Taco Spaghetti

So yeah, it's been a long time since I've posted. No excuses, oh wait, I have four of them...ages 7, 5, 3, and 1! Anyway, this is one of their new faves. Oh, and you can freeze it!

Taco Spaghetti

1 can corn, drained

1, 4-oz can diced green chiles

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup salsa

2 cups grated cheddar, divided

1 lb thin spaghetti

1 lb lean hamburger
1 small onion, chopped

1 pkg taco seasoning

2 oz. cream cheese, cut into cubes

lettuce, tomato, avocado, sour cream, and olives for serving

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl combine corn, chiles, beans, salsa and 1 C cheddar, set aside.

Cook spaghetti until al dente according to package directions. Meanwhile brown hamburger and onion, drain. Stir in taco seasoning and 1 C water, simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cream cheese until melted and distributed.

Add meat mixture and cooked spaghetti to corn mixture and stir well. Transfer to a large baking dish or two 8x8 baking dishes. Top with remaining 1 C cheddar. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until heated through. Serve topped with lettuce, tomato, avocado, sour cream and/or olives.

It's also yummy with crunchy tortilla strips or crumbled corn chips.

Creamy Pasta with Ham and Broccoli

I really love cooking. When my cooking mags come in the mail I get really excited and generally read them from cover to cover. Recently I took a copy of one to a youth activity which I needed to attend but in which didn't want to participate. (Turns out 29 isn't a good age to learn how to roller skate.) Some of the kids laughed as they skated by and saw that I was reading up on different kinds of oil and their uses.

Recently my zeal for the kitchen has fizzled. It's probably a product of the long winter. I love being a mom and staying home but the longer the winter lasts the more the walls look like prison cells and the children behave like inmates. Sometimes even the warden wants out of prison. My point is, even though I love cooking, it feels like a chore at times.

To assuage the feeling of working in the kitchen, I've attached myself to simple recipes that yield delicious results, like this one. It has only 5 ingredients: broccoli, ham, noodles, cream cheese and water.

Start by oven-roasting some broccoli.
Then chop up some deli ham.

Cook some noodles until al dente and save some of the pasta water.

Mix the pasta water with the cream cheese.

Then stir it all together.

And that's it. Simple enough, huh? Go here to see the full recipe from Everyday Food.

Have you Tried...

Pork riblets?

My brother introduced me to this not-so-fancy cut of meat a couple of years ago and I have to admit, it has become a favorite at our house. Because it's basically an end-cut, or by-product, of "real" ribs it's very inexpensive (I can usually get it for $.98-$1.49/ lb) yet I find that it generally has more meat per pound than its counterpart. I love to grill and then dredge the riblets in Cattlemen's Classic Barbecue Sauce. Adding grilled pinapple is a great side. No real recipe required either!

Porcupine Meatballs

My brother-in-law and his girlfriend came over for dinner one evening. When I announced that we were having porcupine meatballs, the girlfriend looked around nervously. She spooned only a couple on to her plate, to be polite, but I noticed she was hesitant to eat them. I casually threw out that I made them with ground beef, wondering if perhaps she wondered if I were actually serving porcupine. Sure enough, she promptly tasted the meatballs and added a few more to her plate before the meal was over.

This dish gets it's name from the "quills" of rice sticking out from the meatballs.


Also, this is one of the few dishes my oldest son will eat without a dramatic "how many bites?" negotiation.

1.5 lbs ground beef
1/2 c long grain white rice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 Tbs chopped onion (I use dried, minced onion)
1 cup tomato juice/sauce (I prefer sauce, it has a more acidic base)
1/2 c water

In a medium bowl combine beef, rice, salt, pepper and onion. Form into 1-inch meatballs. Pour tomato sauce and water into a 3-quart pressure cooker (No pressure cooker? Don't worry. I've adapted this recipe to stove top as well. See below.) Over medium-high heat, bring tomato sauce and water to a boil. Add in meatballs, stir gently to coat. Place the lid on the pressure cooker and heat until there is a solid stream of steam escaping, put on weight. (Well, YOU don't put on weight, just place the pressure-cooker weight atop the lid.) Process for 10 minutes. Allow time for pressure cooker to stabilize before removing lid.

Stove top directions:
Prepare meatballs as directed substituting 1/2 cup minute rice for long grain rice and adding 1 lightly beaten egg to meat mixture. In a large skillet, brown meatballs on all sides over medium-high heat. Add water and tomato juice; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer 20-25 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

Honey-Soy Glazed Drumsticks

a.k.a. Dinosaur Bones

1/2 c honey

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1/3 c water

sea salt and ground pepper

3 pounds drumsticks (about 8), skins removed

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Combine honey, soy sauce and water in a large bowl. Add drumsticks and toss to coat. Place chicken on a foil-lined cookie sheet, pouring sauce on top. Season with salt and pepper. Place in oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, basting with juices from pan every 10 minutes.

Although this recipe only calls for 3 pounds of drumsticks, I just buy the large package. I skin all of them and freeze the rest, and trust me, you'll use them for this recipe again! Also, be sure the line the pan with foil. The glaze gets pretty sticky and this makes cleanup a cinch!

You may be wondering why we call them dinosaur bones. That was my trick to get my oldest son to try them. But now that I look at these pictures, it could just as well be because we all look like cavemen while we devour them.

Of course, real cavemen use both hands, and look at the camera with puppy-dog eyes.