What We’re Eating: Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti Casserole

Image Source: Plain Chicken

Jodi posted about a new recipe she tried. It sounded simple enough. Baked cream cheese spaghetti casserole, what’s not to love? On the spur of the moment, I decided to make it yesterday. We didn’t have all the ingredients handy, but it was still yummy. I used Classico Sweet Basil sauce like she did too since that’s what we had. And I also used sausage like she did because, again, that’s all I had. Pantry cooking at its best. =)

CHANGES
Our jar of pasta sauce was only 24 ounces. It would have been better with the listed 28 ounces. We only had sausage on hand, but you can use whatever meat you like with your pasta, or no meat at all. Bummer, no Italian seasoning, but I did add garlic salt. Will add Italian seasoning on the grocery list this week. We also only had a Four Cheese package of shredded cheese. It worked fine. Basically, you can add or take out whatever you like, and the recipe still works. Well, mostly.

SUGGESTIONS
None.

VERDICT
Everyone gobbled it up.

- Joyce

Click on the link to view more of WHAT WE’RE EATING

BAKED CREAM CHEESE SPAGHETTI CASSEROLE recipe from Plain Chicken

Ingredients:

• 12 oz spaghetti
• 1 (28 ounces) jar prepared spaghetti sauce
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• Vegetable oil spray
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a skillet, brown the ground beef until cooked through; drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce. Set aside.
3. Cook spaghetti. Drain and place cooked spaghetti in bowl.
4. Add cream cheese, Italian seasoning, and minced garlic.
5. Stir until cream cheese is melted and the spaghetti is thoroughly coated.
6. Lightly grease a 9×13″ pan. Spread a small amount of meat sauce in the bottom of the dish.
7. Put spaghetti on top of sauce and top with remaining meat sauce.
8. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.
9. Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

*Bold instructions can be done by younger kids.

What We’re Eating: Cauliflower “Mac” and Cheese Casserole

Image Source: The Best of Thymes

I kept seeing this recipe everywhere awhile back. We finally decided to try it (aka we finally bought cauliflower). There are many versions of this CAULIFLOWER “MAC” AND CHEESE CASSEROLE out there, so you can try whatever you find by googling or on Pinterest. We tried the one from Food Network. There are also similar recipes that has actual “mac” in them.

CHANGES
None.

SUGGESTIONS
It is a little heavy on the cream as expected. I’m almost positive there is a “healthier” version of this somewhere.

VERDICT
Everyone loved it for dinner and as leftovers the next day! We added spaghetti noodles, and some ham from Easter dinner the night we made it and some lunch meat from a sub sandwich (the bread got too hard to eat) when we had it for lunch the next day. Yum!

- Joyce

Click on the link to view more of WHAT WE’RE EATING

CAULIFLOWER ‘MAC’ AND CHEESE CASSEROLE recipe from Food Network

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• 6 servings

Ingredients:

• Kosher salt, as needed, plus 1/2 teaspoon
• 1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets
• Vegetable oil spray
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar, plus 1/2 cup for topping the casserole
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• Equipment: 8 by 8-inch baking dish

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season the water with salt.
3. Spray the baking dish with vegetable oil spray.*
4. Cook the cauliflower in the boiling water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
5. Drain well and pat between several layers of paper towels to dry.
6. Transfer the cauliflower to the baking dish and set aside.
7. Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan, and whisk in the cream cheese and mustard until smooth.
8. Stir in 1 cup of the cheese, salt, pepper and garlic and whisk just until the cheese melts, about 1 to 2 minutes.
9. Remove from heat, pour over the cauliflower, and stir to combine.
10. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese* and bake until browned and bubbly hot, about 15 minutes.

*Bold instructions can be done by younger kids.

What We’re Eating: Pizza

So it looks like Friday is officially Pizza and Movie Night at our house. We’ve tried a variety of frozen pizza, but haven’t found any that is given a good grade by the Fooducate app. We decided to try Boboli.

