something with ground beef tonight....

which reminds me I need to deal with the ground beef... we went shopping yesterday and I just shoved it in the fridge..... need to portion it out hate doing that...



they had maria callendar's lasagna on sale yesterday, 2/ $5 so I bought two and some frozen garlic bread.... that will make a nice meal one day

We're going to have leftover chili (leftovers are always better! don't know why), and my cornbread with a twist (grated apples). Yum!

the flavours have had time to ruminate together

I once had an English teacher that would bust me everytime I used the word ruminate. He'd say, "I suppose that would make you a ruminant, are you a cow?"

I am thinking of making a recipe but it calls for tomato sauce which I don't have.. all I have is sgetti sauce.. do you think I could use that instead... ??

Mrs. Geraldine's Ground Beef Casserole

# 1 lb ground beef
# 1(15ounce)can tomatoes
# 1/4 cup chopped onions
# 1/4 cup chopped bell peppers
# 1/4 cup chopped celery
# 1(8ounce)can mushrooms
# 2 tablespoons brown sugar
# 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
# 1(10 3/4ounce)can cream of mushroom soup
# 1/4 lb sharp cheddar cheese
# 1(6ounce)package angel hair pasta, cooked, this is an estimated size bag- the original recipe called for 1 small bag
# 1(8ounce)can tomato sauce
# salt and pepper


1.Brown meat in large skillet or Dutch oven.
2. Add onions, pepper and celery and simmer for 15 minutes.
3.Add tomatoes and tomato sauce, mushrooms, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce.
4.Add salt and pepper to taste.
5.Cook in skillet for 1 hour.
6.Place cooked pasta in bottom of large casserole dish.
7.Spoon mushroom soup over pasta.
8.Pour sauce over the soup and top with cheese.
9.Bake in 350°F oven for 30-45 minutes.
10.Can sizes do not have to be exact, just as long as they are within a close range, everything will work out.

now i am thinking about making this....

ground beef and noodles Recipe

1 lb ground beef
3 packages ramen mushroom-flavor noodles
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables
2 cups water

1. brown ground beef and drain.
2. return to skillet.
3. add water and noodles with seasoning.
4. bring to boil.
5. add veggies.
6. boil for 5-7 minutes or untill veggies are tender.

just talked to hubby and he said he would be fine with tacos.. only problem is that I am not sure if my corn toritllas are still good... they still smell good and don't seem stale.. the date on them is feb 18th though...

i think I am going to stick with the ground beef and noodles...

i ended up making this.. only thing I changed was I added a little soy sauce and garlic powder.... and I added a packed of frozen pea pod vegie mix... it is all cooked and I am just waiting for hubby, he should be coming home soon.... I tried a little bit of it and it tastes yummo

Easter was roast, salad, and roasted asparagus... tonight Im gonna try a meatloaf recipe that I saw on Oprah from Katie Joel (Billy's wife)... love trying new meatloaf recipes..my husband isnt a big meatloaf fan but I love it.. he will eat it if I add some bacon and cheese to it for him..LOL

Katie Joel's Meat Loaf

Courtesy of Katie Joel ~"I like to call meat loaf 'man loaf' because it's every man's favorite dish," Katie says. "My husband loves when I make meat loaf, and it makes the best leftovers. We love it the next day on white bread with mayonnaise."

Serves 6



INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced (about 3/4 cup)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium red pepper, finely diced (about 1 cup)
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
2 pounds lean ground beef
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray lightly with oil.

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions, garlic and bay leaf until the onions are tender, about 3 minutes. Add the red pepper and cook until the red pepper is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley and thyme and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove pan from the heat and let the onion mixture cool. Discard the bay leaf.

In a large bowl, combine the beef, eggs, bread crumbs, 1/2 cup of ketchup, the Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and the cooled vegetables. Use your hands to mix everything together.

Transfer the mixture to the center of the baking sheet and form into a loaf. Coat the meat loaf with the remaining 1/2 cup ketchup.

Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours (depending on the shape of your loaf), until the meat loaf is firm. Let set for about 5 minutes before slicing.

Cream of Asparagus Soup recipe:

1-2 pounds of asparagus
1/3 c. Italian dressing
1 1/4 c. onions
3 c. chicken broth
2 c. half and half or milk
ground nutmeg to taste
white pepper to taste

Cut off asparagus tips. Heat Italian dressing and onions and cook for about 3 minutes. Add chicken broth and asparagus stalks. Bring to a boil and simmer covered, stirring for about 5 min.

In a blender, puree hot soup mixture then return to saucepan. Add reserved asparagus tips. Stir in cream, nutmeg and pepper; heat through, but not to boil.

*I use other Italian herbs in my recipe. I increased the milk to 3 cups. I also split the amount to 1 1/2 cup of half and half to 1 1/2 cup of milk.



