Spaghetti Pie

I got the original recipe for Spaghetti Pie while I was in Peru, of all places. Greg and I went on a mission trip with a group from our church. While the men went further down river, into the jungle, the women stayed at the mission compound. We helped Addie (the missionary) with different things but we also had a bit of downtime. Downtime is spent differently when you don't have any electricity! I love to look through cookbooks and Addie had several, so I killed time by searching through her cookbooks for recipes that I'd like to try. I still have them all, 14 years later, written on the same yellow legal pad paper that I originally used. It has all sorts of drips and stains on it because I am a messy cook! I've made most of the recipes that I wrote down while in Peru and some, like this, have become family favorites.

I call this spaghetti pie because that's what it was called in the recipe book that I copied it from. However, over the years I tried different pastas and decided that I liked the texture of gemelli pasta best. Sometimes it's hard to find, but Kroger carries it in their "Private Selection" line. It reminds me of the twisted pretzel sticks...only pasta. I like it because it's size and texture work well. It's large enough to hold it's shape, but still can be cut down. And it's firm enough to hold up to freezing, thawing and cooking without getting mushy. The basic ingredients and taste of Spaghetti (or should I change it to Gemelli?) Pie are just like lasagna. However, it's WAY easier to put together than lasagna is. Those big old noodles are nothing but a pain in the butt, right? And I like how the flavors blend better in this. One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it freezes so well. And it's very easy to make a double batch, then split those batches into smaller portions (what family eats an entire 9x13 pan of lasagna in one sitting, right?) and

freeze them for later. The basic recipe makes at least a 9x13 pan and probably a little extra. I split it into 6 8x8 foil pans, which usually feeds our family of 5 without any leftovers. I add garlic bread and a salad to complete the meal. Without further ado, the recipe...

Spaghetti Pie

(as with most of my recipes, the amounts can vary without ruining the end product - make adjustments to your taste - more or less meat, sauce, cheese, spice, etc.)

1 1lb package Gemelli or Spaghetti or other pasta

1 lb Hamburger (or 1 portion HH)

1 jar Pasta Sauce (I like Kroger Beef - tastes good and is cheap)

2 small containers of cottage cheese

3 cups (or more) shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup Parmesan cheese

3 eggs

4 TBSP butter

Cook pasta according to package directions, to just barely done (if you overcook the pasta then by the time it freezes, thaws, cooks, etc. it will be very mushy = yuck!). Drain and allow to cool slightly. Add 1/2 stick (4 TBSP) butter, 2 eggs and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese to pasta. Stir to combine.

Brown hamburger and drain. While cooking add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, etc if desired for extra flavor.

or

Thaw Handy Hamburger.

Add pasta sauce to hamburger and warm slightly. This is where you fancy people could make your own sauce. I tried it last year from fresh tomatoes and it turned out not so great. I used it up in recipes like this where I could add some jarred sauce and a bunch more flavor to cover up my sauce. Big waste of time in my opinion. But if homemade sauce is your thing, then go for it!

Combine cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (save a small amount of mozzarella and parmesan for top) and 1 egg in bowl. If you like, add spices to this mixture like salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, italian blend, parsley, etc. I've made it with and without the extra spices - both are good, but I prefer the extra flavor.

Assemble in the following order:

Sauce - just to cover bottom

1/2 Noodles

1/2 Cheese

1/2 Sauce

1/2 Noodles

1/2 Cheese

1/2 Sauce

Extra Mozzarella and Parmesan

Here's what it looks like after one layer of everything.

Unlike lasagna, the whole thing should be more mixed than layers. If any of the layers are thick enough that they separate the ingredients from each other, then before topping with the last of the cheese, use a spoon to move everything around so that the sauce, cheese and noodles are mixed somewhat evenly.

Bake in a 350 oven for 45-60 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before cutting.

NOTE: If you make smaller batches in 8x8 pans, they will cook faster. Just keep checking to see that the edges are very bubbly and the center is somewhat bubbly. The main thing is to make sure the egg cooks and sets. Everything else is precooked and just needs to be hot and melty.

Here are all 6 of mine completed. One is in the oven as I type. The other 5 I topped first with plastic wrap and then with foil and put in the freezer for later.

