General Tso Chicken with the Fixin's

No real recipe on this one. I just covered a whole chicken with General Tso's sauce, salt, pepper, lemon pepper and baked it in the oven. 375 for the first 30 minutes, flip the bird, turn the oven down to 350 and cook an additional 30-35 minutes. Make sure you drain off any liquid. I lined a baking dish with foil to help. This way, the chicken get's nice and crispy. You will think it's almost burnt when you first flip it but you want it nice and brown. Let it set for about 15 minutes and serve. Very very juicy and delish!

I made lima beans, mashed potatoes, and cabbage for my sides and sweet yellow cornbread. For both the lima beans and cabbage I sauted bacon in their pots until crisp, then added a little purple onion and celery. Not too much. Saute until tender. For the lima beans, I added frozen lima beans to the onion bacon mixture and sauted about 3 minutes, then add water and chicken bouillon, salt, and pepper. Cook until tender.

The cabbage, I shredded, added to my onion bacon mixture and cooked until tender, but I added some of the lima bean liquid to the cabbage for added flavor. Trust me, it's GOOD!!!

The mashed taters, I added about 2 tbsp of french onion dip, butter, and a small can of evaporated milk. Delish!

Chicken and Bows

• 1 package (12 oz) bow tie pasta
• 2 lbs of cubed chicken breast
• 1/2 a cup each of red & yellow peppers,chopped
• 1/4 cup of diced onion
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• 1/4 cup of butter, cubed
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• 1 package of frozen English peas
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
• 6 oz of diced Velveeta cheese
• salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, Tony's

You can use low fat soups, milk, cheese, etc to make it healthier :)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook the chicken, onion, celery, and peppers in butter over medium to medium high heat until chicken is no longer pink and veggies are tender. About 5-7 minutes.
Stir in the soups, peas, milk, and spices. I used 2 dashes or 1/4 tsp of each (spices). Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about 3-5 minutes until heated through. Stir in cheese. Mix until cheese if melted, add the pasta and toss to coat. You may want to taste to see if you need to add more salt/pepper and I added more Parmesan :) Enjoy! This kinda reminds me of chicken sketti. Also, the more it sets it will thicken. I would wait about 5 minutes, then serve.

Freeze: Cool remaining mixture; transfer to a freezer container. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months. To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Transfer to an ungreased shallow microwave safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 8-10 minutes or until heated through, stirring once.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chewies

• 2 cups of sugar
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 3 cups of oatmeal
• 1/4 cup of cocoa
• 1 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter
• pinch of salt

In a large pot, mix sugar, cocoa, milk and butter. Heat until mixture boils. Cool 1 minute, add remaining ingredients. Spoon on waxed paper. The mixture will start to set immediatly.

Tuna Casserole

I wasn't really in the mood to "cook" tonight, so, it was quick and easy tuna casserole. Boil some noodles, boil some eggs, mayo, pickles, salt, pepper...DONE! I always add red pepper flakes to mine for some HEAT!

Mostaccioli or Rigatoni

• 1 lb uncooked mostaccioli or rigatoni
• 1 lb Italian sausage (mild)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 jar meatless spaghetti sauce
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 carton (15oz) ricotta cheese
• 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup of grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup of chopped onion
• pinch of basil, pinch of thyme, salt/pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain. Cook Italian sausage until no longer pink, drain. Cook the ground meat with the onion until no longer pink, drain. Mix the spaghetti sauce with the meats and cooked pasta and set aside. In another bowl, mix the ricotta with the beaten egg, add the basil, thyme, a little salt and pepper and mix well, fold in the mozzarella cheese. In a greased 13x9, add half of the meat mixture, then add the cheese mixture, then top with the remaining meat mixture. Cover and bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Uncover, add the Romano cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Let is cool for about 15 minutes, enjoy!

Chocolate Mallow Pie

• 1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups of cold milk, divided
• 1 package (lrg) instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 1/2 cups of miniature marshmallows
• 2 tbsp of powdered sugar
• 1 graham cracker crust (9 inch)

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and 1/2 cup of milk until smooth. Add the pudding mix, remaining milk, and powdered sugar. Mix well. Fold in the marshmallows. Pour into the crust. Refrigerate until serving.

Steak & Cobbler

Yep, another GREAT Saturday! Grilled rib eye steaks, peppers, and onions. Something different with the taters. Sweet corn and "lazy man" peach cobbler for dessert with ice cream. Yummy!
I think the next time I make the potatoes, I might make them with a creamy cheese...