I once found this Italian Meatloaf recipe that calls for one box of chicken stuffing mix as one different ingredient! It was wonderful...real nice change. It made 2 large loaves, so I froze one and we had it about a month later.

We had the soup and a french loaf ham and cheese sandwich for supper last night. Was good. Haven't decided on tonights dinner!

Oh yes...the vegetable casserole was just a twist on the green bean casserole thingy but I used a bag of frozen vegetables that was a little different. It had brocolli, cauliflower, carrots, snap peas, black and red beans. I defrosted the bag, squeezed out any liquid, added a can of cream of mushroom soup, and about a 1/2 of shredded cheese, put in casserole dish and baked for 20 min. at 350 degrees. Then took it out, topped with a 1/2 can of onions and other 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Was very nice, and way better than green beans.

Thanks for the meatloaf recipe, Kimm. I'm going to give that a try. I have a really good meatloaf recipe that I roll ham and cheese (swiss?/provolone?... can't recall at the moment) into. Haven't made it in a while, though. I like a good meatloaf.

Carla, your asparagus soup recipe surprised me. I would never have thought of using an Italian dressing. Interesting.

This evening we are having homemade chicken soup and fresh-from-the-oven buttermilk biscuits. It is quite cool here today.... forcast high of 68f/19c.... so it seems appropriate. Plus my husband has to work a double shift today so he won't be home until quite late and won't want a heavy meal.

I always make sure and have Italian dressing in my fridge.... you can use it for more then just salads... I have used it in marinades and sauces etc....

I always buy the light dressing...

tonight it is prolly going to be chicken something...

Yep I always keep some too in the fridge. Not that I ever make salads at all, but I do make Itallian chicken here and there. Just use the dressing in the fying pan and cook the chicken in it...

when I was a kid my mom and grandma used to make Cold Spaghetti Salad with Italian dressing....havent had it in years..dont know if my husband has ever had it...

hmmm..I may have just thought of a side-dish besides roasted asparagus... we eat ALOT of roasted asparagus its Barry's favorite veggie..

anyway...

SPAGHETTI SALAD

1 sm. pkg. spaghetti
1/4 c. Italian dressing
2 tbsp. salad seasoning (Salad Supreme)
4 green onions
1 med. cucumber
1 sm. bell pepper
2 tomatoes
Salt and pepper

Prepare spaghetti as directed on package rinse with cold water. Chop onions, bell pepper, cucumber and tomatoes. Mix spaghetti, onions, bell pepper, cucumber and tomatoes. Add Italian dressing and salad seasoning. Chill at least 1 hour before serving.


*note*... I dont remember using Salad Seasoning and I think we always added just a touch more dressing..

This was last night's dinner - really yummy! Yanked the page out from a Good Housekeeping magazine of my mums

Beef Taco Skillet
From: Campbell's Kitchen
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef (I used ground turkey)
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup (Regular or 25% Less Sodium)
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup water
6 flour tortillas (6-inch), cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I probably used more )

Directions:


Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet until well browned, stirring to break up the meat. Pour off any fat.

Stir in the soup, salsa, water, and tortillas. Heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Stir(I had to stir fairly frequently) . Top with the cheese. (I sprinkled the cheese on and covered it for a few minutes, turning very low)
Creamy Mexican Fiesta: Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream with the soup.

Ranchero Style: Use corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas and shredded Mexican cheese blend instead of Cheddar.



http://www.campbellskitchen.com/recipedeta...LastIndex=false

We had pizza last night, dominoes - it was good except they sent thin crust instead of regular, guess the pizza cook was taking artistic license?

We even had kraft dinner for lunch - normally we don't eat it but it was in the cupboard and we are trying to use up our food before we move.

I was thinking of making this for din din tonight.... but it is similar to the kinds of stuff I usually make... so I was trying to find a lemon crock pot type chicken recipe but I can't find one where I have all the ingredients

Savory Sweet Crock Pot Chicken Recipe

4 bone-in chicken breast halves
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
4 tablespoons white vinegar
4 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1 small onion
1 tablespoon mustard
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

1. Put all ingredients except for chicken in crock pot and stir.
2. Add chicken and spoon sauce over chicken.
3. Cook on low for 6 1/2 hours.

I found this one...

