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!)

Adding Fun to Dinner! (just in time for Halloween!)

Spaghetti Squids (and Monster Mouths)

make Happy Kids!

SO, with Tracy's new love for Pinterest, we were browsing through photos and our kids spied a FUN photo and begged us to try making it up.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a little bit of a "health nut"
and I am not a hot dog lover at all!  

Thank goodness  

that Tracy balances me out and he always tells me that

"eating a hot dog once or twice a year isn't going to hurt you".

SO, since I can't handle cheap hot dogs, we at least eat Nathan's ALL beef dogs.

We still had a package of  Nathan's left in our freezer 

 and so this is what we did to make what our kids call

"Spaghetti Squids". 
  
AND I do have to tell you that after eating 

this, it was REALLY tasty and yummy  

(and that says a lot, coming from someone who is not a fan of hot dogs).

(BTW... we only used 5 of the hot dogs 

and saved the rest for Tracy to take on a campout)   

 Try adding a little bit of FUN to dinner-time 

and watch the faces of your kids light up with excitement!
(it would be fun to surprise them and not see you prepare it and have them wondering 

"How did you do that"!) 

This would be SO much fun 

to make as a meal for Halloween!

OH, and don't forget about
"Monster Mouths" for dessert!!  

Apples, Peanut Butter and Candy Corn 

come together to make a tasty, holiday treat

(original post about Monster Mouths here)

Life is about balance 

and it's okay to splurge on a

not so perfect, not so healthy meal  
every once in awhile. 

Enjoy the taste and fun of the season!

Baked Mac & Cheese makes happy kids!

When dad helps out with dinner...

it makes kids happy!

Dad's make yummy things like 
Baked Mac & Cheese! 
 Tracy found this recipe in one our magazines and adjusted it a little to use what we had on hand.

 While I am not much of a pasta fan, 
I do have to admit that this is SO yummy, 

uses basic ingredients and 
the leftovers are great to heat up 
for the next's mornings breakfast.

We have made this up many times over the past year and it always makes HAPPY kids (and moms) when it graces our table for dinner!

Baked Mac & Cheese 

2 cups elbow macaroni 

1/2 cup chopped cooked ham

2 cloves garlic minced

1 can evaporated milk

3 large eggs

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 cups grated cheese (whatever kind you have will work...we've used grated Sharp Cheese, Monterey Jack and Parmesan)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large pot bring salted water to a boil, cook macaroni 6 minutes; drain and set aside.

Melt 1 Tbsp butter in pan and add in cooked ham until heated.  

Add in minced garlic to ham and cook 1 minute until fragrant.

Stir ham mixture into macaroni.

In large bowl mix together canned milk, eggs, spices and cheese.

Then add in cooked macaroni mixture, stir well.

Put in greased 9x9 glass baking dish and spread out until even.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until bubbling at edges.

Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

 Absolutely Delicious!

HELPFUL TIP... 

whenever you cook up your holiday ham, cut up all of the leftover ham and put it in snack sized bags (1/2 cup per bag) and freeze them.  

Then when you need ham for your recipes, you just pull out a snack sized bag and you are ready to go!

Oh So Easy Pasta Salad!

Summer-Time means that we enjoy 

lots of quick and yummy salads!

Pasta Salad 

is so quick and easy to throw together and uses ingredients we usually always have on hand.

I love making pasta salad in the summer  

as it is pretty much a complete meal in one and I love it when we go on an outing and we can take a smaller cooler as we don’t have to pack so much food.  

Pasta salad, some fruit and a muffin make a great lightweight lunch!

This is pretty much an "anything goes" salad  

and you can throw in whatever things in you have on hand. 

I have also added in chopped broccoli, or a cooked chicken breast and sprinkled with Parmesan Cheese. 

Quick and Easy Pasta Salad 

2 cups dry pasta spirals cooked until tender (drain well)

(then add in)

3 hard boiled eggs peeled and  finely chopped

1 cup frozen green peas

1/2 cup sliced grapes

2 slices of bacon cooked until crisp and crumbled

2 large slices of onion finely chopped

1-2 stalks of celery finely chopped

cheese chunks (however much you like)

(sauce...mix the following together until smooth)

1/4 cup Mayonaise

1/4 cup Salad Dressing

1 large squirt of mustard

1 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. seasoned salt

1 Tbsp. sugar

Pour sauce over the ingredients and mix well.  

Refrigerate at least an hour before serving.  

Top with chopped tomatoes when serving.  Can also add in a cooked chicken breast or chopped broccoli, or Parmesan Cheese.

Enjoy!

Fun with bread dough...

This past week at work, 

someone brought in 2 pans of Bread Sticks along with the recipe for us to enjoy. It was hilarious as the majority of us went home and made them for dinner.  I didn't think they would be such a hit as they were, but this week we made six batches of this recipe.

 SO very yummy!! 

I adjusted the recipe as it called for melting an entire cube of butter and that is just WAY too much fat for me and my family's lifestyle.  

I cut it down to 2-3 Tbsp. and they were still as yummy and not quite a fattening. Also, used granulated garlic powder versus garlic salt as cheese has plenty of salt and we are trying to keep the salt/sodium in our lives to a minimum.

