Dinner in 20: Solomon Grundy

This isn't a recipe I came up with. Ordinarily, I would be hesitant to try a dish named after the bad guy in one of my kids' cartoons (watch 'Justice League' sometime....)but this one actually sounded worth while.

It is fast, easy and the kids ate it without fuss. What more can you ask?


Before you start this, get out and start cooking what ever carbohydrate you want to serve this over or next to (pasta, rice, potatoes, biscuits....)

Solomon Grundy

* Brown 1 lb. ground beef or pull out cooked meat from freezer and reheat; drain fat.
* Stir in 2 cans condensed vegetable soup and up to 1 can of water,we like less water, but use what tastes good for you. reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over or beside your favorite carbohydrates and top with a little shreded cheese if desired.

Casseroles the Lazy Way

Over the holidays I got lazy. I found the low-fat ground beef that I like on a really good sale, so I bought a bunch, forgetting that I had neither the time nor the energy to do much with it.

So with the expiration date ticking down, I had to come up with something quick and easy. This is what I did.

I bought Hamburger Helper and a much of canned/frozen veggies.

I put all the meat in a big pot and cooked it all at once. Then I took four smaller pots and put them on the stove all at once. I divided the mean (using a scale) into one pound sections, one in each pot.

I got out different flavors of Hamburger helper, measured out the water/milk and added the pasta and sauce mix to each pot.

Then I added:

* To the Mexican Flavor: a can of black beans, drained and rinsed
a can of corn, drained
a can of diced tomatoes with juice

* To the Cajun Flavor: can of red beans, drained and rinsed
a can of mushrooms, drained
a can of diced tomatoes with juice

*To the Italian Flavor: cut down the water by 3/4 cup and throw in 1 1/2cup
frozen spinach, still frozen
a can of muchrooms, drained
a can of diced tomatoes with juice

*To the Cheese Flavor: 1 lb frozen broccoli

*To the 'Homestyle' Flavor: 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
a can of mushrooms, drained
a can of peas and carrots (or use frozen)


Cook it all up, let it cook down some and put in labeled gallon sized zip locks. But them in the fridge first to let them firm up before putting them in the freezer.

I know, it really is cheating, but adding all the veggies does make this stuff into a casserole substantial enough for a meal, maybe with bread or a salad. Some nights that is really what I need.

Chocolate fountain

I love those chocolate fountains that you see in fancy resturants. There is just something magical about those things.

Well, my darling husband told me to get one as soon as they came on the market for home use. He didn't have to tell me twice!

So, we brought it out to use for New Year's Eve.



My middle son, the kids who doesn't like chocolate, just had to try it. It was so much fun, he decided that chocolate wasn't so bad after all...

Trying to catch up!

Well, between the holidays and being unable to locate the log-in for my blog I've gotten a little behind! Ack!!!

But I'm hoping to get caught up on some posts now....