Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad

This week Gayle asked us to share our favorite recipes for The Grocery Cart Challenge: Recipe Swap, so here's one of mine. :)

Ingredients

8 ounces rotini pasta

1 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (plumped first by soaking in warm water, then drained)

1 green pepper-chopped

1 red pepper-chopped

1 can sliced black olives

1 small red onion-chopped

1 bottle Ken's Steak House Lite Sun-Dried Tomato salad dressing

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook pasta according to directions, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. While pasta is cooking, chop sun-dried tomatoes, peppers and onion into very small pieces. Mix with drained olives. Drain Rotini and rinse with cold water for about 3 minutes.

Mix pasta with tomatoes, peppers, onion and olives. Put in the refrigerator for about 1/2 an hour. Add salad dressing and mix well. Add Parmesan cheese and mix well. Serve immediately.

Rotini Casserole

This is a great recipe for nights when you only want to spend a few minutes in the kitchen, with minimal clean up.

Ingredients:

2 cups rotini pasta
1 pound lean ground beef
1 14.5-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
2/3 cup shredded, reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.
In a large nonstick skillet, cook ground beef until beginning to brown, about 8-9 minutes. Drain any excess fat.
Add remaining ingredients except cheese and pasta and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 6-7 minutes or until beginning to thicken. Fold in cheese and toss with pasta. Enjoy!

Broccoli Casserole

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 can cream of celery soup, undiluted
2 eggs, beaten
2 pkgs (10 oz each) frozen chopped broccoli, cooked and drained
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1 stick butter melted
Crushed Ritz Crackers (one sleeve)

PREPARATION:
Grease a 2-quart casserole and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise and soup, mixing well. Stir in the eggs and broccoli. Add the onion, Cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper. Pour into casserole dish. Now mix together the melted butter and Ritz crackers, and sprinkle on top.
Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes.
Serves 8 and it's oh so yummy!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:
¼ to ½ cup BBQ sauce of your choosing (Bullseye Original is good)
1 cup chopped cooked chicken
½ cup chopped red onions
½ cup chopped green pepper
2 cups mozzarella cheese

For the crust, you can make your own, or use 1 (13.8-oz.) package of Pillsbury Classic Pizza Dough.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll and stretch the dough out to about ¼ inch thickness. Place your shaped pizza crust on a cookie sheet or pizza pan. Top with the rest of the ingredients, in the order given. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the crust is browned and the cheese is bubbling. Enjoy!

Hamburger & Potato Casserole

A great "cheap" meal

I found this recipe someplace on the Internet, but couldn't find the link to it after looking for a very loooong time , so I apologize to the author in advance. My boybarians all love this one!

1 lb. ground beef
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
2 lbs. of potatoes (sliced in full circles)
2 cups shredded cheese

Brown the ground beef and season as you wish. While beef is cooking, bring the potatoes to a boil in a separate pot. The goal here is to cook them until fork tender, but not completely done. Drain both potatoes and ground beef. Combine them with cream of mushroom soup and sour cream in a 9X13 baking dish.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are done. Sprinkle with cheese and continue baking until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Crockpot Beef Stew

Ingredients:
1 package (1 oz.) Lawry's ® Au Jus Gravy Mix
5 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 1/2 cups baby carrots
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 package (0.88 oz.) Lawry's ® Brown Gravy Mix
2 cups frozen peas

In crockpot whisk together Au Jus Gravy Mix and 2 1/2 cups water. Place potatoes, onions and carrots in crockpot; add beef stew meat. Cover and cook on LOW for 9 to 10 hours. During last 30 minutes of cook time, increase temperature setting to HIGH, stir in Brown Gravy Mix, cover and finish cooking. Turn slow cooker off and stir in peas.

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

BISCUITS

4 cups flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
¼ cup oil
1 ½ cups milk

Sift dry ingredients together. Work in oil with pastry cutter. Add milk slowly as you mix. Dough will be firm but not tough. Roll out ½ inch thick and cut. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 12 biscuits

GRAVY

1 pound bulk sausage (Jimmy Dean mild or hot)
¾ cup milk
3 tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 dash pepper
1½ - 2 cups milk

Brown and thoroughly cook the sausage first. Then in a small container with a lid, put the ¾ cup milk, flour, salt, and pepper. Place lid on and shake well to mix. Add this to the sausage pan and stir with a wisk. Then add the additional milk (1½ - 2 cups). Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes more, or until it's smooth and creamy. Serve sausage, and gravy over biscuits.

