Easy Turkey Tetrazzini

I actually have a few recipes to share with everyone that I've been holding onto for a few weeks now. I just haven't had the motivation required to blog. Some of you may already be aware of my health problems and for those of you who aren't, if you jump over to my baby blog you can find out whats going on with me right now. I am having some serious Crohns issues that is going to require surgery. I'm not looking forward to it is all I'll say about that.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure I shared this recipe this week because its a great way to use up leftover turkey for your holiday lunches/dinners. This is a dish that Daniel's Mom made for him growing up and he's asked me before to make it for him, I never got around to it but I finally decided to give it a spin a few weeks ago. I bought a frozen turkey breast and roasted it up with mashed potatoes for dinner one night and for the second night I used the leftover turkey and made this meal. We all really enjoyed it, even with the mushrooms. I used fresh mushrooms by the way!

(Sorry for the less than stellar picture...I took it with my phone.)

Easy Turkey Tetrazzini~

Compliments of: allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 (8oz) package cooked egg noodles

2 tbsp. butter

1 (6oz.) can sliced mushrooms, I used fresh sliced mushrooms and sauteed them in the butter.

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 cups chopped cooked turkey

1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of celery soup

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.

2.) Melt butter in a large heavy skillet. Saute mushrooms for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in turkey, condensed soup, and sour cream. Place cooked noodles in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

3.) Bake in a preheated oven for 20 t0 25 minutes, or until sauce is bubbling.

*I mixed the noodles and the sauce together instead of layering everything.

I hope you enjoy...I know we did!!

Scooter's Spaghetti

Anyone notice a change with the blog? Not only have I given it a minor face lift I've made the decision to combine Babies make Three and Four together with Katie's Korner. I figured with as little as I blog between the two there was really no need to keep them separate. Now the goal is to get really creative and come up with a new blog title...lol. Suggestions???


Anyway, can you believe I have another recipe to share with you? I originally saw this recipe over at Cassie Craves where she had included it on one of her weekly menus. Go figure right? Cassie Craves and Kaitlin in the Kitchen are becoming what allrecipes.com used to be to me...lol.


I thought it looked really good then, but was hesitant to give it a try mainly because I figured everyone would freak when I served them spaghetti with the fried onions on top. Well after then seeing it on my new favorite website Pinterest, I figured why not. So...I gave it a try, used a little more spaghetti then the recipe called for, how Katie like right? It's was a little dry for my liking BUT it was because I used to much spaghetti. I will say though, as leftovers, it was delicious.

This is a recipe that will definitely be made again, this time either using the correct amount of spaghetti or adding extra sauce but either way, it's gonna be made again, and don't fret about the fried onions...they were totally awesome on top!!


Scooter's Spaghetti~
Compliments of: Salad in a jar

Ingredients:
8 ounces cooked spaghetti
1 lb. ground beef
1 large can spaghetti sauce (26.5 oz.)
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup chopped green peppers (I used red peppers)
1/3 cup chopped onion
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. milk
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
French Fried Onions (small can)

Directions:
1.) Cook spaghetti according to the directions on the package. Cook to al dente, drain and set aside.
2.) Brown ground beef. Drain excess grease. Add spaghetti sauce to skillet and heat.
3.) Combine onions, peppers, and butter in a small glass bowl. Cover and microwave four minutes on high until soft.
4.) Add cream cheese and milk to vegetables and stir well.
5.) Using a 10x6 dish, assemble in the following order: thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish, spaghetti, cream cheese/vegetable mixture, remaining spaghetti sauce, and Parmesan cheese. Add the fried onions to the top during the last five minutes of cooking.
6.) Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remember, top with the fried onions and then bake for another five minutes. That's thirty minutes of baking total...just helping you all out...lol.

The author of Salad in a jar says this is a great dish to make ahead and refrigerate or even freeze. She does recommend doing so without adding the fried onions though, just add those during the baking process.



Looks yummy right? Her picture is even better so please scoot on over to her site to check it out!

Copycat Chili's Salsa

Boy do I have a recipe for you...

I don't know about everyone else but when we go to our local Mexican restaurant the thing I enjoy most is the free chips and salsa. I usually get so full on that stuff that I very rarely finish my dinner. Normally in this house I make my pico de galla but when I saw this recipe over at Kaitlin in the Kitchen I knew I had to give it a try because it looked so similar to the stuff you get at the restaurant. I doubled all of my ingredients and used an entire bunch of cilantro because, well, we love cilantro in this house. I'm so glad I made a big batch because Daniel took some into work and ended up sharing with a few people. They loved it so much that I sent the rest in with him the next day and one lady went as far as drinking it out of a cup because she didn't have chips.

While I don't think it's good enough to drink out of a glass, it was pretty darn good. It has a bit of a kick too it which I could do without because I'm a wuss like that, but the kick didn't slow me down one bit...the stuff is addicting. Even my Mom was eating it and she hates spicy stuff even more so than I do...lol.

