All Of The Recipes In One Place......Sort Of A Cook Book

Here Are all of the recipes in one place.  As I add recipes to the blog, I will add them here also. 

Ranch, Chicken, Brussels Sprouts, Pasta + Secret Sauce

2 cups dry elbow macaroni, boiled al dente
12 oz thin sliced boneless, skinless chicken breast
12 medium Brussels sprouts halved lengthwise and steamed about 10 minutes
2 cans secret sauce. (Cream of Mushroom Soup, OR you could use Cream of Chicken, Celery, etc
1 envelope Ranch Dressing Mix. Two envelopes make it REALLY Ranch.
1/2 soup can milk

Sprinkle any seasoning you like over the top. This time I used "Emeril's Original Essence". (mostly salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder).


I combined everything except the Emeril's sprinkle in an aluminum baking pan and baked covered at 350F for 40 minutes. Another 20 minutes uncovered.

2086 Calories in entire casserole
6 servings @ 347 calories each
224 calories per 8 oz serving

Hormel, Mesquite Barbecue Marinated, Pork Center Cut Loin Fillet.... + Baked Potatoes

Oven 350F. Potatoes scrubbed and sprayed with olive oil. Baked potatoes for 30 minutes. Pork Loin added and continue to roast both for about 45 more minutes.. Pork at internal temp 145F.

Monitored pork temp with my I Grill

NO DISHES TO WASH!

 

 

Katharine's Tater Tots AND More Brussels Sprouts

This is a quick potato dish that my daughter prepares for just about any time. Makes a great side dish and is fairly low-cal.

Preheat oven or Traeger barbecue to 375-400F
1 10 X 13 disposable aluminum baking pan

4-5 medium potatoes, diced (I don't peel)
2 envelopes onion soup mix
1/4 cup (or maybe a little more) olive oil

Roasting time: about 45-60 minutes


Cut up the potatoes and place in the old standard 10X13 aluminum baking pan. Pour the olive oil over the top and sprinkle the soup mix. Toss until well coated. You can bake this covered or uncovered. I usually cover with foil for about 20 minutes, remove, toss and continue uncovered for 20 more minutes or until potatoes are really tender. I don't salt as there is plenty of salt in the soup mix.

This batch was made with 2 envelopes ranch dip mix instead of the onion soup. (it's what I had on hand at the time) I also wanted to try something different. Turned out very tasty. I think these will become "Roger's Ranch Potatoes"

Something To Do With Extra Brussells Sprouts, Green Beans And Parmesan Crumb Mix.

First I steamed sprouts and beans for 10 minutes. Couple of Tbs olive oil in a roasting pan sprinkled with the crumb/cheese/garlic mix. Place vegetables in the pan on top of the crumb mix, sprinkle the remaining crumbs over the top. Roasted on the Traeger barbecue (or in your oven) at 375F.

Here are the results. You would think I would get tired of these vegetables, but they are soooo good.

Rogers Brussels Sprout Bake

Preheat oven or Traeger Barbecue 375-400F

12-15 medium Brussels sprouts halved lengthwise
2-3 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread or panko crumbs
1 Tbs powdered garlic
Any other seasoning you might like
10 X 13 disposable aluminum baking pan

I just discovered that Brussels is spelled ending in "s". Just one of those useful things you stumble on to using a spell check. I used to just steamed them until tender.

Someone told me about how to sauté them in olive oil and parmesan cheese. I soon discovered that you need to at split them in half the long way and steam them before sauté or they would not cook well. Basically, 12-15 sprouts split lengthwise, steamed 5-10 minutes. Then place about 2-3 Tbs olive oil in a large sauté pan. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on the oil, place the sprouts flat side down, sprinkle a little more cheese over the top and cook over med heat until starting to brown. Much better than just steamed. As usual, I worked this over in my mind, and added either powdered or crushed garlic to the oil and cheese in the pan. Better, but not there yet. Still had a sauté pan to wash. You know what is coming next. This works just as well in an aluminum baking pan and bake at around 375-400F for 20-30 minutes. No pan to wash. THEN, how about breaded? After they are split and steamed, let them cool some and dip them in egg, roll them in a mix of maybe 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup bread crumbs seasoned how you like. Maybe add garlic powder, Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, use your imagination. Better, but still messy.

