Recipe: Hillbilly spaghetti pie

Sugar Pie Farm House... I've had the blog in my google reader for awhile now and I've enjoyed reading the posts. I love how she decorates and she has one of my all time favorite signs. "Pie fixes everything"

Today I was perusing her site and came across a recipe called Hillbilly Spaghetti Pie Luckily I had all of the ingredients here at home.

This was amazing! 10+ on our scale.

Creamy with a touch of spicy only because I went a little overboard on the red pepper flakes. This will probably be replacing regular spaghetti in our house. If your not into red pepper flakes, don't be afraid of them I went years without using them and now I fit them in whenever I can. The 1/4 tsp will add the slightest hint of spicy.

I did do a couple things different than her recipe (imagine that, right?). While I have several cast iron skillets they were Boyd's Moms and they need to be cleaned. So I just used one of my oven safe skillets.

On the ingredients all we had was angel hair pasta. I used around 4 servings from the Tupperware canister. I also used a 1 quart jar of my canned tomatoes which is a bit more than the recipe called for. I didn't adjust the liquids and thought it turned out great.

As a side note. Did you know that you can freeze whipping cream, half & half & milk? I highly recommend freezing in the portion size you'll be using. I thawed my whipping cream and now I have to figure out how to use the rest.

Happy Cooking!

Recipe: Brussels Sprouts

While I've heard of Brussels Sprouts before I don't know that I'd ever tried them before we stayed at Hotel McNeeley. I had them for the first time and I was hooked. I fixed them for Thanksgiving and was shocked when they barely made it around the table once.

Here's my super secret simple recipe:
Take an oven safe casserole. Drizzle the bottom with olive oil. Add 1 bag Brussels Sprouts. Drizzle with a little oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir a little. Bake at 400* for 45-50 mins if frozen 30 - 40 mins if thawed.

I've only made them once at Thanksgiving. They cooked for I don't know how long and the outsides were getting crispy brown. They weren't done in the middle so I nuked them for a couple or 5 mins.

Recipe: Spinach Manicotti

I have been craving manicotti and was planning to make it over the weekend. Instead I made it tonight after work based on a recipe I found at Betty Crocker dot com. I had different ingredients so it's not an exact match.

Spinach Manicotti

1 box (12 noodles) Barilla Lasagne noodles rolled flat like home made (these are so good!)
2 cups shredded mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 container (15 oz) cottage cheese
1 box (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach. Thawed, drained & squeezed dry.
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 jar (25 oz) favorite pasta sauce. I used Hunts traditional spaghetti sauce

1. Preheat oven to 375*. Cook pasta 5-6 mins until tender but not done.
2. Saute the spinach and garlic.
3. In medium bowl mix 1 1/2 C shredded cheese, red pepper flakes, spinach, garlic and egg. Mix well.
4. In bottom of 9x13 pan spread 1 Cup of pasta sauce. Spoon cheese and spinach mix in the noodle length wise. Roll and place in pan. Top with pasta sauce.
5. Cover tightly with foil and bake 30-40 mins. Remove foil and top with remaining cheese. Cook for 5 mins.

This recipe rates a 9 according to our 10 point scale. Definitely a keeper! We thought it needed more cheese on top. The spices were perfect, I was afraid it would be to spicy but it was just right. Next time I might make it with some shredded Parmesan in the mix.

Recipe: Tortilla Soup

This is one of Boyd's favorite meals. He frequently asks for it especially in the winter. I found it on Jeanette Lyton's blog and we've tweaked a few things to make it fit us.

Our version:
2 C water
2 C chicken broth - I found an instant broth that I love!
1 can white meat chicken - break up the meat
1 box spanish rice - I use uncle bens or rice a roni
1 can black beans rinsed
1 can rotel diced tomatoes with lime & cilantro
optional: 1 can corn

Put these items in the soup pot water, broth, chicken and rice and cook according to the rice instructions. Add the beans, tomatoes and corn and heat through. Stir in one large tablespoon of sour cream.

Serve with Tortilla chips.

Original recipe:
1 12.5 oz can chicken breast
1 can chicken broth
1 8.8 oz ready rice spanish style
1 10 oz can rotel diced tomatoes with lime juice and cilantro
1 15 oz can pinto beans
1 lg spoon sour cream

Pour chicken and broth into a soup pan. Break up chunks and bring to a boil. Add rice, tomatoes and beans with liquid in that order. Stir gently. When soup is hot stir in sour cream and serve with chips.

Recipe: Cheeseburger Macaroni

I don't remember where I found this recipe but it's one we like.

Cheeseburger Macaroni
1 lb ground beef
1 C chopped onion
1 C stewed or chopped tomatoes
1 C elbow noodles
1 1/2 C shredded cheese
1 C water

Brown ground beef and onion, drain. Add tomatoes and water and bring to a boil. Stir in elbow noodles, cover and simmer for 10 mins. Stir in cheese.

* the last time I made this I didn't have cheese and stirred in a large tablespoon of sour cream. Boyd said he liked it more than usual.

Recipe: Ham Loaf

This is one of our favorite meals and Boyd loves to use leftovers for cold sandwiches. It's very easy to put together at the last minute.

Ham Loaf:
1 lb ham loaf*
1 egg
1/2 C corn flake crumbs

Topping:
1/2 C brown sugar
2 Tbsp vinegar
3/4 C ketchup

Gently beat the egg and add the corn flake crumbs and mix well. Mix the egg mixture with the ham loaf. Press into a lightly greased glass pan - we use an oval almost 8x10. Mix the topping well and spread evenly over the top of the ham loaf. Bake at 350* for 35-40 mins.

* Ham Loaf is something we are able to purchase from the meat counter at Fareway. They may not have it every week but it's there periodically. Basically it's ground up ham. I'm thinking next time there's a good sale on ham we need to buy one and grind it ourselves.

Other information:
- We have frozen the baked product and it reheats very well.
- I have made this into ham balls and it's very good. It's just easier for me to make the loaf.
- We have made it in the microwave and it turns out fine. Bake on high for 15 mins. Add topping and baking for 5 mins.

Happy Cooking!
Karen