Tilapia in Tomato Soup

I was looking through my mom's recipes recently and I came across this dish. Apparently it was one of my Grandma's favorite recipes when my mom was growing up. They had it all the time. Though my mom never made this for us!? It was really SO yummy! The saucy soup was what MADE this dinner. I think I'll try this again with smoked sausages too. :) Try this! It totally sounds weird, right? Tomato and Fish? Hmmm... but it is oh so delish!!!

4 Tilapia Fish Fillets

1/2 Diced Med. Onion

1/2 Diced Red Pepper

1/2 Diced Green Pepper

3 Tbs. Butter or Margarine

1 Can Tomato Soup

1/4 Cup Water

2 Tbs. Lemon Juice

1/8 tsp Thyme

1 tsp. Onion Salt

Dash Pepper

In Sauce pan cook onion, peppers with butter until nice and tender. Add 1 can tomato soup with 1/4 cup water, lemon juice, thyme, pepper and onion salt. Cook on low heat for 10 or so minutes. Pour over Fish arranged in shallow baking dish. ( I just layer in a 9x9 dish)

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

I served with grilled cheese on wheat bread. Great for dipping!!!

Catalina Chicken & Rice

Brandon Loved this dish. I only liked it ok. But is was very very easy, and has veggies, meat, and rice all in one. Try it at least once to see if you like it too. :-)

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
3/4 cup Catalina Dressing
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 package frozen mixed veggies, thawed or 3 cups cute up fresh veggies (which I always prefer) brocolli and peppers are really good with the sauce.

Cook and stir raw chicken in dressing, soy sauce and garlic powder for 5 minutes. Ad veggies and cover. Simmer 7 mins or until veggies are crisp and tender and chicken is cooked through. Stirring frequently. Serve over rice.

Beef & Brocolli

This dish was pretty good. It was really easy, but next time I'm going to pound the meat out to soften it and make it more tender, which I didn't do this time. Also, I'm going to marinade the meat in the sauce mixture over night because the meat had no taste when you bit into it. Though the sauce was very yummy... I'll for sure make this again, only after doing these few key points. Hope you like it!

1 tb olive or vegetable oil

1 pound sirloin steak, cut into 1 inch strips

1 package (10 oz) frozen brocolli florets, thawed. (I steamed fresh brocolli though)

1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix

1 1/4 cups water

1 tb firmly packed brown sugar

1 tb soy sauce

1. In 12 inch skillet, heat oil over med-high heat and brown steak only, stirring occasionally, in two batches. remove steak from skillet and set aside.

2. Stir in broccoli and soup mix blended with water, brown sugar and soy sauce. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes.

3. Return steak to skillet and cook 1 minute or until steak is done to your liking. Serve over hot rice.

Chicken Pasta Salad

This was a extended family dinner mainstay.

It is one of my favorite's during the summer.

I like to make it and save it for lunches for the week.

My hubby likes to just eat a few bites of it through passing. :)

Great meal, side or snack.

4 cups cooked cubed chicken. (I usually just simmer frozen chicken breasts with onion salt)

2 1/2 cups small shelled (uncooked) pasta- cook according to directions. I like spiral pasta however...

2 cups diced celery

2 cups red grapes

2 cups peeled and diced red delicious apples

1/4 cup diced green onions

1 small can crushed pineapple (drained)

2 cups cashews (I don't add this when I prepare it though)

*Mix 1 cup mayo with 1 cup coleslaw dressing. (for a sweeter tasting pasta sauce replaced mayo with miracle whip, I like this better.) Toss with other ingredients.

German Pancakes

Learned how to make this one when I was in Jr. High cooking class.

Has been a favorite breakfast meal since. :)

Easy and fun for kids to make.

Great with any breakfast meat.

3 TB margarine or butter

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup flour

3 eggs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

place butter in a 9x9 dish and let melt (not cook) in oven.

Beat remaining ingredients well.

Pour batter into the hot buttered pan and bake for 15-20 minutes.

It makes hills and valleys and is fun for kids to watch bake.

