December 31, 2013

Top 13 of 2013

With 2013 coming to an end I decided to make a little list of our top 13 moments from 2013. I'm also making a list of our top 13 favorite recipes from this past year too.




Top 13 Family Moments

Disney vacation- here, here, here, here, here, here and here
Christmas (haven't posted about it yet)
Our museum trips- here and here




Top 13 Favorite Recipes



What were your favorites? Happy New Year!! 









December 10, 2013

Cheeseburger Casserole

This recipe turned out amazing!! It tasted just like burgers!


2 cups (6 ounces) uncooked rotini pasta (spiral pasta)
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 tablespoons ketchup
4-5 large Roma tomatoes, deseeded and diced (I used canned)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 cups low fat cheddar cheese, shredded


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cooking dish with nonstick spray. Boil the pasta al dente. Drain and set aside.  Brown ground beef until brown. Drain and return to stove.  Mix in the seasoned salt, ketchup, and mustard. Add in the tomatoes.  Simmer for a couple minutes.  Add the noodles to the mixture and stir.


Pour into baking dish. Sprinkle cheese on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.





December 6, 2013

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

The week I made this I was on a pasta kick. There are so many pasta meals out there and I love them all.


8 oz uncooked rigatoni (any kind of pasta would be okay)
1 (10 oz) pack frozen spinach, thawed
3 c cubed, cooked chicken breasts
1 (14 oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (8 oz) container Philadelphia chive & onion cream cheese
½ t salt, ½ t pepper
1½ c shredded mozzarella cheese


Cook pasta al dente Drain and set aside. Drain chopped spinach well. Mix pasta, spinach, chicken, tomatoes, cream cheese, salt & pepper in bowl. Spoon mixture into dish & sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake covered at 375 for 30 minutes; uncover & bake 15 more minutes.




Homemade Mac & Cheese

I always have a hard time deciding what to make for lunch on the weekends since everyone is home. I had all these ingredients already in the cabinet so I searched for a recipe on Pinterest. This recipe caught my eye and it turned out pretty good.


1 8oz. pkg of elbow pasta
1 stick of butter
1 (14 oz.) can of evaporated milk
1 lb. block of Velveeta cheese, cut into 1″-2″ cubes


Cook the pasta until al dente.   Drain the water but keep ¼ cup in the bottom of the pot. Add the butter, the can of evaporated milk and the cheese.  Sprinkle some salt and pepper in there. Heat over medium flame until the cheese is completely melted and blended in.  Remove from heat and allow to sit for about 5 minutes. Stir and serve.




November 13, 2013

Wet Burrito Casserole

One more recipe from my personal stash. It was pretty good, however, I might use cream of chicken soup next time just because I'm not a mushroom fan at all. 


1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 packet taco seasoning
16 oz can refried beans
1 package tortillas
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together sour cream and soup. Spread 1/2 of the mixture into bottom of baking dish. Brown ground beef & onions, Drain. Mix in taco seasoning and refried beans. Divide mixture into tortillas. Roll up and place in dish. Repeat for remaining tortillas and meat mix.


 Pour remaining sour cream soup mix on top. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.






November 12, 2013

Crock Pot In a Hurry Chicken Curry

Here's another recipe from my personal collection. This could probably be prepared ahead of time and frozen, then just dumped in the crock pot. It doesn't look for appealing, but it was pretty tasty.


16 oz bag frozen mixed veggies
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of potato soup
2 tbsp curry powder


Place veggies in crock pot.  Place chicken on top.


 In a bowl mix soup and curry powder. Pour in crock pot. Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours. 




November 11, 2013

Texas Chili Bake

The days are starting to get colder so I need some good warm food. This recipe was delicious. I received it in the mail from a swapper over at Swap-Bot


1 lb ground beef
1 packet chili seasoning mix
8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup water
16 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups tortilla chips, slightly crushed
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Brown ground beef and drain. Mix in chili seasoning, tomato sauce and water. Simmer for 5 minutes.


Stir in kidney beans, 1 cup chips and 1 1/2 cups cheese. Pour into baking dish.  Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. 


Top with remaining chips and cheese. Bake uncovered for 4-5 more minutes. 







October 29, 2013

Cheesy Beef Pockets

This recipe is from one of the Taste of Home recipe books I picked up at the grocery store.


1/2 lb ground beef
1 tbsp chopped onions
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
2/3 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Brown ground beef, onion, salt and pepper. Drain and cool.  Flatten out a biscuit into an oval shape.


Place about 1/4 cup meat mixture on top. Sprinkle with cheese.


Place another flattened out biscuit on top and press edges together with a fork to seal. Repeat for remaining biscuits.  Place on greased baking sheet. Prick tops with a fork. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.




October 24, 2013

Au Gratin Pork Chops

This casserole dish was very good and I loved that it had veggies and potatoes all cooked together. 


2 packages au gratin potatoes
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups milk, divided
16 oz frozen green beans
6 boneless pork chops
1 can cheddar cheese soup


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place potatoes in a greased baking dish. In a small bowl combine mushroom soup, 1 cup milk and 1 sauce mix packet. Pour over potatoes.  


Top with green beans and pork chops. In a large bowl combine cheddar cheese soup, remaining milk, and other sauce mix packet. Pour over chops.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Uncover and bake for 20-25 more minutes.




Chicken and Ham Casserole

This is another recipe I received in the mail from a swap through Swap-Bot.  
It was pretty good and quick to prepare. 


1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup diced ham
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup diced chicken


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place half of bread crumbs on bottom of baking dish. Spread ham on top of crumbs.  Mix chicken and mushroom soup and spread over ham. Cover with remaining crumbs.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 





October 15, 2013

One Dish Chicken and Stuffing

I received this recipe in the mail from a lady that I swap recipes with over at Swap-Bot.  


1 box stove top stuffing
1/2 cup hot water
1 tbsp butter, melted
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp parsley flakes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix stuffing , water and butter.  Spread evenly in center of baking dish. 


Place chicken on each side of stuffing. In small bowl mix soup, milk, and parsley. Pour over chicken. 


Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes or until chicken is done. 




October 11, 2013

No Work Chicken

A friend of mine posted that she had this chicken for dinner and loved it, so of course I had to try it out too. It was pretty good and was really hardly any work at all. 


1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons dijon mustard (I just used yellow mustard and it tasted fine)
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl mix all ingredients except chicken. Place chicken in baking dish and pour mixture over top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes flipping over halfway through or until chicken is no longer pink.