Rainbow Jello

Yep, this was the layered Jello salad that I made to go along with the Tater Tot Casserole. My little boy loves this Jello salad - he would eat huge piece after huge piece if you let him.


Rainbow Jello

small box lime jello
small box lemon jello
small box orange jello
small box strawberry jello
small box cherry jello
small box black cherry jello
1 1/2 lb container sour cream

Okay this is the order that they are going to go into the 9x13 baking dish: lime, lemon, orange, strawberry, cherry, black cherry.

Starting with lime: combine lime jello packet with 1 1/4 cups boiling water. Stir for about 2 minutes. Pour 3/4 cup into a measuring cup and set aside. Add 1/3 cup sour cream to the 1st half of the mixture and stir until smooth, use a wire whisk, but don't make it too foamy. Pour the sour cream mixture into the bottom of a 9x13. Refrigerate for 1/2 hour. Combine the reserved 3/4 cup liquid jello with 3 tablespoons of cold water and pour this over the 1st layer. Repeat with remaining boxes of jello. Refrigerate till ready to serve and serve with a dollop of Cool Whip or whipped cream.

*I always start making this one the night before because all in all it takes about 6 hours to make.

Tater Tot Casserole

You know what, I think I'm just in some weird "molly" mood lately, because the other night I actually cooked this Tater Tot Casserole with a layered Jello salad for a side. Too bad it wasn't green Jello with carrots, eh?!

Tater Tot Casserole

1 pound hamburger, browned and drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used a mixture of sharp cheddar and mozzarella)
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper
32 oz bag frozen tater tots

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, reserving 1/2 cup cheese to top the casserole. Stir in 2-3 cups tater tots to mixture. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Top with remaining tater tots. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with reserved cheese and bake for another 3 minutes.

Potato Wedges and Fry Sauce

Potatoe Wedges
My kids want to call these "Bakies" and I want to call them "Wedgies" (because that just makes me giggle in a very childish sort of way), but I'll let you call them what you want because they are just your basic baked potato wedges. Very yummy tho. We had them the other night with Crispy Parmesan Chicken Strips.

1/4 cup butter, melted
6 potatoes, well scrubbed
salt and pepper
seasoned salt

Cut unpeeled potatoes into quarters lenghtwise. Cut each quarter in half lenghtwise again. Place on a GREASED baking sheet (if you don't grease the baking sheet the potatoes stick really bad). Brush top sides with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper and seasoned salt. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Turn potatoes* and brush tops with butter and seasonings as before. Bake for another 20 minutes. Serve with fry sauce or ketchup.

*I admit that this is not as easy as it sounds, but I turn the potatoes with my fingers - man they are hot, but it takes forever to turn each one over with a spatula or fork. I am heard saying "Freaking A!!" a lot as I turn the potatoes, but have thus far never sustained a substantial injury.



Fry Sauce
My kids hate this stuff and I could take it or leave it, but my husband is a fry sauce junkie so I make it for him.

1 cup miracle whip
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard

Combine all ingredients.

Chicken a la King

Okay, so this meal is quite cliche and everything, but I think it's yummy and so does my whole family. It traditionally has green pepper instead of the peas, but my family hates green pepper (I don't, but have succumbed to pressure and taken it out). It's a great freezer meal as it reheats beautifully. Honestly, I don't know where this recipe came from... maybe the internet years ago or a cookbook or maybe it's just been in our collective consciousnesses since the '50's and I never really had a recipe to begin with... Wow, that was quite existential for a recipe blog.:)

Chicken a la King

1, 4.5 oz can mushrooms, drained with juices reserved
1 green pepper, chopped (optional and we opt out)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules, or 2 cubed (crushed)
1, 12 oz can evaporated milk (or 1 1/2 cups milk for a thinner sauce)
1 can chicken broth
4 cups cooked and cubed chicken (or the good meat from a rotisserie chicken, cubed)
1, 4 oz jar pimentos, drained
1 cup frozen peas

Cook and stir drained mushrooms and green pepper (if desired) in butter over medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Blend in flour, salt, pepper and cook over low heat stirring constantly until mixture is bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in bouillon, milk, chicken broth, and reserved mushroom juices. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Stir in chicken, pimentos, and peas. Heat through. Serve over rice, noodles, baked crescent rolls, or in baked puff pastry shells.