Next stop: Olive oil the baking pan, sprinkle the crumb/cheese mix on the bottom. Dip the halved sprouts in egg, (I use egg substitute,less mess and no whisking) in a paper bowl. Place the sprouts close together, flat side down in the oil and crumb/cheese mix. Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mix over the top. Bake 375-400F about 20-25 minutes or until starting to brown. Serve from the pan. Nothing to wash except whatever you steamed the sprouts in! This also works well on the Traeger Barbecue set at 375F. Doesn't heat up the kitchen by running the oven.

Here they are with some roasted carrots on the side:

Crock Pot Green Beans

This is a another farm boy favorite!
12-16 oz green beansCrock Pot Green Beans With Bacon
1 small onion
2 slices bacon or a couple of hot dogs
1 can chicken broth

Put these in the Crock Pot all together and cook on low for about 6 hours. Great side dish.

I will report back later on the results.

John's Ribs

1-2 racks of baby back ribs rubbed with Louisiana Style Cajun Seasoning

Marinade:

1/3 cup Jalapeno Jelly
1/3 cup Yoshida Sauce
1/3 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Sauce

Cook the ribs in sealed foil for 6 hours @ 200F. When done, drain the juice and remove the foil. Coat the ribs with the marinade and put on the grill @ 350-400F for 15-30 minutes to glaze.

I don't dare try these and have a couple of racks of ribs around with just me or there will be diet disaster! Maybe at Abiquiu, NM.

Roger's Slow Cooker Potato Casserole

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes peeled or unpeeled
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chicken broth, (or water)
1 small onion
2 slices thick sliced bacon

I have the 1 1/2 quart Crock Pot so my recipe is smaller. You can easily double it.

Cook on low 6-8 hours or until potatoes are REALLY done.


This is an adaptation of a childhood favorite that we used to cook up "on the farm" We called it "Stewed 'Taters" It was pretty much thinly sliced potatoes. 4-6 hot dogs and some water. We simmered it on the stove top in a black iron fry pan, (that I still have), covered, for several hours until it was pretty much mush. Great side dish and with eggs in the morning. You can also treat it like potato soup. I had never heard of hash browns until I was in my teens. Potatoes in our house were usually mashed or on special occasions, baked. Now that we have slow cookers/Crock Pots, this is a great way to fix one of my farm favorite with many variations. This particular time, I used bacon instead of hot dogs, a small onion and a can of cream of mushroom soup in a slow cooker. About one cup of chicken broth for the liquid. I have made it with added mushrooms, cream corn, or without the meat at all. Some other suggested ingredients would be, garlic cloves, chicken breast, ham chunks, link sausage, or, use your imagination.

Roger's Easy Spaghetti Sauce

This one is great for pot lucks and could be doubled if you want a spaghetti feed.


1 lb ground meat. (I use turkey, you can use beef, goat, your preference, or for you vegetable types, leave it out)

1 small onion

1 can (15oz) diced tomato

1 can (15oz) tomato sauce

1 envelope dry spaghetti sauce mix

1 lb package dry spaghetti or other pasta. ( I prefer angel hair)


The entire batch of sauce, without the meat is 325 calories.
The 1 lb of ground turkey adds 640 calories
1 lb of angel hair pasta 1680 calories total

In a large saucepan, brown the meat and the onion. Drain off the liquid. Add the tomato sauce, sauce mix, diced tomato and your choice of additions. Simmer for an hour.

In a large pan, (spaghetti cooker) boil the pasta of your choice until done to your taste. (I like to add a Tbs of olive oil to keep the noodles from sticking together) Combine the cooked pasta and sauce all at once or individual portions. Sauce also works great over rice, macaroni, green beans, bread, use your imagination. Some additions to the sauce could be, whole kernel corn, black olives, mushrooms, bell pepper. Use your imagination for whatever else you have on hand.

Let the pasta water cool down and save it for flushing your RV toilet.

