Mashed Potato Casserole

Mashed Potato Casserole

2-3 pounds potatoes
4 oz. cream cheese
1 t. garlic salt
¼ t. pepper
½ cup sour cream
2 T. butter
Paprika

Make mashed potatoes however you usually make them – you can use instant, if you want to. Beat into mashed potatoes the cream cheese, sour cream, garlic salt and pepper (use some sort of blender to get out the lumps). Pour into baking dish, dot with small pieces of butter and sprinkle with paprika.

Bake at 400° for about 15-20 minutes (until top is golden brown).

* Yummy, yummy. I always serve as a side dish to porcupine meatballs, along with a salad *

Porcupine Meatballs

Porcupine Meatballs

1 pound lean ground beef
1/3 cup uncooked white rice
¼ cup chopped onion (if I don’t have an onion, I’ll use dehydrated onion, found in the spice isle)
¼ cup water
1 t. salt
Dash of pepper

Combine beef, rice, onion, water, salt and pepper. Shape into small balls (1 – 1.5 inches in diameter).

1 can condensed tomato soup (can use store brand, doesn’t taste any different than Campbell’s)
½ t. chili powder
½ cup water

Blend soup, chili powder and water into a saucepan. Add meatballs. Bring to boil, then cover and turn down heat to simmer. Takes about 45 minutes or so (depends on how hot your stove is). When meatballs are cooked through, you’ll know it’s done.

Homemade Pancakes

1 ½ cup flour
3 t. baking powder
½ t. salt
2 T. sugar
1 – 1 ¼ cup milk
1 egg
3 T. canola or vegetable oil

Beat together until smooth. Sometimes I cut the sugar in half and do half white flour and half whole
wheat flour. I’m too lazy to measure the milk; I add enough ‘til I get the consistency I want.

Chicken Won Ton Salad

This is an easy to throw together salad that we use as a main dish or a side dish.  You can eat a ton of it, so get plenty of lettuce.  All the amounts are personal preference.  Hope you enjoy!

Lettuce (green leaf/Romaine with iceberg)

Chicken breasts diced and sautéed

Sesame seeds-toasted with little oil

Won ton wrappers lightly fried

Tear lettuce to bite-sized pieces, top with sautéed chicken, and toasted sesame seeds.  Top with dressing and slightly crushed fried won tons.

Dressing-

½ c sugar

1/2 c white vinegar

2 Tbsp salt

Combine the ingredient in a pan and bring to boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.

Let cool, then add:

½ tsp pepper

½ c vegetable oil

Fresh-free ingredients

We recently had a week-long family reunion where we based all our meals off food storage -- meaning, rather than having to go buy tons of stuff to feed all 17 solid-food-eating people (the three babies were easy), we chose recipes for which the ingredients were already stocked up in our pantries. We ate great food, and we only spent about $200, which included all the food for an extended-family feast on Christmas Eve (which was not food-storage themed).

Aside from saving money, it was great to not have our fridge overloaded with stuff. During past reunions, the fridge has been overloaded with all sorts of things that we needed for each meal, leaving little room for the real important things of life, like leftover pie.

Sooooo ... this whole thing has me itching for more recipes that don't require fresh ingredients. I'm itching so much, in fact, that I'm interested in putting together a little cookbook full of fresh-free recipes.

By fresh free I mean any recipe that you can store all the ingredients, unrefrigerated, in your pantry or closet or whatever. That doesn't mean it has to be meat free -- canned chicken is easy enough to come by, and I know you can personally can just about anything. Instead of milk you can use dry milk, instead of butter ... um, churned dried milk?

If you have any recipes you can share, PLEASE post them or e-mail me at stellmonquarterly AT gmail DOT com.

Lemon Pesto Chicken

Super easy recipe. Here's what the original recipe calls for:

1 T. oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 cup uncooked rice
2 cans chicken broth
1 T. lemon peel
1/2 T. pesto
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, saute chicken and garlic in oil. Stir in rice, broth, lemon, pesto & pepper. Cover and simmer 20-25 minutes, or liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese just before serving.

K, now my variations:
I never have chicken broth, so I used water and bouillon cubes and made my own. I also never use a real lemon, I use lemon juice instead (still about a tablespoon, maybe a little more, depends on how lemon-y you want it). I also never use pesto, I just sprinkle some Italian Seasoning over the whole thing instead. I usually use real garlic, but I discovered I didn't have any this time, so I used garlic salt. This is really easy to make and it makes a TON. Cory and I both had generous helpings, and we've got enough leftovers for at least 3 more servings.

Shrimp and Tomato

Shrimp and Tomato

3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 Pound Shrimp
2-3 Garlic Cloves
1/4 Teaspoon Oregano
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
1 ( 14 to 15 ounce) can of Diced Tomato, drained
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 Teaspoon  fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 Pound Capellini or Spaghetti

Heat Oil in a 12 inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook Shrimp and garlic with Oregano, salt, and peper, turning once, until golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in Tomato. Add Cream and briskly simmer until sauce has thickened slightly, about 1 minute. Stir in Lemon Juice.
Meanwhile cook Noodles until done. Drain.
Serve immediately, topped with Shrimp and  sauce.