Tator Taco Casserole

I love tacos. Quite a lot, actually. And we had some extra tator tots from some recipe or another, so I thought this was worth a shot.

Tator Taco Casserole
(TOH)

2 Pound ground beef
1/4 Cup chopped onion
1 envelope taco seasoning
2/3 Cup water
11 Ounce whole kernel corn
11 Ounce condensed fiesta nacho cheese soup, undiluted
32 Ounce frozen tator tots

Instructions:
In a skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasoning and water. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in corn and soup. Transfer to a greased 3x9 baking dish. Arrange tator tots in a single layer over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until potatoes are crispy and golden brown.

Serves: 8

Opinions: We both liked it! Nate was moderately surprised that he liked it. It even reheated well! I would definitely make it again.

Mushroom Chicken Tetrazzini

This is something I made awhile ago, but am just getting added to my Recipe Manager.

Speaking of Recipe Manager, I saw an awesome new program at Apple the other day. It's from Food Network, and looks quite a bit better than my Recipe Manager. Definitely snazzier. I have been getting quite dissatisfied with Recipe Manager lately. I am not happy with the personalization features (or lack thereof), and general setup. The Food Network program looked very classy, with a nice easy-to-read design and a few more features. However, it's taken forever to get the recipes in Recipe Manager that I have; transferring those to another program seems like an awful pain.

Back on topic! I made this shortly after Christmas, when we had leftover turkey from Mama's. (The smoked turkey Daddy made for Christmas... Have I mentioned I love my parents? I love them quite a lot. I know making that is a pain, but I say 'pretty please,' volunteer to bring dessert, and Daddy does it for me. I know, I'm spoiled. My Dad rocks, though. Mama does too, she just usually rolls her eyes when I'm bribing Dad with food, and tells me how spoiled I am. Don't let them fool you though; they love the smoked turkey as much as I do.)

Wow. I can't stay on topic for anything tonight. So, here's this dinner I made awhile ago. (Nothing I can get sidetracked on there!)

Mushroom Turkey Tetrazzini
(TOH)

12 Ounce uncooked spaghetti, broken into 2" pieces
1 bouillon cube, chicken
1/2 Pound sliced fresh mushrooms
2 Tablespoon butter
2 Tablespoon all purpose flour
1/4 Cup chicken broth or sherry
1/2 Teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/8 Teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 Cup fat-free evaporated milk
2/3 Cup grated parmesan, divided
4 Cup cubed cooked turkey
1/4 Teaspoon Paprika

Instructions:
Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain, reserving 2 1/2 cups cooking liquid. Stir bouillon into cooking liquid and set aside. Place spaghetti in a 13x9 baking dish coated with cooking spray; set aside.
In a large nonstick skillet, saute mushrooms in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in sherry/broth and reserved cooking liquid. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Reduce heat to low; stir in milk and 1/3 cup parmesan until blended. Add turkey; cook and stir until heated through. Pour turkey mixture over spaghetti and toss to combine. Sprinkle with paprika and remaining parmesan.
Cover and bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.

Opinions: Nate & I both liked it! Personally, I am not a huge fan of paprika, so I would not add that again. Other than that, it was pretty good, and reheats well.

Make again: Yes! No paprika though. And, I may find a substitute for the evaporated milk. I didn't use all of the can I bought, and the rest of it just went to waste.


Serves: 4
Yields: 8 servings
Prep Time: 35 m
Cook Time: 25 m
Total Time: 1 hr

Bible in 90 Days

I heard of an interesting challenge about a month ago, and I decided to give it a shot. I haven't been talking about it much, but I wanted to post about it here.

The challenge is called "The Bible in 90 days," and I started it on January 3rd. I heard of it via The Happy Housewife--Amy over at Mom's Toolbox has the challenge going for her reader's currently, and I thought it was something worth a try.

One of my big challenges in life is always getting the "God & I" time in. It's something that I've always struggled with--I want to spend time reading my Bible, to spend time with just God and no other distractions (well, maybe the puppy cuddling at my feet; does that count?).
However, there's always that 'one last thing' I need to get done first...
That other book that is just begging to be read...
The Hubby who would like to hang out with his wifey...
The puppy that wants to play...
Or is just growing and thus always hungry and wants me to give him another treat...
The sleep that I never seem to get enough of...
The list goes on & on.

So, when the Happy Housewife mentioned this challenge, I prayed about it and thought about it, and decided I would do it.

