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Tuesday, August 25, 2009 - Easy Stir Fry Ramen Noodle Lo Mein
Would you believe last week we had some leftover steak? Well I hated to re-heat it which would have probably led to it being over-cooked. So I decided to use it in a stir fry concoction. It was delicious.
Ingredients:
About 1 lb leftover beef, cut into bite size pieces
2 bags of frozen stir fry vegetables (I used a broccoli, carrot, snap pea, water chestnut combo, and an asparagus, carrot, peppers, broccoli combo)
2 packages of ramen noodles, prepared and drained
1/2 cup stir fry sauce
All I did was put the vegetables and beef into the pan and stir fried them until the vegetables were tender. Then I added the drained noodles and stirred in the stir fry sauce. Easy to do and only about 15 minutes from start to finish.
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Thursday, June 18, 2009 - Stovetop Tuna Casserole and Variations
I use cream soups a lot in cooking stove top casseroles. I have been making the same stove top tuna casserole for years. I often add different things to it like chopped tomato or broccoli, but a bit ago I decided to add some sharp shredded cheddar cheese. It was delicious and everyone really liked it so I added it to my recipes. Here is my basic stove top tuna casserole recipe.
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can of milk
4 cups pasta (or a bag of noodles) give or take (I do it by sight not measure)
2 regular size cans of tuna, drained
Cook pasta as directed. Drain.
While pasta is cooking, empty soups into another large pan and whisk in milk. Heat to just before boiling over medium heat. Flake drained tuna into soup mixture. After pasta is cooked and drained, add to the soup/tuna mixture and stir to combine. Let sit a few minutes for the pasta to absorb some of the soup mixture. It will thicken.
And you know I love Cavendar’s Greek Seasoning, so I also season with that.
This is also when you can add the extras.
Variation 1:
1 can diced tomatoes or 1 cup fresh diced tomatoes
I usually heat the tomatoes up in a skillet for a few minutes before adding.
Variation 2:
1 lb fresh or frozen broccoli
Cook the broccoli as you normally would.
Variation 3:
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Just stir it in while casserole is still hot until it melts.
I think I might try adding all the above one day and see what happens. Should be interesting.
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Thursday, May 21, 2009 - Pigs in a Bean Bag
I made my first pork roast the other nght and had about 2 pounds of pork leftover. I have not had good luck reheating meats, so I tend to create other stuff from leftovers. This may not be a new recipe but it came out really great and was super fast and easy to make. My husband gave them their name because he said that instead of pigs in a blanket they looked like pigs in a beanbag. 
About 1-2 lbs cooked pork (mine was the leftovers from a loin roast)
1 bottle of BBQ sauce
2 packages cresent roll dough
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Shred pork (I used my food processor with the slicer blade, then pulled it apart into smaller pieces)
Mix shredded pork and bottled BBQ sauce.
Spray muffin tin pan with cooking spray.
Open the cresent rolls and seperate. Gently stretch the dough of one roll so that it will fill the width of a muffin tin. Press into the cup. Fill roll with BBQ mixture, about 1 to 2 tablespoons. Then fold over the triangle edges of dough over the mixture. Do this with the remaining roll dough.
Bake 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
Makes 16 cups.
We each ate 2 of these and it was quite filling.
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Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - Cooking Tip from My Daughter
This isn’t exactly a Monthly Munchie post, but I had to share the cooking tip my 12 year old daughter taught me tonight. I have no idea where she learned it and neither does she, but it worked like a charm. You may already know about it, but it was a new one for me. Let me set up the scene.
On Wednesdays I have phone conferences that can sometimes run long, so I have been using my crock pot to make the meals on those days. Today I was making our family favorite Crock Pot Beef Stew (recipe here). When I went to add the tapioca I realized that I had none. What to do? The stew was more like a super thick soup. I really don’t like to use flour to thicken, so I called my mom to ask for help. My daughter was sitting in the living room listening to my conversation (whose child does that?). My mom suggested something I had thought of; to drain the broth into a pan and thicken it on the stovetop. Then out of the blue my daughter says, “Use instant mashed potatoes.” I asked her where she heard it and she just said that she liked mashed potatoes. I thought it was a good idea and my mom said she heard it somewhere too. So I added 1 cup of instant potatoes to the stew and mixed it in. It took less than a minute to thicken and did not alter the flavor of the stew like other thickeners can sometimes do. It worked great.
I never knew my daughter was such a good cook.
