Spaghetti....with CHEESE!

Last night for dinner I cooked an old favorite, Spaghetti!
My son LOVES spaghetti, eating "snakes" for dinner is one of his favorite meals.

So, since we have not had it in a few weeks (because I've been cooking all these new fabulous meals) I opted for something easy.  (Ok, actually I forgot to set anything out and hamburger unthaws fast).

If you family likes Spaghetti but you need to spice it up, add CHEESE.  :)

Spaghetti with CHEESE!!

 

Sorry this photo is sideways, I can't seem to get it to rotate!

 

Feed ya' later,

A

My First Apple Pie

Last night we had friends over for dinner and to play a new board game. I always feel like when we are entertaining (ha that sounds so formal) we should have dessert for after dinner, so on my quest to cook new things I decided-why not attempt an apple pie? Plus it's my husbands FAVORITE pie and since he is the reason for this change in the kitchen, I figured if I nailed it I'd get best wife of the year!

I actually pinned this recipe last week for Apple Pie because the author claimed it was the easiest to make. I like easy. I also used the pie crust from that same site.

So, a big thanks to Brandie at The County Cook for sharing her recipe for:


Butter Crumble Apple Pie

Pie Crust:
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. oil
2 tbsp. water

Mix flour and salt. Add oil and water. Mix well. Spray pie pan with a non-stick spray. Mash dough into bottom of pan and up sides.

Completed crust.

 

Please note, Brandi's photos make this crust look a lot more "smooth" than I found it to be.  I thought it was a bit sticky and near impossible to form the pretty little edging around the top.  If that is important to you, you may have better luck with a different crust recipe.  If looks are not important and you simply care about taste then this recipe is great. 

 

I will add that my husband and his friend said some bites were a bit "flour-y".  I think the next time I make it I may add a little sugar and also be sure to try and make the crust even through out.

Pie Filling:
6 Apples (the recipe at The County Cook calls for Granny Smith, I used Red Delicious)
1/4 c. Flour
1/2 c. Sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon (I didn't measure I just sprinkled until it looked pretty)

Peel and core the apples. Slice into your prefered thickness for pie (I like thin slices but still enough to "crunch" when it's cooked). Mix sliced apples, flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl.  Dump into your pie crust.

Pre-peeled

Mixed with other flour, sugar, and cinnamon.

 

Crumble Topping:

1/3 c. Sugar

1 c. Flour

1 Stick of Butter (The recipe from The County Cook calls for room temp. butter but I forgot to set it out so I just kind of held it over the tortillas that were warming on the stove until it was easy to mush around)

 

Mix/Mash all ingredients in a bowl (I used the same one I mixed my crust in to save on dishes) until it is all mostly mushed together. Spread on top of pie so that it is covered (or just until it looks pretty).

 

Bake in the oven at 450 for approximately 45 minutes or until desired brownness (if that's a word.)

Serve plain, with ice-cream, or just plain cream! MMMM

 

 

Taquitos and Apple Pie

Last night we had friends over for dinner and to play a new board game I bought last weekend. My girlfriend suggested we have Taquitos, a recipe her husband shared with us a few years ago.  His sister is an authentic Mexican cook and he got the recipe from her!

Since we had friends over I thought we needed dessert too, so I attempted my very first apple pie! 
For the link to that recipe and tutorial click here.

Both items were very easy, fast, and yummy!

Chicken Taquitos

1-2 lbs chicken breast
1-2 packages CORN tortillas
Cooking Oil

Boil chicken in water on the stove. Once it has cooked and cooled, shred the chicken. Pour enough oil into a skillet or electric skillet for frying the taquitos. (I think about 1/4-1/2 inch deep is good).


Now the next step is to warm the corn tortillas so they are easier to work with.  It is easy to do this in a microwave or on the stove.  If you are doing it on the stove, use a small skillet with a lid and place about 6-10 tortillas inside, place on low heat. (The idea is to warm them, not cook them).  If you are using a microwave, place a few tortillas between moist paper-towels and turn on for about 15-20 seconds.  (Again, warming NOT cooking).

Once your tortillas are warm, place them on a flat surface (plate or counter works good). Place desired amount of shredded chicken inside (if you put TOO much in there it is hard to roll and the chicken falls out, so it might take a few attempts to get it perfect). Roll the tortillas and place them seem side down in the hot oil. Repeat until your cooking surface is full. Turn taquitos to brown on both sides. Remove once they have reached a golden brown (or darker if you prefer). Drain on paper towels to remove excess grease.

We like to serve our Taquitos with Sour Cream and Velveeta Cheese Dip.  But you could eat them alone or make Mexican Rice, or whatever floats your boat!

Corn Tortillas

 

Shredded Chicken

Finished Taquitos

Taquitos served with sour cream, cheese dip, and chips!

 

Dinner for $1.50

Last night I made Pot Pie for dinner. 

No, it wasn't homemade.

This is another meal that in my whole 25 years I have never had.  It's not for lack of opportunity, my mom used to make this sometimes when we were kids, but I never liked it so, I never ate it. My husband on the other hand ate pot pies a lot as a kid but probably hasn't had them in 15 years.

I had a coupon for Banquet Pot Pies that gave me $0.60 off of 6 and Harter House had them on sale last week for $0.59.

I cooked up 3 of them last night (1.5 for the hubs, half for the kiddo and one for me). 

The verdict:
The Pot Pie dinner was OK. It tasted fine as far as that goes but I can't say I was stuffed afterward.  It did pass the quick and easy test though because all you do is take it from box to oven and bake.  Bake time was 35 minutes on the box, but I think we ended up cooking them for about 50 total.  And the clean up was cake, throw the cooking plate thing it comes in in the trash, wash forks and done! (To be even fast use plastic forks)

Overall not bad for 2 bucks!

