Recently I threw a statement out on Facebook that I was looking for something quick and easy to make for dinner. A lot of people suggested spaghetti. Unfortunately I’m not a huge spaghetti fan but one comment mentioned Capellini with Meat Sauce. It is similar to spaghetti but totally different so I decided to give it a shot.

Capellini with Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Ground Beef
• Fresh Garlic
• 1 jar Spaghetti Sauce
• Capellini (Angel Hair Pasta)
• Mushrooms
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Garlic Bread (optional)

Directions:

1. On medium heat in a large pan, cover and cook ground beef for about 10-15 minutes. Drain.

2. While ground beef is cooking cut 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic and mushrooms into small pieces.

3. Uncover the pan, stir, add little salt and black pepper , mushrooms and chopped garlic mixed with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

4. Leave pan uncovered, stirring occasionally. Cook for 5-10 minutes until garlic and mushrooms are browned.

5. Heat up the pasta sauce . Add the ground beef  and mix well. Simmer for 20 minutes on low

6. Boil pasta and a tiny bit of Olive oil till the pasta  is done. Drain, place in a separate bowl.

7. Place pasta on a plate and add meat sauce on top.You can add Parmesan cheese if you wish.

It was delicious and a huge hit with the family! It was pretty quick to make and super easy!

Recipe source: Tammy Munson

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I celebrated this weekend when I had the house to myself and could indulge in some serious, much needed, me time.

I used to think that romantic things like a candle light dinner could only be enjoyed by those with significant others. Boy, was I wrong.

I enjoyed listening to my fave music playing in the background while I sat at the candle lit dinner table indulging in some yummy food! I made steak, steamed broccoli and rice. Here’s the recipe.

Steak, Steamed Broccoli & Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 New York strip steak (or whatever kind you wish)
• 1 package marinade mix (or make your own – I used the Jack Daniel’s Mesquite marinade in a bag)
• 1 small head of broccoli
• 1 rice mix package (I used a rice and broccoli packaged mix)
• butter
• seasoning (whatever seasonings you wish to use)

Non Food Related Ingredients:

• Tall candles
• Tall candle holders
• Roses (or whatever flowers you wish)
• Matches

Directions:

1. Marinade your steak for at least 30 minutes before cooking.

2. In a medium fry pan over low heat melt some butter, add your steak. Add whatever seasonings you wish to use and some more butter. Cook steak to your desired liking. I like mine medium well.

3. In a medium sauce pan cook the rice according to package directions.

4. When your steak is just about done, steam your broccoli. (It steams a lot quicker than I realized it would so my broccoli was cold because it was done way before my steak was).

5. Light your candles, turn the lights off, turn your favorite music on and enjoy your dinner!

Note: You can cook your steak with mushrooms and put some Mozarella cheese on top for a little extra ‘pizazz’ if you wish)

This really isn’t a Valentine’s Cake. It’s just a regular ole cake that I jazzed up to be festive for the upcoming Hallmark Holiday.

In an effort to not be anti-Valentine’s Day this year (I think you just begin to despise this Holiday when your single) I figured I’d do something fun and bake a cake.

I made as girlish as possible even going as far as using a reddish/pinkish cake mix, frosting and candies! If that wasn’t enough I even bought little heart shaped cake pans!

Valentine’s Day Cake:

Ingredients:

• 1 Betty Crocker strawberry cake mix
• eggs (how many is located on back of cake mix box)
• vegetable oil (how much is located on back of cake mix box)
• water (how much is located on back of cake mix box)
• 1 container Betty Crocker strawberry frosting
• Valentine’s Day sprinkles (I found them in with the Valentine’s stuff at my local Walmart)
• Heart shaped baking tins (again I found these in with the Valentine’s stuff at Walmart – they came in a package of 2)

Directions:

1. Prepare cake mix as directed on box.

2. Split cake mix equally among the 2 heart shaped baking tins.

3. Bake as directed on bake of cake mix box. (It didn’t take nearly as long for my cakes to bake as it said on the bake of the box)

I may not be the best cook but somehow I’ve managed to wow the kiddo with this recipe for several years now! He says the only reason it became his favorite thing was because “I know you know how to make this one mom and you don’t mess it up.” Man, the brutal honesty of kids!

I remember the first time I asked my mom for this recipe and she told me she didn’t have one, it was just some hamburger,  onions, cream of mushroom soup, tater tots and cheese. I didn’t actually understand how anyone could cook without a recipe to follow but amazingly I do the same thing now…at least with this. I’d be lost without a recipe when I try cooking other things!  But for the sake of this post I’m going to create a recipe for this.

Tater Tot Casserole

Ingredients:

• hamburger (1-2 lbs)
• 1 onion
• cream of mushroom soup (1 large can, 1 small can)
• tater tots (2 regular size bags – I use 1 1/2 bags)
• shredded cheddar cheese
• sour cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook hamburger and onion. Drain grease.

2. Add cream of mushroom soup to hamburger/onion and mix. (I add a little bit of milk to make the mixture not so thick).

3. In a casserole dish place a row of tater tots, top with hamburger mixture and repeat. (I usually get about 2 layers)

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

5. Take out of oven and sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top. Place back in oven just long enough to melt cheese.

6. Serve with sour cream on top if you wish.

The crock pot has to be the best invention ever!

For someone that isn’t a cooker it’s pretty simple to throw something together and have it come out looking like a meal. Having it taste good is a bit of a different story.

Not that I would know anything about something not coming out edible from a crock pot.

Easy Crockpot Chicken:

Ingredients:

• boneless skinless chicken breasts (how many ever you need for your family)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Thyme
• Oregano
• Garlic salt
• any spices you want

Directions:

1. Clean chicken breasts off.

2. Place chicken breasts in crock pot.

3. Add water to crock pot (I filled it up to almost the top).

4. Add as much spice as you like.

5. Cook on low all day (I started it at 7am and we ate at 6pm)

Note: You might want to add more spice than normal. I noticed that when it was time to eat we still had to add quite a bit more spices to flavor it up! Maybe the water absorbs the spices instead of the chicken.

You can serve it with a garden salad and French bread or any side dishes you and your family would like.