mmmm feta burgers

thanks to Rachel Ray which is where I nicked this from it was an instant hit in the household!

• 1/2 pound mini penne (or any mini short-cut pasta, I did not find mini-penne and I used more than 1/2 pound but less than 1 lb)
  
• Salt & pepper
  
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  
• 1 pound ground turkey
  
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (did not use did not miss)
  
• 1 medium onion, diced
  
• 3 medium carrots, diced
  
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
  
• 1 cup chicken stock, divided
  
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
  
• 3 tablespoons butter
  
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  
• 1 cup milk
  
• 1 cup shredded provolone cheese (I used 5 oz asiago cheese instead)
  

Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.

Place a large pot filled with water over high heat and bring up to a boil to cook the pasta. Once boiling, add some salt and the pasta and cook until al dente, according to the package directions. Heads up: reserve a mug of starchy cooking water before draining the cooked pasta. Drain well and transfer the pasta back to the cooking pot.

While the water is coming up to a boil for the pasta, place a large skillet over high heat with three turns of the pan of EVOO, about 3 tablespoons. Once the EVOO starts to ripple, add the ground turkey and break it up into small pieces as it cooks using the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher. Cook until the turkey is nice and brown, about 8-10 minutes.

Add the veggies and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, 1/2 cup chicken stock, half of the reserved starchy cooking water, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 10 more minutes, stirring every now and then.

While the veggies and turkey are cooking, place a medium size saucepot over medium heat with the butter. Once the butter melts, add the flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly so that the flour doesn't burn. Whisk in the milk (eyeball it) and the rest of the starchy cooking water and chicken stock, bring up to a simmer and cook until thickened. Once thick, turn off the heat, add the cheese to the pot and stir until completely melted. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Cover the bottom of a large, ovensafe baking dish with the turkey and veggie mixture. Meanwhile, add the cheese sauce to the reserved pasta in the pasta pot. Stir to coat, then transfer the cheesy pasta to the baking dish. Spread it out to cover the turkey mixture evenly. Place in the oven and bake until the top is golden brown, about 10 minutes.

quick weeknight hamburger helper but not dish

quick easy & stuff always in the house

1 lb ground beef
1 can (10 oz) cheddar cheese soup we prefer the fiesta cheddar
1 can (10 oz) tomato bisque soup
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups shell pasta

-brown beef and then drain
-put beef back in pan
-add soups, water and pasta to pan boil then cover for 10-12 minutes or till pasta is done

chicken florentine

a Paula Deen classic

2 boxed frozen spinach
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup white wine or chicken stock
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 of cooked chicken shredded
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
salt & pepper to taste

-preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13 x 9 casserole dish
-cook & drain spinach
-in a bowl mix the mayo, sour cream, the soups, cheddar cheese, wine, lemon juice, curry powder, salt & pepper
-spread chicken in casserole dish, cover with spinach then with soup mixture
-combine Parmesan cheese & bread crumbs then top casserole
-bake for about 30 minutes

bbq brisket

day one-
1 beef brisket (3-4 pounds)
3 tbsp Worcestshire sauce
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp liquid smoke except I am pretty sure I used 1 TBSP it was early when I put this together
2 cloves minced garlic
-mix all of the ingredients above together and marinate in a plastic bag for at least 24 hours

day two-
you will need a can of cheap beer or beef broth will work too
dump it with the marinade & meat into a crock pot and cook on low7-8 hours
remove meat from crock pot and put into a baking dish smother with bbq sauce of your choosing, we really like Rendezvous sauce which I can happily buy at Target
cover then throw it in oven on 350 degrees for about an hour

the original recipes had a lovely homemade bbq sauce recipe and I had every intention of making it as well but come on who has time for their own bbq sauce? not me!

beef & beans

sort of a chili but not it is very tasty stuff

1lb dry pinto beans
2 lbs stew meat
chunk of salt pork
1 cup of water
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper
salt to taste

-prepare the beans everyone has there own method, soak them over night, quick soak whatever you heart desires
-when ready to cook throw everything in the crock pot
-stir cook on high for 5-8 hours
I must admit I probably did add more liquid I usually add a can of beer, cheapest you can find however it was a morning that I put this together so I can not remember if I did this or not

