The Easiest (Fake) Lasagna Ever

This is seriously the easiest thing to make. And it only has four ingredients. Easiest. Thing. Ever. I kid you not. It doesn't even need any more explanation than that. So I'm done.

Baked Ravioli
via Pinterest
4-6 Servings

1 25oz package frozen ravioli, any variety
1 jar pasta sauce, whatever kind you like
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
<1 cup shredded parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

Grease a 9x13 baking dish.  Spread about 3/4 cup sauce over the bottom of the dish to coat. Arrange half of the ravioli over the sauce in one layer. Spread about 1 cup sauce over the ravioli, then sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella over the sauce. Create another layer with the remaining ravioli, top with remaining sauce and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle parmesan over mozzarella. Cover dish with aluminum foil. Bake at 400* for 30 minutes. Remove foil, bake for another 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and slightly browned. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Grandma's Norwegian Spaghetti

Ok, so before you look at the picture and decide it doesn't look delicious, please forgive my photo taking skills, or lack thereof. It's hard to photograph a mainly white-ish food in a white bowl under fluorescent light at night, ok? So this is the best I could do…

But anyways, this is Grandma Renae's Norwegian Spaghetti recipe. Her mother came to America from Norway, and I'm not sure if this recipe came with her or if she created it in a Norwegian state of mind during a cold Michigan winter… However it came to be, it's an old family recipe that's graced our table more than once, in memory of our sweet grandma. It's warm, cheesy, ham(my?), and I can't really explain the flavor, but it's good, ok? Don't knock it until you try it.

Norwegian Spaghetti
What's Cookin Sister?
Serves 4-5

2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup sliced green onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
8 oz cooked spaghetti
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cottage cheese
1 can French style green beans
pepper to taste
3 cups cubed, cooked ham
1 1/2 cups shredded jack cheese

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add garlic salt, green onion, and celery; cook until tender. Add ham and cook until heated through. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream and cottage cheese. Add pepper to taste. Stir in green beans, spaghetti, and cheese. Stir until combined. Transfer mixture to a greased 9x13 baking dish and bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes, until heated through and bubbling.

Quick and Delicious Shepherd's Pie

So, shepherd's pie wasn't one of those things we grew up on. We probably would have laughed mom out of the kitchen if she tried to feed us something like this. But we shouldn't have- this stuff is good! Husband requested it a few times, and I came up with this recipe on my own by trying out and tweaking a few different ones. I think it's perfect. One thing I like about this recipe is that it's super flexible. I don't measure anything, just eyeball it until it looks right. The thing I really like about shepherd's pie, though, is that it's so versatile. You can use your own gravy sauce (this is one of the two recipes I use condensed or cream of anything soup in. The other is here), choose your own veggies, modify your mashed potatoes any way you like, and change the type of cheese or leave it off altogether. It's like a choose-your-own-adventure in the kitchen! Add that to quick and easy, and you've got a great supper.

You can also make this ahead and/or freeze it. If you make it ahead, store it in the refrigerator and add 10-15 minutes to the baking time. If you freeze it, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake as above. If you do freeze it, hold the cheese until right before you put it in the oven- the texture is just different if the cheese is frozen first. 

Try this tonight! You're gonna like the way it tastes. I guarantee it.

Shepherd's Pie

what's cookin' sister?

1-1/2 lb ground beef, whatever leanness your preference

1 1/2 cups frozen mixed veggies (I use carrots, green beans, corn, peas)

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

1 can condensed tomato soup (If you can find the 15(ish) oz cans, use those instead. It just makes for a saucier filling).

2 cups prepared mashed potatoes (I do mine with milk, butter, salt and pepper)

shredded cheddar cheese

Cook ground beef until no longer pink, drain if desired, remove from heat. In the same pan, add Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, marjoram, and tomato soup, stir to combine. Add frozen veggies, stir to coat. Pour mixture into a 9x13 pan. Spread mashed potatoes evenly over ground beef filling, top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, until heated through and bubbly. Serve immediately. 

Crockpot Italian Chicken

This is a great dish to make on a day you know you're going to have no time to make dinner. It literally takes 5 minutes to throw together, then it just cooks all day & is ready when you are! There are only 6 ingredients, too, so it couldn't be simpler. 

