Believe in the Magic Traci Diary

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  • Spaghetti Pie

    Sometimes you have good meals.  There are times you have so-so meals.  And then there are the times when you hit it out of the ballpark.  Tonight was one of those nights.  My hubby could not stop talking about our dinner tonight and how good it was.

    While planning our January meals, I found this recipe on the Real Food 4 Real People website.  I decided that this would be a good meal.  Boy, was I right about that?

    Stars of the recipe:

    • 6 oz. of spaghetti
    • 2 Tbsp. butter
    • 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
    • 2 eggs, well beaten
    • 1 c. cottage cheese (I used small curd.)
    • 3/4th’s pound of hamburger
    • 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
    • 1/4 to 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella

    Steps:

    1. Brown hamburger meat.  Drain and then add spaghetti sauce.  Set aside.
    2. Cook spaghetti according to the directions on the box.  Drain and add butter.  Allow the butter to melt.
    3. Add the eggs and Parmesan cheese.  Mix well.
    4. Place the spaghetti, egg, and Parmesan cheese mixture in the bottom of a buttered pie pan.  Press it down to form a “crust.”
    5. Spread cottage cheese over the spaghetti crust.
    6. Spread the hamburger and spaghetti sauce over the cottage cheese layer.
    7. Place in a preheated 350-degree oven and bake for 30 minutes.
    8. Pull from the oven and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top.
    9. Put back in the oven for 5 minutes.
    10. Serve!

     I also put Italian seasoning in the sauce, over the cottage cheese layer, and then the sauce layer for extra flavor.

    Printable Recipe

  • Menu Plan Monday ~ Week of January 10, 2011

    Last week we did not get to the crockpot beef hash.  It was a weird week with me going back to work after winter break.  On Wednesday, I was feeling run down, so I opted to go to a place called Dreamie Weenie and get a hot dog dinner instead of cooking anything when I got home.  Then on Thursday, I started to put the ingredients for the hash in the crockpot when I noticed the beef was greenish.  So in the trash, it went.  We had tacos and Spanish rice Thursday night.  On Friday, my aunt arrived from out of town, so I went out to dinner with her, my mom, and my sister.  My hubby fed the kids grilled cheese and canned chicken noodle soup.

    This week’s menu plans:

    Monday – homemade pizza, salad, bread sticks

    Tuesday – spaghetti pie, mozzarella sticks, salad

    Wednesday – PW’s ranch-style chicken and fluffy new potatoes, veggies, Buttermilk biscuit, or Easy Rolls

    Thursday – grilled cheese and tomato soup – I have a dentist appointment after school,l so I won’t be able to cook dinner.  My hubby is in charge,e so he decided this is what he wanted.

    Friday – Waffle House waffles and hash browns smothered, covered, and chunked.

    Saturday – Leftovers

    For more great menu plans, visit I’m an Organizing Junkie.

  • Buttermilk Biscuits

    I made these for our family’s New Year’s Dinner. Everyone loved them because they were tasty. Tonight I was asked to bring the bread for our Sunday dinner. I was torn between making Easy Rolls, bread machine rolls (I haven’t posted this yet), or buttermilk biscuits. I let the Wee One and the Imaginative One be the deciding factor. They told me they wanted the biscuits. So that’s what we are having.

    Buttermilk Biscuits
    adapted fromSouthern Plate

    Stars of the recipe:

    • 1/2 cup cold butter or margarine (1 stick)
    • 2 1/4 c self-rising flour
    • 1 1/4 c buttermilk (or whole milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice added)
    • flour for dusting
    • melted butter for brushing baked biscuits

    Steps:

    1. Cut butter into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Put butter slices on top of flour in a large bowl. Cut butter into the flour with a long tine fork until crumbly.
    2.  Cover and chill for 10 minutes. Add buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
    3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead 3 or 4 times, and add additional flour as needed. With floured hands, press or pat dough into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches). Sprinkle the top of the dough with additional flour.
    4.  Fold the dough into itself, like folding a piece of paper into a letter, in three sections. Repeat the entire process 2 more times, beginning with pressing into a 3/4-inch-thick dough rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches).
    5.  Press or pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut with a 2-inch round cutter, and place, side by side, on a parchment paper-lined or lightly greased cookie sheet. Try to make sure they touch because this will help them rise higher.
    6. Bake at 450° for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; brush with 2 Tbsp. Melted butter.