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Tuesday, July 15, 2008 - Upside-Down Pineapple Blueberry Cheesecake Muffin Cake
(Now that title is a mouthful)
Last night I was trying a new recipe for Sesame Chicken that called for about a cup of crushed pineapple. I only had a 14-ounce can on hand so that left me with about half a can of pineapple leftover. So I thought I’d make a small upside down pineapple cake using a Jiffy yellow cake mix. I began to melt 3 tablespoons of butter in the oven and went to mix the cake batter. When I opened the cake mix I found that critters (moths) had moved in so I had to throw it away. I had the same problem with another box. By this time the butter was melted and I was frustrated because I didn’t want to waste the butter or have to clean a pan I really hadn’t used. So I went to the pantry and looked at the other mixes I had on hand. I saw that I had 2-7 ounce packages of Martha White Blueberry Cheesecake Muffin mix and thought, "Why not?" The following is what I came up with.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2-7 oz packages Martha White Blueberry Cheesecake Muffin mix
@ 1 cup crushed pineapple, juice drained into a measuring cup
Enough milk added to pineapple juice to make 1 cup
Heat oven to 425°. In the oven, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in an 8” by 8” square pan. After butter is melted, add the brown sugar. Spread the butter and brown sugar mixture evenly to cover the bottom of the pan. Spoon the crushed pineapple on top of the brown sugar, spreading evenly.
After adding enough milk to the reserved pineapple juice to make 1 cup, in a separate bowl combine with the muffin mix and stir until blended.
Pour batter evenly over pineapple layer. Bake at 425° for about 25 to 30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto a plate.
Makes about 8 servings.
Needless to say, it came out delicious. It was very moist and sweet. I wish I had the foresight to have taken a picture last night, but I really wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out. I have been know to throw things together that could be construed as unfit for human consumption. I did get a picture this morning of the last piece that was left, but it will be gone as soon as one of the kids gets up.
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Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - Easy Fried Dough
Who can resist the sweet taste of fried dough that can be bought at carnivals and boardwalks across the country? I know that the aroma itself draws me in. So wanting to recreate that summertime treat at home, I pulled out my cookbooks and tried to create my own, with little success. Making my own dough is too time consuming and the frozen stuff you buy in the store has to thaw and rise, again time consuming. When the mood strikes I’d rather not have to plan it out hours even days in advance. This desire to have it whenever I wanted it led me to stumble across the easiest way to have fried dough and eat it too.
Easy Fried Dough
Refrigerator biscuit dough (the kind that comes in a can)
Deep fryer filled according to manufacturer’s directions
Heat oil. (My fryer doesn’t have a temperature gauge so I’m not sure how hot it gets, but it starts to bubble a little)
Separate the biscuits and flatten slightly.
Drop 2 or three carefully into the oil.
Cook about 1 to 1 ½ minutes then turn dough over.
Cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute longer. You may have to experiment with the time depending on oil temperature. Cook until both sides are golden brown. Drain on paper towel covered plate.
Sprinkle with granulated or powdered sugar, or cinnamon sugar, or any other of your favorite toppings.
Enjoy.
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Thursday, April 3, 2008 - Ginny's Banana Bread
My family is pretty picky about bananas. If they start to turn even a little brown, they will not eat them. So years ago I came up with a recipe to use those ripened bananas. (Note: Sometimes there’s only one banana left so what I do is mash it up and put it in the freezer until I have what I need to make this. Also, our grocery stores sell the ripened bananas at deep discounts.)
Ginny’s Banana Bread
2 ½ cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cups brown sugar
1/3 cups powdered sugar
2 cups mashed banana (@ 5 bananas)
1/3 cups shortening
1/3 cups butter, softened
2/3 cups milk
2 eggs
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract
¾ cup finely chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 375°. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans. With an electric mixer combine all the ingredients one by one. Mix until completely blended. Divide the batter between the two pans filling to about 3/4 full. Bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Makes 2 loaves.
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Monday, February 25, 2008 - Apple Crisp
This weekend’s Girl Scout Thinking Day went on without a hitch. Only 8 of the 23 girls showed up, which was too bad for the other girls but wonderful for me. The Daisy leader was there to help me and that was wonderful. The displays were fun and interesting and I think the girls that were there had a good time. The major drawback was that my daughter did not get to see all the displays and that upset her. She spent a large potion of the time manning their troop’s display and when it was her turn to go around some of the troops where taking down there displays early. I didn’t learn of this until it after the fact and was a bit disturbed that she lost out. This was her 5th or 6th Thinking Day but the first one for the States as a theme. Her love of geography drives her passion for these events. I will speak up at the Leader’s Meeting next month and voice my concerns.
I thought I’d share my recipe for the Apple Crisp I made for the event. I used Red Delicious apples because they were on sale. Most of the recipes call for tart apples, but you can use any kind you have on hand.
