Ham and Pasta Skillet

Well the busy season has begun in my little corner of the world - all the more reason to cook easy, quick dishes like this! I double this recipe if the hubby is able to be home to eat with us, and that will make enough for me to bring a dish of leftovers in my lunch the next day.

Ingredients:
1 - 10 3/4 ounce can condensed broccoli cheese soup
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
2 cups broccoli florets OR 1 - 10 ounce package frozen broccoli cuts, thawed (if you put them in the fridge the night before or even in the morning before you leave for work, they should be thawed when you get home)
1 1/2 cups cooked ham, cut into strips
2 1/4 cups medium shell-shaped pasta, cooked and drained (or whatever similar pasta you have - elbow macaroni and spirals work as well)

And here is what you want to do with it all:
Heat the soup, milk, mustard and broccoli in a 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat to a boil, reduce heat to low. Cook until the broccoli is tender - about 5 minutes.
Stir in the ham and pasta. Cook until hot and bubbling.

And that's it - you've got your meat, you've got your veggie - what more could you want? Biscuits? You want biscuits? Well, go ahead! Bake some! You have just enough time to preheat the oven and bake some refrigerated biscuits and have them nice and warm when the pasta is ready. Little bit of budda, little bit of honey...MM MMM MMM MMM MMM....

Potato, Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

This is NOT a quick recipe. But it is definitely worth making! This was part of our Christmas morning brunch. I boiled the potatoes on Christmas Eve afternoon to save time assembling this on Christmas day. I think next time I'll peel them and slice them as well. We'll also leave out the sun-dried tomatoes. It was delicious, but we think it would be even more so without the tomatoes. The other thing that would save a little time on Christmas morning is to shred the cheese the day before as well.
Here are the ingredients needed:

2 1/2 pounds Yukin gold potatoes, unpeeled
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed) - optional
12 ounces ham, finely chopped (2 cups)
8 ounces fontina, Gruyere or Swiss cheese, shredded (2 cups) - I used Swiss because it's what I could find in the store.
2 tablespoons flour
8 eggs
3 cups whole milk or half-and-half (I used milk and it was fine)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Place potatoes on a large pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and simmer for 15 to 25 minutes, until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Drain and let cool.
Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Cook onion for 5 minutes or until golden brown and softened, stirring occasionally.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 13x9 inch glass or ceramic baking dish with cooking spray. Remove skin from potatoes with paring knife and slice 1/4 inch thick.
Layer half of the potatoes in the baking dish. Top with half of the tomatoes, half the onions and half the ham. Toss the shredded cheese with flour and sprinkle half over the potatoes. Repeat layers with remaining potatoes, onions, ham and shredded cheese.
Whisk eggs until blended. Gradually whisk in the milk, salt and pepper. Pour over the potatoes and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until browned and bubbly and knife inserted in center comes out moist but clean. Center will set as casserole cools. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Casserole can be made up to 4 hours in advance and kept refrigerated until baking time. Bake 5 or 10 minutes longer than stated in recipe.



*recipe found in the January 2011 Cooking Club magazine.

30 Minute Meatloaves

We are a meatloaf loving family. I usually reserve it for weekends when I have a little more time to make it; but occasionally we need a meatloaf fix mid-week. Here is a nice quick way to make some cute mini-loaves. First, gather your ingredients:

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1/2 cup baking mix, like Bisquick or Jiffy
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 egg

Then, start cookin':

-Heat oven to 450 degrees. Stir ketchup and brown sugar together in a small bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup for topping. In a large bowl, stir remaining ketchup mixture with the rest of the ingredients until well mixed.

-Spray a 13x9 inch pan. Place meat mixture in pan, patting into a 12x4 inch rectangle. Cut into 12 sections and separate so no edges are touching. Brush reserved ketchup mixture on each loaf (I admit, I sometimes make more of the ketchup mixture. We're also ketchup lovers.).

-Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until no longer pink in center and meat thermometer reads 160 degrees when inserted into center of loaves.

Delish!