Creamy Dijon Chicken

really delish, I got the basic recipe off of allrecipes.com but it has been tweaked to suit our tastes
1/4 cup butter
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup all purpose flour with a dash or 2 of pepper
1 can beef consume
1 cup sour cream
dijon mustard about 1/4 cup more or less to taste-I might have used more I didn't measure
grated Parmesan cheese

-melt butter in skillet over medium heat.
-coat chicken breasts in flour and fry on both sides till browned
-pour in beef consume, reduce heat to low, cover & simmer for about 45 minutes
-preheat oven to 300 degrees.
-mix sour cream & dijon mustard stir into skillet and simmer another 10 minutes
-remove chicken to a shallow casserole dish, stir sauce till smooth then pour over chicken
-top with cheese and bake about 10 minutes

zesty Italian roast

3 potatoes unpeeled and cubed nothing fancy just in chunks
1 bag fresh baby carrots
(1 celery rib cut into 1" pieces I skipped this as we did not have celery on hand this morning)
1 boneless beef chuck roast around 3 lbs
pepper
1 can chicken broth
1 can progress tomato soup(might have been basil tomato?)

-put roast in slow cooker, crock pot whatever you choose to call the appliance
-dump in carrots & potatoes
-season with pepper to taste
-pour in soup & broth
-cover slow cook for 10 hours

chicken stir-fry

way too easy to make. I got this one off a Campbell's soup when we were first married and it is always a quick weeknight meal to prepare!

1 lb chicken breasts skinless/boneless cut into thin strips or just into cubes
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bag(16oz) frozen veggie combination thawed
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 can tomato soup

- heat 1 tbsp of oil & brown chicken(seasoned with salt & pepper) in skillet. remove from pan
-heat remaining oil in skillet stir -fry veggies over medium heat with ginger & garlic till tender crisp-maybe 1-2 minutes
-add soup, soy & vinegar. heat to boiling return chicken to skillet. heat through
-now the recipe says to serve over rice I can only assume at this point we were out of rice the first time I made it because we always serve it over spaghetti noddles

tex-mex chicken

1 lb boneless chicken breasts cut into strips
2 tbsp taco seasoning mix
2 tbsp flour
1 each green pepper & red pepper cut into strips
1 cup frozen corn
1 small jar chunky salsa
1 can beer-cheaper the better

-toss chicken with seasoning mix & flour in crock pot
-stir in remaining ingredients
-cook on low for 6-8 hours

another goodie from Kraft magazine.
I thought the recipe could use more fluid so I am adding beer to the mix next time or some chicken stock would work well too. I also think chicken thighs would work well.

creamy ravoil

1 large (20 oz I think) package of refrigerated cheese tortellini or ravioli since this is technically a ravioli recipe
2/3 cup of Philadelphia chive & onion cream cheese spread9recipe called for 1/2 a tub I used a bit extra)
1 cup milk
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp grated parmesean cheese
4 cups baby spinach leaves
9 cherry tomatoes quartered
grated peel of 1 lemon
2 tbsp fresh dill(which I forgot and the dish turned out fine without)

-cook pasta as directed on package
-put cream cheese psread in a large skillet, add milk cook on medium heat 1 to 2 minutes or until cream cheese is well blended
-add 1/2 parmesean cheese, spinach, dill & lemon peel mix well
-drain pasta and add to cream cheese sauce toss to coat
-serve topped with extra parmesean cheese & tomoatoes

another treasure from the Kraft magazine

cheddar beef mac & cheese

a hamburger helper type knock off from the Kraft magazine:

box of mac & cheese
1 lb ground beef
1 can Italian diced tomatoes undrained
oregano or Italian spice mix
1/2 shredded cheddar cheese
-preheat oven to 400 grease a 9" baking pan
-prepare mac & cheese as directed on box but skip the butter!
-brown & drain meat
-add tomato & dash of seasoning include salt & pepper to taste to beef
-combine with mac & cheese
-spoon into pan sprinkle with cheese
-bake about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted
great with salad & some applesauce

lasagna

first go to Target Superstore
find the frozen dinner section
buy Archer Farms frozen lasagna
follow directions on the box
serve with salad & garlic bread
seriously it is the best frozen lasagna on the market!!!!

