Better Than the Box Macaroni and Cheese.

As much as I enjoy making recipes from scratch, time constraints necessitate using boxed, canned, frozen or prepackaged food sources.  When it comes to macaroni and cheese, my recipe for Creamy Macaroni and Cheese is better than any packaged brand.  Four different cheeses melted into a heavy cream mixture before drenching perfectly cooked elbow macaroni...heavenly!  But, it takes time to create, and sometimes that isn't convenient, so I go to the box.  We prefer the Velveeta Shells and Cheese; it's the "rather have liquid cheese than powdered" principle.  As to whether Velveeta is really a cheese, I'll leave that to those who have the free time for this debate.

I made meatloaf to go with my Shells and Cheese casserole.  As a joke, I took a photo of my meal next to the picture on the box.  Personally, I think my meal photo looks much more appetizing.

Shells and Cheese Casserole

 

Ingredients:

1 (24 oz.) box Velveeta Shells and Cheese

1 (10 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (12 oz.) package frozen corn, thawed
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
½ cup diced onion
½ tsp ground black pepper
¾  cup crumbled bacon

Preparation:

Prepare Velveeta Shells and Cheese according to package directions.

Preheat oven to 350F; grease 3 quart baking dish with butter.

In a large bowl, mix remaining ingredients, except bacon, with the prepared shells and cheese.  Spread evenly into butter baking dish; sprinkle bacon over top.

 

Bake for 30-40 minutes; top will be browned and firm to touch.

Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

 

Side Dish Turned into a Full Meal.

I was thumbing through "3 in 1 Books - Crock Pot" to get any ideas for something new to make, when I came upon this side dish, "Scalloped Tomatoes and Corn".  Sounded interesting, so read the recipe and said to myself, "Huh?"  Read it once more and said, "What the...?"

Here is the original recipe in the section called "Impress Your Guests".

Scalloped Tomatoes and Corn

Ingredients:

1 (15 oz.) can cream style corn
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
3/4 cup saltine cracker crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tsps. sugar
3/4 tsp. black pepper

Preparation:

Combine corn, tomatoes with juice, cracker crumbs, egg, sugar and pepper in crock pot; mix well.  Cover; cook on low 4 to 6 hours or until done.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

My first question for the preparation is "What size crock pot?"  For the best cooking medium, a crock pot should be almost full (allowing for liquid produced during cooking); no way this would fill a 6-quart, not even a 4-quart.  Second question, "Why the sugar?"  The cream style corn would release sugar during cooking; isn't that why salt wasn't added, because of the saltine crackers?  Third question was "How is this scalloped?  Scalloped means a casserole with cream and cheese incorporated; ok, the cream style corn could act as the cream, but where was the cheese?

So, how was I going to work with this recipe, but make it even better.  First thing was to check out the freezer; and I struck gold!  After Thanksgiving, turkeys and turkey breasts have a tendency to go on sale.  I usually buy a turkey breast, roast it, and portion out the meat into freezer bags for future use; they last up to six months.  I also found a package of applewood smoked bacon; bacon makes everything better!

A little bit of this, a little bit of that; skip the sugar altogether.  All the ingredients fit inside a 2-quart crock pot, cooked in four hours and created a complete meal, for four, of delicious comfort food.

Come, see what I have created in my lab...umm  kitchen, I meant kitchen.

Scalloped Turkey with Bacon

Ingredients:

1 lb. cooked turkey breast, chopped

½ cup diced celery
4 slices Applewood smoked bacon, cut into one inch pieces
6 slices Swiss cheese
1 (15 oz.) can sweet corn, cream style
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 cup crumbled saltine crackers
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. crushed dried thyme leaves

 Preparation:

 

Spray inside of a 2-quart crock pot with nonstick cooking spray.  Layer the turkey, celery, bacon; cover with the Swiss cheese slices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a medium mixing bowl, gently mix together corn, tomatoes, crackers, egg, black pepper and thyme so as to not break up the crackers any further.  Spread over ingredients inside the crock pot.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cover, set on low, and cook for four hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Makes four servings.

