First off I know I have slowed to a snails pace with posting recipes. The month of June has been busy and I admit to not trying a lot of new recipes the last few months. When the weather gets nice I want to be outside not in the kitchen. I have tried a few new recipes but some of them I feel need some tweaking before I put them up here.

Spaghetti is  a favorite in my family. I have posted a few recipes that have gone over pretty well before. I have been trying to make my own sauce but so far have not found one we all like. So I have take a break and have been using store bought sauce. I have though been tweaking that and have come up with a recipe I am happy with and wanted to share. My husband puts his nose up at this because he likes his sauce plain and I like it with some added veggies. The kids like this though so I told him to pick them out then! :p

Source: Abs Kitchen

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes to a few hours

• 1lb ground hamburger
• 1 small to medium onion diced
• 1 medium green pepper diced
• 3 or 4 fresh mushrooms sliced or diced
• 1 67oz jar of Prego traditional Italian sauce
• Red pepper flakes to taste
• Hot cooked Spaghetti noodles

Brown the ground hamburger with the onion, green pepper and mushrooms. I also add a few shakes of the red pepper flakes as well. Drain off fat. Add Prego sauce and more red pepper flakes(I like my spaghetti with a little bite) if you like. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let cook for at least 30 minutes. I  tend to let it simmer for a few hours. Serve over hot spaghetti noodles.

Yields: 6-8 servings

Its very simple but I love adding the extra veggies. I add the red pepper flakes to give it a nice little bite. You can play around with it and add as much or as little of the veggies and red pepper flakes as you would like. I also like to let it simmer all afternoon because I think the flavor is a bit better but I have also only cooked it for about 30 minutes and its still comes out great. You can of course use any spaghetti sauce you want but we really like the Prego flavor.

My son loves pancakes and would eat them every morning if he could. Thankfully at this point he likes them covered with flavored yogurt rather then syrup which makes them a little healthier. Normally my husband makes us breakfast a few times a month on Saturday and I then give my son the leftover pancakes through out the week. A few weeks back my daughter wanted pancakes for supper and I wanted to try some homemade ones other then the Bisquick ones my husband normally makes. I had this recipe that I had bookmarked from a food blog so I gave it a try. I love how easy they where to make and how healthy they really are. My son loves them and I plan to make a double batch soon so I can freeze some.

Source:   “B” dubs cafe

• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ¼  cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt

Combine milk and flour and beat in a blender on high speed for 2 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients and beat on high for 2 more minutes.  Using a ¼ cup measuring cup, pour pancake batter on hot griddle and cook until lightly browned on both sides.  Serve with butter and warm syrup

Yields: 10-12 pancakes

I also love how I had everything I needed to make these pancakes no buttermilk required which is good since I don’t keep that in my fridge a lot. I am thinking about adding a little cinnamon the next time I make these just to change them up a little.

I admit I love cookbooks. So its always hard for me to pass them up when I find one for sale. My MOMS Club has one and I bought it last year not long after I joined and I am just now starting to try recipes from it. I love using a cookbook that I know the recipes are tried and true! This recipe is fast and tastes great.

Source: Local MOMS Club Cookbook

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes

• 2lbs ground beef or turkey
• 1/2 onion or a dash of onion powder
• 2 cans tomato soup
• 8 oz plain cream cheese
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 6-8 oz pasta

Cook the pasta while you brown the meat and onion. Drain. Mix all ingredients. Enjoy. Freezes fine and reheats well.

Yields: 4-6 servings

Yeah its that easy and you all know I love easy!!

Not the best picture I know but I was in a hurry this morning. I first had this recipe a few months back at a MOMS Club activity. I kept meaning to make it but never did. This morning I had a MOMS Club activity to go to and needed something fast and yummy and this recipe fits that bill perfectly.

Source: A fellow mom.(Thanks Katie!!)

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time 15-20 Minutes

• 1 stick margarine or butter
• 1 cup oatmeal(I used the quick cooking kind)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups hot boiling water
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• powdered sugar to dust the top

Mix butter and oatmeal and add boiling water. Stir and let cool. Slightly beat the eggs and add to the mixture alone with the vanilla.  Mix the Dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Pour into a pan or cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Let cool and dust with powdered sugar.

Yield: 10-12 servings

Super easy and my kids love it.

After taking a break from trying new recipes I am back at it. My droughts never last long I always get bored with what I am cooking and start looking through my cookbooks or checking out a number of my favorite food blogs. I found this recipe on facebook. A friend posted a link and I bookmarked it and finally gave it a try last week. I admit I buy a lot of refrigerated dinner biscuits because its fast and they taste good. But I know I can save myself some money if I make them myself. This recipe is really easy and the biscuit dough can be frozen and used when needed.

Source: smitten kitchen

Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook time 10-15 minutes

• 3 tbsp melted butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the surface
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt butter in a small pot or microwave dish, and set aside. Sift two cups flour, the baking powder, salt and (if using) sugar into a large bowl. Fold in 1 1/4 cups cream. If the dough is not soft or easily handled, fold in the remaining 1/4 cup cream, little by little. (I ended up using two additional tablespoons, or half the unused cream. Just like the recipe from smitten kitchen called for)

Turn dough onto a floured surface, mound it into a ball and, using your hands, press it to a thickness of about 3/4 inch. Cut into rounds, 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Gather dough scraps and continue to make rounds. Dip the top of each round in melted butter and arrange on the baking sheet. Bake until golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately, or flash freeze for future use. [Biscuits can be baked straight from the freezer, and additional few minutes baking time will be needed, usually around 3 to 5.]

