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

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