Category Archives: Definitely Making it Again

November 9, 2011 · 12:33 pm

Meatball Sandwich

I realize this is more of a dinner idea than a dinner recipe, but it was quick and easy and was perfect last night when I only had about 35 minutes to make dinner and get it on the table before I had to zip out the door to go to a meeting.

Ingredients:
Hoagie/hot dog or sub sandwich-type buns
Frozen Meatballs
1 jar pasta sauce
Mozzarella Cheese

Instructions:
Thaw frozen meatballs in the microwave.

While those are defrosting heat pasta sauce in a medium sauce pan until it begins to simmer and then turn down to low.

Put warmed up meatballs in the sauce and let them simmer for a few minutes.

Spoon meatballs and sauce into bun and sprinkle with cheese. (If meatballs are too big, you may need to cut them in half.)

Top with a sprinkle or two or three of cheese.

We had this with fruit salad and a green salad.

What did the family think? They loved it and I sent leftovers in lunches today.

Where did this recipe come from? Desperation on my part for a quick meal that everyone would eat.

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Sandwich, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

November 7, 2011 · 9:52 am

Spicy Thai Noodles

We like spicy, we like noodles, we like Thai and I had some leftover chicken I needed to use, so when I saw this on my friend Erin’s blog, I knew we had a winner.

Ingredients:
1 box angel hair pasta
1-2 T crushed red pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sesame oil
6 T honey
6 T soy sauce
4 cups cooked chicken, cooked and chopped (optional)
1/2 cup green onions (only the green parts)
1 cup carrots, shredded
1/2 cup cilantro
3/4 cup peanuts, crushed

Instructions:
Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.

Combine red peppers and both oils in a small pan over medium heat for two minutes. Drain oil to separate peppers from the oil. SAVE THE OIL. (I wasn’t able to get every last pepper out, but it was enough so that I didn’t burn my mouth off, but it still gave it some zing.)

Whisk together the reserved oil, the honey and the soy sauce.

In a large bowl combine cooked noodles and soy sauce mixture. Toss to combine.

Serve in bowls and top with chicken, cilantro, carrots, peanuts and green onions.

Did I change anything? I added the chicken and left out the sesame seeds the original recipe called for since I didn’t have any.

What did the family think? I wasn’t in the mood for experimenting with the kids last night, so they ate the pasta with red sauce. Hubby and I LOVED this dish though. SO good!

Where did this recipe come from? A Small Snippet

Why the picture of the Sriracha? This dish would have been even better had I had some in the house.

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Spicy, Vegetarian

November 5, 2011 · 1:35 pm

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

If these don’t say fall, then I don’t know what does. We had these for lunch today with some scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage and fruit salad. It was a perfect warm fall lunch on a very chilly rainy day.

Ingredients:
For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1¼ cups vegetable oil

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Set aside.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350Ëš F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Place a dollop of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. (It may be hard to resist immediate consumption, but the cream cheese filling gets very hot!)

Did I change anything? I used less sugar than the original recipe called for and I made the filling procedures a lot easier and a lot less time consuming. I also left off the topping that was supposed to go on top of the muffins and I only made half of the recipe. The recipe above will make about 24 muffins. I didn’t want to make that many.

What did the family think? Everyone that has had one loves them.

Where did this recipe come from? Annie’s Eats

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Filed under After School Snacks, Bread, Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Vegetarian

November 4, 2011 · 1:53 pm

The Best Homemade Sloppy Joes I’ve Ever Made

I have several homemade sloppy joe recipes on Mommacooks, but this is the best one by far. Our youngest was telling me the other day how much he loves sloppy joes and we were reminiscing about how when he was toddler he could down a whole entire sloppy joe and how cute it was…yada, yada, yada. Fast forward to last night when I actually made the sloppy joes. Turns out he doesn’t like them. Why didn’t I see that coming?