Note that I didn't decide I would try. I decided I would do this. I don't have any kiddos yet (insert sad face here), and that takes away one of the biggest challenges for most ladies to do something like this.

Here we are, about to start the 5th week of the challenge, and I will admit it has been hard! I was behind at times (weekend at my in-laws, mainly!), ahead at times, but I've managed to stay on-track. It has been a great experience so far. This certainly isn't meant to be an in-depth study of the Bible, but a way to see everything close together and kinda connect the dots. ("OH! I remember so-and-so, they did this a couple days ago!" vs "Who's so-and-so?")

Don't get me wrong; it's still reading the Bible, cover-to-cover, in 90 days. It's hard. It can be confusing. But, being almost one month in, I would recommend this to anyone.

I love doing something that makes sure I get my God & I time in. I love studying His Word. While I have read the Bible cover-to-cover other times, I think this is going to be a great way to step back a little and try to see the whole picture.

If you are interested in doing this challenge, I would recommend checking out Mom's Toolbox. The challenge has already started, but this isn't the first time she's done this so I would guess it won't be the last. :) She also had a handy little bookmark on the site (somewhere; probably around the first post for this Bible in 90 days challenge) with a listing of what chapters/verses you need to read what days, to complete on schedule. It has been very useful!

As always, comments are love. See? You are thinking about comments, and I am sending love. :)

Pastitsio

If you've seen many of my posts, or know me in person, you know I am not a big fan of tomatoes. Or most things tomato based. When I saw this recipe, I was intrigued, but I was also a bit nervous. With my (picky) experiences with tomatoes & pasta, I know that I usually don't like it.

Other than spaghetti & lasagna, for some odd reason.

Anyways, back to today's recipe. I was pleasantly surprised with this--the tomato is not overwhelming! It doesn't turn out too saucy either, which is another problem I've had with pasta & tomato combinations in the past. If anything, it is a little too dry in the end--I am going to try covering it next time, and see if that helps.


Pastitsio
(TOH)

7 Ounce uncooked pasta
1 Pound ground beef
1 Medium onion, chopped
1 Clove garlic, minced
8 Ounce tomato sauce
1 Teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 Teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 Teaspoon pepper
1/4 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 Cup grated parmesan, divided
3 Tablespoon butter
3 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Cup milk
1 egg, beaten

Instructions:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skilled, cook the beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomato sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, oregano, pepper, & cinnamon; heat through.
Drain pasta; place half in a greased 9" square baking pan. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup parmesan. Layer with meat mixture and remaining macaroni. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour and remaining salt until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount fo the hot mixture into egg; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gently boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in remaining parmesan. Pour sauce over pasta.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 35
Cook Time: 35
Total Time: 1 hr 10 m


Note:

• The original did state the the cinnamon is optional. I thought it was a wonderful, and unique, addition.
• It does NOT reheat well. It goes from being slightly dry to "Oh. This is the leftovers we are having for dinner? Oh."
  

Overall opinions: I think with some small changes (less dry being the key change), this could be pretty good. Nate was, oddly enough, more fond of it once I told him that the funny taste was the cinnamon. (Which made me smile.)

And, of course, I used some of the venison that I received from my oh-so-lovely brother & sister-in-law, instead of beef. I love venison; I would rather use ground venison than ground beef any day! (Although, I do love the occasional steak.)

As always, comments are love. In fact, if you leave enough comments on my posts & live nearby, I just may invite you to dinner sometime. Or dessert, if that's your preference. ;)

Firefly Lane

In high school (again... could've been middle school), I read On Mystic Lake by Kristin Hannah. Good book, from what I remember.

Grandma purchased another of Hannah's books this summer, and lent it to me. (Of course, it got in my pile of books-to-be-read-soon, so I had it for about a month before I actually read it, but that's not the point.) I had a hard time getting into this one, to be honest. This may have been in part due to the fact that I was annoyed with the beginning--it starts with a bit of a cliffhanger, and the rest of the book is a flashback. I hate flashbacks.

The book focuses on Kate and Tully, friends who grew up on Firefly Lane in a small town in the northwest. It follows them from the tumultuous times in the 70s, throughout their thirty-year friendship. When they meet in middle school, Kate was the undeniable geek, and Tully was the ultimate cool girl. They form an odd but strong friendship, which is what keeps them going at times, and alters their lives beyond recognition. Throughout the book, Tully is the leader and Kate is the follower, but Kate has many strengths of her own. Each girl has a face she shows to the world, and face she only shows to the other--or herself. They each struggle with insecurities throughout life, some of which they never share. In the end, there is a horrible betrayal, and some pretty disturbing news.