Potatoes: I just pre-boiled the potatoes, drain..don't overcook, they will finish on the grill. I used about 1/3 cup of canola oil with salt/pepper, make sure each tater gets some oil so they do not burn on the grill, and then grilled them until golden. Transfer to a 13x9 baking dish. Cover the potatoes with crumbled cooked bacon and cheddar cheese and bake at 350 until the cheese has melted.

Peppers: I used about 2 tbsp of "good" olive oil, salt, and pepper, grill until tender.

Peach Cobbler: 1 cup of SR flour, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of milk, a dash or two of cinnamon, 1 stick of butter, 1 large can of sliced peaches. Mix your flour, sugar, milk, cinnamon, set aside. Using a 13x9, melt your stick of butter in the oven at 350 until "just" starting to brown, then add your flour mixtures, then pour the can of peaches on top. Bake until golden. Do not over bake, you still want some juices from the peaches.

Banana Cream Brownie Dessert

• 1 package of fudge brownie mix (13x9 inch pan size)
• 1 cup of milk chocolate chips, divided (or semi-sweet, peanut butter)
• 3/4 cup of dry roasted peanuts, chopped (divided)
• 1 cup of mini marshmallows (optional)
• 3 medium bananas, sliced
• 2 1/2 cups of cold milk
• 1 large instant vanilla jello pudding
• 2-8 oz container of cool whip or 1 large

Prepare brownie batter according to package directions for fudge like brownies, stir in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, marshmallows, and 1/4 cup of peanuts. Spread into a 13x9 greased baking pan and bake at 350 for 28-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool.

Slice bananas; arrange in a single layer over the brownies. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of peanuts and 1/4 cup of chocolate chips. In a large bowl, beat the milk and jello pudding until set, fold in 6 oz of whipped topping and spread over the top. Spread the remaining cool whip on top and then sprinkle with the remaining nuts and chips. Enjoy! (will need to be refrigerated and you can omit the final cool whip layer)

Salisbury Steak with Mash Potatoes and Sweet & Sour Carrots

• 2 lbs of ground beef
• 1/4 cup of Heinz 57
• 3 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp of Dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp of dried/minced onion
• 2 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder, lemon pepper, Tony's
• salt & pepper to taste

Mix all of the above and form into footballs :) Cook in a large skillet over medium heat until they form a nice brown crust. They will finish cooking in the gravy. Remove from the skillet and mix 2 cups of water with 2 packets of brown gravy or homemade gravy McCormick mix. Add the gravy mixture to the skillet, then add the steaks back to the skillet, with any drippings, and cook until done. About 10 minutes. Serve over mashed potatoes.

• 1 small package of frozen sliced carrots
• 2 cups of 7 up
• 4 tbsp of butter
• 4 tbsp of brown sugar
• 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard
• salt & pepper

Thaw the carrots. Cook them, covered,  in the 7 up until tender. About 20-25 minutes. In a medium skillet, melt the butter, then add the mustard and brown sugar and cook until dissolved. Add the carrots and cook about 10 minutes until coated and almost all the liquid has dissolved. Serve.

Smothered Pork Chops

I didn't really follow a recipe so I'm just going to give y'all the "highlights" :)

I used my usual spices, garlic/onion powder, lemon pepper, and Tony's. Sprinkle that on each pork chop then dust the pork chop in flour on both sides. Using a LARGE skillet on medium heat, fry the porch chops until golden brown then transfer them to a 13x9 baking pan. I used Yukon Gold potatoes. Slice about 4-5 medium size potatoes and put them on the bottom of the pan with the pork chops on top. Then with the leftover oil I make a roux. Once the roux is a nice "peanut butter" color I add 1 cup of beef stock and 2 cups of water with 2 packets of McCormick brown gravy mix. Salt & Pepper. Cook until thick and pour over the pork chops. Cover in foil and bake about 30 minutes. Yummo!

Gooey Peanut Bars

• 1 package/roll of peanut butter cookie dough
• 2 cups of "goobers"
• 1 cup of mini marshmallows
• 1/4 cup of butterscotch ice cream topping

Press the cookie dough in the bottom of a 13 x 9 and bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes. Take it out of the oven and sprinkle the goobers, marshmallows, and drizzle the topping. Put it back in the oven for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and serve.