Cabbage Casserole

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat 9 x 13" baking dish with cooking spray. Heat 1 T olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 large onion, minced and 1 c uncooked brown rice. Cook, stirring, until onions are tender and rice is just starting to brown (3-5 min). Spread 3 c shredded cabbage in even layer on bottom of baking dish. Top, evenly, with rice mixture. Add 1.5+ lbs lean ground beef, 1/2 t salt and 1/4 t pepper to the skillet; cook over med-high heat until no longer pink, 3-5 min. Drain and spread on top of rice mixture. Spread 3 more cups shredded cabbage over beef. In skillet bring 16 oz tomato sauce and 3/4 c water to a boil. Pour sauce evenly over casserole. Lay 8 slices of cooked bacon (cut into ~2" pieces) on top of cabbage. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 mi. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes or until cabbage and rice are tender. Let stand 5 min.

Brent and I loved this!

Mexican Skillet Supper

1/2 lb ground beef
16 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
14 oz can Rotel, undrained
1.25 oz pkg taco seasoning
3/4 c frozen corn, thawed
3/4 c water
sour cream
shredded cheese
cilantro

Heat large skilled over med-high heat. Cook beef 5 min or until browned. Drain and return to skilled. Stir in beans, tomatoes, taco seasoning, corn, and water; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 12 min or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Serve over rice or tortilla chips. Top with shredded cheese, sour cream, and cilantro.

Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas

I LOVE the new McCormick Recipe Inspirations. We tried the fajitas on Monday night and we all loved them...which was surprising. I do have to confess that I left out the peppers and onions due to Brent's dislike and Mariah's intolerance to the onions. You can find these in the spice section of the grocery store.

Meatloaf

This is my stepsister Andrea's meatloaf recipe. She brought some over when Mariah was born and we all really liked it but we especially found out that Elijah LOVES it. He ate 3 helpings of it 2 days in a row. I'm making it tonight for supper and Elijah is so excited! We like it because it's very saucy and it's a sweet ketchupy sauce. It also doesn't have onions and green pepper in it and so it passes all the boys' (including Brent's) inspection. Enjoy!

1 ½ lbs hamburger

1 cup dry bread crumbs

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp blk pepper

2 eggs

1 tsp dried minced onion

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

½ cup white sugar

2 tsp mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, combine the beef, bread crumbs, salt, blk pepper, eggs, onion flakes and ½ of the can of tomato sauce. Mix together well and place into a 5x9 inch loaf pan.

Push the meatloaf down into the pan forming a well for the sauce around all edges.

Bake at 350 for 40 mins.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the remaining tomato sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, white sugar and mustard. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.

After meatloaf has cooked for 40 min, remove from oven and pour sauce over the top of the meatloaf.

Return to oven and bake at 350 for 20 more min. Let sit 5 min before removing from pan.

Broccoli Casserole

This is the broccoli casserole that my mom always makes and I love it. No one else in the family likes it so I usually don't make it but I did make it recently when we had some friends over for dinner and it was a hit.

Ingredients:

2 pkg chopped broccoli

1 cup grated sharp cheese

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup mayo

3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1 med onion, chopped fine OR 1 1/2 tsp onion flakes

2 eggs, well beaten

1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed and mixed with melted butter

Cook broccoli according to directions and drain. Add soup, mayo, and nuts. Mix well. Add eggs and onion. Pour into 1 1/2 or 2 qt casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese and top with buttered cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Molasses Cookies

A friend at work brought this to work for my baby shower and I LOVED them. She was so nice to share her recipe with me -

Ingredients:
3/4 cup shortening
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour

Mix together shortening, egg, sugar, and molasses. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Form into 1" balls, roll in granulated sugar, and place on greased cookie sheets 2" apart. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Three Cheese Spaghetti

I tried this recipe this past week and everyone loved it. Elijah ate 3 helpings. We'll definitely be having this again!! I served it with garlic bread and tossed salad.

Ingredients:
8 oz spaghetti
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 cup cottage cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 oz (1 1/2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese
8 oz ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced (I substituted dried minced garlic)
1/2 onion, chopped (I substituted onion powder)
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 cups spaghetti sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar (I probably won't use this much next time - it was a little too sweet for me)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 oz (1/2 cup) shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and return to pan (removed from heat). Add butter and stir until melted. Add salt, parsley, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese, stirring to combine. Spread pasta-cheese mixture in the bottom of a greased 8" square baking dish.
2. Brown ground beef with the garlic and onion. Drain grease and return to pan. Add pepper, spaghetti sauce, sugar, and Italian seasoning. Stir well and then pour over the pasta, spreading evenly. Sprinkle cheese on top.
3. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until top cheese is browned and spaghetti is bubbly.