Serve with jam, powdered sugar, cinnamon or syrup. :)

Tortellini Soup

I made this tonight for the first time. I can't even begin to tell you how absolutley DELICIOUS this was!!! This is with out a doubt my new favorite soup. :-) The great thing about it is you can cook this all year round. It calls for fresh veggies and with the summer months coming up it will be perfect to just grab ingredients from your garden. MMMM... I'm just salivating thinking about this dish!!!

3 tbsp. Olive Oil

1 cup carrot straws

1 zucchini halved lengthwise and sliced

1 yellow crook neck squash, diced

1 qt. jar of Classico tomato & basil sauce (24 oz.)

32 oz. of Chicken broth (more or less)

9 oz. pkg. stuffed cheese tortellini (or 1 1/2 cups)

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Saute veggies in olive oil for 10 mins or so, in a large soup pot. Add chicken broth and tomato sauce, (which has been blended in a blender until smooth), stir well. Bring to a boil and add pasta. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 12 min., or until pasta in tender. Top with parmesan cheese.

ENJOY!!!

Grandma's Sweet n Sour Meatballs

Boy oh boy does this bring back memories of family dinner growing up. Such a distinct taste. Such a yummy taste. :) Another favorite.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp ginger spice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg
Cornstarch or flour

Mix spices and mix into meat. Form into meatballs. Roll into beaten egg then into flour or cornstarch. Brown in frying pan.

Remove meatballs from pan and add in:

1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
juice from 1 lb can of pineapple chunks
2 tbsp corn starch mixed with a little cold water.

Mix that and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add pineapple chunks and 1 medium chopped green pepper. Add Meatballs and let simmer for 20-30 minutes or until no longer pink in center. Serve over rice.

Tangy Taco Salad

This was my favorite when I was a kid.

I had forgotten about it until recently.

So yummy and feeds about 8.

A great family meal.

1 head of lettuce

2 Tomatoes

1 bottle Catalina Dressing

1 Can black Olives

2 lbs ground beef

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 can kidney beans

1/2 lb. Cheddar Cheese

1/2 bag Tortilla Chips

(my family grew up doing Doritos though)

Brown Meat. Sprinkle seasoning on.

Add Kidney beans & liquid.

Add bottle of dressing

Let simmer while chipping salad.

Serve in 9x13 pan in layers of:
Salad
Chips
Meat
Mixture
Cheese

Shredded Chicken Taco's

Goodness were these GOOD!!! Because we stewed the chicken the meat was so so tender! It was heaven eating these!!!
Stew chicken like shown in previous post.
Put chicken back in pot and add chicken taco seasoning
a can of salsa (add little by little until the consistancy you like.)
and a little more than a half a cup of chicken broth.
Heat through.
Add to flour tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes, avacados, lime juice, sour cream and salsa.

Grandma's Parmesan Pork Tenderloin

This was an absolute favorite at Grandma's house growing up!

1 Long Pork Tenderloin

1/2 tsp Season Salt

1/8 tsp Pepper

1 Egg

1/2 Cup parm. cheese + Mozz Cheese.

1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs

1 Cup Spagetti Sauce

* Mix egg, pepper and Salt together. Dip Meat in egg mixture and dip in bread crumbs. Brown meat on all sides. Put in 9x13 casserole dish. Pour sauce over meat and sprinkle Parmesan cheese over it. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1/2 an hour. Uncover and sprinkle Mozzarella cheese on it and bake for an additional ten minutes.

Serve over pasta with extra spagetti sauce.
Great with Salad and breadsticks!
Bon Appetite!

Stewing a Chicken

I will admit. I had no clue how to do this until this past weekend. My sister taught me and it is so yummy and tender! I'll be doing this a lot from now on!

Fill a pot of water so its berely covering the chicken.

Cut a few slits in the chicken and add onion, salt and pepper, and a few boullion cubes.

Put water to a boiling then let simmer on low for a few hours.

Jenny likes to flip the bird half way through so its tender throughout.

Peel off the skin and then start shredding the meat.
To use the chicken broth do as the picture shows a few times to catch all the extra stuff that fell off the bird. You can make chicken soup or freeze the broth for the next time you need it.