Mexican Lasagna
(One of Leif’s favorites!)
1 lb. hamburger, browned
2 cans cream of chicken soup
8 oz. cheddar, grated
9 flour tortillas
18 oz. mild enchilada sauce
Mix beef, soup, and sauce. In greased 9x13” pan, layer tortillas, sauce mixture, and cheese in three layers. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45-60 mins.
Salisbury Steak
(It never ceases to amaze me how two pounds of hamburger can feed the whole family with this recipe!)
2 lbs. hamburger
2 c. oatmeal
2 eggs
½ c. ketchup
2 T. onions
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. pepper
2 T. chopped parsley
Mix together well. Shape into patties and place in a roasting pan. Make a sauce with the following ingredients:
3 cans cream of chicken soup
6 T. butter
1 ½ tsp. garlic salt
3 c. milk
Pour over patties. Cover. Bake at 325 degrees until meat is done, about 45-60 mins. Serve with mashed potatoes.
Country Casserole
(A good school day lunch.)
1 bag frozen California blend vegetables
¼ c. water
½ c. milk
1 stick butter
1-8oz. jar cheese whiz
1 c. rice
1 can cream of chicken soup
Put veggies in a greased casserole dish, and sprinkle rice on top. Melt remaining ingredients together, and pour over all. Stir. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until rice is done.
Bowtie Pepperoni Pasta
(This is an easy recipe that is special enough to serve guests.)
8 oz. pepperoni, cut in quarters
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1-14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
1 ½ c. heavy whipping cream
¼ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. sea salt
1 box bowtie pasta
3 oz. parmesan cheese
Fry pepperoni. Add garlic and mushrooms. Saute until tender. Add tomatoes, cream, pepper, and salt. Simmer 10 mins. Toss with cooked bowtie pasta, and serve with fresh parmesan on top.
Nacho Potato Soup
(This is a little spicy, so the younger ones eat it like a dip for their chips. I double this for our family.)
1 box au gratin potatoes
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
½ can diced tomatoes, not drained
½ can diced tomatoes with green chilies, not drained
2 c. water
2 c. milk
2 c. cubed American cheese
Combine contents of potato package, corn, tomatoes, and water. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Simmer 15-18 mins. or until potatoes are tender. Add milk and cheese. Cook until cheese is melted. Serve with tortilla chips.
Chicken Pot Pie
( A quick and cozy meal.)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can mixed veggies, drained
1 can chicken meat
1 double pie crust
Mix first three ingredients. Line pie tin with one crust. Fill with mixture. Place second crust on top. Crimp edges, and cut several slits in the top. Bake at 350 degrees until crust is golden brown, approximately 45 mins.
Corn Chili
(This is a fast, school day lunch the kids can prepare. Ryan Sawatsky loves it!)
2 cans chili beans
3 cans tomato soup
3 cans corn, not drained
Heat thoroughly. Serve with toppings: corn chips, sour cream, and grated cheddar cheese.
Burritos
(We often fall back on this old standby when we have guests.)
1 lb. hamburger, browned and drained
1 pkg. taco seasoning
10 flour tortillas
2 pkgs. brown gravy mix
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
Taco sauce
Add taco seasoning to meat as package directs. Dip both sides of tortillas in taco sauce, fill with meat mixture, and line up in 9x13” pan. Prepare gravy according to directions. Add cheese and stir until melted. Pour cheese/gravy mixture over tortillas. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 mins. until heated through.
Sausage Spinach Loaf
(None of the children mind eating spinach this way! One of Britton’s favorites.)
2 loaves frozen bread dough, thawed and risen until doubled
1 lb. pork sausage, browned and drained
1-10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
4 cups mozzarella cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. garlic powder
2 T. butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
In a bowl, mix together cooked sausage, spinach, cheeses, oregano, and garlic. Roll out each bread loaf into a large rectangle. Spread sausage mixture lengthwise down the center of the rectangles. Dot with butter. Bring up edges of dough; pinch to seal. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Tuck ends under to seal, and brush with beaten egg. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. We serve spaghetti sauce as a dipping sauce for our slices.
Imperial Chicken of Tomorrow
(One of Sigre’s favorites.)
1 cup crushed saltine crackers
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp. parsley flakes
2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
¾ cup melted butter
1 small clove of garlic or some garlic powder
2 ½-3 lb. chicken thighs
Blend first five ingredients. Combine melted butter and garlic. Dip chicken pieces in butter mixture and then in crumb mixture, coating thoroughly. Arrange in a baking pan. Dribble the leftover butter over the chicken. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until the chicken is tender.