Menu August 3rd - 9th

Sunday -Paula Deen's Chicken Bog , mixed greens

Monday-Taco Salad Bowls

Tuesday-Breakfast for Dinner: Scrambled eggs, Biscuits and Sausage Gravy, melon balls

Wednesday- Ham and Cheese Bow Ties , green beans
Thursday-Crockpot Beef Stew , rice, salad
Friday-BBQ Chicken Pizza , salad
Saturday-Hamburger & Potato Casserole, broccoli w/cheese

You can visit other blogs participating in Menu Plan Monday here hosted by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie. :)

The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

This week Gayle over at the Grocery Cart Challenge is looking for our favorite potluck recipes. This is my contribution, and my all time favorite dish to bring along...

Hashbrown Potato Casserole

1 bag 32 oz. frozen shredded hash browns (completely thawed)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 stick butter
1-2 cups crushed corn flakes

Melt 1/2 stick of butter and pour into 9x13 casserole dish.
In a large bowl mix shredded cheese, soup, sour cream, onion, salt and pepper. Mix well. Fold in hash brown potatoes. Pour mixture into 9 x 13 dish.
Melt 1/2 stick butter, and mix with crushed cornflakes. Sprinkle over the top of casserole.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until golden brown.

Baked Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:
4 pounds boneless chicken tenders, thawed (or slice boneless
skinless chicken into strips)
½ cup reduced fat mayonnaise or miracle whip
¼-½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
2 cups Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a large cookie sheet
with non-stick cooking spray.
Mix together the Mayo, garlic and onion powder. Place the
bread crumbs in a gallon size zip style bag.
Mix chicken tenders and mayo in a large bowl to lightly coat
chicken.
Put 2-3 chicken tenders in the bag with the bread crumbs.
Shake to coat. Place tenders in a single layer on the
greased cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken
pieces.
Bake at 425 degrees for 8 minutes. Turn over the tenders
and bake an additional 8 minutes or until chicken is no
longer pink in the middle.

Sunshine Barbecue Chicken

Ingriedients:

1 Reynolds Oven bag, large
2 tablespoon Flour
1 cup Bbq sauce
¼ cup Orange juice
8 pieces of chicken, with skin removed, or you can use boneless skinless chicken breasts in the amount you need.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Shake flour in bag; place in 13X9X2" pan. Add bbq sauce & orange juice to bag. Squeeze bag to blend ingredients. Add chicken to bag. Turn bag to coat chicken with sauce. Arrange chicken in an even layer. Close bag with tie; cut 1/2" slit in top. Bake until chicken is tender, 45-50 minutes. To serve, stir sauce; spoon over chicken.

Texas Toast Turkey Melts

Ingredients:
Butter or margarine spread
Slices of thick bread (I use a loaf of fresh "Texas Toast" bread)
Thinly sliced deli turkey
Bacon strips, cooked
Tomato, sliced thin
Cheddar cheese slices
(Amounts will depend on the number of sandwiches you're making)

Directions: Assemble as you would a grilled cheese sandwich, toast in pan, or under broiler, until bread is golden brown, and cheese is melted.

Mom's Meatballs

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine all the ingredients except the olive oil in a large bowl. Mix together thoroughly. Rinse your hands with cool water and lightly shape the mixture into 2-inch balls.
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet. Add the meatballs and brown them well on all sides, then add to your sauce to finish cooking. (about 30 minutes)

Menu, July 27th - Aug 2nd

Sunday- Rigatoni with Mom's Meatballs , salad, garlic bread

Monday- Baked Chicken Tenders, with dipping sauce of your choice, French fries, fruit