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 ½ pounds ground beef
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2/3 cup BBQ sauce
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup soy sauce
8 to 12 potato rolls (These are my absolute favorite kind of roll/bun.)
Cheddar cheese slices, optional

Instructions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they start to turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat, until it is finely crumbled, the liquid boils off and the meat begins to brown, about 10 minutes.

Drain the grease off the meat and onions.

Stir in the tomato paste, and keep stirring until the meat is coated. Add the BBQ sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire, soy sauce, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes.

Did I change anything? I only made 1/2 the recipe which was a mistake. We wanted seconds and there weren’t any. I also added cheddar cheese onto the recipe. I like cheese on my sloppy joe.

What did the family think? Everyone (but the person who was telling me how much they loved sloppy joes last weekend) loved this recipe and was ready for seconds.

Where did this recipe come from? Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Photo from LiveCookLove

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Sandwich, Super Easy to Make

November 3, 2011 · 10:51 am

Pizza Casserole

In my weekly challenge of taking some sort of noodle and combining it with red sauce and some sort of Italian-type of meat (think meatballs or Italian sausage) and coming up with something new so that my children will eat without complaining, I give you (drumroll please) the pizza casserole from For Mamas.

Ingredients:
2 jars pasta sauce
1 bag egg noodles
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 lbs. crumbled Italian sausage or hamburger
1 package pepperonis

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the egg noodles according to package directions and drain.

Cook sausage and drain off fat.

Using a casserole dish begin layering ingredients. First pour about 1 1/2 cups pasta sauce in the bottom of the casserole dish. Then put half of the meat, then half the cheese, then half the noodles and then more sauce and repeat until you end up with the last layer being sauce.

Place the pepperonis on top.

Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until cheese is melted and it’s bubbling. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

Did I change anything? I didn’t use any pepperoni. I think it would be have been super tasty that way, but certain people in our family would have had a fit. In retrospect, they could have just picked them off.

What did the family think? This made quite a bit of food, but after having seconds and eating it for lunch in leftovers for a couple of days, it’s now all gone. They must like it if they keep eating it. 🙂

Where did this recipe come from? For Mamas

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Six Ingredients or Less

November 2, 2011 · 11:08 am

Jaime Oliver’s Chicken Fajitas

This is the last recipe I got to make from Jaime Oliver’s new cookbook before I had to take it back to the library. There were several more recipes that I had bookmarked, but I guess I will have to wait and see if I can check it back out again later. In the meantime, enjoy these scrumptious fajitas.

Ingredients:
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and cut in thin strips
• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, sliced
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• a small pinch of ground cumin
• 2 limes
• olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4-6 flour tortillas
• good-quality low-fat natural yogurt, salsa, guacamole, cheddar cheese

Instructions:
Add peppers, onions and chicken to a medium bowl with the paprika and cumin. Squeeze over the juice of one lime, drizzle over a lug of olive oil, season with a good pinch of pepper and mix well.

Let marinate for five-ten minutes. Preheat skillet/pan.

Use a pair of tongs to put all the pieces of pepper, onion and chicken into your preheated pan to cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the chicken is golden and cooked through.

As the pan will be really hot, keep turning the pieces of chicken and vegetables over so they don’t burn – you just want them to lightly chargrill to give you a lovely flavor.

Warm your tortillas up in a microwave.

Divide your warmed tortillas between your serving plates.

Halve your remaining lime and squeeze the juices over the sizzling pan.

Serve with yogurt, salsa, cheese and guacamole.

Did I change anything? The original recipe came with another recipe for homemade salsa which I did not make.

What did the family think? The kids just ate the chicken parts with their tortillas, cheese and yogurt…no onions and peppers. Hubby and I really like it and I was so happy to find a fajita recipe that I like, that has taste and doesn’t require a packet of fajita seasoning.

Where did this recipe come from? Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

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Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again, Mexican

October 27, 2011 · 12:07 pm

Roasted Red Pepper, Meatball and Pepperoni Pasta Bake

We love Italian food in our house. This cooks up pretty quickly and made everyone happy.

