Food

Want a quick easy meal for those evenings when you’re exhausted and really don’t feel like cooking dinner? Well here you go. You can be done with this meal in under a half hour and your family won’t have a clue about how little effort you put into it. Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb Italian Sausage – Ground (optional ingredient)
• 1 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
• Olive Oil
• 3 Cups Elbow Pasta (uncooked)
• 3 1/2 Cups Water
• 1 tsp Salt
• 3 Tbsp Butter
• 1/2 tsp Pepper
• 4 Cups Shredded Cheese (I use Sharp Cheddar)
• 1/4 Cup Milk

If you plan to use the sausage, then turn Instant Pot to sautee and add olive oil, sausage and 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika. Cook until sausage is done. Turn off. (If not using sausage, skip this step and start with next step)

Now add water, elbow pasta, and salt. Stir, put lid on with vent sealed. Use manual high pressure and cook for 3 minutes. When done quick release. Once pressure is released remove lid and add butter, rest of smoked paprika and pepper, stir. Add cheese and milk, stir until cheese is melted. Sauce will thicken after a couple minutes. *tip: If sauce is not as thick as you like turn on sautee and stir in a slurry of 1Tbsp cornstarch and 2 Tbsp milk, cook for another minute while stirring.

Serve with a salad or other greens. Enjoy.

These are so easy to make and barely counts as a recipe. This one cheats a bit and is not completly from scratch. You still want to make them though, they are so good.

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups Baking Mix (I use Bisquick)
• 1 Cup Milk
• 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Cup Cheddar Cheese – shredded
• 2 Tbsp Butter melted w/1 tsp garlic powder

Mix baking mix, garlic powder and milk. Dough needs to be rolled. (so adjust baking mix and milk as needed) Mix cheese into dough.

Roll dough 1″ thick onto floured surface. (I flour surface with baking mix) Cut into 2″ biscuits. Place on ungreased baking sheet, 1/2″ apart.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until lightly browned.

Brush tops with melted butter and garlic mixture.

Serve warm.

This is a super easy recipe for a quick hearty meal. I like to serve this with cheesy garlic biscuits and a green salad.

This recipe can be just as easily made if you don’t have an Instant Pot by following same directions but cook on stovetop on high until boiling and then simmering until potatoes are tender.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Butter
• 1 Medium to Large Onion – chopped
• 4 Cloves Garlic – minced
• 6 to 8 Medium Potatoes – cut into 1″ cubes
• 1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup (if you do not have this add 1 cup of chicken broth now and 1Tbsp of extra cornstarch or flour later)
• 3 Cups Chicken Broth
• Salt – to taste
• Pepper- to taste
• 1 cup Milk
• 3 Tbsp Cornstarch (can use flour if needed)
• 2 cups Cheddar Cheese

Toppings:

• Cooked bacon – chopped
• Green Onions – chopped
• Cheddar Cheese – shredded

Turn Instant Pot on sautee and melt butter. Add onions and cook until soft. Add garlic, stir and turn pot off.

Add potatoes, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Stir together. Put lid on and make sure vent is sealed. Cook on manual high pressure for 12 minutes.

While cooking, mix milk and cornstarch together.

When done, quick release pressure. Once steam is done releasing remove lid and turn to sautee. Add milk mixture, stir, cook for about 5 minutes until thickened.

Serve topped with bacon and green onions.

Nothing better than dinner being done when you get home from a long day. No thinking about what you’re going to make, no prep, no cooking, just sit down and enjoy your meal. Plus the house smells so good when you get home.

Ingredients:

• 2lbs beef (cubed)(season w/salt & pepper)
• 1 Tbs flour
• 1 lg onion
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 carrots
• 5 potatoes (peeled)
• 6 cups water
• 2 tsp chopped garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 2 Tbs worcestershire sauce
• 6 beef bouillon cubes (enough for 6 cups broth)

Start by heating a small amount of oil in lg skillet and brown seasoned beef, sprinkled with flour. Once browned add to crockpot.

Chop onion, celery, carrots and potatoes. Add these to crockpot.

Add water, garlic, salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, basil, worcestershire and boullion cubes. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 5 hours.

Serve with biscuits or cornbread.

This is one of the quickest easiest side dishes ever. I use this at dinner time during the week or a side dish to take for potlucks. So simple, yet so good.

Ingredients:

• 2lbs Green Beans (washed and trimmed)
• 1 cup water
• 3 Tbs olive oil
• 3 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 cup bacon bits

Add green beans to big pot with water, cover and cook over medium high heat until slightly tender, stirring occasionally. Strain water and put beans back in pot. Add olive oil, garlic and bacon. Cook on medium stirring frequently until done to desired tenderness.