 

Mary Cokenour

 

 

Cottage Pie with a Southwestern Twist.

Cottage Pie (made with ground beef) is the American version of Shepherd's Pie; a staple of the UK, Scotland and Ireland made with ground lamb; both have simple vegetables added and a mashed potato topping. This new version of mine is going to have a Southwestern twist by using a cornbread topping, adding beans, chili powder and cilantro. A time saver with this recipe is that the topping bakes along with the casserole, instead of having to make it ahead.

Beef Casserole with Cornbread Topping

Ingredients:

2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 (12 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with sweet onions
1 (15.5 oz.) can white kidney beans (Great Northern)
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp crushed, dried cilantro
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 (8 oz.) package medium sharp Cheddar cheese
2 (7 oz.) packages cornbread muffin mix
1 (8.25 oz.) cream style sweet corn

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375F and lightly spray a 4-quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Brown ground beef in a large skillet, over medium-high heat, until there is no more pink color.

 

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the browned beef with the mixed vegetables, diced tomatoes, white beans, salt, black pepper, paprika, cilantro and chili powder; spread out into the baking dish.  Spread out cheese over the mixture.

  

 

In a medium mixing bowl, prepare cornbread mix according to directions, but leave out the water and ¼ cup of oil; instead add in the creamed corn.  Mix thoroughly and spread out over the cheese and beef/vegetable mixture.

 

 

Bake for 25-35 minutes; until cornbread is golden browned; let rest 15 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Stuffed Peppers with a Zatarain's Mix.

I went to the local market (Blue Mountain Foods) last week which happened to have red and green bell peppers on sale for 69 cents each. Anyone who enjoys bell peppers knows that they seem to be often priced as if they are genetically enhanced with gold.  I took advantage by buying six of each; half to be used in the recipe I'll be posting; the other half to be sliced, diced, julienned and frozen for future usage.

Whenever I make stuffed peppers, one component is ground beef; the flavors of peppers and beef marry together quite well.  This recipe has another twist to it, ground turkey and just because I wanted to experiment and try out something new.  I gave one to a friend without telling her what the ingredients were first; her assessment was, "It was good.  I liked it, but..." and I finished the sentence for her; "it didn't have a beef flavor".  That hit the nail on the head for her.  Ground turkey, or chicken, is pretty tasteless and needs to be seasoned extremely well.  Personally, I simply do not like either; no matter how much seasoning or sauce is added to it, that bland flavor of the poultry comes through strongly.  That doesn't mean that I will not make it for others, nor will I stop attempting to experiment with these products.

So, here's my experimental recipe; try it and I hope you like it.

Cajun Seasoned Turkey and Rice Stuffed Peppers

 Ingredients:

1 and ½ lbs. ground turkey

2 Tbsp. no-salt seasoning mix
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 (8 oz.) package Zatarain’s Red Beans and Rice
6 tsps. Olive oil
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
Salt (if deemed necessary for taste)
6 large red, green or mixture of both bell peppers; seeds and white pith removed, save tops

Preparation:

In a large skillet, medium-high heat, brown together the ground turkey, no-salt seasoning and mushrooms until turkey is no longer pink.  Prepare the Zatarain’s according to package directions.

 

 

Preheat oven to 375F; line the cups of a large muffin tin with aluminum foil; pour a teaspoon of olive oil into each foil lined cup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a large mixing bowl, combine the skillet mixture, Zatarain’s and diced tomatoes; taste to see if salt needs to be added. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stuff each of the bell peppers; place tops back on and put half teaspoon of filling into holes; place each stuffed pepper into a foil lined cup.

 

Bake for 30 minutes.

Makes six servings.

Mary Cokenour

Crock Pot Roast with a Kick.

You are going to love this pot roast recipe; it only has four...yes, count them, four ingredients. It's done up in the crock pot and only needs six hours for complete yumminess. Now I used medium heat diced tomatoes with green chiles; like it hotter, than use hot; like it milder, than use mild.