Overall, I would rate the book 3/5 stars. The plot was interesting, and characters were well-developed. However... there are aspects that I very much dislike. The cliffhanger-then-flashback is not a feature I appreciate in any book. Especially when the cliffhanger makes you expect one thing.... which * *plot warning* * is not what actually happens. The ending isn't what I expected at all, and I felt that it wasn't appropriate to the rest of the book. In the end, I thought that the book was worth reading and would recommend it, but I can't help but think of this book with annoyance.

The Lady Elizabeth

My ideal trip to the mall includes a very extended trip to the bookstore. The clearance section of Barnes & Noble is one of my favorite places...I could spend 20 minutes in Kohl's attempting to pick out clothes and 2 hours in Barnes in Noble. And yes, I am that level of a dork. :-D

The clearance section is actually where I found The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir. I already took the sticker off, so I don't recall how much it was now, but maybe 5, 6 bucks. It was well worth that!

I have always been interested in England royalty, especially in the 1500s. The story of Henry the 8th is fascinating--gruesome, at times, but fascinating. In high school (possibly middle school...), I read The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell. It was fascinating--I would recommend it--and I have been interested in this story since then. I've picked up a few books since then, but they simply went into the pile of "books-Serena's-collected-but-not-yet read." This is a book I purchased a few months ago, and read last month.

It was fascinating. This story chronicles the life of Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, from the time she was an infant to the time she becomes aware that she is the Queen of England. (I saw 'aware' because it ends before her actual coronation.) It describes her thoughts, feelings, and actions, as she goes through her life as the 'bastard' second daughter of the King. It describes her times in exile, her times in danger, her relationship with her servants, and her planning as she believes she is ascending to the thrown. Elizabeth is a vivacious character, whose strengths are inspiring and her flaws are damning.
In her lifetime, Elizabeth goes from being Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry and Queen Anne, to Lady Elizabeth, the bastard daughter of a traitor and the King. She endures multiple stepmothers, none of whom last, but one of whom bears the son that becomes the heir to the throne. Surprisingly, there is little animosity between the siblings--Edward, Elizabeth, and Mary (the daughter of Henry's first wife). At least, there is little animosity at first. As Edward becomes King, then Mary becomes Queen, jealousy and differences in religion tear the siblings apart. The threat of treason and the death that would ensue is constantly hanging over everyone's head, and no one knows who will be accused-and hung-next. Elizabeth has multiple situations where she is afraid for her life, and her actions during those periods are both realistic and inspiring.

Throughout the book, Elizabeth struggles with many issues, and overcomes in the end.

I will say that I am uncertain on the historical accuracy, but it was fascinating regardless. I am looking forward to reading further books by Alison Weir, and to reading more about this era in England's history.

The Best Apple Bread

When my in-laws visited last, I went with Sue to get some apples from a local orchard. They had a good deal, so we each got 1/2 bushel.

FYI, 1/2 bushel is a LOT of apples. I am not entirely sure what we'll be doing with most of the apples, but that's OK--we're finding things to do with it! Drying apples, apple pie, apple bread....

Apple bread sounded fantastic the other day when I was in a baking mood, and I stumbled across this recipe. I copied the recipe into word to make it easier to print, and... promptly lost the original site. Oops. So, I have no idea where this came from, but it's pretty good.

The Best Apple Bread


3 Cup finely chopped apples
2 Cup sugar
1 Cup vegetable oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Teaspoon Vanilla
3 Cup all purpose flour
2 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon salt

Instructions:
Peel and finely chop enough apples to equal 3 cups. Set aside.
Stir together sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl.
Stir together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; add to sugar mixture, stirring just until blended. (Batter will be stiff.) Fold in finely chopped apples.
Divide batter evenly between 2 greased and floured 9- x 5-inch loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans, and cool on wire racks.

Serving Size: 1 slice
Yields: 10 slices/loaf, 2 loaves
Calories: 207

Mmm... yum!

Opinions: I took some to work, and one loaf to my parents when we visited for Daddy's birthday. (The Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie recipe I made for Daddy will be posted later!) Everyone loved it! Definitely will make that again!

The only problem is that it cracked in the middle--still tasted yummy! :)

Comments are love!