Not Your Ordinary Green Bean Casserole

From my sweet friend, Debi. This is even better than traditional green bean casserole!

2 cans French cut green beans, drained (or thawed frozen)
3 T. butter
2 heaping T. flour
1 t. salt
2 t. sugar
4 t. grated onion
1 c. sour cream
8 oz. grated Swiss cheese
2 c. crushed corn flakes
1/4 c. melted butter

Cook beans according to package directions. Place in a 9x13 dish. Melt butter in a saucepan and blend in flour. Add salt, sugar, onion, sour cream, and cheese. Pour over beans. (You can add milk to thin it, if desired.) Top with buttered corn flakes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Sweet Soy Chicken

This came from my friend, Kristin, who got me started with freezer cooking.

2 pounds chicken
1 c. honey
3/4 c. soy (I use low sodium)
2 T. crushed garlic (I buy minced garlic from Costco and use that in all dishes that call for garlic)
1 t. ground ginger

Warm marinade ingredients in microwave until honey is melted (about 90 sec). Pour over chicken in freezer bag, label, and freeze.

When thawed, pour into baking dish, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover, turn chicken, and bake an additional 30 minutes.

**Check your chicken with a meat thermometer to prevent overcooking.

LOVE these morning biscuits! Cheesy Sausage Biscuits

I saw this recipe on someone's blog when they were stocking their freezer in preparation for an addition to the family. My sister-in-law makes these yummy little balls of sausage and cheese and biscuits around Christmas-time that seem very similar to this. I especially liked that the biscuit part is not made using a prepared mix.

Sausage & Cheese Biscuits

• 3 c. flour
• 1 T. + 1 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 c. butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 lb. bulk pork sausage, crumbled and fully cooked, cooled
• 1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
• 3/4 – 1 1/4 c. milk

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter until crumbly.

2. Stir in the cooled sausage and cheddar cheese. Add milk just until the dough comes together without being sticky. Be careful not to add too much.

3. Roll out dough and cut out with a biscuit cutter, shape about a 1/4 c. of dough into a biscuit shape or just drop onto a baking sheet. (I used the shape-by-hand method and made 18 biscuits.) Bake at 400 degrees for 12- 18 minutes, until lightly golden brown on top.

Another thing I loved about these is that they tasted just as good the next day when reheated in the microwave for a few seconds. Next time I am planning to bake an extra batch for the freezer. Talk about a great on-the-run breakfast!

Taken from: http://stolenmomentscooking.com/sausage-cheese-biscuits/

Sloppy Joe's - also known in central PA as Hamburger Barbecue

It took me a while to get used to people in Pennsylvania calling this dish "barbecue". I grew up in eastern NC, which has its very own unique style of barbecue. Having lived in Arizona, I knew there were varying definitions of barbecue. But, it still took some getting used to, nonetheless.

I got this great recipe from my sweet friend Nancy!

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, diced

3/4 c. ketchup
2 T. sugar
2 t. Worcestershire
1 T. apple cider vinegar
1 t. prepared mustard

Brown ground beef with the onion, drain fat. Mix together sauce ingredients and bring to a simmer. Add ground beef mixture and heat through.

I like to put it in a crock pot and let it continue to simmer for a while.

To make as a freezer meal, you can do a variety of things: package 1 lb. raw ground beef in a ziploc and label it as "sloppy joe meat"; brown ground beef with onion, drain and cool, then package in ziploc and label; prepare the recipe as stated, let cool, and package in ziploc.

Awesome Shepherd's Pie

I follow this recipe loosely. (translation: I don't chop fresh veggies, I use a bag of frozen mixed veggies; I don't measure the worcestershire sauce, I like it a lot; and I use instant mashed potatoes!) It's still VERY good!

I found it here: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_shepherds_pie/

Easy Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
• 1 onion chopped
• 1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas
• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
• 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Method

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.

3 Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.

4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.

5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.

7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.

Serves four.

To make as a freezer meal, I fix the ground beef part and then freeze that in a ziploc. Since I use instant mashed potatoes and almost always have them in the pantry, I don't bother to make the entire thing in a dish. I thaw the ground beef mixture, put it in a dish, top with instant mashed potatoes, and bake.

Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken

This recipe comes from Mandi, a girl I met when I was in high school and living in Arizona. We are now both Texans.

She's a healthy eater--you can read her blog. She posts recipes and this was looked super yummy. We tried it and everyone in our family gave it a thumbs up! (I will admit I added probably 1/4 c. brown sugar because I didn't think it was sweet enough. So, I did "adjust it" just a little.)

Sweet and Sour Chicken
by www.trainermomma.com
adapted from Kitchen Kousins, Karalee Jones' recipe

2 lbs of chicken or 4 large chicken breasts cut in half, boneless, skinless
20 oz can of pineapple chunks, drained (save juice!)
3/4 cup pineapple juice
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
2 T. soy or teriyaki sauce, reduced sodium
2 Tb cornstarch
1 Tb chicken bullion
1 large bell pepper, sliced
1 stalk of celery, chopped

In a baking dish, place chicken breasts, pineapple, bell pepper and celery.

Stir pineapple juice, water, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, and chicken bullion in a saucepan until boiling. Stir constantly until it thickens and sugar is dissolved.

Pour thickened sauce over the chicken and other goodies in the baking dish.

Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for 30 - 45 minutes or until chicken is done. Serve over brown rice.

Makes 8 servings. 182 calories per serving (not including brown rice).

http://trainermomma.blogspot.com/2010/10/baked-sweet-and-sour-chicken.html

Dinner Tonight -- Wings, Homemade Mac 'n Cheese, Butternut Squash

I picked up some chicken wings on sale last week at Sprouts for just 99 cents a pound. Tonight I cooked those 15 or so wings. They were yummy. I used this recipe for breading and baking the chicken. I didn't refrigerate them, just rinsed them in cold water and squeezed them dry with a paper towel before tossing in the flour mixture. I used parchment paper (no spray) and baked them for a bit before rolling them in either buffalo sauce or bbq sauce.

Baked Buffalo Wings (http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/baked-buffalo-wings/Detail.aspx)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 20 chicken wings

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and lightly grease with cooking spray. Place the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt into a resealable plastic bag, and shake to mix. Add the chicken wings, seal, and toss until well coated with the flour mixture. Place the wings onto the prepared baking sheet, and place into the refrigerator. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. [Didn't do this: Whisk together the melted butter and hot sauce in a small bowl. Dip the wings into the butter mixture, and place back on the baking sheet.] Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and crispy on the outside, about 45 minutes. Turn the wings over halfway during cooking so they cook evenly.

I also made some homemade mac 'n cheese. Pretty simple. I boiled some mini bowtie pasta until it was tender. Then, I made a roux with about 1 T. butter and 2 T. flour. (Melt butter, then stir in flour. Allow to brown a little, then add milk gradually.) I have no clue how much milk I used. Once it was a decent consistency, I threw in some handfuls of shredded cheese. The cheese was a "Mexican" blend from Costco. I think it would have tasted better with more cheddar, but it was still yummy. Once the cheese was melted, I tossed the noodles back in and stirred it up. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Finally, we had some butternut squash. Simple and easy. It's good! I had one small squash so I used about 1/2 the recipe. (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/roasted-butternut-squash-recipe/index.html)

Ingredients

• 2 medium butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 4 teaspoons butter
• 4 teaspoons brown sugar
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place butternut squash halves on a large baking sheet flesh side up. Place 1 teaspoon butter in the middle of each squash. Sprinkle brown sugar over each squash. Season with salt and black pepper. Roast 25 minutes, until flesh is fork-tender. Reserve 2 halves for future meal.