Pizza Pasta

This is a pasta dish inspired by pizza...it's just much faster to make!

Serves about 4

• 4 c cooked pasta (about 3c dry), I recommend penne or macaroni or some other firm/small piece pasta, not spaghetti or linguini.
• Favorite pizza toppings, such as pepperoni, sausage chunks, olives, peppers, onions, etc Pre-cook anything that is raw.
• 1 can stewed or diced tomatoes and/or 1 small can tomato sauce
• about 1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
• (optional) basil, oregano, garlic powder
  

Cook the noodles and drain off excess water. Return noodles to a wide saucepan (or a high-sided fry pan). Add tomatoes/sauce and stir a bit until the juices release into the pasta. (If the stewed tomatoes are in large chunks, chop them up before adding.) Add spices and all other pizza toppings, and sprinkle in cheese. It should be a little cheesy but not stuck together in one big gob.
Serve immediately.

Spider Spaghetti

Thanks JT for telling me about this!

A fun variation on regular spaghetti--kids enjoy helping make it, but it's also fun to just surprise them with it at the table. I originally heard the recipe with hot dogs, but I don't generally feed my family on such cheap meat, so I did it with polish sausage.

At first glance it looks like ordinary spaghetti with chunks of meat (I took the photos before putting on the sauce, but yes, we do put sauce on our spaghetti... ☺)

But look a little closer...

what was that?

ahh, there it is, the reason we call it "spider spaghetti"

Pretty fun isn't it?

And in case you haven't figured it out on your own (because my mommy brain had to have it explained to me), here is how to do it:

Yeah, stick the noodles through before cooking. Then stick them all in the boiling water together. I put in some extra noodles too because I thought it made a better meat to noodles ratio.

Once the noodles are soft (and the meat is warm) just drain the water, and serve with your sauce of choice. ☺

Troy's Chicken

I got this recipe from my mother in law. My husband had been asking me to get the recipe for months, so when I proudly brought the dish to the table I was puzzled when he said "what's this?" Apparently he remembered the title of this along with the taste of something else...but it was good anyway!

makes 1 9x9 pan (double recipe for a 9x13 pan)

• Chicken pieces (4 breasts or thighs, or about 8-10 'tenders'--not small pieces)
• oil
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder
• cheese--swiss or mozzarella (I think parmesan would be good too)
• 1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup + 1/3 can water
• about 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs or stuffing mix
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of melted butter
• noodles or rice or mashed potatoes (this was not in her recipe, but there was so much sauce that I felt it really needed something to go over...)

Slightly brown the chicken pieces in a little oil. Remove from pan, lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper and garlic powder. Lay in the baking dish and put a slice of cheese over each piece of chicken (you could use grated cheese, especially if you use tenders rather than larger cuts). Mix the can of soup with the water, and pour over the chicken. Add a little extra water if it is not enough sauce to cover everything. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top of everything. Pour melted butter over everything so that crumbs are moistened.
Bake at 350 until chicken is cooked--about 25-30min for tenders, 40-60 min for breasts.

Serve over noodles or rice or mashed potatoes. ☺

Couscous with Veggies

I love couscous. I'm not exactly sure why...maybe it's because it's pasta (but seems like a grain), maybe it's because it feels exotic, maybe it's because it is so SO easy to cook. In any case, I ♥ couscous.
I tried this recipe today with saffron--a middle eastern spice to go with a middle eastern pasta. ☺
1 cup boiling water
1 cup dry couscous (or follow the directions/proportions on your couscous--some is different)
3/4 cup (or so) of veggies (I used chopped carrots, frozen peas, and canned corn...it was what I had on hand)
2-3Tbs butter
seasonings as desired: salt & pepper, lemon pepper, basil, rosemary, marjoram, thyme, or even saffron if you're feeling adventurous (or wealthy!)

Set the water to boil. If you're using fresh veggies and want them softened, put in an extra 1/4c of water and put the veggies in the water as it heats up.
Once the water is boiling, take it off the heat, dump in the couscous and stir until all liquid is absorbed and the couscous gets soft (about 2 minutes). (Most couscous sold in western groceries is pre-steamed, so cooks very quickly...but double check the directions on your couscous because if it's not pre-steamed it will need a little longer and different cooking method.)
Add additional veggies if applicable. Add butter and seasonings and stir in until butter is melted.

