Fried Chicken Alfredo with WackyMac

I have already posted on how to make the Fried Chicken Nuggets.  Make some of these.

Then, buy a bag of WackyMac.  These are tri-colored veggie noodles.  Cook according to directions on the bag.  The best time to do this is while your nuggets are in the oven.

While you are boiling your noodles, make the alfredo sauce:

1/4 cup of butter
1 cup of heavy cream
1 clove of garlic
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese
1/4 c. parsley

Put all these ingredients into a pot and heat on medium until it starts to boil slightly.  It is done when all the cheese is melted and it is smooth and creamy. 
Pour over the WackyMac. 

Serve with Fried Chicken Nuggets. 

Y.U.M.!!!  One of my new favorites!!!
I wish I had some pictures to show you.  That would mean that I just made it and was eating some!!!

Lasagna

This is a kind of thrown together sauce and we happened to like it and I tried to remember what I put in it.  Then I wrote it down one day and have made it over and over.  So, I know this one is a keeper in my book.

Sauce:
4 cans of diced tomatoes
3 little cans of tomato paste
1 1/2 cans of tomato sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 Tablespoon of chili powder
1 Tablespoon of minced onions
1 Tablespoon of Italian seasoning
4 Jars of blended spaghetti sauce (whatever you like, roasted garlic, mushroom, etc.)
5 lbs. of browned ground beef

You must let this simmer together for about 1 hour.  This makes all the flavors blend well.

Cook your noodles!!!  Do not put them in your lasagna uncooked!  Cook the noodles according to the directions on the side of the box.  If you happen to know how to make your own noodles, then I think it is safe to assume you know how to cook them too.

In a huge bowl, grate up these cheeses:  8 oz. mozzarella, 8 oz. Parmesan, 8 oz. mild or sharp cheddar, 8 oz. Romano - mix them together well.

It is very important that you buy these in whole blocks of cheese and grate them up yourself.  You will be happy that you did when that ooey gooey yumminess hits your taste buds.  Plus the already grated bagged cheese has sawdust in it to keep it 'fresh'.

Layer in a 9x13 baking dish:  Sauce, Noodles, Cheese, Sauce, Noodles, Cheese.  The last layer of cheese should cover the noodles completely or the noodles will get super crunchy and super crunchy noodles do not make a yummy lasagna.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until the cheese has little brown bubbles on top. 

Enjoy!

Five Friday Food Favorites

1.  Lasagna
2.  Fried Chicken Alfredo & WackyMac
3.  Pepperoni Pizza Twist
4.  Hot Ham & Cheese
5.  Chicken Pie

My plans are to share these recipes to you next week beginning with #1 on Monday and working my way through Friday.  You may or may not be seeing pictures to go along with these recipes.  We are in the process of packing up to move to the Word Of Life Inn for Michael's summer ministry and we are eating up the last morsels of food in the cabin.  So, even though I will be sharing these recipes, I may not be preparing all of them.

Breakfast Biscuits

... or any time of the day.

As promised months ago (I bet you forgot about them didn't you?), here are the biscuits we have been CRAZY about.  When you see the pictures, you will understand why I have not posted this before now.  I normally make these when everyone is asleep.  But, just special for you today, I made these while Hannah was awake.  She helped me with the photos since my hands were pretty sticky.

WARNING:  These biscuits contain shortening (gasp!).  I know... I know...  You can use only butter.  But, somehow, some way, that little bit of shortening just makes them OH SO YUMMY and I can't give it up in this recipe.

Here is the recipe:
3 cups of all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon of baking powder
1 Tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
3/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar
1 stick of butter (cold)
1/4 cup of shortening
1 1/4 cups of milk

-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
-Combine in a large bowl:  Flour, Baking Powder, Sugar, Salt and Cream of Tartar
-Wisk to mix well.
-Using a pastry blender (or your hands) cut butter and shortening into four mixture.
-Make a well in the flour mix and pour the milk in.
-Mix well with a wooden spoon.
-Spoon out to make 12 biscuits.
-Shape a little.
-Bake at 450 degrees for 10 - 14 minutes.

I chopped up my butter in small pieces.

I use my hands to 'cut' in the butter and shortening because I do not have a pastry blender. 

This is why Hannah had to take all the photos.

This is what the mix looks like when it is crumbly and mixed up good.

Don't forget to make the well in the middle.  Then, pour the milk in.

Mix it up like normal.

I kind of eyeball it to spoon out twelve biscuits.  At the end, I check to see if all of them look pretty much the same and then take from one and give to another until they are all even.

I then shape them around a little bit to make them look more like real biscuits instead of blobs.

They still kind of look like blobs.

When they are finished in the oven, they are slightly browned and if you lift one with a fork, it should be slightly brown on the bottom too.

These biscuits freeze perfectly.  We make a batch and since we don't want to eat them all right then (well, we do 'want' to eat them all, but we don't), we put them in the freezer for future breakfasts.  You could thaw them out by laying them out on the counter the night before, or (shut your eyes) put them in the microwave for a couple minutes on defrost.

I said "shut your eyes" a little while ago because I just despise a microwave. 

Horrible... simply horrible for your body.

Winston

Meet Winston...

We took a little trip yesterday.  Dara is one of our neighbors here in the campground.  Her and her husband, Drew are expecting a baby boy in a couple of months.  Dara has a horse named Winston.  He stays at a barn nearby.  Dara called to see if we wanted to go see him.  I kept it a secret from the girls until close to time to go.  I wish I could have got a picture of their faces when I told them.  They were VERY excited! 
We had so much fun. 

Dara is a natural teacher.  She was explaining everything to the girls (me included).  She was teaching us about caring for the horse; what the different brushes were called, what they were used for and why. 

She showed us how to 'lunge' a horse.

She taught us how to ride and 'steer' the horse where we want him to go.

I really appreciated her patience and time.  You can tell she loved teaching us as much as we loved learning. 

And Cari bought herself a toy horse with some of her birthday money and she named him 'Salem'. 

We are looking forward to many more visits with Winston. Hannah already asked this morning if we could go back again today.