Serves 8-10
16 oz ziti pasta
2 - 10oz cans Rotel tomatoes
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar (or monterey jack, or a combo of the two)
3/4 - 1 cup ranch dressing
1 lb. ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
Directions:
Boil pasta as directed for "al dente". Brown ground beef with garlic, green pepper and onion, adding seasonings after beef is about halfway browned but still pink. Stir well to combine. Drain pasta and pour into large greased baking dish. Mix in tomatoes, 2 cups of cheese, beef and ranch dressing. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted.
This is one of those recipes that I came up with on a night when we were short on time and overdue for a grocery trip so I needed to use things we had in the house already. I always have ground beef in the freezer and I always have cheddar cheese, ranch dressing and canned tomatoes on hand so this was what I decided to try out and it was delicious! I decided to give it a Southwestern flair when my eyes landed on the cumin and Cajun seasoning in my pantry. Then after I stirred the cheese, ziti, tomatoes and beef together, I felt like it needed something creamy but I didn't have any sour cream so I decided to try ranch dressing. That turned out to be a great idea because this casserole was SO delicious and even my kids loved it! If you don't like onions and/or peppers, you can always leave those out if you wanted. Also adding a can of corn is delicious, it adds a nice crunchy sweetness to it. You can experiment with different cheeses and if you don't like too much spice you can use regular diced tomatoes, but the mild Rotel was perfect for us. This took only about 45 minutes from start to finish...SO easy, so fast and definitely delicious. Doesn't get much better than that! ;)
So it's been awhile since I posted any recipes and I have a huge list of candidates for posting. I posted 3 today but I have to save some for the coming months, especially in light of the holidays that are coming soon...oh how I looove holiday recipes! Here is a list of some of the recipes I will be posting over the next few weeks and months:
Meringue Cake
Hot Cocoa Mix
Stuffed Shells
White Chicken Enchiladas
Sunshine Tuna Bake
Pizza Dough & Breadsticks
Banana Split Cake
Sweet & Sour Meatballs
Cream of Broccoli Soup
Chewy Noels
Crab Ball
Eggplant Parmesan
French Silk Chocolate Pie
Sausage Balls
I'm excited to post these recipes, every single one is super yummy and of course you know me, I like easy! So almost all of them are really easy to boot. Have a great weekend!
Serves 8-10
12oz Hot Wing Sauce
16oz Ranch Dressing
2 - 8oz cream cheese, softened
4 chicken breasts, boiled & cut up or shredded
1 1/2 cup shredded cheese (monterey jack or cheddar are the best!)
3 green onions, chopped
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300
Mix hot sauce & chicken in 13x9 pan. Mix ranch dressing and cream cheese in a saucepan over medium heat until smooth. (Or you can shortcut like I do and microwave it!) Pour over chicken & sprinkle with cheese. Bake 45 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes then sprinkle green onions on top. Serve with tortilla chips.
It's football season!!! In other words, GATOR season here. :) So football season means lots of yummy hors d'oeuvres and that means DIPS. And what is the most perfect dip in the entire world?? That's right, Buffalo Chicken Dip is! This dip is smack your grandma good...but just give her the lip smack, not the backhanded smack, ok? MAKE THIS DIP THIS WEEKEND. I promise you won't be sorry. Man, now I want this dip. Right this minute.
Serves 6
1 lb. ground beef
1 28oz can stewed tomatoes
1 14oz can tomato soup
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 cups macaroni
1/2 cup barley
3-4 beef bouillon cubes
2-3 cups water (depending on how thick/thin you want your soup to be)
Pepper
Directions:
Brown beef and onion and drain. Add all remaining ingredients except macaroni and simmer about an hour. Stir in macaroni and cook another 10 minutes until pasta is tender. Stir in basil and pepper to taste and serve. *Can also put everything in a crockpot and cook on low for 4 hours, adding cooked pasta at the last hour.*
This is one of those meals that you remember eating on a cool evening and since it's September and the fall weather is approaching, it's the perfect time for this recipe! I like to put mine in the crockpot because it's easier and I love my crockpot! I serve this soup with fresh bread or rolls and we like to dip ours in the warm soup. Quick and easy and delicious. :) You can also stir in other vegetables if you like. I've put in a cup or two of peas and/or carrots and it gives it a heartier texture and you feel like your kiddos are getting more veggies. Bonus!
Serves 4-6
1/2 cup soy sauce
6 packets splenda (or 3 teaspoons of white or brown sugar)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or can mince fresh)
1/4 cup chopped onion
Dash Worcestershire
1 whole chicken (can cut up or not...can also use boneless pieces if preferred)
Directions:
Place chicken in a greased crockpot. Mix all other ingredients together in a bowl then pour over chicken. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 6.
This is a simple recipe that is delicious! We like to serve ours over rice or egg noodles, whichever we're in the mood for or whichever is in our pantry! I usually serve some steamed or roasted veggies on the side and my husband likes to mix all his meat/rice/veggies together to make a sort of stir-fry type dish. This is great for a weeknight or one of those late mornings when you didn't put something in the crockpot early enough. If you start it by 2 you can still eat by 6!
Makes 40 Cookies
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup of mashed bananas (2-3 ripened bananas)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. In a bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda with a fork and let sit for a couple minutes. Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture. Mix together the flour, salt and spices and sift into the wet mixture, mixing until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop in dollops onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until golden.
I have been trying to come up with recipes to use up brown bananas other than banana bread or muffins. We buy bananas by the ton (not really, but it feels like it!) and it always seems no matter how many we eat, there are always one or two (or three!) that don't get eaten before they get too soft to be appealing to the kids. This recipe is super easy and YUMMY. The cookies are not crispy, more cakey, but they taste delicious and are soft and moist right out of the oven. Delicious with a big glass of milk. You can leave out the spices if you don't like spice-type foods--this does have a "fall" spice to it similar to pumpkin pie or pumpkin bars, so leave out the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves if you'd rather and replace it with a teaspoon of vanilla for some flavor. These cookies are a delicious way to use up those over-ripened bananas! Yummy!
Makes 8-10 Servings
1 lb. lasagne, uncooked
1 32oz (2lbs) tub ricotta
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 tablespoon basil
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
1 26oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
1-2 cups water
Directions:
Mix sauce, tomatoes and 1 cup of water together in a bowl. It should be pretty watery...if not, add another cup of water. Mix the ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella and seasonings together in a bowl. Spray crockpot well with cooking spray or spread with olive oil. Cover bottom of crockpot with sauce. Break pasta to fit and get as even a layer as possible, making sure pasta is pretty well "sauced". Spread a layer of the cheese mixture on top, then sauce, then pasta, then cheese, etc. Repeat all layers, ending in sauce then sprinkle extra parmesan and mozzarella on top. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low 6-8 hours.
Amazing!! Lasagna that is moist, cheesy and delicious from your crockpot! No boiling noodles or heating up that oven in the summer. I can't believe how easy and tasty this is and this has become our new regular. This recipe makes it extra cheesy and "gooey", and to us, this is perfect. Make sure all the lasagna noodles are submerged under the sauce or cheese and that no dry edges are sticking out or you'll get a hard piece. Mine brought it to about two inches from the lid and that was the perfect amount of space for steam to cook it perfectly. This makes enough to feed our family of six and still have half the pot leftover, so if you want less, the recipe halves nicely. I like to freeze the remaining half, or invite company over. YUM.