eggplant parmesan

go to the grocery store find Maccabee Frozen Eggplant Cutlets
-jar of tomato sauce I like Newman's own any variety it's the one brand I don;t feel the need to doctor up the taste on
-mozzarella/parmesan cheese usually I buy the mixed shredded Italian cheese
-layer the stuff sauce/eggplant/cheese
-repeat
-bake about 350 30 minutes or so till cheese is melted
-serve over spaghetti with garlic bread & a salad
So much easier than doing the eggplant yourself and it is so very delicious!

saucy bbq chicken

2 tsp oil
1 1/2 lb chicken boneless breasts (about 4 breasts) cut in half or thirds
1 onion sliced
1 can peas drained-I prefer Leseur
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup bbq sauce-Rendezvous spicy is what we prefer it adds decent heat to a dish
1/3 cup kraft catalina dressing
-heat oil in non-stick skillet on medium heat
-add chicken & onions cook about 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked
-mix liquids add to pan with peas
-mix well, cover & reduce heat simmer about 5-10 minutes

This was on kraft's website and I must admit to tweaking it some-the original recipe called for adding 1 lb cut & cooked red potatoes to the mix I bought a bag of frozen Ore-Ida roasted potatoes, baked them and served them on the side

poppyseed chicken

a recipe of my Mom's that the boys don't like but I do

2 cups(or 1 lb) cubed cooked chicken(I generally make sure it has been seasoned with salt & pepper)
8 oz sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups Ritz cracker crumbs crumbled
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1/4 lb butter melted
pepper to taste

-put chicken in a casserole dish
-mix sour cream & soup mix pour over chicken
-mix crumbs and poppy seeds with butter & sprinkle over chicken
bake at 350 for about 40 minutes

meatloaf

2 lbs ground beef
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
2 eggs
1/3 cup bbq sauce
3/4 cup water

-preheat oven to 375
-in large bowl combine all ingredients in a large bowl-go ahead and use your hands messy but the best way to incorporate everything
-shape into a loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until done

great with mac-n-cheese or mashed potatoes and green vegetable
also great the next day on a sandwich

smothered pork chops

5 boneless pork chops
1 pack shake 'n bake pork seasoning mix
2 large onions thickly sliced
1 tsp olive oil
1 jar(12 oz) gravy-now recipe calls for pork gravy but the store I stopped out did not have any. I bought beef gravy and thought the dish turned out just fine

-preheat oven to 375
-coat chops with mix as directed on package. place in a single layer in a 13x9 baking pan
-toss onions with oil. place on chops
-bake for 30 minutes
-pour gravy over chops and cover bake another 20 minutes

this was great with roasted red potatoes and carrots

roast

get a roast I don't know 3-5 lbs cut just a roast-cheap cut is fine
packet of onion soup mix
can of cream of mushroom soup
3 tbsp steak sauce
pepper

-preheat oven to 325
-spray roasting pan with PAM place roast in pan
-mix soup mix, can of soup, steak sauce and a dash of pepper then spread over roast
-cover and bake for 3 hours
helpful hint do not add salt the soup mixes have enough in them
serve with mashed potatoes & a vegetable

pork chop bake

4 bone in pork chops
1 package shake & bake or some generic pork seasoning coating mix
1 lb potatoes(about 2 med) cut into thin wedges or maybe red potatoes cubed
3 tbsp Italian dressing
1/2 cup bbq sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

-preheat oven to 400 degrees
-with plastic bag & seasoning mix coat pork chops
-place in foil lined baking pan
-add potatoes & drizzle with dressing
-bake 30 minutes
-top each chop with bbq sauce & cheese then bake another 5-8 minutes

honestly I did not cut my potatoes thin enough so they were waay undercooked & had to be roasted a little longer. So the moral of the story is thin wedges or maybe red potatoes cubed
got his from a kraft magazine