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We've been sick all week. Well, three of us at different intervals all entwined  I wanted something yummy that did not consist of soup and crackers. Here we go.....

1 lb Ground Beef
2 t Steak Seasoning (McCormick, yum)
1 T W-Sauce
1 t Onion Powder
Slices of cheese
1 Pkg Pillsbury layered rolls
Celery Stalks
Peanut Butter
Craisins
Fruit
--ketchup, mustard, pickles, etc...toppings for burgers


Pre-heat your oven to 400 deg. Bake rolls according to package directions.

In a medium bowl combine first four ingredients. Roll meat into little balls that fit in the palm of your hand; flatten and press down in the middle. I made 9 little burgers. Heat a skillet on medium heat. Add 1 T oil. Once pan is hot add burgers. Cook about 5 min, then flip and cook for another 5 or until they're done to the temperature you like ~ about 160 deg F. Once they're about done quarter your cheese slices and lay a piece on each burger. Let the cheese melt, remove burger from heat; set on a plate.

Rinse and cut celery in halves or thirds. Fill the inside of celery with peanut butter. Top with craisins.

Prepare fruit.

Open the layered rolls wherever you want. Place your burger on the bottom. Add your toppings. Cover with the top of the roll. The rolls are buttered and the kids devoured them quicker than a regular burger!

Taco Soup

My neighbor gave me this recpie of her's (among with others which I will share later). Thank you, Maggie!

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 t minced garlic
2 cans navy beans, undrained
1 can sweet corn, undrained
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can diced green chilies
2 packages taco seasoning
sour cream ~dallop per bowl
1 C shredded cheese (your choice)
Tortilla Chips

Brown beef, onion and garlic in large pot. Drain any fat. Add all other items to pot. Bring to boil and simmer 20 minutes or until heated through.

Serve soup in bowls, top with sour cream and cheese if desired (I recommend). We used the tortilla chips as our spoons. Kids LOVED this dish. They thought it was so much fun eating soup with chips.

I used cheddar cheese, you can use mexican blend cheese if you like. After you brown your meat, you can toss everything (except sour cream and cheese) in a slow cooker and let that go, on low, for a few hours in the afternoon.

Open Face Tuna Melts

One awesome thing (for a person like me) is trying new foods from people who come in to your family. I give thanks to my step-mother for this one!

2 sm or 1 lg can of tuna, drained
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 sm onion, diced (or onion powder)
S&P to taste
1/4 t dried dill
couple of T of mayonnaise
------> you're making tuna salad here if you haven't caught on. Make it how you like it!

3-4 English muffins, separated
1 tomato, sliced
6-8 slices of white american, provolone or any cheese you like I guess
2 green onions, sliced


Open your English muffins. Place them on a baking sheet. Mix all ingredients for your tuna salad.Place a couple spoonfuls on each muffin slice. Add more muffins if needed. Lay a slice of tomato on the salad and top with a slice of cheese. Sprinkle onions over cheese. Broil for about 5 min or until cheese is melted.

Another mac and cheese dish for kids

When I picked Scott up from school today he asked for macaroni and cheese for dinner. I asked him what meat should be in it. He replied hot dogs. Of course he did! We're trying to get away from hot dogs, even though they don't eat them that often. So.....I imper-vised!

1/2 box elbow noodles
1-1/2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 T butter
1 T milk
S&P to taste
Deli meat, cubed

Cook noodles according to package. Drain and let cool until most of the evaporation has stopped. (This will allow whatever sauce you're using to stick to your noodles better) Transfer noodles back to your pot and mix remaining items. Serve.

I used sliced turkey and diced it up. Being light in color and thin the kids didn't even know they were eating meat! You can use a whole box of noodles and add 2 C of cheese. You can do 1 C of sharp and 1 C of mild to mix it up. Add whatever deli meat you or your kids like.

Kid food on a stick

I am going to try my best! I made this up last night.

Cheeseburger Meatballs

1 lb ground beef (meat)

1/3 C bread crumbs

1/3 C shredded cheese ~ eyeball it. You want enough in the mixture, but not too much to where oils from the cheese is pouring out (I used mozzarella last night)

1 t parsley

1 egg

**note** you can add any flavoring to these meatballs. W-Sauce, spices, Montreal Steak flavoring - whatever you typically add to your burgers when you grill them.

Garlic Toast

Either bake at 350 deg for about 25 min or until cooked or skewer them and cook them on the gill.

Either serve garlic toast or take a baguette, slice it length-wise. Cut into cubes. Spread butter and garlic salt on bread. Toast or skewer and grill until butter is melted.

Dilly Cheesy Veggies

2 C vegetables, cooked and drained

1/4 C velveeta (yes, I cheated. You can make homemade cheese sauce too)

1 t Dill mix (dill, onion powder, garlic powder)

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl over medium heat until cheese is melted. Serve.

Another fun item to make instead of the garlic toast: Cheeseburger noodles.

1/2 box any type of noodles: fun shapes are best for kids

ketchup

mustard

cheese

Cook pasta as directed on box. Drain. Mix in ketchup, mustard and cheese until cheese is all melted. Serve with meatballs on top (if you want, you can omit the cheese from the meatballs if you're adding cheese to the pasta)

Yes, I realize this whole thing is full of cheese. I must have been in a cheesy mood!

Deluxe Mac 'n Cheese (and meat!)

