What's Cooking?

All six of the kids cooked in January, and we had some good food this month.

Adam made porcupine balls.

Porcupine Balls

2 lbs ground beef

12 oz tomato sauce

1 pkg spaghetti seasoning

1 c uncooked rice

egg

Combine above ingredients, roll into balls and brown.

Lg tomato soup

1/3-1/2 can water

worcestershire sauce 1-2 tbs

mustard  1-2 tbs

Mix and pour over meatballs. Cover and simmer 45 minutes

And strawberry muffins made with fresh strawberries.

 Tyler made crockpot pasta.

Crock Pot Pizza

1 ½ lbs ground beef

8 oz rigatoni past

16 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

small can of tomato soup (don't add water)

28 oz pizza sauce

8 oz sliced pepperoni

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and set aside. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drain off grease.

In slow cooker, alternate layers of ground beef, noodles, cheese, soup, sauce and pepperoni.

Cook on Low setting for 4 hours.

 Kaleb made Haitian Macaroni and Cheese

Haitian Macaroni and Cheese

4 cups ziti                                             1 cup mayonnaise

1 ½ tsp salt                                           2 tbs vegetable oil

¾ c evaporated milk                              2 tbs ketchup

½ large onion minced                            1 cup + 1Tbs

2 eggs beaten                                       (we mixed cheddar and Colby last time and velveeta and parmesan this time)

Preheat oven 350F. Boil ziti in 8 cups water with 1 tsp salt for 10-12 minutes. Rinse with cold water. Add eggs, onion, milk, mayo, oil, ketchup and ½ tsp salt. Mix in 1 cup grated cheese. Pour into 8x8 pan and sprinkle with tbs grated cheese. Bake 50 minutes or until top is golden brown. Allow to cool 15 minutes before serving.

Jasmine made a recipe from the back of a box of pasta.

Bacon Ranch Chicken Skillet

1 pkg Muueller's Ziti (16 oz)

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

6 slices bacon

1 lb bonelss, skinless chicken breast cubed

3 c chicken broth

1 ½ c milk

2 Tbs all-purpose flour

1 pkg original buttermilk ranch dressing (.4 oz)

Fry bacon until crisp. Cool and crumble.

Cook the chicken in the oil (or use the bacon grease) in a large skillet, stirring frequently until the chicken is browned.  Add the chicken broth and bring to simmer. Reduce heat and add the ziti. Cooked covered for ten minutes or until done stirring frequently.

Whisk together milk, flour and ranch dressing mix in a medium bowl. Add to pasta and cook, stirring frequently until slightly thickened. Gently stir in bacon an serve.

Optional: add diced tomatoes when you add the bacon. 

Kayla made chicken helper--Teriyaki Chicken.

Jessica made Haitian red beans and rice.

Haitian Red Beans

2 c dried red kidney beans

1 Tbs oil

½ c green bell pepper

1 onion diced or green  onions

4 garlic cloves crushed and minced

1 shallot minced

3 Tbs tomato paste
3 Tbs chicken bullion  *we added this to the recipe and doubled most of the other things except the beans otherwise they are very bland.

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

Soak beans for six hours in six cups of water. Then boil in same water for 1 hour. Do not drain.

Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry bell pepper, onion, garlic, shallot and tomato paste for 5 minutes. Add to beans. Add salt and pepper and  bullion and cook on low for 30 minutes or until beans are tender and liquid is thick and creamy.

Serve with rice.

So that's what we had this month. Does anyone have any simple (few ingredients!) Haitian recipes their kids have enjoyed? Or other favorite recipes?