What a nice little pile - 1 for dinner, 5 for later!

And the best part - only ONE set of dishes to wash for SIX meals!!!

Hang up in the meal plan

So, day 1, 2 & 3 of my dinner plan went well. Day 4 Greg worked really late so the kids and I ate the leftover Taco Pizza from Day 3. Day 5 was spent helping our best friends move (closer to us - hooray!) and they bought dinner. We did have one of the meals on Sunday afternoon. After sleeping in and realizing that we had no milk or eggs to make anything remotely breakfast-y, I decided to break out the smoked sausage, rice and peas. No recipe or pretty pictures there. The sausage was just heated until done in a pan. The peas were plain, old frozen peas with salt and butter. The rice was from a packet at Kroger.

However, I still have the makings for several batches of Spaghetti Pie ready to roll. Hopefully the HH (Handy Hamburger) that I cooked on Monday is still OK, when I finally get around to making the Spaghetti Pie...hopefully tomorrow. If not, then I will have wasted TWO batches of hamburger and might just throw in the towel on this whole dinner plan thing!!! See?!?! Even "Martha Jr.", as I've affectionately been called, has her not-so-Martha-Jr. moments!!! Actually, I have a LOT of them!

This week's menu is supposed to include:

Chicken and Noodles

Southwest Chicken Soup

Meat Loaf

Crab Salad

Sausage Gravy & Biscuits

I went to the grocery today and bought everything for these meals. The only things that I bought that weren't on the list were staples, like milk, bread and butter, brownie mix, because it was on sale for a buck and some ice cream for the kids, which they earned by not getting their name on the board all week! And the total was only $70! Not bad for 5 solid meals. I'm sure people out there could do it for cheaper but I'm pretty proud. Oh yah, I got dog food too, so the total was actually $106 (can't make it out of the grocery w/o spending over $100!) but since $37 of that was the dog food, I'm sticking with the $70 total for the food.

We'll see how the week goes and which meals end up on which days. I have a feeling that the Spaghetti Pie will be tomorrow night and I'll have to make meatloaf on Wednesday so the hamburger doesn't go bad. And, oh yah, I just realized that today was Monday (Labor Day) so, I'm already getting behind on my week. Maybe we'll actually come home to eat after church next Sunday. Nah! I'll just make the sausage gravy and biscuits for Saturday brunch. :)

Recipe: Taco Pizza & Homemade Salsa & Handy Hamburger

Taco Pizza (makes 2)

2 pre-made crusts (I use Kroger brand)

olive oil

1 can refried beans

1/2 cup salsa

1 portion Handy Hamburger (HH)

taco seasoning packet

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

shredded lettuce

sour cream

black olives

fresh salsa

Heat oven to 450. Warm Handy Hamburger until heated through. Add taco seasoning pack, a little water and heat more. (Or, do like I did - make burritos earlier in the week and double up on the meat so it's ready to go after being heated up a little.) Combine refried beans and salsa in a bowl. Heat about a minute in the microwave, just enough to be spreadable.

Lightly brush crusts with olive oil. Spread bean mixture on crusts. Top with HH and shredded cheese. Bake in 450 oven until cheese is melted and all is warmed through - about 9 minutes.

Remove from oven. Top with shredded lettuce, sour cream and fresh salsa. You can use other toppings that your family likes as well, like black olives.

I made this for the first time a few months ago and Garret LOVED it. As he's shoveling his 2nd or 3rd piece into his mouth he says, "When I'm an adult and cookin', I'm gonna make this EVERY night for our food!" Makes a mama happy to hear that! :)

Fresh salsa

Tomatoes - about 4 cups worth

Jalapenos - about 4 depending on size

White Onion - 1 med to lg

Green onion - about 8 or one small bundle

Cilantro - about 1/2 a bundle

Garlic - about 3-4 cloves

Salt

Pepper

"Extras" (optional) - roasted red peppers, sun dried or roasted tomatoes

If I am making a small batch (about 1/2 the amounts above) then I chop everything by hand. If I'm making a large bath - the picture shows an 8 cup container, mostly full - then I use my food processor. All of the amounts are approximate. I never measure, I just throw it all in and taste it then add whatever's missing. NOTE: if you do this, make sure you save a few tomatoes for after the taste test. Anything else you can add more or less of, but once you're out of tomatoes, the salsa is ruined if everything else is overpowering.

Tomatoes - stem, lightly squeeze most of the juice and seeds out then rough chop.

Jalapenos - stem, seed (that's where the heat is) and finely chop.

White Onion - rough chop. If you don't like big chunks of onion, you could chop it more finely but we like the bigger chunks.

Green onion - clean and chop finely into rings.

Cilantro - rinse and rough chop. **Do NOT leave out cilantro! It's what makes the salsa!!!

Garlic - smash, peel and finely dice.

Salt - to taste. If your finished product tastes very "tomatoe-y" try adding a little more salt.

Pepper - to taste.

"Extras" (optional) - roasted red peppers, sun dried or roasted tomatoes - you don't have to have these, but if they are in your fridge, why not add them. The other day I made a bunch of slow-roasted tomatoes (thanks for the idea Aunt Patty) and made a puree with them, roasted garlic and olive oil. I added some of that mixture to my salsa this time - YUMMO!!!

After it sits for a while "water" will start to form at the top. You can stir it up before serving, or you can drain that water off. I like to drain it off so that my salsa is a bit thicker.

You can eat it right away, but it tastes even better after sitting overnight. This is one of those recipes that is not exact, but it's also pretty hard to mess up. I've tried freezing this and it turns out ok, but not great. The water from the tomatoes tends to separate and I don't think it tastes as good as it does fresh, but Greg still likes it.

Handy Hamburger

If you find a good deal on hamburger, buy a BUNCH and cook it up like this.

Hamburger - I prefer ground chuck so that it's less fatty

Onion - chopped

Garlic - chopped

Salt

Pepper

Other ground meats - sausage, venison, etc. - I am not a fan of venison, but we have some and I hate to waste it. So, I'll use...say 5 lbs hamburger, 1 lb pork sausage (for flavor and fat b/c the venison is so lean) and 1 lb venison. You never notice it at all when it's cooked this way and it stretches the HH even farther!

Crumble hamburger into large pot (I use my largest stock pot). Add all other ingredients and cook until completely browned. Drain fat. Allow to cool slightly. Separate into 1-2 cup portions and freeze in baggies or small containers. To use, thaw overnight or in the microwave. This can be used in so many things - Spaghetti Pie, Taco Pizza, BBQ Beef Cups, Chili, etc. As with the ESC (Easy Shredded Chicken) the whole point is one cooking time and one clean up time but several uses!

Recipe: Chicken and Dumplings

1 stick butter

1 portion (1-2 cups) of Easy Shredded Chicken (see below for ESC recipe)

5-6 cups of water

1-2 cups Bisquick

1-2 cups milk

Salt & pepper to taste

Bring butter, chicken & water to a boil. You can use more or less water depending on how thick you like the sauce. Mix bisquick and milk to a "droppable" consistency. The Bisquick box says to use a 1:1 ratio for dumplings. I never measure, but I think I probably use a little less milk than Bisquick. Drop spoonfuls of batter into boiling mixture. Lower heat to a very light boil (keep it high enough to cook the batter, but low enough so it doesn't all burn and stick to the bottom). Cook for 10 minutes uncovered, then 10 more covered.

This amount feeds my family with 2 adults and 3 good-eating 7 year olds with no leftovers other than the bottom of the pot to scrape out for the dog. As the kids get older I'll have to make a larger batch!

Part of the Bisquick cooks up as the dumplings and part combines with the water and butter to make a yummy thick sauce. It takes a lot of salt to flavor this, but I say why eat it if it's not yummy, so salt away!

I served this tonight with a salad, but I think it would also be great with another green veggie and there have been nights where we had it without any sides. Definitely a "sticks to your ribs" comfort food.

Easy Shredded Chicken (ESC)

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts - the frozen kind work great. One bag fits easily into my crockpot and yields about 5-6 servings.

water

spices like salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, etc.

Place chicken breasts in crock pot. Sprinkle spices generously over chicken. Add water to crock pot until chicken is partly to mostly covered. Cook on high for 4-5 hours, then low for a few more. You want the chicken to be super soft and moist. Remove the chicken from the crockpot. Allow to cool slightly then shred it using pretty much any utensil. It should be soft enough that it doesn't take much effort. If it's not then you need to keep cooking it. Separate into 1-2 cup portions. Store in quart baggies or small plastic containers. Allow broth in crockpot to cool then strain and freeze it as well. When it's time to use it you can thaw in the fridge overnight or quickly in the microwave. Use in recipes like chicken and dumplings, chicken and noodles, Southwest Chicken Soup, etc.

Dinner Plan

I was talking with some friends the other day about a new plan that I've devised to make dinner 5 nights a week. Did I say "healthy dinner"? Nope. Just dinner. That's an accomplishment for me. Anything more than chicken nuggets, hot dogs or soup - where we all (if Greg's home on time) sit down and eat together - is considered dinner to me. Well, to be honest, nuggets, dogs and soup with us all sitting down would still count in my book. If I don't have a plan, then I end up waiting until the last minute and throwing something together that's usually not healthy at all and not very yummy. Is it Emeril that says, "Food is Love"? Or something like that? Well, me making food is a way that I'm going to love on my family. So in an effort to be better about making dinner, I came up with a plan and have started to execute it.

Step #1:

Come up with 20 main courses that my family will eat. 5 each week. We always eat out on Sundays after church and I figure Saturdays can be left-over night. Either way 5 nights is a big upgrade for me! The main courses I chose are:

Chicken n' Dumplings

Burritos

Spaghetti Pie

Polish Sausage

Taco Pizza

Chicken & Noodles

Southwest Chicken Soup

Meat Loaf

Crab Salad

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Chicken Bundles

Walking Tacos

BBQ Beef Cups

Pork Chops

Top Your Own Pizza

Chicken Pot Pie

Chili

Cheeseburger Pie

Chili Dogs

Meatball Subs

If you can only come up with 10 or 15 then you'd do a 2-3 week rotation. If you can come up with more, then you could do a larger rotation or plan to cook 6-7 nights a week.

Step #2:

Make a calender grid and fill in your main courses. Space them out however you like. I chose do chicken stuff on Mondays, "tex-mex" type things on Tuesdays, something using burger on Wednesdays, something easy on Fridays and fill in the rest on Thursdays.

Step #3:

Fill in any sides that you need to turn your main course into a meal. A lot of mine are meals in themselves. Some need a salad or a veggie and rice/noodles added.

Step #4:

Figure out which meals can have parts made ahead. My friend, Jerilyn, taught me to make "Handy Hamburger" and "Easy Shredded Chicken". HH is just burger cooked up with onion, garlic, salt and pepper and then frozen in 1-2 cup portions that can be added to things like chili, spaghetti pie or jazzed up for burritos or BBQ cups. ESC is boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked in the crock pot with whatever yummy spices you like and some water until it is super tender and easily shreds - again, freeze in 1-2 cup portions. It is used in several of my meals, like dumplings, noodles, bundles, soup, etc. My 4 week calender uses 7 portions of HH and 5 of SC. So, if I find hamburger or chicken on sale then I know I can buy it and get it ready for future meals. The whole point is that you are cooking once, making a mess once and cleaning up once, but reaping the benefits several times! I've found that you can never have too much HH or ESC on hand and there are SO many uses for both of them.

Step #5:

Figure out which meals can be doubled (or more) and frozen. For spaghetti pie, I double my recipe and then half the portions so I end up with 4 meals from one mess. Others that I make extra to freeze are SW Chicken Soup, Meat Loaf, Mashed Potatoes, Chicken Bundles & Chili. Having something made and frozen makes life that much easier. I've done a whole day of cooking just to make meals to freeze a few times and it is such a great way of doing things. Again, one cook, one mess, one clean-up, several benefits. That's another blog though!

Step #6:

Make your shopping list for each week's meals. Because they are already written down it's pretty easy to know exactly what you'll need when shopping. I made 2 columns. One with all the stuff I know I'll need to buy each time and one with the "staples" that I need to make sure I have on hand before I head to the store. Things like butter, eggs, sour cream, cream cheese, etc. that I usually have in the fridge, but need to double check. My plan is to type up my grocery lists and have them printed ahead of time so I can add things to them as I need to through the week before. For now, they are on a little notepad that I wrote on while we were driving home from Florida and I just make a copy of that weeks' page.

