Spaghetti Casserole Recipe

Spaghetti casserole is really easy to make. It's one of the first things I learned how to cook. Here is the recipe.

First you will need to get spaghetti noodles, sauce, shredded cheese, and parmesan cheese. You can also use mushrooms, tomatoes, or anything else you normally would put in the spaghetti.

Make the noodles like you normally would with spaghetti. We break ours in half because it's easier to eat that way. Preheat your oven to 400*F.

Testing to see if the noodles are done - I throw one on the cabinet and if it sticks, it is done. If it isn't done, it will bounce off. That is something my Mammie taught me.

Drain the noodles. Be careful, the steam is hot.

Stir in the spaghetti sauce.

Spray a casserole pan with non stick cooking spray. Pour 1/3 of the spaghetti mixture into the pan.

Add 1/3 of the cheese, then another 1/3 of the spaghetti, and alternate until you are out of spaghetti and the cheese is still on top.

I don't really like pictures being taken of ME when I cook.

Top with parmesan cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is nice and bubbly on top.

This is what it will look like when it is done.

Don't forget the garlic bread! We use english muffins with spray butter and garlic salt.

And I took these pictures:

Spaghetti casserole is really delicious, especially with garlic bread. What is your favorite pasta dish?

Chicken Empanadas

Mom is going to type the blog for now until we get into the swing of things, but Nell will be dictating. :)

The first recipe we chose was Chicken Empanadas. I've never had empanadas, and had never even heard of them, but they looked delicious!

You will need:
1 box refrigerated pie crusts (two 11-inch rounds)
4 ounces cream cheese
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro
2 T. salsa
1/2 t. ground cumin (we left this out)
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. garlic powder
1 cup finely chopped cooked chicken (make sure it's cooked before you start everything else)
1 egg, beaten
Additional salsa (we used ranch for dip instead of salsa)



First, cook the chicken.



Then take the pie crusts out of the box and let them thaw at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Use a glass or a round cookie cutter to create the "bed" for the empanada filling.





Heat the cream cheese, salsa, cumin, salt, and garlic powder in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir it until it's smooth. Stir in the chicken, and then remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 425*F. Place about 2 teaspoons chicken mixture in the middle of each round. Brush the edges with water. Pull one side of the dough over the filling. It will form a half circle. Pinch the edges to seal.



Place empanadas on foil-lined baking sheet and brush with egg.



Bake 16-18 minutes or until lightly brown. Serve with salsa (or ranch!).



Empanadas can be made ahead of time and frozen! Just wrap the unbaked empanadas with plastic wrap and freeze, and then bake for 18-22 minutes. These are good party favors but made a great dinner for us.

This is why it's important to check if there is anything in the oven before preheating. Mom stores her crayon molds inside! Woops!



This recipe got 5 out of 5 stars because everyone in the family gave it a thumbs up, even Gracelynn - who NEVER eats chicken. We tricked her, which is nearly impossible to do. That's me, my sisters, and my friend Zoe.



As soon as we were finished eating dinner, the electric went out!!! I am so glad it waited until we were finished. The oven would not have worked without electric, and I would have been mad. So thank God my first recipe was a success!

Please leave comments and let me know if you have any questions. If you make this dish, I'd love to know if you like it or if you add anything to it! Thanks for reading.

Love,
Nell

Dinner tonight

I cooked twice baked potatoes for dinner tonight. Well, except the bacon. Rachel cooked it. She said it was too dangerous. It is turkey bacon so it doesn't have hardly any grease. I made the cream cheese corn all by myself, and everyone liked it except my mommies. It wasn't my fault though it was a new brand of corn.

Now we are watching Wheel of Fortune. Our dinner was really good. Even Gracie ate it.

I'm going to show you how to make it.

Cook the ground turkey in a pan.


Done cooking the turkey!


Move the turkey out of the pan, add broccoli and a cup of water. Cover, steam for 4-5 minutes.


Pierce potatoes all over with a fork. Cook in microwave for about 15-20 minutes, turning them over every 3 minutes. Let them cool.


Gut the potatoes and mix the insides together with some fat free sour cream, the turkey, bacon, broccoli, and shredded cheese.


Cook the cream cheese corn - just mix 1/2 container of fat free cream cheese in with one can of drained corn.



Stop to clean the floor.


Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.


Dinner is served.


Grace ate seconds!

Hi

Hi my name is Jenelle and I’m 8 years old. This is my first blog but it is for me to practice writing, spelling, and typing. Sometimes I write my blogs on notebook paper, and sometimes I type them in the computer’s notepad.

I love my family. In my family there is Gracie, Sapphire, SADIE, RACHEL and MAMMIE. Mammie does not live with me but she is important and I see her a lot.

I am going to tell you about my house. I live in an apartment. It has a living room, a bathroom, a kitchen, and two bedrooms. I share a bedroom with my two sisters, and my moms have the other bedroom. Usually, I try to sleep on the couch. Sometimes my moms let me.

Tonight, I got to cook dinner. I made up a recipe. It was macaroni noodles, pizza sauce, garlic salt, pepperonis, and cheese. Mom helped me cook the noodles, and then we baked all of the stuff together in the oven (400 degrees) for ten minutes.





Here are our plates




It was so good that even my VERY picky sister Gracie ate it and asked for seconds. That never happens.



Let me know what you want me to blog about. I really want some ideas from friends. Thank you for reading my blog. I am going to do the dishes now.