Chicken Tetrazzini

Easy, quick, cheap, and my family loved it.

1 8oz pkg spaghetti
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 4oz can of sliced mushrooms (I super chopped them up)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook spaghetti. Drain and place in a buttered 2 quart casserole pan. Mix soup and milk. Add diced chicken and drained mushrooms. Combine chicken mixture with spaghetti. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 350 in oven for 30 minutes.

Schinken Noodlen ( Ham noodles)

This is a great recipe to use up extra ham.

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 stick butter

1-2 cups cubed ham ( Can buy a chunck at the deli and cube it)

12- 16 oz package pasta of choice (I use small shell pasta)

12- 16 oz shredded swiss cheese

Saute onion in butter, add garlic and ham. (Use a big skillet)

Cook pasta till aldente or according to taste. Drain and add to skillet. Stir in 3/4 of the shredded cheese. Mix well. Top with remaining cheese. Cover skillet with lid till melted or you can put into a casserole dish, then top with remaining cheese and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, till chesse is melted.

Cheese Fondue

A must have at our house at least once a month. A dinner my kids gobble up.

2 loaves French bread cut into cubes

1/2 lb. Swiss or Emmenthallar cheese, shredded

1/2 lb. Gruyere or smoked swiss, shredded

2 T. cornstarch

1/2 tsp dry mustard

pinch nutmeg

Combine above ingredients in a bowl so the dry ingredients are evenly mixed throughout the cheese.

1 garlic clove peeled and crushed

1 cup white wine, apple juice or white grape juice

Combine in a fondue pot and set on medium low; if using wine, the alcohol will burn out. When liquid is bubbly, slowly add the cheese mixture one handful at a time. Keep stirring and add more cheese till all is incorporated. Turn pot down to WARM. Serve with bread cubes and enjoy.

We usually add a nice big green salad with tomatoes and cucumbers to round out the meal.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese with Ham

Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound elbow pasta, cooked and drained
4 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup (spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, (optional)
Nutmeg
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded yellow cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded white cheddar cheese
8 ounces ham, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 white sandwich bread

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook pasta, and drain; reserve. Meanwhile, in a 5-quart heavy pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in flour to coat onion. In a slow steady stream, whisk in milk until there are no lumps.

Cook, whisking often, until mixture is thick and bubbly and coats the back of a wooden spoon, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in cayenne & nutmeg, if using, and 1 cup each yellow and white cheddar cheese. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Toss pasta with cheese mixture; fold in ham.Transfer to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or individual dishes (see note, below left). Set aside.

(This topping is the best and would be great on anything where you need a breaded topping....cheesy, crunchy, yum!) In a food processor, pulse bread until large crumbs form. Toss together with remaining 1/4 cup each white and yellow cheddar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Top pasta with breadcrumb mixture. Bake until top is golden, about 30 minutes

I always add nutmeg. Just add a dash or two. It adds a kick without making you think. Hmmm...there's nutmeg in this. Also, the cyanne pepper is a really great addition. I just add all one kind of cheese.

Enjoy....Em

Skillet Chicken Parmesan

Sauce (this one is fresh and delicious or use your favorite pre-made)
¼ cup olive oil or vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (28oz) crushed tomatoes
2 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

Chicken
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup Progresso Italian style dry bread crumbs, or similar
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 TBS grated parmesan cheese

1. Heat 2 TBS of the oil over medium heat. Cook onions and garlic in oil 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally.
2. Between sheets of waxed paper, flatten chicken to ¼ inch thickness. In shallow dish, mix bread crumbs and 1/3 cup parmesan cheese. Dip chicken into egg, then coat with bread crumb mixture.
3. In 12-inch skillet, heat remaining oil over medium heat. Cook chicken in oil 10-15 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink in center. Pour tomato sauce around chicken in skillet. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over chicken; cover and heat until melted. Sprinkle with 2 Tbs Parmesan cheese just before serving.

Chicken Spaghetti

I so love the Pioneer Woman! See her fun picture recipe here or just follow below.

2 cups cooked chicken
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely diced green pepper
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1-4 oz jar diced pimentos, drained (I didn't have, but sure it would be good)
3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into two" pieces (cooked in broth from boiled fryer, or water with chicken bullion...)
2 cups chicken broth (from boiled chicken or can, like I did)
1 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper (or none, zero, niltch for DH who hates spicy anything!)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 additional cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

I also added some of my freshly canned tomatoes, drained, and some garlic. Yum!

Cook 1 cut up fryer or chicken of preference and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional cup sharp cheddar.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to 6 months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil.) Yum!

