What to make for dinner...

Let's see...what can I make for dinner.  I don't want to go to the grocery store...limited choices...Hmmm...What are you having?

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Hamburger Casserole

This is one of our favorite meals (and easiest). It is the go to for meals to other families.

2lbs. ground beef browned and drained
1 medium onion cooked with ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 soup can water
3/4 c. rice
chow mein noodles

Preheat oven to 350. Brown the ground beef with onion. Drain and combine with soups, rice and water in a casserole dish. Cover dish and cook for 1/2 hour with lid on. Then remove lid, mix then cook another 1/2 hour without lid. Cover mixture with chow mein noodles and cook and additional 15 minutes. (I put a little a-1 steak sauce my portion to add a little more flavor.) Enjoy!!

Fall-Apart Roast with gravy and mashed potatoes

This is the way my Grandma, my Mom and now me do roast.  It falls apart rather than slices.

1 chuck roast (you can use other kinds, but this is the cheapest and I think the best)
Prepared mustard
1 pkg Dry Onion Soup Mix

Smother roast with mustard, then sprinkle whole pkg of onion soup mix over top.  Cook in crock pot on high for 5 or so hours.

To make gravy...
remove roast from crock pot and place on plate or platter.  Pour drippings into a pan.  Put roast back in crock pot to stay warm.  Add as much water to the drippings as you want to stretch it.  (I only do a cup or 2, but you could do much more).  Heat until boiling, then lower temperature to medium.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  It will take quite a bit of each.  It will taste good when you taste it.  If it is blah---then add more S&P.  In a cup mix some water and either cornstarch or flour, use a whisk to get rid of lumps.  Add some of the hot drippings to the cornstarch or water mix to warm it up a bit.  While stirring drippings with a whisk, slowly pour in the cornstarch or flour mixture.  Over the next few minutes it will thicken.

To make mashed potatoes...
Boil potatoes (or use pressure cooker for 3 minutes---my favorite way because it is soooo much faster).  Drain.  Put in large bowl.  Always add butter/margarine and S&P.  Then add other dairy products like milk, sour cream, cream cheese, etc...  Start mashing.  I do mine by hand, but you can use a mixer instead.  I like mine a little chunky, but just keep mashing until the are the desired consistency.  For creamier potatoes use more of the add-ins, for healthier potatoes use less of the add-ins.  You can also add shredded cheese, garlic powder, etc...

Crock Pot Zesty Chicken

This is a favorite at our house. We had it last night for Sunday dinner with salad and strawberries. Leftovers can be frozen.

*about 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (3 regular sized breasts)

*16 oz. Kraft Zesty Italian dressing

*1 cup water and 1 chicken bouillon cube

large crock pot (5 or 6 qt. )--
Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours until chicken shreds easily with 2 forks.  Shred and then add:

*1 8 oz. block cream cheese

*2 cans cr. of chicken

Cook 30 min. on high or 1 hour on low.

Serve it over rice.  Soooo Yummy!

Serves: at least 6-8

All of the ingredients can be changed more or less to your liking.

Baked Potato Night

Tonight is baked potatoes at my house!  We have these almost once a week (to cut down on the food budget).

Baking instructions (I'm sure you already know...but you might not know about the oil method)
Wash potatoes, cut off any bad spots
either wrap in foil
or completely rub surface with oil (pour oil in small bowl and roll potatoes in until coated)

Bake at 450 for 1 hour or 350 for 2 hours.

My mom always poked hers with a fork, but I have found that it is unnecessary.  If desperate you can cook in microwave for 5-10 minutes.  But they do tend to shrivel up a bit (not my favorite way).

I usually do the foil method.  But I really love the oil method.   It makes the skin a little tougher and thicker (like twice baked potatoes).  If you don't like the skin to start with, you won't like the oil method.  But to me it seems different and even a little fancier, just because it's unusual.

We usually top with butter, S&P, sour cream, cheese, bacos and either ham and ranch dressing or seasoned hamburger (hamburger with fresh or dried onion, garlic salt and pepper).

Once in a blue moon we top with chili or broccoli.

My 11 YO son likes to microwave his after putting cheese on top so the cheese gets melted.

I like to bake double the amount we are going to use (so usually 10 for my family of 5 eaters) then the leftovers I put in the fridge (still in foil).  Then I can make fried potatoes later.  Just cube or cut into coins or shred with cheese grater.  Fry in a little oil until brown and crispy.  Wah-lah!

What temp do you cook your potatoes if you want them to cook all during church?  How do you prepare your potatoes?  What do you like on your potatoes? Which way do you spell potato or potatoe?

Tonight we are leaving out ham and/or hamburger for our meatless monday!!!

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

Tonight- my family is having Teriyaki Chicken for dinner. Here's how I'm going to do it.

4-6 frozen chicken breasts
1 cup teriyaki sauce (your choice of brand)

Put in crockpot for 6-7 hours on low.

Serve with rice. Salad and veggie.

Enjoy!

Let's hear from you!

All you new authors (to this blog) out there...let's hear a favorite recipe, or tell us what you're making for dinner, ask a question, etc...

If you want to be an author (to this blog) please send me an email.  You don't have to be a great (or even a good) cook.  We just want to interact, share, ask, discuss, things about cooking and recipes.  We want you!  We need you!  Please join!

Keep pan from boiling over

To keep your pasta, potatoes or chicken from boiling over just add a little oil to the water.

Never-Fail Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the choco chip cookies I always make.  The recipe is from Chris.  Thanks Chris!  They are great and I love that they use shortening, so you don't have to soften any butter.

1 C. butter flavor shortening (I use regular shortening)
1 C. brown sugar
1 C. white sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3 C. flour
1/2 pkg. chocolate chips

Cream shortening, sugars, eggs, vanilla until just mixed.  Add salt, soda and flour.  Do not overmix.  Stir in Choco chips.  Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees just until top of cookie starts to crack.  Good undercooked and gooey.

These are my favorite but here are a few personal notes.  The dough is good, but not my favorite dough to eat raw (but the cooked cookies are my favorite).  But don't get me wrong...it's still good dough to eat, just not my favorite.  They are not as good if you freeze the dough and cook them up later, they are much better made from fresh dough.

Rinsing vegetables and Meat

Here are a few tips I learned at Weight Watchers...

When warming a can of veggies, rinse them in water before heating to lower the sodium content.

After cooking hamburger, rinse in colander under hot water to rinse off the fat.

Parmesan Pan-Seared Pork Chops

I made this for dinner tonight.  It was a new recipe and was really yummy.  Everyone liked it, even the kids!  I am definitely going to add it to my regular recipes.

2 eggs
1 C. dried italian style bread crumbs
3/4 C. parmesan cheese
4 pork chops-boneless, center-cut, 1/2 inch thick
salt and pepper
6 T. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
1 lemon (optional)

Whisk eggs in pie plate.  place bread crumbs on separate plate.  Place parmesan on separate plate (3rd plate).  Sprinkle the pork chops with S&P.  Coat chops completely in parmesan.  Dip chops in eggs.  Coat chops with bread crumbs.  Heat 3 T. oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add pork chops (2 per batch) and cook until golden brown about 6 minutes per side.  Serve with lemon wedge.

I made a few modifications...
I forgot to S&P at the beginning so I did it once they were in the pan.  I used an electric frying pan at 300 degrees for 6 minutes on each side (cooking all 4 at once).  I cut one open and it was still pink.  So I put the cover on, reduced the heat to 200 degrees and cooked until no longer pink.  We did really like the lemon squirted on top, but it was good without also.

What's for dinner?

What is everyone else having for dinner tonight?