Stuffed Shells

One of my favorite meals is stuffed shells.  I not only like the flavor of the recipe, but I like that it makes enough to make two meals!  Usually when I make this recipe, I make it the night before.  I drive an hour to work everyday so I typically don't get home until around 6pm and by that time everyone is beyond ready to eat.  My husband gets home by 4:30 so he's able to just pop it in the oven when he gets home and it's done by the time I get home!  When I make this recipe, I typically fill a 9x13 pan to cook the next day and then I also have an 8x8 tin pan that I fill and freeze to cook on another night.  That frozen meal is perfect for a night when you just don't feel like cooking, but want a home cooked meal.  This recipe came from my Mother-in-Law--she typically adds in spinach or meat, but I prefer just cheese stuffed shells.  Here is my version:

Stuffed Shells:

1 box Stuffing Shells
32 oz container of Ricotta Cheese
8 oz bag shredded mozzarella, plus extra to top off the shells
3 eggs
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. parsley
1 tsp oregano
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 Jars of Spaghetti Sauce

Cook shells according to package.  Mix all of the rest of the ingredients (except the sauce).  Pour about 3/4 cup of sauce into the pan, then fill your shells and place them in the pan(s).  Cover the shells with the remaining sauce and cover them with tin foil.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-50 minutes.  During the last 5 minutes of cooking, uncover the shells and top with shredded mozzarella.

**When I make this ahead of time, I usually bake it in a 425 degree oven for about about 1 1/2 hours.  Since it's cold, it takes a little longer.

**You can also add some chopped frozen spinach or brown ground beef and add it to half of the cheese mixture if you don't want your shells to be so cheesy.

2 Dinners one Meat--Roast and BBQ Beef

One of the things I like most when it comes to cooking is saving time.  This weekend I made a roast for dinner on Friday and then we had BBQ Beef Sandwiches for dinner on Sunday.  Typically I use a chuck roast, but when I thawed my roast out on Thursday night, I realized I pulled a London Broil roast out.  We usually buy London Broil for my husband to make his Grandma's Beef Jerky, but this time it was used for roast.  I am not a fan of Beef Jerky, but I will post our recipe on here next time my husband makes it :)  One of the things I learned about picking a roast is to find one that is marbled with fat.  All roasts will have some fat, but you want some swirled in the middle of the roast and not all around the outside--this will give you more flavor and make the roast even more tender.

Pot Roast:

For my roast, I used the following recipe:

Chuck roast (or whatever you have available)--about 3 pounds
16 oz. baby carrots
12 oz. can of Pepsi, coke, Dr. pepper (I've used them all and I've used generic versions as well)
1 package of onion soup mix

I throw all of this in the crock pot and cook on low for about 8-10 hours.  When I made it this time, I also added a pack of brown gravy mix--the roast was good, but didn't taste a whole lot different from the recipe above so that's why I didn't include it in the ingredients.  This is stuff we almost always have on hand so it makes it easy to just throw it in the crock pot and forget about it.

Gram's BBQ Beef:

We didn't eat all of the roast so instead of freezing it or eating leftovers, I decided to turn it into my husband's Grandma's BBQ Beef.  Since we already ate some of the roast and it was only about 2 1/2 pounds to begin with, I cut the following recipe in half.  But here is the full recipe she used for a 4 pound chuck roast:

Sauce:
1 c. chopped onion
1/2 stick margarine
1/2 c. vinegar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. garlic
1 Tbsp. horseradish
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 c. chili sauce
1 c. tomato sauce

If you were just making this recipe for the BBQ Beef, you'd cook the chuck roast in the crock pot with 1/2 cup of water until it falls apart.  Take out all of the fat and put in a regular pan on the stove and add the sauce ingredients listed above. 

For us, we already had the roast cooked so I just shredded it and added the sauce.  We always put our BBQ Beef on buns and have sandwiches.

Chicken Paprikash

A few years ago, my Aunt Kim and I went to the Fabulous Food Show in Cleveland, Ohio.  It was there that I had Chicken Paprikash for the first time--and from that point, I fell in love!  My aunt gave me the "recipe" that my Grandma used, but you know how "recipes" from Grandparents go--they can make the meal taste great, but they don't use an actual recipe to make it.  I attempted the so-called recipe and failed so I was on a hunt to find an actual recipe.  I came across a recipe for "Hungarian Chicken Paprikas" so I gave it a whirl.  I was happy to find that June Meyer had a winner!  I've been using the recipe ever since and it's always a hit at our house.  The link to the recipe is above, but here is the actual recipe too:

