Category Archives: things we like to eat

Crockpot Mac & Cheese

Posted in main dishes, side dishes, things we like to eat by

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I have no idea how long I’ve had this recipe, or where it came from. It is written on a tiny scrap of paper that is crumpled and stained – but everyone LOVES this macaroni and cheese. It is simple and delicious.

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I’m sure you could mix all the ingredients together and bake it, but I never have. I usually cook the pasta until just under cooked since I don’t want it to get soggy. While the pasta is cooking, I get the rest of the ingredients together and into the Crockpot. Stir well and then let it cook. I normally stir it a couple of times while it is cooking. I often double the recipe- my Crockpot will just barely hold that much.

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We love our Mac and cheese with crushed Cheez-It’s on top. As you can see from the picture, we added a bit of leftover chili this time and some chopped green onions to a bowl too. It’s also a great camping meal.

Crockpot Mac & Cheese

1- 16 ounce package macaroni, cooked

1- 12 ounce can of evaporated milk

12 ounces milk, I use 1%

1 tsp. salt

3 cups shredded sharp cheese

1/2 cup melted butter

Cook macaroni, drain well. Spray inside of Crockpot well with cooking spray. Put cooked macaroni and remaining ingredients into Crockpot and stir well. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours.

Cindy

Reese’s Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Posted in sweets, things we like to eat by

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Travis came home this past weekend, so I needed to do some cooking and baking for my poor starving college student! I had an open bag of Reese’s peanut butter chips, so I decided to make the chocolate cookies on the back of the bag.

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The only difference was that I only had one cup of peanut butter chips, rather than the 1 2/3 cup the recipe called for, so I added in 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips. I would do that again, I loved the combination of chips. These cookies sort of poofed up while cooking and then totally flattened out once cool. But they stayed moist and chewy. I think this recipe would be good with some sort of mint chips too! Yum!

Reese’s Chewy Chocolate Cookies
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 sticks butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup Reese’s peanut butter chips
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Stir together dry ingredients and set aside. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Gradually add flour mixture and mix well. Add chips and mix well.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350* for 8 to 9 minutes. Do not over bake. The cookies will be soft. Let cool slightly before removing to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Cindy

Southern Chicken Casserole

Posted in main dishes, things we like to eat by

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Southern chicken casserole is a super easy dish that I have been making for several years. A friend had this cookbook of recipes from around the world that she shared with me when we were doing a homeschool project. I happened to find this recipe when I was looking for Chinese food recipes. This is clearly not from China!

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I haven’t made it in awhile, but Travis came home this weekend and I knew he would enjoy it. I have modified the original recipe a bit- the way the recipe was written there is just too much creamy stuff! This is a great make ahead dish and it is perfect for a potluck. It’s a bit of a hassle because you have to cook the chicken and rice first, but after that it comes together quickly.

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Southern Chicken Casserole

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
4 cups cooked rice, cooled
2 cups celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 can sliced water chestnuts, chopped
1 cup sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken soup
Salt and pepper to taste
1 package Stove Top stuffing
2 1/2 ounces olive oil

Mix first 8 ingredients. Place into a greased 9 x 13″ pan. Mix stuffing mix with olive oil and pour over the top of the chicken and rice mixture. Cover with foil and bake at 350* for approximately 45 minutes. I keep the casserole covered so the stuffing doesn’t get too brown. You can remove the foil if it doesn’t seem to be getting brown enough for your liking.

Lemon Scones

Posted in breakfast, sweets, things we like to eat by

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My dad requested lemon scones, so I made these for him the other day. These were so yummy. We all agreed that they could have been a bit more lemony, so I modified the recipe a little.

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When I kneaded the dough, I ended up needing to use a lot of flour- the dough was much stickier than I was expecting. So don’t be afraid to very generously flour the surface that you will be working the dough on, and definitely have more flour set aside in case you need it for your hands and the knife that you cut the dough with.

The glaze from this recipe is super good, and there’s a lot of it for only eight scones- yay for that!

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Lemon Scones

Scones:

2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1 cup half & half

1 egg yolk, beaten slightly

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Lemon glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 tablespoons half & half

 

Preheat oven 400*. Grease a baking sheet and set aside (I used parchment paper, and sprayed the paper, just in case).

Stir the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the lemon zest and toss mixture with your hands.

Cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients and mix until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the half & half, the egg yolk, vanilla, and lemon juice and use a fork to blend the liquid within the well. Then use a wooden spoon to combine all the ingredients, just until the dough holds together.

Scrape the dough onto a (generously) floured surface and then, using floured hands, knead dough gently three or four times to form a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc about 3/4-inch thick, then cut into 8 wedges. Transfer to a baking sheet, leaving at least 1/4-inch between them. Brush the tops lightly with half & half.

Bake the scones until golden brown, about 13-15 minutes. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

While the scones continue to cool, make the glaze. Combine all the ingredients and whisk them until smooth. If necessary, use water to thin the glaze, mixing in a 1/2 teaspoon at a time. When the scones are cooled, drizzle each one generously with glaze.

 

Jordan

Throwback Time: Thai Pasta Salad

Posted in main dishes, salads, side dishes, things we like to eat by

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Thai Pasta Salad has been, by far, our most repinned/viewed post since we started the blog in April. Consistently, whenever I get an email from Pinterest saying that one of my pins has been repinned, it’s the recipe for our Thai Pasta Salad. There’s definitely a reason for this- it’s absolutely delicious!

In case you missed the original post from way back in May, here’s the recipe again. Enjoy!

When I made this recipe today I used fettuccine noodles, don’t do that! They stuck together while cooking and they are harder to eat. Follow the recipe, not the photos. My recipe does actually tell me to use angel hair pasta and I ignored it and now I’m sorry!

This salad gets better with age so if you can, let it cool and sit for several hours or longer before consuming- it is worth the torture of waiting.

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Cook pasta according to package directions.

While the noodles are cooking, prepare all the veggies and set aside. Then make the sauce, stir the oils and red pepper flakes in a saucepan and heat for about two minutes. Add honey and soy sauce and heat through.

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Drain the cooked noodles and pour into a large bowl.

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Pour the warm sauce over the noodles and mix well. There will be quite a bit of sauce in the bottom of the bowl and that is ok. As the noodles cool they will absorb all of that tasty goodness.

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Add the chopped veggies and mix again.

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Now cover it and put it in the refrigerator and forget you made it for at least 4 hours or better yet, overnight! Stir again before serving to get everything coated. Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds and almonds into the whole bowl, or if you have some picky eaters that don’t like nuts in their food then just sprinkle it over the top as you serve and it is almost as good that way.

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Thai Pasta Salad
1 lb. angel hair pasta
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sesame seed oil
1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, more if you like
6 T honey
5 T soy sauce
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/3 cup bell pepper, chopped (I prefer red)
Toasted sesame seeds and toasted sliced almonds

Cook pasta according to package directions. While the noodles are cooking, prepare all the veggies and set aside. Then make the sauce, stir the oils and red pepper flakes in a saucepan and heat for about two minutes. Add honey and soy sauce and heat through. Drain the cooked noodles and pour into a large bowl. Pour the warm sauce over the noodles and mix well. There will be quite a bit of sauce in the bottom of the bowl and that is ok. As the noodles cool they will absorb all of that tasty goodness. Add the chopped veggies and mix again. Now cover it and put it in the refrigerator and forget you made it for at least 4 hours or better yet, overnight! Stir again before serving to get everything coated. Just before serving sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds and almonds. Enjoy!