Taco Mac

1 lb. ground beef

chopped onions

chopped red pepper

2 T. taco seasoning

1/2 tsp. salt

1.5 cups milk

284 ml can diced tomatoes

1 cup beef broth

2 1/4 cups dry macaroni

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

 

Cook ground beef with spices, onions and peppers. Add milk, tomatoes, beef broth and macaroni. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes until macaroni is cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed. Add the cheese and cook a little more until the cheese has disappeared.

Air Fryer Recipes

These are all the things I make in my air fryer and the approximate times they take. The time isn't exact. If you have a fuller basket, it will take longer, and an emptier basket will take less time. I always use the highest temp on my air fryer, which is 390 degrees. Also, I almost always pause the air fryer and shake the basket at least once during cooking time to make sure it cooks evenly.

French fries and other potato products - these generally take about 15-20 minutes. Potato wedges take a little less time.

Chicken fingers - 15-20 minutes depending on how many you do. If the chicken is fully cooked when you buy it, it only takes 6-8 minutes.

Baby carrots - toss the carrots with a little oil and salt & pepper, spread in mostly a single layer and air fry for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Bacon - add water to the bottom of the basket until it's almost covered so that the bacon fat doesn't smoke. You can generally fit half a package of bacon in the basket. Air fry for 10-12 minutes, pausing once to stir and make sure the bacon isn't sticking together.

Pizza pops - about 10-12 minutes

Egg rolls - 10-12 minutes

Hot dogs - 5 minutes. Smokies take about 10.

Toast or English muffins - 3 minutes

Other ideas - raw potatoes cut in wedges or cubes will work but I forget how long they take, probably about 20 minutes. Apparently you can cook chicken breasts in there, and hamburger patties, but I haven't tried that yet.

The only thing I've tried that didn't work at all was roasting broccoli. It burned too much before it got cooked through.

French Toast

1 loaf French bread, sliced

4 eggs

~ 2 cups milk

1 T. sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

Whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. I never really measure the milk so 2 cups is mostly a guess. Dip bread slices in egg mixture and fry until golden brown. Serve with applesauce and cinnamon, or pancake syrup.

Party Marshmallows

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup margarine or butter

5 toffee bars (Mackintosh, 280 g total)

large marshmallows

Rice Krispies cereal

 

Melt the milk, margarine and toffee on low heat until smooth. Poke toothpicks into the marshmallows. Dip marshmallows in melted toffee, roll in Rice Krispies, and place on cookie sheets lined with waxed paper. Freeze and store in an airtight container.

Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookies

The ones that are always in Grandma's freezer.

 

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups flour

2 cups oatmeal

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 cup chocolate chips

 

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375.

Cooking for One

* A few tips and ideas for boys who are moving out *

1. Pretty much any recipe can be divided in half and made like usual. That way, you have leftovers for another day or a lunch.

2. Keep some instant or frozen food on hand when you are too tired to cook. Things like: 

- pizza pops

- frozen taquitos or burritos

- frozen pizza

- box of macaroni & cheese

- cans of soup, chili or beans

- instant ramen noodles, like Mr. Noodles

 

3. Easy meal ideas that aren't totally instant:

 

- scrambled eggs and toast

- nachos

- BLT sandwiches: keep a loaf of bread in the freezer and a package of bacon, then all you need is the tomato and lettuce

- chicken sandwiches: keep chicken fingers in the freezer 

- pancakes, waffles or French toast (bread in the freezer comes in handy again)

- giant apple pancake

- chicken fingers and fries, baked or deep-fried

- potatoes (parmesan, savoury, or baked)

- skillet can be made any size: keep hashbrowns in the freezer 

- throwing a chicken breast or a piece of sausage in the oven with a potato or two is pretty easy, other than it having to bake for an hour. Bake it in a casserole dish with salt & pepper at 350. (Add a little water in the bottom if you do sausage.)

- pizza buns or pizza quesadilla

- any kind of wraps: quesadillas, crispy chicken wraps, etc.

- hot dogs or hamburgers: keep hamburger patties and buns in the freezer to use as needed.

- mini taco dips

- frozen potato products (fries, wedges, etc.) bake in about 30 minutes, so do smokies

Tomato Sauce

3-4 lbs. ripe tomatoes, about 10-12 large ones

diced onions

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. basil

1 T. sugar

1 T. parsley

1 tsp. salt

pepper

 

Peel and chop the tomatoes, add everything else. Bring to a boil and cook for about 30 minutes until sauce is reduced and thickened. Makes just over 2 cups of sauce. Freezes well.

 

I use frozen tomatoes to make this because they peel very easily. I thaw them about halfway, peel them, then chop them and cook the sauce. 

This sauce is very good served hot over pasta. It can also be used as pizza sauce, or in any recipe that calls for a can of diced tomatoes. I have also used it half and half with bought tomato sauce in lasagna.