Spaghetti Garlic Bread Twist

This is a wonderful recipe I found with a twist on plain ol' Spaghetti

Spaghetti Garlic Bread Twist. Found here


Ingredients:

1 loaf rhodes bread dough or 12 Rhodes Dinner Rolls, thawed to room temp. (I used the roles and it was great)
6 oz spaghetti, cooked
1 c spaghetti sauce. I used the recipe from my wonderful spaghetti sauce found here (I didn't simmer it. instead I just added the ingredients and called it good)
 Cheese, cut into cubes, amount to your liking. We love cheese in this household so I went overboard.
Parmesan cheese
Parsley flakes
Garlic Powder

Once dough is thawed to room temp (about one or two hours if using the rolls) combine rolls together. Spray counter lightly with non-stick cooking spray and use rolling pin to roll dough into a rectangle shape. (about 12X16 shape). Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 15 minutes. I find it easier to move the rectangle of dough onto my sprayed cooking sheet after the 15 minutes are up. Cook spaghetti according to package, drain and let cool. Remove wrap from dough and carefully put spaghetti lengthwise in a 4 in. strip down the center of the rectangle. Cover spaghetti with sauce and cheese cubes, you can also mix spaghetti and sauce together before hand if you wish. (be sure to try and keep the sauce just on the spaghetti and not on the plain dough) Make cuts 1 1/2 in apart (don't use a super sharp knife if doing this on a cooking sheet.) along the side of the dough within 1/2 in of the spaghetti filling. Begin braiding in the spaghetti by folding top and bottom strips inward over the filling. Continue by braiding strips left over right, right over left etc. Finish by pulling last strip over and tucking under braid. if you haven't already, Spray a large cooking sheet and carefully use both hands to transfer the bread onto the sheet. (if you are filling fancy, feel free to brush the top of the bread with an egg white here.) Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, garlic powder and parsley. Bake at 350 for 30-35 min until golden brown. Let it cool slightly and slice to serve.

Serve with green beans. YUM!      

Tuna Patties

My mom use to make Salmon Patties and I thought, Tuna is fish. These are actually really good and a great way to use that Tuna we all have laying around.

Tuna Patties:

Ingredients:
2 cans of tuna
2 eggs
1/2 c crushed cracker/bread crumbs
*seasonings if you want*

Do not drain Tuna! In a medium bowl add Tuna by using a fork to take out of the can and leaving the juice in the can. Add eggs and crackers/bread crumbs. If it seems dry, add a little of the tuna water. Heat up a sauce pan over medium heat. Separate Tuna in bowl into about 4 equal patties. Put a tablespoon of butter in sauce pan and immediately add patties. Fry this way until browned on the sides and cooked in the middle. You can add different spices as they cook. (garlic and onion, lemon etc.) after they are cooked, I like to sprinkle parsley over them.

Serve with Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans and Lemon wedges (or lemon juice) and squeeze over patties.

Worlds Easiest Bread Recipe

I no longer buy bread. This is the recipe I use instead. It is SO easy. I had never made bread before this. Trust me, if I can do it, you can.

                                  
(yes, I took a bite out of it... don't judge)

Bread: yes this is longer than 30 minutes but it's so easy so it counts :)
(Makes 2 loaves)

Ingredients:
3 c warm water
1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
1/3 c oil
1 Tbsp salt
6-7 c flour (I prefer white. I have used wheat but it doesn't rise as well but it's still good.)

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and sugar. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Add the oil. Add the dry ingredients starting with 6 c of flour. Mix. Knead (or just use a spoon, it works for me) thoroughly until all ingredients are incorporated, and dough is smooth, stretches easy and is slightly sticky (not enough that it sticks easily to your finger) and pulls away from the bowl.) As you knead the dough, you may add more flour as needed, and repeat the process until dough reaches the desired consistency. (This is where it's a little harder with wheat flour)
Cover the bowl of dough with a dish towel and let rise until doubled (about 60 minutes so set the timer and continue on with your day). (You may speed up this process by putting the covered bowl inside the oven with the oven light on, and another bowl of warm water sitting on the lower rack.
Punch the dough down, divide and form into 2 loaves. Place the dough in 2 well greased bread pans. Cover and let rise till the top of the dough is an inch or two above the bread pans.
Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove the baked loaves from their pans immediately and place on a cooling rack. Slice and Enjoy!
Honey butter is a must have on a fresh piece of this bread! YUM!
*Bread and dough can be frozen*

