Pot of Gold

I got this recipe from my parents. I thought it would taste weird after seeing the list of ingredients, but then I made it and it was actually pretty good! This is a good recipe to use if you have the canned ingredients and noodles in your food storage. It's pretty cheap to make and really easy, too!


Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion (or dried minced onion)
1 can cream style corn
1 cup mild cheese (grated)
1 can tomato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
6 oz. noodles (I used half of a 12 oz. bag of noodles, but you could use more or less...whatever you want)

Directions
Brown meat and onion, cook noodles. Put meat and onion in casserole dish. Add noodles and remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees 1 hour.


The second time we made this, we put a little extra cheese on top right after it came out of the oven. Yum!

Zucchini Pie

I was looking online for other recipes that call for zucchini. I already made stuffed zucchini, zucchini casserole, chocolate zucchini cake, parmesan fried zucchini (not my favorite, which is why I didn't post the recipe here on the blog), and zucchini bread (recipe coming soon). What else could I make with zucchini? I found this recipe for zucchini pie and decided to make it since we had all the ingredients. It was yummy!


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
3/4 cup buttermilk baking mix
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
1/2 cup diced onion (or minced onion)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs, beaten

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly butter one 9 inch pie plate. In a medium bowl mix zucchini, buttermilk baking mix, tomato, corn, onion, cheese and eggs together. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Do not cover the dish while it is cooking. Serve warm.


This was really good!--a lot better than what I expected it to be. We used some baking mix that we already had which wasn't buttermilk, but it tasted just fine. Also, we used canned corn since the corn from our garden wasn't quite ready. I doubled all the ingredients and put it in a 9x13 baking dish. That way we had leftovers for a few days. :)

Zucchini (or Eggplant) Casserole

This is a really yummy casserole, and it doesn't cost very much to make if you grow all or most of the vegetables in your garden. :) I got this recipe from my parents. There are pictures to go along with the directions:

2 med. zucchini, cubed (or 2 med. peeled eggplant)
6 Tbsp. butter or margarine
6 Tbsp. flour
6 lg. tomatoes (or canned tomatoes)
2 sm. green peppers, chopped
2 sm. onions, chopped
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
bread crumbs or cubes OR 1 box stuffing mix, prepared according to pkg. directions
grated cheddar cheese
mushrooms (optional)


Cook zucchini (or eggplant) in boiling water for 10 minutes or until tender, drain. Place in greased 9" x 13" casserole dish.



Melt butter, blend in flour. Peel and chop tomatoes (an easy way to peel them is to put them in hot water for a few minutes and then they will peel easily) and add to butter mixture, or if using canned tomatoes, add them at the end of cooking the following ingredients. Add green peppers, onions, brown sugar, salt, bay leaf, and ground cloves. (You don't have to use the bay leaf or ground cloves if you don't want to.) Cook for 5 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes if you are using them. Pour over zucchini (or eggplant).

Top with bread crumbs or cubes, or prepared stuffing.

Top with cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

ENJOY!!!!! Mmmm, Mmmm! :)

Green Bean Casserole

This is a really fast main- or side-dish. It can be made on the stove top or in the oven, which makes it versatile!


Ingredients
canned green beans*
cream of mushroom soup*
fried onions
black pepper, to taste
spices^ (optional)


Directions for stovetop
1. Combine green beans and soup in medium or large saucepan. Cook thoroughly on medium heat, stirring occasionally.
2. Add pepper and other spices.
3. Add fried onions over casserole just before serving. -OR- Pour mixture in a baking dish, spread fried onions on top, and broil for 20-40 seconds to get crispier onions.

Directions for oven
1. Combine green beans, soup, and any spices in a bowl.
2. Pour into a baking dish.
3. Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes.
3. Five minutes before the planned baking stop time, pull out the casserole. Top with fried onions and bake for remainder of the time.


*The amount of beans and soup depending on how you like the consistency of your casserole. We made it with six cans of beans and three cans of soup (I think).

^Some spice options could include: onion powder, italian seasoning, garlic powder, and season salt. Use your imagination and nose to test out your favorite combinations! We made it with the pepper only.

Biscuits and Beans

Finally! A new recipe! It's been a while since I've posted anything on this blog. This recipe is one that my Great Aunts (my mom's aunts) made a few years ago when my family was visiting them in Pocatello, ID. It's really good!

1 lb. ground beef
1 can (16 oz.) pork & beans
3/4 cup ketchup (BBQ sauce)
1 Tbsp. onion (minced or fresh)
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tube (12 oz.) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/2-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the beans, ketchup (or BBQ sauce), brown sugar, onion, and salt; mix well. Bring to a boil. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. (As you can see in the picture above, I had used a 3-qt.-9"x13"-pan, so I ended up using 2 tubes of biscuits. It had been a while since I made this, so I forgot that I use a smaller pan for it.) Separate biscuits and arrange over the hot beef mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown.

This is what it's supposed to look like... in a smaller pan. I didn't put the cheese on it this time that I made it. It's good with or without cheese. :)

Biscuits and Beans!

Enchiladas!

We love enchiladas! I don't have the recipe written down anywhere, so this is just coming from my head. We have been making it from memory and experimenting with it. This is just the simple recipe that my mom always used, but Ryan and I have added our own things to it...

1 lb. hamburger
1 can refried beans
tortillas
enchilada sauce
cheese

Brown hamburger; drain. Add the refried beans to the hamburger. Put some of this mixture in the middle of a tortilla and wrap the tortilla around it. Place each wrapped tortilla in a greased pan. Pour enchilada sauce over the top and cover with cheese. Put in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes (long enough to melt the cheese).

It's that simple! Ryan usually seasons the meat and we have added a little bit of ranch dressing to the meat mixture as well as on top of the enchilada sauce. As you can see in the pictures, we added olives on top (sliced or whole), and we've also tried mushrooms and green peppers on top once or twice. (The green pepper didn't taste very good on it, but it was worth a try!) This is a good recipe that you can just play around with. It never ends up being the same!

Enjoy & Experiment!!

Macaroni and Cheese (homemade!)

I am so spoiled with this homemade macaroni and cheese! I won't eat the boxed stuff anymore unless it was the last thing on the earth to eat. Haha! I don't remember where I got this recipe, but I started making it and I've enjoyed making it and eating it ever since! It's GOOD!!!

I usually make a little more than what the recipe says, but you can experiment and figure out what's good for you and your family and/or friends. I like to have leftovers to eat on other days. :)

6 oz. elbow macaroni (1 1/2 cups)
3 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (optional) -- (I use about 1-2 Tbsp. of minced onion instead.)
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups sharp American cheese (or some other kind of cheese--I use Colby and Monterey Jack)

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain. In saucepan melt butter or margarine. If using onion, cook it in butter till tender but not brown. Blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Add milk all at once; cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Add cubed (or shredded) cheese to sauce; stir till melted. Stir macaroni into cheese sauce. Turn mixture into a 1 1/2 quart casserole. Bake uncovered at 350 till heated through, 30-35 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

Mmmmmmm...... :)