Waikiki Meatballs

I got this recipe from my friend Angela.  I had tried this at her house and knew my family would love it! She also has a great recipe blog you can check out at: http://banangelasplit.blogspot.com/! She has a really yummy fruit bruschetta recipe on there as well...so check that out too.

My kiddos love all recipes that involve meatballs.  I have to admit that I use frozen meatballs most of the time but I decided to follow the whole recipe and make these from scratch.  It took a little extra time but they are seasoned with ginger which goes great with the sauce.  The sweet sauce and pineapple was a big hit with my family too! These were easy to make and were eaten quickly!  Enjoy!

Waikiki Meatballs

Meatballs:

1 ½ lbs. ground beef
½ cup chopped onion
1 egg
2/3 cup cracker crumbs (I used saltines)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
¼ cup milk

Sauce:
2 T. cornstarch
½ cup brown sugar
1 can pineapple chunks (reserve juice)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
1 green pepper, chopped

In a large bowl combine all meatball ingredients.  Form into meatballs (about 1 T. of mixture per meatball).  Place meatballs in a large baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 min. or until done.  Drain meatballs and keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, mix together cornstarch, brown sugar, pineapple juice, vinegar, and soy sauce.  Heat to boiling.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until sauce begins to thicken.  Add bell pepper and cook until slightly tender.  When ready to serve add meatballs and pineapple and heat through.  Serve over rice.

Cowboy Casserole

Okay, so this didn't photograph well but believe me it's a crowd pleaser. My kiddos and husband all loved this one. This is about as casserole as you can get I'm afraid. Tater tots, cream of mushroom and ground beef...all the elements of a perfect casserole, am I right? It's just the kind of casserole a sweet little old lady might bring your family for dinner in the 1980s and that's what makes it comfort food :)

But, it is a new twist to tater tot casserole...and the new twist is green chile! Because everything is better with green chilies! You can tweak how spicy you make it by adding less chile or using a milder chile. But my family likes it hot so there is a pretty good portion of it in the recipe below.

I found a recipe in a magazine for a casserole with this name but pretty much the only thing I kept the same was the tater tots and the can of corn. So I'm going to claim this as a neighborjulia original. Enjoy!

Cowboy Casserole
2 lbs. ground beef
1 can corn
2 cans cream of mushroom
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup diced green chile (I used frozen)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. onion powder
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 bag frozen tater tots

Cook beef and drain. In a large bowl mix cooked ground beef with rest of the ingredients (except the tater tots). Spread mixture in a 9x13 pan and top with tater tots. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until tater tots are brown and crispy.

7 Layer Bars

So this is pretty much my favorite cookie ever! You've all probably had them in some form. They have a bunch of names such as: 7 layer bars, hello dollies, and magic bars. I've always called them 7 layer bars and Ben and Jerry's call them that too...just sayin'.

I'd like to conclude this blog post with the reasons that I love these bars. I love coconut and these deliver coconut plus chocolate and butterscotch! I love cookie bars because you can assemble it so much faster than scooping cookies. Finally I love how super easy they are to make!! Good luck!

7 Layer Bars
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 1 sleeve plus 5 or 6 more crackers)
1/2 cup butter (melted)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts work great)
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut (As I've mentioned before I use Baker's brand)
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

Crush graham crackers into crumbs. Combine crumbs with melted butter until coated. Press crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Cover crust with chocolate and butterscotch chips, nuts and coconut. Drizzle the entire can of sweetened condensed milk evenly over the rest of the ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Allow to cool and set for about 30 min. before cutting and eating.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

My kids love macaroni like most kids do. So over the last year or so I've been trying different recipe for homemade macaroni and this is the one I like the best. It's from Taste of Homes again and it was a big hit with the kiddos! Give it a try with your kids and take a break from the blue box :)

Baked Macaroni and Cheese
4 cups uncooked pasta (Penne is pictured above)
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk (the recipe calls for 2% but I've used all kinds)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. ground mustard
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Dash ground nutmeg
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup Velveeta

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until it make a smooth paste. Gradually add the milk. Stir in salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in cheeses until melted.

Drain pasta; stir in cheese sauce. Transfer to a 9x13 in. casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly!

St. Patrick's Day Fun!

Here's a fun treat I found on pinterest! A fruity rainbow complete with marshmallow clouds and chocolate treasure! It was very quick to put together and I could barely keep my 3 year old from eating it so that I could take a picture. My wonderful husband is sending me out for a girls weekend out of town with some friends...so I decided to make a few surprises that he could give to the kids for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. But when you have 4 daughters rainbows can be a delicious snack any day of the year so I'm sure I'll be using this again! Have fun!

Fruity Rainbow Snack
1 carton strawberries (chopped)
4 clementine oranges (peeled and sectioned)
1 cup pineapple (I used canned but fresh would be delicious too!)
green grapes
1 small carton blueberries
red grapes
mini-marshmallows
Rolos candies (you can buy these in a bag or in the little candy bar rolls)

Arrange fruit in a rainbow. Strawberries on the outer rim of the plate and then follow the order of rainbow colors (oranges, pineapple, green grapes, blueberries, and then red grapes). Make a cloud (using the marshmallows) on one end of the rainbow and a pile of gold (using the Rolos) on the other. Watch your kids faces light up! Enjoy!

Baked Linguini with Meat Sauce

This is one of Alex's favorite meals. We have it every Valentine's day and it is pretty delicious. It's super dense and filling too though...so be prepared to have a ton of leftovers! It's kind of the same layering idea as lasagna. I would say that it's easier to make than Lasagna but uses just as many dishes to make it :)

My kids love this pasta too. It might just be because I serve it with asparagus...and given the choice between pasta and asparagus they go with the pasta! At any rate they gobble this up!

Baked Linguini
1 lb. linguini
1 lb. ground beef
1 (26 oz) can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 T. sugar
1 (8 oz) brick cream cheese
16 oz. sour cream
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar

Boil linguini noodles according to package directions.

Meanwhile, cook beef and drain. Add tomato products, garlic and sugar to the meat. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, and green onion.

Drain pasta and place in the bottom of a 9x13 in. baking dish. Cover pasta with cream cheese mixture and then meat sauce. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 min. or until heated through. Top with cheddar and bake an additional 5 minutes. Let set for 5 minutes before serving.

Cheesy Corn Dip

Have you ever looked at the picture for a recipe and thought it was going to be delicious but then when you read the ingredients it was totally different than you thought? So I saw a recipe for corn dip in a magazine and cut it out with the intent to use it. But I was just going off the picture. By looking at the picture I assumed it had tomatoes and cheese in it. But then I realized it was really pimentos and barely any cheese. So then I decided that I would just make up a recipe that I thought encompassed the flavor I was imagining the picture to have :) So here's what I came up with! It's basically how I make queso and then I added some corn. Quick and easy! Enjoy!

Cheesy Corn Dip
1 can tomatoes with diced green chilies (do not drain) -I use Rotel
1 (16 oz.) brick of Velveeta (diced into 1 in. cubes)
1 can sweet corn with red and green bell peppers (drained)
1/4 cup flour

Cut up cheese and place in large saucepan. Add the whole can of tomatoes and chilies (do not drain). Melt cheese over medium heat until totally blended with tomatoes and chilies. Drain corn and add to the cheese mixture. Add flour and whisk into dip until smooth. Allow to thicken. Serve warm with tortilla chips. (I kept mine in a crockpot on warm for the entire party so that it didn't get to thick)