Meals



Macaroni and Cheese

 Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
My kids liked this more than the "box," and they are hard to please.
This is from The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook

4 cups cooked elbow macaroni,d rained (approximately 2 cups uncooked)
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
4 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  After macaroni ahs been boiled and drained, add cheddar cheese while macaroni is still hot.  Combine remaining ingredients* and add to macaroni mixture.  Pour into casserole dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes.  Top with additional cheese, if desired.

*I found that if the butter and sour cream mix better if they are at room temperature.
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Chocolate Pie with Meringue

Pie Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 Tbsp flour

2 Tbsp cocoa

3 eggs, well eaten

1 tall can Pet milk

1 Tbsp butter



Pie Directions:  Mix sugar, flour, and cocoa together.  Add eggs and milk.  Blend well with electric mixer.  Microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Remove and mix well.  If it is not thick, cook a few minutes longer.  Add butter and beat well (butter will melt when it is put into the bowl).  Put in a pre-baked pie shell.  Allow pie to cool before making the meringue.

Meringue Ingredients:

3 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar

Meringue Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.  Gradually add in the sugar and beat until mixture is stiff.  Spread onto pie making sure to touch the pie crust around the edges.  Bake for 12 minutes.  If the meringue is not brown enough, raise temperature to 350 degrees and bake longer.  Watch to make sure the meringue does not get too brown.



Spaghetti with Meat Sauce



Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Use the Kraft Classics Spaghetti (in the green box).  This has the seasoning you will need for your sauce.  This is enough for three people.  If feeding more, double the meat amount, use two boxes of Kraft Spaghetti for the seasoning and pasta, and adjust the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes to taste.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
2 small cans of tomato sauce
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
Season packet from Kraft Spaghetti box

Directions:

Brown 1 pound of ground beef, drain.  Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and season packet to meat.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes (the longer it simmers, the more flavor the sauce has).  Boil the pasta, drain.  Serve hot.

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Blueberry pound cake



Blueberry Pound Cake

Grease and flour bundt pan.

Ingredients:
1 box Duncan Hines Butter Recipe Golden cake mix
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs

1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature

2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen, if frozen thaw to room temperature and blot excess juice)

Directions:

Beat cream cheese, add oil, egg, and mix well.  Add cake mix.  Blend at medium speed for 4 minutes.  Stir in blueberries.  pour into greased and floured bundt pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until tests done.






Morgan & Molli loved the cake...

 











Mexican Lasagna

Mexican Lasagna

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cans (8 oz. each) tomato sauce



1 can (15 ox.) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (8 3/4 oz.) whole kernel corn, undrained

1 can (4 1/2 oz.) chopped green chiles, undrained

6 flour tortillas (8-inch) - you can use store-bought



     or homemade ones (recipe below)

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. oregano leaves

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. 

   

   Mexican lasagna and Mexican rice

   
   Brown beef and onion in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain.  Add tomato sauce, beans, corn and green chiles; mix well.  Stir in all of the spices except red pepper.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes.  Add red pepper to taste, if desired.
2. Spread 1/2 cup of the beef mixture on bottom of 13x9x2-inch baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Top with 3 of the tortillas, overlapping as needed.  Layer with 1/2 of the remaining beef mixture and 1/2 of the cheese.  Repeat with remaining tortillas, beef mixture, and cheese.
3. Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven 15 minutes or until heated through.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

**Serve with Mexican rice and a salad.**

Flour Tortillas

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour
1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons lard or shortening
2/3 - 3/4 cup warm water

Making tortilla dough:

1. Mix the flour in a bowl with the salt.  Rub in the lard or shortening.  Add the warm water and stir with a wooden spoon or knead with your hand to make a firm, putt-like dough.  Shape the dough into a ball, cover with a damp cloth, and let stand for 5 - 10 minutes.  Divide into 20 small balls.
2. Slit a clear 6-inch plastic bag along two of its sides and open out flat.  Sprinkle with flour.  Place a small ball of dough on one side of the plastic, and flatten it gently with one hand.  Fold the plastic over the top of the dough.
3. Gently roll out the tortilla with a rolling pin, turning the bag by one turn with each roll until the tortilla is an even circle of the required size.  Remove and cook as below.

Cooking tortillas:

Heat an ungreased, heavy-bottom skillet over medium heat.  pull off the plastic, put the tortilla on your open hand and transfer to the hot skillet.  cook for 30-45 seconds or until blotchy, blistered, and speckled with brown.  Using a spatula, turn over the tortilla and cook the other side for 30-40 seconds more.  As they are cooked, wrap them in a cloth, put in a lidded basket, and keep them warm until ready to serve.