Pike's Chicken (aka "The Stuff that Kids are Guaranteed to Like")

How can you go wrong with a name like "the stuff that kids are guaranteed to like"?! That's what the Pike family called it when they gave us the recipe. We went for the simpler name of "Pike's Chicken" because I'm fairly sure that Mama Pike invented this one. Regardless, it's fast, easy, and yes, the kids like it.
It is not one I make very often because it's made with canned soups which are highly processed, so they're both expensive and unhealthy...but it is quick and easy, and every once in a while that's what counts.

serves 4-6, depending how much chicken you use, and it's easy to stretch it by adding some milk to the sauce, or an extra can of one of the soups

Some cut-up chicken (however much your family eats)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (cream of something else will work in a pinch)
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can tomato soup
Pasta

Combine the soups to make a sauce. Put the chicken in a 9x13 pan and pour the sauce over the top. Bake at 350* for about 1 hour (less for boneless or small pieces--see time guides from Chicken in Mushroom Sauce)
Serve over pasta.

Chicken in Mushroom Sauce

If you're a mushroom-hater like me, don't let the title scare you! Honestly it's a lot like a stronganoff, only with chicken. In college I used to make a big batch (sometimes meatless) and eat it all week. I think meat tastes odd if reheated in a microwave, but it's fine on the stove or in the oven, and if you make it meatless then the microwave works great.


serves 4-6, depending how much chicken you use

• 1-2 lbs chicken (if you do cut up pieces it's easy to get away with less, which is cheaper, but it also works fine with whole breasts, thighs, or drumsticks) (I usually do 1-2 breasts cut up)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 3/4 c sour cream or plain (unflavored) yogurt
• parmesan cheese (cheddar is a nice variation if you don't have parmesan)
• extra mushrooms, if desired

Cut up chicken into 1-inch pieces and spread in a 9x13 baking pan. (If using larger pieces, either precook them for 30 min, or plan to cook the final dish for longer).
Spread soup/sour cream mixture over the meat, and sprinkle enough cheese to cover the top. Bake at 350* for 30-45 min (1hr or a little more for larger pieces).
Serve over noodles or rice.

I prefer to cut up the chicken, and if you use leftover chicken (or even canned) then it is pre-cooked and you only need to put it in the oven long enough to get everything warm--about 10-15min. That is a very fast dinner!
However, if you use whole thighs/breasts, and sprinkle it all with some extra parmesan when serving over a nice bed of noodles, it can be quite a fancy looking meal. Throw some steamed veggies on the side and voila!

The Good Stuff (aka Homemade Hamburger Helper)

I think in the official family recipe book this is called "Hamburger Cheese Macaroni Dish" but everyone in the family just calls it "The Good Stuff."
The original recipe calls for american cheese--the processed junk like velveeta. That will give it more of an "out of the box" taste, but if you like classier food I'd recommend using grated cheddar. ☺

serves about 6

About 1 lb ground beef
4 cups cooked *macaroni noodles (about 3 c uncooked)
1 10.5 oz can tomato soup
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
About 1/2 lb cheese (diced american, or grated cheddar)

*shell noodles work fine, but I don't recommend trying penne or spaghetti or something too different...

Cook noodles. Meanwhile brown the hamburger in a large saucepan and drain off the grease. Mix in tomato sauce, soup, and noodles. Melt in the cheese.

Homemade Noodles

These take a little bit of time, but are not difficult. If you have a pasta machine it's faster and easier (and the noodles come out prettier) but you can do it just rolled out on the counter as well.

makes enough for 3-4 people in a pasta dish, or 4-6 in soup
1 cup flour
1 beaten egg
a little water

Put the flour in a bowl, add the egg, and mix. The egg won't be quite enough liquid to make a dough, so add water about 1-2tsp at a time until dough all sticks together. (I usually need about 2-3Tbs of water, but it varies by the size of the egg, and whether I use wheat or white flour or a combination.)
The noodles will be pretty sticky, so use plenty of flour when you roll them out. The noodles will get bigger when cooking, so cut them thin and small.