Beach Buffet Boogie

Each year, we go on vacation to the beach with my extended family. We stay in a house on the beach and enjoy lots of good times and good food! In my attempt to relax some while we’re there, I like to cook ahead!

It’s that time of year again, vacay time, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite make-to-take recipes with you (a couple recipes I’ve shared before, but I’ll link to them here – links have red/maroon text).
►BAKED SPAGHETTI CASSEROLE – So easy to build an “Italian Night” around!
►BLONDE CHICKEN PARMESAN – A light basic dish that can be dressed up quickly with a couple sides (like my spicy green beans) and hot buttered rolls.
►CHILI DE LAURIE – Good to have on hand for the first night there when all are tired from travelling and for quick soup and sandwich lunches.
I’ve combined ingredients and directions here – you just throw all these items into a large stockpot and simmer, simmer, simmer..til you’re ready to eat! I serve this chili with tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded sharp cheddar cheese and scallions. Here you go:
1-2 lbs. lean ground meat (browned & drained), 1 onion + 1 green pepper + garlic (diced and sauteed til browning), 1 large jar salsa, 2-3 cans diced tomatoes, 4 small cans tomato sauce, 1 large can light red kidney beans (drained), 1 can chili beans, chili powder + cumin (sprinkled in to taste) – feel free to adjust ingredient amounts per your preference
►CREAM CHEESE DANISH CASSEROLE – Soooo yummy with hot coffee or tea in the sunny morning.
►FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE – Absolutely sinful for breakfast or dessert and a big hit with kids. You can also provide various toppings such as fruit, powdered sugar, syrup, preserves, even chocolate sauce and whipped cream!
Ingredients: French bread (I have also used hoagies rolls before) to make 5 cups bread chunks/cubes, 4 eggs, 1-1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp vanilla flavoring, 1 Tbsp butter, 1 tsp cinnamon/sugar
Directions: Butter a 9x13 casserole dish/pan. Put about half of bread chunks/cubes on bottom of dish. Mix eggs, milk, sugar, salt and vanilla together. Pour about half of egg mixture over bread in dish. Sprinkle 1/2 of cinnamon/sugar over this layer. Use the rest of the bread to make another layer in dish. Pour remainder of egg misture over top bread layer. Sprinkle rest of cinnamon/sugar all over the top layer of bread. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes or until top layer of bread it starting to brown around the edges.
►ASSORTED SWEET GOODIES – Oh, c’mon, you know these will be scarfed.
I’ll take a large Tupperware box full of cookies, brownies, etc to include:

Peanut Butter Crunch                Dippy Cookies                   And More!

Hope you can use some of these ideas, they are def tried-and-true and never fail to be gobbled up quickly! Happy travelling this season! Be safe and eat well!
Hugs & Yums, Laurie

Sugar & Spice Sweet Potatoes

So, the baked sweet potatoes I made last time didn’t tempt the kids enough! Time to try something different! Here’s what I did:

 

I drained a large can of sweet potatoes, put them in a pie pan and smooshed them up good! Next, I seasoned the taters with both cinnamon-sugar and seasoning salts to provide a unique taste of both sweet and savory/spicy.

Then, I added lots of mini-marshmallows and, to top it all off, I crumbled up a couple cinnamon graham crackers to put on the dish – hey, it’s a free-for-all around here!

I baked it in the oven at 250 degrees for 10-15 minutes – obviously, I should’ve pulled it out a minute or two earlier – but I convinced the kids the marshmallows were supposed to be almost black in places, like roasting them over a campfire – ha! Actually, I don’t mind them that way!

This post finishes up the description of the quick and simple brown sugar ham grill and veggies dinner I started a couple of posts ago. It didn’t take much time at all and was oh so tasty and good! And the kids? They ate more sweet potatoes this time than the time before! Progress! I’ll continue on my quest…..

Hugs & Yums, Laurie

♪It’s Gonna Be a Good, Good (Black-Eyed Peas) Ni-igh-ght…♫

Last week, I jazzed up some black-eyed peas for the fam – they loved them! In fact, my 2 youngest kept asking for more for days afterward! Yay – I got them to like another veggie!

You can see what I did above – just took a can of peas and added hot sauce and bacon bits to it! That’s it!