Tuesday- Tuna Casserole, peas-n-carrots, biscuits

Wednesday- Broccoli Cheese Soup , French bread, Five Cup Salad

Thursday- Texas Toast Turkey Melts, baby carrots with ranch dressing, cottage cheese

Friday- Dinner Out Night, as of now still undecided

Saturday- Sunshine Barbecue Chicken , Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad , broccoli w/cheese

The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

Gayle at The Grocery Cart Challenge is hosting a recipe swap, and this week she's looking for frugal dinner ideas for those times when you’re out of supplies, and need one more dinner before grocery shopping day. Here's my contribution…

4 Can Black Bean Chili
Quick, simple, frugal and really yummy! :)

Ingriedients:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can rotel
1 can of Mexican corn (or regular corn)
1 can beef broth
½ tsp. cumin
½ tsp. garlic powder

Don’t drain the rotel or the corn. Heat all together on stove top. Serve in bowls with a scoop of sour cream on top or with shredded cheese. This goes well with tortillas, rice, cornbread or biscuits.

Five Cup Salad

Some versions of this cool creamy dessert have marshmallows as an optional ingredient and others use marshmallows, but have coconut as the optional ingredient. What if you want to use both? Well, you can do that, too. It'll be six ingredients, but that's okay. Here in the south it'd still be a Five Cup Salad. That seems to be the rule. ;o)

"Five Cup Salad"

1 cup mandarin oranges

1 cup crushed and drained pineapple

1 cup plain yogurt

1 cup nuts

1 cup coconut

1 cup mini marshmallows

Take a cup of each these ingredients, stir them together, chill, and enjoy...its that easy!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

My friend Vicky gave me this recipe, and it's become a family favorite. It's great for cold weather, but we enjoy it in the summer too...Florida summers are soooo darn hot, I avoid using the oven whenever possible!



Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup

2 cans cream of celery soup (no substitutions)
1 can evaporated milk 12 oz size
1 lb sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1" cubes
1 10 oz package chopped broccoli, thawed
optional: cubed ham

Place all ingredients in crockpot, cover and cook on low 4 hrs or high 2 hrs. Stir occasionally.
I serve this with crusty French bread, and Five Cup Salad .

Cincinnati Chili

In Cincinnati, lots of folks eat chili nearly every day...a slightly different way. Two-way (on spaghetti), three-way (add cheese), four-way (beans on top) or five-way (with onions). Any way you eat it, Cincinnati Chili is definitely not boring! What makes it special are its spices. Greek immigrants invented the dish around 1920 and added their signature touch – cinnamon, allspice and cloves. An authentic pot of this exotic concoction would need to simmer for about four hours. This adapted recipe cuts the cooking time to 20 minutes to fit a typical weeknight schedule! Its wonderful comfort food to me, and all the boybarians love it! :)



Cincinnati Chili
Recipe By Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross

8 ounces thin spaghetti
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground beef (93 percent lean)
1 large onion (for 1 cup chopped)
1 large green bell pepper (for 11/2 cups chopped)
2 small cans (8-ounces each) tomato sauce
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
cayenne pepper to taste, optional
salt to taste
1 can (15 ounces) red kidney beans
1 cup already-shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1. Bring 2 1/2 quarts of unsalted water to a boil in a 4 1/2 -quart Dutch oven or soup pot. When the water reaches a rapid boil, add the spaghetti and cook until tender, 7 to 9 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil on high heat just until hot. Using your fingers, crumble the ground beef into the skillet. Peel and coarsely chop the onion, adding it to the skillet as you chop. Stir the meat occasionally. Rinse and seed the bell pepper and cut it into 1/4-inch dice. Add it to the skillet.
3. Cook, stirring frequently, until the ground beef is finely crumbled and completely browned, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium.
4. Add the tomato sauce, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, allspice and cloves. Stir to mix well. Reduce the heat to simmer, and continue to cook, stirring from time to time, until the pasta is done. Season with cayenne pepper and salt, to taste. Meanwhile, rinse and drain the beans, and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover with a paper towel and microwave 1 minute on high or until heated through.
5. To serve, divide the drained spaghetti among 4 serving bowls. Top each serving with chili, 1/2 cup kidney beans and 1/4 cup shredded cheese. For five-way chili, sprinkle raw diced onions on top. Serve at once. Serves 4

