Must-See Monday Madness

You gotta love Monday nights!

Well... I certainly love Monday nights...

A. I made it through Monday day.
B. The Bachelor is a must-see for both my hubs and I.
C. There's a new American Chopper tonight.
D. Back-to-back, new 19 Kids and Counting shows are on tonight.
E. And finally... I am slightly ashamed to admit that I also DVR Pretty Little Liars on Mondays too.

How will we make it through this night with all these shows?
Well, I won't. What a convenience DVR is!


For dinner tonight?

 


Cheesy Chicken Skillet

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 pkg. shells and cheese dinner
1 c. milk
1 c. water
1 c. broccoli
1 c. sliced carrots (optional)




You need to:

1.  Spray large skillet with cooking spray. Add chicken; cook on medium-high heat 5 min. or until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally.

2.  Add shell pasta, milk and water; stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Simmer 10 min. Add broccoli and carrots; cover. Continue cooking 5 min. Remove from heat.

3.  Stir in cheese sauce until well blended.


I really like macaroni and cheese. I really like chicken. Within the last year or so, I really like broccoli. Surely this is the ultimate one-dish meal, right?
You be the judge...

Cake, Anyone?

I haven't posted many of my latest cooking ventures, so... Here they are!

I baked a yummy carrot cake for my husband's 31st birthday. When it comes to cakes, cupcakes, breads, or cookies, I always use a mix from the store. Maybe I'll start baking from scratch at some point, but I'm not at that point yet. My husband requested chocolate frosting, but I thought it might not look as orange. So, I used chocolate frosting in between the two layers of cake. (Thanks, Trish, for showing me how to make a double layer cake last New Year's!) Mmm-mm!

carrot cake, David's favorite

mini 'bran'ana nut muffins

Chicken and rice is one of my husband's favorite meals.
Of course, his plate wouldn't quite look like mine.
He hasn't learned to like veggies yet!

chicken & rice and Mom's green beans

My featured recipe will be the pasta dish I took to our small group dinner last week,
Mom's quick and easy...

Goulash



You will need:

1 lb. hamburger
2 c. macaroni
1 qt. tomato juice
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. dried onion (or you can trade this out for fresh onion)

You need to:

1. Brown hamburger and drain.
2. Cook macaroni until tender and drain.
3. Mix macaroni and hamburger in one pot.
4. Add tomato juice, salt, and onion.
5. Cook several minutes until thoroughly heated.

Team PASTA!

We were blessed this Fourth of July weekend to spend the holiday with lots of friends and family! Along with that comes fellowship - smiles, laughter, stories - good food, and fireworks. We loved having everyone over!




This week I took a baked pasta dish to our small group gathering. The recipe is large, but it is also easy to cut in half or thirds. It tastes similar to goulash.

 




Team Pasta
(serves 20 adults)



You will need:

3 lbs. ground beef
3.5 oz chopped pepperoni (optional)
3 c. chopped onion
1 chopped bell pepper
3 jars spaghetti sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 small cans (drained) mushroom pieces
About 12 c. pasta (any shape, any variety)
4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

You need to:

1. Brown the ground beef, pepperoni, onion, and bell pepper in a large skillet. Drain.
2. Add spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, and mushrooms to mixture. 
3. Simmer 10 minutes.
4. Cook the pasta. Drain.
5. Combine the meat mixture and pasta in 1 large pan (12 x 20) or 3 smaller pans (9 x 13).
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 1  1/2 hours (large pan) or 45 minutes (smaller pans).
7. Top dish with mozzarella cheese 10 minutes before removing from oven.

Mac and Cheese Flop?

There are some meals I consider somewhat "sacred" and have yet to attempt due to how delicious (and special) they are when Mom (or Grandma) makes them. I finally crossed Grandma's Macaroni and Cheese off the list.

I nervously followed the recipe given to me and anxiously awaited the final results, as I stood and watched it cook in the oven. My white sauce didn't seem very saucy. First, it was very lumpy. After adding the milk, it seemed very runny. Then, when I filled the baking dish, I thought there was too much liquid. And to top it off, I'm not certain that I let the imitation Velveeta melt like I should have. Yikes!

I'm not sure that so many wrongs can make a right when it comes to cooking. I'm just discovering my mother's cooking thumb within in me, not to mention enjoying my latest cooking adventures. Could I really pull this off? I hate to admit that I even hightailed it over to Dillon's to buy an alternative side dish to take to the Tuesday night dinner, just in case my attempt at the Mac and Cheese dish was a flop!

In the end, I think our wonderful small group friends liked it. (And if they didn't, they sure did a great job at disguising it!)

Grandma Perry's  
Macaroni and Cheese
(serves 6)




You will need:

2 c macaroni (for fun I like to do a mixture of pastas, like rotini, shells, etc.)
6 c water
2 tsp salt
4 tbsp melted margarine
4 tbsp flour
2 c milk
1 1/2 c cubed Velveeta (or the imitation stuff)

You need to:

1. Boil the water, macaroni, and 1 tsp salt.
2. Make a white sauce... Stir the margarine, flour, and leftover salt until blended.
3. Add milk to your mixture slowly, stirring constantly, until smooth.
4. Add the Velveeta and keep stirring!
5. Put the drained macaroni in a baking dish.
6. Pour the white sauce mixture over the macaroni.
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.