Tag: easy

One-pan Cheeseburger Mac From Boxed Mac and Cheese

If you’ve been following me for a while, this recipe may seem familiar. I made this about three months ago, however I had altered it since then. I’ve been able to alter the recipe and make this dish a one pan meal! I’ve also doubled my boxed mac and cheese to help distribute the meat better and to make a dish that would be great for a big family. For my original recipe, you can click here.

This is a homemade version of hamburger helper that just needs boxed mac and cheese. When cooking, you can choose to drain off the fat or not. Fats do add some flavor to dishes, however this dish doesn’t need that flavor to make a tasty dish. I also used 1/2 of a frozen diced onion. I just find it easier to dice and freeze my onions in bulk. I used a standard beef bouillon, but you can also use 4 cups low sodium stock in place of some water or powdered bouillon. And finally, I used Weis brand mac & cheese. You can try other types like Kraft or shells, but that’s what I had on hand. Remember to taste your food before serving, and add additional garlic, mustard powder, or ketchup as you desire.

  1. In a large dutch oven, brown and break up one pound of ground beef. Dice up 1/2 cup of onion and cook until translucent. Drain off any excess fat if you desire.
  2. Add 7 cups of water and 4 beef bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add 2 boxes of mac and cheese pasta. Stir regularly. Boil 3-4 minutes longer than recommended by the box, until most water has boiled off.
  3. Add your cheese packets and any other ingredients instructed by the box. Stir. Add 8 Tbsp ketchup, 3 Tbsp mustard, and 2 Tbsp garlic powder. Combine together and serve. Makes 9 adult portions. If you desire, excess can be frozen. To reheat, add a splash of milk and microwave 1-2 minutes, or 5-7 minutes if frozen.
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Butter Ramen Noodles

This was one of my favorite college foods. Ramens are delicious dry, and are tasty as a soup, but if it’s hot out or you need a quick meal, this is a great choice. I made this as a side for me and my husband, and it’s a great option as a side dish if you also have a family. The salty flavor of the ramen is complimented by the oil, and the oil helps distribute the flavoring evenly through the noodles. If you want, you can add an additional 2 Tbsp of water, if you’d prefer a thinner sauce. But this is a meal ready in minutes!

  1. Boil 2 packets of chicken ramen noodles in water for 5 minutes. Strain your noodles.
  2. Add 1/4 cup coconut oil to the pot, 1 Tbsp butter, and both packets of chicken flavoring from your ramen. Stir the mixture until the butter and oil melt. Return the noodles to the pot and toss until fully and evenly covered. Place in a bowl and enjoy!
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Pasta with Tilapia

One pan meals are great, and this meal is a great option if you have lots of pasta and lots of hungry people. This dish is flavorful and requires very inexpensive ingredients. This recipe gave us 6 servings of this pasta, and we only used one tilapia fillet! Everything else was just herbs, oils, and salt! I would recommend adding a frozen veggie to the dish after you’ve broken up the fish or, like we did, serve it with a side of veggies or salad. This is a heavy dish with an oil base, so a fresh flavor is needed to balance it out!

  1. Heat medium sauce pan of water to a boil. Add 12 oz of Rotini, boil until al dente, 12-15 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water. Strain noodles.
  2. In a large dutch oven, bring 1/3 cup oil, and 1/4 cup pasta water to shimmering. Add 2 Tbsp garlic powder. Cook for 2 minutes. Add to oil, 1 tbsp oragano, 1 tbsp red pepper flakes, 1 tbsp basil, and 2 tbsp parsely. Heat through spices.
  3. Add 1 tilapia fillet. Cook on each side for 2 minutes. Break up tilapia into large pieces.
  4. Add strained pasta to sauce, and stir. Add 3 Tbsp salted butter, and add about 1 1/2 Tbsp salt. Stir till butter is melted. Remove from heat. Top each bowl with parmasean.
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Cheeseburger Macaroni from Boxed Mac and Cheese

This was a delicious recipe that used what I had in the pantry. I used boxed mac & cheese because I don’t want to be using 2 cups of cheddar where I don’t have too. I also used Weis mac & cheese which used only 1/4 cup of milk and half a stick of butter, which made me feel like I was using less of my current provisions. I also didn’t have any burger, so I made my own burger from venison slices that I had. I’ll be posting that short post tomorrow morning. I was also considering adding diced tomatoes to the recipe, but I also saw a recipe that used ketchup and mustard instead, and though I was hesitant, it was very good, and I will be making this again in the future. Josh and I also opened a can of pears to go with the meal, and that was a nice treat.

  1. In a large sauce pan, bring 4 cups of water and 2 beef bouillon cubes to a boil. Add macaroni and boil uncovered until al dente. Remove from heat.
  2. On a side burner, heat up a frying pan and 2 Tbsp oil over medium high heat. Add ground beef and brown the beef and break into small chunks. Once cooked, add beef and fat to cooked macaroni.
  3. Return macaroni and beef to medium heat. Continue by preparing macaroni and cheese as directed on package. Finally, Add 1 Tbsp Garlic powder, 4 Tbsp Ketchup, and 1 Tbsp Mustard. Stir and make sure thoroughly heated before serving.

One more thing before you go! I’ve created an Instagram for this blog where I’ll be posting little projects we are up to that don’t deserve a full post, or to give spoilers of upcoming posts! The link can be found in the bar at the top of this page, or on the blog’s home page. Thanks for your time!

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Chocolate Pudding Pie with Shortbread Butter Cookie Crust

I’ve had this tin of cookies since Christmas. I really love these cookies, but we need the counter space back and we’ve stopped eating them, so I decided it would be fun to repurpose them into a pie crust. Some of the cookies we had had coconut flakes in them, and you can still taste them in your crust, so make sure you like the cookies before you make a crust of them. I have a really small food chopper, if you have a bigger one, you can add the butter to the crumbs and mix it quicker by just pulsing a few times. The pie also turned out really well. I followed the directions on the side of the box for the pudding mix, and the mix I used came from Aldis. I also was short by about 1/2 a cup on butter cookies, so I added a little under 1/2 a cup of graham cracker crumbs.

Cookie Crust

  1. In a food processor or blender, crush up your leftover cookies until they have a sandy texture and about 1 1/2 – 2 cups of crumbs.You can supplement with graham crackers or graham cracker crumbs to reach that range if you are short. Also pulse in 2 Tbsp of packed brown sugar.
  2. Turn out crumbs into a 9 inch pie pan. In a side bowl, melt 6 Tbsp of butter. Pour the butter over the crumbs and mix til all of the crumbs have an wet sand consistency. Pack into the edges of the pan in an even layer using your fingers, the back of a spoon, or a rubber spatula.
  3. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes until fully cooled.

Pudding Filling

  1. Using a box of pudding, combine the pudding powder and 1 3/4 cup of milk in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Once mixed, pour the pudding mixture directly into you crumb crust.
  2. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving, or freeze for pieces that will come out more intact.
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