4 cups peeled apples cut into bite size chunks
½ cup oatmeal
½ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ flour
½ tsp cinnamon
6 TBS butter
Preheat the oven to 375°. Layer the apples in baking dish. In a food processor (or by hand) mix oatmeal, sugar, flour and cinnamon until well blended. Cut butter into TBS’s and add to dry mixture. Blend until the mixture begins to hold together. Crumble mixture over the top of the apples. Bake about 30 minutes until apples are soft and crumble is brown.
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Tuesday, January 8, 2008 - Eggs in a Hole
I’m sure a lot of you have made this before, but if you haven’t, this is a great quick and easy breakfast that my kids love to eat. They like the novelty of the egg in the toast and being able to eat it with their hands.
All you need is some eggs and bread. Butter both sides of the bread, then with a circular cutter or glass, cut out the center. We have used different shaped cookie cutters making it a bit more fun. Heat skillet or electric griddle (which is one of our favorite appliances). Put the bread on the heated grill then break open an egg into the hole. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes then turn. Cook another few minutes then serve. My daughter doesn’t like eggs over easy, so I scramble hers first, but it always seems to ooze under the bread. We grill the cut out circles/shapes and serve the eggs with fruit and milk.
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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 - Ginny's Apple-Pear-Raisin Pie
My family loves pies. This month I thought I’d share our favorite apple pie recipe. This is one of the first recipes I created after I was married.
3-4 apples (I usually use a combination of Granny Smith, Red Delicious, and Rome)
3-4 Bartlet pears (I look for very firm pears)
½ cup raisins
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch (flour can be substituted in a pinch)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter
pie crusts for 2 crust pie (I usually buy the pre-made crusts)
Preheat oven to 425º. Prepare a 9 or 10 inch pie pan by lightly spraying with cooking spray or coating with a thin layer of shortening, then dust with flour. Press 1 crust into the pan and set aside.
Pare, core and slice apples and pears. Put into a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients except the butter and blend well. (I put all the ingredients into a bowl with a cover then I, or one of the kids, shake the ingredients to mix).
Mound the filling into the prepared crust, cut butter into small pieces and place on top and around the fruit. Place the 2nd crust on top of the fruit; overlapping the edges and loosely pinch the edges of the 2 crusts together. You may want to cover the edges with a bit of foil to keep them from getting too dark.
Bake at 425º for about 40 to 45 minutes until the fruit is fork tender and the crust is light brown. If you find that the crust is browning too quickly, make a foil tent to slow down the process. Cool on wire rack before serving. We love this warm a la mode or with whipped cream.
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Thursday, September 6, 2007 - Chicken Can Can
This is one of my favorite recipes that my mom used to make when I was little. I make this when we have some leftover KFC or other cooked chicken and my husband is not going to be home for dinner because he doesn’t like rice. The kids and I devour it.
Makes about 4 servings.
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can of water (1 1/3 cups)
1 can of Minute rice (1 1/3 cups)
1½ cup diced cooked chicken or 12 oz canned chicken, drained
Mix all ingredients in a pot. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer about 7 to 10 minutes until rice is cooked.
It doesn’t look very appetizing, kind of like a lumpy porridge, or a dull rice pudding, but we think it’s delicious.
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Monday, August 6, 2007 - Always Moist Meatloaf
My family had never been the biggest fans of meatloaf until I threw this one together one day out of the desperation for something different to make for dinner. I doubt if it is original, but it is good. Makes about 6 servings.
Always Moist Meatloaf
1 pound ground beef
1 egg, beaten
¾ to 1 cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup milk
1 cup salsa (we use chunky salsa)
Mix all ingredients together, adding more breadcrumbs if needed until the meat holds together. Pat mixture into a loaf pan. Bake in a 350° oven about 30 minutes or until cooked thoroughly.
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Monday, July 2, 2007 - Zucchini Bread
My dad is an awesome gardener. He always has a bumper crop of zucchini. My family doesn’t really like it as a vegetable but devours it when I make zucchini bread. Here is the recipe I use. (I usually have to double it and make multiple batches to use all the squash he gives us.)
3 cups shredded zucchini (I use my Salad Shooter to shred the squash)
1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3-cup vegetable oil
3 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
3 cups whole-wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1-teaspoon salt
1-teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup chopped nuts (if desired)
½ cup raisins (if desired)
Place oven racks so the top of the bread pans are in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottoms of two 8X4 or 9X5 pans.
In large bowl mix zucchini, sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs until well blended.
In another bowl, thoroughly combine all dry ingredients except for nuts and raisins.
Add this mixture to the zucchini mixture and stir until completely well mixed.
Stir in nuts and raisins.
Divide evenly between the two greased pans.
Bake for @ 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool before removing from pans. When completely cooled, can be stored well wrapped at room temperature for up to 4 days and for 10 days in the refrigerator.
