Goulash

Another family favorite using dad's bottle tomatoes from his garden in Arizona!

1 lb ground beef
2 qts of Dad's Bottled Tomatoes (or 1 large can 64 oz of Tomato Juice)
2 cups Elbow Macaroni
1 Clove Garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta. Season and brown ground beef with garlic. Drain fat. Drain pasta, in the large pot, put pasta, and ground beef. Puree bottle tomatoes in food processor (1 bottle at a time, unless you have a massive food processor.) Add tomatoes to pasta and beef. Heat thoroughly.

You can stop here and serve. Or this is where the fun begins. You can add anything you like. We have put in canned corn, or canned beans. Shredded cheese on top is good too. I even threw in olives once to get Nicholas to eat it. Be creative!

Super Easy Spaghetti Sauce

I have been really tired of canned spaghetti sauce. I just don't like it. So we haven't had spaghetti for a long time. But I was in a bind and needed a quick dinner so this is what I came up my own sauce. It was simple and yummy and my whole family LOVED it!

1 lb ground beef
1 quart jar of bottled tomatoes (from my dad's garden in Arizona) (or 32 oz stewed tomatoes)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion chopped
Italian Seasoning
Salt
Pepper

Saute garlic and onions in a large pot. Add ground beef and season with salt and pepper and brown. Drain fat. In your food processor or blender, puree tomatoes to remove chunks. (My kids are anti-chucks but you may like some chunks...) Add tomatoes to beef. Season with Italian Seasoning. Bring to a boil and simmer with out a lid to boil off excess water from tomatoes. You may want to taste and see if you need more salt or pepper. Serve over spaghetti noodles.

You can also get really creative and add other vegetables like carrots, peppers, or what ever you can think of! I would love to know what you add.

Enjoy!

Sunday Roast

Beef Roast
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg onion soup mix
1-2 Beef bouillon

In a slow cooker mix soup mixes together, add beef bouillon.  Place Roast over soup mixes, brush the roast with a little of the soup mixture.  Cook on Low 4-6 hours.

The dripping from the meat with the soup mix makes a really yummy gravy.  When I do it I Strain my dripping when putting them in a sauce pan.

This makes a really Yummy, super easy Sunday dinner.

Slow Cooker Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

30oz pkg plain frozen shredded hash browns
4 already been cooked  sausage or diced ham
1/2 onion- diced
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
12 eggs
1 cup skim milk
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper

Spray inside of slow cooker with cooking spray.  Dump in the whole package of hash browns.  Spread evenly & Break up big clumps.

In mixing bowl, mix eggs with milk, salt, pepper, cheese, and cut up meat and onions.  Pour over hashbrowns cook low 6-8 hours.  Done when the eggs are fully cooked and edges start to brown.

** when I made this I added more sausage and bacon.
Devin and I really liked it, but the kids were not big fans.

Chocolate Drop Quickies

(ie.. no bake cookies)

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
3 cups quick rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix sugar, butter, cocoa and milk in saucepan.  Bring to boil quickly.  Reduce heat to medium and boil 3-4 minutes, or until a little dropped into cold water forms a soft ball (234 degrees). Remove from heat. Stir in rolled oats, nuts and vanilla.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper; let stand until hardened.  Store in refrigerator, if desired.  Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Aprel's Red Beans and Rice

1 8 oz package of Red Beans (Camilla red beans are the best but you can't get them here. Sad. But you can order them online. )
1 yellow onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped, including the leaves)
1 package smoked sausage (Not ground raw sausage. This is by the hot dogs and looks like this.)
3 cups of uncooked rice

Rinse your beans in a strainer. In a large crock pot, put beans, onion, green pepper, celery. Fill to the top with water leaving about an inch. Set on high and let cook for 4-6 hours. Once beans are soft smash some with the back of the spoon against the side of the crock pot. This will help thicken it a bit.) Cut up sausage into rings and then cut the rings in half. Add sausage to crock pot. Taste beans, add salt and pepper to taste. Add Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning for some kick. Cook for 1-2 more hours on low with the lid off of the crock pot.

Cook the rice in 6 cups of water.

To serve, place rice in the bottom of a bowl. Pour red beans over top. ENJOY!

Creamy Italian Chicken

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 envelope italian dressing mix
1/4 cups water
4 oz cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup

place chicken breasts into slow cooker, mix water and italian seasoning mix and pour over chicken, cook 4 hours on low.  for the last hour shred chicken (don't remove any liquid) and mix together cream cheese and cream of chicken soup and mix into shredded chicken.

serve over egg noodles or rice.