Spicy BBQ Pot Roast

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

2 and 1/2 to 3 lb. roast (eye round or sirloin), trimmed of fat
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles (medium heat)
2 cups BBQ sauce (homemade or bottled)

Preparation:

Spray inside of 4 quart crock pot with nonstick spray; set on low. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spread onions on bottom of pot; place roast on top of onions.   Pour diced tomatoes over the roast; pour BBQ sauce over all.

Cook for six hours.

Makes six servings.

 

Note: if sauce is too thin, transfer to saucepan and cook on high heat until thickened.

Mary Cokenour

I Beat My Own Balls.

Meatballs that is.  Now my softball sized meatballs have always been yummy, but I wanted something different; I needed a change of pace.  Instead of that huge one meatball on top of my spaghetti or pasta, how about two to three smaller ones; same amount of meat, just a different look for the eye.  Another change is mostly due to supply and demand; finding a simply ground pork that hasn't been preseasoned for use as a breakfast sausage is almost next to impossible around here.  Oh, and one more minor change, the onions; instead of dicing them up and putting them into the meat mixture raw, I added a can of diced tomatoes with sweet onions.  The onions are steam processed with the tomatoes, so are softened; sometimes the raw onions don't soften up when added raw and not everyone likes to bite into raw onion.  In our tiny store which acts as the local "supermarket", the Western Family brand is sold and they carry diced tomatoes with sweet onions.  I've looked in supermarkets and Walmart, but haven't found anything to its equal as yet; so if you can find some, stock up!



Of course the meatballs are parbaked in the oven before adding them to a pot of homemade sauce to finish off cooking.  Taking out all that excess grease from the meat makes a big difference on how your sauce will turn out.

 

Meatballs - 2014 Version

 

Ingredients:
 

3 lbs lean ground beef

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with sweet onions

2 eggs, beaten

1 and 1/2 cups Italian flavored bread crumbs

3 Tbsp grated Romano cheese

1 Tbsp garlic powder

 

Preparation:
 

Preheat oven to 350F; spray a large jelly roll pan (aluminum sheet with edge) with nonstick cooking spray.

 
 

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients thoroughly; use a 1/3 cup to help measure out the mixture portions.  Roll between palms of hands; place on pan about a half inch apart.

 

 

 

 

 

Bake for a half hour; dab each meatball onto a paper towel to remove any excess oil.  The meatballs are only partially cooked, so do not eat yet; place into pot of sauce to finish off cooking.  If stovetop cooking, two hours; if slow cooker (crock pot), four hours.

 

Makes 20 meatballs.

 

Mary Cokenour



Tamale in a Dish, No Need for a Corn Husk.

Now I know this is nowhere near the traditional tamale; and while I would like to call it Mexican shepherd's pie, it's truly not a shepherd's pie either.  Instead I'm going the route of most magazines geared to the home cook and calling it "Tamale Pie", since there is no better name.  However, I make mine a bit different, I do not put the cornbread mix on top to bake up as a thick topping; I put mine right in the mix of it all.  Lets be honest, when it comes to a bread topping of some sort, there never seems to be enough to go around.  Having it mixed in means there is going to be a cornbread taste in every bite and it acts as a binder for the other ingredients; extra cornbread on the side is a bonus though, so won't say no to that at all.

Tamale Pie

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 can (14.5 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz) creamed corn
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles (medium heat)
1 package (7 oz) cornbread mix
1 package (12 oz) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided in half

Preparation:






In a large skillet, medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and diced onion together until there is no pink in the meat; drain excess oil.







In a large mixing bowl, add the black beans, creamed corn and tomatoes with chiles.








When beef and onions are ready, add the cornbread mix and half the cheese to the bowl; mix to break up any clumps in the cornbread mix. 







Add the beef and onions and mix until all is incorporated well.







Preheat oven to 350F; spray a 3 quart casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread the mixture into the dish; bake for 25 minutes.






Spread other half of cheese over the casserole; return to oven for another 15 minutes.





Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Winter Winds call for something Wicked.