Ingredients:
1 lb. penne, ziti or farfelle
4 cups pasta sauce
1 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
1 cup cooked meatballs, quartered
1 cup pepperoni, chopped
1 cup ricotta
3 cups fresh mozzarella, divided
1 cup parmesan, divided
Cooking spray

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain when done.

Heat pasta sauce in a pan. Add red peppers, meatballs, pepperoni and ricotta and stir to combine.

Prepare casserole dish with cooking spray. Add cooked pasta and sauce to casserole dish and stir to combine.

Add half of each of the cheeses. Stir.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the pasta.

Bake, uncovered, for about 10-15 minutes.

What did the family think? Lots of happy people at the dinner table last night.

Where did this recipe come from? Food Network Magazine, March 2011, p. 59

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian

October 25, 2011 · 2:52 pm

Mini Chocolate Chip or Blueberry Muffins

We had these as part of our Sunday brunch last weekend and they were a hit! I made them with chocolate chips, but there are some blueberries in the frig right now so I can make another batch with blueberries. These are great for snacks, too.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup blueberries or chocolate chips
1 egg
1/2 cup skim milk
1/8 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk dry ingredients and blueberries/chocolate chips in one bowl and set aside.

Mix wet ingredients in another bowl. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and use a spatula to very gently fold mixtures together, about 5 or 6 strokes only. There will be lumps; do not over-mix.

Spoon batter into greased mini muffin tin and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Did I change anything? I used less sugar and would have added more chocolate chips. I wanted then to be more chocolaty. The above recipe reflects the sugar change, but not the chocolate chip changes I would make. Adjust the chocolate factor to your liking.

What did the family think? Yum!

Where did this recipe come from? Food.com

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Vegetarian

October 24, 2011 · 11:33 am

Waffle Iron Eggs

My husband sent me a link the other day explaining how to make waffle iron eggs. I thought I would humor him and give it a try and I am SO glad that I did. First of all, they’re fun. Eggs shaped like a waffle? What’s not fun about that? Also, for some reason, when eggs come out of a waffle iron, they can be eaten as a finger food which is great if you have little ones.

Ingredients:
5 eggs, scrambled
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, optional
Cooking spray

Instructions:
Heat up your waffle iron.

While that is heating up, scramble the eggs and put in the cheese.

When the waffle iron is ready, spray liberally with cooking spray.

Pour eggs in the waffle iron, close the lid and wait. Check on them after about a minute. Continue to check on them until they are as done as you want them. Be careful though, eggs in a waffle iron create a lot of hot steam.

I used a pair of cooking tongs and a spatula to slide the eggs out of the waffle iron.

What did the family think? Thumbs up from everyone, even the youngest who isn’t a huge egg fan.

Where did this recipe come from? adapted from a recipe from The Novice Chef

(I know this picture is terrible, but it’s all I’ve got. Trust me, they are yummy.)

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Filed under Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Lent, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

October 21, 2011 · 10:31 am

Beer Pizza Dough

This is a no fail way to make pizza dough that doesn’t involve yeast. One recipe makes two pizza which works out perfectly for our house…one pizza for the kids and one for the adults. There is also something very rewarding about making your own pizza dough. I highly recommend it.

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
12 oz can beer (use a light kind or your crust will taste “hoppy”)
olive oil

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

Pour in the beer and mix well.

Spread a handful of flour on your work surface and dump the dough onto it.

Toss the dough around to coat it with flour and prevent it from sticking.

Knead it 2 or 3 times.

Shape the dough into a ball and divide it in two if you are making 2 thin crust pizzas.

For a deep dish pie do not divide.

Grease your pizza pan with oil and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a circle.

Brush crust with olive oil lightly and then add your sauce and toppings.

Bake for 12- 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.

What did the family think? I made two batches of this which made two deep dish pizzas. I think everyone would have been happier had I just made one batch of it that would have made two thin crust pizzas. Our oldest and I liked the crust the way it was, but hubby and our youngest weren’t too thrilled.

photo by me

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Italian, Lent, Six Ingredients or Less, Vegetarian