Rock Soup

Ingredients
2 quarts beef broth
20 small meatballs
2 cans (8 oz each) tomato sauce
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
a dash of salt
black pepper to taste
1 can cabbage (can be seasoned, but not sauerkraut)
1/4 cup sliced onions
1 can sliced carrots
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup elbow macaroni

Instructions
In a large saucepan or stock pot, bring broth to a boil.
Add all ingredients except the macaroni.
Simmer for thirty minutes.
Add the macaroni, and cook until pasta is done. This will take approximately as long as the cooking time on the macaroni package, but keep an eye on it to make usre it is not too firm or too soft when finished cooking.

Cook's Note
This recipe was developed by my elementary-age son after their class listened to the story of "Rock Soup" at school. A meatball soup recipe was the basis, providing the "rocks", but the various vegetables were his idea, inspired by the fable.

A retelling of one version of the fable can be read here:
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type1548.html#stonesoup

Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients
5 sweet potatoes
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbl orange juice
1 dash ground cinnamon
1 package (10.5 oz) marshmallows, cut in half

Instructions
Peel and slice the sweet potatoes and place them in a large saucepan.
Cover the sweet potatoes with water, and heat until boiling.
Cook the potatoes until tender. This should take approximately 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the sweet potatoes from heat. Drain and mash them.

In a large bowl, blend the sweet potatoes with the butter, brown sugar, orange juice, and cinnamon.
Spread the mixture evenly in a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Place the marshmallows on top of the sweet potato mixture.

Back for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. The marshmallows should puff and turn a golden-brown color.

Variation
Mini-marshmallows can be used, rather than the large variety halved, to save time. But the marshmalow halves seemed to make a more even layer, so I like to use those.

Mexican Macaroni and Cheese

8 oz elbow macaroni
2 1/2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz Velveeta Mexican Mild cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook macaroni as directed on package, and drain it.

Melt 1 1/2 Tbsp of butter in a heavy saucepan. Stir in flour until it is moistened. Stir in the milk slowly, cooking and stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. At low or medium-low heat, this will take several minutes. (Higher temperatures may speed the process, but also lead to burning.)

Add the salt and cheese. Stir the mixture until the cheese is melted.

Add the macaroni and place the entire mixture in a 1-quart casserole dish.

Melt the remaining butter and add the bread crumbs to it, stirring thoroughly. Sprinkle the buttery bread crumbs over the macaroni casserole.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Note that this recipe is VERY much spicier than traditional macaroni and cheese. Use caution when serving it to children, as it will not taste like they are used to out of the Kraft box. It's zestier flavor is probably better for adults unless you have a child that particularly likes spicy food.

Cornbread Dressing (a.k.a. "Stuffing")

This recipe is my mother-in-law's. She brought it for our Christmas dinner, and it was amazing. I'm not even a stuffing lover, and I just couldn't get enough of this.

Ingredients:
Jiffy muffing mix, prepared as directed
4 eggs
2 cans of chicken broth
1 1/2 cups of onions
1 1/2 cups of celery
Garlic, salt, & black pepper to taste

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Saute the onions and celery until they are crisp-tender, adding the desired spices while cooking.
Mix eggs, chicken broth, celery and onion mixture, and prepared muffin mix in a large bowl.
Press the thoroughly mixed batter into a 9x11 baking pan.
Cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until done. (The stuffing is done when a fork or toothpick can be inserted without gathering a gooey residue and the top is a golden-brown color.)

Green Bean Casserole

1 can Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (10 3/4 oz)
3/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cans cut green beans, drained (14 1/2 oz each)
1 1/3 cups French's® French Fried Onions

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
Combine soup, milk and pepper in a 1 1/2-quart baking dish.
Stir in beans and 2/3 cup French Fried Onions.
Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until hot.
Stir the mixture, and top with remaining 2/3 cup onions.
Bake 5 minutes, until onions are golden

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Per serving. (Servings per recipe: 6)
Calories: 173
Fat: 11.0 g
Cholesterol: 7.2 mg
Sodium: 670.0 mg
Potassium: 132.8 mg
Carbohydrates: 14.5 g
   Dietary Fiber: 3.0 g
   Sugars: 2.2 g
Protein: 3.0 g

Note: Nutritional information is approximate and will vary based on brand of ingredients, amount used, and preparation technique. This information is for general reference only and should not be construed to constitute medical advice. Consult a nutritionist or other medical professional if you are preparing meals for a specific type of diet.

Quick Garlic Spinach

2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves chopped garlic (or equivalent from a jar)
1/2 lb fresh spinach

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add the garlic and stir until the garlic is slightly browned. (About 1 minute.)
Add the spinach and stir for two to three minutes. As you stir, be sure to move the spinach from the bottom to the top, so that all the spinach spends time on the bottom in the oil and garlic mixture.
Continue to cook and stir until all the garlic is wilted and slightly darker brown in color than when you put it in the pot. It should still be somewhat crisp-tender, not completely cooked.
Serve warm.

This recipe makes a side portion for two servings. Too cook additional servings, add more olive oil and more garlic to the same pan after removing the spinach mixture, and repeat the process.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Per serving. (Servings per recipe: 2)
Calories: 61
Fat: 1.1 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 g
Sodium: 180.5 mg
Potassium: 1291.8 mg
Carbohydrates: 10.2 g
     Dietary Fiber: 5.2 g
     Sugars: 0.0 g
     Protein: 6.9 g

Note: Nutritional information is approximate and will vary based on brand of ingredients, amount used, and preparation technique. This information is for general reference only and should not be construed to constitute medical advice. Consult a nutritionist or other medical professional if you are preparing meals for a specific type of diet.

Beef Enchilada Casserole

I made this for my family the other night, and everyone enjoyed it.

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cans of tomato sauce (8 oz each)
1 can of black beans (15 oz)
1 can of chopped green chiles (4.5 oz)
6 flour tortillas (8 oz)
2 cups shredded Mexican-style cheese
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp Oregano leaves

Instructions
Cook the beef and onion in a large skilled until the beef is browned all the way through and the onions are crisp-tender.
Drain and rinse the beans, and add them to the skillet.
Add the tomato sauce and green chiles to the beef mixture.
Mix all ingredients well, then stir in all the spices and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring.
Reduce heat to low, and simmer for five minutes.

Begin pre-heating your over to 350 degrees.

Spray a 13x9x2-inch baking dish with non-stick spray.
Spread 1/2 cup of beef mixture on the bottm of the baking dish.
Top the beef mixture with three tortillas. They may overlap if needed.
Spread half of the remaining beef mixture over the tortillas.
Spread 1 cup of cheese over the beef mixture.
Top with three more tortillas.
Spread the remaining beef mixture over the tortillas.
Spread the remaining cheese over the beef mixture.

Bake the casserole for fifteen minutes, until heated through and cheese on top if melted.
Remove the casserole from the oven, and let it site for 5 minutes before serving, so that it can set and be cut into pieces more effectively.

Notes
For a healthier version, replace the flour tortillas with whole wheat tortilles.
This makes eight servings.