Summer Stew

Start to finish 20 minutes
Budget $2.69 per serving
Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine Aug. 08

Ingredients
1 17-oz. pkg. refrigerated cooked beef roast au jus

1 8-oz. pkg. peeled fresh baby carrots, sliced

3-1/2 cups water

1/2 of a 16-oz. pkg. refrigerated rosemary-and-roasted garlic-seasoned, diced red-skinned potatoes (about 2 cups)

1 14.5-oz. can diced fire-roasted tomatoes with garlic

2 Tbsp. snipped fresh oregano

Directions 1. Pour juices from beef roast into large saucepan; set meat aside. Add carrots and 1 cup water to saucepan; bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 3 minutes. Add remaining water, potatoes, tomatoes ,and 1 tablespoon oregano. Return to boiling; cover. Simmer 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Break beef into bite-size pieces and add to stew; heat through. Season with salt.
2. Spoon into shallow bowls; top with freshly ground black pepper and remaining oregano. Makes 4 servings.

Finding My Birth Mother

I was raised in a wonderful loving home, and given all the care a child could ever need. Yet in my heart I felt a longing for a mother I didn't know. It was always with me. From the time I was a child I scanned faces in every crowd looking for her. Anyone with the slightest resemblance to me caught my eye. I didn't know if I would ever find her, but I knew someday I wanted to try.

I always knew that I was adopted, because my parents started telling me when I was so young, that I honestly don't ever remember not knowing. It wasn't until after asking a lot of questions in my teens, that my mom told me she had the names of my birth mother and the man she was married to (he was not my father).

It was a private adoption arranged through a physician who was a friend of my adoptive parents, so she had this information all along. Finding out my birth mom's name, and that she was only 15 years old when I was born, was enough for me at that time. I went on with my life, until a few more years passed, and again that longing returned to my heart.

I knew finding her would be difficult, because I only knew her married name, so the only thing I really had to go on was the name of the man she was married to.
I placed an ad in a little magazine I heard about on a local talk show to try and find him; it was for locating birth parents/children, and other missing people. After about a month I received a phone call from a woman who lived in Arizona who was searching for someone herself. She decided to look up his name in her phone book, just to try and help me. It was there so she gave me the info.

I wasn't even sure it was the right person, but I got up the nerve to contact him. Well, it was the man who had been married to my birth mom, and he was happy to fill me in on his part in the story. Unfortunately he hadn't seen her in many years, but he was able to give me the information that eventually helped me find her...her maiden name and her parents names.

I tried finding her and her parents right away, but without any success. I thought about contacting a private investigator too, but there was always that feeling of...what if she didn't want to know me? I wondered if I even had the right to barge into her life at all.

Around the same time I also registered with an organization in Nevada that will reunite adoptees and birth parents; if your info matches up in their system they'll contact you, but nothing ever came of it. I never gave up on finding her someday, and it was always in my heart, but again I put it on the back burner as my life became busy with marriage and having my children.

Fast forward to February 2002. Finding my birth-mom had been on my heart strongly over the last several years, so I started once again to search for her. On April 13, 2002 I found her mothers obituary on line, and all the information matched...I was beyond excited when I saw it...I went running through the house screaming Oh my god, oh my god, on the way to tell my husband who was still in bed as this was about 6:00 in the morning on a Saturday!

The obituary had my birth moms name, the city she lived in, and the names of her two brothers and their cities listed. I searched for her phone number right away but came up with nothing, so I moved on to her brothers. I was able to find one of them with a listed number in Oklahoma, but since it was so early in the morning, and in a different time zone, I had to wait for a decent hour to call, which just about killed me!

When I finally called, a very sweet woman answered, who was my birth mom's sister-in-law. To my surprise she knew about me, and was happy to hear from me. She said that they had always wondered how I was. She also told me that my birth mom was sick, and had been fighting lung cancer for the last two years. I was overjoyed and devastated all in the same moment.

She said she would contact my birth mom, who lived in California, and call me back. A few more gut wrenching hours went by.

