Quck and Delicous Baked Mostaccioli

It seems like every week we are making the same old foods and get into a rut when we want something different but can’t think of new things to make.  Well sometimes all it takes is a new twist on an old favorite or taking a regular every week recipe and spice it up. One of my family’s favorites is spaghetti and as delicious as that is sometimes I just get sick of eating it because it is always the same thing.  So tonight I thought that I would turn our normal blah spaghetti dinner and go in a different direction. The best part about his recipe is that you can make it up the night before and then when you get home from work you throw it in the oven and have a delicious and filling meal.  

Ingredients

Penne Pasta 1 box

1lb of ground beef

1 clove of garlic

1 ½ jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce

1 clove of garlic

Salt and pepper

Basil

Onion powder

Directions

Night before you serve this meal-

In a large skillet heat up a little olive oil and add garlic. Brown your hamburger while you are also boiling your water for your noodles. After browning your hamburger you’re going to place it in the uncooked spaghetti sauce.  To the sauce add a little salt, pepper, basil and onion powder and set aside till your noodles are done. Now take your casserole dish and begin to put together your dish. Begin with a layer of your meat sauce then a layer of cheese and another layer of noodles doing this until your dish is full and ingredients are gone.  Cover and place in the fridge until ready cook.

Day of-

Preheat your oven to 350 and place the dish uncovered in the oven for 20-25 minutes until cheese on top is golden and serve.

That’s right it is that simple I also recommend buying your favorite garlic bread and throw that in the oven when you have about ten minutes left and serving it alongside your meal for the perfect American take on Italian dinner.

Cooking made quick and easy!: Buffalo Chicken Sliders: The right way to do Sunda...

Cooking made quick and easy!: Buffalo Chicken Sliders: The right way to do Sunda...: Sunday is a day not only for rest and prayer but a day for delicious foods! I remember growing up and looking forward to Sunday Family dinne...

Buffalo Chicken Sliders: The right way to do Sunday night football dinners.

Sunday is a day not only for rest and prayer but a day for delicious foods! I remember growing up and looking forward to Sunday Family dinners. As a kid it was the one night a week that we always made sure to sit down as a family and have great food and good conversations. Though as the years went on and my sister and I got older like all things Sunday dinners slowly went away. Since I am getting older and cooking I say it is time to bring Sunday dinners back but with a twist.  Instead of the traditional Sunday dinner with the long tedious cooking let’s do a Sunday night football party dinner! Let’s make some fun easy and delicious foods and sit down with are family and friends have some good eats, great conversation and watch are favorite team kick some butt on the field! So starting today and every Sunday I will try and give you a good Sunday football dinner recipe.   I think that I am going to start this Sunday night dinner off with a recipe for some buffalo chicken sliders!  Since I am a huge fan of buffalo wings and spicy food these are great sandwiches for me but there are a lot of people out there who don’t like or cannot eat hot foods so use this same recipe but substitute your favorite barbeque sauce, or take some A1 steak sauce and try it that way as well.

Ingredients

4-6 chicken breast cut in half or quarters

1 ½ sticks of butter

¼ cup of hot sauce

Salt and pepper

1 tsp. of garlic salt

½ stick of butter

Little extra hot sauce

Hawaiian rolls

Directions

Let’s start by preheating your oven to 350.  Take the chicken breast and cut them in half or quartered depending on how small you want your sliders to be.  Now that we have done that lets add a little seasoning directly to the breast. Now I like to use salt, pepper and a little garlic salt but you can use whatever seasonings that you would like.  Set aside your seasoned and cut chicken and grab a medium to large microwave safe bowl.  In this bowl place the sick of butter and throw it in the microwave until completely melted. Then add your hot sauce again I use ¼ to ½ cups of hot sauce but use as little or much as you would like. Now you have homemade buffalo sauce. Now take your chicken and coat it in the buffalo sauce and place on a cookie sheet that is lined with well sprayed tin foil. Place them in the oven until they are completely white in the middle. (30-60 minutes).  Remove from the oven and let stand for about five minutes.  Now go ahead and make some more of that delicious buffalo sauce mixture so that you and your guest can add a little to your slider and serve on the little Hawaiian rolls with your choice of condiments.

As always this is just a basic recipe to get you started you can change it however you want to make it one of your favorite meals. So that is all for now eat and enjoy some delicious chicken sliders!

Chicken, Susage and Tortilla Stoup

I think that one of the easiest things to learn how to cook when you are a beginner or a on the go college student is soups. With a soup you pick out the ingredients throw them in a pot and let the flavors flow. Soups are also a delicious and well freezing item that you can later throw in your crock pot and have another night. Though let’s face it as easy and quick as soup is sometimes you just need something a little heartier than soup, maybe something like a stew?  Why not try a stoup? What’s a Stoup you say well it is a stew that is like a soup.  This is one of my favorite recipes to make a huge pot of because it freezes well and can be unthawed and slow cooked all night long. So here is the recipe and please eat and enjoy.

