Tater Tot Casserole

I haven't made tater tot casserole in a long time.  And when I do make, I always think something is missing.  Before making it last night, following the usual recipe, I did a quick search online and found a recipe that sounded really good.  So here is my Day 13 for 30 Days of Creativity - Tater Tot Casserole.  I also linked up to the Craft-o-Maniac Monday Link Party.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
chopped onion (as little or as much as you like)
8 oz. sour cream
1 c. shredded cheese
1/2 bag of tater tots
cream of chicken soup
seasonings (I used salt, pepper, and garlic)

Pour a little oil into a large skillet and start cooking the onion.  Add in the ground beef (or turkey) and cook until there is no pick, season the meat.  While the beef (or turkey) is cooking, in a separate bowl, add the soup, sour cream, and cheese.  Once the meat is cooked, remove from heat and stir in the soup/sour cream/cheese.  Place into a baking dish.  Top with tater tots and place in oven.  Cook for about 30 mins. at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Serve and enjoy!

Note - our oven never seems to get the tater tots crispy, so we used the broiler for a few minutes to get them crispy.

And here I am with the final dish!

Leggs likes to 'help' me in the kitchen...he watches closely, hoping I drop something for him to eat.

Chicken Kabobs

Here is my day 1 blog entry for the 30 Days of Creativity.  Last night, I made chicken kabobs for dinner.  I thought cooking would be a great way to kick of my 30 days of creativity.  It's a learning experience for me, since I'm not the most creative person when it comes to making meals.  So I have a feeling this 30 day initiative is going to be filled with lots of cooking and baking and hopefully I will share some of the recipes with you.   

Okay, so on to last night's supper.  I decided to make kabobs and oven potatoes.  For the potatoes, I used some packaged seasoning mix that I had the pantry.  So I followed the recipe on the back of the packet.  I cut up four red potatoes into bite size pieces, added some olive oil and the seasoning packet.  I then spread the potatoes onto a baking sheet and baked for about 25 minutes.

While the potatoes were cooking, I cut up the chicken, tomatoes, peppers and onions.  There is no recipe for this, I just use whatever veggies and meat I have in the house.  I placed the meat and veggies onto bamboo skewers.  Once they were all assembled, I drizzled olive oil and crushed peppercorn and garlic seasoning from Pampered Chef.  I usually will marinate the chicken and veggies in Italian salad dressing, but since my husband was picking up the veggies on his way from work, I didn't have time to let the veggies sit in the dressing.  Then it was time for the grill.  My husband and I live in a condo and we can only have an electric outdoor grill...so it doesn't hold much but it does the trick when cooking for the two of us.

I left the kabobs on the grill for a good 15 minutes (I'm paranoid about undercooked food...so I probably could have taken everything off the grill in about 10 minutes). Once taken off the grill, it was time to eat!  I think kabobs are probably one of my favorite summer time meals.  They are simple to make, but such a great tasting meal.

Day 1 down...29 more to go.  Will I make it??  I sure hope so!

What I've Been Up To...

I haven't wrote a post in a while, so I will just post some pictures of what I've been up to.  I'm trying to increase the numbers of meals I actually prepare and cook, and I've been sewing like crazy, along with some projects that will remain a secret since they are gifts.  So here are some pictures.  Hopefully I will have some time this week to explain what each thing is and provide a recipe or explanation on how I made some of the items.

Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella Panini 

And I actually make my own roasted red peppers....  To make these, I cut a large red pepper in half, and place it, skin side up, directly on the oven rack and turn the broiler on.  Once the skin is blackened, I flip them over and let the other side cook a little.  After they are done in the oven, I place the peppers in a plastic container and put the lid on the container.  Then let the pepper sit for about 15 minutes, or even longer.  This makes the skin super easy to peel off.  And then you have fresh roasted red peppers that are super yummy and sweet!

And now on to some the things I've been sewing.  I don't have pictures of the rag quilt that I made for a friend's mom.  I will try to get pictures and post those eventually.  Below are some pictures of a credit card/business card holder.  But I think it would also make a great way to give a gift card.  I used some scrap pieces of fabric and came up with these.

And here is a sneak peak of something that I recently started...

Yummy Alfredo Sauce

I decided that I wanted to try and make my own alfredo sauce.  I really don't care for the stuff in the jar and I'm not sure about the stuff that comes in the packet and you just add milk.  So after a little looking online, I found this recipe.  I followed the recipe and it came out perfect!  Very simple to make and super quick.  I served it over some angel hair pasta and broccoli.  Much better then any of that alfredo sauce in the jar!

Wednesday Night Chili!

After hearing the weather report Tuesday night, I knew Wednesday would be a snow day for Jeremy and me.  I figured I make a big ol' pot of chili for dinner on Wednesday.  Personally, I think the best way to eat chili is after its been in the slow cooker all day long.  I really don't follow a recipe for chili...I just add things that I think will make everything taste good.  

To make this chili, I cooked up 2 pounds of ground turkey and 2 Tbsp. of chili powder, added in some minced garlic, peppers and onions.  In the slow cooker, I added in a jar of whatever spaghetti sauce we had in our pantry, and a can of rotelle (diced tomatoes and green chilies).  Once the turkey was cooked through, I added it to the slow cooker and mixed everything together.  I set it to 8-hours and just let it simmer all day. 

Right before we were ready to eat, I made some cornbread.  My favorite mix is the Jiffy brand, that comes in the blue box.  It's cheap and easy to make (all you add is eggs and milk).  

I like to top my chili off with some cheese and sour cream.  

What a great meal for a snowy, windy night!

Cooking

Every time I see certain family members, they always ask about my cooking.  They ask if all I'm making is spaghetti or if we go out to eat.  No matter what I say, they don't believe it.  So I'm going to prove them all wrong! 

I have to admit, I don't think I'm a good cook at all.  And if I don't feel like cooking, we will usually just heat up some leftovers or whatever we have in the freezer or order take out.  But I can honestly say, that when I do cook, it's not always spaghetti.  Even if it's my favorite food!   I like to try new recipes.  And I'm constantly looking online and through magazines and cookbooks on new things to try.

Last night, when Jeremy and I sat down to eat (and I did cook!), I decided to start writing about the meals I make and post the recipes, if I used one.  Maybe even a picture or two.  And hopefully I can get Jeremy to write a quick review on what I made.

So....check back soon to see what I've been cookin' up!  And maybe I'll add in a little baking.