I’ve only done homemade pizza once, but the girls didn’t get a chance to help out with that. They had a blast creating their own pizza. We each picked a quarter of the pizza and added the ingredients that we wanted.

VERDICT
The pizza crust definitely tasted healthier than any frozen pizza that we’ve tasted, but it does come at a cost since buying all the different ingredients was more. We all like it except for Emily, but I think it was the sauce more than the actual pizza crust.

- Joyce

Click on the link to view more of WHAT WE’RE EATING

CREATE YOUR OWN PIZZA recipe from The Moys! =p

• Prep Time: <15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Serves 4

Ingredients:

• Boboli pizza crust
• Pizza sauce (we got this from Trader Joe’s)
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Assorted toppings: Ham, artichoke, chicken, tomato, pineapple chunks, and whatever else you feel like adding in there

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Prep toppings.
3. Spread pizza sauce on crust.
4. Top with desired ingredients.
5. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 10 minutes or until crust is crisp and cheese is melted.

What We’re Eating: Chocolate Covered Spoons

Image Source: Living on a Dime

Okay, so the image doesn’t shout Valentine’s Day! but I made these chocolate covered spoons for Melody’s class for Valentine’s Day. They didn’t look anything like the ones in the photo.

CHANGES
I melted the chocolate in a glass bowl over a pot of boiling water, instead of in the microwave.

SUGGESTIONS
Afterwards I found another way to make these. I can’t find the link now, but you basically use one of those cake decorating frosting thingies to fill the spoons instead of just dipping the spoon into the melted chocolate.

VERDICT
It’s a fun gift to make. Bummer I totally forgot to tell them that they should probably put it in hot chocolate for flavor. I hope no one tried to just eat it off the spoon, because I tried and it didn’t work. =p

- Joyce

Click on the link to view more of WHAT WE’RE EATING.

CHOCOLATE COVERED SPOONS recipe from Living on a Dime

Ingredients:

• chocolate chips, or chocolate melting wafers, or chocolate baking squares
• decorations (crushed peppermint, mini white chocolate chips or white chocolate shavings, small candies, red hots, shredded coconut)
• you’ll also need plastic spoons

Instructions:

1. Lay out waxed paper on the counter.
2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave.
3. Then stir the spoon into the chocolate chips.
4. Lay on the waxed paper and decorate.

What We’re Eating: Pancakes

Image Source: Martha Stewart

I was trying to make dinner from the pantry, but couldn’t come up with anything good, so I decided to do “breakfast for dinner”, which we hadn’t done for a long time. We didn’t have any bread left, and I had made waffles for breakfast on Waffle Wednesday, so I decided to make pancakes. So pancakes have always been a little scary for me (like cookies had been). I think it’s because of the flipping over of the pancakes. Anyhow, I’ve only tried pancake mixes maybe twice. This time I decided to go see if Martha had a trusty recipe for me. And she did!

CHANGES
None. We had all the ingredients on hand. I used veg oil instead of butter because I was too lazy to melt the butter. Oh wait, I did add chocolate chips to a few of them. Oh, and I used a griddle instead of a skillet.

SUGGESTIONS
None…well, except I might try the melted butter next time instead of veg oil.

VERDICT
They were great. I browned them a little too much because I stepped away (actually, aside) to get working on the eggs. But even with that, everyone gobbled them up. Yum! I’ll try to add different things in there next time. (Anyone have tips on doing that?) I saved the remaining batter that we did use, and made some more for breakfast. Still good!