Tightwad Granola
(An inexpensive, yet yummy, version of granola.)
1 ½ cups brown sugar
2/3 cups honey
2/3 cups oil
9 cups oatmeal
Pinch of salt
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
Mix oatmeal, salt, and cinnamon (I divide this into two 9x13” pans; it seems more manageable to work with). Heat sugar, honey, and oil until sugar dissolves. Pour over dry mixture, and stir until well-coated. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 mins.
Apple Dumplings
(We recently discovered this wonderful recipe. The little kids can easily help make it.)
2 cans crescent rolls
2 Granny Smith apples; peeled, cored, and cut into 8 slices each
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1-12 oz. can Sprite or Mt. Dew
Spread out triangular crescent rolls. Put one apple slice in each one. Roll up from large end to small. Line up in 9x13” pan. In a bowl, melt butter. Stir in cinnamon and sugar. Pour over rolls. Pour pop over all. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 mins. or until golden brown.
Potato Soup
(This makes a BIG pot!)
8 lb. potatoes, peeled and
shredded
2 lb. Velveeta cheese,
sliced
2 lb. turkey ham, cubed
salt
Put potatoes in big pot
and pour in enough water to cover. Cook
until potatoes are tender. Stir Velveeta
slices into potato mixture until melted.
Add cubed ham and salt to taste.
Creamy
Swiss Onion Soup
(The
recipe says this serves 7. We triple
it.)
7 Tablespoons butter or
margarine, divided
1-1/2 cups day-old bread
cubes
3 large onions, quartered
and thinly sliced
1-1/2 cups water
4-1/2 teaspoons chicken
bouillon granules
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1-3/4 cups milk, divided
¾ cup shredded Swiss
cheese
Melt 3 tablespoons of
butter; toss with bread cubes. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at
350 for 7 minutes; turn and bake 7 minutes longer or until toasted. Meanwhile,
in a large saucepan, sauté onions in remaining butter until lightly browned,
about 12 minutes. Stir in water and bouillon; bring to a boil. Reduce heat;
cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Combine flour and ½ cup milk until smooth;
gradually stir into onion mixture. Stir in remaining milk. Bring to a boil;
boil for 2 minutes, stirring until thickened. Reduce heat to low; stir in Swiss
cheese. Stir until melted. Serve with croutons.
Tenderloin Marinade
(This is our absolute
favorite way to eat venison.
Unfortunately, there are no measurements! We just put the meat in a cake pan, prick it
all over with a fork, and dump on the following ingredients. Then we flip it and repeat the procedure. We usually let it marinate in the fridge for
two days before we grill it. After it’s
cooked, we slice it into medallions and serve it with rice.)
Tenderizer salt
Liquid smoke
Olive oil
Oyster Sauce
Foccacia sauce (pesto
might also work)
Tator Tot Hotdish
1 lb. ground beef, browned
1 can cream of chicken
soup
1 can cream style corn
1/3 c. milk
Tator-Tots
Spread browned meat on the
bottom of a 9X13 in. pan. Mix together
soup, corn, and milk. Pour over
meat. Top with Tator-Tots. Bake at 350 degrees until Tator-Tots are
golden brown, 45-60 mins.
Homemade Pizza
1 ¼ c. water
1 T. yeast
1T. oil
Dash of sugar
½ tsp. salt
Flour, enough to make a
non-sticky dough (approx. 3 c.)
Dissolve yeast in water
with sugar. Add oil, salt, and
flour. Knead. Spread onto a greased cookie sheet (this can
cover up to 1½ cookie sheets—depends on how thin you like your crust!) Spread with your favorite pizza sauce and
toppings. Cover with 16 oz. of shredded
mozzarella cheese. Bake at 450 degrees
until cheese is melted and crust is lightly browned.
Penne Chicken Pasta
(Gretchen had this dish in
a restaurant and liked it so well she decided to try to re-create it at
home. It turned out as yummy as, if not
better than, the restaurant version! We
double this for our family and serve it buffet style so people can choose their
own toppings.)