• 2 onions chopped (I use a little less because my hubby isn't a fan of onions)
• 4 Tbsp. shortening, corn oil or lard (I typically use Country Crock)
• 3 Tbsp. Hungarian paprika (I just use regular paprika--not sure what the difference is between that and the Hungarian version)
• 2 Tsp. Sugar, do not omit
• 1/8 Tsp. black pepper or whole pepper corns
• 1 bay leaf 
• 2 Tsp. salt
• 4 to 5 lbs. chicken disjointed, use legs, thighs, breast and back for best flavor
• 1 large can of crushed tomatoes 
• 2 cups water
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 pt. sour cream

The recipe that I have is a little different than the link above so I made sure the recipe in here is exactly what I use.  I typically use chicken thighs for this recipe--it's definitely a lot different using dark meat than white meat.  I've done a combo of chicken breasts and thighs before, but all chicken breast doesn't come out right at all!  You need the flavor from the dark meat.  I start by putting a cooling rack on top of a sheet pan and putting the chicken thighs on the cooling rack (so they aren't just sitting in the grease when they bake).  I then drizzle them with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake them at 375 degrees for 45 min to an hour or until the juices run clear.  Once they have cooked and cooled, I remove and discard all of the skin and bones and put all of the chicken aside for the Paprikash.

Then, Brown onions in shortening. Add the seasonings and chicken and brown for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, and water, cover and let simmer, slowly. To thicken the gravy, make a roux by combining the 2 Tbsp. of butter and 2 Tbsp. of flour and stir the mixture into the stew liquid.  Cook a few minutes until the liquid thickens.  Once the stew is about done, I add in the 1/2 pint of sour cream and cook for about 5 more minutes.

The linked recipe has a dumpling recipe, but my husband isn't a dumpling fan so we eat this "stew" served over egg noodles.

Waffles for Breakfast

I was in the mood for homemade waffles this morning and have been using this recipe I found a while ago.  I seriously love these waffles--and the title is so fitting--Waffle of Insane Greatness found on the Food Network's website.  Here is the recipe (and I always double it for our family of four):

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk or buttermilk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Butter and syrup, for serving

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Add the milk, vegetable oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and mix well. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes.
Preheat a waffle iron. This recipe says not use non-stick spray on the waffle iron because the oil in the batter will allow the waffle to release easily; however, mine crumbled so I use non-stick spray. Follow the directions on your waffle iron to cook the waffles. Serve immediately with butter and syrup.

Our Little Monster's First Birthday Party

We had our son, Cohen's, first birthday party yesterday--the theme was Little Monster.  Fall is my favorite season, so I was excited to have "fall" food.  We went with soups, salad, and a baked potato bar--it was a hit!  I made Chili, Easy Potato Soup and Cream Cheese Chicken Chili; my father-in-law made Chicken Noodle Soup and my mother-in-law made Gumbo.  In addition to the soups, we had Japanese Chicken Salad and our baked potato bar.  It was a cold day so the warm soups hit the spot!

This was also the first time I attempted making a homemade cake!  I can bake so that wasn't the part I was worried about--I was more worried about the decorating, but I'll have to say it turned out ok!  I posted the cupcake and frosting recipe already, but I used a different chocolate cake recipe for the actual cake.  I got the recipe from the Kevin & Amanda Blog and it's definitely one of my favorites.  So here it is:

THE BEST Chocolate cake ever:

1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 small pkg Jello instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together everything except chocolate chips. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into cake pan. For this recipe, I used two 9 inch pans and just used the cooking time that was on the back of the box as a guide--it took about 45 minutes.


The recipes are as follows:

Chili:
I made this for a crowd--normally I just make enough for our family of four, but this time I made a large pot.  Typically when I make this, I use about 1-1/2 pounds of ground beef and just cut the recipe in half.  I made this the weekend before Cohen's party and froze it--I have learned to make as much as I can ahead of time so that I am not so frazzled on the day of the party!

3 pounds ground beef
1 large onion
1 Tbsp. Garlic (I used about 4 medium cloves, pressed)
5 cans (15oz) Tomatoes--I used diced this time, but I've used stewed too
1 cup Beef Broth
3 Tbsp. Chili Powder (I spice mine up so you can use more or less depending on what you like)
3 tsp. Cumin
3 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper (You can go easier on this too if you don't like too much spice)
Salt to taste
3 cans of Chili ready beans (don't drain)

Brown ground beef with onion and garlic and drain grease.  Add everything except the beans and cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Add the beans and simmer 30 minutes longer.  Add water if chili becomes too thick.

Easy Potato Soup:
My best friend, Nicole, made this for lunch one day and I couldn't believe how good it was and with such little effort--now that's my kind of meal!  I have made this for potlucks and it's always a hit!