    Printable Recipe

    Happy Eating,
    Traci

  • Spanish Rice

    We had tacos for supper. For a side dish, I made Spanish rice. The recipe I used was easy recipe to follow. It was also delicious. Which is a great combo!

    My hubby was a little skeptical when he saw the rice. He typically loves rice but is not a big fan of the spices used in Mexican cooking. I told him I used a little less than what the recipe called for. Once he tried it, he told me that it was good. The Wee One also told me that he thought it was good.

    Spanish Rice

    adapted from  www.menus4mom.com

    Stars of the recipe:

    • 3 Tbsp. EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
    • 1 c. onion chopped
    • 1 tsp. garlic, minced
    • 1 c. green pepper, chopped and seeded
    • 1 c. long grain rice (or brown rice)
    • 2 c. chicken broth (if using brown rice, add extra water)
    • 2 tsp. tomato paste
    • 1/2 tsp. Cumin (I used less.)

    Steps:

    1. Saute onion, garlic, and green pepper in oil until transparent.
    2. Add rice and brown until lightly browned.
    3. Mix the rest of the ingredients and add to the pan.
    4. Cook and cover for 20-25 minutes (longer than 45 minutes for brown rice).

    I did steps 1 and 2 in the skillet. Then I put the onion, garlic, green pepper, rice, and the rest of the ingredients in my rice cooker. I let my rice cooker finish the cooking.

    Possible toppings:  Sour cream and cheddar cheese – a Delicious combination

    Printable Recipe

  • Crockpot bbq ribs

    When it’s a work day, I often want easy meals because I need to have dinner soon after I get home before hubby goes to work.  This recipe is super easy because it cooks while I’m at work.  The smells that meet me at the door are divine and make my stomach rumble in anticipation of the meal.

    Stars of the recipe:

    • bottle of your favorite bbq sauce
    • ribs (boneless or bone in)
    • optional:  diced up onions 

    Steps:

    1. Put ribs (and onions if using them) in the bottom of the crock pot.
    2. Dump the bottle of bbq into the crock pot.
    3. Place water in an empty bottle and swish around to get the last bbq sauce.
    4. Pour the watered down bbq sauce over the ribs.
    5. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or high for 4 to 5 hours.

    Printable Recipe

  • Menu Plan Monday ~ Week of January 3, 2011

    Even though I did not post my menu plans for the last few weeks, we did have a menu plan.  Since I am back at work after a break, I need to post the week’s menu plan to keep me organized.

    Monday – crockpot ribs, makeover mac and cheese, green beans with onions and bacon, rolls 

    Tuesday – breakfast for dinner – pancakes, bacon, eggs

    Wednesday – crockpot beef hash, veggies, rolls

    Thursday – potato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches

    Friday – tacos, Spanish rice

    Saturday – leftovers

    For more great menu plans, visit I’m an Organizing Junkie.

  • 2010 in review

    The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high-level summary of its overall blog health:

    Healthy blog!

    The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

    Crunchy numbers

    Featured image

    A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 5,700 times in 2010. That’s about 14 full 747s.

    In 2010, there were 104 new posts, which was not bad for the first year! There were 461 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 985 MB. That’s about 1 picture per day.

    The busiest day of the year was September 7th, with 144 views. The most popular post that day was September Meals.

    Where did they come from?

    The top referring sites in 2010 were mommyskitchen.net, orgjunkie.com, andbabymakesfive-colleen.blogspot.com, facebook.com, and eatathomecooks.com.

    “Some visitors came searching, mostly for a spritz cookie recipe, mock thin mints,””dip ritz crackers into the melted,” shortbread snowballs, and pecan nougat cookies.” Some visitors came searching, mostly for a spritz cookie recipe, mock thin mints, “dip ritz crackers into the melted,” shortbread snowballs, and pecan nougat cookies.

