Pizza Pasta

(No pic – hate that!  Sorry!)

Recipe:

pasta, cooked (12 oz pkg)
sausage, browned (1 lb)
olives, chopped (1 can)
pasta sauce (26 oz can – or in my case, 2 cans 15oz tomato sauce, w/pizza/pasta seasonings added in!)
shredded cheese (any kind, I used mozzarella, seemed more ‘pizza-y’) (1 lb)

Toss it all together, saving some cheese to top with.  Put in casserole dish, toss in oven.  Cook @ 350 for 30ish minutes – or until heated through….put the remaining cheese on top for the last 5-10 minutes.  Serve up – enjoy!

Approval Rating:

Again – quick, easy, on-hand ingredients, and yummy yummy!  Everyone liked it – success!)

Sausage Pepper Pasta

Ok – so I made this one up All By Myself!  Yupyup   Ok, not completely….I was starving the other day at work, nobody around to pick me up anything while they were out, so I called and ordered takeout from Dominoes.  Didn’t want pizza, though, decided to try the pasta, and, decided to try the “make your own” version.  So, see – WAS my idea

Recipe:

pasta, cooked
sausage, browned
peppers, chopped (red, green, whatever is on hand!)
onions, chopped
Alfredo sauce (bottled, homemade, whatever!)

Toss it all together, heat through, and serve it up! 

Approval Rating:

These are my FAVORITE types of recipes – quick, delicious, and simple!  And, the peeps, the gobbled it up! Will be making it again!

Banana Bread

This is the recipe I got from my mommy.  It’s the bestest banana bread ever

Recipe:

1/4 c oil
2 eggs – beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c mashed bananas (if you don’t have enough, you can supplement with applesauce!)
1/4 c sour milk (3/4 tsp lemon juice and enough milk to make 1/4 c works great!)
3/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 c flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c chopped nuts (if you want – I NEVER do!)

Mix dry ingredients together.  Make a well in the center, add wet ingredients and stir only enough to combine.  Pour into greased loaf pan(s).  Bake @ 350 – 1 hr for a large loaf, or 40-50 minutes for mini-loaves.  (I have started splitting it into 2 large loaf pans if I don’t do the mini-pans, which are my fave, but by doing 2 thin loaves and cooking less than the full hour, it seems to be a little better texture!)

Approval Rating:

We love love love this bread.  It doesn’t last more than a few hours around here!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Recipe:

(ok, this is one of those “pick your own proportion recipes!  use what ya “need”!)

chicken
BBQ Sauce – your fave
mozzarella, shredded
Gouda cheese, shredded (sometimes I don’t have this, and it’s ok without it, but better with it!)
red onion, sliced
cilantro, chopped
oh yeah – a pizza crust!! (I have used pita bread, pre-made pizza crusts from store, and even homemade dough – whatever fits the time and ingredients on hand!)

Marinate the chicken in some bbq sauce in the fridge.  (I have used raw chicken, chopped in pieces, and even that frozen pre-cooked chicken from Costco – was in a hurry that time!).  Cook the chicken in a bit of oil in a frying pan.  Saute until it’s done.  Cover your pizza crust with some bbq sauce, sprinkle with some of both of the cheeses, then the chicken, then the onion, then a bit more mozzarella cheese, then the cilantro.  Toss it in the oven, cook until it’s done (see what your crust needs, cause that is the “critical factor” here!

Approval Rating:

This is DELICIOUS!!  My kids’ favorite – and mine.  (Lynn is an old fashioned pizza boy – only red sauce for him – poor thing, sure is missing out!)  The kids love it enough that Gregory used this recipe for his school “Iron Chef” competition in cooking class – sweet!

D’s New Mexican Chile Verde

Recipe:

(from Tasty kitchen!)

ok – here’s the thing – I am WAYYYY behind on this blog (and on my other blog…and ok, just on life/projects all together!) – so, made a decision – on recipes that I get off the internet, just gonna give you the link, then tell ya if I made any “changes” – ok?  Good!  Let’s go!

D's New Mexican Chile Verde

I browned the meat, then tossed it all in a crockpot, cause, you know – easier that way!

Approval Rating:

This was good.  Really good.  Quite tasty.  Not better than the Green Chile Pork, which is my Fave , but very very good – and they all ate it – Yay!

Mongolian Beef

Recipe: (with adaptations!)

(adapted from Tasty Kitchen)

2 lbs thin sliced top round or flank steak
1 tbsp , 1 tsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp ground ginger
1 c water
1 c soy sauce
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil, for frying, plus 2 tbsp for sauce
1/2 c cornstarch
2 bunches green onions (I just chopped up a regular onion, it’s what I had!)
”some” chopped zucchini
”some” banana squash, chopped up

Heat 2 tbsp oil in saucepan over medium-low heat (don’t get it too hot!).  Add ginger, garlic, water, and soy sauce to the pan.  Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes, or until it thickens.  Remove from heat and set aside.

While the sauce is cooking, slice the meat into thin pieces.  Put it in a ziploc bag with the cornstarch.  Shake well, and let the meat sit for 5-10 minutes to let the cornstarch stick.  Heat remaining 1/4 c oil in a pan, add the beef to the oila nd saute until the meat is almost cooked (it will only take about 4 or 5 minutes. 

While the beef is cooking, chop up the veggies.  Remove the meat from th epan and let it drain on paper towels.  Wipe out any excess oil in your pan.  Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and simmer for one minute.  Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, then add all the veggies.  Cook until your meat is done and the veggies are cooked, just a couple of minutes.

Serve the meat & sauce over white rice.

Approval Rating:

This.  Was.  Delicious.  the end

Shepherds pie

Comfort food at it’s finest, and it was sounding good – and so I looked over a few different recipes, and tossed together something basic & simple – and guess what – it turned out really good!

Recipe (aka Basic Ingredients!):
hamburger, browned (with some onions, cause I like it that way!)
veggies – I used a bag of frozen mixed veggies
gravy – I just used some basic brown gravy
mix those together, toss in casserole dish
top with mashed potatoes
and then cheese, lotsa cheese
and then baked, until it’s all hot & bubble – like 30-45 min @ 350ish

Super detailed, right?  Hey, sometimes these are the good recipes!  Enjoy!

Approval Rating:
Everyone, every last one of them, gobbled it right up.  Down to the last bite.  Success!