String Bean Casserole

This is my trademark Thanksgiving side dish that I bring with me to family functions, I know this isn't really the holiday season, but we'll reminisce. 

All your ingredients are in the picture above, with the exception of onion. Depending on who I am cooking for I either use powdered onion or fresh diced onion. You can leave it out too if you aren't a fan.

Preheat oven to 350 and prepare your noodles. I used egg noodles here, but you can make this recipe a little more healthy by using wheat. I warmed some frozen carrots and peas in a sauce pan to accompany the green beans. Layer the noodles on the bottom of a casserole dish (make sure to spray some Pam in the bottom so they don't stick) then add the thawed and slightly cooked veggies, then top off with green beans. If you like onions, add those before your beans, as well as any other relevant spices (salt and pepper) . The next layer is your "Cream of" layer. In the picture, I used cream of celery but I've also used cream of chicken or cream of mushroom with much success. I like my casserole sauce to be thick and delicious so just add the soup to the top of the beans straight from the can. Work the cream into the beans a little bit so that when you bake it the flavor make its way through all the layers.

Top it all off with some delicious cheeses (I used mozzarella and cheddar) and bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and the dish is warm all the way through.

Scrum-diddlie-umptious!

Deep Fried Mushrooms & Steak

Sometimes karma is good to you and you find something so heavenly by accident. Enter tempura batter. If I was a real professional cook I would give you the recipe, but I'm not. I'm just a girl that takes picture of dinner ideas so that I don't forget them. Instead, go to the store and find "tempura batter". Then, do this:

WARNING: Cooking with hot oil and batter can be dangerous. I used a small sauce pan that was then covered by a wire screen. Since I did mushrooms in the tempura, they cooked really fast - so it was a pretty easy "dip" in the oil and then onto a paper towel to blot out some of the oil.

All in all, a good way to work those veggies into a meal.

Smothered Mt. Dew Chicken Burrito

I married a man with a bit of a drinking problem, he's hooked on Mt Dew! (I call him a "Mounty")
SO that inspired a marinade for cooking chicken with Mt. Dew. I know it sounds super weird, but try it! It was actually REALLY good!

I try to be diligent about the process and making it honest by showing of my mess of ingredients. I have a visual memory, so this is more for me than you. Here's what you need:
Canned Chicken Breast
Onion
Cilantro
Mission Tortilla's
Canned Whole Green Chiles
Beans (Black or Pinto would work)
Rice
Cheese

Blend green chilies with a bit of onion and cilantro.  Blend together to make the sauce for the top. Chop approximately 1/4 cup of onion and simmer over medium. Add canned chicken breast and separate with a fork. Slowly add the Mt. Dew in 1/2 cup increments so that the flavor is steamed into the chicken. The chicken should slowly cook for about 20 minutes.

I used instant white rice to fill the tortilla's beans and then added in the chicken. Add cheese and a little bit of the chile sauce to the inside before rolling. Top with the rest of the sauce and cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

This isn't the quickest recipe, but it sure was pretty and DELICIOUS!

 Fresh out of the oven, the burrito's will look a little brown on the ends and the cheese should be melted.

 Can you guess which place setting is Levi's? If you guess the one with the Mt. Dew can, you would be correct.

I love food! I ended up only eating half, because my portions were a little large, but it made a great lunch the next day at work.

Eggs in a Toastie

This is the only way my husband will eat an egg for breakfast. Thank goodness its not poached, that's just too hard!

 It makes this process easier if you have a round cookie cutter that is just small enough to fit inside a piece  of bread. Butter both sides, and cookie cutter out the middle. Spray your frying pan and place the toast and the circles on medium heat, crack an egg inside each and add salt and pepper to taste.

Make sure you don't burn the circles, they will toast pretty quickly. Flip your egg in the toast and cook as much or as little as you like. I like mine over-easy for this recipe.

And there you have it! Super easy, effortless and husband approved.