Are you wondering what to do with your leftover chicken? This is perfect. A quick, easy, healthy meal that can be ready in just a few minutes.

I cooked way too much chicken the other night. So after a long day at work I started going through the cabinet trying to figure out what to do for dinner. After determining what I have on hand this is what i came up wth.

Ingredients:

• Chicken (cooked & chopped)
• Whole Wheat Pita Flatbread
• Pizza sauce or Marinara Sauce
• Mozzarella Cheese (grated)
• Spinach – fresh
• Cherry Tomatoes (cut in half)

Preheat oven to 400*. Place flatbread on baking sheet. Spread sauce on flatbread. Top with mozzarella, spinach, chicken and tomatoes. Bake for 6 minutes, until cheese is bubbly.

Serve with a salad and there you go, a healthy meal in 15 minutes.

This recipe is a quick and easy weeknight meal. It’s a nice meal that doesn’t feel like quick food. No one will ever know that you only spent 30 minutes on it. I usually use chicken but if you’re not feeling chicken then try shrimp or italian sausage to mix things up a bit. It is so good either way. Serve with some garlic bread and a salad.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Chicken Breast – chopped into bite size pieces (or sausage or shrimp)
• 8oz Fettuccine Pasta
• 3 Tbsp Butter
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Pepper
• 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1 tsp Dried Basil
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 Tbsp Cornstarch (mixed w/1 Tbsp cool water)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
• Chicken seasoning: Combine – 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Cook pasta according to package directions. When done, strain and rinse with cool water to stop cooking until ready to use.

While pasta is cooking, melt 2 Tbsp of butter in large skillet. Season chicken with the chicken seasoning that you mixed up. Add seasoned chicken to skillet and cook on medium to medium high heat until cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Add 1 Tbsp of butter to skillet. Add milk, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, basil and garlic powder. Bring to boil, add cornstarch mixture and stir until slightly thickened. Stir in parmesan cheese. Return chicken to pan with sauce. Gently stir pasta into sauce.

Serve immediately. Great with a salad and garlic bread. Enjoy.

My go to, Italian sausage, when I need to fix a meal in a hurry. This can be done in 20 minutes, depending on how long it takes you to chop veggies. Serve it alone or make a quick salad to go with it. 20 minutes and done. This makes a great weeknight meal or save it for when you’re tired and just want out of the kitchen fast. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Italian sausage links (I prefer the spicy)
• 1 Onion sliced
• 1 Green Pepper sliced
• Cheddar Cheese (optional)
• Sourdough Bread

Split sausage links in half, not all the way through. Open, lay flat and remove casing, press flat in skillet. Add onion and pepper on top. Cook over medium high heat for about 3 minutes, flip and cook another 3 to 4 minutes, until sausage is cooked through. Next you can either remove sausage or stack to one side if skillet. Continue cooking onions and peppers for about 5 or 6 minutes until softened and browned. Lay sausages out in pan again and add cheese if you would like to.

Serve on toasted sourdough bread. Can add mayonaise, sweet hot mustard or condiment of your choice. Enjoy, you’re already done!

This won’t be the first time that you hear me say this….I love soup! This recipe though is probably my favorite soups though. I absolutely love Italian sausage. This is a simple recipe that can be done in a short amount of time but taste like it’s been simmering all day. Even my husband will consider this a meal. If you like potato soup and Italian sausage then you will enjoy the combination of the two in this recipe.

I first made this one evening when I came home after a long day at work and had not been to the grocery store yet. I had limited ingredients around the kitchen. I knew I had some Italian sausages in the refrigerator and I always have potatoes, so I started searching the net for ideas. I ran across different soups that included both of these items and decided to just go for it and create my own. Hope you enjoy and feel free to always tweak my recipes to fit you and your ingredients on hand. That’s the joy of cooking, you can always add your own twist.

• 1/2 – 1lb Cooked Ground Italian Sausage (spicy or not)
• 1 stick of Butter (trust me)
• 1 Onion chopped
• 2-3 cloves Garlic minced
• 5 Russet Potatoes cubed
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Pepper
• 3 tsp Parsley
• 2 1/2 tsp Flour
• 6 cups Whole Milk

Melt the butter in a large pot on medium low heat. Add onions and cook until transparent, stirring frequently. Add garlic, potatoes, salt, pepper and parsley, cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the cooked sausage.

Add flour and cook for 2 more minutes. Slowly stir in milk. Slowly bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Serve alone or I like to serve with biscuits. Enjoy. Just as good reheated the next day.