Yummy, bacon seems to make everything better! It was a perfect complement to our ham/peas/sweet potato dinner (more on those recipes another time)! By the way, I know the white plate is small – that’s one of the tricks I use (for myself, not the kids!) to keep my portions under control – ha!

Hugs & Yums, Laurie

Juiced Up Ham & Green Beans Dinner

We had a rather normal dinner of ham, green beans and rolls this evening. But! I added a couple creative twists!

HAM – I cut slices of ham, then halved them. I grilled them for a little while on my trusty George Foreman grill (LOVE it!) which thoroughly heated them, enhanced their tastiness and marked them with appetizing grill marks. Next, I put some pineapple slices on the grill to serve with the ham. Yum! Pineapple and ham go together so well!

GREEN BEANS – I wanted to make a green bean casserole, but didn’t have the cream of mushroom soup or the french fried onion bits. So, I brainstormed and used what I had – cream of chicken soup (1 can) and Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing mixed in with 2 cans of green beans (I also included the juice from one of the cans of beans), topped it all with more stuffing and baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. It was yummy!

ROLLS – No creativity per se here, just wise enough to buy some always scrumptious crescent rolls!

All in all, a very affordable, easy-to-make, balanced, delicious dinner for my sweeties and me! Even Waffles the Hungry Cat got his share of ham (he looooves any kind of pork meat!).

Hugs & Yums, Laurie

DELISH CORN PUDDING/PIE

This is a dish I’ve made for years, thanks to my sister-in-law sharing her recipe with me!  Thanks, H!  Some folks call it Corn Pudding, others Corn Pie.  Either way, it’s a lovely bread/side dish that your guests/fellow diners will always enjoy and gobble up!

This evening, I served green beans and corn pie (left) as sides for my bacon-wrapped pork chops (right)!

Ingredients: 1 can kernel corn, 1 can cream corn, 1 box cornbread mix, 8 oz. sour cream, 1 stick butter (melted), 2 eggs (beaten)

Directions: Mix all ingredients together. Pour into ungreased 9x13” dish/pan (I made two smaller pans this time, thus the heart-shaped pan you see above). Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

There ya go, easy to make, yummy to eat and sure to impress!  My favorite kind of recipe! This one is always a hit at family events, special meals, etc.

Hugs & Yums, Laurie

Brown Rice “Boyfriend” Casserole

I was introduced to this wonderful dish when my hubby and I were dating. He made dinner for me one evening and Brown Rice Casserole was one of the side dishes. Yum! I was so impressed and touched that he went to so much trouble to make me something so nice.
Fortunately, he and his mother have shared the recipe with me!

INGREDIENTS: 1 cup Uncle Ben’s converted rice, 1 can french onion soup, 1 can beef consomme, 1/2 stick butter
DIRECTIONS: Pour uncooked rice into a 9” round glass casserole dish. Pour both cans of soup/consomme over the rice. Cut small slices of butter and drop over top of rice/soup in dish, making sure to drop butter pieces in different areas.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.
Hugs & Yums, Laurie

SMASH DOGS & HOME CHEESE FRIES

On Wednesday nights, we always plan to have a quick & easy meal because of the kids’ church activities.  Usually it’s not too interesting, but this week I decided to infuse some creativity!
The original menu was Hot Dogs and Steak Fries (the kind from the frozen food aisle).  My kids like their hot dog wieners grilled on our George Foreman.  This time, after grilling the dogs, I opened the buns and added the preferred condiments, but the dogs in, then put them back in the grill.  I firmly mashed the top of the grill closed on them.  One to two minutes later, I pulled out my new invention…

SMASH DOGS! 

The kids went crazy for them!
What about the Steak Fries?  I woke up in migraineville today and didn’t feel like doing much shopping.  Hmmm, I had a bag of red new potatoes I needed to use up (the buds were starting) so I decided to try and make my own fries!  I chopped them up, leaving some skin on and spread them out over a cookie sheet.  I drizzled a little olive oil, then generously sprinkled seasoning salts over them.  Baked them at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, stirring them around and turning them over ever little while.  Then, because my teenage son looooooved cheese fries, I added shredded cheddar cheese and heating them for a minute or so in the microwave.  I also added bacon bits and light sour cream.  The kids were mucho excited! 

