Baked Beans

Welcome back to New Meal Mondays. Thank you for stopping by.
I think I finally have a baked bean recipe that I like. I have been trying for over a year with no success. It always seemed to bland. I realized I needed to use more flavors. This one worked. We enjoyed it this week with some macaroni salad and corn on the cob. It was really quite simple and the crockpot slow cooked it to combine all the flavors together.

I dumped 1 can of pork & beans and 1 (drained) can of red kidney beans into the crockpot, then started adding what I thought would work. Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, molasses, mustard, 1 Knorr chicken stock concentrate and some homemade dry onion soup mix my sister made for me. I then browned some breakfast sausage (what needed used up) and added it to the pot. I didn't measure just went by taste but if I had to guess I used around 1-2 Tbs for the Worcestershire, molasses and soup mix, then around 1/4 cup of mustard, ketchup and BBQ. Once I had everything mixed in, I let it cook about 3-4 hours in low.

Next time I am going to make it with ground beef and some bacon! What do you use in your baked beans? Please share I would love to try it next time.

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Made from Scratch Spinach Dip

I enjoy a good spinach dip every now and again. I finally learned how to make it at my sisters house one day. While I was shopping at my favorite discount grocery store, I was in the seasoning section looking for any spinach dip packets that I might be able to get for a great price. They didn't have any however, they did have some dehydrated vegetable flakes and it gave me the idea to try to make the seasoning myself, so I purchased some.

Spinach Dip from scratch:
1/2 bag fresh spinach that has been frozen
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayo
1-2 TBS ranch seasoning mix
1 can water chestnuts drained and chopped
1/2 cup dehydrated veggies
bread or veggies to dip with

I use fresh spinach that I have frozen. *If I remember-as soon as I take it out of the freezer, I crunch it up in the bag. It breaks up nicely, which means I can skip the chopping step later. Once I have crunched up my spinach I place it in a steamer basket and cover it for about 7 minutes.

Once it is finished steaming, I drain, allow to cool, then using a paper towel- squeeze the excess water out of the spinach. Then I mix it in with all of the other ingredients. If I can stand it, I will leave the spinach dip in the fridge for a few hours so the dehydrated veggies can soften.

I had my mom try it, she and I both agreed it tastes pretty close to the prepackaged seasoning mix. Yummo!

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6 Reasons you may like Potato Chip Casserole: New Meal Monday

Ok, so this is not a new recipe for me but maybe for you? I was feeling sentimental (missing my dad and grandmother). And Potato Chip Casserole sounded good for dinner. This is one my Grandma Lois used to make.

If you never have had this, you may like it for the following reasons:
1) You like potato chips
2) You like cheese in your casserole
3) You like tater tot casserole
4) You like tuna casserole
5) You like any casserole
6) You like comfort food

Ingredients:
Wavy or Ruffles original potato chips
1 can tuna drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can of evaporated milk (regular milk will work too)
grated cheese (I used rest of havarty and colby)
pepper

 In a baking dish mix tuna, canned soup, cheese (leave some to put on top), pepper and the milk. Once combined slowly add the potato chips- careful to break up chips but not crush them. It will look like this when ready for oven:

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until casserole is bubbling. Then add remain cheese to the top and put back in oven to melt the cheese.

Enjoy! What is one of your comfort food recipes? Please share in the comments below.

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Fun, Fast, Fruit Salad

Once a week Sunshine and I attend a local homeschool coop. It gives her some extra classes during the week, time with friends, and I get to connect with other moms who homeschool. This particular week we had a potluck lunch. I had signed up for a couple of items. One of them was a fruit salad. I forgot to go the the store the night before and so this is what I came up with the morning of. 

Ingredients: 

Frozen mixed berries

2-3 Yoplait blueberry yogurt cups

1 small can pineapple

1 small can mandarin oranges

2 small apples cut cup

3 Tbs powered sugar

1/2 tub cool whip

I first put the yogurt in a bowl then added the powered sugar. I add the sugar because I know the berries are a bit tart. I then add the cool whip and get it all mix in together.

I drain the oranges and pineapple and peel and cut up the apples. These along with the berries all go in to the yogurt mix. I cover and let it set in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

This was really easy and yummy. Any fruit on hand would be delicious and my guess is, just about any flavored yogurt would work too. You could even add marshmallows and coconut if you wanted. I like the fact that I was able to use what I had in the house! Do you have a favorite fruit salad you like to make? Please share!

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 linking up at:Faith filled food for moms 

Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe on Pinterest, I got the full instructions from here
This was easy and very delicious to make and I was able to adapt it to what I have on hand as well as our taste buds.

Ingredients:
2 cups shredded chicken
6 flour tortillas
1 can chicken broth
1 small can green chillies
1/2 can of diced tomatoes
3/4 cup of sour cream
3 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
1 cup shredded cheese
garlic seasoning to taste

The first thing I did was shred the chicken and seasoned a bit then mixed in some cheese to the shredded chicken. I used what cheese I had on hand 1/2 havarti and half colby. I then placed some of the chicken mixture on the flour tortillas, folded and placed fold side down into a greased baking pan. I continued until pan was full.

Then I melt the 3 Tbs of butter into a sauce pan on medium heat. When it is melted I add the 3 Tbs of flour and stir to mix the flour in. I then let it cook for 1 minute.

I then add 2 cups of chicken broth and let it thicken on med-low heat. Once it has thickened I added the sour cream, chilies, and crushed tomatoes. Pour over the the enchiladas, top with the rest of the cheese and bake for about 20-25 minutes on 350 degrees. When finished baking turn on broiler for 1-2 minutes to finish melting the cheese. Enjoy!

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