Archive for the ‘
Tasty Tuesday ’ Category
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013
We love this twist on traditional macaroni and cheese. The chicken bouillon and Parmesan cheese add an interesting pop of flavor and even if you’re like me and aren’t a mac ‘n cheese fan, I think you’ll enjoy it.
Creamy Ham N Macaroni
2 c. uncooked macaroni (or other pasta)
3 tbsp. butter
¼ c. flour
2 c. milk
4 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
¼ tsp. pepper
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 ½ c. cubed fully cooked ham
¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese
Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain and set aside. In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in the milk, bouillon and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 cup cheddar cheese, ham, Parmesan cheese and macaroni. Transfer to a greased 2 qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
* If you don’t care for ham, try it without- maybe just up the macaroni by 1/4 cup. I think it would still be really good!
Yield: 6 servings
For other recipe ideas, check out Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday, Mostly Homemade Mom’s Show and Share Wednesday, and Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
This casserole, with all the tastes of a cheeseburger rolled into one dish, is an old favorite of ours. I started making it soon after we were married 6 1/2 years ago but had sort of forgotten about it until last week when I happened across the recipe and decided to make it for dinner. The whole family confirmed again that yes, this is a dish that I need to keep making, and making often.
Reminiscent of a breakfast casserole because of the egg/milk mixture, the cheeseburger part smacks of a hearty meal. And if you keep cooked ground beef in the freezer, this dish is a cinch to throw together.
Cheeseburger Casserole
8 slices of bread, toasted and buttered (I use my homemade whole wheat)
1 to 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 c. onion
1/4 c. celery (optional)
1/2 c. ketchup
4 tsp. mustard
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. cheese
1 c. milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp. pepper
Fry ground beef, onion and celery. Add ketchup, mustard and salt. Layer 4 slices of toast, half of beef mixture and half cup of cheese in greased baking dish (an 8×8 works well). Repeat toast and beef layers. Mix milk, egg, mustard and pepper and pour over everything. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and let sit for 5 minutes to melt cheese.
For other recipe ideas, check out Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday, 33 Shades of Green’s Tasty Tuesday, Mostly Homemade Mom’s Show and Share Wednesday and Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.
Tuesday, May 7th, 2013
I first started making these No Bake Energy Bites when I was pregnant several years ago. They were the perfect thing when I was craving something sweet because they satisfied my craving but were still kind of healthy.
These energy bites are so easy to mix up that there is really no excuse not to make them. Well, unless you are like my sister-in-law and don’t like peanut butter or something- then you might have a good reason. Otherwise, go and mix these little babies up and be ready for that next sweet tooth attack!
No Bake Energy Bites
3/4 c. peanut butter
1/3 c. honey
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. oatmeal (we prefer old fashioned)
1/2 c. of one of the following: wheat germ, coconut, flax seed, sesame seeds, or more oatmeal
1/2 to 1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 to 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
Combine peanut butter, honey and vanilla; add remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for 30 min. then roll into bite sized balls. Keep refrigerated. Can be stored in freezer.
For other recipe ideas, check out Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday, Mostly Homemade Mom’s Show and Share Wednesday and Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.
Tuesday, April 30th, 2013
I’m probably strange, but every time I throw food out, I see money being wasted. Dollar signs kind of float in front of my eyes and I sometimes feel a bit guilty. It is true though. Throwing out food is basically throwing out money. After all, it is estimated that the average household throws out $590 worth of food a year!
So I was intrigued when I heard a lady that spoke at the mom’s group I attend talk about this idea of creating a soup bucket. To eliminate the whole leftover dilemma, she simply keeps an ice cream bucket in the corner of her freezer and whenever she has leftovers that she knows won’t get used, she just throws them into the bucket. When the bucket gets full, she dumps the contents into a pot and makes a soup/stew out of it, adding other ingredients to improve the taste if necessary. Now maybe that just grosses you out, I don’t know. To me it sounded interesting and like a fun challenge. I was curious to see if I could make something delicious out of all those random leftovers!
I’ll admit that I didn’t implement this idea right away, mainly because I figured we do a good enough job using up our leftovers that I thought it would be a waste of my time to try it. But during the next month I was amazed at how many times I threw stuff out that would have easily been “soup” material. Finally I bit the bullet, got my container and started my own soup bucket.
Soup from my last soup bucket- the gourmet tasting one.
We had “Soup Bucket Soup” three times over the last year and believe it or not, each one was pretty tasty! No, none of them looked like gourmet soups but one of them did taste like it! (I share my secret to that gourmet taste below.)
I’ve learned a few things over this last year about using soup buckets, one of the key things being that leftover sauces and seasonings from dishes such as Ham Loaf (I like to scrape the juice left in the pan into my soup bucket) and Herb Roasted Chicken (any of the leftover butter/seasoning mixture gets scraped into my soup bucket) give an incredible flavor. We had our last Soup Bucket Soup two weeks ago and it was seriously so good that we were wishing I had a recipe to make it again. I had scraped various leftover sauces into the Soup Bucket and it created a rich flavor that was simply delicious!
When I go to make a meal with my soup bucket I just add extra things as needed. One time my bucket was mostly liquids and a few vegetables. So I added some cooked ground beef and cut up a bunch of potatoes and threw them in. And if the bucket doesn’t have a lot of sauces or seasonings in it already I like to play around with adding things like Italian Seasoning, Thyme, Oregano, Basil, Garlic Powder and even Chili Powder.
Still a little hesitant to try a soup bucket? Here’s some tips for you.
Leftovers that Work Well in a Soup Bucket:
* meats
* cheese
* milk
* broth
* veggies
* potatoes, cut up
* tomato products
* cooked beans
* cooked rice
* cooked pasta
* sauces from meats
* herb sauces like I mentioned above
Things to Add to Help the Flavor/Consistency:
* any of the things from the above list
* tomato juice
* tomato chunks
* chicken broth/stock
* seasonings like I mentioned above
- Italian Seasoning, Thyme, Oregano, Basil, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder
* whisk a little (maybe a Tablespoon) flour with some milk (maybe a cup or two), add to the soup to make it creamier and to thicken it slightly
* cottage cheese
- I had some of this that was going to spoil and I added it to my last soup bucket. It just added a nice creaminess.
* cream cheese
* ketchup
Do you ever make soup from leftovers? What are your tips?
For other recipe ideas, check out Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday, Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Semi-Homemade Mom’s Show and Share Wednesday, and 33 Shades of Green’s Tasty Tuesday.
Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013
Growing up, it was always a treat when Mom made cornbread. This moist, lightly sweet bread pretty much just melts in your mouth and we never had any problem cleaning up the pan!
I know a lot of people don’t really like cornbread, and honestly, I’ve had a lot of cornbread that I haven’t cared for either because it dry and bland. But this cornbread is anything but dry, so if you’ve been one of those people that has turned up your nose at cornbread, give this one a try. I’m guessing you just might like it!
Cornbread
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
1 c. yellow corn meal
1 1/4 c. flour
3 Tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
Cream sugar and butter; add eggs and beat well. Combine dry ingredients and mix alternately with milk.
Pour into a greased 9 in. square pan.
Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until center is set and a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Do NOT over bake- this is what keeps it so moist.
Note: If you want to make a double recipe don’t try baking this in a 9×13 pan. It won’t bake evenly (ask me how I know!). Instead use two 9 in. pans or even two pie pans will work.
For other recipe ideas, check out Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday, Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Semihomemade Mom’s Show and Share Wednesday.
