What's Cooking

In August, some of the cooking took place up in Indiana, and some down here. I think Jessica cooked at least three times! We have a glass stove top and my mom has a gas stove, so the kids had a new experience cooking on it. This month we made a lot of our family favorites--Mexican Shepherd's Pie, Rice Casserole, Broccoli Soup...

You can't really see in the pictures, but there's meat and loaded mashed potatoes as the base.

Mexican Shepherd's Pie

1 lb lean ground beef

½ cups slice green onions (our chef left these out)

1 c thick salsa

1 ½ tsp chili powder

¾ tsp cumin

11 oz can mexicorn drained

1 pouch Betty Crocker loaded mashed potatoes (these sell by the pouch, not in a box)

1 1/3c water

2 tbs butter

1 c milk

½ c shredded cheddar cheese

1 med tomatoes cut into wedges

tortillas chips

Cook ground beef and 1/4c of the onions in 10" skillet until beef is cooked through. Stir in salsa, chili powder and cumin. Spoon corn evenly over beef mixture in skillet. Cover and cook over slow heat until thoroughly heated.

Meanwhile, in 2-qt saucepan, heat water and butter to boiling. Remove from heat and stir in milk and pouch of potatoes with seasoning until just blended. Let stand 1 minute. Beat with fork.

Spoon potatoes over the mixture in the skillet. Spread evenly. Sprinkle with cheese and remaining onion. Cover and cook over low 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Arrange tomato wedges around potatoes. Garnish with tortillas chips.

Jasmine made broccoli soup.

Broccoli Soup

1 family size package banquet creamy broccoli and chicken over rice

5 slices of bacon chopped (we use bacon bits)

11 oz can of corn drained

28 oz chicken broth (we use bullion)

Slit film over banquet package and microwave 8 minutes.

While that's cooking, cook the bacon. Mix bacon, corn, broth and the banquet meal in a pot. Simmer ten minutes.

Kayla made rice casserole. She got a little carried away with tomato soup. It's not usually that red.

Cassel Rice Casserole 

1 can peas (including juice)             1 lb hamburger

1 cup minute rice uncooked               bacon strips

1 small can tomato soup

Mix peas, rice and soup. Let stand while browning the hamburger. Mix together in casserole dish. Top with bacon strips (microwave 2-3 minutes first if desired). Bake covered at 350F for one hour. Take cover off for last ten minutes.

We decided to make strawberry shakes.  Here's what we did.

Strawberry Shake

½ lb strawberries sliced

2 Tbs sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 pint vanilla ice cream

½ c milk

1 Tbs strawberry syrup

Combine sliced strawberries, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Let set for 20 minutes. Pour all ingredients into blender and blend.

Jessica made beef stir fry.

Beef Stir Fry

2 tbs cornstarch                   2 med carrots thinly sliced

2 tsp sugar                           6 oz package frozen pea pods thawed

6 Tbs soy sauce                   2 Tbs chopped onion

¼ c apple juice                     2 Tbs vegetable oil divided

1 lb boneless beef round steak cut into strips
8 oz can sliced water chestnuts undrained

3 c broccoli florets
  hot cooked rice

In a bowl, combine corn starch, sugar, soy sauce and apple juice until smooth. Add beef and toss to coat; set aside. In a large skillet, stir-fry brocolli, carrots, pea pods and onion in 1 Tbs oil for one minute. Stir in water chestnuts. Cover and simmer four minutes. Remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, stir-fry beef in remaining oil until meat reaches desired doneness. Return vegetable to pan. Toss. Serve over rice.

 Jasmine took the place of another child who was supposed to cook, but in reality was stealing the treats out of the cupboard while I was looking up the recipe. So he got banned from the kitchen and she browned the chicken and made the pot pie.

Chicken Pot Pie with pie crust 

2-3 c cooked chicken cubed

2 cans cream of chicken soup undiluted

16 oz cooked mixed vegetables

2  9" pie crusts uncooked

Preheat oven 400F. Mix chicken, soup and vegetables in a large bowl. Pour into pie shell and top with second crust. Bake 30-40 minutes. We used frozen pie crusts and left them in foil pans, removing the top one with 7-10 minutes left to bake.

Adam made rice casserole same as Kayla

So that's what they cooked in August.