Bacon Tomato Casserole

Found a yummy...which could stand some additions. Future preparation will include variations, such as mushrooms or pepperoni.

8oz egg noodles, cooked by package directions
1 pound bacon, diced
1/3 c. onion diced
1/3 c. green bell pepper, diced
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1-28 oz can stewed or crushed tomatoes
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cooked bacon in frying pan until crisp- remove to paper towel to drain excess grease. Cook onions and peppers in 2 tablespoons reserved bacon grease for five minutes. Add marjoram, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add egg noodles and half of cooked bacon. Mix well. Pour into a 2 qt baking dish. Top with rest of bacon and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Carbohydrate Heaven

Last night I was running behind. Still finishing up school crud (hey, I've only got reflections and posting left to go!), kids are being really antsy, hubby is in one of his moods... and it was the night to try something new in the kitchen. For once, I wanted to say "Spare me now! Where is the frozen pizza." However, I cooked the dish that looked really nasty...but tasted surprisingly yummy! Here ya go!

Golden Chicken n' Taters

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can condensed cream of celery soup
1/2 c. water
1/4-1/2 tsp. of salt (I used onion salt)
1- 32 oz bag of frozen tater tots
1- 16 oz. bag frozen mixed vegetables
2 c. cubed cooked chicken
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine soup, water, and salt in a bowl- mix well. Place one third of mixture in the bottom of a 9"x13" greased baking dish. Layer half of tater tots next. Half the mixed vegetable. Half the chicken. 1/3 soup mixture. Tots. Veggies. Chicken. Soup. Top with cheese. Bake covered for 1 hour. Remove cover and bake another 15 minutes. Serve.

I look funny lugging around two laptops, a backpack of books, a purse, and a lunch bag. Can anyone say pack-mule?! :)

Let's talk beer...

How do you react when Bud Light shows up in your fridge? As some of you know, I'm a Miller Girl myself. I'll drink a Bud but there's something off about it. So how was I supposed to react when hubby picks up a 12 pack of Bud and leaves most of it in the ice box? First off, I'm not going to shun it. It's still halfway descent, just not my thing. I'm puzzled but I also know something else...Bud's not his choice either. So how am I supposed to handle this? Drink it and be merry about it? Use it to boil more shrimp? Use it for slug bait? I think I'll drink a couple tonight while I think it over.

Found a stinker

Okay, the Garlic Tomato Chicken was really nasty. It was nasty because it had NO FLAVOR! How can you get no flavor when there are three cloves of garlic mixed with tomatoes, potatoes, onions, other assorted spices with chicken? I have no clue! We won't be fixing this again ladies and gents. Nah! I've got to have some spunk to my food. You know, pour on the salsa, liberate the Hot Sauce, and get happy with the peppers!

Tonight is chicken noodle and rice soup with chicken salad clubs. Hubs and I will love it- the kids will beg for PB&J.

Otherwise, I have some major projects due between now and next week for school, and I sprained my foot in the meantime. The doc tells me to stay off of it and baby myself. I don't know how I stopped myself from laughing in her face! Who is she kidding? I walk an average of five miles a day just doing the normal stuff. This is so gonna suck. I'm ready for my two week vacation from school.

Getting smart

So last week, hubby and I sat down and made a menu for the month. Say wha? Yep- the month. We have seven new recipes we're trying in the course of the month- like tomato garlic chicken and ham & rice bake. Most of it is pretty simple so that should free up some time for me to finish my final projects for this semester and hopefully sew up some shorts and jumpers for the kids. Anyway- I'm going grocery shopping this afternoon and would much rather take a beatin'. I hate shopping of any kind- it's such a pain.

On a personal note, I did a really stupid thing yesterday. I walked ten miles just for kicks. When all was said and done, I couldn't lift my leg and I now have this terrific sunburn going on. But it was worth enjoying the last day of good weather for almost a week and sharing it with my family.

Back to food: Tonight will be one-dish chicken with vegetables. I can see the wrinkle in my kids noses now..."Mom, it's all together!" :)

A look at past food...

I finally returned home Sunday evening- exhausted beyond measure but feeling so...light. Anyway, I didn't feel like cooking, so hubby took pity on me and we had an awesome pizza! I think he should cook more often, because he has an inquisitive nature when it comes to combining food. He needs to have more confidence in his culinary skills, because they are great!

I played hookey from work Monday, so that night was a baked ham. Man I was in heaven! I added collards and rice to the meal to round it out, but I could have happily ignored both. All I needed was biscuits!

Last night was boiled shrimp, butter potatoes, and green beans. The shrimp are cooked in hot sauce, Cajun seasoning, Old Bay, Red and Black Pepper, and a bottle of beer. When the shrimp turn pink, they're done! TO me, they still weren't spicy enough, but when you measure with your eyes, you can only expect so much!

Tonight will be my version of fried rice using leftover ham and whatever else I can find to throw in there. It's different everytime!

Last supper

So, considering I won't be home the rest of the week, I decided to cook a really good meal last night so hubby and the kids would weep with frustration while I was gone. I fried chicken strips, made homemade mashed potatoes, green peas, gravy, and biscuits. The biscuits were really tasty with some local honey.

Unbeknownst to me, I was supposed to cook birthday lunch today at work- which I did. Guess what the request was? Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and yeast rolls. I guess we know that I make a fine southern cook... glad someone else did the cake!