Scalloped Carrots...

Many of us have eaten scalloped potatoes, but have you had scalloped carrots?

This dish is simple, tasty, travels well, and will please your fussiest eaters. Scalloped carrots puts a fancy twist on plain baked carrots!

If you want a variety, try substituting half the carrots for sweet potato.

For cheese lovers you can sprinkle ¼ to ½ cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese on top

Ingredients:

10 carrots, cleaned

1 cup milk

3 eggs, beaten

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup bread crumbs or crushed Ritz crackers

¼ cup melted butter or margarine

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F

In a small skillet sauté onions until transparent

In medium pan boil carrots in a small amount of water until tender, drain and mash carrots

Blend onions and remaining ingredients to mashed carrots, and then pour into a greased baking dish

Place dish in a pan of water, bake until firm approximately 45 to 60 minutes

Broccoli Casserole…

Yummy and cheesy way to get kids to eat broccoli!

I like to add a cup of chopped cooked chicken breast to make it a one pot meal. Serve tossed salad and French bread.

20 ounces of frozen broccoli, thawed and chopped

1 10-3/4 ounce can of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup

1 cup of mayonnaise

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup of cheddar cheese, grated

8 ounces Velveeta cheese, cubed

2 eggs

16 Ritz crackers, crushed

¼ cup Butter

Directions:

Butter or spray with cooking a 9X13X3 glass baking dish

Preheat oven 350°F

Mix broccoli, soup, mayonnaise, onion, garlic, eggs and cheeses in a medium bowl until blended.

Pour into buttered pan then sprinkle with crushed crackers, dot top of crackers with butter

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

Pork and Apple Cheddar Burgers…

1 pound ground pork

¾ cup shredded apple

¼ cup chopped green onions

½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

4 slices of cheddar cheese

4 onion topped hamburger buns

Directions:

In a medium bowl combine apples, onion, thyme, salt and pepper, fold in pork until well combined.

Form mixture into 4 patties about ¾ inch thick.

Grill over medium coals, covered for 5 minutes.

Turn, cover and cook an additional 4 to 6 minutes. Internal temperature show be 160°F

Place a slice of cheese on each patty and serve on bun.  

Ham Tetrazzini...

I went looking the other day for a recipe to use up the last bit of ham from Christmas. I came across a recipe for Ham Tetrazzini. I made the recipe tonight for dinner and ended up adding a lot more to it.

 I did not think the family would like it, so I doctored the recipe a bit more adding milk, spices, frozen peas and cream cheese. I did not make a salad or bread to serve with this dish. I sort of figured, they would turn their noses up and not eat it… Silly Mommy!

They of course loved this dish and I about had a riot on my hands when they found out there were not seconds… whoops!

 When I told my husband I needed to go write down the recipe, he said, “Uh yeah, it would be really nice to have that meal again.”

Lucky for me, I made a banana cream pie for dessert and was able to pacify them with it.

I would suggest if you have any white wine, you might add a tablespoon or two. I think it would really bring out the flavors and make it seem like you slaved all day in the kitchen, when in reality you spent less than forty-five minutes!

Ingredients:

Small onion, diced

1 Tablespoon butter

1 – 10.75 oz of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup

½ cup water

½ cup milk

1 ½ cup diced ham

¼ to ½ cup of frozen peas

2 oz cream cheese, cut into cubes

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 Tablespoons dried parsley

1 Tablespoon dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon of crushed red peppers

black pepper to taste

6 oz spaghetti noodles

Directions:

Cook spaghetti noodles according to package

In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and sauté onion and parsley until tender

Stir in cream of mushroom soup, water, milk, cheeses, garlic powder, rosemary, peppers and garlic.

Stir until all the chesses have melted

Stir in ham and peas, turn off burner and cover for five minutes

Portion out noodles and ladle one-cup portions of sauce over the noodles.

Crock-Pot Shepherd’s Pie…

For this recipe, I took two recipes and combined them. I wanted something simple, quick and tasteful that would be warm and savoring to come home after the kids bowling practice.

A traditional shepherd’s pie is made with ground lamb. I used ground beef, since it was what was in my freezer.

I also cheated a bit, for the gravy; I used a jar Heinz beef gravy. I made instant mashed potatoes. You could cheat there too and use pre-packaged ones, for me it was a cost over convenience.

When I made the mashed potatoes, after pouring in the milk, I added a handful of finely grated cheddar cheese and half a sleeve of crush Ritz crackers. Again, you can use breadcrumbs, I used what I had on hand.

I did not add in any spices besides garlic and dried Rosemary. I was worried about how salty the dish would come out using the canned soup and gravy. My family thought it was missing something and added salt. They said it was missing… I thought it was fine. You could add a 2 tablespoons of red wine (if you have it on hand) to increase the flavor a bit.

1 lbs lean ground beef or lamb

1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables (I used PicSweet Brand 12-16-ounce bag of frozen carrots, peas, corn and green beans)

Half of a small onion, diced

2 Tablespoons of minced garlic

2 Tablespoons of dried rosemary

2 cups hot cooked mashed potatoes

1 sleeve of Ritz crackers crushed

1 cup of Kraft Cheddar Cheese, finely grated

1 10 ounce can of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup

1 12ounce jar of Heinz Beef Gravy

Optional 2 Tablespoons of red wine

Directions:

Brown ground meat, drain

In crock-pot on low heat, combine meat, vegetables, soup, gravy, 1 tablespoon of rosemary, 1 tablespoon of garlic. Wine if you chose

Mix ½ cup of cheese, remaining rosemary and garlic with half of the crushed crackers into the mashed potatoes.

Pour and spread potatoes evenly on top of meat mixture.

Top with remaining cheese, cover cook for 4-6 hours.