Weekend Wonderfulness

Nannie appreciates all the props she's gotten for her recipes. Unfortunately, she is mending from a little hand surgery and I hated to ask her to work. Well, really, when I called she was napping.

So. You are stuck with me.

This weekend I will be answering my first recipe request. I know. It is a memory in the making. Last weekend, Lisa asked if Nannie might have any recipes for baked cheesy noodle casseroles.

Obviously Lisa isn't concerned with the impending swimsuit season.
(Lisa, I kid, I kid...)

Anyway, I happen to have a really good one.

And not that I'm keeping a record of how many kudos Nannie gets as opposed to how many I get... but mark it down, THIS IS MY RECIPE.
(Nannie, I kid, I kid...)

CHEESY SHELL CASSEROLE

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (I've used turkey, too)
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 can stewed tomatoes, chopped (I never do that. I kind of chop them in half.)
1 14 oz. jar spaghetti sauce (I use the mushroom kind)
1 4 oz. can mushroom stems & pieces, undrained
8 oz. uncooked shell pasta (the smaller ones)
2 cups sour cream (I use reduced or nonfat)
8 oz. reduced fat provolone cheese slices
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Cook the beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is browned. Drain. Stir in the tomatoes, spaghetti sauce and mushrooms. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta and drain.

Place half of the pasta in an ungreased 9x13. Top with half of the meat sauce, sour cream and provolone. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with mozzarella.

Cover and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes.

Let stand 10 minutes before diving in.

Super yummy. I'd serve it with bread and a salad. Or, I'd have good intentions of serving it with a salad, but when the time came to actually make the salad I'd be too lazy and we'd just have it with bread.

But you're probably healthier and more energetic than I am.

Enjoy.

Weekend Wonderfulness

I am back with Weekend Wonderfulness: The Nannie Edition - Part Deux.

Last week, on The Nannie Edition - Part One:

Nannie sent 4 fabulous recipes for your tasting pleasure and I selfishly distributed only 2. I had a little guilt about it. But not much. Considering the fact that the entire Palace has been down with The Evil Virus of Fever & Coughing, I think I made the right decision.

So, here you go...

Mexican Lasagna

2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I use a rotisserie chicken)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I use the jarred kind...maybe a tsp?)
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can rotel
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 (16 oz) sour cream (I use fat free)
1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened (I use 1/3 less fat)
6 oven ready lasagna noodles
8 oz. shredded Mexican cheese
8 oz. shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

In a big pot, combine chicken and everything on the list through the salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes.

Combine the sour cream and cream cheese in a bowl.

Lightly grease a 9x13 dish. Spoon 1/3 of the chicken mixture in the dish. Place 3 uncooked noodles on top of that. Spread 1/2 of the sour cream mixture over the noodle layer. Top that with 1/3 of the chicken stuff. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the cheeses. Do all of that again: chicken, noodles, sour cream, chicken, cheese.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. It should be bubbling. Don't cut it for 10 minutes after you take it out of the oven.

This is really good. Like, really good.

I serve it with refried beans and a salad. Maybe some chips and salsa. And a little cheese dip. Followed by something chocolate.

But that's just me. Do whatever you want. But my idea is pretty good.


Nannie's Chili

5 pounds ground round
2 purple onions
2 green peppers
Seasoned salt, to taste
2 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin
salt & pepper (does that make y'all start singing, "Salt & Peppa's here..."?)
2 cans rotel
2 cans tomato sauce

Brown ground round, onions & peppers, drain.
Put in crock pot and then add the rest.

Let it, I don't know, cook.

Picks up more flavor if you cook and then let sit in the fridge overnight.

Full Disclosure: I've never made this. Because I've never needed to cook for chili for an entire congregation. But I have eaten it and it was tasty.

Thank you, Nannie. You might want to start gathering a few more recipes for distribution. I like this better than me doing the work.

If anyone has any particular recipe category they'd like to see, just leave it in the comments. I aim to please.

Have a great weekend!  

Weekend Wonderfulness

When I need to cook something really yummy, I call Nannie.


Not only is Nannie the best cook I know, but she reads cookbooks for entertainment. She knows all things food.


So I called Nannie for this weekend's recipe. And she gave me 4. Now, if I was a giver, I would give you all 4 and you would be happy.


But I am not.


I could drag these 4 recipes out for a month and not have to think about what to post. And I would be happy.


Oh, alright. You can have 2.



Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies

(aka Those Rolo Cookies)



2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cups cocoa

1 t. baking soda

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup softened butter

2 t. vanilla

2 eggs

1 c. chopped pecans (I'm thinking you could skip these)

48 Rolo candies :)

1 T. sugar



Heat oven to 375.



In a large bowl, beat 1 c. sugar, brown sugar and butter until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs, beat well.



In a separate bowl mix flour, cocoa and soda.



Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture. Blend well. Stir in 1/2 c. pecans. For each cookie, with floured hands, shape about 1 T. of the dough around a rolo, covering it completely. Now, this won't be pretty.



In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 c. pecans and 1 T. sugar. Press one side of each ball into pecan mixture. Place, nutside up (never thought I'd type those words) 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.



Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until set and slightly cracked. Cool 2 minutes then move the cookies to a wire rack.



Nannie first made these when I was in junior high. Just when my skin really needed them. But, they really rock. They're a teensy bit of trouble, but you can set Junior on a stool in the kitchen and have him take the wrappers off the rolo and you'll be happier. And you won't eat as many rogue rolos. Which is best longterm.





