Potato and Ham Casserole

We have a new favorite recipe at our house...

When I had surgery,
one of our sweet neighbors brought in the most delicious meal that my men just LOVED! 
Who would have known that Potato Casserole 
with a little bit of ham mixed in it, 
makes such a delicious dinner!

Serve this with a LARGE serving of steamed vegges, OR, large salad and you have a great, filling, frugal meal.

I usually make my Potato Casserole 
and serve it with ham, or, roast, on the side, 
however, this way is much better, 
because you don't over indulge with eating too much meat.

It's "Lagom"...
There's just the right amount of meat to give it some flavor and to make you feel satisfied!
SO, if you have some leftover Christmas or Easter ham in your freezer, this is the perfect recipe to use you ham in.

AND, the leftover Potato Casserole is awesome to brown up and scramble in some eggs and serve for breakfast!

As usual, I have made my own cream soup replacement for this, but, if you don't want to make your own, just dump in a can of Cream of Chicken/Mushroom soup and 1-2 cups sour cream and it tastes great too!
(that's what my neighbor did and my men thought it was delicious and begged me to get the recipe)

(original Potato Casserole Recipe here)

Potato and Ham Casserole 

Boil 8 large potatoes until tender and then run under cold water and then peel and dice them into chunks

2 Tbsp. Melted butter

1 onion finely chopped

1-2 cups chopped ham

(one recipe of sauce below) (or, just add in a Can Cream of Chicken Soup and 1-2 cups sour cream)

2 cups grated cheese of your choice (I use SHARP cheese)

salt and pepper to taste

(sauce)

3 Tbsp. butter

1/3 cup flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream 

Melt butter and then add in flour and whisk until well combined

Add in chicken broth and whisk together and boil until thickened (about 5 minutes)

Add in sour cream and stir until smooth.

Mix together diced potatoes, chopped ham, melted butter and onions.

Then add in white sauce/sour cream mixture and cheese.

Stir until well mixed.

Put in 9x13 pan... 

Bake covered at 350 degrees for 60-75 minutes—

uncover last 10 minutes  Enjoy!

AND remember if you have any leftover casserole you can turn it into a great breakfast, by browning up the casserole in a little bit of butter and then scrambling in some eggs!  

Kids and hubby LOVE this for breakfast!

PS...
(I apologize for photos that are not the best coloring/quality. I forget that in the WINTER months if I want to blog about a recipe and take photo, I need to make sure I make it early enough in the day where there is still some day light to capture some great photos. I didn't quite bake this in time to get that...you live and learn!).

Artisan Bread Dough... makes Calzones!

 Homemade Artisan Bread is a staple at our home.

It has the best texture,
the best flavor,
it makes the best toast ever
and is the perfect accompaniment to soups and salads!
AND
the best part of all... The dough is in your fridge 
ready to make bread anytime you need it.

We have found another wonderful 
use for the Artisan Bread Dough...
making homemade Calzones!

HERE for Artisan Bread Dough Recipe 

Calzones (from Artisan Bread Dough)

Pull off grapefruit size piece of dough...

Roll out on floured surface into 12 inch circle...

On 1/2 of the dough put pepperoni and cheese.

Fold over the other half and seal the edges well.

Prick top with fork

Melt 1 Tbsp. butter and spread on the top of Calzone

Sprinkle with granulated garlic, Italian Seasoning and Grated Parmesan Cheese 

Put Calzone onto baking stone that has generously been sprinkled with cornmeal 

Bake for 25 minutes at 450 degrees. 

Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting 

Cut into 4-6 pieces and dip in pizza sauce and enjoy!

I love being able to add 

a little bit of FUN to dinner 

and I LOVE 

having a family that enjoys and appreciates 

whatever graces our table for dinner!

Salmon... it's what's for dinner!

 We are a family 
that LOVES salmon!  

In fact, salmon usually 
graces our table at least once a week.

It is usually served with baked sweet potatoes, or steamed broccoli or other veggies.

Sometimes, it's just grilled up and put on top of our green salad.