My kids love to have this heavier bread for breakfast with a bit of butter.
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Monday, June 4, 2007 - S'Mores Brownies
As per request, here is the recipe for S'Mores Brownies
1 package (21-oz) Brownie mix (or any brownie recipe for 13” x 9” pan)
@ 2 cups chocolate chips*
@ 3 cups miniature marshmallows*
@ 5-6 graham crackers, broken into quarters*
(* use as much as needed to cover brownies)
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Grease the bottom of 13”x9” pan.
Prepare brownie recipe and bake according to directions.
Immediately after removing brownies from oven sprinkle the chocolate chips over the brownies. Then sprinkle the marshmallows on top of the chocolate chips. Return to the oven for about 2 to 5 minutes until melted.
After marshmallows are melted and still hot, lay the graham crackers on top of the marshmallows.
Allow to cool, then cut into servings around the graham crackers.
Makes about 20-24 servings.
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Monday, May 14, 2007 - Family Favorite Tuna Macaroni Salad
This recipe is my own creation and a regular staple in our home during the warm summer months. We not only eat it as a side but quite often it is eaten alone for lunch or a snack. It is definitely a family favorite.
1 pound elbow macaroni
2 cans water packed tuna, drained and flaked
3 to 4(more if you like) celery stalks, chopped
1 jar sliced green olives, drained
1 small onion, finely chopped
@ ¼ - ½ cup mayonnaise
@ ½ - ¾ cup French dressing
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Salt
Pepper
Cavender’s Seasoning (optional; we use this is just about anything)
Boil pasta until tender, drain, and then rinse with cold water until cool. Combine pasta, tuna celery, olives, and onions in a good size bowl. Starting with ¼ cup mayonnaise and ½ cup French salad dressing, mix to coat. Add more mayonnaise and French dressing until everything is completely coated. Season with garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper, and Cavender’s Seasoning (if you want) until desired taste is achieved. This can be served right away. The flavors blend more after being in the fridge for a while.
Hard to say how many this serves, but I would guess 8-12 depending on the serving size.
This recipe is very flexible. We have added all kinds of things just for a change. When the garden crops start coming in we have added cucumbers, radishes, peppers, and even broccoli (not necessarily at the same time). We also like to change the pasta around a little using tri color twists, wagon wheels, shells or ziti. Have fun experimenting with your family’s favorites. Enjoy.
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Monday, April 16, 2007 - Ginny's Crock-Pot Beef Stew
As a child my family’s menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it. - Buddy Hackett
With this crazy weather I thought I’d share a warm-the-bones recipe.
Ginny’s Crock-Pot Beef Stew
1 pound stew beef
@ 5 potatoes
@ 8 carrots
@ 3 stalks celery
1 onion
2 cans (14.5 oz.) beef broth
½ cup quick Tapioca
spice to taste-bay leaf, clove, salt and pepper
Cut up vegetables into bite size pieces and place all ingredients into crock-pot. Cook on high 4-6 hours or low @ 12 hours stirring occasionally until meat is tender and vegetables are cook. Makes @ 8 servings.
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Monday, March 19, 2007 - Easy Pot Pie
Easy Pot Pie
2 cans Campbells Chunky Chicken & Dumplings soup
2 cups Bisquick
1 ½ cups milk
½ teaspoon celery seed (optional)
Preheat oven to 375° (350° for glass dish). Pour soup into 8” by 11” baking dish. In separate bowl, mix Bisquick, milk and celery seed. Pour evenly over soup. Bake for @ 30 minutes until crust is light brown and cooked through.
We sometimes add leftover chicken and leftover vegetables to the soup to make the pie thicker.
Serves @ 4.
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Monday, February 26, 2007 - Monday Munchies-Tortellini Soup
Proverbs 31:15- She gets up while it is still dark: she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
This is a hearty soup that my family asks me to make at least once a month, even in the summer.
1 lb. ground beef or turkey, browned and drained
3 cans of beef broth, @ 14oz. cans
1 can diced tomatoes w/juice, @26oz. can
1 can/jar spaghetti sauce, any flavor, @26oz. can
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables, rinsed and drained, @ 16oz. bag or 1 large can Veg-all
1 bag dried tortellini, 13oz. (we usually use the 3 cheese or spinach flavored tortellini)
Cavender’s seasoning or your favorite seasonings
Combine all ingredients, except for tortellini and seasoning, into a large 5-quart pan. Over medium-high heat bring to slow boil. Reduce heat; add tortellini and season to taste. Continue to cook until tortellini is tender.
I’m not sure how many servings this makes but in our house we get 2 meals from it. It fills the pot.
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