Crockpot Italian Chicken
Serves 4

2 chicken breasts, halved
1 lb. mini carrots
2-3 large yellow or 3-4 red potatoes
12-16 oz. Italian salad dressing
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese, grated

Cut potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Put potatoes in the bottom of your crockpot. Place chicken breast halves over potatoes. Sprinkle Italian seasoning over chicken. Dump carrots over chicken and potatoes. Pour dressing over carrots- if you like your chicken saucy, use more dressing. If you simply want it flavored, use less.  Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to serve.

Easiest. Roast. Ever.

Seriously.  This is one of the most flavorful roasts. It's essentially foolproof, and is so, so easy. I think the difference in tenderness is the cut of meat, but I don't know one specifically because I just buy whatever is the right size at the right price. Cheap-o over here. But regardless of the cut, the meat will come out juicy and so very yummy. The carrots and potatoes are totally optional, but they absorb the flavor really well, and make this a more filling, more complete dish. And I totally eyeball the amount of veggies, so do whatever you think will work for the size group you are feeding. The type of potatoes you use is very flexible, just don't use russet (baking) potatoes. Red, yellow, white, or fingerling are great. And if you use fingerling, just cut them in half, maybe thirds, not eighths.

Low and slow is the way to cook this- I've forgotten and had to do it on high, and the meat just isn't as tender. So low and slow. If you need to cook a roast larger than 3 lbs, I'd add another jar of peppers and use maybe half the juice for each pound over 3. Just to make sure there's enough juice in that baby. If your roast is smaller than 2 or 3 pounds, use the whole jar anyways. Can't hurt. :)

Crockpot Peperoncini Roast

2-3 lb beef roast
1 jar peperoncini peppers
1 lb mini carrots
3 or 4 red, yellow, or white potatoes, cut into eighths

Place the potatoes in the bottom of the crockpot, followed by the carrots, then the meat. Dump the jar of peperoncini, including the juice, over everything. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.

So. Much. Flavor. You'll want to feed it to all your friends. Just don't tell them how easy it is!

One Pan Buttery Parmesan Chicken and Pasta

So, I made this for dinner the other night. I found the recipe here, and modified it a bit to work with what we had. It basically became a new recipe, because it definitely wasn't Chicken Alfredo. It did turn out to be super yummy and was a happy change from our typical noodles and sauce. We BBQ'd chicken the night before, so I used that instead. Rotisserie chicken would be great for this, too. And honestly, I didn't measure the chicken. I just kept adding pieces until it looked right. Eyeball it! It just depends on what chicken/pasta ratio you want. We also didn't have any cream so I used a substitute for that, too.

One Pan Buttery Parmesan Chicken and Pasta

Serves 4

2 Chicken Breasts

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/3 cup butter

3/4 cup milk

2 cups water

2 teaspoons chicken bullion

1/2 lb. uncooked, bite-sized pasta

2 cups shredded parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

dried parsley, for garnish, if desired

If using raw chicken, brown in a skillet with a little olive oil until no longer pink. If using pre-cooked chicken, heat in a skillet until warm. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant, 1 or 2 minutes. Add butter, milk, water, bullion, and pasta. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until pasta is cooked. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese and salt and pepper, if desired. Garnish with parsley. 

The kids ate this up, husband loved it, and I thought it was pretty good, too. It was definitely a quick, easy dinner!

15-minute French Dip Sandwiches

These are the easiest and yummiest French dip sandwiches. It only takes a few minutes, and bam! you have a warm, comforting, filling sandwich. Pair it with a salad and some fruit, and you've got a delicious meal.

When I buy roast beef for these sandwiches, I always get it from the deli section of the grocery store. No pre-packaged meat here! Have them cut it on their second-thinnest setting. Thinner is definitely better, but you don't want it so thin that the meat falls apart when you try to put it in the sandwiches.

And as for the rolls, if you spread the cut sides with a little butter and toast them on a skillet, it adds a wonderful flavor and crunch to the whole shebang.

French Dip Sandwiches
(Better Homes & Gardens, adapted)
1/2 large white or yellow onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
2 cups beef broth
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb. thinly sliced cooked beef
4 French-style rolls, split

In a saucepan, cook onion and garlic in hot butter until tender. Stir in broth, thyme, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add beef, separating slices. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until meat is heated through.

Remove beef slices and onions from liquid. Arrange on rolls. Serve with individual dishes of broth mixture for dipping.