Tater Tot Casserole

It may be a "same ol' same ol" to you, but at our house Tater Tot Casserole is something unheard of.

I'm not sure HOW I've managed to go my whole 25 years without ever eating or making this amazing dish but I have. No more though, because after last night's dinner I'm hooked and thankfully so is the hubby and the two year old!

It's kind of funny because I found this meal as I was doing a search for easy week night dinners on google.  Then, yesterday (or maybe it was Tuesday) morning as I was listening to 19 Kids and Counting on TLC while getting myself and the boys ready to go for the day, I heard mama Michelle say something along the lines of, "Everyone should know about Tater Tot Casserole because it's such an easy dish." THEN, on Wednesday when I got my Marshfield Mail, it was like a sign from God, Cream Soups were on sale at Harter House.  My mind was made up.

I did a little research (aka Pinterest) and found this recipe at Mommy's Kitchen! Ok, I really just found the pictures first and then read the recipe, but it works.

I picked up the cream soup after work (price matched at Price Cutter) and I headed home to make something new!

Tater Tot Casserole

1lb Hamburger or ground Venison (I used hamburger but we cook with venison a lot too)
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 onion chopped
1 Bag Frozen Tater Tots
1 8oz container Sour Cream (you could use the sour cream with chives and cut out the onion)
1 c. Milk
1 bag Shredded Cheese (I think Tina's recipe at Mommy's Kitchen calls for 1.5 cups but I LOVE cheese so...whatever you like)

First cook the hamburger and onions. Add salt, pepper, and garlic seasoning to taste. While the hamburger is cooking go ahead and mix the soup, milk and sour cream. (I let my son help with this part and he thought it was awesome).

Once the meat is mixed put it in a casserole dish.  Pour the soup mixture on top.  Cover with tater tots (the photo's on Mommy's Kitchen shows the tots all lined up nice, I just dumped the bag on and kind of leveled 'em out) and top with cheese.  Bake in the oven at 350.  Again, her recipe called for 30 minutes but my oven took about 45 which was longer than I had anticipated but it was ok, we didn't starve.

Here is a picture of the one done over at Mommy's Kitchen:

I wish I had a picture of the one I made, but since I don't Tina's will have to work! 
Let me know if you try this and if you like it!  I'd also love to here of any creative spins you put on it!

Feed ya later!
A

My Mistake

Exactly 1 week and 4 days ago I made a mistake. I cooked something NEW for dinner.

As a mother of a VERY picky toddler (I'm talking hot dogs and plain spaghetti noodles only), and a VERY picky husband (corn is the ONLY vegetable he eats), I play it safe every night and cook things that I KNOW my family will eat.  This means we have a rotating menu of

• Spaghetti
• Taco Salad
• Chicken Sandwichs (with corn)
• Hamburger Helper (which I don't like, but they do)
• Hamburgers
• Cereal (and yes, I know this doesn't qualify as cooking, but if it works it works right?)
• Tacos
• Pancakes (yes for dinner)
• Pizza
• Pork Chops (with corn)

Occasionally we will spice it up a bit on the weekends with steak, or ribs, or something that takes longer to cook than we can handle on a week night. We also eat out. A Lot. It's not that I don't like to cook, actually I enjoy it.  The pleasure of cooking a new recipe and having it turn out just as good as the picture is a mini victory in the kitchen and a confirmation to myself as a woman and mother that I CAN feed my family good meals. It's just that who has TIME to cook a new recipe or meal every night?  AND even if you DO have time, who can think of something new to actually make?

So, back to my mistake.

I was CRAVING Smoked Chicken Nachos from Rib Crib like a pregnant woman craving pickles.  I could smell, taste, and feel the crunch in my mouth-in fact my mouth is watering now just thinking about them... It was Sunday evening, I still had about an hours worth of homework to do and enough money in the bank to cover the necessitys for the week plus our McDonalds budget.  I didn't really want to spend extra money ($10.00 in fact since those nachos are a bit pricey), just to satisfy my craving.

I decided to make them myself.

Sadly, they turned out great.  In my opinion-better than Rib Crib. Even better, my husband liked them. Even MORE better (ok, I'm not an english student) my son liked them. The fact that everyone liked them was a victory in itself. 

At this point you may be asking youself, "Why is this a bad thing?".  Well, let me finish.

We are all munching down, enjoying this new creation and I ask my husband, "Well, do you like them?" Obviously he does since he is eating them, but you know....

He responds, "Yeah, they are really good." (THAT'S IT?) No, there is more..."You should cook stuff like this more often.  I'm getting tired of what you make." (Yeah, THAT'S IT.)

"I'm getting tired of what you make"????

In my mind there was a full on rebuttal forming, "Why don't you cook, why don't come up with something new, why don't you try and please two of the pickest eaters ever, why don't you..." (I'm sure you can see where this is going). What I actually said was, "Do you know how hard it is to come up with new stuff? You guys are hard to please but ok, I can try and cook new things."
Alright, in reality it was more like what played out in my head but I did agree to try new things.

So, here I am. 11 days later and we have had 6 new meals.  Most of which have been easy, quick, and everyone has (mostly) enjoyed. I have spent a lot of time searching the internet and recreating dishes that we already like.  Out of the 6 meals we have loved 3, hated 1, and split down the middle on 2.

Since I love talking about myself (well, who doesn't?) I decided I should blog my trials, triumps, and failures in the kitchen to give others some fresh ideas on boring week night meals. Unfortunatley I didn't have THIS great idea until 11 days in so I have no pictures of my fantastic meals up to this point to share. But I will. With each new meal I'll share a photos of the steps and the finished product, the recipe and how it rated at our house.

Feed ya soon!

A