Creamy Slow Cooker Chicken

1 envelope dry onion soup mix
2 cups sour cream
10 3/4oz can cream of mushroom soup
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Combine soup mix, sour cream, and cream of mushroom in slow cooker.  Add chicken, pushing it down so it is submerged in sauce.
Cover and Cook on low for 8 hours.
*during the last hour of cook time, shredded chicken and mix well with sauce*

Serve over Rice or Egg Noodles.


*** Cream of chicken soup can also replace 1 cup sour cream, it just not as rich of a flavor***

Gooey Chex Mix

6 cups Rice Chex

6 cups Golden Grahams ( if you don't have golden grahams, I use 12 cups Chex)

2 cups coconut

2 cups sliced almonds

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter

 

Combine the cereals, coconut, and almonds in a large bowl.  Prepare a cookie sheet with wax paper, or butter.  In a heavy sauce pan, combine corn syrup, sugar, and butter.  Boil for 2 minutes.  Pour over cereal mixture.  Stir until well coated.  Spread out on cookie sheet, and allow to cool completely.  Enjoy!

Submitted by:  Annalee Gianfelice

After Thanksgiving Soup

4 cups water
4 chicken bullion cubes
20 baby carrots chopped
1 stalk celery chopped

Bring to a boil in a large pot for 30-45 mins.

Add:
2-3 cups chopped turkey

Continue to boil for 20 more mins or until carrots are soft.

In another pot, bring water to a boil and cook 1 cup of pasta.

Add 1 can of cream of chicken soup to the Turkey mixture. Stir and bring to a boil. Turn off heat add the cooked pasta. Stir and serve.

Spudnut rolls

1 3/4 c sugar
1 1/2 c milk
1 c mashed potatoes
4 T butter
4 T yeast
2 eggs
1 tsp salt

In 1/4 cup warm water dissolve yeast, set aside; scald milk. In the mixer, add butter, salt, and sugar. Pour in scalded milk and mashed potatoes. Mix. Cool. Add eggs and yeast. Mix.

Add 2 cups of flour. Mix. Switch to dough hook. Continue to add flour about 1 cup at a time. Dough should be sticky. Roll in to balls or roll out on a flour surface and cut in to circles. Butter the inside and fold in half.

Bake 20 mins at 350 degrees or until golden brown.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

From the kitchen of Paula Dean

1 9" unbaked pie crust
2 c pecan halves
3 large eggs
3 tab of butter, melted
1/2 c dark corn syrup
1 c sugar
3 oz semisweet chocolate, choped (about 1/2 c)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour pecans on the bottom of the pie crust. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs and melted butter. Add the corn syrup, sugar, and chopped chocolate. Stir all ingredients until combined. Pour over pecans. Bake 10 mins, lower to 350 degrees, bake 45 more mins or until set.

Jello Salad

1 sm box cooked vanilla pudding
1 sm box tapioca pudding
1 sm box orange or raspberry Jello
3 cups water
1 8 oz carton cool whip
1 can madrain oranges or 1 pkg frozen raspberries

In a sauce pan mix together water, puddings and jello, cook until boiling for 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool completely. 
Then add cool whip, mix well, then add fruit.

Fruit Dip

1 8oz Cream Cheese
1 13oz jar Marshmellow Cream

Beat cream cheese, then add marshmellow cream, mix well.

Enjoy with your fresh fruit!!!!


** This is one of my most favorite things we had as kids. **

Pull Aparts

14-16 frozen RHOADES rolls
1 small pkg Cooked Butterscotch Pudding
Cinnamon
1 cube butter
3/4 cup brown sugar


Place rolls in bundt pan.  Sprinkle with 1/2 package of butterscotch pudding (dry powder), then sprinkle with cinnamon (maybe a tablespoon)

In a small sauce pan, melt butter and brown sugar, cook until well mixed together.  Pour over rolls. Cover lightly (I usually just use a clean towel) over night.  Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes.  Dump upside down on plate to remove rolls.  Enjoy :)

Chicken Pot Pie

2 Cups Chicken Gravy
2 cups Cooked and cubed Chicken
1 pkg frozen Peas and Carrots
1 can corn
2 small Potatoes Baked and cubed
Pie Crust

Preheat oven to 400
Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Pour into 9" pie pan.  Cover with premade pie crust. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until top is light golden brown.


**This can be done as a freezer meal also.  However if done as a freezer meal, DO NOT add potatoes as they do not freeze well.  Also if you do it as a freezer meal, thaw for 1 hr 15 mins prior to cooking then cook at 450 for 1 hr 15 mins. ***