Lisa's Kitchen Blog

My boys take their lunches to school, except for one day a week when they get to eat hot lunch. I read them the menu at the beginning of the week, and they carefully weigh their options. When Swiss steak is on the menu, however, there’s no need to even consider the other options. That’s what they want.

I’ve never made Swiss steak, but decided to give it a try for them. I got a chuck roast out of the freezer, and my plan was to let it thaw a bit and slice it into steaks, then cook it in sauce. I decided to take the easy way out, however, and just threw the frozen roast (it was about 2.5 pounds) into my slow cooker, which was treated with non-stick spray. I love being able to put a frozen roast into the slow cooker at breakfast and having a hot juicy meal ready at suppertime.

I had a ton of carrots in my refrigerator, so I cleaned and cut them into chunks and tossed them into the slow cooker as well, around the roast. Then, I opened a pack of dried onion soup mix and sprinkled it over the top of the roast.

For the sauce, I combined a small can of tomato sauce, a small can of condensed tomato soup, 1 soup can of water, 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, and 2 Tbsp. steak sauce. I used a Vidalia onion steak sauce. I poured the sauce over the top of everything, sprinkled some Italian seasoning over it all, and turned the slow cooker on high.

This all came together around 9:00 a.m., and by 5:30 p.m., we were eating a roast that tasted like Swiss steak. I made some mashed potatoes, but it would be good served over pasta as well. The kids loved it, and my husband said the sauce was just like his mom used to make. It was nice to eat a roast that was a little different than the usual plain old meat, carrots and potatoes. This one was a hit, and I’ll definitely be making it again!

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My 6-year-old, Will, is in love with macaroni and cheese. When we go to a restaurant, it doesn’t matter what else is on the menu. If they serve mac and cheese, he stops reading right there. I’ve made it for him from scratch, but he honestly prefers the orange boxed version. I can’t have that. I had to come up with a way to make homemade mac and cheese he would love. And last night, I did it!

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We had bacon cheeseburger meatloaf, so since we were already splurging and having a comfort food extravaganza, it seemed like the perfect time to make macaroni and cheese muffins. If there’s anything better than mac and cheese, it’s being able to just pick it up and eat it with your hands!

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2 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

2 tsp. butter or margarine

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or Colby Jack cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

1 cup milk

3/4 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko, available in the Asian food section)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

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Cook macaroni in boiling salted water for 8 minutes, until it’s just al dente. Drain and return it to the pan. Add butter or margarine, and stir until it melts and coats the macaroni. Let it cool slightly. Add the egg, 1 cup of the Cheddar or Colby cheese, all of the Mozzarella cheese, and the milk. Stir well.

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Spoon the mixture into treated muffin tins, filling them right to the top. Press down with the back of a spoon to compact them a little. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the mac and cheese.

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In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs and olive oil. Spoon it on top of the muffins and press down a bit to hold the mixture in place.

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Bake in a 350 degree F. oven for 30 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Let the muffins rest in the pan for at least 5 minutes before removing. This will let the cheese set a bit, so the muffins will keep their shape. This recipe makes about 18 mac and cheese muffins.

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This recipe got two enthusiastic thumbs up from my mac and cheese aficionado, Will. He was VERY excited about being able to pick them up and eat them, and he liked the crunchy topping. Everyone else loved them, too!

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These tasty little morsels would also make great appetizers or party snacks. If you want to make a meal out of them, add some cubed cooked ham or browned ground beef into the mixture. If you go with beef, you could add a little crumbled cooked bacon on top, and make bacon cheeseburger macaroni muffins. Tell me the kids wouldn’t love that!

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Fall is in the air, so soup is back on the menu! It’s also an extremely busy time at my house, especially on Tuesdays. My oldest has play practice, the younger two have football practice (and my husband helps coach their team), plus every other week, we have Cub Scouts. That means we have a very small window for eating supper, and it’s often late in the evening, so we don’t want anything too heavy. Hello, slow cooker!