Ingredients-
1 lb. chicken tenders
Salt and pepper
Turkey sausage
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic diced
1 medium onion diced
6 small red potatoes diced
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of red kidney beans drained
2 teaspoons of hot sauce (optional)
1 quart of chicken stock
1 bag of tortilla chips
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
Garnish with sour cream

                                                                

Directions-
Preheat a medium pan over a medium high heat.
Chop tenders into bite size pieces. Wash and season with salt and pepper. Dice turkey sausage.  Add olive oil and chicken to the pot. Lightly brown chicken 2 minutes then add sausage and garlic cook another 2 or three minutes.  Then add the onions and potatoes.  Cook 5 minutes and then stir in kidney beans, tomatoes and hot sauce.  Add Chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are Tender 10-12 minutes.  Place in bowls and top with crushed tortilla chips, cheese and sour Cream.

         Also just as a reminder, I use turkey sausage but feel free to use whatever sausage appeals to your taste buds. On a side note remember the best part about cooking is that it is not an exact science feel free to take out and add your own ingredients and just because it calls for a certain amount does not mean that it has to be exact do it to yours and your family’s likings.

soups that warm the heart and soul.

It’s another chilly day out in Michigan and so I thought I would continue with yesterday’s theme of foods that warm the soul.  I find that the best part about the fall is glorious soups, stews, stoups and chilies that you can make to help warm you up after a long day of work.  I know what you’re thinking homemade soup is going to take me hours to cook and I do not have the time for this but you’re wrong.  The best part about a homemade soup is that you can cook it in a pot for a couple of hours or you can throw the ingredients into your slow cooker while you’re at work and all you have to do is boil some water for the noodles.  I am going to share with you an easy recipe for delicious homemade soup that you will want to make over and over again.

Ingredients-

1 whole chicken

1bag of Celery stalks

1 bag of carrots

1 medium onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 bay leave

Salt and pepper to taste

1 sprig of rosemary

1 or 2 chicken Boolean cubes

Directions

In a large pot add the whole chicken, bay leave, rosemary, 3 garlic cloves, half of the medium onion, 2 celery stocks cut in half, two carrots cut in thirds or half and salt and pepper. Fill the pot with water and let cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours. Cut the rest of your veggies and place in the fridge for later. Remove whole chicken and set in a cooking dish to cool to the touch. Using a slotted spoon remove the bay leave, rosemary, garlic cloves, onion, celery, and carrots. Discard the garlic, rosemary and bay leave. After your chicken has cooled remove it from bone shredding it as you go and place back into your homemade broth. Then add the rest of your veggies and let cook until your veggies are at the desired softness. Boil noodles of your choice and serve.

Make sure that you taste your broth and add salt if you need it. I recommend starting with a small amount of salt because you can always add salt you can’t take it out. Also you can also cook this dish in a crockpot just make sure that the veggies for your soup are cooked the night before and added just to warm up later that day.  You can also serve this dish with some fresh parmesan cheese, crackers and some homemade bread.  

Warm up with White Chicken Chili.

Just like anything in life cooking can be as easy or hard as you make it, and it does not have to be something that you spend hours preparing either.  I hope that everyone will learn to love cooking as much as I do after reading my blog.  Cooking is something that can be done by one person or a whole family of people and is also a great way to save money and stay healthy. I know that for me I would much rather have home cooked meals than a pizza or burgers from the local restaurants. I control what goes into my food and how much of it is put in there and you can do it to.  You may be saying that you don’t have time to cook, but think about it in the time that it takes someone to go to a restaurant or drive to the local pizzeria you could have a delicious home cooked meal.  There is no time like the present to putdown the delivery menu and pick up a frying pan or for this simple recipe that I am about to share with you a soup pot. Since it is a chilly day outside I thought it would be good to warm up with a big bowl of White Chicken Chili.

Ingredients-

1 lb Chicken tenderloins chunked

1lb ground chicken

2 cloves of garlic diced

1 tablespoon Olive oil

1 small onion diced

1 can northern beans

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1 can of corn drained

2 stalks of celery

2 packets McCormick's white chicken chili

3 cans water

Cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Directions-

In a large pan add the olive oil. Brown ground chicken and chunked chicken. Add garlic, onion, celery, corn, tomatoes, beans, seasoning packet and water. Bring to a boil the reduce heat simmer for 1-2 hours uncovered. Garnish with cheese and sour cream

This is a hearty recipe that will fill you up with one bowl. To add some extra flavor and as a side bake up some corn bread or lay out some tortilla chips.