Fudge Brownies

Fudge Brownies:

Ingredients:
1/2 c butter (1 stick)
6 tbsp cocoa + 2 tbsp oil (canola or vegetable)
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 c flour
1/2 c chopped nuts (optional)

Melt butter, Stir in cocoa, oil and sugar. Blend in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Stir in flour and nuts. Mix well. Spread in greased 8x8x2 in. pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Cheesy Vegetable Soup

Cheesy Vegetable Soup:

Ingredients:
2 quarts of water
14 chicken bouillon cubes
1 onion, diced (or onion flakes)
1 lb. cheese whiz or velveeta type cheese
1 1/2 c. flour
2 cubes of butter (it's what makes it sooooo good)
2 (20 oz) pkg. frozen peas and carrots (fresh chopped carrots good too)
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
6 potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
small head of broccoli chopped to bite size

Cover. In large soup pan, heat the bouillon cubes in the 2 quarts of water; add onion to water and cook until tender. In a separate pan, melt butter, add flour to make paste then add paste to onion and bullion water, stir until smooth. Add the cheese to the water mixture and stur until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth. Add the vegetables including the water they were cooked in. Salt and pepper to taste. (Kids love this soup!)

Garlic-Roasted Potatoes

Garlic-Roasted Potatoes: (Side Dish)

Ingredients:
1 lb small red potatoes (about 8) (You can use other kinds of potatoes, just use less of them)
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Scrub potatoes; cut each into 8 wedges (or smaller if using larger potatoes). Place wedges in a large bowl. Drizzle with oil; toss well. Sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, and pepper; toss until potatoes are evenly coated with spices. Arrange wedges in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until browned.

Serve as a dinner side dish or breakfast side dish (ex. with scrambled eggs)

Best Pizza

Best Pizza: (takes longer than 30 minutes for dough but cooks in less than 30 minutes after dough has risen and is a super easy recipe that kids can help with)

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp: yeast
2 cup warm water
2 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
5 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar and salt, oil and 4 cups of the flour. Mix well for a soft elastic dough. Cover and let rise until doubled. Separate into 2 equal portions and allow dough to rest for 15 minutes. Stretch dough onto 2 pizza stones-or pans. Pat out the dough to fit pans, turning up the edges for outside rims. Rub with olive oil and spread sauce on top. (I usually just buy pizza sauce or use canned spaghetti sauce so if you have some lying around use that. If not, here is the sauce recipe:
Sauce:

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (8oz) cans tomato sauce
4 tbsp Italian Seasoning

Spread sauce and top with flavored toppings of your choice: pepperoni, ham, cheese, sausage, mushrooms, onions, pineapple, etc.
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with lettuce salad

Chicken Puffs

Chicken Puffs:

Ingredients:
Chicken (how ever much you want)
Cream Cheese
Garlic
Cresent Dough (pillsbury)
Italian bread crumbs (can buy at Walmart for about $2.00)

Boil/bake chicken and shred. Mix chicken in cream cheese and garlic. Roll up in cresent dough then roll in italian bread crumbs.
bake at 350 degrees till golden brown (around 10 minutes)

Serve with mixed veggies

Potato and Bacon Soup

Potato and Bacon Soup: Seriously one of my fav's

Ingredients:
5-6 potatoes, cubed
1 small onion, finely chopped (I'm sure minced onion/onion flakes would work fine)
1 cup sour cream or yogurt
1 1/4 cup milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can corn, drained (or use frozen corn)
8 oz pkg. of bacon (YUM!)
1-2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp. pepper
Salt to taste
1 capful lemon juice

Boil and drain potatoes, leaving 1/2 cup potato water to thin soup. Cook and crumble bacon. Set aside. Saute onion in small amount of butter (if using onion flakes I'm sure you could just add to soup straight). Add sour cream, milk, cream of chicken soup, corn, pepper, salt, and lemon juice. Mix well. Add potatoes with water. Bring to a simmer and cook 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve topped with shredded cheese and crumbled bacon, or stire in these in with other ingredients before simmering.
6-8 servings

Chinese Style Breaded Chicken

Chinese Style Breaded Chicken:

Ingredients:
*amount varies depending on how much chicken you are making. Just make sure that you have enough to cover the chicken you have
*flour (i didn't have enough flour so I used some cornstarch and it turned out just fine)
1 egg
Chicken breasts/tenders (thawed)
Vegetable oil
Sauce of choice

