Getting things done-cooking

I have a recipe rotation that I use for the family.  Cooking is hard.  Not because I don't like it, nope I don't mind it at all, and I don't mind trying new recipes.  What is hard is my family is very picky.  Neither of my boys eats vegetables at all.  Neither one of them likes anything cooked in a slow cooker.   Our son won't even eat mashed potatoes and forget anything that has touched gravy.  Our daughter (who doesn't live at home anymore) didn't eat meat and the boys love meat.  So it makes things hard.  What I look for is a recipe that I can substitute onions for onion powder and remove all the veggies.  Yes, it is horrible.  What I am going to do below is tell you some of the things my picky eaters will eat.  I have posted some of the recipes on previous blog posts, so I will link to them.  There are so good things here, they would be better if you added broccoli :), or carrots.  Use your imagination and create something new from these, or just try them for a simple dinner night.

First I will give you recipes that I have already posted (this is not all of the recipes I have posted, but they are the family's favorites.  Go to my home page and click on "recipes" on the right and you will see all that I have posted, the Doritos casserole is outstanding!!!

Chicken and dumplins-by far the easiest dumplings you will ever make.  There is not even any mixing here, just dumping.  Super easy and my husband loves it.  

Homemade Ranch dressing-so much better for you than the chemical powdered junk and cheaper than Hidden Valley.  Personally, I think it is spectacular!!!

Poppyseed Chicken-I love this one.  I love to make 2 of them and in mine, I put in broccoli...yummy!!! super fantastic

Peanut Butter Pie- this may not be the main dish, but my family loves it so much.  This used to be a recipe that Cracker Barrel used to make the most delectable pie (in the days when I worked for them).  Try this one for a surprise for your family, I think they will give you big smiles.

Now for some new recipes for you.

Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

Butter (softened)

10 to 12 slices of bread (take off crust)

1 to 1 and 1/2 pounds of sausage

1 and 1/2 to 2 cups mild shredded cheddar cheese

12 to 14 eggs

Milk to make eggs like scrambled eggs (about 1/2 a cup)

Salt and pepper

Brown sausage in crumbled pieces. 

Butter both sides of the bread and cover the bottom of the baking dish with the bread. 

Sprinkle sausage over the top of the bread. 

Sprinkle the cheese on top of the sausage. 

Mix eggs and milk just like you would mix to make scrambled eggs, add salt and pepper to taste and pour the mixture over the top of the sausage and cheese. 

If possible, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. 

Bake at 350 degrees until eggs are down (slightly brown) about 30 to 45 minutes. 

King Hawaii Roll Sandwiches

Homemade Ranch

Again, since we are stuck inside and not social distancing, I wanted to share another of my recipes.


There are so many good homemade ranch dressing recipes out there, but this is the one that I use in my house.  Why make it? Oh, it tastes so much better than store-bought and you control the ingredients, you know exactly what is inside there.



First of all, I have to make some buttermilk because I never have that.  I pour about a 1 1/2  cups of milk (I rarely measure) into a bowl and add about a 1/2 teaspoon (again, eyeballing) of vinegar.  I stir it up and let it sit for a few minutes.

While waiting for that I get another bowl out and add:
 1/2 sour cream
1 cup of mayo (I use the Great Value brand)

I am sorry but I do these to taste or how I like them to be (so bad at measuring), these are all dry ingredients I keep in my cupboard:

Dill weed
Garlic Powder
Parsley
Onion Powder
guessing, I would say about 1 teaspoon to start out and see how you like it.  I like about 1/2 garlic, 1 1/2 dill, 1/4 onion,  and 1 parsley.

When I started researching ranch recipes many say to add a little lemon juice so I started adding a little bit and I admit it does give it a WOW!!! So add a little lemon juice.  You can taste test it right now...isn't that yummy?  It will taste even better after about an hour.  If it gets to thick just add a little milk (a very little).



Mix all of these ingredients with about 1 cup of the buttermilk that you made.  I store it in a glass jar, for up to two weeks, it never lasts that long.