Mexican Rice
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup long grain white rice
4 pan-toasted tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 cups boiling stock

2 carrots, diced

2-3 fresh chiles, such as jalapeno, serrano, or fresno

1/2 cup green peas (fresh or frozen), diced

Making the rice:

1. Soak the rice for 5 minutes in hot water, swishing it around a little with your hands.  Rinse and drain well.  Meanwhile, put the tomatoes in a blender or food processor and work to a pulp.  Strain the tomatoes (this is optional).
2. Heat the oil in a heavy-based skillet and saute the onion and garlic for several minutes.  Stir in the rice, saute for about 2 minutes to coat the grains and begin their cooking .  Add the tomatoes, stock, carrots, and chiles.  Bring mixture to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to very low, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Uncover, then stir in the peas.
3. Replace the lid and cook for another 7-8 minutes, undisturbed, until the rice is tender and all liquid is absorbed.  Serve hot. 

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Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Yield: About 36 cookies

Cookies:

3/4 cup sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

15 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes

Filling:
1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tsp. clear vanilla extract
Sprinkles (optional)

Make the cookies:

1. Arrange racks on bottom and top thirds of oven; preheat to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment.  In a bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Gradually add butter; slowly increase mixer speed to medium.  Mixture will look crumbly at first, but continue mixing for about 8 minutes and it will come together in large clumps.
2. Transfer dough to a well-floured work surface and knead briefly, then press into a small rectangle.  Cut dough in half.  Working with one piece at a time, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness.  Using a 1 1/2-inch round cutter (**you can use any shape cutter, but the amount of cookies the recipe makes is based on this size**), cut circles.  Gather up scraps, reroll and cute as many cookies as possible.  Transfer them to baking sheets.
3. Bake cookies for 6 minutes, then rotate pans (top to bottom and front to back) and bake 6 minutes longer.  Remove baking sheets from oven and place on wire racks for a few minutes to cool before transferring cookies to racks to cool completely.  Repeat with remaining dough.

Make filling:

1. Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy.  Beat in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth.
2. Spread filling on the bottoms of half o the cookies.  Top with remaining cookies.  Add sprinkles to edge of cookies if desired.  Store in the refrigerator.

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Homegrown Salsa
2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 or 2 seeded and finely chopped jalapenos, or any other hot pepper (be informed that habanero peppers are very hot)
1 onion, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

Lime juice to taste

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Dash of cumin

Stir all of ingredients in a big bowl.  Let it chill for at least 30 minutes.

Handmade Corn Tortilla Chips
Ingredients:
2 cups instant masa harina flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups warm water

2-4 tablespoons corn oil (optional*)

*Corn oil is not traditionally used, but it makes the tortillas easier to handle.

Making the tortilla dough:

1.  Mix the instant masa harina flour in a bowl with the salt.  Add the warm water and stir with a wooden spoon or knead with your hand to make a firm, putty-like dough.  Add the corn oil if you so desire.  Shape the dough into a ball, cover with a damp cloth, and let stand for 5 - 10 minutes.  Divide into 20 small balls.

2.  Slit a clear 6-inch plastic bag along two of its sides and open out flat.  Sprinkle with flour.  Place a small ball of dough on one side of the plastic, and flatten it gently with one hand.  Fold the plastic over the top of the dough.

3.  Gently roll out the tortilla with a rolling pin, turning the bag by one turn with each roll until the tortilla is an even circle of the required size.  Remove and cook as below.

Making the chips:

Cut the tortillas into fourths.  Heat canola oil in a frying pan on high heat.  make sure the oil is hot before putting the tortillas in, or they will be too greasy.  Put in only a few at a time, turning with a slotted spoon.  When they-re golden, spoon them out and rest them on paper towels.  Season and serve.

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Taco Soup

Servings:  8

2 pounds ground beef, browned
1 package taco seasoning mix

1 package dry ranch dressing mix

2 cans stewed tomatoes

2 cans ranch-style beans with jalapenos

2 cans whole-kernel corn

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can Rotel tomatoes

Saute onions in a small amount of oil. Drain off fat.  Brown meat, drain, and add onions, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix.  Stir well.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Heat for 30 minutes on top of stove in a heavy saucepan or place in a large crockpot and heat until bubbly.  Serve over steamed rice, corn chips (e.g. Fritos), or tortilla chips.  Top with grated cheese.