In one bowl crack an egg and whisk with a fork. In a different bowl put your flour. In a large sauce pan put enough vegetable oil to fill up the pan 1/4 of the way. Heat the oil over medium heat. While Oil is heating, chop up thawed chicken into pieces. Put all pieces into the bowl with the egg and stir so all the chicken has a good coating of egg on it. Transfer the pieces of chicken from the egg into the flour. Make sure every piece is well covered with the flour. When the oil is hot, carefully put the chicken pieces (one by one) into the oil. It should sizzle but should not pop. If your oil starts popping, turn down the heat slightly. Use spatula with slits in it and carefully turn the pieces. Cook until golden brown. After cooked, take chicken and place on a plate with a paper towel to soak up extra oil.
Cover with sauce of your choice. We love sweet and sour or panda express orange sauce (you can buy all of these at Walmart or other grocery stores).

Serve with white rice and veggies.

Easy Chicken Bake

Easy Chicken Bake:

Ingredients:
1pkg stuffing
1 1/2 lb chicken breasts diced
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 c sour cream
1 pkg frozen mixed veggies, thawed and drained

Spray dish with non-stick cooking spray. Prepare stuffing as directed. Mix remaining ingredients in 9x13 dish, top with stuffing. Bake 30 min at 400 degrees.

Bruschetta Chicken

Bruschetta Chicken:

Ingredients:
1 can diced tomatoes
1 box of stuffing
1/2 c water
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 1/2 1b chicken (diced)
1 tsp dried basil
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Spray dish with non-stick cooking spray (it will stick. Trust me). Mix tomatoes, stuffing, water and garlic. Layer chicken, basil, and cheese in 9x13 baking dish. Top with stuffing mixture. Bake 30 min at 400

Serve with veggies :)

Easy and Delicious Teriyaki Chicken

Easy and Delicious Teriyaki Chicken: 

Ingredients:

1/4 c soy

1/4 c sugar

1/2 c Italian Dressing

2 Chicken breasts, diced

Mix all ingredients together over saucepan until boiling (and chicken is cooked through). Serve over white rice. 

Feel free to add some veggies :) zucchini, carrots, green peppers, etc. 

Pasta a la Carbonara for Two

Pasta a la Carbonara for Two:

Ingredients:
1/4 spaghetti
A couple strips of chopped bacon
1 egg
1/4 c. Parmesan
Handful of parsley
Pepper
Salt
Garlic (powder or clove)

Cook Pasta. Mix the egg and parmesan and set aside. In a pan, cook the bacon until it's browned. Add the garlic (to taste), cook it for like a minute (yes, add the garlic to the bacon grease). Drain the pasta but don't dry it. Mix pasta with the cheese/egg mixture. Add the bacon and toss it. Add the parsley as well as salt and pepper (to taste). (this is where I like to add a little extra cheese) ;) 

Serve with: Salad or mixed Veggies (frozen, fresh or canned)

Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup:

Kids Can Help With This!

Ingredients:
1 15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
2 14.5 oz can chicken broth (We didn't have chicken broth. Instead we used 2 buyon cubes with water *followed instructions on container of cubes)
desired amount of chicken cooked (we used 1 10 oz. can chicken and it tasted fantastic still)
1 15 oz can black beans
1 10 oz can diced tomato (can use with green chile peppers) drained

Open the cans of corn, chicken broth (or buyon cube liquid) chunk chicken, black beans, and diced tomatoes (with green chilis if desired). Pour everything into a large saucepan or stock pot. Simmer over medium heat until chicken is heated through.
                                                

Taco Soup

Taco Soup:

Kids can help with this! :)

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 onion, cooked with ground beef (I use onion flakes and slowly stir in *be careful not to put to much)
1 1/2 c. water
1 16 oz can tomatoes (diced)
1 16 oz can kidney (I prefere black) beans with juice
1 can whole kernel corn
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 pkg Taco seasoning mix

Put ingredients in 8 qt pot and simmer for 15 minutes, covered, while juices blend.
*Can be served with avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream, corn chips, bread sticks, etc.

