Kellog's Rice Krispies Treats

Rice Krispies treats rock! They're easy to make and are an awesome treat for the approaching game day...
I used my giant marshmallows that I purchased for $.99. They really aren't practical for putting in a cup of hot chocolate so this was a very good use for them.

As a tip, I used a cake server (sprayed with butter flavored Crisco spray) to cut the treats after refrigerating them. Hot water helped me get the marshmallow residue out of the pan. Be careful to stir the mallows consistently so they don't burn.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups of Rice Krispies cereal
• 3 tablespoons of butter or margarine
• 1 - 10 ounce package of marshmallows

Preparations:

1. Melt marshmallows and butter over medium heat. Stir constantly.
2. Remove from heat and add 6 cups of cereal. 
3. Press mixture into 13x9 pan. Cool for a couple of hours (preferably in the fridge) and cut evenly.

Rachael Ray's kid friendly Sloppy Joes

Kids are kind of hilarious. Kess said the other night "Sloppy joes have soft meat and they're sweet. What's not to like?" I couldn't argue with that logic so instead of opening a can of Sloppy Joe mix (and I really want to do because I'm dog-tired!), I made Rachael Ray's recipe. It was surprisingly good. I used ground beef instead of ground sirloin and used green bell peppers instead of red and it was awesome. They tell me that they were "way better than the ones in the school cafeteria". :)

I wish this picture turned out better. I had a baby in one hand and the camera in the other.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
• 1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 crusty rolls, split, toasted, and lightly buttered (or cheap hamburger buns that you got on sale at the Hostess store...)

Preparations:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. 
2. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. 
3. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. 
4. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops.

Kid-friendly Green bean and Chicken Casserole

This recipe is kid tested and kid approved. In other words, there were no complaints around the dinner table so it was a good night. :)

Ingredients:

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup milk
1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing crumbs
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lb), cut into 1-inch-wide strips
2 cups Green Giant® frozen cut green beans, thawed

Preparations:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray 11x7-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. 
2. In small bowl, mix soup and milk until well blended. In another small bowl, mix stuffing crumbs and melted butter.
3. In baking dish, layer chicken, green beans, soup mixture and stuffing mixture.
4. Bake uncovered about 45 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center and mixture is hot and bubbly.

Nacho Chicken Casserole from Betty Crocker.com

This a good recipe for a weeknight when you don't have a lot of time to plan a big meal. It's very easy to make and you can bake the chicken while you're doing other things.

Ingredients

• 2 cups diced cooked chicken
• 1/2 cup uncooked instant white rice
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 can (11 oz) Green Giant® Mexicorn® whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, undrained
• 1 can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso® chopped green chiles, undrained
• 1 teaspoon Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix (from 1-oz package)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (6 oz)
• 1 cup broken tortilla chips 

Preparations:

1. Mix chicken, rice, tomatoes, soup, corn, chiles, taco seasoning and 1 cup of Cheddar cheese.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes or until rice is tender.
3. Top with tortilla chips and shredded cheese. Bake for 10 minutes.

Food Network's Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

I'm not really a fan of macaroni and cheese, but this recipe is great. I didn't make any adjustments and it tasted really good. My only problem is the picture. It's blurry because my son has become one of those babies who will only stop crying if mom holds him. I had him in one hand and the camera in the other when I took this shot.

Ingredients:

    * 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
    * 3 tablespoons butter
    * 3 tablespoons flour
    * 1 tablespoon powdered mustard
    * 3 cups milk
    * 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
    * 1 bay leaf
    * 1/2 teaspoon paprika
    * 1 large egg
    * 12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
    * 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    * Fresh black pepper

Topping:

    * 3 tablespoons butter
    * 1 cup panko bread crumbs

Preparations:

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.
2. While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.
3. Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
4. Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Tablespoon's Peanut Butter and Jelly Sushi

This is a great recipe for an after school kid's snack. It's super easy to make and is nutritious enough to tide kids over until dinner. You can see from my picture though that my bread folded rather than rolled....

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons of Peanut butter
4 tablespoons of Jelly (you pick the flavor)
4 slices of bread

Preparations:

1. Lay a slice of bread on a cutting board and roll it flat with a rolling pin.Spread one tablespoon peanut butter and one tablespoon jelly over 2/3 of the bread. (with or without crusts - your choice!)
2. Roll it up, starting with the end spread with peanut butter/jelly, and press edges to seal.
3. Repeat with remaining slices of bread, peanut butter and jelly.
4. Slice rolls with a sharp knife into 1/2" slices and serve.

Deep-Dish Taco Squares from Tablespoon

Congratulations to Wendi P who won our first round of cookbook giveaways!!! If you've already entered, your name is still in the running for next Wednesday's drawing.

I'm glad it's Friday and a three day weekend. Here's an easy recipe for Monday's lunch if the kids are home and restless. It really doesn't take a lot of prep work and I consider it kid-friendly as long as you use mild green chilies. (that's if your kids are like mine and complain that cinnamon gum is "spicy") There's no nice pretty picture of this casserole because when I scooped it up - it was messy goodness all over the plate! (Here's the original recipe and a nice pretty picture.)

Ingredients:
 
1/2  lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1/4  cup chopped onion (1 small)
2  tablespoons Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix (I used the whole package)
1  cup Original Bisquick® mix
1/4  cup cold water
1/2  cup sour cream
1/3  cup mayonnaise or salad dressing (I used Ranch dressing instead of mayonnaise)
1/2  cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (2 oz) (Shred a cup, add half to the sour cream and top with the rest for extra cheesiness)
1  medium tomato, chopped (3/4 cup)
1  can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso® chopped green chilies

Preparations:

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 8-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in taco seasoning mix until blended.
2. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix and water until soft dough forms. Using fingers dipped in Bisquick mix, pat dough in bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of baking dish.
3. In same bowl, mix sour cream, mayonnaise and cheese until blended. Layer beef mixture, tomato and chiles over dough; spoon sour cream mixture over top.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until edges of dough are light golden brown.

Mom's Homemade Meat Loaf

Ingredients:

2lbs ground beef
1 cup finely crushed saltine crackers
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried crushed thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
3 slices of bacon (optional)

Preparations:

This actually makes enough for two meatloaves or one really big one. The kids really loved it.

1. Mix all of the ingredients. except for ketchup together.
2. Bake as one loaf or two at 375 for 30 minutes or until internal temperature read 155F

Easy Family Lasagna

I didn't read the fine print when it came to becoming a wife and mother. If I had, I probably would have had a better understanding of the guilt that comes with not being able to keep the kitchen clean and wanting to order take out instead of slaving away in the kitchen on a hot summer night.

I bought this cookbook called Super Suppers and it helps me make good meals in less time. It even offers recipes that you can make ahead of time. On those hot summer nights when it's 90 plus degrees outside, I can make dinner ahead of time and just pop it in the oven. Talk about a stress reliever....

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried Italian mixed herbs, crushed
2 jars of Pasta sauce (if each jar is 1lb 10 oz)
1/2 cup water
6 dried lasagna noodles
1 16 ounce container of cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparations:

Brown ground beef. Add Italian seasoning and onion. Saute.

Add pasta sauce and water, bring to a boil and then simmer for five minutes.

Take 1 cup of this mixture and spread it across the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Layer 3 uncooked noodles over it. Add 2 cups of meat mixture on top of it.

Mix cottage cheese, garlic, parsley and Parmesan cheese. Layer evenly over meat mixture.

Add 3 more uncooked noodles over it.

Cover with remaining meat mixture. Top with mozzarella.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

Servings: 12