African Rice with Ham

From Diana and Mom:

HAM & AFRICAN RICE

1/2 chopped onion
3 TB oil - I have to tell you, when I cook I don't measure exactly. I'm making a guess at how much oil to put in.
1/3 canned ham diced up - I was using some left overs from another recipe.
Saute the onions until tender. I also added 1 TB real butter.
2 c. rinsed and drained white or brown rice - add to the pan with the oil and onion and cook and stir until the rice starts to brown.
Stir in 4 cups of water and cook until the rice is tender - stirring now and then.
Salt & pepper to taste.
1 egg for each person. I scrambled these eggs up in a seperate pan, added some salt and pepper, and then spooned it on top
of the rice and we stirred it in with our ham and rice and it was YUMMY!

Pasta Sauce

From FeFe:

PASTA SAUCE

Saute 1/2 chopped onion and
2 cloves chopped garlic in
1/4 c oilive oil.
When browned and tender add:
Italian sausage. Faith helped me pick this out. It came in a package with five sausages in tube skins. I used two of them -
sliced the skin and took it off. I also sprinkled a little balsamic vinegar into the pan. Just a tiny sprinkle. Optional.
When the sausage/onion mix is cooked, add
1 can italian diced tomatoes
1 can - regular size tomato sauce - not the small size
1 TB dried basil
Boil this for a while until it reduces some. It's a thick sauce. Very flavorful.

1 lb pasta - we used Rigatoni I think - boil in water with olive oil and salt
When tender, or almost tender if you like it Cody style, rinse it, drain it, and then
pour the sauce into the pasta and stir.

You can top it with Parmesan cheese, but it is so flavorful, that I didn't add anything and it was great!!

Orange Dream Machine Smoothies at Home

The Orange Dream Machine smoothie from Jamba Juice is one of my favorites. Mike brought one home for me on our Anniversary but after all the sharing, I was left wanting more. The next night I decided to make one myself. I found this recipe and it actually worked!

Orange Dream Machine Smoothie:

ingredients- orange juice, soy milk, orange sherbet, frozen yogurt, ice

- Mix 5oz OJ
- 5oz Soy Milk
- 2 scoops Orange Sherbet
- 2 scoops Frozen Yogurt
- 1 scoop ice
- Mix in your blender until smooth

This sounded great! I soon discovered that I was out of orange juice and that I had no frozen yogurt. Rather than go without, I improvised. Know that you can use Sunny Delight in place of OJ, and for the frozen yogurt...I happened to have in my fridge a carton of orange/vanilla sherbet/ice cream mix that came on sale for $1/half gallon. Know that you can use vanilla ice cream in place of the yogurt (obviously, but not as healthful). We do keep soy milk on hand so this was not a problem and I think it adds some richness and creaminess but you can use regular milk. It was amazing. Even with my substitutes and not measuring anything, it was pretty darn close to the real thing.
Try it out!

30 Minute Meal

From Mom:
Here is a dinner you can whip up in 30 minutes, if you have the ingredients.
Normally we have everything for it, except the walnuts - but I had some left over from Christmas as I didn't do as much holiday baking as I thought I would.

Shepherds Pie Grandma Lindeman Style

1 lb. hamburger browned w/ seasoning salt or salt & pepper
1/2 onion chopped - brown with the hamburger
add 1 can drained green beans
add 1 small can tomato soup

While the hamburger is cooking,
boil 2 cups water - when it comes to a boil add
1 cup mil
2 tb butter and turn off heat
2 c. instant mashed potatos - we use our food storage ones

Pour hamburger mixture into small brown pan
top with mashed potatoes and grated cheese
Heat in the oven until cheese is melted and sauce bubbly.

While the Shepherds pie is baking, you can make the salad


Waldorf Salad

1 stalk of celery per adult person - so I used 3
1 apple per person (adult) - so I used 3
wash and dice
1/3 c. chopped wallnuts
1/3 c raisins
combine all these together
1/2 c. miracle whip
1/4 c sugar
1tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vinegar
mix the dressing together and pour over the salad and then stir the salad until coated.

YUM!
All done in 30 minutes

Pork Chops to Drool Over

This recipe makes the best pork chops I have ever had. I can't get enough of it when I make them and always wish I had prepared more. They are finger lick'n good!

Ingredients: Pork Chops, Salt N Pepper, Oil, Rosemary, Beef Broth (1 boullion cube and 1 cup of water), Butter

- Thaw your chops prior to cooking if they are frozen by running them under cold water.
- Use a heavy pan (not a non-stick)
- Heat the pan on med-high heat
- Season the chops with salt and pepper (I dislike pepper and it tastes great w/o too)
- Once the pan is hot add cooking oil
- Once the oil is hot, gently add the chops (be careful not to splatter)
- Let them cook for 3-5 minutes
- Just prior to flipping them, take some rosemary leaves and rub them in your hands over the pan then sprinkle them (this releases the oils)
- When the edges begin to curl up, carefully flip them using tongs or a metal spatula (not forks)
(do not turn too early or the chops will be stuck and tear)
- Let them cook until the sides begin curl up again
- Add rosemary to this side and then flip again
- Remove the pork chops to a warm plate to wait while you make the yummy gravy
- Add Beef Broth to the pan (I use one cup) the liquid will soon boil and reduce
- Wait until the liquid is almost all gone and the sound will change
- Quickly add a few pats of butter and swirl them in the pan until melted and mixed
- Now add the chops back in with all the liquid that collected in the plate and flip to coat both sides
- Once they are nice and warm again, your done! Enjoy!

Honey Mustard Dressing

A great low calorie salad dressing is "homemade" honey mustard

-Just mix together some honey and mustard in a small bowl to taste.

It thins out on its own and is easy to pour.
It is very sweet and full of flavor, I also use this as a sweet and sour dipping sauce

Stuck in the Can

From Mom:
How to get food out that is stuck in the can (cranberry jelly, condensed soup)

- open one end with the can opener like normal
- open the other end partially or completely and the contents should slide right out