However, it's always a treat when we take our salmon,
grind it up and make it into delicious burgers!
(both of my boys chose this for their birthday dinners these past two years). 

From baking the buns to making the burgers...

every step is SO easy!

AND, best of all, they are 

delicious, healthy and something that tastes like a restaurant!

Yummy BBQ Salmon Burgers 
1 pound fresh salmon (I buy frozen salmon filets and just defrost and then pull off the skin if it still has the skin on)
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs 
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, OR, Asiago Cheese 
2 Tbsp. BBQ sauce 
1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard 
3 cloves garlic finely minced.  
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt 
1 tsp. onion powder 
(homemade buns HERE for recipe) 

Put salmon in a food processor and pulse until it's slightly ground.
Put salmon in a large metal bowl and add in other ingredients mix until combined. 
(I just use my hands so I can get everything all blended together really good). 
Form into 4-6 patties (depending upon how large you want them).
Heat a large skillet (add in a drop or two of olive oil). 
Put patties in skillet and cook on medium-high heat for 4 minutes on each side.

YUMMIEST when served on homemade buns, 

with mayo and LOTS of BBQ sauce.

Also, top with lettuce, red onions and tomatoes!

D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S!

If you like salmon,
if you like burgers, 
you'll be sure to love these!
Enjoy a taste of heaven today!

Gourmet Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza...made at home!

 We have a NEW weekend LOVE!
That of Chicken, Bacon and Ranch Pizza,

 cooked on a baking stone,

it seriously tastes and smells like you're eating at a pizza parlor!  

We love being thrify,

we love making gourmet, yummy things at home 

that replicate something that you would get to eat a yummy restaurant.

While homemade pizza is good, it is still really "hit and miss" with either having too thick of a crust, that is doughy, or too thin of a crust, that is too hard and crunchy.

Well, I have finally worked through things and got the PERFECT crust...

The crust is a dough that you let rise 1-2 hours

you then 

heat a baking stone up in a 500 degree oven for 25-30 minutes 

and those two things make the PERFECT crust 

that is chewy and moist on the inside 

and crunchy on the bottom and the edges.

 I love that since we purchase a $4.88 Rotisserie Chicken each weekend on our Friday night date and the rest of the ingredients are things that we always have on hand,

that our Saturday and or Sunday afternoons contain this yummy pizza on the menu.

While you're making Saturday morning pancakes,  

simply cook 2-3 slices of bacon, 

chop the tomatoes & green onions,

grate the cheese 

and then you have everything ready to go, 

and pull from your fridge when you hit lunch time or dinner time.  

(All you need to do is just mix the dough and let it rise for 1-2 hours time)

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza 

(pizza dough...enough for one large pizza)

1/2 cup warm water

1-1/4 teaspoon yeast 

1-1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt 

1 Tbsp. olive oil 

1-1/2 cups unbleached flour 

Mix together water, yeast and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer and let sit 10 minutes until bubbly.

Then add in salt, olive oil and flour and use dough hook and mix until dough looks nice and smooth.   
Turn up speed to medium and let mix for 5 minutes.

Put dough in a bowl and coat well with oil, cover with plastic wrap and let rise 1-2 hours. 

Pizza Toppings:

1/4 cup Ranch dressing

1-2 cups chopped chicken

2-3 slices bacon cooked and crumbled

1 large tomato diced (or 2 small ones)

3 diced green onions
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago Cheese
1/2 to 1 cup grated cheese (we like Sharp cheese, but any cheese will do).

How to cook:

Put baking stone in oven and turn temp to 500 degrees.  
Let oven heat up for 30 minutes with the baking stone in the oven.

Cut a piece of parchment paper the same size as the baking stone and  
sprinkle cornmeal on the parchment paper.  
Put pizza dough onto the cornmeal coated parchment paper and work dough out to the edges of the parchment paper, until you have a large circle. (you're welcome to use a rolling pin to do this as well)
NOW put this onto the baking stone

BAKE the pizza dough for 5 minutes.

REMOVE pizza from oven    
top with a thin layer of Ranch dressing then 1/2 cup cheese

then sprinkle evenly the cooked chicken, bacon, tomatoes and green onions.