Slow Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken II

INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a bowl, mix the oregano, salt, and pepper. Rub the mixture into chicken. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Brown chicken in butter for 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Place chicken in a slow cooker.
2. In the same skillet, mix the water, lemon juice, garlic, and bouillon. Bring the mixture to boil. Pour over the chicken in the slow cooker.
3. Cover, and cook on High for 3 hours, or Low for 6 hours. Add the parsley to the slow cooker 15 to 30 minutes before the end of the cook time.

we are doing the same...we move April 17th...made a pot of chili because I had about 4 cans of beans.. I have so many boxes of chicken stock (they were a good deal at Costco) so Im gonna make some chicken noodle soup.. also have some nuts and chocolate chips..so I guess I will be making some cookies... freezer is almost empty just buying what we need for the week...normally I stock up on meat when its on sale or go to Costco and then divide it up..have about 3 bottles of BBQ sauce that need to be used also..

also still have alot of things like Ziploc bags, tin foil etc...but whatever we dont use in the next 3 weeks I will just take to work to put in our kitchen there..

today we went to Costco and only bought things we needed for cleaning...like Mr Clean Magic Erasers (LOVE THEM!), Lysol wipes...etc...and got some of my husbands favorites in the big Costco size boxes..LOL..Wine Gums, Wunderbars, and Sesame Snaps...it will probaly be our last trip to Costco here in Canada so of course my husband also had to get some Fries and Gravy while we shopped..

I did however get myself a bag of already cut sweet potato fries at Costco, that I will roast along with asparagus to go with our meatloaf tonight..

Marilyn let us know how that Lemon Chicken is, that one looks like a keeper..yummy..

so it looks good??

I think I might add some carrots to it..

I have another lemon chicken recipe that uses carrots (that one requires cream of chicken soup which I don't have ) so I think it will work with this one...

I think it looks really good...and I think carrots would be good...maybe even mushrooms and red onions..mmm

kinda reminds me of a Greek style chicken recipe that Ive used before...

Heres a really good chicken recipe that we tried a couple years ago and that I found again when going through one of my drawers in the kitchen...gonna have to make it again soon...its from the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten)


Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic
3 whole heads garlic, about 40 cloves
2 (3 1/2-pound) chickens, cut into eighths
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good olive oil
3 tablespoons Cognac, divided
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Drain the garlic and peel. Set aside.
Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. In batches, saute the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Turn with tongs or a spatula; you don't want to pierce the skin with a fork. If the fat is burning, turn the heat down to medium. When a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to saute all the chicken in batches. Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned. Add 2 tablespoons of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boil, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.

Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot. Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of Cognac and the cream, and boil for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste; it should be very flavorful because chicken tends to be bland. Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.

I made the lemon chicken and it is smelling good... the only thing was that I doubled the sauce stuff... when I poured in the first batch over the chicken it didn't look like it would be enough liquid so I added another batch.. now after cooking for a few hours it has lots of liquid oh well....

Roast chicken, jasmine rice steamed with lemon and herbs, green beans, fresh asparagus from the garden (not much - had to harvest what we had because of the frost warning last night - it would have frozen to mush), - Joe also had the last of the pinto beans he made yesterday, then fresh sliced mango for dessert.

We had sloppy joes last night. I thought the sauce a bit too vinegary, but it was okay. Gene loved it. Had a salad with it, and the joes were on some crunch chibata buns.

Have to do a bit of grocery shopping today, so I'll see what they have at the grocery for fresh fish today....or whatever.

I have not a clue what we're having for dinner this evening. I am too busy fighting fires to think about that at the moment. *frazzled*

Okay, I've decided. We're going to have T.O_2_Fl's Curried Tilapia with Mango Salsa. I thought I had all the ingredients but I don't. I'm going to have to run out for the serrano chile. (darnit)

you sound like my kind of cook ...lol .. everyone else here does fancy shmancy stuff

I think I have made this before too.. I know i have the recipe but I can't remember if I have made it yet or not...

*************************
the lemon garlic chicken was good last night.. I served it with some white rice...... although I should have turned off the crock pot a little sooner.... hubby gave it a A+ though... I didn't have any fresh lemon juice or fresh garlic, so I used bottled lemon juice and garlic powder... oh and I added a little cumin to the chicken rub part....

I am not sure what dinner is going to be tonight..

I am leaning towards the marie calledar's lasagna I have in the freezer but then I am wondering if I should save that for a day that I don't have a lot of time to cook.. but then if I don't have lasagna it will prolly be chicken again tonight...

ok I have decided that we are going o have chilli dogs for din din....

Well, that was a leap.

yeah well I was doing a search of my freezer which is wonderfully full at the moment and saw the hot dogs and decided on chilli dogs... lol

I love chili dogs!

So I took out pork chops, so I'm thinking.....pork chops.

I cheat and use canned chilli...

hubby's brother's girlfriend's mom makes the best chilli.... I really need her recipe...

the chili dogs were yummy... I used this canned chili I hadn't tried before and it was pretty good for a canned chili....

We had Southern Fried Chicken last night...my own special crumb coating. Steamed green beans, and a wild and brown rice mixture. Tonight I don't know. I didn't go shopping yesterday as anticipated, so we'll either have left over Sloppy Joe's or I'll get an idea at the grocery store, OR I'll throw something together from what I have here. I've really been bad at planning meals lately. I don't know why. I'm a meal planner and shopper. Oh well, just a phase I guess.

