School Spaghetti

My mom got this great kid loved recipie from the Elementary School cooks where she works. It is so yummy, we all gobble it right up! (except for husband who is weird and doesn't like anything pasta)

 

Brown 1 lb. of ground beef with 1/2 cup diced onion (if you'd like)
Then add either 2 cans tomato paste and 5 cups of water or 4 small cans of tomato sauce and 3 cups of water
Season with: 2 t. sugar, 2 t. salt, 1 t. basil, 1 t. oregano, 1/2 t. pepper and 1/2 t. garlic powder. You could make it more spicy if you'd like but the seasonings are just right for kids!

 

Simmer the sauce/beef for about 10 mins then add 6 oz. dry spaghetti noodles, and cook until tender about 10-15 more minutes. This is the secret! Cooking the noodles in the sauce makes it so flavorful! ;)

 

 

Linked up to:

BBQ Meatballs and Cheesy Potatoes

I've been making these BBQ Meatballs for years. We love them! They are easy and oh so good with a homemade bbq sauce. My husband is always happy when I make these for dinner, and they make great lunches with the leftovers too.

 

 

Well the picky kidos at our house don't love them as much.... so we tested out the 'help make dinner and you'll eat it' theory again.
They measured and mixed and little sister was even brave enough to help form a few meatballs with the squishy meat mixture.

 

The bbq sauce is really simple: ketchup, brown sugar, garlic salt and a little liquid smoke.

 

Heat on stove till nice and bubbly and the sugar has all disolved.

 

These yummy cheesy potatoes are a favorite that my mom made for me when I was a kid. Big sister loves them too!

 

BBQ Meatballs
Mix and form into meatballs:
1 egg
5 oz. evap. milk (a pain because the cans are about 12 oz. This time I made some using pwd. milk, tasted just fine! For ideas on using pwd milk visit: www.everydayfoodstorage.net)
1 c. quick oats
1 t. salt
1/2 c. finely chopped onion (I use dehydrated from a can)
1 t. chili pwd.
1/4 t. garlic pwd.
1/4 t. pepper
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
Bake in a 9x13 dish at 350 degrees for 20 min
Sauce:
Bring to boil:
1 c. ketchup
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 t. garlic pwd
1/2 t. liquid smoke (sometimes we make without if we don't have this)
After 20 mins in oven, pour sauce on meatballs and cook another 10 mins.

Cheesy Potatoes
Peel and slice potatoes into wedges
Place in a microwaveable cassorole dish
Season with salt and pepper
Add about 1/2 c. milk and 2-3 T. butter
Cover and microwave about 12 mins untill potatoes are soft and done.
Top with lots of shredded cheese, cover and let the cheese melt.

Cheeseburgers

So my kids love Cheeseburgers from McDonalds.. but when I've made hamburgers at home, they often turned up their noses. SO today I am putting this whole invoved with cooking thing to the test!
To make it fun I let them cut out their cheese into cute shapes ;)
Little sister made a heart.

 

Little brother made a star. Side note: I never buy this processed cheese stuff, but thought it would work better to cut out into shapes. I don't know that it really mattered, next time we'll try to good stuff!!!

 

Little burger flipper in training look out fast food industry...he he he, just kidding!

 

 

A pretty yummy little lunch..

 

I decided to try these products out, in case any of you are wondering... My kids never eat a whole hamburger so when I found these 'mini' slider hamburgers I thought I'd give them a try. They actually worked out pretty good, and fit just right on our little cheap $1 buns. I thought The Turkey burgers were really good, though husband was a little iffy on them, but he'll eat anything I make cause he loves me ;).

 

Killer Nachos

Killer Nachos comes from a novel I read by Josi Kilpack. She is a fun author, check out her books!
We usually just microwave our Nachos but this recipe said to do them in the oven. I have to say they did turn out better!

Killer Nachos
corn totilla chips
cheese
ground beef browned and seasoned with taco seasoning
other toppings you like: peppers, onions, olives
Put a layer of chips in a 9x13 baking dish heat in oven at 350 degrees for 5-6 mins chips get nice and crispy, then pull out and layer on toppings, add another layer of chips and toppings if you like, and heat another 5-8 mins. Top with salsa and sour cream.

 

 

So I knew the kids wouldn't go for any peppers or onions... but I had them help cut the bananna pepper and learn about it. A couple of kids actually got brave and tried a bite of the pepper. They didn't like it, oh well at least they tried!

 

 

Tonight we husked some corn to go with our dinner. It's a great way to get the kids involved! And they love corn on the cob.