Roasted Asparagus

I think roasting is the best way to eat a vegetable. If there is a vegetable out there you don't like, just try roasting it and I bet your opinion changes! My favorite roasted vegetable is asparagus. It is just so yummy and so simple to do. Try it out, you'll love it.

Roasted Asparagus

recipe from Ina Garten

2 pounds asparagus fresh asparagus

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Break off the tough ends of the asparagus.Wash and pat asparagus dry. Place them on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss them to coat them completely. Spread them on the baking sheet in a single layer and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes until tender, but still crisp. 

Mom's Spanish Rice

 

This dish is a favorite from my childhood. I have no idea where my mom got it or why it is even called Spanish rice, but she's been making it for forever and our family loves it. It is kind of a funny recipe and really isn't anything like the spanish rice you are probably used to, but give it a chance. When I married my husband he thought it was the strangest thing, but now he loves it. The bacon really makes this dish spectacular. We always ate it as a main dish instead of a side dish and always with a can of green beans, but for you skeptics out there you can serve it as a side dish. :)

Mom's Spanish Rice

recipe from mom

3 cups cooked white rice (I'll do a half white and brown sometimes)

6 slices of bacon cooked and crumbled (save a little bacon grease to cook onion)

1/2 onion diced

1 can tomato soup condensed

Shredded cheddar cheese

*Salt and pepper to taste (we always just seasoned our own portion to taste after it was cooked)

Cook rice. Cook bacon and leave some bacon grease in skillet or griddle, however you cook it. Cook the diced onions in the bacon grease until translucent. Mix the 3 cups cooked rice with the tomato soup. Throw in  the crumbled bacon and onions.  Mix together until combined. Spread into a casserole dish, fits nicely into the smaller than 9x13 size. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until cheese is melted.

Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes

You may know these potatoes by funeral potatoes, or au gratin potatoes (what we call them at my house), whatever you call them, I call them delicious! No Easter in my family is complete without a helping of these potatoes! My mom makes these with baked and cubed russet potatoes, but I love the simplicity of using hashbrowns. You can whip this up in no time flat! A real crowd pleaser for sure. We eat this as a main dish all the time.

Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes

1 package (28 oz) frozen shredded hash browns
1 pint sour cream (about 2 cups)
2 cups medium or sharp cheddar
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2-1 onion diced (just depends on how much you like, green onions would be yummy too)
2 T butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 cups crushed cornflake crumbs

Melt butter in a skillet and cook onions until translucent. Set aside. Combine cream of chicken soup and sour cream in large bowl. Mix well. Add onions and cheese until combined. Add defrosted hashbrowns and stir until combined. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour into greased 9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle cornflake crumbs on top! Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until bubbly!

Birthday Macaroni Salad

My friends and I were getting together for a little pot luck lunch on my birthday (hence the name Birthday Macaroni Salad). It was late at night and I didn't have any time to run to the store so I kind of had to think of a dish that I could bring, that was in my cupboards and fridge at home. I initially wanted to do a macaroni salad, always a good pot luck item. Well, I didn't have a lot of the veggies I would use in my family's traditional macaroni salad, but I had macaroni noodles and miracle whip, so I knew I could throw together something! I looked through the cupboards, grabbed a few more items and went with it. Now let me explain why this was kind of a scary thing for me...I'm not the type of person that can make up her own recipes on a whim and I'm certainly not one to venture too far from an original recipe. I don't have much faith in my cooking judgement, with good reason (ask my husband), but this time it actually turned out great. It felt kinda good that I had done my own thing and it turned out delicious! (I must be getting better at this cooking business with all the cooking I've been doing this year!) 

Everyone loved it and wanted the recipe. Always a good sign! I figured I'd better write down the recipe while I can still remember it! I'm sure you all have these items in your kitchen too. So if you need a last minute potluck item, try this one out!

Birthday Macaroni Salad

2 cups elbow macaroni uncooked

1/2 onion diced 

1/2 small can sliced olives

1 can tuna

Peas *almost a cup-ish

1 heaping cup of Miracle Whip *I added a little the next day, it had tried out some

1 tsp dill

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 tsp celery seed 

1/2-1 tsp seasoned salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

*I think halved cherry tomatoes, and/or broccoli, and/or shredded cheese would be good in this as well! The seasonings I just kinda eyed it, so feel free to do as you please!

Cook macaroni according to box directions and drain, set aside. In large bowl combine Miracle Whip, sugar, dill, celery seed, seasoned salt and black pepper together. Once they are combined well add diced onion, olives, tuna, peas and macaroni. Mix together well. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours before serving, the longer the better! Add more seasonings if needed or to taste!

Barbecued Baked Onion Rings

Before I had even gone to the website this recipe was hosted on, I knew it was going to be amazing just because of the name. What an ingenious idea!!! Ingenious it was. We tried these today and boy they made us happy. So good! We also had them with an egg salad sandwich thank you. :) Who doesn't love onion rings, and who doesn't love BBQ? The other bonus? Baked not fried! Go check out her website, see her wonderful photography, and you'll be drooling. :)

Barbecue Baked Onion Rings
adapted from Recipe Girl

1 cup barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 cups panko bread crumbs
2 medium to large sweet onions, sliced into 1/2-inch rings

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place baking sheets in the oven and let those preheat too. In a medium bowl, whisk together barbecue sauce, eggs and flour. Place bread crumbs in a separate bowl. Using tongs (or your fingers) dip onion slice in the barbecue sauce mixture, shake the excess off and then dunk on all sides into the bread crumbs. Lay on a plate, or something, while you finish the rest of the onion rings. Repeat until all onion slices have been dunked. Remove hot baking sheets from the oven and spray lightly with cooking spray. Move coated onions to hot baking sheets. Spray the coated onions lightly with cooking spray. Bake for about 6 minutes, or until golden, then use tongs to turn each onion ring over. Spray the other side of the onions with cooking spray and bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. Watch closely to make sure they crumbs are not browning too quickly or burning. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6