Barbeque Ham & Pineapple Pizza

Sometimes I get bored making the same ol' stuff all the time. That's when I go through my cooking guideline books (otherwise known as cookbooks to most people) and find a recipe that I think I can improve upon. This was one of those recipes. Of course, it also helps to have all kinds of leftover stuff in your fridge... especially ham, if you're like me and you buy HUGE hams when they're on sale for $1.50/lb. at the store!

Barbeque Ham & Pineapple Pizza

1 pizza crust
Barbeque sauce
2 C. cooked, cubed ham
1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks, WELL drained
2 C. shredded colby jack cheese

 Make the crust according to the directions, except put all the dough on to one big jelly roll pan instead of using two 12" pans. After it's prebaked, top with barbeque sauce, ham, pineapple and cheese. Bake at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and the cheese is melted.

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

I found this recipe's cousin in the Cooking Club magazine that I get every month. I'm a Life Member of the Cooking Club of America, and I love their magazine!! Anyhow, I say this recipe's cousin, because I'm pretty sure the person who made it would have no idea this was the same thing if the met this meatloaf going down the street... HA! Either way, this stuff in Nummy. I know, 'cause my girls said so.

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

1  1/2 lbs. hamburger
1 (12 oz.) pkg. bacon, diced*
2 eggs
1/2 C. ketchup
1/2 C. oatmeal
1/4 C. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1  1/2 C. shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 C. french fried onions




 *Dice the bacon by cutting the raw bacon in strips with kitchen shears, and then cut it in little dices. It works great and it's much easier than crumbling it after it's fried!!

 Fry the bacon until it's just about crisp, then drain in a paper towel lined bowl. Crumble the hamburger in a large bowl, then add the bacon, eggs, ketchup, oats, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, onion powder and 3/4 C. shredded cheese. Mix with your hands until well blended. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray, form the meat mixture into a good looking loaf and place gently in the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Top with the remaining cheese and the french fried onions. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked.

For Lack of a Better Name... Fish!

The original of this recipe had about 1/17 of the spices that I use now days, but I have converted more than one fish hater with this stuff, so it must be good!! :) There are just a few tips you MUST remember when making this fish... Fear not the spice, hate not the onion and despise not the butter. Remember this and your taste buds will hum. When you're all done sprinkling and onioning and buttering your pan should look like this:

 

 Please, just keep in mind that you don't really wanna use every single flavor of seasoning salt you own if you happen to have 37 of them in your cupboard like I do. I practically brined everyone the last time I made this...

 Every-Spice-In-The-Cupboard Fish

1-2 lbs white fish filets

1 med-large onion minced

1 stick of butter

Spices... like:

Mrs. Dash, Old Bay, Johnny's Seafood Seasoning, Onion powder, Garlic powder, Oregano, Basil, Thyme, Rosemary, Italian Seasoning, Cumin, Nutmeg (YES!! It takes away the fishy-ness), Lawry's or Johnny's seasoning salt, Celery salt, Cajun seasoning, you get the picture? Pretty much everything but the Apple pie spice, cinnamon and cardamom and stuff like that.

Place the fish on in a 9X13 pan. Sprinkle with the onion. Sprinkle all the spices evenly over everything. Cut the stick of butter in about Tablespoon size chunks and place all over the fish. Bake at about 350 for 30-45 minutes. I like to cook it to death so the spices really permeate the fish, but it you don;t like twice dead fish you don't have to be like me. Serve with mashed potatoes and spoon the butter spice sauce over them. YUMMY!!

Butternut Squash Soup

Reece's mom had given us this butternut squash and I wanted to do something interesting with it so I started Googling and found lots of soup recipes. Then I decided that apparently all I needed to do was put in the stuff that sounded good to me. So I did. And while we were eating, Rosie kept telling me 'Mommy! This is yummy!!' :)

1 butternut squash
1 medium-large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 medium apple, peeled, cored & chunked
1/2 C. butter
2 (14.5 oz.) cans chicken broth
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 T. sugar (optional)
Salt, cayenne pepper & nutmeg to taste
Half & Half to thin the soup to your desired consistency

Bake the squash at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. In a large soup kettle, sauté the onion in the butter. Add the cream cheese and chicken broth. Simmer until the cream cheese is all melted. Add the apple. Scoop the squash from the rind and add. Add seasonings to taste& sugar if you're using it; simmer until everything is tender. In small batches, puree the soup in the blender until smooth. Pour back into the kettle and add as much half & half as you deem necessary. Reheat and serve.

Strawberry Lemonade

Once upon a time I needed to use up some lemons that were on the verge of rotting to death in my fridge. So I decided to make lemonade. I had just tried the garbage they try to pass off as something wonderful at McDonald's and it's flavor left something to be desired. Very much something. And I have 40,000 bags of strawberries I never use in my freezer. So. I made strawberry lemonade. And it was good. And everybody that tastes it loves it. Even Reece said it wasn't too bad, which REALLY means something because he doesn't even LIKE strawberries. OR lemonade! So here tis... It's extraordinarily easy and extraordinarily good.

Strawberry Lemonade

Frozen strawberries
Lemons
Sugar
Water as needed if it get too thick
Ice -if you feel like using it

 Juice the lemons and don't worry if you get some pulpy stuff in this, the blender grinds it up real well. ;) Pour the lemon juice into the blender and start adding strawberries. If it gets too thick add some water and/or ice to make it the consistency you like. Add sugar to taste and enjoy!

Rosie's Rice

 Rosie came up with this recipe one day when I was talking to Reece on the phone pondering how I was ever gonna make hamburger gravy for him to take in the truck. See, he doesn't like mashed potatoes, and I can't send him his happy happy boiled potatoes that he loves, because after they have been frozen they are all rubbery and he can't stand them. So I was mourning that I can't make him hamburger gravy and he was crying with me when Rosie came up and said thoughtfully, with her finger on her chin and her head tilted, "I think you should use... ... ... RICE!! I think that would taste yummy!" So I made up my hamburger gravy and added rice and cheese and Reece drooled all over his phone and whined 'cause he wasn't there to taste it that very night. Now it is a much requested meal around here!  Enjoy!

1  1/2 lbs. hamburger
1 medium-large onion, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1  1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 beef bouillon cubes
Water -about 3 cups?
1 C. brown rice (I use the instant stuff that cooks in 10-12 minutes)
2 C. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

 Brown the hamburger with the salt, onion and garlic, drain off the fat if there is any. Add the water and seasonings. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the rice and more water if needed so the rice can cook properly. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is tender. Mix in the cheese and serve when it's all incorporated. ;) (I like to sound important.)