1 30oz bag of hash browns

1 lg. box of chicken stock

1 can cream of onion soup

1 capful of minced onions

8oz of cream cheese

I throw everything in the crock pot except the cream cheese (I add that about 30min to an hour before we’ll eat).

Cream Cheese Chicken Chili:

I found this recipe on Pinterest and tried it out before I made it for Cohen's party.  When I went to my pins to get it again, the link was bad :(  However, I did find the same recipe from Tried and Tasty although I adjusted it a smidge.

1 can black beans
1 can corn, undrained
1 can Rotel or generic tomatoes with green chilies
1 ranch dressing mix packet
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 8 oz package cream cheese
2 chicken breasts or 5 chicken tenders, frozen

Place the Chicken in the crock pot, then add the undrained can of corn, tomatoes, black beans, rotel/tomatoes, ranch dressing mix, cumin, chili powder and onion powder.  I added the cream cheese about 30 minutes before serving, but you can add it in at the beginning too.  When you are ready to eat, shred the chicken with two forks and serve!

Japanese Chicken Salad:

I have loved this salad for a long time!  My aunt Rhonda and my best friend's mom always made this and now it is a staple at our parties!

Salad:
1 head lettuce (cut up)
2-4 Chicken Breast halves (cooked and diced)
1 sm. bag sliced almonds
1 sm. can of Chinese noodles
4 green onions

Dressing:
1/2 c. oil
4 Tbsp. vinegar
4 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. Poppy seeds
Pepper to taste

Mix salad ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine dressing ingredients, mix well and pour over salad just before serving and toss.


Baked Potatoes:

Normally when I make baked potatoes, I drizzle olive oil on them and put some garlic salt and pepper on them and then wrap them in tin foil and bake at 425 degrees for about an hour.  Baking them that way, them come out pretty good, but I usually only make 4 potatoes.  I didn't feel like wrapping 30 potatoes in foil and I remembered I pinned a recipe on Pinterest from the blog I wash...you dry.  I ended up using that recipe, which did not call for them to be wrapped! 

Clean your potatoes and set your oven to 375 degrees.  Using a fork, pierce the potatoes 2-3 times on each side, then brush them with olive oil and sprinkle them with sea salt.  Place them directly on the oven racks and place a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any drippings.  Bake for about 45 minutes.


In addition to the main courses, we had Cucumber Sandwiches and Vegetables and Dip as appetizers as well as White Chocolate Chex Mix and Cinnamon Roasted Almonds on the tables for everyone to munch on.

Cucumber Sandwiches:
My cousin, Chrissy, started me on these and I've taken them to potlucks and they've always been gobbled up!

1 8oz. package of Cream Cheese (softened)
1/2 c. Mayonnaise (I use Hellman's)
1 envelope Good Season's Italian Salad Dressing
French bread (sliced)
Cucumbers (sliced)
Olives (sliced--these are optional and were used to make them look like eyes since it was a monster themed party)

Mix the cream cheese, mayo and Italian Dressing mix.  Spread the mixture on slices of the French bread and top with cucumber slices and the optional olives.

Grandma's Veggie Dip:
Anytime I have a veggie tray, I always use my Grandma's Veggie Dip recipe--which is just from the Knorr's website, but here it is:

1 package of Knorr's Soup Mix
1/2 cup Mayo
1 16 oz. container of Sour Cream

Stir everything together and chill for 2 hours.


White Chocolate Chex Mix aka White Trash:

3 cups Rice Chex
3 cups Corn Chex
3 cups Cheerios
2 cups pretzels
2 cups dry roasted peanuts
1 12 oz. bag of M&M's
1 pound white chocolate (my recipe calls for 2 pounds of chocolate, but I think 1 pound is fine)

Melt the chocolate. Combine all ingredients except the chocolate.  Spread half of the cereal mixture on a cookie sheet and spread with half of the chocolate.  Mix with your hands and spread into one layer.  Place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes and repeat with the rest.

Cinnamon-Roasted Almonds:

I found this recipe on All Recipes and love it!  This is a great recipe for the Holidays.  Almonds are expensive, but I found the best deal at Sam's Club.  You can get a large bag (about 9 cups) for about $11.

1 egg white
1 tsp. cold water
4 cups whole almonds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Grease a sheet pan.  Combine the sugar, salt and cinnamon. Lightly beat the egg white and water until it becomes frothy (not stiff). Pour egg white mixture over the nuts and coat them.  Pour the sugar mixture over the nuts and mix well and then spread them into one layer on the sheet pan.  Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.