Tag Archives: Family Food

Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger PIE!

24 Jan

My neighbor shared this recipe with me and my husband is forever grateful. Talk about comfort food! If I ever have a diner, I will serve cheeseburger pie. This is easy to make ahead and pop in the oven when you come home from work. We serve with a veggie and sweet potato fries.

Quick Cheeseburger Pie
One pre-made store-bought crust (get a deep dish from the frozen section)
1 lb ground beef or turkey
1/2 cup of finely chopped onion
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup of flour
1/3 cup of dill pickle liquid
1/3 cup of milk
1/2 cup of finely chopped dill pickles
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

1. Heat oven to 425
2. Bake pie crust for 15 minutes
3. Cook beef, onion and garlic in skillet until brown; drain.  Sprinkle with salt and flour.  Stir in pickle liquid, milk, pickles and 1 cup of cheese.  Spoon into pie crust.
4. Bake 15 minutes; take out and sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese.  Bake about five minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

 

Update: I live in the frozen tundra and I did not want to brave the bitter cold with two small children just to pick up the one critical item I forgot at the store – the pie crust. Genius move on my part, no?  I had some time on my hands so I made my own crust. Very easy and very yummy. My cookbooks only had recipes for crust made with shortening, so I found a great website with recipes for a butter crust.  It was relatively easy and very tasty. Enjoy!

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Slow Cooker Chex Mix – Mmmmmm

23 Jan

Our family loves Chex mix, but really, who doesn’t? I like this recipe because it is easier than the traditional oven recipe.

Crockpot Chex Mix from my favorite blog, A Year of Slow Cooking

- 5 Cups General Mills Chex Cereal (We use a mixture of the rice, corn and wheat cereal)

- 1-2 cups of peanuts

- 2 cups pretzel sticks

- 1/2 tsp onion powder

- 1/2 tsp seasoned salt

- 3 T butter

- 1 1/2 T Worcestershire Sauce

- Add butter in the crockpot and turn on low to melt a little

- Add onion powder, seasoned salt, Worcestershire sauce

- Add remaining ingredients

- Stir. Butter might not be totally melted and that is fine.

- Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours, stirring every 45 min

- Dump out on a cookie sheet to cool.

Enjoy!

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Comfort Food – King Ranch Chicken

22 Jan

Do you have an open bag of tortilla chips in your cupboard? Maybe they are a little stale? Don’t throw them away, make king ranch chicken! We always seem to have an open bag of stale chips in the back of our pantry. This recipe is a great way to use them up and it’s easy to make ahead of time. Our toddler especially loves to crush the chips for me. Maybe pulverize is a better word than crush…

King Ranch Chicken

- 3 cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded

- 2 green onions chopped

- 1 T chili powder

- 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

- 2 cans of cream of chicken soup

- crushed corn chips (enough to cover bottom of pan)

- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

- 1/2 cup salsa

In a medium bowl add onion , soup, chili powder, tomatoes and salsa. Mix well.

Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray and line bottom of pan with crushed chips.

Add the chicken and the sauce in layers (1/2 chicken, 1/2 sauce, and repeat)and top with cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 35 min. Remove foil and bake 10 more minutes.

I serve with rice and beans.

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Trying Another New Recipe – Indian Spiced Lentils

20 Jan

Our family loves Indian food, so here’s hoping the slow cooker Indian Spiced Lentils will be a hit.

I modified the recipe somewhat from the crockpot365 blog.

My version

- 2 cups dried lentils (not pre-soaked, rinsed)

- 3 cups chicken broth

- 3 cups water

- 1 cup diced onion

- 1 cup diced celery

- 1 tsp cumin

- 1/2 tsp coriander

- 2 tsp curry

- 1/2 tsp dried mustard

- 1 tsp kosher salt

- 1 tsp chopped garlic

- dash of cayenne

- 2 frozen chicken breast halves.

 

- Add all ingredients (except chicken) into slow cooker, mix, and add chicken breasts on top. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7 hours.

- Close the lid. (Sometimes I forget to do this.)

That’s it! I plan on serving it over brown rice.

Update: Results are in and we have a happy family! It was delicious, healthy, easy, and a crowd pleaser. My husband had seconds and my oldest daughter said, “Oooh, great dinner, Mommy!” The recipe makes a lot. I could have easily had our neighbors over for dinner. Happily, we love leftovers. I highly recommend this recipe.

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Artichoke Hummus – Easy snack!

18 Jan

This artichoke hummus is fast, easy and yummy. Plus, my girls love it and it’s a good way to get veggies. This is from the Food for Friends cookbook.

In a mini food processor, combine:

- 1 can artichoke hearts

- 1 can garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas, but I really love saying gar-ban-zo!)

- 1 T olive oil

- salt and pepper to taste

 

Blend. Serve. Piece of cake!

I serve with cucumbers, pepper strips, and crackers.

 

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Attempting New Recipe – Four Cheese and Spinach Jumbo Shells

17 Jan

We are in a food rut. Time to try out some new recipes. I found this pasta recipe on Baby Bunching’s site, adapted from a Cooking Light recipe.  It’s naptime (surprise surprise) so I’m doing some work and starting dinner. I plan to cook the noodles and prepare the filling this afternoon while the girls are sleeping and I’ll do the final assembly tonight before dinner. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Update! This recipe was very easy, quick, tasty and beautiful. I put it together in about 15 minutes and it made two pans. One for dinner tonight and another pan that I will drop off at my friend’s house to welcome their new baby. You all should also know that I never follow a recipe exactly. I did not use fresh herbs and I used pre-chopped garlic from a jar. There. Now you know all my secrets. Ha!

Four Cheese Stuffed Shells Adapted from Cooking Light

- 1 pound jumbo shell pasta (about 40 shells)

- Cooking Spray

- 1 (12-ounce) carton low fat cottage cheese

- 1 (15-ounce) carton ricotta cheese

- 1 cup shredded Asiago cheese

- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced

- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives

- 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

- 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

- 8 cups marinara of your choice

- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and set aside. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat 2 (9×13-inch) baking dishes with cooking spray; set aside. Combine cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, Asiago, Parmesan, garlic, chives, parsley, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and drained spinach. Mix well. Spoon 1 tablespoon cheese mixture into each shell. Put 1 cup of marinara in the bottom of each pan. Arrange half of stuffed shells, seam sides up, in each prepared dish. Pour 3 cups marinara over stuffed shells in both pans. Sprinkle each with 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil. Bake at 375ºF for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

TO FREEZE: Prepare as directed but do not bake. Wrap tightly and freeze. Can be cooked from frozen. Cook covered with foil for 1 hour and 10 minutes at 375 or until the shells are thoroughly heated.

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