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I love the warm spiciness of chicken tortilla soup, so I thought I’d give it a try! It was perfect for the slow cooker, too. I’ve been trying to plan my meals for the week ahead of time, so since I knew I was making this on Tuesday, I threw some frozen chicken thighs in the slow cooker on Monday and just let them cook. Then, I removed the skin and bones and shredded the meat. I reserved 2 cups of meat for this soup, and froze the rest in a freezer bag. Perfect for a future soup or casserole! I also strained all the juices left in the crock pot and put the container of stock in the refrigerator.

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Tuesday around lunchtime, I put the soup together in the slow cooker. Here’s what I used:

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2 cups chicken broth (I skimmed the fat off the top of my refrigerated stock and added hot water to make 2 cups)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 medium can tomato sauce (you can used crushed tomatoes, but I don’t like tomato chunks!)

1 can enchilada sauce

2 small cans green chiles

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can corn, including the liquid from the can

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely diced

2 Tbsp. cilantro

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

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Just dump everything into the slow cooker, put on the lid, and cook it on high for 3 to 4 hours, or low 6 to 8 hours. My slow cooker also has a “warm” setting, which is great. The soup was ready before we left for football practice, so I just turned it to low, and it was perfect when we got home.

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Traditionally, tortilla soup is served with toasted strips of corn tortillas. Why not make things easy? I used slightly crushed tri-color tortilla chips, and also added a sprinkle of cheese. You could add sour cream if you like. I made this soup to be on the mild side, since my youngest doesn’t love spicy food. You can certainly pump up the spice factor by adding more peppers or hot sauce.

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Sometimes it’s hard to get kids on board with just soup for supper, but all three of my boys cleaned their bowls and said they loved the soup! It was nice to come home from a busy afternoon and evening and sit down together at the table with a warm, hearty meal that was waiting for us.

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As you know, I pack a lot of sack lunches for my boys. I let them choose one hot lunch a week, but send a homemade lunch the rest of the time. Since they are normal kids, they generally choose pizza day or chili and cinnamon roll day to eat at school. But for some reason, when chicken tetrazzini is on the menu, that is their choice, hands down.

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They love the school tetrazzini so much that Luke even asked Mrs. Gillespie, the school cook, for the recipe. She is a very nice woman, and always has a kind word for the kids as they go through the lunch line. She shared the recipe with Luke, who of course shared it with me. I made a few changes since I’m cooking for five people instead of 150, and made a few substitutions to fit the ingredients in my pantry.

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This quick and easy version of chicken tetrazzini can be whipped up in no time, so it’s perfect for busy school nights. I had a quart-sized bag full of cooked, chunked chicken in the freezer, so I put it in the fridge to thaw the night before. Having cooked meat in the freezer is such a great time-saver. If you’re browning a pound of ground beef for a recipe, go ahead and brown two pounds, and freeze half. Or if you’re making baked chicken for dinner, double the amount, then cut up the leftovers and throw them in the freezer. It doesn’t take much extra effort, but saves a lot of time in the long run.

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For my tetrazzini, I broke 16 ounces of spaghetti into 3-inch pieces. Instead of boiling it in plain water, I added a couple of chicken bouillon cubes to the pan. You could use chicken stock, but the cubes work well and are so easy and inexpensive. The pasta was then cooked according to the directions on the box, but before draining, I reserved a few cups of the broth.

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The drained spaghetti pieces went into a large bowl, and I added 2 cans of condensed cream of mushroom soup. I used one can of low-fat, and one can of garlic-flavored cream of mushroom, and folded them into the pasta. Then, I added the quart-sized bag of cooked, chopped chicken (turkey would also work well), 1-1/2 cups of shredded cheese (I used my favorite, Colby Jack) and 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, and stirred to combine.

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Here’s where the reserved broth comes in. Add it as needed to the mixture to get a moist, creamy consistency. You’ll just have to play it by ear depending on how the mixture looks. If your family likes mushrooms or peas in their tetrazzini, go ahead and stir them in now.

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Pour the creamy pasta mixture into a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of grated cheese over the top, and another 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan. Then crush 1/2 sleeve of round rich crackers and sprinkle them on top. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 35 minutes or until bubbly.

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The kids loved my easy version of Mrs. Gillespie’s chicken tetrazzini. Give it a try!