Another snow storm hit Monticello this past weekend and it's not even officially winter yet!  The neighbors and I were digging out vehicles from the snow dunes the winds had created around them; and of course the piles of ice boulders at the end of the drive from the snow plows coming through.  Inside though, the slow cooker was creating so tender you can cut it with a fork beef, melt in the mouth vegetables and a rich gravy of orgasmic quality.  During the day the outside thermometer kept needling closer and closer to zero degrees, the wind chill factor putting the temperature into the negative.  Inside though, the scent from the slow cooker created an intoxicating aroma that caused incessant drooling.  It took a good ten hours for this ultimate comfort food meal to finish, but it was worth every cup of coffee or hot tea to keep the appetite at bay.

I call this slow cooker meal, "Wicked Pot Roast", but what makes it wicked you might ask?  The tang from the red wine vinegar and the heat from the green chiles merge with the other ingredients to make the beef, vegetables and gravy so decadent, so rich; you feel so wicked indulging in it.  Don't believe me; next snow storm on the horizon, get your slow cooker going with this recipe and you will believe; oh yes, you will believe. Oh, don't forget some nice warm, crusty rolls to sop up the gravy, or lick the bowl clean; either way works well.

Wicked Pot Roast

Ingredients:

3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

4 large potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces and parboiled
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour
4 lb. beef roast
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 can (10.5 oz) beef broth
1 packet onion soup mix
1 tsp garlic powder
1/8 cup red wine vinegar

1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce

Preparation:

Spray a 6 quart slow cooker (crock pot) with nonstick cooking spray.  Place veggies in bottom of cooker and sprinkle flour evenly over all; center roast on top of veggies.

In a medium bowl, whisk together tomatoes, broth, soup mix, garlic powder, vinegar and Worcestershire.  Pour mixture over roast, making sure that it flows down the sides and onto veggies below.

Set cooker on low; cook for 10 hours; roast will come apart easily; carrots and potatoes will be fork tender.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Move Over 007, it's Ravioli, Baked not Boiled.

There are those days when making a meal is the farthest thought from my mind. New ideas are hidden deeply, and I am in the mood for nothing special. I look in the pantry, refrigerator and freezer; hoping that something will jump out at me and scream, "Here I am! Eat me!!!" That finally happened when Buitoni's Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli peeked its green box out. Hello my little friend. One problem though is that I didn't want to use the packet of garlic butter sauce that came with it. Oh no, I didn't throw it away; that will be used for another recipe featuring rigatoni, chicken and a few vegetables. So what to do with it, and suddenly the ideas started to pop into my mind...diced tomatoes, but a creamy tomato sauce, not chunky; cheese, not as a garnish, but as a main ingredient.   Of course a plain cheese, meat filled, even chicken and cheese ravioli can be used with this recipe.   Lets see what I finally created, and it sure did taste good!  

Baked Ravioli

 

 

Ingredients:
 

1 (22 oz) box Buitoni Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli

3 cups tomato vodka cream sauce

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 cup shredded Romano cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese



Preparation:

Take the packet of garlic butter sauce from the Buitoni box, label and return to the freezer (save for another recipe).  Heat a large sauce pan of unsalted water on high heat; when boiling, cook the ravioli for only one minute before straining.  All ice has been removed and the ravioli is no longer sticking together; it will finish cooking in the sauce while baking.



Preheat oven to 375F; spray a 1 and 1/2 quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Begin the layering process by spreading one cup of sauce in the bottom of the dish. 








Spread out half the ravioli over the sauce.







Spread half the diced tomatoes over the ravioli.









Mix the Romano and mozzarella cheeses together; spread half the mixture over the tomatoes and ravioli.






Now repeat the layering of sauce, ravioli, tomatoes, cheese; finish off with the final cup of sauce.


 

 

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes; sauce will be bubbling and all the cheese melted.  The box of ravioli I used had 18 ravioli in them; during the baking process they expanded their bulk by half, so a serving of three was just right.  Therefore, this recipe made six servings.

The ravioli cooked up perfectly; the flavor of the sauce was infused into the pasta.  Tasting the seafood, pasta, cheese and tomatoes all together made me feel as if I was eating a decadent seafood parmigiana over pasta.  Sometimes, you have to think outside of the box, and not use everything inside it either.

Mary Cokenour