Thursday, May 15, 2008

Polish Sausage & Potatoes

Potatoes – 5 or 6 medium to large

Onion – 1 medium, chopped

Carrots – 4 or 5 peeled, sliced

16 oz pkg. smoked or polish sausage, sliced in ½ “slices

1 C. cheese, grated, your choice of kind (I’ve used American & Cheddar & Colby/Cheddar mix)

Seasoning salt – (I use “Soul Seasoning”, but use the kind you like best!)

Pepper to taste

Vegetable oil to cover bottom of pan (need less in a non-stick pan)

Wash potatoes thoroughly. Cut up your potatoes into 1” squares, leave skin on. Chop up your onion. Peel and slice the carrots (1/4 “ slices or so) thinly. Put vegetable oil in large, deep skillet and heat slightly; now add veggies. Add seasoning salt and pepper. Now fry all that up in a pan together till potatoes and carrots are done. Keep a lid on it and it will cook much faster. Now add your polish sausage, and put the lid on and let it all get hot for 5 more minutes. Now mix it up, and add grated cheese. Put the lid on a couple more minutes till the cheese melts down through it all. Now eat it. Yum yum!

Sonya's Green Bean Casserole (Not a Side Dish! A Main Dish!)


1 ½ lbs ground beef, browned with 1 medium chopped onion, and drained

2 t. garlic powder

Salt & pepper to taste

4 cans (any style) green beans, drained

2 cans cream mushroom soup

½ can milk

1 cup grated cheese (your choice, we like cheddar)

1 can French fried onions (or you could substitute buttered cracker crumbs)

Mix mushroom soup and milk in mixing bowl. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Now add in the green beans and ground beef, mixing all together gently. Pour into 9 X 13 pan. Cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Now add the grated cheese to cover top and put the French fried onions on top of that, crumbled all over. Cook another 10 minutes.

Serve with hot garlic bread.Yum!

***If you want you can add a little can of drained mushrooms to the mixture. I don’t cuz Eddie doesn’t like mushrooms.****

Quick Deep Dish Pizza! OR...Who Wants to Wait on Yeast to Rise??

Pepperoni, 1 pkg

Grated cheese, cheddar & mozzarella, lots

1 ½ - 2 lbs ground beef

1 med chopped onion

Black olives, sliced

16 oz. can tomato sauce

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 T. Oregano or pizza spices

Salt & pepper to taste

Canned cheapo biscuits (2 cans do a 9 x 13 pan pretty well)

Mushrooms, fresh or canned

Green bell pepper, chopped

Roll each biscuit out with a roller pin or smooth glass to about ¼ “ (more or less!). Or your hands! Better yet, your little ones would enjoy flattening them out with their (clean, washed of course) hands! It’s a good idea to let them sit out for a few minutes to get warmed up; they will stay in place better (the biscuits, not the kids). As you get each one rolled out, place them to form a crust in the bottom of a 13 X 9 pan; spray bottom of pan with cooking spray first so it won’t stick. It doesn’t have to be perfect; just cover the bottom, more or less. (If you don’t have canned biscuits, I have mixed up Bisquick biscuits and flattened it out in the bottom. Little flakier, though, but still good!) Brown your hamburger & onion & bell pepper in a skillet, and drain.

Now mix up your pizza sauce. Use the tomato sauce, garlic powder, oregano, salt & pepper. You’ll want a good flavorful sauce (it needs to be a bit stronger-tasting than spaghetti sauce so you can still taste it with all the toppings on it). We like a lot of sauce; after all, this is an eat-with-a-fork pizza.! If you want less, use less and save the rest in the fridge. Spoon it over the biscuits. Make sure there is plenty. Nothing is worse than dry pizza. Now start with the toppings.

Do the hamburger/onion/bell pepper mixture, then the pepperoni, then the mushrooms, then the olives & then the cheese/cheeses. If there are other ingredients your family enjoys, add ‘em! This part is also fun for the kids to help with! The more they are partakers with what goes on in the kitchen, the more they feel invested in family dinner time. Cook at 400 degrees until crust is good and brown on bottom, and not gooey. If you use a clear Pyrex pan, you can look at the bottom and see if they’re brown. If not, take a fork and dig down & see if the crust is fluffy. You definitely don’t want the biscuits ooey-gooey! Takes around 20-30 minutes.