Lastly top with Parmesan cheese and the rest of the grated cheese.

Bake 10-12 minutes until crust is browned and cheese is melted.  

Slice into 8 pieces, dish up and enjoy the deliciousness of a gourmet pizza for a fraction of the price AND in the comfort of your own home!  

Try making some PIZZA HEAVEN today!
You and your family will be glad you did!  

Potato Casserole! (with NO Cream Soup)

I'm feeling thrilled with life  
because I finally have tweaked all of my recipes 
that use Canned Cream Chicken/Mushroom soups!   

Yay for not having to add in the canned 
"who knows what's in it", 
to my Potato Casserole anymore! 

I pretty much just took the sauce that I made for my Chicken Enchiladas (here) (minus the green chilies) and it makes the YUMMIEST Potato Casserole that is the perfect accompaniment to Baked Ham or Chicken and the leftover casserole makes the BEST hashbrowns for breakfast! 

OH and it's totally frugal as well, 
 because I just take the carcass from our Rotisserie Chickens, boil it for an hour and use that yummyness for the Chicken Broth.  

No Cream Soup Potato Casserole

Boil 8 large potatoes until tender and then run under cold water and then peel and dice them into chunks

2 Tbsp. Melted butter
1 onion finely chopped
(one recipe of sauce below)
1 cup grated cheese of your choice (I use SHARP cheese)
salt and pepper to taste

(sauce)
3 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
Melt butter and then add in flour and whisk until well combined
Add in chicken broth and whisk together and boil until thickened (about 5 minutes)
Add in sour cream and stir until smooth.

Mix together potatoes, melted butter and onions.
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Add in white sauce/sour cream mixture and cheese.
Pour mixture over potatoes and stir until well mixed.
Put in 9x13 pan...
Bake covered at 350 degrees for 60-75 minutes—
uncover last 10 minutes.

Enjoy homemade yummyness 

that's not only frugal, 

but that just uses basic ingredients 

and isn't filled with lots of preservatives!

I can guarantee everyone you serve 

this to will be saying "Yum!"!

Baked Spaghetti....Mmm, Mmm, good!!

 I love this time of the year... 

LOTS of veggies are being harvested from our garden, especially

ZUCCHINI!!  

(other family Zucchini favorite recipes...(here))

Here is yet another 

 YUMMY Zucchini recipe and 

I love that it's loaded full of veggies 

and it uses many basic food storage ingredients as well! 

It calls for Cream of Chicken or Mushroom soup, but since I try to avoid using those, I make a white sauce to pour over it instead of the canned soup and it is absolutely delicious!!    

Easy and Oh, SO yummy!!

Baked Spaghetti
1 large onion chopped

2 cloves minced garlic
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 large Zucchini thinly sliced (OR, 2 medium)
1 Tbsp. butter
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can olives sliced
1 (4 oz) can mushrooms drained (this is optional)
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
12 oz. spaghetti noodles cooked and drained
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
white sauce...(recipe below) 

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, OR, 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

(WHITE Sauce)

2 cups water

1/4 cup dry milk powder 

4 Tbsp. cornstarch 

1-1/2 tsp chicken bouillon

2 Tbsp. butter

pepper to taste

Bring ingredients to a boil until thickened 

In a large skillet melt butter and sauté onion, garlic, bell pepper and zucchini until tender.
Add in tomatoes, mushrooms olives, garlic powder and oregano. 
Add ground beef and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
Place half of the cooked spaghetti in a greased 9x13 baking dish
Top with half of vegetable mixture.  

Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese
Repeat layers.  
Pour white sauce over casserole
Sprinkle with Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until bubbly! 

Let sit 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Delicious topped with freshly chopped garden tomatoes.  

Enjoy!

OH and if you are in the mood for 
delicious Cherry Pie to serve as dessert  
with your Baked Spaghetti, 
here is a link to the recipe for that!!

Pasta + Pie makes for HAPPY kids!!
 (at least it makes my sons
 happy, happy, happy!)

