Mothers Ham Casserole


Mother's Ham Casserole Recipe
4-6 Servings
Prep: 35 min. Bake: 25 min.
35 25 60
Ingredients
2 cups cubed peeled potatoes
1 large carrot, sliced
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 cups water
2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
2 tablespoons chopped green pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped onion
7 tablespoons butter, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
Directions
In a saucepan, bring the potatoes, carrot, celery and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook about 15 minutes or until tender. Drain.
In a large skillet, saute the ham, green pepper and onion in 3 tablespoons butter until tender. Add to the potato mixture. Transfer to a greased 1-1/2-qt. baking dish.
In a large saucepan, melt the remaining butter; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add the milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; add cheese and stir until melted.
Pour over the ham mixture. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 4-6 servings.
Nutritional Analysis: 1 cup equals 374 calories, 25 g fat (15 g saturated fat), 89 mg cholesterol, 1,208 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 17 g protein.
Mother's Ham Casserole published in Country Woman March/April 2000,

Cheesy Chicken and Noodle Casserole

6 ounces medium noodles, cooked
1 (10 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (lowfat)
2 cups cooked chicken, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup sour cream (fat free)
1 dash pepper
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided

Directions:
Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 50 mins
1 Combine cooked noodles, chicken, soup, butter, sour cream, pepper and 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese.
2 Mix well and put into a 2 quart casserole dish.
3 Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
4 Uncover and add remaining mozzarella cheese and bake 10 minutes more.


I added a can of mushrooms too.

Worth 11 points on weight watchers if you do 4 servings.

Lemondae Makin' Mama's soft chocolate chip cookies

The best soft chocolate chip cookies ever:
*mix in small bowl and set aside:
2 1/4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
*combine and beat til smooth and creamy:
1 c. softened butter
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 pkg. vanilla instant pudding mix
2 eggs
*Add dry mixture to the creamed mixture and stir in one package of chocolate chips.
*Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheets, and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Hubby's Mom's Meatballs

Super easy to make - but my mom's just won't do for hubby!

1 small jar grape jam
1 jar pizza sauce
ketchup

meatball mix - (I just prep my groundchuck like I would for meatloaf - same seasonings, crackers, and all)

Cook the meatballs. (You can also use premade frozen ones - but homemade are MUCH better). 400 in the oven for 20 minutes or so usually does it.

Toss everything into the crockpot on low for 6 hours. (use ketchup to taste) You can even throw in some little weenies if you'd like.

Casa Sausage Bella Alfredo

Okay I made up my own Italian dish tonight when I was craving my fave food from a local Italian restaurant. Super easy and it ended up very yummy.

Ingredients
bow tie pasta
alfredo sauce
pizza cheese
Italian sausage
baby bellas chopped

Brown sausge and cook pasta as instructed. Once sausage is browned drain grease if there is any and add bellas to cook. Strain pasta reserving a half a cup for later. Toss pasta with cooked saussage and bella mixture. Then add jar of alfredo - use reserved water to get all the alfredo sauce out of jar by shaking it with water in it. Cook for another 15 minutes until sauce is warmed through.

Bacon and Egg Toast Cups

I copied this from Farm Girl Recipes. I think I'll try it in the menu next week

6 slices of bacon, uncooked or precooked
6 slices of whole wheat bread
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
6 eggs
Salt and pepper


1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Spray large muffin pan with cooking spray. In a frying pan, cook bacon about 3-5 minutes, until partially cooked but not completely crispy (if using precooked bacon skip this step). Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Cut out circles (about 3 1/2 inches) in each piece of bread using a cookie cutter or a drinking glass turned upside down.


2. Press the bread rounds into the greased muffin wells. Curl a piece of bacon around the periphery of each piece of bread, positioning it between the bread and the muffin tin to help keep it in position. This can be a little tricky until you get the hang of it. Sprinkle a small amount of shredded cheese in the center of each piece of bread. Crack one egg over each piece of bread being careful not to break the yolks. You may not want to use all of the egg white. If you do you may need to adjust the cooking time to a little longer.


Once all the bread pieces have been topped with eggs, bake until eggs are cooked through to your liking (about 18 minutes for me because I used all of the egg white) and bacon is crispy. Run a knife around the edge of each muffin well and pop the egg cups out. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup ( copied from Meadowbrook Farm)

3/4 cup chopped onion, saute till tender in...
2 T butter
6 cups chicken broth or stock
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
16 oz frozen mixed vegetables - I use the mix with peas, carrots, green beans, corn and lima beans.
8 oz frozen broccoli - half of the 1 pound bag...sorry to state the obvious
8 oz dry egg noodles - ditto
2 cups milk
1 lb Velveeta, cut into chunks

Add all but the last three ingredients to a large pot. Once the soup reaches a simmer, add the noodles. Cook for five minutes, then add the milk and the pasteurized processed cheese product. Stir till the cheese is melted and you've got dinner! Easy.