Chicken Pie (Kathy's preferred recipe)

chicken (about 4 bnls, sknls breasts), cooked and chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth (I use a cup from where I cooked the chicken)
1 cup self rising flour
1 c buttermilk
1 stick butter

Spray casserole dish. Lay chicken in bottom of dish. Pour cream of chicken soup and chicken broth over chicken.

Mix self-rising flour, buttermilk, and butter together. Pour over chicken.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Chicken Pie (Brent's preferred recipe)

chicken, cooked and chopped
Pillsbury pie crust (in red box in refrigerated section of grocery store)
cream of chicken soup
salt and pepper

Put Pillsbury crust in bottom of sprayed round pie plate. Place chicken onto crust. Pour 1 can cream of chicken soup over chicken. Add salt and pepper as desired. Put top crust on as directed by Pillsbury crust bo. Bake approximately 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Hot Chicken Salad

I haven't fixed this in a long time but I did tonight and remembered how much Brent and I love it.

2 c boiled, chopped chicken
3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1/2 c mayonnaise
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 can cream of chicken soup
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and spread in a casserole dish. Top with crushed potato chips. Cook in 400 degrees oven for 20 minutes, or until casserole bubbles.

Manicotti

1/2 lb ground beef
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup cream style cottage cheese
4 oz Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
8 manicotti, cooked and drained
1 (16 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Parmesan cheese

Brown ground beef with garlic in skillet, stirring until crumbly, drain. Combine cottage cheese with next 3 ingredients in bowl, mixing well. Stir in ground beef. Fill each manicotti with 1/4 cup ground beef mixture. Place in single layer in baking dish. Top with remaining mixture and remaining ingredients. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer.

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This is one of Brent and myself's favorite recipes. We love this! I made it this past week and we both loved it just as much as we remembered. It is quite a mess to make - but I've found the easiest way to stuff the pasta is to do it by hand. I usually double the recipe because we love it so much and we can have lunch leftovers.

Layered Mexican Dip

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 can refried beans
1 jar salsa
1 envelope taco seasoning
3 cups shredded Cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese
1 pint sour cream
optional - black olives, jalapenos

Spray a large casserole dish with pan spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. After draining ground beef, return to pan and add taco seasoning as indicated on envelope. Spread refried beans in bottom of dish. Add all of the ground beef on top of beans. Add a layer of salsa and cheese. Top with sour cream. Bake for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Top with black olives or jalapenos, if desired. Serve with nacho chips. (Note: you may add a layer of guacamole.)

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

I got this from my friend Mindy who got it from our friend Patrice:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup grated parmesan
4 chicken breasts
4 tsp Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

Combine mayo and cheese. Spread on chicken and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Weeknight Ravioli Bake

I got this recipe from Mindy who got it from Kraftfoods.com

Ingredients:
1 jar (26 oz) spagetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup water
2 pkgs (1 lb each) frozen cheese ravioli
1 pkg (7 oz) shredded Italian 3 cheese blend
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, and water together; spoon 1 cup onto bottom of 9x13" baking dish. Layer half the ravioli and 1 cup shredded cheese over sauce mixture. Sprinkle with parmesan. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

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This recipe was super easy and the boys loved it which made it a keeper. Next time I will exchange the diced tomatoes for tomato paste. Or, just leave them out altogether. This makes a lot of food for a family of 4!

Georgia Cornbread Cake

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups pecans, chopped very fine

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
2. Stir together sugar, brown sugar, eggs and oil in a medium bowl until smooth. Stir in flour and vanilla. Add pecans and stir until evenly mixed. Spoon into prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Serves 12 to 14

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My aunt June came over on MLK day and helped me do some unpacking/moving boxes around and we got to spend time catching up. She brought this YUMMY cake that our whole family loved. I will definitely make it again.

Mexican Pot Roast

3-4 lb pot roast
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 (10 oz) can tomato with green chiles (Rotel)
1 tomato can of water
1 4 oz can green chiles
1 envelope taco seasonining mix

Mix altogether in crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours.

I served this over rice and it was good. Next time I might add something to spice it up a little but I thought it was definitely a good choice for something different for supper. I think it would be good also if it was put on burritos with sour cream and cheese.