Comfort food at it's finest Macaroni and Hamburger

 

This is so easy and it's a fave on a cold winter night ( although I crave it all year) so really any cold night will do. 

2.5 pounds ground beef regular

salt and pepper

garlic salt

2 tins of Campbells tomato soup

1 large onion chopped 

1 tbsp Louisiana hot sauce

1 box of macaroni noodles

Cook onions til tender and fragrant. Remove from heat. Brown the meat in a bit of oil. Drain when cooked ( just spoon some of the oil off after I don't remove it all) 

Cook a box of macaroni until almost done, it will finish in the pot. 

Add tomato soup and all spices stir and cook for 10 minutes together. Add everything into a large when the noodles are cooked and simmer 5 more minutes. Remove from heat so the noodles don't overcook. Let sit for 10 minutes and mangiare' 

OMG Peppered Pecans ( or any nut)

 OMG when Maddie made this at Christmas time I could NOT stop eating them! Sooooo so good!!

3 Tbsp. butter

3 garlic cloves

3 tsp of Louisiana hot sauce (or your fave) 

1.5 tsp salt

3 cups pecans ( you will want more) 

Preheat the oven to 250f

melt butter over medium heat, add garlic, hot sauce and salt. Cook for a minute stirring often. Add pecans an toss with mixture. Remove from heat. Spread nuts on a single layer on parchment (baking sheet) Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. I dare you not to eat them all at once! 

(Maddie) 

Dressing for greens, beans asparagus and more

 

Claudia made this for me and I loved it, Maddie added celery to the recipe to add a crunch. I love that too. I don't have exact measurements its a "once around the bowl" kinda thing.

Olive oil

red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

Garlic salt to taste

Chopped celery stalk, one per can of....

(you could add chopped purple onion also)

I have poured this over a can of green beans, mixed lentils, canned asparagus, lima beans you name it. It's a great mix for many cols salads. 

Put choice in bowl and sprinkle all ingredients over, and mix well. It's even better when it has a chance to sit. 

(Claudia Visser and Maddie)

Chicken Lasagne

 My friend Lorraine made this one time when we were over, and I couldn't stop eating it lol Now I can make it.

Package Lasagne noodles (oven ready)

1 10 oz can cream mushroom soup

1 10 oz can cream chicken soup

1 cup onion finely chopped

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 tsp poultry seasoning

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp basil

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

4 cups chicken cut up

2.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients except mozzarella and cheddar cheeses.

Assemble lasagne noodles, half chicken sauce, cheddar cheese, repeat noodles, chicken sauce mozzarella. Cover and cook at 350 for 40 minutes. Remove lid and bake 10 more minutes to brown cheese. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Enjoy. 

(Lorraine Parrington)  

My Favorite Waffles

This recipe has come on many camping trips, and peoples smiles when they see what's cooking is priceless! 

1/4 cup olive oil

1 egg separated

3/4 cup milk

3/4 plus 1/8 cup of flour

1.5 tsp sugar

1.5 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/8 vanilla extract

grease the grill ad beat the egg white, set aside.

Beat the yolk and then add milk, vanilla  and oil.

Beat in the dry ingredients.

Fold in the egg whites 

pour onto waffle iron and cook til they stop steaming. 

 

Baked Ziti

We watched A Lot of Gordon Ramsay's cooking shows, and saw a lot of great chefs win. They also had cookbooks, so we started collecting our fave chefs books, and starting cooking! Of course Italian dishes are my faves, but I sure am having fun making all the dishes :-) 

3 cups uncooked Ziti or Penne

4-5 Italian sausages casings removed

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small onion chopped

*** Spaghetti sauce from Testa Dura sauce post **** or your own sauce

1/2 cup sour cream 

4 slices of provolone

1/4 of a bunch of spinach 

1 cup grated mozzarella 

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

fresh basil 

Boil ziti or penne until almost done (since it will cook more in the oven) 

Over Medium heat in a saucepan brown the sausage. Add garlic and onion stirring until fragrant and soft. (5 minutes) Drain the fat from the pan. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and spinach and simmer 15 minutes.Stir in the soiur cream and remove from heat. 

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 1 quart baking dish. Put half noodles in the bottom, then the provolone, and half the other cheeses. Pour half the sauce over top getting the edges. put the rest of the noodles, rest sauce and top with remaining cheese.Cover and Bake for 20  minutes, then take lid off and cook another 15 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan and fresh basil, Serve. 4 portions. 

Thankyou Christine Ha (recipes from my home Kitchen cookbook)

 

Unorthodox Shepard's Pie **Sweet Revenge**

 

I've been reading Diane's novels, and they are full of great food and she's always cooking while she solves crime. Hence I am always hungry reading her books. SO I decided to try one of the recipes, since I usually cook Italian I had never made Shepard's pie, or commonly called Cottage pie when you use beef instead of lamb. And  I don't like lamb so I have eaten Cottage pie all me childhood years and never knew what it was called lol.

2 pounds ground beef

2 cups onions chopped

1 cup carrots chopped

2 cups celery chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

2 cups chicken stock

2 teaspoons dried thyme, crumbles

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary crumbled or ground

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon grated black pepper

1 cup frozen baby peas

1 cup frozen corn

4.5 pounds russet potatoes 

1.5 cups half and half

1 cup Gruyere cheese grated

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

additional salt to taste 

additional pepper to taste

2 ounces unsalted butter (1/2 stick) cut into bits

paprika

In a very large saute pan, saute the ground beef, onions, celery and carrots in the oil over medium heat until the beef is browned and the vegetables limp. Add the flour and stir for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture begins to bubble. Slowly add the chicken stock. Stir until completely combined, then stir in the thyme, rosemary, and salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the mixture is bubbling and thickened. Stir in the peas and corn and set aside.

Bring a large quantity of salted water to boiling. Peel the potatoes and drop them into the water. Cook about 40-45 minutes. In a small saucepan, heat the half and half until steaming, but not boiling.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a lasagne pan.

Remove the potatoes from the heat, drain and place them in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Begin to beat the potatoes on low speed, slowly adding the additional salt and pepper.

Place the beef mixture in the pan. Place the potatoes on top of the beef. Scatter the butter bits on the potatoes and sprinkle generously with paprika. 

Bake for about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are browned and the pies are heated thru.

Makes 8 servings. 

(Diane Mott Davidson mystery novel Sweet Revenge)