Pasta E. Fagioli {the soup}

1/2 pound lean ground beef
3/4 tsp olive oil
1/2 of an onion, chopped
1/4 of a bag of baby carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, diced
1 24 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 can drained red kidney beans
2 cans beef stock
3/4 tsp. oregano
3/4 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce
2 cups Ditalini {Salad Macaroni} pasta, cooked and drained


Directions

Brown the ground beef in the oil in a skillet, until crumbly. Stir in carrots, onions, celery, and undrained tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes. Rinse and drain the kidney beans, then stir into the beef mixture. Stir in stock, oregano, pepper, parsley, and Tabasco sauce. Simmer for 45 minutes until celery and carrots are tender. Stir in spaghetti sauce and pasta.


Serving Suggestions

bread sticks, in a bread bowl, with crumbly bread, or even just cheese and crackers.

FYI: I have done this in the slow cooker. adding everything but the pasta and spaghetti sauce and letting it cook 4-6 hours on low then adding cooked pasta and spaghetti sauce just before serving.

sidenote: Personally I didn't like it as much when I didn't add all the onion it called for and I like it even better when it's thick and not soupy.  {Add more spaghetti sauce and less broth}

Angels Pasta

 
8 oz angel hair pasta
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 Tbs olive oil
1 or 2 zucchini sliced
3 tomatoes - chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste
Basil
Mozzarella Cheese

Directions 

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in oil and saute garlic until golden. Stir in zucchini, salt and pepper. Mix in tomato, cover and simmer on low heat.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes; drain.

Season vegetables with basil right before mixing with pasta. 

Combine pasta and vegetables. Serve topped with mozzarella.

Panda Express Mandarin Chicken

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
½ tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon of garlic powder

Optional-
1 can water-chestnuts
1 zucchini sliced and diced

Mandarin Sauce-
2/3 cup sugar
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon ginger
¼ cup water
4 teaspoons cornstarch

Pound chicken breasts with a mallet to an even thickness and season both sides with sugar, salt, and garlic powder. Grill chicken 4-6 minutes on each side or until no longer pink inside. Remove from grill and cut into bit sized strips. Set aside.

In a bowl combine sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic and ginger. Pour into a wok or sauce pan. Heat the mixture until almost at a boil.

Combine cornstarch and water. Once the sauce starts to boil add the cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened.

Add grilled chicken, zucchini and water-chestnuts to the wok and coat with the sauce. Simmer until heated thoroughly.

Serve over cooked rice.

sidenote: I just used my pre-prepared chicken out of the freezer... easy peasy.

Grandma's Filipino Salad {My Way}

 4 cups salad macaroni
1/2 bag frozen peas
1 can crushed pineapple
4 green onions - chopped
1 green pepper - chopped
3 stalks celery - chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup miracle whip

Directions

Prepare pasta according to package. Rinse with cold water and add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Chill before serving.

side note: Grandma adds imitation crab, shrimp, and chicken. Jason doesn't like seafood and I'm too lazy to prepare the chicken.

She also adds a little sugar to the dressing... too sweet for us.

Corn Chowder

1  cup chopped onion
2 cups frozen southern style hash browns
2 cups diced cooked ham
1 can corn (do not drain)
1 can cream style corn
1 corn can full of milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
salt, pepper, parsley flakes

Directions

Combine everything in crock pot and cook on high 3-4 hours or all day on low.

Taco Soup

½ chopped onion
1 can corn (do not drain)
1 can black beans
1 can tomato soup
1 can chili
½ taco seasoning packet
bag of Fritos {or your choice of corn chip}
grated cheese
sour cream

For a bigger pot {not that this doesn't make a lot} I add..
½ lb cooked ground beef
1 can kidney beans
1 can tomatoes


Directions

Mix all ingredients in slow cooker and cook for 3-4 hours on low.

Serving Suggestions

We serve over Fritos with cheese and sour cream.

Goulash

1 lb hamburger
1 small onion
1 can tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can corn
1 can green beans
1/8 tsp salt

1 can tomato soup

1 cup cooked elbow macaroni

brown sugar to taste

Directions

Brown hamburger and onion seasoning well. Add all other ingredients.

side note: this was our first time with this one.  It was good, but next time I will add a can of tomato soup {it didn't call for it at all}  and only do 1 cup of macaroni {it called for 2}

Stovetop Chicken & Veggies

6 oz pkg Stuffing Mix {Chicken or Turkey}
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts; cut into 1 inch pieces
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup sour cream
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F. Prepare Stuffing mix as directed on package. Set aside.

Mix chicken, soup, sour cream and vegetables in 9x9 inch baking dish. Top with stuffing.

Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

side note: I used 1/2 a bag of frozen peas & carrots, half a can of corn and half a can of green beans. Works wonderfully to use left over vegetables out of the fridge as well.

Oriental Style Chicken Noodle Soup

3 cups water
2 cans chicken broth
2 packages chicken-flavor ramen noodles
2 cut up chicken breasts
2 stalks chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion

Directions


In a large pot, saute celery and onion in olive oil.  Add chicken, carrots, water and broth.  Bring to a boil then simmer on medium low heat for 20 minutes.  Stir in noodles and seasoning packets. Cook for 3 more minutes {or till noodles are done how you like em.}


Serving Suggestions

In a bowl!

Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli

2-3 cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
4 cups frozen broccoli cuts {next time I'll just use fresh broccoli}
1 can cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup grated cheese

Directions

Combine soup, sour cream, lemon juice, curry, onion and garlic powders. Spread broccoli in a 2 quart baking dish. Evenly distribute chicken over broccoli and cover with soup mixture. Top with cheese. Bake 1 hour at 350 F


Serving Suggestions

Serve Hot!