I need to meal plan.. all I do is buy a bunch of stuff at the store and then each day I rummage around in my freezer and figure out what I can make from what I have ...

So we didn't have T.O_2_FL's Tilapia recipe last night. My husband came home and announced we were going to the movies and we would eat out. So instead we had chicken at Popeyes. Tonight we will have tilapia.

I am having a burrito in my favorite burrito place. A gas station in New Mexico where a local lady makes all the burriots there by hand and is legendary. It'll be en route as 2 friends and I take off to Las Vegas for the weekend. Wife will probably have tv dinners as she has to work and can't come with us...

Sounds like fun. Have a great weekend, Warlord!

i am thinking we are going to have the lasagna tonight.. i am tired.. I didn't go back to bed after hubby left for work like I usually do ...

We will be leaving for Vegas in 3 weeks from today!! so excited..reminding myself to finish filling out my 3299! Have a great time in Vegas, say Hi to all my friends and family and tell them I will be there soooon!...

Wow kimmbo...only 3 weeks! You must be excited. You also must have few things left to eat! Nothing like eating up all those things you're now finding in your cupboards!

I have some pork chops to cook up for supper. Just don't know yet how I'm going to cook them. I saw a lovely recipe for an orange herb sauce for pork. Thinking maybe that.

Carla, I am beyond excited..I havent been home in 2 years..so Im just really anxious to get there and see everyone..Im so happy that my husband Barry loves Nevada and didnt hesitate when I said I think its time to start the US process to move..He loves the mountains, my family, my friends...the only thing he may not be liking too much is the flesh burning heat in August..LOL...I just see it as payback for the last 6 winters Ive spent in Canada..

thats exactly how were eating today...have some pork chops thawing now...but also found a package of Tilapia that I forgot we had in the freezer.. hmmm...a couple months ago one of our local stores had bags (300g) of Macadamia nuts on clearance for $1.99 regular price $7.99...its my husbands favorite nut so we literally bought about 8 bags...I just put them in the freezer...I still have about 3 bags left so Im thinking maybe Macadamia crusted pork chops, or on the Tilapia or both..LOL..

also gonna have to do some White Chocolate Macadamia cookies, and Banana Macadamia bread...I cant let anything go to waste so I will figure out some way to get them used up..LOL

so tonights menu: Macadamia crusted Pork or Tilapia (or both), roasted asparagus, salad, and homemade Macaroni and Cheese...gonna do two seperate dishes my husband loves shells, I prefer whole wheat macaroni..we need to use up the dry pasta

fills weird not to be running to the store to replenish the cupboards and freezer..LOL

well, I had planned on making scrambled eggs, sausages and hash browns for dinner but hubby came home early and said he wanted to take me out to eat and who am I to argue so we went to CArl's Jr..

i had a cheeseburger and a salad amd hubby had the guacamole burger and fries...

I actually skipped the chili part and defrosted frozen mangos since the ones at the grocery store weren't that ripe... =)

I'm going to make it again this weekend....it was yummy and I'm going to pair it with a nice big salad...mixed greens with basil, mushrooms, tomatoes, roasted red peppers ...topped of with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Ohmygosh, T.O., we had it the other night and it was a HUUUUUUUUGE hit. Both my husband and I gave it a 10 out of 10, and the cook at the Fresh Market has asked for the recipe. We are DEFINITELY going to have it again.

I used a fresh mango.... just waited until it was ripe before I made the salsa. I was skeptical about the chili, but I put it in anyway. Wasn't sure whether to include the seeds or not, so I removed them.... just because I know that they're the hottest part of the chili. Anyway..... the sweet mango offset the hotness of the chili PERFECTLY. We had it over jasmine rice and served it with steamed asparagus and julienned carrots. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Last night we had lamb chops marinated in rosemary and thyme, garlic, and wine, etc with garlic and herb red potatoes and a tomato and bocconcini with peppers and cucumber and fresh basil salad. I also threw in some kalamata's just cause I had some. Yum.

Tonight I'm thinking we'll have the sea scallops and shrimp over a spinach salad. Not quite sure yet. Depends what we do today.

I am thinking of making pizza today... just need to get me some olive oil for the dough...

So I'm reading this and I can't even remember what we had for dinner last night

Umm let me see, oh right, we had roast beef and potatoes! Since we are cleaning the oven today and I had a roast thought I would make that as it's so easy, just put it in the oven, add the potatoes later, voila! dinner.

I think we will have steak tonight, as you can imagine we don't really have much food here right now and I figure I need to use whatever is in the freezer, which I will also be cleaning today!

Now I want to try the Curried Tilapia with Mango Salsa ! Will have to cook that up in Florida!