Busy Day Soup

6 c water (I used beef stock)
1 lb ground beef
1 L can tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg frozen mixed vegetables
1 pkg onion soup mix
2 cubes of beef bouillon (use if cooking with water)
½ c macaroni or rice
minced garlic
salt & pepper
Italian seasonings

Brown and drain the ground beef. Add water and bring to a boil. (The original recipe called for cooking the beef in the boiling water rather than browning it.) Add remaining ingredients and simmer for one hour. Freezes well.

Key Lime or Lemon Meringue Pie

Filling:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
½ c lime or lemon juice (fresh only!)
1 tsp grated peel
2 egg yolks

Put yolks in a mixing bowl. Add lime (or lemon) juice, stirring well to “cook” the yolks. Gradually add in condensed milk and peel, stirring well.

Place mixture in:
9" Graham cracker crust - recipe below

Meringue:
2 egg whites at room temp
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 c sugar

In small mixing bowl, whip whites with cream of tartar until they hold a soft peak. Gradually whip in sugar; continue to whip just til whites hold firm peaks. Pile onto pie filling, sealing to inside edge of pie shell. Bake in 325̊ oven til top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool.


Graham cracker crust

1 ½ c graham cracker crumbs (grind your own or use ½ box of pre-ground crumbs)
½ c melted butter

Place crumbs in medium sized bowl. Stir in melted butter until thoroughly blended. Pack mixture firmly into 9" pie pan, and press firmly to bottom and sides, bringing crumbs evenly up to the rim. Chill one hour before filling, or bake in 350̊ oven for 8 minutes, cool, chill, and fill. Makes 8 servings.

Instead of birthday cake, this is Haley's preference. I made two this year and had 13 for dinner. Yummm...not a crumb left!

Omelets

Click HERE to learn how to cook "the perfect omelet."

Three Cheese-stuffed Shells with Meaty Tomato Sauce

Prep time: 15 min.
Cook time: 1 ½ hrs.
Servings: 8

8 oz jumbo pasta shells
30 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
8 oz Parmesan cheese, grated, divided
½ c grated Romano cheese
1 whole egg
12 leaves basil, chiffonade
2 Tbsp minced parsley
S&P
½ whole medium onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
½ lbs Italian sausage
½ c red wine
29 oz can crushed tomatoes
15 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
2 Tbsp minced parsley

Cook pasta shells for half the cooking time; make sure not to overcook. Drain and rinse in cool water. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in L skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for a minute or two. Add Italian sausage and brown, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. Pour in red wine and lit cook for a minute or two. Pour in cans of crushed tomatoes and stir. Add sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check for seasonings; can add crushed red peppers if you like a little heat. In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, half the Parmesan, Romano, egg, S&P, basil and 2 Tbsp parsley. Stir till combined.

To assemble, coat the bottom of a baking dish with sauce. Fill each half-cooked shell with the cheese mixture. Place face down on the sauce. Repeat with shells until cheese mixture is gone. Top shells with remaining sauce. Sprinkle on extra Parmesan.

Bake at 350̊ for 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve with crusty French bread.

I got this from the fabulous Pioneer Woman (www.thepioneerwoman.com). This is easy and sooo good!

Branana Bread

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups mashed, fully ripe bananas (3 medium)
2 tablespoons fat-free milk [I used 1% because that's what we had.]
1 cup Kellogg's® All-Bran® Original cereal [I used Bran Buds.]
1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened [Butter, of course!]
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
[1 tsp. vanilla]
1/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts [I didn't have nuts so I used 1 c. chocolate chips!]

Directions
1. Stir together flour, baking powder and soda. Set aside.

2. In small mixing bowl, stir together bananas, milk and KELLOGG'S ALL-BRAN cereal. Let stand 5 minutes or until cereal softens [or while you complete the next step].

3. In large mixing bowl, beat margarine and sugar until thoroughly combined. Add eggs. [Add vanilla.] Beat well. Stir in cereal mixture and nuts [and/or chocolate chips]. Add flour mixture, stirring only until combined. Spread batter evenly in 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.

4. Bake at 350° F about 50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely before slicing.

Yield: 1 loaf, 15 slices

Crunchy Onion Hamburger Casserole

1 can French fried onion rings
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg onion gravy mix
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 ½ c water
1/3 c uncooked rice
1 10 oz pkg frozen peas, thawed
1 c. water chestnuts, drained and sliced

Brown beef and drain. Blend in gravy mix, garlic salt, water and rice. Bring to boil. Simmer 15 minutes. Add peas and water chestnuts and continue to simmer til rice is tender. Stir in onions. Serve with soy sauce.

This is what's for dinner tonight. Easy peasy!

Hard Boiled Eggs

OK, so you think you know how to hard boil eggs, but you can find some great instructions with a great secret step to make them so easy to peel. Check it out HERE.