Crunchy Bread

This recipe is from my friend, Diana. She says "I read on a blog somewhere about French Bread. We all love it but it is hard to use because you have to basically buy the day you are using it." Her solution via. this blog, buy it when it's really cheap and freeze it! That's right, you heard me! I tried this out and I loved the results!

Ingredients:
loaf of french bread
butter or margarine
garlic salt

Cut the bread into slices (like a loaf of bread). Butter the bread on both sides, sprinkle with garlic salt if you want. Then put in on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once it is frozen transfer to a ziploc bag. Then at dinner time anytime you want Bread with it, pull out number of slices you need and bake or broil until it is desired crunchy level. I did it at 350 for about ten minutes, turning over half way in between and then broiled it for a couple of minutes!


I was lazy and put the bread directly into ziploc bags and it worked fine. Also, I was a little light on the garlic salt, and it could have used more! I am sure you could add herbs of your choice as well.

This was a huge hit and super easy. Plus, if you want to go light on the butter or use something less fattening, you can fix it to your taste. No more wasted bread. Perfect!

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

>This is from my Mom! It's a classic and I usually always have the ingredients on hand and it's super simple. Oh, and my husband and children love it. At least, normally! The little ones weren't feeling good last night and wouldn't eat anything! But, hey, there are always leftovers for tonight!

3 cups of Macaroni

2 to 3 tablespoons dried onions

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

3 to 4 cups of cheddar cheese (You can use any cheese you prefer)

Thin White Sauce: ( Double or Triple for Mac and cheese)

1 Tablespoon Butter or Margarine

1 tablespoon Flour

1 cup Milk

Cook Macaroni as directed, preferably "Al Dente." Drain and set aside.

To make white sauce, melt butter in medium size pot. Add flour and mix together. Add milk and stir until starts to thicken. I usually triple the thin white sauce, but when I did that last night it turned out as too much. (Maybe it has something to do with Different altitudes from Utah to California.)

Spread half the macaroni on bottom of casserole dish. Sprinkle with half of each: salt, pepper, onions, and cheese.

Repeat the process using the rest of the ingredients.

Pour white sauce over the top and Bake for 30 mins at 375 degrees!

Spanish Rice

We made Cafe Rio Pork last night, and I forgot to buy a packet of spanish rice to whip up with it. Never fear the internet always saves the day. I got this recipe off Recipezaar.com. I have never used their website before but it was the simplest recipe and I had all, or at least, most of the ingredients.

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked rice
1 medium onion, chopped (I used half of a large onion when i doubled it! We aren't a huge fan of onions!)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
2 1/2 cups water
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 small green bell pepper, chopped (We didn't have these on hand, so I left it out!)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add rice and onion and cook (about 5-10 minutes) stirring occasionally, until rice is golden brown and onion is tender. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender. (I used half brown rice, half white rice, so it took a little longer to cook.)

This was a huge hit and everyone loved it. I doubled this to feed about ten people and there was plenty left over. The recipe said that it served six, but I am not sure I believe them. Big hit and it was super easy and yummy.

Vegetable Cheddar Sauce

Can't get your little picky eaters (or in my case, big) to eat veggies, especially broccoli? I have been trying to find a cheese sauce to go on top and nothing seems to work or I can't remember to buy the products before hand. I have honestly considered buying the broccoli and cheese frozen selections to get them to eat it. I found a solution without paying the price of those expensive green giant products, with who knows what kind of cheese mixture.

I used my medium white sauce recipe and added about a cup of cheese to it. I just added it right after I added the milk. I used it to pour over the cooked Broccoli and the picky eaters actually ate it!! Yeah! One small step towards success! Check out the white sauce recipe to get all the directions!!

Crash Hot Potatoes

I would love to take credit for these little babies , but I can't!!! I wish I was that creative. I got this recipe from the pioneer woman cooks blog, which I was introduced to by my friend, Diana, via our cooking group. And, yes, Di, I miss that cooking group terribly! It will never be the same I am afraid to say! Anyways back to the recipe...

I have had this recipe in my file waiting to be made and I finally found the perfect time to have them. Oh, and I had a plethora of red potatoes that were a day or two away from turning into pigs food! We were having a fancy date night in a few weeks ago and we made filet mignon and yummy corn, and this added the perfect touch!Ingredients:
Red Potatoes
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Chives, Rosemary, or whatever herb you prefer

Start by boiling a big pot of water. Add in as many potatoes as you prefer. Typically, two to three potatoes per person, depending on what kind of eaters you have. Cook until fork tender. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. (Makes it crispier and saves on clean-up time. Trust me!) Spray with cooking spray or drizzle with lots of olive oil. Place potatoes on baking sheet with space between each. Next, grab your potato masher and gently press down on the potato until it slightly mashes…Then rotate the masher 90 degrees and finish flattening it. Of course, you don’t want to absolutely smash it into the pan—you want it almost to resemble a cookie.

Then spread olive oil generously on each using a brush. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and your herb of choice, and do this generously as well. Then cook for 20-25 minutes in 450 degree oven! You want them nice and crispy! Serve them with all the fixings for a baked potato or eat plain.

These little guys were absolutely delicious!! Super simple and not a whole lot of ingredients! Yeah for that. I tried to fit too many potatoes on one sheet and I couldn't smash them down as far so try to avoid that for extra crispiness!! Also, Check out pioneer woman's blog and see picture by picture editorial. She has some great ideas and awesome recipes!!

White Sauce

This is a great starter for many recipes. It is super easy to make and you can add a lot of fun variations to it. I use the thin sauce for homemade mac and cheese, and the medium sauce for tuna puff pastry.

Thin:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 cup of milk

Medium:
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 cup milk

Thick:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 cup milk

Notice a pattern?? That's right! The butter and flour double the thicker you want the sauce, but the rest stays the same.

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in milk. Return to heat, and heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Once it boils, stir for another minute or so, until it starts to thicken.

Fun variation:
Use medium white sauce, make as directed and add small pieces of ham and hard-boiled eggs, chopped up, to mixture. Pour over toast for a quick breakfast or even a dinner.

Cheesy variation:
Use medium white sauce, make as directed, but add 1/2 cup to a cup of cheese after you have stirred in the milk. Stir til thickened and cheese is melted!

Check out the Tuna Puff Pastry as well. Plus, homemade macaroni and cheese coming soon using this great base!

Tuna Puff Pastry

I know this totally sounds weird, but it so easy and yummy!! My mom used to make this when I was growing up and I loved it. I remember asking my mom for this grand recipe, and it was a lot easier than I thought.

Ingredients:
Medium White Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 cup of milk

1 can of Tuna, drained
Frozen Peas
Puff Pastry Shells

Cook puff pastry shells, according to directions on box. If you can't find them, you can use puff pastry sheets, and cut them into nine little squares, or you can pour the mixture right on top of toast! Here's a picture of the shells. They are usually in the frozen dessert section.

To make a medium white sauce, melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in milk. Return to heat, and heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Once it boils, stir for another minute or so, until it starts to thicken. Add tuna and a cup or two of peas depending on your preference, and stir until hot.

Peel off top layer of shells, and pull out the center, if there is one. Then pour mixture inside and replace the top layer. If you use the sheets, just pull them apart, using a fork if needed, and pour over bottom layer and replace top. Or go the easiest route and pour it right on toast.


I doubled the white sauce recipe, with only one can of tuna, for four adults and two kids, and had enough for leftovers for two of us for lunch, to give you an idea of the portion size. My kids ate it and the hubby gobbled it up. This is a great recipe to make in a jiffy and your whole dinner is in one pot. Yeah!