Super easy macaroni salad

My partner in crime loves macaroni salad. But the kind you get at the deli is way too sweet for our taste, and a lot of the recipes I looked at seemed over-complicated. They'd add vinegar for tang and then add sugar for sweetness, and then lemon juice for more tang, etc. Harrumph. I thought I could do something simpler, so I came up with a recipe that after a few tweaks, now resembles deli macaroni salad but without being so sweet (and is probably a lot healthier).

Boil 2 cups of whole wheat macaroni noodles until they still have a bit of bite to them (they will soften further as they sit in the dressing), then drain and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking process.

Dice finely and uniformly:

• 1 large red pepper
• 2 or 3 sticks of celery
• a couple of pickles
• half a red onion OR a bunch of green onions

Make the dressing by stirring together:

• 1 cup of mayonnaise OR 1/2 cup mayonnaise and 1/2 cup low fat plain yogurt (partner in crime did not notice when I subbed yogurt for some of the mayo)
• 1 heaping tablespoon (not the measuring variety but the kind you eat cereal with) of Dijon mustard
• 1 heaping tablespoon (not the measuring variety but the kind you eat cereal with) of yellow mustard (e.g. French's)
• Salt and pepper (maybe a half teaspoon of each? do it to taste)
• 1/2 tsp (or so) of dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp (or so) of dried dill

Mix veggies and macaroni in a large bowl and season it with some salt and pepper. Stir in the dressing. You're done! For the best flavour, let the salad sit for a few hours before you eat it. This makes enough for two of us to eat for a few days.

Oma Noodles!

Cheesy Broccoli Noodles

5 Cups Pasta Shells
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp Flour
2 Cups Milk
2 Cups Grated Cheese
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Cups Broccoli Florets

Cook pasta shells. Melt butter in pan, add flour until thickened about 4 or 5 minutes. Add 1.5 Cups cheese, salt and pepper. Add pasta, broccoli and toss together. Transfer to 1.5 qt baking dish and cover with remaining cheese, broil till golden brown.

I don't really know where the 2 Cups of milk come in, or if they do, because I added the milk into the flour and butter, and then the pasta and broccoli, and it was a bit soupy. Tina- could you help me out with this quandary? DELICIOUS recipe though! I highly recommend it.

Quick and Easy Dessert

1 container of Philadelphia Ready to eat cheesecake filling
1 jar of 1/2 the sugar smuckers strawberry jam
Shortbread cookies or graham crackers

Mix jam into cheesecake filling, dip cookies into filling, and enjoy.

"That almost makes me ill, it's so good" -Dave

SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obviously I haven't cooked anything decent in quite a few months. We've been eating our frozen meals that we prepared before Maisy came along. But we've just about emptied the freezer, finally, and I'm getting back on track with cooking. It's fun now, cause it's a new season, with all new recipes! Putting away my crock pot and stews, and getting out my BBQ! SO Excited! Just wondering- does anyone have any good recipes for fish? i want a tasty, maybe breaded but not fried fish recipe. Does such a thing exist? We're trying to eat better, but we don't want to be miserable doing so:)

Here's my favorite, and SUPER easy summer dessert recipe. It always makes me think of summer fun.
angel food cake
Shredded coconut flakes
Strawberry Cool Whip (you could use regular if you cant find strawberry, it's just cuter when its pink)
and Strawberries

Flip Angel food cake upside down on a plate. Mix the coconut into the cool whip till it's all fluffy and chunky, cut up strawberries to a good size for eating.

Frost the Angel Food Cake with the cool whip and coconut mixture all over, just like a cake. then fill the hole of the bundt with the strawberries till it's overflowing onto the cake. For garnish, sprinkle some coconut flakes over the strawberries.

This cake looks so pretty, and summery, and is perfect for get togthers and potlucks. I usually make one for the 4th of July, so if I do, I'll post a picture.

I love slow cooking!

I'm on a slow cooker (crockpot) binge...here are two favourites of mine. The first is a really easy and super delicious soup that also freezes well. The second recipe is in my slow cooker right now!

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

2 frozen chicken breasts, whole

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 med. onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups water

1 can chicken broth

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 bay leaf

2 cans corn (or 1-10ounce package of frozen corn)

1 tsp dried cilantro

7 corn tortillas (coloured ones are fun!)

vegetable oil

sourcream

cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

-Add first 13 ingredients to slow cooker. Stir and cover. Cook on high setting for 5 hours.

-Before serving, remove chicken breasts and cut into shreds. Stir back into soup.

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10-15 minutes. (If wanting to freeze some of the soup, put some aside now)

-After pouring soup into a bowl, sprinkle tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and a scoop of sour cream over each person's individual soup bowl.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Barbecue

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (12 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce (choose your favourite flavour)

1/2 cup Italian salad dressing

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbeque sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.

2. Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low.

3. To serve, you can either serve the chicken breasts whole and use the sauce over potatoes, rice, or pasta. Or shred the chicken with a fork and put it back into the sauce and mix it all together and then serve it on a bun (just like a pulled pork sandwich, but with chicken).

Curry Chicken-Mango Wrap

This is great for a lunch or a light dinner.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup finely chopped mango

3/4 tsp. curry powder

1/8 tsp. red pepper

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1/2 cup red bell pepper

1/4 cup onion

Pita bread or flour tortillas

Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl. Add chicken, bell pepper and onion. Stir to combine. Fill pita bread pockets or flour tortillas and enjoy.

awww pascetti

My favorite food growing up was spaghetti. My mom is a wonderful cook and I will never ever match up to her awesomeness. I'm currently missing her pretty badly right now. Can you tell? :) My Mom learned her spaghetti sauce from her Mom and tweaked it and I did the same. I think I like making it because I never do the same thing twice. I play around with the spices or which kind of cans of tomatoes to add. It always turns out at least eatable. :)

The basics:

Brown in sauce pan with some onion. (I use the spice called "Chopped Onion" so that I don't have to cry every time.)
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 tube of Italian sausage

In crockpot add:
1 large can of Tomato Puree OR crushed Tomato
1-2 small cans of diced tomatos - Nick prefers petite diced
1 teenie can of tomato paste
1 small can of tomato sauce
1-2 T Oregano
1 T Basil
some minced Garlic
Pinch of salt/pepper
browned meat from earlier

Stir together and cook in crock pot for at least all afternoon on low.

Sometimes I like the sauce thicker so I add more paste and less diced tomatoes. If you want it more liquidy less tomato paste or none at all. Have fun!