Mexican Chicken Salad

(aka Mexican Chicken Salad)



2 cups cut up chicken

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup finely chopped carrot

2 T. cilantro (I skip this because The King has a cilantro issue.)

1 T. capers (I skip this because I have a caper issue.)

2 T. finely chopped red bell pepper

2 T. lemon juice

1/4 t. cumin

1/4 c. finely chopped onion

4 T. Tabasco (I use the green mild kind)

salt to taste

1 avacado, peeled and cut into wedges

lettuce leaves

paprika



Toss it all except for the avacado, lettuce and paprika. If you are fancy, serve it on the lettuce with the avacado on the side and sprinkle it with paprika. If you are me, stick it between 2 pieces of bread.


Thanks, Nannie. You are the best. If you wanted to, you know, make some cookies and send them to me I wouldn't send them back. Or whatever.

Weekend Wonderfulness

Open and pour. Open and pour.


That is all I feel like doing this weekend.


This soup is great for a quick meal, but it is also good for company because you can double it or x4 it or whatever.


It is a recipe where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Or maybe I said that wrong. I mean that it tastes better than it sounds.



Mexican Minestrone



1 pound ground beef

2 cans minestrone soup

2 cans rotel

2 cans pinto beans



Brown the ground beef. Drain. Pour in the other stuff. Cook awhile. Eat.



Sometimes I ditch the meat and add more beans. I've added corn before. On occasion I eat it over Fritos and top it with cheese. Cornbread is a good addition, too.


I know that you are going to think that this is a blow-off recipe and it is not a big deal. But it is really good and if you don't try it you'll be sorry.


Have a wonderful weekend!!

Weekend Wonderfulness

You know how sometimes you just can't make it another second unless you have cake?


You don't?


Oh. Well, me neither. But if I did feel that way, this one would always hit the spot. Hypothetically.


It is great for breakfast, dessert, a snack or even lunch.


Honey Bun Cake


1 box yellow cake mix

3/4 cup oil

4 eggs

8 oz. sour cream

1 cup brown sugar

1 T. cinnamon



2 cups powdered sugar

4 T. milk

1 T. vanilla



Preheat oven to 325.


Combine cake mix, oil, eggs and sour cream. Stir by hand until most large lumps disappear. Pour half of the batter in an ungreased 9 x 13 glass dish. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle in over the batter in the pan. Spoon the other half of the batter over the top. Use a knife and swirl the top batter over the brown sugar and cinnamon. The goal is to make it look like a honey bun, but I don't really get that. I get a big glob of cake batter over a mess of sprinkles. Just swirl it around for a bit.


Bake for 40 minutes.


Toward the end of the baking, whisk the last 3 ingredients until they are smooth and make a glaze. Pour over the cake while it is hot.


It is really good warm. It is really good with ice cream. It is really good cold. It is really good with milk. It is really good upside down and backwards.


Enjoy.

Weekend Wonderfulness

There are a few phrases that you will never hear spew from my mouth. One of which is, "This food is too sweet".


Food can never be too sweet. Never.


With that in mind, this is what we'll be eating Christmas morning.

Caramel French Toast Bake

(Make this the night before!!)

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. butter

2 T. corn syrup

12 slices bread

6 eggs, beaten

1 1/4 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

1/4 t. salt

Combine sugar, butter and syrup in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it thickens. Stir pretty much the whole time. Pour this sweet yumminess in a 9x13. Place half of your bread slices in the dish. Layer the other half on top of those. Blend the last 4 ingredients together and pour evenly over the bread. Cover and chill for 8 hours. Uncover and bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. If you use a thinner bread, you might need to take it out a little earlier.

Serve immediately! I like it with bananas or strawberries on the side.

We'll be having this, too.

Sweet & Spicy Bacon

1 pound bacon

1 c. brown sugar

1 T. black pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Line a cookie sheet with foil (very important!!) Cut bacon slices in half. Mix the pepper and sugar in a bowl. Coat each slice of bacon with mixture. Twist the bacon and place it on the foil. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool on the foil (very important!!)

This is a mess to make, but totally worth it.

It is the only way I can fathom eating bacon due to an unfortunate combination of a bacon and egg breakfast and altitude sickness.

Enjoy!!

Weekend Wonderfulness

This may come as a shock to those of you who read this blog on occasion, but I love to cook.

“Oh really?” you are thinking, “I thought you only liked to complain and make fun of stuff.”

That is only during the week. On the weekend? I am a cooking fanatic.

I have been meaning to share some great recipes, but The Palace has been supplying me with an abundance of irrelevant things on which I've needed to blog.

So, my solution is that I am going to try to post yummy goodness on the weekends.

Unless something occurs that necessitates complaining or making fun.

This recipe is one of my favorites for breakfast when we have company. Which is only, like, 3 times a year. So pretty much I make it for us.


Apricot Coffee Cake

8 oz. crescent rolls
8 oz. cream cheese
½ c. sugar
½ t. almond extract
21 oz. can apricot pie filling

½ c. flour
¼ c. brown sugar
3 T. softened butter—not melted
½ c. sliced almonds

Place crescents in a very lightly sprayed 9x13 dish. Press the seams together and spread to make a crust. Try to take it a teensy bit up the sides...it will be a little frustrating. Cream the next 3 ingredients. Spread on top of crescents. . Put pie filling on top of cream cheese mixture. Mix flour, brown sugar and butter until crumbly. Sprinkle on top. Sprinkle almonds on top of that. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Super yummy. If you can’t find apricot pie filling, try peach. Or whatever your filling of choice might be. But if you want it to be good you’ll use apricot or peach.

Enjoy your weekend!!!