- Joyce

Click on the link to view more of WHAT WE’RE EATING

PANCAKES recipe from Martha Stewart from Everyday Food, September 2006

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes (I’m not sure how this worked out…)
• Serves 4 (I think it made about 12-15 mini pancakes)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Assorted toppings, such as butter, maple syrup, confectioners’ sugar, honey, jams, preserves, sweetened whipped cream, or chocolate syrup

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees; have a baking sheet or heatproof platter ready to keep cooked pancakes warm in the oven.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, butter (or oil), and egg.
4. Add dry ingredients to milk mixture; whisk until just moistened (do not overmix; a few small lumps are fine).
5. Heat a large skillet (nonstick or cast-iron) or griddle over medium.
6. Fold a sheet of paper towel in half, and moisten with oil; carefully rub skillet with oiled paper towel.
7. For each pancake, spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter onto skillet, using the back of the spoon to spread batter into a round (you should be able to fit 2 to 3 in a large skillet).
8. Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, 1 to 2 minutes.
9. Flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more.
10. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter; cover loosely with aluminum foil, and keep warm in oven.
11. Continue with more oil and remaining batter. (You’ll have 12 to 15 pancakes.)
12. Serve warm, with desired toppings.

Kids can help:  measure ingredients and whisk

What We’re Eating: Game Day Nachos

Since the Super Bowl is now scheduled to fall on the first Sunday of every February, this will happen to coincide with Melody’s birthday party every year.  In honor of the big game (which wasn’t really a big deal around here since the teams happen to be all from the Northeast this year), I decided to throw together a football/game-day type of food: NACHOS!

Ingredients:

• Tortilla Chips
• Sauce
  • Cheddar Cheese Sauce (if you don’t want the spice of Salsa or Chili)
  • ….or Salsa/Chili Con Queso
• Meat
  • 1 lb. of Ground Beef (can also use Carnitas/Kalua Pork, Carne Asada Steak, or Shredded Pollo Chicken)
  • Taco Seasoning Mix to flavor the meat (or BBQ sauce if you want to go Southern)
• Black/Refried Beans (optional)
• Halved Olives (optional)
• Sliced Jalapeno Peppers (optional)
• Guacamole (optional)
• Sour Cream (optional)
• Shredded Lettuce (optional)
• Sliced Cherry/Grape Tomatoes (optional)
• Slices of Lime to squeeze on the chips or as decoration (optional)

Here’s how I made it:

1. Line toaster oven baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Cover the foiled baking sheet with tortilla chips.
3. Brown the meat on a skillet and then drain it.
4. In the same skillet, throw in the taco seasoning mix with a bit of water and wait until the sauce thickens to the meat.
5. Pour the meat mixture on top of the tortilla chips.
6. Pour beans on top of that.
7. Pour the cheese sauce or con queso on top of that.
8. Spread olives (and optionally jalapeno peppers) on top of that.
9. Bake in the toaster oven at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes (or until everything heats up……if the chips start turning brown, you’ve done it for too long)
10. Spread remaining “cold” ingredients all over the nachos and serve hot.

- Norm

What We’re Eating: Banana Chocolate Crepes

Image Source: Parenting Magazine

I’ve been going through magazines and just marking off recipes and ideas that I like, so that I can pass them on to others (as I de-clutter). This BANANA CHOCOLATE CREPES was one that I found in Parenting Magazine. It is listed under Healthy Kids Snacks on the website, but I’m not sure that it is a healthy snack. Oh well, they were good.

CHANGES
None

SUGGESTIONS
The next time we make these, I would either add even less than a “pat of butter”, and possibly less chocolate chips. And maybe, just put it in the toaster oven to bake for a few minutes instead of putting on the pan for more crispiness, instead of crepe-like. That would make it easier for the kids to eat it by themselves, and also makes for easier cleanup (no need to wash a pan).

VERDICT
The ‘pat of butter’ added too much of a salty flavor to the crepe, but otherwise, it was yummy. I love that this is something simple that the kids can help make.

- Joyce

Click on the link to view more of WHAT WE’RE EATING

BANANA CHOCOLATE CREPES recipe from Parenting Magazine

• Prep Time: No more than 10 minutes (with little ones helping)
• Cook Time: 2-4 minutes
• Total Time: 12-14 minutes
• Makes: Makes 8 little wedges.