1 box penne pasta, cooked
2-15 oz. jars Alfredo
sauce, heated
1 ½ lbs chicken breasts,
baked and cubed
8 oz. mozzarella cheese
1 can mushrooms
1 can Del Monte diced
tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
Parmesan cheese
Crockpot Corn Chowder
5 smoked hotdogs
1 tsp. butter
2 T. chopped onion
Dash pepper
2 c. milk
2 cans cream style corn
4 medium potatoes, diced
Slice hotdogs and sauté
with butter, onion, and seasonings. Combine
all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on
high for 3-4 hours.
Spinach Alfredo Lasagna
12 oz. lasagna noodles
1 lb pork sausage
1 package (10 oz.) frozen
chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1-17 oz. jar Alfredo sauce
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 egg
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded
cheddar cheese
1-15oz. carton ricotta
cheese
½ c. grated Parmesan
cheese
1 c. (4 oz.) shredded
mozzarella cheese
Soak the noodles in hot
water for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a
skillet, brown the sausage. Drain
noodles; set aside. Drain sausage; add
spinach, Alfredo sauce, salt, and pepper.
In a bowl, combine the egg and cheddar, ricotta and Parmesan cheeses;
mix well. In an ungreased 9X13 in. pan,
layer a third of the sausage mixture, noodles, and cheese mixture. Repeat layers
two more times. Sprinkle with mozzarella
cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees
for 45 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes
before cutting.
Easy Manicotti
(The little kids love to
help with this one. Stuffing the noodles
is fun and couldn’t be easier!)
1 box manicotti noodles,
NOT cooked
14 string cheese sticks
1 can diced tomatoes
1 lb pork sausage, browned
Enough spaghetti sauce to
cover the entire dish
Spread 1 can diced
tomatoes in the bottom of a 9X13 in. pan.
Place one string cheese into each manicotti noodle. Line up in pan. Sprinkle pork sausage over noodles. Pour enough spaghetti sauce over to cover
everything (if you leave exposed noodles, you will have hard, crunchy
noodles!) Cover and bake at 350 degrees
until noodles are tender, about an hour.
Orange Chicken
(This recipe has been
tweaked quite a bit over the years. This
amount is what it takes to feed our entire family with enough left over for all
the big guys to have a late night snack.
So, if you are cooking for two...well, you’re on your own to figure out
amounts. I’m not doing the math on this
one!)
9 chicken breasts (about 5
or 6 lbs)
Cut chicken breast into
small bite-size pieces and place in bowl
Marinade:
5 eggs
3 T. cornstarch
1 ½ T. salt
1 tsp. pepper
¾ tsp. ginger
Mix marinade ingredients
and pour over chicken. Stir to
coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 mins.
Sauce Thickener:
1/3 c. cornstarch
1/3 c. water
Mix together and set
aside.
Pour several inches of
vegetable oil into electric skillet and heat to 350 degrees.
Batter:
1 1/8 c. flour
1 1/8 c. water
½ c. cornstarch
½ c. vegetable oil
1 1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 1/8 tsp. salt
Mix batter ingredients and
pour over chicken (do not drain off marinade).
Make sure all chicken is coated.
Scoop chicken out of batter with slotted spoon and fry in oil until
fully cooked.
Sauce:
2 c. chicken broth
1½ c. sugar
1 1/8 c. orange juice
¾ c. corn syrup
¾ c. vinegar
1/3 c. vegetable oil
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. minced garlic
Mix sauce ingredients in
sauce pan and heat to boiling. Once
boiling, stir in cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened (about 10
seconds). Simmer uncovered for 30
seconds.
We like to serve the
chicken on rice and pour the orange sauce on top. The two hours it takes us to make this are
well worth it!
Italian Chicken Corn Chowder
(This recipe was first
made for us by Ryan Nelson, a friend from church, while he was in Culinary Arts
training. It is known in our home as
“Ryan’s Soup.”)
¾ lb chicken breasts
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1 T. chicken base
2 c. evaporated milk
1 can cream style corn
¼ tsp. oregano
½ c. chopped onion
3 T. butter
2 c. hot water
2 c. (8 oz.) shredded
mozzarella cheese
¼ tsp. thyme
¼ tsp. basil
Cut chicken into
bite-sized pieces. Brown chicken, onion,
and garlic in butter in a soup pot until chicken is cooked. Dissolve chicken base in hot water. Add to chicken pieces. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add evaporated milk, cheese, corn, and
spices. Cook over low heat, stirring
until cheese is melted. Serve immediately. Makes 5 servings.
Rice-A-Roni
