Ronald Reagan Macaroni

Don't ask...I have no idea why this is named after Ronald Reagan. I just know it's easy, and it's basically like homemade mac and cheese with diced ham and ritz crackers. The kids love it :)
----------------------------------------
Ronald Reagan Macaroni

Ingredients:
8 oz. hot cooked macaroni noodles
shredded cheddar cheese to your liking
diced ham
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups milk (See instructions below before you pour the whole 2 cups in!)
Ritz crackers, crushed

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a greased casserole dish, layer cooked macaroni, cheese, salt, pepper, and ham.
3. Pour milk over all...JUST until you can see the milk rising up through the pasta. 2 cups is often too much in my opinion.
4. Spread crackers over top and bake 40 minutes or until crackers are turning light brown.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:
1 pkg ziti or penne noodles
1 large container cottage cheese
2 large bags shredded mozzarella cheese
1 large jar spaghetti sauce
Beef

Instructions:
1. Boil noodles and brown beef.
2. Layer noodles, beef, sauce, and cottage cheese in greased casserole dish.
3. Top with shredded mozzarella.
4. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
-----------------------------------------
Throw some bagged salad and garlic bread on the plate, and call it dinner!! :)

I name recipes after the people who share them with me

Kind of like "Dawn's Chicken Casserole"...I'm sure she didn't invent the recipe for that dish, but she made it for me, I loved it, and therefore I dubbed it HERS!! Our friend, Mario, made us this once, and I think we have requested it every single dinner get-together since. (He even came to our house to make it once! ha!) Anyway, even with the instructions he gives me, the lessons I have been through while watching him make it, and every tip I have written down on my recipe card, mine still doesn't turn out as wonderful as his. Nevertheless, I continue attempting this recipe, and it's going on my month of meals this month...so here goes!
-------------------------------------------------------
Mario's Chicken and Noodles

Ingredients:
Olive oil
spaghetti noodles
chicken
bread crumbs
paprika
Chicken breasts
eggs

Instructions:
1. Begin boiling a pot of water.
2. Scramble the eggs and set aside.
3. Saute onions and set aside.
4. Pound the chicken breasts between two sheets of wax paper until they are thin.
5. Coat the chicken in bread crumbs. (Paprika is to your liking, I suppose.)
6. Pound the chicken a little more to get the crumbs "set." Set chicken aside, close by and ready to roll if you get stressed out easily while cooking like I do.
7. Once the water is boiling on the stove, heat a little olive oil on the stove, and throw in the spaghetti noodles to give them a light brown color. (Note: This is where I usually make my first mistake...and I think the toasted noodles are the best part.)
8. When the noodles look light brown in color, put them immediately into the pot of boiling water.
9. Fry chicken in olive oil (add more oil as needed.)
10. While chicken is frying, drain noodles and mix scrambled eggs and sauteed onions in with noodles in the hot pot to heat all throughout.
11. Serve fried chicken on top of noodles
---------------------------------------------------
YES!! It is complicated, at least for me it was and still is!! It stresses me out a little bit just typing all of that out. Here's the thing, though (since the point of this blog is supposed to be EASY cooking!): the only reason I think it's stressful is because I never do the steps in the right order. Things get burnt or cold because I am always a step (or 2!) behind. Hopefully with it all written out this way, I will do better this month. It really shouldn't be that hard...I mean, seriously!!!!!!

Cheesy Chicken Casserole

This is one meal friends have brought us after I have had babies. It is yummy and freezes well! Depending on your family's taste for spicy foods, you can adjust the amount of chili powder/cayenne pepper to your liking.

-------------------------------------------------

Cheesy Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:
Cooked chicken (boiled is great)
1 pkg. spaghetti
3 c shredded cheddar cheese
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c chicken broth
1 T seasoned salt
can of diced tomatoes
chili powder or cayenne pepper

Instructions:
1. Boil spaghetti
2. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces
3. Drain tomatoes
4. Put all in a bowl. Pour in 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup.
5. Pour in 2 c cheese
6. Add chicken broth
7. Add spices
8. Pour spaghetti mixture into casserole dish. Sprinkle rest of cheese on top.
9. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.