cooking wine and the chicken broth. Next do your mushrooms. Now depending how you feel about them you could dice or slice all of them, I did half diced and half sliced cause I like having bigger pieces of shroom in my soup. I used the white cap mushrooms that you get at the store, nothing too fancy but if you happen to be a mushroom hunter and have a bunch of wild ones I bet this would be a pretty tasty way to use them up. Anyway get your mushrooms into the pot and then just let the soup simmer till it boils down a bit. I left it on for about 45 minutes or so, stirring it occasionally.
Next add the cream cheese (Softened to room temp) and the cream. Keep the heat on it to help it all melt/blend together. This is also when you want to add the cheese in. Once everything is blended together remove from heat and serve. I tossed some of those mini saltines into mine and they went pretty well with the soup. Some crusty bread would have also done well. Hubby and I both thought this was pretty good soup. You may notice I did not add any seasonings, not even salt. The mushrooms and the veggies and the broth gave the soup enough flavor that I didn't feel like I needed to add anything else to it. If you want to feel free to give it a shot.
This made a pretty good quantity of soup so we do have some leftovers. I am going to make some plain noodles to toss with the leftovers and that will probably use them all up. If I was any good at making rice (for some reason I always kill it) it would probably go good with rice as well.
So here was the soup. ingredients: 16 oz whole mushrooms. Half of them sliced and half of them rough chopped. 1 onion, diced tiny. 6 carrots, diced finely (They were pretty small carrots. bigger carrots I would gone with 3 or 4). 3 celery stalks, diced. Chicken broth (the big box kind-i think that's like 32 oz?). Red cooking wine-maybe 1/4-1/2 cup or so. 8oz cream cheese and about a pint of heavy cream. about a cup of mozzerella cheese.
Get out a large pot and put a little water in it to boil. Not much, maybe 3-4 cups. Chop your celery, carrots, and onion and add it to the hot water. Add the cooking wine and the chicken broth. Next do your mushrooms. Now depending how you feel about them you could dice or slice all of them, I did half diced and half sliced cause I like having bigger pieces of shroom in my soup. I used the white cap mushrooms that you get at the store, nothing too fancy but if you happen to be a mushroom hunter and have a bunch of wild ones I bet this would be a pretty tasty way to use them up. Anyway get your mushrooms into the pot and then just let the soup simmer till it boils down a bit. I left it on for about 45 minutes or so, stirring it occasionally.
Next add the cream cheese (Softened to room temp) and the cream. Keep the heat on it to help it all melt/blend together. This is also when you want to add the cheese in. Once everything is blended together remove from heat and serve. I tossed some of those mini saltines into mine and they went pretty well with the soup. Some crusty bread would have also done well. Hubby and I both thought this was pretty good soup. You may notice I did not add any seasonings, not even salt. The mushrooms and the veggies and the broth gave the soup enough flavor that I didn't feel like I needed to add anything else to it. If you want to feel free to give it a shot.
This made a pretty good quantity of soup so we do have some leftovers. I am going to make some plain noodles to toss with the leftovers and that will probably use them all up. If I was any good at making rice (for some reason I always kill it) it would probably go good with rice as well.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Classic Recipe 6/52: Basic Chili Recipe
So it must be no picture week because I didn't take a pic when I made chili the other night. Whoopsy!! But seriously, if you don't know what chili looks like you must be living under a rock or something.
So what I am going to give you is my basic recipe for chili. I don't always put everything in here that's on the ingredients list. The awesome thing about chili is you can mix and match what's going in and make it different every time.
Must Have ingredients: 3 cans beans-can be kidney or black beans or a combo, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 packet chili seasoning, 1 can beef broth, 1 onion, chopped, one pepper, chopped, at least one pound meat (ground beef, stew beef chunks, pork sausage-sometimes I use a combo, depends what I have lurking that needs to be finished up).
Optional Ingredients: 1 can corn, 1-2 lbs potatoes cut into bite-size chunks, 1 jalapeno, chopped fine, 1 clove garlic, chopped, a little chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, black pepper, crushed red pepper, about 1/4 cup brown sugar (adds a sweetness that takes the bite away from the spicy).
Throw everything in a crock pot and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8+ hours. Beyond the prep of opening cans and chopping a few veggies, this is basically a cheat meal. This week I threw it on after I took the kids to school and before I went to bed (I work 3rd shift). Hubby gave it a few stirs throughout the day and it I could smell it the second I woke up. Yum yum!!! The potatoes I was kind of unsure of till I tried it, but they are chunky and make a good filler and add a different texture to everything. The corn adds a bit of sweetness even if you don't do the brown sugar. If you choose to add jalapeno don't worry one little pepper does not make it too spicy, especially if you take the ribs and the seeds out of the pepper. another thing you can add if you have it around is some fresh tomatoes, chopped up into chunks. you can do that instead of or in addition to the can of chopped tomatoes, depending on how much you like them in your chili. I never have added them but you could also chop some carrots and/or celery and add it in. You could also add some bacon. mmmm, I think I am adding that next time. :)
I make this at least once a month, even in the summer, just cause it's so easy and then we will usually have leftovers for a few days. Of course you gotta have saltines to crumble in there (they make mini ones now that are soooooooo cute!!) and I usually add some cheese and sour cream and crunchy onions on top too.
So what I am going to give you is my basic recipe for chili. I don't always put everything in here that's on the ingredients list. The awesome thing about chili is you can mix and match what's going in and make it different every time.
Must Have ingredients: 3 cans beans-can be kidney or black beans or a combo, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 packet chili seasoning, 1 can beef broth, 1 onion, chopped, one pepper, chopped, at least one pound meat (ground beef, stew beef chunks, pork sausage-sometimes I use a combo, depends what I have lurking that needs to be finished up).
Optional Ingredients: 1 can corn, 1-2 lbs potatoes cut into bite-size chunks, 1 jalapeno, chopped fine, 1 clove garlic, chopped, a little chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, black pepper, crushed red pepper, about 1/4 cup brown sugar (adds a sweetness that takes the bite away from the spicy).
Throw everything in a crock pot and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8+ hours. Beyond the prep of opening cans and chopping a few veggies, this is basically a cheat meal. This week I threw it on after I took the kids to school and before I went to bed (I work 3rd shift). Hubby gave it a few stirs throughout the day and it I could smell it the second I woke up. Yum yum!!! The potatoes I was kind of unsure of till I tried it, but they are chunky and make a good filler and add a different texture to everything. The corn adds a bit of sweetness even if you don't do the brown sugar. If you choose to add jalapeno don't worry one little pepper does not make it too spicy, especially if you take the ribs and the seeds out of the pepper. another thing you can add if you have it around is some fresh tomatoes, chopped up into chunks. you can do that instead of or in addition to the can of chopped tomatoes, depending on how much you like them in your chili. I never have added them but you could also chop some carrots and/or celery and add it in. You could also add some bacon. mmmm, I think I am adding that next time. :)
I make this at least once a month, even in the summer, just cause it's so easy and then we will usually have leftovers for a few days. Of course you gotta have saltines to crumble in there (they make mini ones now that are soooooooo cute!!) and I usually add some cheese and sour cream and crunchy onions on top too.
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