Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Tasty Tuesday

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

2 slices bacon
8 oz penne pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 c shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 c milk

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet.  Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.

3. In a large pot with boiling salted water cook pasta until al dente. Drain.

4. In a medium skillet saute the chopped onion, and minced garlic.  Take off heat and add chopped cooked bacon and set aside.

5. To make the sauce, in a medium saucepan melt the butter or margarine over low heat.  Once melted, add the flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Gradually add milk and continue stirring until thickened.  Stir in 2 cups of the grated cheddar cheese and stir until melted.

6. Combine cooked pasta, sauteed vegetables and sauce.  Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish.  Add the last cup of grated cheddar cheese to top of mixture.

7. Bake uncovered in preheated oven until cheese on top is melted and brown, 15-20 minutes. Serve warm

Nutritional Info:
Servings: 5
Calories: 570
Carbs: 43.9g
Cholesterol: 95.3mg
Fiber: 2g
Fat: 31.7g
Protein: 28.2g
Sodium: 582.5mg

Review:
Fan-freakin-TASTIC!  We loved it.  I took it to a bbq and it was the first time I'd made it, it was a hit!  Plus we had plenty to bring home and eat for dinner the next night - score!  So, the things I did differently.....
Used 16oz of pasta
4 slices of bacon
while making the sauce I used:
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
Oh, and with the veggies, I probably used 1/2 a small onion and 2 cloves of garlic.  I went into this with intentions of doubling the recipe, but halfway through I forgot and only doubled some things instead of all things... lucky for me it still turned out wonderfully!!!!!  This one is a must! Takes some time to get the sauce done but it's definitely worth the time!


Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Tasty Tuesday

Fruit Pizza

1 (18 oz) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 (8 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/2 c white sugar
1 pinch salt
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 c orange juice
2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread cookie dough out, use either a round pizza pan or cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, allow to cool.

2. In a large bowl, soften cream cheese, then fold in the whipped topping.  Spread over cooled crust.  You can chill for awhile at this point, or continue by arranging the fruit.

3. Arrange fruit to your liking

4. In a saucepan, combine sugar, salt, corn starch, orange juice, lemon juice, and water.  Cook and stir over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat, and add grated orange rind.  Allow to cool, but not set up.  Spoon over fruit.  Chill for two hours, then cut into wedges and serve.

Nutritional Info:
Servings: 8
Calories: 534
Carbs: 62.9g
Cholesterol: 49.1mg
Fiber: 1.3g
Fat: 30g
Protein: 5.5g
Sodium: 405.1mg

The Review:
I made this for Easter and then did an extra one to take into work, it was a hit.  I used strawberries, banana, kiwi, and grapes.  Yum, yum, YUM!  A tip I got for the bananas was to dip them in lemon juice to prevent them from browning.  Good tip! :)
Another way to make this, which I just did recently for a bbq, is as follows..... btw I don't have a favorite, they were both good.
Everything is the same, except, here is the middle layer:
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla


Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Tasty Tuesday

**warning - this may become a new family favorite!**

Toasted Ravioli

2 tbsp whole milk
1 egg
3/4 c italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1/2  (25oz) package frozen cheese ravioli, thawed (I used the whole package)
3 c vegetable oil for frying
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 (16oz) jar spaghetti sauce

1. Combine the milk and egg in a small bowl. Place breadcrumbs and if desired, salt in a shallow bowl.  Dip ravioli in milk mixture, and coat with breadcrumbs.

2. In a large saucepan, heat marinara sauce over medium heat until bubbling.  Reduce the heat to simmer.

3. In a large heavy pan, pour oil to depth of 2 inches.  Heat oil over medium heat until a small amount of breading sizzles and turns brown.  Fry ravioli, a few at a time, 1 minute on each side or until golden.  Drain on paper towels.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve immediately with hot marinara sauce.

Nutritional Info:
Servings: 6
Calories: 377
Total Fat: 19.3g
Cholesterol: 61mg
Sodium: 888mg
Total Carbs 39.5g
Dietary Fiber: 4.3g
Protein: 11.6g

Review:
Even RILEY liked it!  That's all I need to say right?  It was fantastic!  You MUST try it!



Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Tasty Tuesday

Veggie Casserole

1 (14.5 oz) can french style green beans, drained
1 (11oz) can white corn, drained
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 (8oz) container sour cream
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of celery soup
1/2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 (16oz) package cheese flavored crackers, crushed
1/4 c butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 

2. In a large bowl, combine green beans, corn, onion, and green bell pepper.  Stir in sour cream, condensed soup, and shredded cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  Mix well, and spread into a 2qt casserole dish.  In a separate bowl, mix together the crushed crackers and melted butter.  Sprinkle over vegetable mixture.

3. Bake in preheated oven, for 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
(after 25 min I stirred the mixture and baked another 5 minutes)

Nutritional Info:
Servings: 6
Calories: 483
Total Fat: 30.8g
Cholesterol: 57mg
Sodium: 1263mg
Total Carbs: 41.7g 
Fiber: 2.8g
Protein: 10.2g

Review: 
This was branching out a lot for my family to do a dish like this that was purely vegetables, people, this one is now in the favorites dish!  It was soo good, we all had seconds!  I recommend stirring the mixture and letting it bake another 5 minutes, yum yum YUM!  Enjoy with your family!

Oh, and incase you're wondering about the big hamburger steak thing.... that's about 3/4 pound of beef, form into a patty, season with salt, pepper, & garlic salt.  Then place in pan (I prefer electric skillet) at 325.  Once patties are in skillet (and no, all patties normally aren't that big, this one was special for the hubs) then take can of cream of mushroom soup and pour over patties.  Cook until done in the soup.  Normally once the patties are ready to be flipped I'll flip them then add another can of soup.  SUPER good!  Not healthy, but nonetheless, good! :-)




Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Tasty Tuesday

Tuna & Pasta Salad

3 c rotelle pasta (the little wheels)
3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1 (12oz) can of tuna, drained and flaked
3/4 c shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 c chopped celery
1/4 c finely chopped onion
1/2 c roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1 (8oz) can lima beans, drained
3/4 c mayo
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp paprika
salt to taste

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes, drain and cool.

2. In a large bowl, combine pasta, eggs, tuna, cheddar cheese, celery, onion, roasted red pepper, and lima beans.  Whisk together mayo, lemon juice, and paprika.  Season with salt.  Pour dressing over pasta mixture and mix together.

***I neglected to buy the red pepper so instead I used 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper just to add flavor.  Also I didn't have a lemon so I used 1 tsp of lemon juice


Nutritional Info:
Servings: 8
Calories per serving: 314
Total Fat: 13.9g
Cholesterol: 109mg
Sodium: 468mg
Total Carbs: 27.4g
Dietary Fiber: 2.8g
Protein: 20.5g

Review:
Husband and kid approved!  Makes for good leftovers as well.  The only thing I noticed was the next day it was a little dry, I just made 1/2 of the dressing listed above and mixed it up again.  I also used 4 c of noodles instead of 3 so that could explain why it seemed dry the next day. But it's delicious!
ENJOY!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Easter

I'm just a little late on this one, right?  ;)

The Friday before Easter my family spent the day together.  The kids and grandma went to see Hop at the theater and then afterwards we met up at my mom and dads to decorate eggs.  



Then Easter morning we woke up to find that the easter bunny had came to our house! Shocker right?! :)  Logan was so cute, the night before he was mad because the hubs and I were going to stay up and watch a movie, he was absolutely certain that the easter bunny would not come if we weren't all in bed.  He relates the easter bunny and Santa to be pretty much the same thing.....

Here are some of my decorations, no wait, ALL of my decorations.  Hopefully next year I can add to the decor.... oh, and please excuse my laundry basket in the corner - at least it's clean clothes, right?

the bunny hid eggs all over....


the kids were so excited in the morning to see their baskets and have to look for eggs
(warning: lots of pictures!!!!)


yummy peep!

playing his new "train" horn



yay for a new Spiderman hat!


finding eggs




then it was time for Sunday school and Church
Logan is the front center one
the middle 2 people are my sister Emi & my mom....btw Em felt baby Eli moving for the first time while she was playing bells here!

after church it was time to go to mom's to see what the Easter bunny brought there!
But first, more pictures!
all of the grandkids

me & my siblings.... Sarah, Billy, me & Emily

us kids and our other halves

now the hunt for baskets is on, do any of you have to hunt for your baskets too?







and finally the hunt for eggs




So, was that enough Easter for you?  I hope that everyone had as wonderful of an Easter as my family did.... we are definitely blessed!