Tortellini Alfredo

This weekend, I bought a fully cooked, half ham at Kroger for a $1.39/lb. I actually took the time to cube the ham when I got home. I used my new handy, dandy vacuum sealer (Thanks dad!) to seal and freeze the meat. I never used to buy ham because it always seemed so expensive. Now that I have it on hand when needed, I can make recipes like this one whenever I please.

Tortellini Alfredo

2-9oz packages of refrigerated cheese tortellini (I like Buitoni brand)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup butter or margarine

1 can peas, drained or 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed

1 cup cubed fully cooked ham

1 3/4 cups whipping cream

1/4 tsp ground pepper

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute the onion in butter until tender. Add the peas and ham; cook for 3 minutes. Stir in cream and pepper; heat through. Stir in grated Parmesan cheese until melted.

Drain tortellini and place in a serving dish; add the sauce and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the shredded Parmesan cheese if desired.

I thought I'd add in a couple of pictures of my cooking audience. My husband is rarely home when I cook, but these two are always watching (and waiting for me to drop something!).

Oil and Vinegar Slaw

Ok, so no excuses for my leave of absence...just a new recipe. This is Rachel Ray's O & V Slaw. I don't usually like coleslaw, but my younger sister and I made this once, and we really liked it. Disclaimer: Don't expect this to be anything like normal coleslaw, or you'll be disappointed. Also, only make this if you like dill pickles.

O & V Slaw

1/2 cup hamburger pickle relish (dill pickle relish)

3 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 - 16oz sack of shredded cabbage mix for coleslaw

salt and pepper

Mix the relish with the oil and vinegar. Add the shredded cabbage to the bowl, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.

Mexican Casserole

Seems like I'm just not finding the time to blog much lately. I'm rushed for time right now to finish this so I can watch a movie with my husband. Hopefully, I'll get my Halloween stuff posted soon (just waiting on some pictures). I know I post a lot of mexican food, but I just can't help it. It's so good!!! So, here's another one.

Mexican Casserole

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 envelope of taco seasoning

3/4 cup water

1 - 16oz can refried beans

1/2 cup salsa

6 - 6inch- flour tortillas

2 cups frozen corn, thawed (or canned corn, drained)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, cook beef over med heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasonings and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a microwave safe bowl, combine the beans and salsa. Cover and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until spreadable. Place 3 tortillas in a greased round 2 1/2 qt baking dish. Layer with half of the beef, bean mixture, corn and cheese; repeat layers. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, olives, and sour cream if desired.

Notes: Enough Said!

I HEART SOUPS

I really love making soups for dinner. I love eating them even more. They are especially good on a cold, long day. You can throw together a soup quickly and sit down with a nice glass of wine in no time at all. Well, this isn't the most cultured or high class type of soup, but it still hits the spot. It's also good to use up left over hot dogs.

Hot Dog Bean Soup

3 hot dogs, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 tsp. veg oil

1 - 16 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 - 11 1/2 oz. can bean and bacon soup

1 1/4 cups water

1 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. pepper

In a large skillet or pot, cook hot dogs in oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until browned. Add other ingredients and heat through.

Notes: Can't get any easier than that, unless your hot dogs are already cooked. I substituted chicken broth for the water and added cayenne pepper and one can of diced potatoes to mine. You can easily double this recipe as well.

Cheap and Easy

It's been awhile since I've blogged. I've been really busy with work. We are also in the process of looking for a house to buy. Needless to say, blogging has been on the back burner. We spent all day Sunday with a realtor looking at acreage homes in the Lake Conroe area near Houston. We found a couple of prospects, but we are just going to keep our eyes on those properties and keep looking for more. Anyway, since I've been so busy, I thought I'd devote this post to the cheap and easy meals I've been cooking lately. If you are looking to be economical during these times, then these are the meals for you!!

Ground Beef Stroganoff

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 cup sour cream

3 cups cooked egg noodles

In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Stir in the soup and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until heated through. Reduce heat; Stir in the noodles and sour cream. Cook until heated through.

Notes: This recipe originally called for ground turkey, so feel free to use it. I used turkey the first time I made it, but to minimize costs, I decided to go with ground beef. You can add so much to this recipe or just make simple like this. We always have a lot of leftovers too. Super budget friendly!!

Smothered Steaks and Bell Peppers

This recipe came to me from my sister in law, Meredith, via my mother in law. It is really tasty and easy. Cube steaks are usually more budget friendly than other cuts of meat, and I usually just buy some when they are on sale. I freeze the meat until bell peppers go on sale and then I can make this dish for a really great price.

4 beef cube steaks (~5oz each)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1/2 cup green bell peppers, sliced

1/2 cup red bell pepper, sliced

1 small onion, sliced

2 tbsp. flour

1/3 cup soy sauce

Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Brown steaks in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat 3 minutes on each side; remove to 9x13 inch dish and put in oven to finish cooking at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. In the same skillet, saute onions and peppers. Blend together flour, soy sauce, and 1 cup water; pour over sauteed onions and bell peppers. Cook and stir unitl sauce boils and thickens. Spoon sauce mixture over steaks. Serve with rice or noodles.

Notes: I like to serve this with rice. Be careful not to overcook the steaks or they will become dry. If the steaks do turn out too dry, just cut them into slices before you pour the sauce over them.

My Weekend Free of Cooking

Friday night: The husband and I both fell asleep on the couches after work on Friday. It was too late to cook when we woke up, so I snacked all night and my husband ate hot dogs. We rented Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It was really funny. Overall, it was a good and relaxing night.

Saturday night: I went out with the girls to Cyclone Anaya's for dinner. Their margaritas are killer. NO...Really, they will kill you!! Anyway, I didn't have to cook that night either.

Sunday night: The husband cooked a pork roast with potatoes, onions, and mushrooms. Yum!! It really shows how much he loves me, because he HATES mushrooms with a passion.

Monday: Back to work. Blah!! I had leftover pork roast and potatoes for lunch and that was the highlight of my day. Then, I didn't get home till late because I had to go to the grocery store. Meanwhile, my husband shredded some of the leftover pork roast and added som BBQ sauce. So, we had BBQ pork sandwiches when I got home. Maybe I'll cook tomorrow night.....

Italian Beef Sandwiches

This sandwich sounded good when I read the recipe last weekend. One of my cooking goals right now is to find as many super easy recipes as possible before we have a family. Therefore, I sometimes choose recipes that are super simple, but just don't end up well in the end. As I got ready to make this dish the other night, I found myself wondering why I ever chose this recipe. It didn't even sound good anymore, but I got lucky. It turned out to be a good lunch menu item for the future.

Italian Beef Sandwiches

6 hoagie buns, split

1 - 14 1/2 oz. can beef broth

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 medium green pepper, sliced into rings

1/2 medium onion, sliced

1 lb. thinly sliced deli roast beef

6 slices provolone cheese

2 tbsp. miracle whip

In a large skillet, add the broth, garlic, oregano, and pepper; bring to a boil. Add the green pepper and onion. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes, or until veggies are tender. Remove green pepper and onion with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Return broth to a boil; add roast beef; cover and remove from heat. Let sit for 2 minutes, or until beef is heated through. Place roast beef, onion, and green peppers on the bottoms of the hoagie buns. Put one slice of provolone cheese on top of each. Place the bottom and top of each bun, side by side, on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for about 4 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Spread miracle whip on the top slice of each hoagie bun and place the top on the sandwich.

Notes: As I said, this one was a surprise. I normally don't like beef broth, but this came out well.