HOME CHEESE FRIES

Guess what I found in the freezer when I was cleaning up?  Yep, a 1/2 bag of steak fries!  Oh well, I’m glad I “forced” myself to try to make them on my own….they turned out even better!  I guess necessity (or is it a headache + hunger?) is the mother of invention!
See you next time – have a delicious week!
Hugs & Yums, Laurie

PINEAPPLE CASSEROLE

I’d never eaten Pineapple Casserole until I met my sweet, sweet mother-in-law and boy, had I been missing a treat!  I love pineapple, most fruits in fact, and this recipe combines tasty sweet and savory ingredients that truly please the palate!
INGREDIENTS: 2-20 oz. cans of pineapple chunks, 1 cup sugar, 5 tsp. self-rising flour, 1 sleeve Ritz crackers, 1 stick butter
DIRECTIONS:  Drain pineapple chunks well. Place pineapple on bottom of 9x13 glass casserole dish. Mix sugar and flour together. Sprinkle sugar/flour mixture over pineapple chunks. Crush sleeve of crackers (I do this by beating the heck out of it!). Sprinkle crushed cracker crumbs over top of pineapple.  Melt butter and pour it on top of the crushed cracker layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Every time I’ve made one of these casseroles, folks have raved about it and I never have much in the way of leftovers!  It’s fun to serve something a little unexpected and fun.  This dish food for holiday meals to summery lunches and everything in between!  Not to mention you’re getting at least one daily serving of fruit! Ha! Hope you enjoy trying it!
Hugs & Yums, Laurie

LEFTOVER PIZZA BECOMES FANCY ITALIAN SIDE!

Planning to serve spaghetti with marinara, salad and some sort of garlic bread tonight, I surveyed my fridge for ingredients.  Oh!  A Domino’s box!  With 3-4 pizza slices left over from last night’s lazy dinner splurge!  Hmmm, pizza’s Italian like spaghetti… maybe I can dress up the normal ho-hum spaghetti dinner?!

Enter my cookie cutters.  I ended up using a flower cookie cutter to cut shapes out of the pizza slices, topping them with a little extra Italian spices and grated parm cheese and baking them in the over at 350 degrees for 3-4 minutes.  I also cut some flower leaves out of the extra pizza bits.  Springtime Italian, mangia!

 

Yes, the fam was impressed (at least til they figured out what I did!).  Adding something new and unexpected to a routinely served meal keeps the kiddoes on their toes and, most importantly, keeps them from noticing the same ol’, same ol’! 

Hugs & Yums, Laurie

FRUITY BOUQUET

Happy Easter, everyone!  Hope you all had a blessed holiday and enjoyed a wonderful Easter dinner!  We spent the day with my hubby’s family and had a delicious midday meal.  We brought three contributions to the feast:  the swirly sugar cookies I posted about a couple days ago, brown rice casserole and this fruity beauty:

  

We used a hand-sculpted and glazed vase (a $2 thrift store find), accented with springy ribbons and filled it with fruit “flower” kabobs for a fresh seasonal side/dessert!  We had lots of fun presenting the goodies in a creative way.  So now that we have a fruit turkey and a fruit bouquet under our belts, what’s next?!  Fruit fireworks?  Hmmm…
Hugs & Yums,

SPICY GREEN BEANS

Okay, I admit it…I like canned green beans better than garden fresh.  I know, I know, it’s awful! But, it’s been this way since I was a kid and my dad had a garden.  Anyway, I’ve found a way to make even canned beans unique, tasty and “high-end.” 

Ingredients:
2 cans green beans (any style, I usually do 1 cut and 1 French cut mixed)
Slivered almonds
Cavender’s All-Purpose Greek Seasoning
Salt and Pepper
Directions:
Heat beans on stovetop. Add about 1/3 small bag of slivered almonds, several generous shakes of Greek seasoning, and dashes of S&P to the pot.  Continue heating til bubbling, then reduce heat to simmer.  Serve and enjoy the compliments!
My father-in-law absolutely LOVES these and, no matter what other (more impressive) dishes I am serving, he goes on about the beans!
Hope you can put this green bean cooking “trick” up your sleeve, too!
Hugs & Yums,