Creamy Ham 'n' Macaroni

So I was looking for a recipe to make with our ham leftovers. Brian wanted me to find something with noodles and cheese. It didn't take long before I stumbled across this little gem! Cathy, you may be especially excited because this is a Taste of Home recipe. AND, I finally subscribed to their magazine. Got it for $4 for one year!

We really liked this one a lot. So much in fact, that I made it again 2 days later and will portion it out and freeze it so that we can enjoy it again in a couple weeks. :) I also like that most of the ingredients were already in my pantry! The only thing I didn't have was the Parmesan cheese. I also only changed one thing which was  adding some crumbled Ritz crackers to the top before baking.

Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Creamy-Ham--n--Macaroni

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 4 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1-1/2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

• Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain and set aside. In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in the milk, bouillon and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir in 1 cup cheddar cheese, ham, Parmesan cheese and macaroni.
• Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Yield: 6 servings.

Thai Peanut Chicken

I've been getting a little bored of our standard Stir-Fryday recipes, so I started branching out and looked for a Thai style peanut dish. This was one of the first results that came up in a search, and I LOVE IT! I can't wait to make this again! In fact, I'm even looking forward to tomorrow night when we have it again for leftovers! The only thing I might do differently is double or triple the sauce as was suggested by other reviewers who had tried this.

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked white rice
• 4 cups water
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I actually used about a 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes. -LD)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into thin strips
• 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger root
• 3/4 cup chopped green onions
• 2 1/2 cups broccoli florets
• 1/3 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

Directions

1. Combine the rice and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until rice is tender. (Or just cook in your steamer/rice cooker - LD) In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, peanut butter, vinegar, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a skillet or wok over high heat. Add chicken, garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring constantly, until chicken is golden on the outside, about 5 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium, and add green onion, broccoli, peanuts, and the peanut butter mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until broccoli is tender, and chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice.

Beef and Rice Casserole

This was a recipe that my mom made while I was growing up.  When I was younger, I hated kidney beans.  As I got older, I decided that they weren't too bad.  Eddie tried this today for lunch and gobbled up those beans like you wouldn't believe!  I hope he continues to like them.  Anyhow - it's an easy recipe, one that you can assemble ahead of time and then bake later.

Ingredients:


1 lb. of ground beef
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of salt
1 onion chopped
green pepper chopped
1 tsp of chili powder
1 can diced tomatoes (1 lb.)
1 can kidney beans
3/4 cup rice
3/4 cup cheese
Olives
1/2 cup water or V8 or tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown beef, onion, green pepper and garlic.  Drain fat and add chili powder, salt, diced tomatoes, kidney beans and rice.  Mix well and put in a greased 2 quart dish.  Cook covered for 45-55 minutes.  Add cheese and olives and cook uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.

Summer's Notes:

• You could try substituting ground turkey for the ground beef.  I have used ground venison in the past.
• May want to add more chili powder or other seasoning.  Sometimes my mom's dishes can be a little bland.  I think I usually do at least a tablespoon of chili powder.
• I find that white rice works better than brown.  May need to bake longer with brown rice
• I usually use cheddar cheese
• Can use green or black olives.  I like it with green olives.  You can also leave them out or only put on top of half of the casserole (that's what my mom used to do)

Ozark Sloppy Joes

1-1/2  pounds ground beef
      1  medium green pepper, chopped
      1  small onion, chopped
      2  tsp. sugar
1-1/2  tsp. flour
1-1/2  tsp. Italian seasoning
    1/2  tsp. chili powder
    1/4  tsp. salt
    1/4  tsp. garlic powder
    1/8  tsp. cayenne pepper
       1  can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
 1-1/2  tsp. Worcestershire sauce
       8 hamburger buns


In a large skillet, cook the beef, green pepper, and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Stir in the sugar, flour, seasonings, tomato sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.  Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Spoon 1/2 cup onto each bun. Yield: 8 servings.


I was never a big sloppy joe fan, but I really love this recipe.  Enjoy!!

Corn Bread Taco Bake

This was super easy and very yummy! Summer - you might recognize this from the dinner roster of one of Mrs. Mouthy's posts. I totally stole the idea and looked it up. :) Cathy - you'll like that this is a Taste of Home recipe!!

Link to the recipe here.

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 can (15-1/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can (8 ounces) Hunt’s® Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 envelope taco seasoning
• 1 package (8-1/2 ounces) corn bread/muffin mix
• 1 can (2.8 ounces) french-fried onions, divided
• 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

• In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the corn, tomato sauce, water, green pepper and taco seasoning. Spoon into a greased 2-qt. baking dish.
• Prepare corn bread mix according to package directions for corn bread. Stir in half of the onions. Spread over beef mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle with cheese and remaining onions. Bake 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and a toothpick inserted into corn bread layer comes out clean. Yield: 6 servings.