    Attractions in 2010

    These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

    1

    September Meals August 2010
    2 comments

    2

    Cookies and Cream Cheeseball August 2010
    6 comments

    3

    August Meals August 2010
    2 comments

    4

    Homemade Hamburger Helper October 2010
    6 comments

    5

    Grandma’s White Salad July 2010
    2 comments

  • Cheddar Cornbread Muffins

    Today I made chili. Cornbread is the best starch to have with chili. I decided to jazz up the cornbread by using cheddar cheese. This took them from ordinary to extraordinary! The best part is that you take advantage of a convenience item – a cornbread muffin mix.

    Cheddar Cornbread Muffins

    Stars of the recipe:

    • Cornbread muffin mix (I used Jiffy.)
    • Ingredients needed to make the muffins (would be on the box)
    • 1/4 c. cheddar cheese

    Steps:

    1. Spray the muffin pan with cooking spray or use cupcake wrappers.
    2. Mix up the muffin mix following the directions on the box.
    3. Add the cheddar cheese. Stir until incorporated.
    4. Fill each cavity 2/3rd full.
    5. Bake as directed on the box.
    6. Enjoy!!

    Printable Recipe

  • January 2011 meals – Plus Beef Hash (Crockpot) Recipe

    Happy New Year!  May your year be blessed with happiness and good health.

    Week of January 3 –

    1.  crockpot ribs, makeover mac and cheese, veggies
    2.  crockpot beef hash, veggies, and rolls
    3. potato soup with bacon and cheddar cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, raw veggies
    4. breakfast for dinner – pancakes, bacon, eggs
    5.  tacos, Spanish rice
    6. leftovers

    Week of January 10

    1.  veggie soup (in the freezer), rolls
    2.  ranch-style chicken, fluffy new potatoes, veggie
    3. spaghetti pie, mozzarella sticks, salad
    4. Waffle House waffles,  hashbrowns smothered, covered, and chunked
    5. pizza, salad, breadsticks
    6. left-overs

    Week of January 17

    1.  grilled chicken, pasta Roni, veggies, rolls
    2.  chicken fajitas, Spanish rice, salad
    3. pinto beans and ham, cornbread, raw veggies
    4. sausage gravy over biscuits, egg
    5. ham, scalloped potatoes, veggies, roll
    6. left-overs

    Week of January 24

    1.  chicken and parsley dumplings
    2. orange chicken over rice, fortune cookies, veggies
    3. 7-up pork chops, buttered noodles, veggies, rolls
    4. sandwich buffet, chips, raw veggies
    5. Skyline chili over spaghetti, raw veggies, cornbread
    6. left-overs

    Crockpot Beef Hash

    Stars of the recipe:

    • 1 lb of  cubed stewing meat
    • 5 large Russett potatoes diced
    • 1 onion finely chopped
    • 1 cup butter or margarine melted
    • 1 cup beef broth or stock
    • salt to taste
    • black pepper

    Steps:

    1. Place all ingredients in a crockpot.
    2. Cover and cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours (on high setting for 2 to 3 hours).

    For more great menus, visit Mommy’s Kitchen.

    Printable Recipe

  • Rolo turtles

    When I saw the “recipe” for these, I decided I needed to try to make them because they looked so easy and delicious.  Boy, am I glad I did.  They turned out super yummy, and they are an easy enough recipe that even the boys can help me with making them.  The other positive thing is that you only need three ingredients.

    The boys really like the M&M version.  In fact, I needed to lock the deep freezer so that the Wee One wouldn’t get into them.  I think these are his favorite of all the candies I’ve made.

    Stars of the recipe:

    • Either pretzel twists or waffle pretzels
    • Rolo candies
    • M&M’s or pecan halves

    Steps:

    1. Line a cookie sheet with foil.  Place whole pretzels on the foil in a straight line.
    2. Place a Rolo flat-side down on the pretzel.
    3. Put in the oven at 350 degrees for about 4 minutes.
    4. Carefully pull out the oven and place either an M&M or a pecan half on the melted Rolo.
    5. Allow the turtle to cool, place it in a plastic bag and store it.  I froze mine, and they did fine.

    Printable Recipe