There are so many versions out there for macaroni and cheese. I suggest foodnetwork.com for a tasty variety. Here's one spin on the traditional meal - and may help if your kiddo doesn't want to eat their meat!

7-8 oz of cooked elbows (or whatever you have on hand. I use 1/2 a Costco box of noodles)

2 C cottage cheese - I like small curd

1 C sour cream - you can go light here

2 C shredded cheddar cheese

1 Egg, slightly beaten

1 Tsp garlic salt

Pepper to taste

1/2 - 1 pkg of bacon, cooked and cut into pieces

Parmesan cheese

Pre-heat your oven to 350 deg F.

Cook your noodles and let them cool in the sink for a bit (in the colander of course!). Allowing them to cool helps whatever sauce (cheese in this matter) stick to your noodles better. In a separate bowl combine cottage cheese, sour cream, cheddar cheese, egg, salt and pepper. Mix in noodles and then meat.

Now I use bacon because I love bacon. You can use almost any meat here: sausage, kielbasa, hot dog, turkey dog, crab, lobster. You can also use different types of cheese. You don't have to stick to cheddar. Use two cheeses! One sharp and one mild, one cup of each. Ahhhhhhh, the joys of cooking!

Pour your mixture into a 2 1/2 qt dish or a rectangle one. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. At this time you could also sprinkle some more bacon on top for a little extra crisp. Bake at 350 for 25-30 min or until heated through and cheese is melted.

RosaLee's Chili

Here's the background: RosaLee worked with my mother at Lee Road Radiology. I was with RosaLee and her husband, Franklin, the day my mother passed. She was a very dear friend. This recipe made me fall in love with chili. I disliked it until then......

1 lb Ground Beef (now - you really can sub any meat into chili, and it can be ground or chunky)

1 Med Onion, chopped

2 C Water

2 Cans diced tomatoes (stewed or 2 fresh diced tomatoes works too)

2 Cans tomato sauce

2 Cans kidney beans, drained

1 T Chili powder

1 T Paprika

1 tsp Garlic powder

1 C Salsa

1 C Instant Potato Flakes

1/2 C Sour Cream

1 C Shredded Cheese - I use cheddar

1 Bag Tostito's Chips

Brown meat and onion in a pot. Drain fat. Add water, beans, tomatoes, chili powder, paprika, garlic and salsa to pot. (Tip: don't dump the seasonings in, sprinkle them in and stir so they don't clump together. I'm sure you don't want to bite into a clump of chili powder!) Bring to boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Add potato flakes and sour cream, stir and let simmer for 10 minutes. Serve in bowls. Top with cheese and eat with chips.

Feel free to tweak this recipe any way you wish. I have done it with steak bites in a crock pot, chicken with green peppers, the sky's the limit. I'm going to try it with rabbit meat this fall.

Cheesey Chicken with Broccoli

To my friend who also hates dry chicken! I am sorry - this one does take a lot of pans.....

Chicken breast - 1 for each person eating, let's say 4

1 C cooked rice

4 oz velveeta cheese

1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup

Broccoli - enough for 4 people

Seasonings - what do you like? Hopefully something with onion and garlic and herbs. I'll explain later...

Season your chicken the way you like it. You can cook it any way. BBQ on the grill, S&P pan fried... I have a couple different seasonings I use. I have this one from Pampered Chef that is a dill mix with onion, garlic, and other seasonings. I put butter in the pan and fry my seasoned chicken. A secret I have personally learned from a chef is that meats do not like to be touched while cooking. Put your chicken on the pan. LEAVE IT ALONE until you're ready to flip it to the other side. You want your pan to be hot before you put your chicken on. You want to seal in the flavor by searing it (not burning it). If you are fearful, sear it, then turn down the temp a little. May take some time, but try around medium heat. Flip to other side. I believe chicken is done when it's a little bouncy to the fork- not lots-a-bouncy though. You should flip your meat a max of 2 times. Cook the rest of the meal while the chicken is cooking:

Start the rice. 2 C water to a boil, add 1 C rice. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Bam!

While that is cooking you can also start your broccoli. Bring some water to a boil - about an inch, add broccoli. Bring back to boil. Cover, simmer -eh - 10 min or however crunchy/soft you want your broccoli. (ask if you're confused) Or microwave the frozen bag.

In a pot add cream of chicken, cheese, and again - any seasoning to taste (a good few shakes!). If in doubt try a Mrs. Dash blend. I'm a garlic and onion mix with other herbs fan but you can try almost anything. See what's in your pantry. The cool thing about cooking is that you can try anything and add to taste - unlike baking. Mix this over medium heat. Your're going to have to stir almost constantly to keep it from sticking to the bottom. Most liquids say to stir constantly for this reason. The consistency you're looking for is smooth, creamy like. You want no lumps in it. This is the last to start because you're going to be stirring while everything else is cooking.

Time to plate! Place your chicken on the plate. Next to it a spoonful of rice. Next to (or even on top of) that your broccoli. Time for the cheese.....yum...... pour the cheese over the broccoli. I like the cheese so much I put the cheese mix over everything. I can't have enough. It also helps having the cheese over the chicken if you've over cooked your chicken and it came out a little dry. I LOVE sauces. They can help the meal sometimes if it didn't come out right.

I've written this one in a rush so I hope it came out right. If it didn't please let me know and I'll explain better.