Copycat Chili's Salsa~

Compliments of: Kaitlin in the Kitchen

Ingredients:

1- 1o oz. can tomatoes and green chilies

1- 14.5 oz. can whole tomatoes, use juice as well

1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1.) In a blender add all of your ingredients and mix until everything is chopped up and fine.

2.) Put in an air tight container and allow to sit for 24 hours.

Once again blogger isn't allowing me to link up to Kaitlin's blog. If you go to the bottom of my blog you will find a link to her blog where you can find the original post. I'm honestly starting to consider moving away from blogger and combining both of my blogs into one. I wonder how much something like that would cost me? LOL

Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

Since I'm still feeling pretty good I decided to whip up a batch of no bake cookies last night for Daniel, Addie, and my Mom. I'll admit I had one to make sure they were edible for my family but other than that I'm gonna have to stay away from them. I'm not allowed to have a lot of fiber so the oats aren't very friendly to me right now.

I attempted to make no bake cookies once before when I was in high school or something and if I remember correctly they didn't turn out. Tonight's turned out pretty good even though all the times I watched my step-mom make them I don't recall her putting peanut butter in them. Maybe that's why the first batch I ever made failed to turn out correctly?

Anyway, I grabbed the recipe off line and now I'm sharing it with you!

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies~

Source: blisstree.com

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

4 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 stick butter

1/2 cup milk

1 cup peanut butter

1 tbsp. vanilla

3 cups oats

Directions:

1.) In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil sugar, cocoa, butter, and milk. Allow to boil for one minute. Add peanut butter, vanilla, and oats.

2.) Drop by tablespoons onto waxed paper until cooled and hardened.

*I was trying to get dinner ready and keep a certain toddler out of trouble while making these so I didn't have time to make actual cookies. I lightly sprayed a baking sheet and spread the mixture out evenly in the pan. After it cooled I cut them into bars.

Seriously, what is going on with blogger? One minute I can't link up to anything and the next I can. I'm also having problems with spacing...am I the only one having this problem or what?

Salsa Ranch Burgers

I can't believe I haven't posted anything on the blog since July. Can you tell I've been sick? I just completed my second four day hospital stay for a perforated colon and between it and my Crohns disease and other complications, I have been under the weather for a few months now. There for awhile I was living on sherbet, popsicles, and pudding and have managed to lose close to thirty pounds. It's weight I've needed to lose but its most definitely not the way in which to do it.

Anyway, while I have been cooking it's not been things that are blog worthy. Since I hadn't been eating the stuff, I've been making quick and easy meals to satisfy Daniel and Addie.

Today was a good health day for me so we did a nice big grocery trip and I decided on making these burgers for dinner. It's yet another recipe that I've snagged from Cassie Craves and I must say it became a favorite. The one thing I hate about making new recipes is that I can't always trust that Daniel will enjoy it, which is the majority of the time. This recipe was another story though. He took one bite, looked up, and said "this is pretty good". We went out for dinner Friday night for my 28th birthday and he said tonight's burger was better than the burger he ordered at the restaurant. I think that makes this burger a winner and one that will show up on the menu again!!

Salsa Ranch Burgers~

Compliments of: Cassie Craves via Tried-and-True Cooking with Heidi

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground chuck

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup shredded colby-jack cheese (I used sharp cheddar)

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper (I used regular black pepper out of the container)

Shredded cheese, salsa, and ranch dressing

Directions:

1.) In a mixing bowl, combine the ground chuck, 1/2 cup salsa, shredded cheese, cumin, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Mix by hand and form into four patties.

2.) Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray it with cooking spray. Carefully lay the patties in the skillet and cook over medium heat for several minutes on each side, until done.

3.) Combine equal parts salsa and ranch dressing. Place burgers on bun and top with shredded cheese and the salsa/ranch dressing sauce.

Does it not look amazing? Daniel added a slice of onion to his but I'm trying really hard to take it easy with stuff. I figured adding an onion to my burger would be overkill for my digestive system right now. Once again blogger isn't allowing me to link up with Cassie's but you can find her blog at the bottom of mine and then look under burgers and you can locate the recipe there.

Free Fallin'

I know, I know, I haven't blogged in forever. I've had a rough couple of months with my Crohns disease which unfortunately involved a four day hospital stay about two weeks ago. I don't even want to know what that bills going to look like. I was diagnosed with a perforated colon which as serious as it sounds was the least of their worries. Because of the perforation, and two back to back pregnancies, my hemoglobin level was a six. The normal range for women is twelve to fifteen. Needless to say I required three blood transfusions and because I have such small veins they had to insert a picc line in my upper arm leading into my heart in order to even get the transfusions accomplished. I went to the ER Thursday morning and they inserted the picc line Friday morning. I lost count of how many times they did/attempted blood draws on my arms during that period of time. It finally got to the point where as soon as a tech would come in to do a blood draw I would just start crying. I swear getting blood out of me is like trying to milk a cow using your feet...it's near impossible. I'll admit I did have a mini, OK, major, panic attack when they came in to do the picc line. No one had told me why they were doing it so I automatically assume they are prepping me for surgery and of course because it's early in the morning, none of my family was with me. Thankfully my Aunt works at the hospital so when I sent my Mom, Dad, husband, and sister the "somebody get here now" text, my Mom called her and sent her my way to figure out what was going on and to calm me down. I don't think it helped that the only other times that I had experienced picc lines involved my Grandma's who were on their death beds. Both of their picc lines were in their chests and it involved stitches and everything. Now had I have known from the get go that this was only involving my upper arm, didn't require sutures, and involved three shots of a numbing agent I sure wouldn't have freaked out like I did. It was seriously a piece of cake, even though having it was uncomfortable at times.