Great way to make meat stretch...

SO, I love making meat stretch 

and I have come across a great way to make your 

BBQ Chicken and Pork meat stretch that is SO yummy and pretty much doubles your meat!    

I LOVE when I can make things healthier, 

while making my dollar stretch as well!  

BBQ Chicken OR Pork 

(cook 4 boneless Pork Chops, OR, 2 large chicken breasts in crock pot until tender)

After tender, shred meat and drain off juices

In a large pot on the stove saute together until VERY tender:

1 Tbsp. butter

1 large onion thinly sliced

1 large bell pepper thinly sliced

After veggies are tender add in:

1 sliced tomato

cooked Pork, OR, Chicken

1/2 cup (or more) of your favorite BBQ sauce

Bring to boil and simmer 10-15 minutes

Serve on homemade buns and 

enjoy a delicious, frugal meal 

with more veggies and less meat! 

 (HERE for Homemade Onion and Cheese buns)

Hooked on Quinoa!

Yes it's true....

we are totally HOOKED and loving Quinoa!!  

I think we are going to be using this 

instead of rice and pasta, it is just SO good!  

The health benefits of this super grain are amazing! (here)

It's fairly economical as well...

 I've been purchasing 2 pound bags at Sam's Club for $4.48 and it gives you a little over 5 cups worth of Quinoa 

 (you use 1 cup for each batch of whatever you make up)  

My family could seriously have this Casserole  

every night and not get sick of it. 

It's full of yummy veggies and it can be made with, OR, without chicken.  

(although I bottled up a bunch of chicken this spring that I purchased from Zaycon foods and this is a great use for that). 

(found the original recipe here, but I tweaked it quite a bit as we LOVE onions and I wanted to use more veggies than just broccoli AND I cut down some of the mayo, added more quinoa, etc...)  

It's great because you can do 

much of the preparation in advance...

cook up the quinoa and put it in the fridge,

grate the cheese,

cut up the veggies....

THEN when it's time to make dinner,  

you just lightly steam the veggies,

WHILE you're sauteing the onion

AND while your making the white sauce.

You then just mix all together, top with Parmesan Cheese,

bake for 40 minutes and you have delicious, nutritious dinner for your family!
We enjoy ours with a green smoothie!

Quinoa Casserole  

2 cups cooked quinoa
1 finely diced onion (sautéed until tender)
(cook carrots, celery and cauliflower until slightly tender...5-10 minutes)
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups (either broccoli, OR, cauliflower)
1 can cooked chicken (OR, one cooked chicken breast)
White Sauce (recipe below)

2 Tbsp. Mayonnaise (this is optional, it just adds a little more fat)
2 Tbsp. milk
1-1/4 cup grated cheese
¼ tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
(1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese to top casserole with before putting oven)

Cooked Quinoa
1 cup Quinoa
2 cups water
¼ tsp. salt 

Rinse Quinoa well.

Bring water/salt to a boil and add in rinsed quinoa and cook 20-25minutes until fluffy and white ring/tail is visible.

(White sauce)
1/8 cup dry milk powder
1 cup water
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. chicken bouillon
Dash of pepper
Bring ingredients to boil until thickened.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl combine white sauce, mayonnaise, milk, pepper and nutmeg.
Stir in cooked quinoa, sautéed onion, chicken, lightly steamed veggies and grated cheese until well coated
Spoon into 9x13 pan and top with grated Parmesan Cheese and 

bake for 40-45 minutes, until bubbly. 

 If you have any leftovers 

they make a great lunch the next day!

Enjoy making something 

healthy and delicious for your family today!

Pi Day Menu 2012!

 March 14th aka... 3.14

such a FUN day at our house!

3.141592653589

I love having a hubby that also adds FUN to our lives 

with fun events and that being the celebrating of Pi Day!  

Since I'm not currently working I kind of am out of touch with the days of the month and yesterday when I got an email from Tracy that it was Pi Day and we should have PIE for dinner, I quickly got a menu together from what I had on hand.

First, I made a batch of pie crust and let it chill....