Yield: 1 Dozen

I don’t have a shifter so I did not shift the flour. I also used my kitchen aid mixture the 2nd time I made these and I did not need the extra 2 tbsp of whipping cream. I have not tried freezing a batch yet but I plan too. I really like these and my kids eat these better then the store brand. You definitely want to serve these right as they come out of the oven. They are still good once they cool but are best fresh. The other thing I want to try with these biscuits is adding cheese and garlic. I bet that would be heavenly!

To some this might seem like a boring side dish but its one of my favorites. Its super easy and my son likes it as well. This is a recipe my mom used to make when I was a kid.

Source: My Mom

Prep/Cook Time 15 minutes

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups uncooked instant rice
• 1 can(10 3/4 oz) Cream of mushroom soup undiluted
• Salt and pepper to taste

Boil water and add rice. Remove from heat(follow package instructions basically) and let stand 5 minutes. Once rice is done add the can of mushroom soup undiluted and stir well. Cook on stove on low till warm. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Yield: 4 servings

Like I said this is really easy and my son loves it. You can always add more or less soup for your taste and its also easy to double. I love it on the nights I don’t know what to have as a side and don’t have a lot of time.

I posted a fish recipe a week or so ago and noted I was looking for some recipes to try. A friend of mine on facebook sent me this recipe and told me how much her family liked this so I had to give it a try.

Source: A Friend(Thanks Marissa!)

Prep/Cook time: 30 minutes

• 1 lb catfish fillets, cut into small pcs (I’ll take a full size fillet and cut into about 6 pieces or so)
• 1/4-1/2 cup ranch dressing(Marissa said french dressing works well too)
• 1/4 c cornmeal
• 1/4 c dry breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Heat oven to 450. I take foil and cover my broiler pan, then cut holes through the slots to make clean up easy, spray foil covered pan (or just the pan);mix dry ingredients. Lightly brush dressing on fish, coat in dry mixture. Place fish on pan, bake uncovered for 15-18 min or until flakes easily.

Yield: 4 servings

I sat in amazement(and excitement!) as my son ate quite a bit of this! Its easy and had great flavor. My husband and I where not fond of the catfish but I am going to try it with cod or salmon next time. I think this coating would work great with a lot of different kinds of fish.

I look forward to roasted pumpkin seeds almost as much as I look forward to carving pumpkins. Its a quick and tasty snack!

Source: Abs Kitchen

Prep/Cook Time 20-30 min

• Raw Pumpkin Seeds
• Salt Shaker

As your carving your pumpkin set the seeds aside in a bowl. Try to get as much of the pulp off as your going. Its better to clean the seeds while they are still wet because the rest of the pulp comes off much easier. I use a colander and rinse them under cold water to get them nice and clean.

While your doing this set your oven to 325. Once the seeds are clean grease a cookie sheet(with sides). Spread the seeds onto the cookie sheet and try to keep them from over lapping as much as you can. Sprinkle them well with salt. Cook them for 15 minutes and spread them around again and add some more salt. Let them cook for another 10 minutes and test. If they are crunchy then are done. Depending on how many your baking it may take a bit longer. Store in a air tight container once cooled. Enjoy!

This is my favorite zucchini bread recipe. I just keep eating it till its gone. I love how moist it is and the flavor is great.

Source: cooks.com

Prep time: 15 min Cook time 45-60 min

• 3 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups coarsely grated zucchini (loosely packed)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat 3 eggs until frothy. Gradually add 2 cups sugar. Stir in 1 cup vegetable oil and 1 tbsp of vanilla. Beat until thick and lemon colored. Stir in zucchini.

In s medium bowl whisk together dry ingredients. Stir dry ingredients into wet mixture, stirring to combine. Add chopped walnuts or pecans, if desired.

Grease two bread loaf pans. Pour batter into pans and level off with the back of a spoon.

Bake for 45-60 minutes or until done(knife entered into middle of bread comes out clean).

Allow loaves to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife along the sides to loosen bread and remove from pans. Cool on wire rack. Brush tops of leaf with melted butter while still warm.

Yield: 2 loaves

Do NOT over cook the bread. Set your timer for 45 minutes and then 5 minute intervals after that. Other wise you will dry it out. I have done it a few times. I have never made it with the nuts either so I don’t know how that would come out.

I’m trying to add more fish to our menu but at the same time want my kids to eat it so I thought this could be a winner. I love that its a fast recipe.

Source: Taste of Home Quick Cooking 2006 Cookbook

Prep/Total Time: 20 min

• 1 package (18.7 oz) frozen breaded fish fillets
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
• 3 tbsp prepared horseradish
• 1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet, cook fish in oil for 4 minutes on each side or until crisp and golden brown. Meanwhile , in a large saucepan, combine the spaghetti sauce and horseradish; cook until heated through. Spoon over fish; sprinkle with cheese. Cover and remove from the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Yield: 4-5 servings

The verdict?  I liked it a lot. I did some things different though. I used Dijon mustard instead of horseradish because no one in my family likes it. I also cooked the fish on my counter-top convection oven(love that thing(thanks mom)!). My kids ate a little but not as much as I had hoped but my kids are very picky so I think most kids would really like this.  Again its fast and tasty. I would also add you would probably want to double the fish amount for a bigger family or you could also use fish sticks and dip them in the sauce.