Pepperoni Pizza Casserole

Another pepperoni pizza casserole recipe.

Pepperoni Pizza Casserole

Hands on time: 20 minutes 
Total time: 50 minutes 
Serves: 12
Ingredients:

• 8 ounces (about 3 cups) uncooked spiral pasta
• 1 pound Italian sausage (casings removed) or ground beef  (I used hot turkey Italian sausage)
• 4 cups spaghetti sauce
• 1 (4-ounce) can mushrooms, drained (I left these out)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 (6-ounce) package sliced pepperoni
• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (I used pre-shredded Italian blend cheese)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On the stovetop, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions and drain. Return the pasta to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, in a saute pan over medium heat, cook the sausage; drain. Add the sausage, spaghetti sauce and mushrooms to the pasta and stir to combine. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and half the pepperoni slices.
3. Spread pasta mixture into a lightly greased 9-by-13-inch pan. Top with the mozzarella cheese. Arrange remaining half of pepperoni slices over top. Bake for 20 minutes, until cheese is bubbly.

Pop-in-the-Oven Beef Stew

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup broth (I use low-sodium vegetable broth)
• 1/3 cup instant tapioca
• 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 6-8 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, including juices
• 2 pounds lean, boneless beef stew meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 1/2 pounds baby carrots
• 2 large onions, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, cut in quarters or eighths, depending on size

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F degrees.
2. In a 5-quart Dutch oven, stir broth and tapioca until combined. Stir in salt, pepper, basil and garlic. Add tomatoes and stir until combined.
3. Alternately add beef, carrots, onions and potatoes to Dutch oven, folding and stirring to make sure everything gets coated.
4. Cover and pop in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until meat and vegetables are tender.

Andy and Lauren's ramen beef

Ingredients:

Flank steak
Instant Ramen
salt & pepper (or seasoned),
veggies  (Shiitake Mushrooms)
Onion shallots
1 Egg

Instructions:

sear flank steak for 2 min each side and slice.

Boil instant ramen until nearly done,

put in steak and veggies

(we've been experimenting with veggies but so far I like stir fry veggies and onion shallots the best)

reduce heat...

add 2 beef flavor packets from instant ramen and let the steak cook a little bit.

Serve hot and drop an egg in it (which cooks halfway through).

The beef broth is AWESOME.

Refrigerator Pickles

Yet another pickle recipe.  Can't have too many.

Make your own Delicious Crisp Refrigerator pickles!
You'll Need:
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1-2 teaspoons celery seed (I use 2)
1 teaspoon salt

3 cups sliced cucumber
3 small onions, thinly sliced

Parmesan Baked Pork Chops

This is a recipe that doesn't waste a huge pile of material for a breaded recipe.  The bad news is though it is a baked recipe, it has a lot of cheese.

On the plus side, it will only have sodium in the cheese and bread, as well as being baked.

Ingredients:

4 boneless pork chops
1 T. olive oil
1 C. parmesan cheese (I used Kraft)
1 C. Italian bread crumbs
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder

Directions:

On a plate combine the last 4 ingredients.

Rub the pork chops with olive oil and then dip (coat) each one in the cheese mixture.

Press the mixture over the pork chops to make sure they are well covered in it.

Line a pan with tin foil and spray with cooking spray.

Place the pork chops on the pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Peanut Butter Brownie Pizza

Ingredients

1 package Fudge Brownie Mix
Peanut Butter Topping:
1 cup peanut butter
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup milk chocolate chips
½ cup candy coated chocolate pieces. (M&M)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Prepare brownie mix as directed.
Spoon batter into lightly greased, 12-inch pizza pan.
Bake 23-27 minutes. For Peanut Butter Topping:
Place peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk in medium saucepan.
Stir over low heat until mixture is smooth.
 Spread over prepared brownie pizza.
Melt chocolate chips and drizzle over peanut butter topping layer.
Top with candy coated chocolate pieces.

This will bake in our toaster oven, would be easy to make and take to partys.

Crispy Salt and Vinegar Potatoes

Cooking the potatoes in vinegar seasons them from within, and a final drizzle boosts the flavor.
 

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes, halved, quartered if large
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)

Preparation: 

Combine potatoes, 1 cup vinegar, and 1 Tbsp. kosher salt in a medium saucepan; add water to cover by 1”. 

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender, 20–25 minutes; drain and pat dry.

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. 

Add potatoes; season with kosher salt and pepper. 

Cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, 8–10 minutes. 

Drizzle with remaining 2 Tbsp. vinegar. 

Serve topped with chives and sea salt.