Crepes

Crepes:

(makes enough for an army feel free to half the recipe)
3 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. sugar
6 eggs
1 cube melted butter
3 c. milk

Whip milk, butter, and eggs together. Mix in flour, sugar, and salt until well blended. Using about 3 tbsp of batter per crepe, pur batter onto hot, buttered skillet. Spread batter out lightly with the back of a spoon or rotate the pan (that's what I like to do). The batter should look like a large, thin pancake. Only cook until the edges come up easily. Turn quickly with a large pancake turner. Crepe should be thin and light. Don't overcook. Fill crepes with fruit and whip cream or make a ham or chicken mixture to go inside. Easy and divine!

Other crepe ideas:
Dessert crepe:
Cinnamon/Sugar and butter
Bananas, Nutella
Caramel
Ice Cream
Chocolate sauce
Dinner Crepe:
Alfredo Sauce, Spinach, Tomatoe, and Chicken
Breakfast Crepe:
I personally like mine with just a thin layer of strawberry yogurt.
bananas
strawberries
other fruit

Salsa Chicken

Salsa Chicken:

Ingredients:
Chicken breasts (can be frozen but I believe it works better with them thawed)
Salsa
Taco Seasoning

Cover the bottom of a casserole dish with a think layer of Salsa (just enough so the chicken doesn't stick to the bottom). Place chicken (frozen or thawed) in casserole dish. Sprinkle with taco seasoning (enough to cover lightly the chicken), depending on how much you are making it varies. Then cover the chicken with salsa. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. (may be less if you are using thawed chicken) Put cheese on top and put back into oven until melted.

Serve with corn (fresh, frozen, or canned) and is really good over rice.

Worlds BEST Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti Sauce (Ten Minutes): (World's BEST! (no joke!))


Ingredients:
1/2 lb Ground Beef cooked and drained
3 8oz cans tomato sauce (1 24 oz. can of any variety Hunts we use)
2 TBSP minced onion flakes
1 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp marjoram

 Mix together, heat to boiling (careful, it will splatter... learned the hard way). Simmer ten minutes. Stir occasionally. Serve with spaghetti or angel hair pasta, Green beans (fresh, frozen or canned).

Ham and Cheese Casserole

Ham and Cheese Casserole: given to me by my mom :)

 Ingredients: Noodles (we like either bow-tie or the spirally ones)
Cream of Mushroom Soup*
3/4 can of Milk (soup can)
Cheese (any kind is great. We prefer Cheddar or Colby Jack)
Ham (this is where I use the lunch meat or if you have an actual ham lying around ham chunks are delcious)
Salt
Pepper

Boil Noodles (not the whole bag). Drain when cooked. Combine cooked and drained noodles with 1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup, 3/4 can of Milk and chopped Ham and Cheese (You can choose the amount you put in. I like mine with a lot so I go a lil overboard). Mix together. Bake 1/2 hr. in oven or 12 minutes in Microwave and stir every 4 min. Combine with peas (fresh, frozen or canned). Add Salt/Pepper as needed.

*Can use Cream of Chicken Soup

Most used Ingredients

Here are some key ingredients for my family when it comes to making quick meals.
Sauces:
Sweet and Sour Sauce
Soy Sauce
Panda Express Orange/Mandarin Sauce (store bought)
Spaghetti Sauce (Variety)
Salsa
Ketchup
Barbeque Sauce 

Meats:
Chicken
Beef
Lunch Meat (any kind, I use the ham in a lot of my recipes tho)

Noodles! A lot of different kinds of noodles to spice things up :)
Chinese Lo Mein noodles

Random stuff:
Chicken Buyon cubes
Tomato Paste
Taco Seasoning
Diced Tomatoes
Canned Veggies
Canned Beans
Rice
Eggs
Cheese
Milk

 Soups:
Of course soups of your choosing (ex. tomato, chicken noodle, Other less childlike soups that still come in a can/bag)
Cream of Mushroom
Cream of Chicken
Chicken Stock (okay not a soup but also not necessary if you have Chicken Buyon Cubes usually) 

Fresh and Frozen Veggies
some fav's: Broccoli, Green Beans, Peas, Carrots, Potatoes, Corn

A good set of spices:
Onion (I usually use onion flakes)
Garlic (salt/powder)
Rosemary
Chicken/Meat Seasonings
Salt
Pepper
^those are a good base

There are so many more things but this is a basis of what we use A LOT.

WELCOME!

Alright y'all. I created this blog to share recipes with you. Not just plane ol' recipes... fast recipes. Making meals is hard enough without them taking FOREVER! So Enjoy :) and Eat Up!