Green Bean Casserole I

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it's time to break out some of my traditional Thanksgiving recipes. I think this one is a classic, and if you haven't had it before, shame on your family!

Green Bean Casserole I
Ingredients:
2 (15 ounce) cans cut green beans, drained
3/4 cup milk (I reduced to 1/2)
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (2.8 ounce) can French fried onions
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium casserole dish mix together green beans, milk, cream of mushroom soup, and 1/2 of the can of onions.
Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until heated through and bubbly. Sprinkle remaining onions over the top, and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Here are the results:

The Looking Glass Wars

Here's the description from the author's website:

    "The Looking Glass Wars unabashedly challenges the world’s Carrollian Wonderland assumptions of tea parties, dormice and a curious little blonde girl to reveal an epic, cross dimensional saga of love, murder, betrayal, revenge and the endless war for Imagination. Meet the heroic, passionate, monstrous, vengeful denizens of this parallel world as they battle each other with AD-52’s and orb generators, navigate the Crystal Continuum, bet on jabberwock fights and slip each other the poisonous pink mushroom. Finally, someone got it right. This ain’t no fairytale.

     Alyss Heart, heir to the Wonderland throne, was forced to flee through the Pool of Tears after a bloody palace coup staged by the murderous Redd shattered her world. Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author to whom she tells the surreal, violent, heartbreaking story of her young life only to see it published as the nonsensical children’s sojourn Alice in Wonderland. Alyss had trusted Lewis Carroll to tell the truth so that someone, somewhere would find her and bring her home.

      But Carroll had got it all wrong. He even misspelled her name! If not for the intrepid Hatter Madigan, a member of the Millinery (Wonderland’s security force) who after a 13 year search eventually tracked Alyss to London, she may have become just another society woman sipping tea in a too-tight bodice instead of returning to Wonderland to battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts."

MY REVIEW: A fun twist on Alice in Wonderland. Beware: it's part of a trilogy so if you read one, you'll want to read the rest. I think I enjoy fantasy more than I realize, but sometimes the details go over my head. The author is detailed in his battle scenes and sometimes my eyes just glazed over his descriptions. The plot was excellent though and I'm already starting on the second book Seeing Redd.

Cheesy Enchiladas

My husband hardly ever eats the same dinner twice. No joke, I cook that much variety. However, there are a few go-to meals that I make when I'm in a hurry, I'm in a pinch, or the recipe is just that good, I want to make it again. This one fits into all of the categories. I hope your family loves this recipe as much as I do.

Cheesy Enchiladas

Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package cream Cheese, softened
1 (8 ounce) package shredded cheddar cheese,divided
1/4 cup sliced green onions (can sub dried chives if necessary)
6 (6 inch) flour tortilla (6 inch)
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
I sometimes add a large can of canned chicken when my hubby wants meat

1. Beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add 1 cup of the cheddar cheese and onions; mix until blended.
2. Spread 1/4 cup cheese mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up. Place, seam-side down, in 11x7-inch baking dish. Pour salsa over tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese; cover. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

I hate the winter, the sun goes down too early so my pictures aren't nearly as good so pardon my picture. Here are my results:

Jana's clean-out-the-cupboard Pasta Salad

I used to never make up my own recipes. I really only do so now if there is a need. The other day I NEEDED to use up some produce and so this recipe came about. Pretty tasty if I do say so myself.

Jana's clean-out-the-cupboard Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
6 oz cooked pasta shells
2 tomatoes, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 can olives, sliced
1/2 cucumber diced
Italian dressing to coat

Directions:
Combine all ingredients.

Here are the results:

Peanut Butter Noodles

Asian food is a favorite of mine, but it always takes too long to make, until now. These peanut butter noodles are so easy. I couldn't find UDON noodles anywhere so I just got low mein noodles in the Asian section of the grocery store. It was fairly good. Here's the recipe:

Peanut Butter Noodles
Ingredients:
1/2 C. Chicken Broth
1 1/2 TBS. minced fresh ginger root
3 TBS. Soy sauce
3 TBS Peanut Butter
1 1/2 TBS honey
2tsp hot chile paste (optional
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz Udon Noodles
1/4 C chopped green onions
1/4 C chopped peanuts

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until tender according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, combine chicken broth, ginger, soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, chili paste, and garlic in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until peanut butter melts and is heated through. Add noodles, and toss to coat. Garnish with green onions and peanuts.


Here are the results: