Tyler's Mac 'n Cheese!!

This is a coveted recipe, just ask my mom. And actually, for those of you who follow recipe's to the T, sorry, this isn't for you. Ok, so here's what you need to work the magic:


pasta shells (any pasta will work, but really only shells taste good)
green onions (two or three)
garlic (fresh is best, but bottled will do)
oil (olive or canola)
chicken bouillon (powder or cube)
grated cheese (we always use cheddar, but when Tyler was in Russia he used Gouda)

Dice the onions and garlic. Pour a little bit of oil in the pan. You want enough that it covers most of the bottom of the pan, but too much and you'll have very oily mac 'n cheese. Saute the onions and garlic in the oil until the garlic starts to turn a golden brown.

Then pour in the pasta shells. Yup, just pour 'em in. No water, no nothing, just shells. Cook the shells in the pasta for a few minutes, stirring occasionally - frequently. Coat the shells in the oil. After a few minutes, they should also start to brown just a little. You don't want them to burn, but you do want to see signs that they are cooking.

Fill the pan with water to the level of the pasta - just enough to cover the shells. You can always add more later but it's hard to take out, so less is better.

Sprinkle chicken bouillon over the water and stir it in with the pasta. I'd guess maybe a tablespoon or two. If you're using cubes, just one cube probably. Maybe two if you're making a big batch. You get a lot of your flavor from the bouillon, but also all of the salt. Too much and you'll have salty mac 'n cheese.

Bring the water to a boil, then let it simmer. The water should all boil down/off and the shells will be soft. If the water is gone and the shells are still hard, add some more water and boil a little longer. If you still have a lot of water left and your shells are are soft, pour out the excess water.

Pour the grated cheese over the top. I usually grate while the water is boiling. I can't even guess how much to use because it depends on how cheesy you want and how much pasta you've cooked. Mix the cheese in with the pasta (while it's still on low heat) until it melts.

Voila. A delicious meal that is so good! When it's Tyler's turn to cook my options are Hamburger Helper or mac 'n cheese:) Pin It

Greek Chicken

Chicken in pieces
lemon juice from lemon
Basil
Oil
Lemon pepper seasoning
Oregano

Mix together juice from 1 lemon with enough oil to coat chicken pieces. Coat chicken and place on baking sheet.Sprinkle lemon pepper, basil and oregano to taste on one side. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Turn over and sprinkle spices on other side. Bake 30 minutes. Turn and bake 20 minutes more. Serve with rice or over salads.

This is my kind of recipe! No measurements whatsoever. Yeah! Ok. There is SO much I've changed about this. First of all, cut your chicken in pieces depending on what you want to do with it. Bigger chunks, or strips, if you're just eating it. Smaller chunks in you're eating it over rice. Even smaller chunks if you're tossing it in a salad.


The lemon juice I do NOT squeeze from a real lemon. Walmart has done the dirty work for me. I buy a huge bottle of lemon juice concentrate and use it religiously. Oil: use canola or olive. They're the healthiest for you. If I'm wrong, let me know. I use about half a cup or so of each (maybe more, maybe less, but that gives you an idea).


I am not adverse to doing things the easy way. When a recipe says "coat," unless I'm frying it, I don't coat it. I usually just pour the mixture over the top. It's a lot easier and you get pretty much the same results. However, with this recipe I do coat (just because). I drop all my chicken pieces in the lemon juice/oil mixture, then pull them out and arrange them in a glass baking dish. The recipe tells you to put the chicken pieces on a cookie sheet, but if you do they will tear your throat up as you swallow because they are so hard and dry. I now use a cake pan and it works great. I don't cover when I bake this chicken, but if you have a problem with dry chicken, cook it in a glass dish with tin foil over the top.


Then I sprinkle with lemon pepper (too much and you'll have lemon chicken instead of Greek), and then I generously pour over the basil and oregano. I LOVE basil!

I bake on one side for about 20 minutes, flip, sprinkle and bake for about 10 - 15 more minutes. This does not need to bake for an hour and a half! Just watch it.


This is one of my absolute all time favorite ways to eat chicken! Mmmm. Double the recipe if you want leftovers!:) You can make up some cucumber tomato salad to go with it, or fry up some potatoes, or boil some carrots (which is what we did). Oh, and a special thanks to Julie Hinck who provided us with a fresh loaf of homemade french bread to perfect our delicious dinner.


I'm not ashamed to admit that I ate half the loaf all in one sitting.

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Cucumber Tomato Salad

2 cucumbers, sliced
2 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 cup sliced red onion
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh dill weed
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

In a large bowl, mix the vinegar, sugar, salt, dill, pepper, and oil. Add cucumbers, onion, and tomatoes. Toss, and let stand at least 15 minutes before serving.

**This is a great way to use your extra tomatoes or cucumbers from the garden. Or an excuse to buy cucumbers:) This seriously is one of the best cucumber tomato salads we've ever tried. We didn't peel the cucumber, but you can if you'd like. It doesn't sit well in the fridge, the tomatoes tend to go mushy just a bit. So make sure you're going to eat it all or serve it at a picnic. And if it's going to be a while before you serve it, make the dressing ahead of time and then mix it with the veggies fifteen minutes before you serve. That way they won't go soggy before you eat them. Pin It

Sour Cream Potatoes a.k.a Funeral Potatoes

Sour Cream Potatoes

6 medium potatoes peeled, cooked and diced (russets are best)
1 pint sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 tsp. dry minced onion
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated (not sharp)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix sour cream, soup, onion, and cheese together. Add potatoes and salt/pepper and pour into a 9X13 pan. Bake at 360* until hot and bubbly.

Any recipe that says to bake until bubbly has to be good! Trust me, it is. We usually sprinkle cheese on top since I'm a sucker for cheese. Anyway, it's easy and so good. It's relatively cheap, depending on the price of sour cream and cheese. It's what we call Soul Food. Pin It

Cashew Chicken

Cashew Chicken

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1 cup hot water
1 lb skinned, boned chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 (8 oz) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 small green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 8-oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup cashews, toasted
3 cups hot cooked rice

Dissolve bouillon granules in hot water; set aside.Brown Chicken in hot oil in large skillet over medium heat. Remove chicken, reserving drippings in skillet; set chicken aside.Combine cornstarch and soy sauce; stir until smooth. Stir in bouillon mixture, green onions, brown sugar and ginger. Set aside.Cook mushrooms, green pepper and water chestnuts in drippings over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until tender.Add chicken and bouillon mixture to vegetable mixture; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 2 minutes or until thickened. Sitre in cashews, serve over rice.

Ok, we do not use the mushrooms and peppers. We do zucchini, but we've had it with the mushrooms and peppers and it's ok too. We also don't use ground ginger. We have chopped, the kind that comes in the little jar and you have to refridgerate after opening. I don't know what the conversion is, but I use the same amount of wet ginger as the recipe calls for for ground ginger. Personally, I think it could use a little more, but Tyler doesn't think so. I like ginger though. We also cut out the whole pull the chicken out and tender the veggies in the drippings. We just put the veggies in when the chicken is cooked, let them cook for a few minutes, then throw in the bouillon mixture. It has to simmer for a while to thicken anyway, and our veggies get too done if we cook them too much longer. We use the sliced chestnuts, but we chop them. We always double the recipe. And lastly, we leave the cashews off and let the individual dish their cashews. Mmmm. It's soo good. I hope you enjoy it! Pin It