• Chicken Pasta Bake

    The other day I had leftover items that I needed to use up so I came up with this Chicken Pasta Bake.  I don’t like letting leftovers go to waste and this casserole turned out really well.  You can play around with this recipe and add various ingredients depending what you have in the refrigerator that needs to be used up.

    Chicken Pasta Bake

    • 1 lb sliced, cooked, and season Chicken Breasts
    • 16 oz Noodles (any type, I used Rotini)
    • 2 cups shredded Mozzarella Cheese
    • Mushrooms (optional)
    • 1 cup Pasta Sauce (optional)

    Grease an 9×13 pyrex dish.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  If your pasta has not already been cooked, go ahead and make it according to the directions on the box.  While the pasta is cooking if your chicken is not already sliced and cooked go ahead and slice your chicken and cook it in a skillet, bake or fry it  (add whatever seasoning you want to it).  Layer drained pasta noodles on the bottom of the pyrex then mix a cup of pasta sauce in with the noodles.  Layer the chicken and mushrooms (if using mushrooms) on top of the pasta.  Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted completely.

  • Family Recipe: Cheesy Spaghetti Bake

    My cousin Jordan gave me this recipe several years ago and I love it.  I still use it when I want to do something a little different with spaghetti.  I like that it is easy yet delicious!  There are several variations to this recipe that I use to mix it up a little bit too.

    Cheesy Spaghetti Bake:

    • 2 lb ground Hamburger
    • 32 oz Spaghetti Sauce
    • 12 to 14 oz Spaghetti Noodles
    • 1/2 cup Milk
    • 1/2 cup Onions
    • 1 1/2 cup Velveeta Cheese

    Brown the beef and onion in a skillet and drain.  Stir in spaghetti sauce and simmer 10 minutes.  Break spaghetti noodles into quarters and cook according to directions; drain.  Add spaghetti noodles to the sauce mixture.  Dice up and melt Velveeta cheese and milk together in a saucepan on low heat.  Stir frequently until melted.  Spread 1/2 of the spaghetti mixture in to a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.  Top with 3/4 cheese sauce, then the remainder of the spaghetti mixture.  Drip remaining 1/4 cup of melted cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.

    Variation 1: Sometime I will layer the spaghetti noodles on the bottom of the pan and slightly up the sides then add the sauce and meat on top followed by the cheese mixture.

    Variation 2: Layer the spaghetti noodles on the bottom, then a thin layer of cheese, followed by the meat & sauce mixture and sprinkle the remaining cheese on the top

    Variation 3: Cook in 2 pie dishes so I can share with others, for example, if someone just had a baby or surgery and I am bringing them a meal I will cook one for our family and one to give away.

    Variation 4: Add Mushrooms and other veggies to the Spaghetti bake (you can put them in as a separate layer or mix them in with the meat and sauce mixture).

    Photo by Norwichnuts

  • Family Recipe: Nancy’s Banana Bread

    A friend recently gave us banana bread which the girls absolutely loved.  After finishing that loaf I dug out our family recipe to make another loaf.  Grandma Willa shared Nancy’s Banana Bread recipe with us many years ago.  This delicious banana bread is always a super special treat around our house.  It is a wonderful recipe to pull out for a breakfast treat when you have guests staying with you or your hosting a get together for a group of friends.  I love that it is easy to put together too.

     

    Nancy’s Banana Bread:

    • 2 cups Flour
    • 1 tablespoon Water
    • 1/2 cup shortening
    • 1/4 teaspoon Salt
    • 2 Eggs
    • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
    • 1 cup Sugar
    • 1/4 cup Walnuts (optional)
    • 3 Bananas, mashed

    Mix all the ingredients together.  Place in greased and floured bread pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

  • Family Recipe: Great Grandma Albrecht’s Corn Bake

    I have so many wonderful memories of my Great Grandma Albrecht.  Thankful for the opportunity to learn from her.  She was beautiful, a great cook, crafty, and full of spunk.  At my bridal shower she brought her Corn Bake as one of her favorite recipes.  Even after age 90 she was still baking!  When she arrived with the Corn Bake and recipe in hand we were curious about the blue dots in it.  In her hurry to get ready and cook she accidentally put a box of blueberry muffin mix into the Corn Bake instead of the Corn Mix.  She waved her hand and just laughed.  It was interesting, but still tasted good.  This is just one of many memories of Great Grandma Albrecht that make me smile.

    Corn Bake

    • 1 small Onion (optional)
    • 1 small pepper (optional)
    • 1/2 cup of melted Butter
    • 1 can Whole Kernel Corn
    • 1 can Cream Corn
    • 1 (8 oz) box Corn Muffin Mix (or Blueberry Muffin Mix if you want to venture out a little more)
    • 3 Eggs
    • 1 cup Sour Cream
    • 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

    Saute onion and pepper in the butter.  Mix in corn, muffin mix, eggs, sour cream and cheese.  Put in a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

  • Thanksgiving Recipe: White Cranberry Brined Turkey

    The turkey is a great part of the Thanksgiving dinner.  There are so many different ways to cook a turkey……smoke, bake, or fry.   If you are looking for delicious new way to cook the turkey try this one out.  We have tried several great recipes for the turkey.  I found this several years ago in a Ocean Spray booklet.

    • 128 ounces of White Cranberry Juice
    • 1 gallon of Water
    • 2 cups of Kosher Salt
    • 1 cup of Sugar
    • 2 tablespoons Whole Black Peppercorns
    • 8 cloves Garlic (crushed)
    • 8 Bay Leaves
    • 8 to 12 pound Whole Turkey

    Mix together all ingredients (except turkey) in a 13 to 14 quart stockpot until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Place the turkey in the brine.  Refrigerate turkey in the covered stockpot for 12 to 18 hours.  Discard brine.  Dry turkey with paper towels. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Roast unstuffed turkey for 2 3/4 to 3 hours or until internal temperature of the thigh reaches 180 degrees.