Ingredients:

• Pat of butter
• One banana, thinly sliced
• Handful chocolate chips
• Two flour tortillas
• Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Instructions:

1. Melt butter in nonstick pan.
2. Arrange banana slices over one tortilla and mash them in very lightly with a fork.
3. Dot with chocolate chips and place second tortilla on top.
4. Slide into frying pan and cook for a few minutes on each side, until brown and golden at the edges.
5. Let cool for a minute or two, then slice into wedges and serve dusted with powdered sugar, if desired.
   

Kids can help: Peel banana, spread banana slices on tortilla, lightly mash bananas, arrange chocolate chips over fruit

What We’re Eating: Trader Joe’s Cornbread Mix

Image Source: Kath Eats

We like trying out new things we find at Trader Joe’s. Here’s a recent find.

CHANGES
No changes.

SUGGESTIONS
I was looking for the photo for this post, and came upon Kath Eats, who blogged about having this cornbread mix. She did do a few things differently, and I might try out what she did next time, which is use 1/4 cup oil and 1 cup of milk instead of 1/2 cup oil and 3/4 cup of milk. And I forgot to drizzle the honey.

VERDICT
We like it. It’s light and fluffy. The other times, I’ve had cornbread, I did not like it too much because the corn always ends up kinda of hard, but if you bake it to the 35 minutes that you’re instructed to, it turns out great.

- Joyce

Click on the link to view more of WHAT WE’RE EATING.

TRADER JOE’S CORNBREAD MIX recipe from the box

Prep Time: No more than 10 minutes

• Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Makes: Makes 8×8 dish

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 box of cornbread mix

Instructions:

1. Mix together egg, oil, and milk in a large bowl.
2. Add cornbread mix. Don’t overmix.
3. Pour mixture into a greased 8×8 dish.
4. Bake uncover at 350*F for 35-40 minutes.

Head over to Alicia’s Homemaking to see more Try New Adventures Thursday! Any Trader Joe product suggestions?

What We’re Eating: Hawaiian Sweet Roll Ham Sammies

Image Source: Beyer Beware

We have made so many different things with King’s Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, so when I came upon this recipe, I knew I had to try it. The girls love these rolls with anything, or even if they was just plain.

CHANGES
We did not have onion, poppy seeds, or Swiss cheese on hand. I think the onion would have definitely added some flavor, although it was good without it too. I subbed the Swiss cheese for shredded because we always have shredded cheese in the fridge.

SUGGESTIONS
Use a little less butter! I think we may also just lightly top with the onion mixture next time. It was a little drenched (probably because of the lack of onions).

VERDICT
We’ve never baked the sweet rolls it like this before. It was a pleasant change. It is super easy to make, and you can prep beforehand, refrigerate, and pop into the oven whenever you want to eat them (okay, maybe 20 minutes before you want to eat them okay, maybe another minute for it to cool down. hehe).

- Joyce

Click on the link to view more of WHAT WE’RE EATING.

HAWAIIAN SWEET ROLL HAM SAMMIES recipe from Beyer Beware

• Prep Time: No more than 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minute
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Makes: Makes 12 rolls.

Ingredients:

• 12 Hawaiian sweet rolls
• 1 onion, minced or grated
• 1 stick of butter
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3 teaspoons of poppy seeds
• 1/2 pound shaved ham
• 8 slices of Swiss cheese

Instructions:

1. Melt butter in small skillet.
2. Add onions, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and poppy seeds into butter.
3. Simmer for several minutes.
4. Slice rolls as a group through the middles.
5. Place bottoms in an aluminum foil lined 13″x9″ pan.
6. Spread 3/4 of onion mixture on rolls bottoms.
7. Top with ham and cheese slices.
8. Top with the rolls tops.
9. Spread remaining onion mixture over the top.
10. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate until ready to bake.
11. Bake covered with foil for 30 minutes on 350*F.

Holiday Baking

We haven’t baked too much this holiday season, but when we have, it’s been a fun time.

What is your favorite holiday baked good?