Pasta & Meatballs

This is SUCH an easy recipe, and it's a favorite here at the homestead. I actually double this recipe if the DH is home for dinner. The ingredient list is short and sweet:

• 1 cup water
• 1 - 26 ounce jar pasta sauce
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 20 frozen cooked regular or Italian style meatballs
• grated Parmesan, optional

And the directions are short and sweet as well. And EASY:

Heat water and pasta sauce to boiling in a 10 inch skillet. Stir in macaroni and meatballs. Return to boiling. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook 15 to 20 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until macaroni is tender. Sprinkle with cheese.

Yup, that's it. Easy and good. I may even make this tonight.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Well I'm back, with a new computer - a laptop, which is proving to be WAY more convenient than the tower I had. Still have, but it's been demoted to just games and things for the younger 2. And the DH. Because this laptop is MINE darn it.
No, really, I DO share...
I'm not going to make any promises that I'll be posting often. I THINK I'll do better now that I can chill on the couch and type, but you know. I may still be Lazy.

On to the recipe. This is one that I really thought I would like, was pretty sure the kids would like, but really didn't think the hubby would like. Turns out I was wrong, we ALL really liked this one.

Here is the list of ingredients:

*2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
*bread crumbs
*1 egg, mixed with 1/2 cup milk
*8 ounces Swiss cheese, cubed
*8 ounces ham, diced
*1 can (10 ounces) cream of chicken soup
*1 cup milk

And it's pretty easy to throw it all together:

First, dip the chunks of chicken into the egg and milk mixture, then into the bread crumbs; coating well. Brown in a little oil until golden. Place chicken chunks in baking dish. Add cubes of Swiss cheese and diced ham. Mix the soup with 1 cup of milk and pour over all.

Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degreees, or until tender and bubbly.

I did small red potatoes in the microwave with this: rinse potatoes; pierce each potato a few times with a fork. Place in microwave safe dish and add about 1/4 inch of water. Cover and microwave until done. I usually do 10-12 small potatoes in about 10 minutes. Eat them like a baked potato, smothered with butter and/or sour cream. Yum!!

*thank you Chevy for this recipe.

Stir-Fried Beef and Vegetables

I love going out to Chinese restaurants. My wallet doesn't. So I've been trying to find some 'sort of' Chinese recipes to make at home that are good and easy. Haven't found many. But this one - it's good. The entire family liked it. So here we go...
Your Ingredient List:

-4 tablespoons soy sauce
-4 tablespoons water (actually could use sherry as well, but I have water, no sherry. It tasted great with water)
-2 teaspoons sugar
-1 pound beef top round steak
-2 ounce cellophane noodles, broken or 1 package rice noodles, broken (I haven't used the cellophane noodles, but we LOVED the rice noodles. They were different but good. You could probably boil up some thin spaghetti as well.)
-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
-2 teaspoons ground ginger
-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped (just bought myself a garlic press. LOVE IT.)
-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
-2 cups fresh snow (Chinese) pea pods or 12 ounces frozen snow pea pods, thawed and drained
-2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges

Mix soy sauce, water and sugar, set aside. Trim fat from beef and cut into 2 inch strips. Cut strips in 1/8 inch slices. This is much easier to do if the beef is partially frozen.
Soak noodles in enough water to cover, about 15 to 20 minutes, then drain.
Heat wok or large skillet over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil, rotate wok to coat. Add beef, ginger and garlic. Stir-fry until beef is no longer pink – about 5 minutes. Remove from wok.
Add 2 tablespoons oil to wok, rotate to coat. Add pea pods and onion. Stir-fry until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in beef mixture and noodles. Heat to boiling. Stir in soy sauce mixture. Cook and stir about 2 minutes until heated through.

Serve with some egg rolls or egg drop soup.
Enjoy!

Chile-Chicken Enchiladas

1 can (19 oz) enchilada sauce
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 ½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (6 oz.)
1 cup sour cream
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
8 – 8 inch flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 350°. Spray bottom of 13x9 inch (3 quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spread ½ cup enchilada sauce in bottom of baking dish. In medium bowl, stir together chicken, Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream and chiles.
Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas; arrange, seam sides down, in baking dish. Top enchiladas with remaining enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Spray sheet of foil with cooking spray; cover baking dish with foil, sprayed side down.
Bake 35 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until hot and cheese is melted.
If desired, serve with avocado, green onions, lettuce, chopped tomato and additional sour cream.