Anyway, not only did I require the blood transfusions, but I had/still have a massive infection raging in my body. That tends to happen when you have crap, literally, leaking into your body. As of today, I have four more days of anti-biotics to take and after yet another blood draw to determine whether the infection is gone or not, I will finally begin the process of treating the severe inflammation I have in my digestive system. Unfortunately, all of the drugs they use to treat my Crohns disease, specifically the inflammation, lower my bodies immune system. This means that we haven't been able to treat the disease just yet so I'm still suffering quite a bit. I am currently on several different prescriptions. I am on two maintenance drugs for my Crohns which do not interfere with my immune system, I am on Tylenol 3's for the pain, anti-nausea meds because I'm nausea's all of the time, a new med for GERD, and my anti-biotic. Two weeks from Monday we will begin the new med for my Crohns disease as the maintenance meds I have been on have obviously not been working. This new med is actually an injection that I will administer once a week in either my thighs or stomach and when I say "I", I actually mean Daniel or my Mom because let's face it, my fear of needles and IV's has now gotten so bad that I honestly don't think I could do it. It's bad enough they have to do it because from everyone who I've talked to who have taken them, they hurt like a bitch. I just keep telling myself a few minutes of pain afterwards will be worth finally going into remission with this disease.

Now that you know my reasoning for not blogging here's a quick update on the girls.

Addison is now officially eighteen months old and getting smarter every single day. These past few weeks her vocabulary has really picked up. We've noticed the past few days that she's talking in what appears to be full sentences. We can't understand a single word, but they sound like complete senteces...lol. She currently has four molars coming in and to say it's been a nightmare would be an understatement. She loves animals, especially the dogs and horses, and loves to be outside. Her favorite foods involve pretty much anything with pasta, goldfish crackers, cheerios and milk, cheese of any kind, scrambled eggs and sausage, and just the other week I made her a deconstructed soft taco and she loved it. Beverages of any kind are not safe in her presence and because of this we go through a lot of cups during the day. It doesn't matter if she has the same drink in her sippy cup or not, she would rather drink from our cups.

Cadence is now six months old and she is currently sporting six to twelve month clothing. She's wearing Addison's twelve month pajamas and I can see in a few months them being too small. She's all over the place but still not crawling. She rolls everywhere and loves being in the middle of all the toys with her sister. She contines to be a happy little girl although she's not shy when it comes to letting us know she's wearing a dirty diaper, is hungry, or needs a nap. She hates being left alone, but unfortnately I can't take both girls with me when I go to use the bathroom. This means she's stuck in her excersaucer for a few minutes and she cries hysterically to let me know it's not ok. We're still working on getting her to sleep through the night but I'm starting to think I have another Addison on my hands. They probably won't sleep through the night until their 18 and in college.

And because no post in complete without a picture...here you go!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Man, oh man, do I have a recipe for you tonight. I made this casserole for dinner tonight and it was definitely a winner. Both Daniel and myself had two helpings and even my Mom had a piece. You know it's good if my Mom eats it. She pickier than most toddlers when it comes to eating. This was quick and very simple to pull together which is what I like. I think next time I might add some onion and maybe even a small can of the tomato with green chile's. Even without those additions it was a winner and it will be made again!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Source: Cassie Craves

http://cassiecraves.blogspot.com/2011/02/chicken-enchilada-casserole.html

(Sorry, blogger wouldn't allow me to do the link up properly)

Ingredients:

3 C. cooked & shredded chicken

1 packet taco seasoning

2 C. salsa verde

9 small flour tortillas (I used the ten inch tortillas and ended up using nine for each layer.)

1 15.5 oz. can of refried beans, warmed

8 oz. sour cream

3 C. shredded colby jack cheese

Directions:

1.) Heat oven to 35o. Mix together shredded chicken, taco seasoning, 1/2 cup water, and salsa verde in a skillet. Simmer for ten minutes.

2.) In a 9x13 baking pan spray with non-stick cooking spray. Layer bottom with three tortillas, or in my case, six tortillas. Top with half of cooked chicken mixture. Cover with another three or six tortillas, depending on size. Combine beans and sour cream and spread on layer of tortillas.

3.) Sprinkle half of the cheese over top the bean and sour cream mixture. Top with remaining tortillas. Top with remaining chicken mixture and then remaining amount of cheese. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until bubbly.

Enjoy, I know we did!!!