Tuna Casserole

Tonight:

2(6 1/2oz)can tuna fish, water packed, drained
egg noodles or elbow mac, cooked
1 tsp instant onions
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Place cooked noodles in bottom of a casserole. Top with drained tuna. Sprinkle with onions. Cover with soup; spreading to edges to seal. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Notes: You can use 1 12 oz can of tuna instead of 2 6 1/2 oz cans. This may be doubled, but cooking time needs to be adjusted.

Mexican Lasagna/ Mexican Blend Herbs

3 pounds hamburger
12 tortillas, cut in half
23 ounces ranch style beans
14 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
10 ounces rotel tomatoes with green chilies
10 ounces cream of mushroom soup
1 onion chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder

Brown meat with onion. Drain. Add chili powder. In a baking dish layer 12 tortilla halves. Place 1/2 of meat on top. Top with beans. Place a layer of cheese over this. Place remaining tortilla halves over this. Mix together remaining meat and sup and rotels, Pour on top. Cover with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Notes: This was way too much for us the first time I made it. So I now make half the recipe. It is very good. The original recipe just called for tortillas as written above. But I've made it both ways, you really want to use corn tortillas. Also instead of using plain chili powder, I used a blend of Mexican spices, about 2 tablespoons. And finally I add a 4 ounce can of sliced mushrooms to the Meat/soup mixture [for half recipe so add 2 for the whole one].


Mexican Blend Herbs

3 Tablespoons oregano
2 tablespoons dry cilantro
1 tablespoon cayenne
2 tablespoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons cumin
pinch cloves
1 tablespoons onion powder
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 tablespoon chili powder

Blend well. Store in an airtight container.

Spanish Beef/Chicken

1 whole chicken, boiled and boned
1 (10oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup onion, chopped
4 ounces grated cheddar cheese
crushed tortilla chips

Stir together all ingredients; pour into greased baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Note: Instead of Using Chicken, I used 1 pound browned hamburger meat. This turned out just as good as with the chicken. And I would imagine that it would be good with ground venison, lamb, pork, or other meats; these are the two ways I've tried though.

Pizza/ German Chocolate Cake/ Pizza Skillet Casserole

Well, the anniversary of the day I came into this world was alright. We had pizza [Digorno] and German Chocolate Cake [actually a simply a chocolate cake mix with the Coconut Pecan Frosting out of a tub]. Nothing real impressive. He didn't complain.

Here are Recipes for Dinner tonight and Good recipes for the German chocolate Cake and the Frosting [both of which are excellent].

Pizza Skillet Casserole

5 cups egg noodles
1 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 package McCormick* Italian Style Spaghetti Sauce Mix
1 cup water
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Cook egg noodles as directed on package. Brown ground beef and onion in large skillet on medium heat. Drain fat. Add tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce mix and water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in cooked egg noodles. Top with cheese; cover. Cook on low 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

Servings: 8
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Start to finish: 30 minutes

German Chocolate Cake

1 package sweet chocolate
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
1 teaspoon soda
2 1/2 cup sifted caked flour
1 cup buttermilk
4 egg whites

Melt chocolate in boiling water. Cool. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla to chocolate mixture. Add chocolate mixture to the batter. Sift together salt, and flour, add alternately with butter milk to chocolate batter, beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter. Pour into 3 8- or 9-inch greased pans, lightly lined on the bottom with paper. Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes. Cool. Frost with Coconut Pecan Frosting.

Coconut Pecan Frosting

1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1/4 pound margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups coconut
1 cup pecans

Combine evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, margarine and vanilla in a saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens, about 12 minutes. Add coconut and pecans. Beat until frosting is cool and thick enough to spread on cake.
Yield: enough to frost 1 cake.