When she finally called, it was with the news that my birth mom was very happy to hear from me, but was too nervous to talk to me on the phone just yet. She gave me her e mail address and asked if I would mind writing back and forth first instead. I was fine with that of course!

We talked through e mail for almost 2 weeks and exchanged pictures. Finally on April 22, (which just happens to be my birthday) she called. It was wonderful getting to know her, we had a lot in common, and I look very much like her, especially my eyes. :) She gave me the name of my birth father, and told me the long story of my adoption.

The last week of May of 2002, my birth mom, her brother, and sister-in-law all came here to Florida to meet me and my family. We had 6 precious days together, but we only spent one alone; we went to lunch at a seafood restaurant on the water, did a little shopping, and had the chance to really talk. I'll never forget that day as long as I live.

After she returned to California we continued to talk on the phone and through e mail. As the weeks past she became sicker and on August 15th 2002 she lost her battle with lung cancer.

I feel so blessed to have been able to find her when I did, and I truly feel it was heaven sent. My heart still aches because I miss her so much, but I know how lucky I am too, to have been able to share the time that we did.

Part two of the story is just as long, so I'll give you the condensed version. I waited two more years before looking for my birth father, Mainly out of fear of rejection, and not wanting to be hurt by any more possible loss in my life. I wasn't able to locate him, but in March of 2004 I found his daughter, my half sister, on Ebay! She's an artist, and when I did a search of their last name, and the city I was born in, I found a web site, that lead me to her Ebay page, so I contacted her!! We still laugh about it, because we know you really can find ANYTHING on Ebay!

Since then, I've gotten to know her and my dad very well, and we talk on the phone and through e mail almost weekly. I haven't met them in person yet, they live in Arizona, but we hope to go out there very soon! :) I also have 3 half brothers, and have been in touch with one so far. Anyway that's it...my whole loooong story.

Menu July 21-27

Hi, thanks for stopping by! :) I'm new to Menu Plan Monday and blogging...but not to planning menus. With three rapidly growing boys, I depend on planning, and can't imagine life without it! Nothing I make is too fancy, or intentionally health conscious, just good food that brings a smile to the faces of all the boybarians...even the big one! ;o) I'd be happy to share any of my recipes with you!

BREAKFAST

Monday: eggs, toast, bacon, juice

Tuesday: oatmeal and milk
Wednesday: Pumpkin Muffins fruit and milk

Thursday: eggs, toast, bacon, juice
Friday: cereal and fruit
Saturday: pancakes, sausage, milk
Sunday: doughnuts, milk

THIS WEEKS LUNCH CHOICES
Mini Pizzas
PB&J
Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Egg Salad sandwiches
Turkey & cheese sandwich with chips
Bean burritos

DINNER
Monday: Angel Hair Pasta Chicken - Allrecipes with Garlic bread, and salad
Tuesday: Tater Tot Casserole, green beans
Wednesday: Italian Chicken and Potatoes (crockpot)
Thursday: Cincinnati Chili , sliced cucumbers with ranch dressing, corn muffins
Friday: Chicken and Dumplings
Saturday: Pizza (dinner out night)
Sunday: Burgers on the grill, baked beans, fries, watermelon

Things about me...

This is my very first blog!
I'm a morning person...I wake up cheerful every day, even before coffee!
I'm a wife, and stay at home mom of 3 boys, AKA the boybarians, ages 13, 10 and 10...not a typo the youngest are identical twins. :)
We have two dogs, 4 cats, one hamster, and 2 goldfish...between all the critters and the boys it's hard to keep track of who's been fed some days! ;o)
I call three states home, Arizona where I was born and lived as a child. Ohio where I lived as a teen, and Florida where I've lived my whole adult life.
I love to watch sports, especially if my sons are playing, and I'm a huge college and pro football fan...Go Gators, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers!!!
I love shopping, getting my hair and nails done, and going to a day spa sounds like a slice of heaven about now!!!
I'm a strange mix of a tomboy and girlie girl.
I'm always on a diet...or falling off of one.
I have a passion for meal planning and cooking! Which might explain the constant need for dieting! ;o)