We enjoyed these with a batch of Beef Stew for dinner, I took them to one of my neighbors for dinner, we enjoyed them for snacks in our lunch and enjoyed them for a late afternoon snack on the weekend.  

My kids and hubby kept begging me to make more.
I really like both of my bread stick recipes.
While my original Bread Sticks recipe is a nice, chewy, cheesy bread stick that goes well with soup or pasta dishes, this new recipe lends itself to the topping and shape variations. It reminds me of the texture of a mall-vendor Pretzel.

Saturday I had to work from 8-12 

and as usual, I came home to Tracy being the "Weekend Chef" that he is and he had re-written his recipe for Creamy Noodle Parmesan and was in the process of making this up for lunch.   

I love his recipe cards he makes up! 
(love how he colors them, draws illustrations, etc...
he is SO talented and is such a JOY to be married to!)
 

This recipe is such an economical and great way to feed a family. It's one of the many recipes that Tracy cooks when he takes charge in the kitchen.   

We have VERY happy kids whenever this is cooked up for lunch/dinner!

SO, while Tracy prepared Creamy Noodle Parmesan, I whipped up a batch of Bread Sticks to enjoy with our lunch.

I took half of the dough and made a pan of Bread Sticks and the other half of the dough to make a pan of Pretzels.

 The toppings are endless

to what you can put on them.  

Jade really liked the melted butter and coarse salt. 

Ethan really liked the melted butter and Cinnamon & Sugar, 

while Tracy and I liked the granulated garlic and Parmesan Cheese.

Another great recipe that is...

SO yummy, 

such a fun treat to have for a snack, 

and is the perfect accompaniment to pasta or soup
and is guaranteed to make HAPPY kids and family any time they are made up!

Best of all they are
SO easy to make!!

Homemade Bread Sticks OR Pretzels

1 Tbsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
1-1/2 cups warm water
1 tsp. salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour
3 Tbsp. melted butter
(other possible toppings....granulated garlic, Parmesan Cheese, other grated cheese, cinnamon/sugar, or coarse salt)

Mix yeast, sugar and water together and stir well. 

Slowly add one cup of flour and salt and stir. 

Then add enough flour until dough is no longer sticky.
Knead for 5 minutes. 

Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour. 

Divide dough, roll out and cut into strips (a pizza cutter makes this easy). 

Twist 2 strips of dough into bread sticks or pretzel shapes and put on greased cookie sheet.
Brush with melted butter and then top with your choice of toppings. (our favorite is Granulated Garlic and Parmesan Cheese.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. (don't overbake)

(to keep moist, store in an airtight container or Zip-loc bag after they have cooled)
Enjoy!!

Another kid favorite...Homemade Mac & Cheese

From June until the middle of August
when I walk in the door each afternoon
I hear the same 5 words...
"Hi Mom, What's for Lunch?"

Well, after asking my kids what was their favorite lunch that we fixed this summer there was a tie....
"GREEN Smoothies" (click here)

and Homemade Mac' and Cheese!

I have never personally purchased a box of Mac and Cheese for my family. After hearing from Tracy that his missionary companions called it "Yellow Death" and knowing it was loaded with lots of preservatives, I couldn't bring myself to buy any, However, Tracy does occasionally throw a few boxes in the shopping cart from time to time along with Spaghettios and I just turn my head the other way (big wink)!

Jade seemed to make it through his youth without ever having Mac and Cheese at any of his friends houses, however, Ethan was introduced to this a few years ago at either a friends or cousins house and BEGGED us to buy some (which Tracy did...)
Thank Heavens for Dads!

So, I made it a quest to find a homemade version and one day a few years ago I was browsing through one of my cookbooks and came across a recipe for homemade mac and cheese. I adjusted things a little and added an addition of some chicken and peas and it has been a favorite with my kids ever since.
(By adding the chicken and peas it is a complete meal in one...and not just pure Carbs.)
(Summertime and date night
are when my kids get this treat!!
************
I call this recipe "Chicken Noodle Casserole"
because in my mind it sounds nicer than saying "Mac and Cheese".

This is a great use way to put food storage items to use and it is tasty as well. KID Friendly meals are always great to have
and this fixes up in a hurry
if you are realizing that it is dinner time
and you haven't had time to make up anything...
this does the job everytime!!

Chicken Noodle Casserole

(“Healthy” Homemade Mac and Cheese)
(white sauce----make this while you’re cooking the noodle mixture)
1-1/2 cups water
3 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp dry milk powder
¼ tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter

Bring water to a boil…
blend flour, dry milk powder and salt and beat into boiling water.
Reduce heat and cook for 1 minute.
Add butter and stir.

2 cups uncooked pasta (I like spirals or penne, but you can use whatever you have)
1-1/2 cups frozen peas
**1 can of “Cannery Chicken” (OR 1 or 2 cooked chicken breasts cut into small pieces)
½ tsp garlic powder
1 cup grated cheese (or more…however, much you’d like)

Add frozen peas and chicken to water and bring to a boil…
then add in pasta and cook until it’s “Al Dente”.
Drain off water and
add in white sauce, cheese and garlic powder and stir together.
Garnish with additional cheese on top, if desired.
(sometimes you may need to add a little bit of milk to it, if it has gotten too thick)

This is YUMMY!!