Smothered Chicken

Absolutely scrumptious, pretty easy, and quick to pull together. Super Yum!!!! Stole it from my other food blog, Delectable Edibles

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 t oregano
1/2 t salt
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t red pepper
1 T butter (or olive oil)
1 medium green pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 c sliced mushrooms
1/2 c shredded mozzarella
1/2 c shredded cheddar

Spray skillet with cooking spray; heat over med. heat. Sprinkle chicken with seasonings. Cook in skillet until done. Remove from skillet and keep warm.
Heat oil in skillet. Cook pepper, and onion about 5 minutes, until crisp-tender. Stir in mushrooms and continue cooking until veggies are all done. Return chicken to skillet, spooning veggies over it. Sprinkle cheese over mixture and remove from heat. Cover and let stand until cheeses are melted. Mmmm... cheesy goodness!

Ham & Garden Vegetable Stir-Fry

Sauce:
4 Tbs cold water
1 Tbs cornstarch
¼ cup soy sauce
2 Tbs orange juice
4 tsp sugar
Pepper
(Or just use Yoshida sauce (sp?...I've always just called it Yoshi sauce) that you can thicken a little with cornstarch which is super yummy!)

1-2 cups chopped ham (or it would also be good with cooked, chopped chicken)
Fresh or frozen vegetables (ie: carrots, onion, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash)

Combine water and cornstarch. Stir in soy sauce, orange juice, sugar and dash pepper; set aside).

If fresh beans, steam for 2 minutes. Add cauliflower and broccoli and steam for additional 2 minutes.

Pour oil into a wok or large skillet (add more oil as necessary during cooking). Preheat over medium-high heat. Add onion, ham and carrot; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add beans, cauliflower, broccoli, squash and zucchini. Stir fry 3-4 minutes or till vegetables are crisp-tender. Push vegetables from center of wok (or large pan). Stir sauce and add to the center of wok. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Stir to coat vegetables with sauce. Cook and stir 1 minute or till heated through. Serve over rice (I prefer the brown rice)

This meal is my personal favorite!

Quesadillas

Sadly, I think I may have experienced my 1st "real" Quesadilla this year and I am hooked! I crave them, well, a lot, and have loved experimenting with them. Especially using things from the garden. So although this is a no-brainer to most (except me who always thought a Quesadilla was a tortilla with sliced cheese, rolled up and popped in the microwave....hmmm), here is just a reminder of something yummy, easy, and different to try for a meal.

For this Quesadilla, I used the fresh tortillas that you brown yourself, topped with pre-shredded mexican cheese (gotta love those Smith's cheese specials), and then with pre-sauted zucchini and onion in a little bit of butter, and then a little more cheese to stick them together. Grill until a little crisp. Yum, yum, YUM.

I also just had one with some leftover grilled and seasoned chicken. Also supper yummy. Be creative. I actually like them plain, but most recommend serving them with salsa and sour cream and the like.

Check out some other fun ideas from the beloved Pioneer Woman.

Enjoy!

Easy Meatballs

O.K. folks, these are my super- easy -look- like -you -took- all- day- meatballs. I've used these in a meatball buffet when Kelsey was baptized. Whenever I'm entertaining for a crowd, I write down the entire menu, from drinks to dessert. This helps me to remember everything when it comes time to serve.

Cranberry Meatballs
1/2 package of frozen meatballs from Costco (Italian Style)
1 jar of "Homemade" brand chili sauce. This can be found by the ketchup, it's in a glass bottle which is kinda in the shape of an apple. It distinctly says Homemade on the lid.
1 can of jellied cranberry sauce.

You put the chili sauce and cranberry sauce in a crockpot and stir it up. Double the sauce if you're serving it with rice. Then add the meatballs. Cover and cook 4-6 hours or until hot. Stir before serving. Can serve with rice or use as an appetizer.

Swedish Meatballs
1/2 package frozen meatballs from Costco (Italian Style)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can sliced mushrooms in water
milk to thin

Again, mix the sauce up in the crockpot. Use the mushroom water too, it has lots of flavor. Add the meatballs and heat through till hot, 4-6 hours in the crockpot. Stir before serving. Definately good with rice. This is my signature dish whenever I have to bring dinner to someone. I bring them my little crockpot filled with these meatballs, my rice cooker full of hot steamed rice and a salad or green peas. Usually it's cupcakes for dessert. Everyone always wants the recipe. Gotta love that!

Oriental meatballs
1/2 package of those Costco meatballs
Yoshida sauce to fill the crockpot 2/3 full.

Add the meatballs FIRST, then put the Yoshida sauce in. Heat and serve with rice.

Well, I hope these recipes keep you on the "ball" ha, ha, ha!