Step #7:

Shop! I'm assuming that shopping is going to be easier and cheaper than it normally would be. I've only shopped once in this manner and it was right after we got back from vacation and right before we were getting geared up to go back to school. So, I spent way more than I would have if I'd stuck to my list. But who can pass up goldfish crackers for $1!

Step #8:

Cook! Whichever night is the first night that uses Handy Hamburger cook the whole amount and get it frozen in portions for later. Do NOT do like I did and forget about the $10 worth of hamburger that was not on sale and let it go bad in your fridge before you cook it! UGH!!! Also, be flexible. If you're not in the mood for what's on the menu that night, switch it up. We were supposed to have chicken and dumplings last night but I forgot to cook the chicken. So, we had burritos instead. I cooked up all the hamburger (which I rebought on Sunday) and then put the chicken in the crockpot this morning. So, I'm off to make chicken and dumplings now. If you have frozen any meals then you'll have to think ahead just a little and thaw out that meal, if needed, the night before.

If you want any of my recipes, let me know. None of them are extraordinary, but they are all pretty yummy and almost all of them are really easy. I'm no Rachel Ray, but I bet 90% of my meals are done in 20 minutes or less! And my kids and husband like them all so that's what works for me! It's all about giving them something that they'll like and getting us all around the table at night.

Four quarters

I was having a pretty crappy night tonight. This afternoon I found out that my boys were uncooperative and even rude with their new teacher at MOPS. This really upset me and I spent a long time after school talking with them about it and then punishing them. It's never fun to punish your kids, even when they deserve/need it, but when it's over something as big as I feel this is and is a repeat offense, it just drains me to deal with it. After listening to Gavin cry for what seemed like an hour after his one swat with a spoon, we were all ready to move on.

Next I went into Claire's room to help get her clothes ready for our vacation. I should first say that we were almost late for MOPS this morning because of Claire. I DREAD next year when we have to get up early every day. Getting my dog to dress himself in a timely manner might just be easier than getting Claire to stay on task in the morning. At one point she told me that the pants I set out for her to wear didn't fit her any more. So, I told her to go ahead and pick a pair of jeans instead. 10 minutes later, when I'm incorrectly assuming that she would have her pants, socks and shoes on as well as have eaten the muffin I had sat out for her and brushed her teeth and hair (that's not too much to ask for in 10 minutes, right?) or even had some of those jobs done, she walks into my bathroom with just her shirt and pants on and none of the other things done. I ask her what she has been doing for the last 10 minutes and she tells me "taking care of Mo (her guinea pig)". OK, so back up even more to the fact that EVERY SINGLE DAY I have to remind her to take care of Mo. NEVER once has she EVER done it on her own without a reminder. Why, on the ONE day that we have to be somewhere before noon, does she finally decide to do what I've repeatedly asked her to do??? Why??? In addition, I am constantly on her to keep things in her room more neat. Every time that she takes her clothes off, she throws them on the floor and I have to follow behind and remind her to put them in the laundry basket in her closet. It's to the point where I'm contemplating what an appropriate punishment for untidiness is! OK, so she's already on my list for the day. As we are getting the clothes ready for vacation, I notice that EVERY shoe that she owns is in a huge pile in her closet. When I ask her why they are like that she says, "because I had to find my soccer cleats." OK, deep breath!!! IN!!!! OUT!!!! "Claire, please fix all of your shoes and line them back up like they need to be." Now, I wouldn't consider myself anal-retentive. A good part of my house is a mess at any given time. I don't expect perfection. What bothers me is that this same pokey puppy girl of mine also cannot keep track of any of her stuff. When it comes time to walk out the door, she will have no clue where her shoes are unless they are in a designated spot and we will be late by the time we track them down. So, I have neatly organized (and reorganized and reorganized) her shoes in her closet so that it's easy for her to keep track of them. And, as I'm setting the stack of clothes that we've picked down next to her dresser, I notice that the jacket that I planned on her wearing on our trip is laying on the floor with another jacket - both of which are dirty! And I just did the last load of laundry, giving myself a big pat on the back for staying on top of things before our trip. Good news is, by the time 24 hours passes, we will have at least another full load of laundry, so that jacket will get washed. Not the worst of things that I've ever had to deal with, but just a nice dollop of stress added to my already stressful afternoon.

The kids went outside to play for a while and I started scanning pictures for a video that I have to make tonight. Once, while checking on the kids, I noticed that Garret had a cinder block in the drive and it would be in the way when Greg got home, so I asked him to move it. He said that he didn't know if he could and I said "I'm sure you can! You are strong!" Fast-forward to later when they come inside. I look out back and as always, they have not cleaned up the yard before coming inside. So, I tell the boys to get their shoes back on and list the things they need to clean up. Specifically I said to Garret, "You didn't get that block that I asked you to move either." and he says, "I didn't hear you." If there is one thing that gets to me like nothing else, it is lying. I cannot stand to be lied to and I HATE it when my kids lie. The punishment is hot sauce on your tongue. After stopping myself from dumping the entire bottle down his throat (that would probably be considered child abuse, right?) I sent him back out to do the work, listening to him cry and whine the entire time. My tolerance for whining has never been high, but now that my kids are 6-1/2, I REALLY can't deal with it because there is no reason for it. We are long past "use your words Johnny." So, the stress just piled up.

We kept trudging through our night...the kids playing, me continuing to scan pictures and trying to make dinner in between scans. As I was finishing up the scans I was about to post something to facebook to the effect of:

Ever feel like your best isn't good enough? or

Sometimes I feel like the worst mom in the world. or

I can't deal with all this nonsense tonight. or

Calgon take me away!

As I was in the middle of typing Claire came into the room, held out a hand with 4 quarters and said "for you!" I said, "What's this for?" skeptical and hoping that she wasn't about to tell me that she'd ruined something and was trying to pay for it up front. But no, she just shrugged her shoulders and said, "for you!" again. I told her, "I don't want your money, but I will take a hug." And as she hugged me, I teared up. I'm not a crier. It doesn't happen very often, but when her little arms wrapped around my neck and I realized the significance of this attempt to cheer me up, I just felt a little overcome with emotion. I thanked her for the hug and I thanked God for the reminder that He made me their mom for a reason and that even though my best isn't always good enough, He is there to fill in the gaps. Please God, fill in the gaps! I think I left some craters today!

P.S. If any moms out there are reading, I really could use some advice on what to do about the messiness. At what point do you punish your child for not remembering to pick up their stuff for the millionth time? And what is an appropriate punishment?

OK, off to play games, read books and salvage what's left of this evening. Thank you Lord that tomorrow is a new day!

Claire's forecast and my thoughts on working

Part of the kids' homework this week was to talk about the weather. Meteorologist Claire said, "I think it looks halfly sunny and halfly snowy!"

I've been working this week. My in-laws are out of town, so I'm covering the funeral homes for them. I always have mixed feelings about working. For the most part, I don't mind and even sometimes enjoy the actual work. I know, "enjoy" being a funeral director sounds strange. But I do enjoy being with people, coordinating everything for the services and being helpful to the family as they go through the funeral process. And, I won't lie, I enjoy the break from my normal routine of mommy-hood. But one of the things that I enjoy the most is the feeling that I have when I get back home. That feeling of THIS is where I'm meant to be. THIS is where I do my most important work. THIS is where the little mundane things that I do create a home for my family and impact their lives forever. It's so nice to have that reminder every so often. I know that I am blessed to be a stay at home mom, but after washing the same dishes that I washed yesterday and doing the same laundry that I did yesterday and reading the same books that I read yesterday and squashing the same arguments that I squashed yesterday...well, you get the picture. Sometimes, it can be easy to forget just how much of a blessing it is to have those dishes and laundry and books and arguing kids. A few days of work and missing out on all those little things gives me a fresh perspective and a reminder of how much I LOVE being "just" a mom and a wife. So, I pretty much have it made. I only have to work every so often and when I do work, I mostly enjoy the work and it gives me a solid reminder to enjoy NOT working even more!