I then pulled a Rotisserie chicken carcass from the freezer and boiled it to make broth for Homemade Chicken Pot Pie... 

(making the soup for pot pie is a cinch, is quick and just uses basic ingredients that all of us have on hand)

I realized that I didn't have lemons to make our favorite Lemon Meringue Pie, however, I did have limes and so I made a LIME Meringue Pie instead! 

We enjoyed it every bit as much as we enjoy Lemon Meringue Pie!

My favorite part is when we are eating dinner....

I love how Tracy describes things to the kids...

(he is the BEST teacher!)

he taught them about the mathematical constant denoted by the Greek letter Pi and shared an easy way to remember it out to 12 decimals 

(kind of like memorizing a phone number).

3.141592653589 

We made up a song to memorize it and all night and all this morning my Ethan Kip keeps singing it! I don't think I'll ever be able to get it out of my head!  

So, now if I ever have to calculate the Earth's circumference, 

I'll be accurate to within 1/1000th of an inch! 

Anywho, here are the Pie Recipes we made up...

SO easy, SO yummy 

and you don't need fancy ingredients to make them up!  

Just a few simple ingredients and you can WOW your family 

with a dinner that is something you would get at a restaurant!

BTW...one pie crust recipe was enough dough to make the pot pie AND Meringue Pie

Pie Crust
½ cup REAL butter
2/3 cup shortening
1 Tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
1-teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon dry milk powder
3 cups flour
½ cup cold water

Mix butter and shortening together.
Add half the flour and all of the dry ingredients.
Mix.
Add the rest of flour and water. (Makes 2 double crusts)

Roll out very thin with plenty of flour.
Carefully put in pie plates and prick with fork all over.
Bake 400 degrees for 8 minutes, or until lightly browned.

**************
The Key to a flaky pie crust
is to NOT try to make the dough look perfect and don't overwork it or it will make it stiff.

(Also, you can use ALL butter instead of butter and shortening---

if you choose this option it is 

20 Tbsp. of butter or 2-1/2 sticks)

Chicken Pot Pie 

Cooked chicken (however much you have)
1 large onion finely chopped
3 carrots chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
Add in small amount of broth or water and boil for 15-20 minutes until veggies are tender 

(set aside 1 cup frozen peas)

(sauce)
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
2/3 cups milk
1/4 tsp. seasoned salt

Melt butter in sauce pan and then add in flour and mix until combined.
Add in broth, milk and seasoned salt and whisk until thickened.
Pour broth mixture into pan with veggies.
Add in 1 cup frozen peas, stir well and put in pie crust pan
Put top pie crust on pie, pinch edges and
bake at 425 for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.
Let stand 10-15 minutes before cutting.

 

Perfect way to use the carcass from rotisserie chicken...put bones in pot and fill half full with water...boil and let simmer 30 minutes...strain off broth and use it to make this yummy dish.

Lime Meringue Pie
(1) 9 inch baked pie shell
1 ½ cups sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups boiling water
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup lime juice (I used 4 limes to get this much juice)
1 Tablespoon grated lime rind
3 egg whites (for meringue)

Combine dry ingredients in heavy saucepan.
Add water slowly, stirring until smooth.
Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils, stirring constantly.
Stir small amounts of hot mixture into egg yolk, lime juice and lime rind.
Quickly stir into hot mixture.
Reduce heat to low and cook slowly, stirring for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Pour into baked pie shell.
Top with meringue and bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

(Meringue)
3 egg whites
¼ teaspoon cream of tarter
6 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat egg whites with cream of tarter until frothy.
Gradually beat in sugar a little at a time. Add vanilla.
Continue beating until stiff and glossy.
Pile meringue onto pie being careful to “seal” meringue onto edge of crust to prevent shrinking. (Filling exposed to heat will “weep”).
Swirl or point top for design.
Bake for 8-10 minutes until delicately browned. 

Cool slowly away from draft.

Enjoy a little family fun tonight...

(even though it's not officially "Pi Day")

eating pie, 

learning a new math fact and 

having a BALL just being together and enjoying each others company around the dinner table!