Freezer Meal Directions:
Cook as it says above. Let cool and then put into freezer bags. I always make one recipe and freeze half of it for another night.

Heating:
Thaw. Dump into a pot and heat to boiling. Heat for another few minutes and add milk or chicken broth if sauce need to be thinned a bit.

Crockpot 15 Bean Soup

This is a very basic bean soup recipe and it's actually the recipe from the back of the Hurst 15 Bean Soup mix, so I can't take any credit. I like this recipe though because the soup is hearty and healthy and my kids like it. If I can get my kids to eat beans and like it I call it good.


Crockpot 15 Bean Soup

20 oz package Hurst's 15 Bean Soup mix (with flavor packet)
2 quarts water
1 lb smoked sausage, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1, 15 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon chili powder
juice of one lemon (about 4 teaspoons if using bottled lemon juice)
2 cloves garlic, minced

Night before:
Place beans in a pot and cover with water so that water is at least 2 inches over beans. Soak overnight or at least 8 hours.

Day of:
Drain water out of bean and rinse them. Add beans back to pot with 2 quarts of water and sausage. Bring to a boil and simmer uncover for 1 1/2 hours. Pour into a crockpot and add onions, tomatoes, chili powder, lemon juice and garlic. Cover and set to high, cook for about 6 hours. Add flavor packet from the package of beans and set to low for another half hour or so. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Frozen Chocolate Bar Pie

Now this was OH SO GOOD!! Serious. I want this dessert on my birthday. Forget a cake, I'll just have piece after piece of this pie till I get sick and then I'll have some more... Maybe that wasn't the best imagery for telling you just how yummy this is, sorry... But trust me, make this and you will thank me, or actually you should thank Real Mom Kitchen because I got the recipe from that fabulous site. The original recipe is called Symphony Pie because it uses a king size Symphony bar, but I made it with a couple German chocolate bars cause that's how I roll.:)

Frozen Chocolate Bar Pie

2, 3.5 oz German or Swiss chocolate bars (I used Ritter Sport milk chocolate bars)
1/4 cup water (I wonder what would happen if you used milk here - I will experiment next time)
1, 8 oz container Cool Whip, thawed
shortbread cookie crust

Break up the chocolate bars into a large microwave safe bowl. Add water. Microwave for 45 seconds. With a whisk stir the chocolate well so that all of the chocolate is melted, may need to put back in microwave for another 20 seconds. Add a scoop of Cool Whip to the chocolate and mix it in well. Then add the rest of the Cool Whip and fold it all in until all the chocolate is incorporated. Pour chocolate mixture into the shortbread cookie crust and spread evenly. Cover and freeze for 3 hours.* Serve with whipped cream on top.

*Will keep in the freezer for weeks.

Hamburger Vegetable Soup

I got this recipe over at Mennonite Girls Can Cook (I love that recipe blog!). It was super good and very hearty. 2 of the 3 kids liked it (visible vegetables and all) as well as me and the hubby. Nice.


Hamburger Vegetable Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb hamburger
5 small red potatoes, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet
1 large can (46 oz) tomato juice
1, 10.5 oz can condensed beef broth
1/2 cup pearled barley or miniature pasta (like alphabet or mini stars)
1 can corn, undrained

In a large stock pot heat oil, add onions and cook stirring for about 4 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add hamburger and cook, breaking up until browned. Add the potatoes, carrots, celery, parsley, paprika, black pepper, cayenne, salt, Kitchen Bouquet, tomato juice, and beef broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Add barley or pasta and the can of corn (undrained). Bring to a boil again and then simmer for about 20 minutes.