Kids Love it and it uses up your food storage!
 
**Helpful Hint---I always keep frozen peas on hand. That way when you need a quick meal to throw together and you don’t have any fresh veggies, you can always add in frozen. If you can't have fresh then frozen veggies are the next best choice.
**ALSO, instead of using chicken you can put in 1/2 cup chopped ham with the white sauce as a great alternative as well.

Thank heavens for dads!!

So, since it is our anniversary coming up this weekend,
(19 Wonderful Years)
I thought I would do a post about my “Weekend Chef Hubby”!

Tracy is SO much fun to be married to and always likes to “experiment” cook on the weekends and that is fun because I get a break and the kids really enjoy the things he makes. (Oh and, Tracy also likes us to make up brownies every once in awhile on the weekends…if it weren’t for Tracy I would never make up brownies because it goes against my “frugal side”…2 cubes of butter, 2 cups of sugar and 4 eggs…instead I opt to make up my
Double Chocolate cookies (click here)
that only call for 1 cube of butter, 1 cup of sugar and 1 egg).

***************

Dads sure bring FUN to the weekend home life!
From making pancake breakfasts to making yummy lunches and dinners!
My kids enjoy weekends very much and
it is because they have such an awesome dad!

~~~~~~~~
I am a LUCKY woman to have a husband
who eases my burdens and brings so much
joy and fun to my life!
~~~~~~~~

I am going to post 2 of Tracy’s recipes and our favorite brownie recipe. For anyone who has picky eaters I think either of these recipes would be enjoyable for them!
(click here for another one of Tracy's weekend favorites)
*******************
This first dish (Creamy Noodle Parmesan) we found on the back of a Ramen package and gave it a try and our kids loved it, however, To me Ramen is pretty nutritionally bankrupt, but it does make a great treat to enjoy at the top of a mountain to warm up after a long day of hiking!

So, Tracy made some modifications to it and has also made this with 2 different kinds of pasta (Angel Hair and Rigatoni) and they both went over well with the kids and these recipes use just basic staple ingredients….nothing fancy that we don’t have in the house. We seem to be having this almost every weekend....that is what the kids beg for when Tracy asks what he should make for dinner.
Great way for your kids to eat veggies
with something they all love PASTA!

What happens when you take
all of the above ingredients and mix them all together?
VOILA!!
A yummy meal to enjoy with your kids!

Creamy Noodle Parmesan
4 cups pasta (either Rigatoni, pasta spirals, OR 4 oz of angel hair pasta) (cooked drained and set aside)
1 cup chopped cooked turkey or chicken (OR 1 can cannery chicken)
4 chopped carrots
4 chopped celery stalks
1 large chopped onion
1-2 cloves minced garlic
sprinkling of chopped chives
Handful of sliced freeze dried mushrooms (I use TONES brand)
2 tsp chicken bouillon
2 tsp chicken gravy mix
2 tsp Italian seasoning
Olive oil, scant milk, crushed red pepper, grated Parmesan cheese

Saute onions and garlic in small amount of olive oil until translucent.
Add a minimum amount of water, chicken, chives, mushrooms carrots, celery and a "pinch" of crushed red pepper, chicken bouillon and chicken gravy mix.
Cook until carrots are desired tenderness.
Add water if needed but keep water to a minimum.
Add in Italian seasoning and a small amount of milk.
Mix in pasta
Serve garnished with grated cheese and more crushed red pepper if desired.

TIP...start cooking pasta so it is finished around the same time as the sauce so it doesn't sit and get starchy.

(OPTION...subsitiute noodles and chicken seasonings with 2 packages of Creamy Chicken Ramen, including the seasoning packets)

******************
This next recipe is a minestrone recipe that Tracy discovered on the back of a package of pasta and he made adjustments to it to be more conducive to ingredients we always have on hand and this is another hit as well.
And this recipe actually tastes better the next day!

Minestrone (Tracy’s creation)
2 cups of pasta spirals
1 pound ground beef
1 large chopped onion
1 (15oz) can tomato sauce (PLUS 1-1/2 cans water)
2 cups chopped carrots and celery
6 cups water
2 beef bouillon cubes (OR 2 tsp. Tones Beef Base paste)
1 tsp basil leaves
1 tsp marjoram leaves
½ tsp garlic powder

In soup pot, brown meat and onions—drain.
Stir in the next 8 ingredients and bring to a boil—
reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes—
Add pasta spirals and cook another 10 minutes.
Serve with FRESH grated Parmesan or Swiss cheese.

(Great meal served with bread sticks or French bread)

********************

And last but not least….BROWNIES!!

Brownies
2 cubes butter
6 Tbsp. Cocoa
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups flour
½ tsp. Salt
2 tsp vanilla
(1/2 cup chopped nuts—optional)
Melt butter with cocoa in microwave.
Add other ingredients and mix well. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes in a greased 9x13 pan.
Do not over bake.
The brownies will appear doughy but are really done.