Extra sauce and pasta can be stored in the fridge for a few days. It also freezes well, (yes even the pasta) Could be up to three meals for two campers. Freeze some for later if you don't want spaghetti three days in a row.

 

 

Calico Bean Casserole

Calico Bean Casserole With Corn Bread Topping

I got this recipe off Allrecipes.com, which by the way, is a great resource. It looked interesting and is prepared with minimal dishwashing and prep.

1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, undrained
1 (16 oz) can pork and beans
1 (15 oz) can butter beans, undrained
1/2 cup Ketchup
2 tsp white vinegar
1 Tbs dry mustard
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 lb lean ground beef OR 93/7 ground turkey
4 oz bacon, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350F (allow 30 min for preheat in RV oven)

In a large skillet, over medium heat, fry the ground beef/turkey, bacon and onion together until no longer pink. Drain liquid.

In a disposabal 12x9 aluminum baking pan, combine ingredients, mix thoroughly, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Bake in preheated oven 30-40 min.

1/6 serving about 513 calories (with ground turkey)

Rogers Modifications and Possibilities

Now I looked at this recipe and thought, "This cries out for a corn bread topper"

Here is the Albers Cornbread Recipe:

Preheat oven to 400F (allow 30 min for preheat in RV oven)

1 cup Albers yellow or white corn meal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbs baking powder. (BTW, when is the last time you looked at the expiration date on your BP)
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten. (or 1/4 egg substitute)

Combine meal, flour, baking powder, salt in med bowl. (You could use the wiped out fry pan to minimize dish washing) Combine milk, oil, and egg, and add to the dry ingredients. (or, do as I do and mix all together at once). Pour in to prepared pan.

Bake 20 to 25 min.
 

Top With Cornbread

Spoon the cornbread mixture over the top of the casserole for a topper before baking.  Bake whole casserole with topper at 400F for 30 min.  Beans should bubble and cornbread should lightly brown.
After preparing this with the topper, it ends up about 50/50 cornbread to casserole. If you don't like so much bread topping, you could cut the cornbread recipe in half

This full recipe does add about 315 calories per serving to the Calico Bean Casserole

Roger's Easier Bisquick Cornbread

I looked at this cornbread recipe and thought, "I would bet that you could substitute Bisquick for the flour, baking powder and salt". I did the Bisquick substitute and added the 1/4 cup sugar and 1 cup corn meal to the rest of the ingredients. Came out great.

Roasted Asparagus

Since the oven was on and I had this asparagus on hand, I decided to roast it. Put it in a ziplock bag with some rasberry vinigarette dressing and marinated for the afternoon. Baked at 400F for about 20 minutes. Nicely done and still a little crisp. Note the rack that fits in the bottom of the pan.


 

Jimbo's Hot Dog And Bacon Appetizer

 

This tasty and easy to prepare appetizer was first prepared by Jim Melvin of Jimbo's Journeys. What's not to like, hot dogs wrapped in bacon. This adaptation is kind of a cultural oxymoron. Kosher hot dogs wrapped in thick sliced bacon. I prefer these Hebrew National dogs as they are all beef and great tasting as well as not being too thick. It is difficult to wrap a thick, Ball Park type hot dog in 1/3 or 1/2 slice of bacon as they just end up too big. These are just the right size to cut the dog in thirds as well as the bacon slice.


 

Only Two Ingredients +Toothpicks 

Here they are after about 30-35 minutes at 425F. Bacon should start to crisp. Use a rack in the pan if you have one.

When I first saw these, Jim Melvin had sprinkled them with brown sugar before baking. You also might try drizzling with maple syrup.

Roger's Swiss Steak

2 lb (approximately) Eye of Round, or some other round type steak. Cube Steak works too.

4 medium potatoes

1 medium onion

1 can mushroom soup

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

1-2 cups sliced carrots or baby carrots

1 cup sliced mushrooms

Slice up the onion and make a bed on the bottom of a 9 x 13 oven pan. Place the round steak evenly on top of the onions. Sprinkle the onion soup mix over the top of the meat. Quarter the potatoes (peeled or unpeeled) and place them evenly with the carrots and mushrooms over the top. Spoon the mushroom soup evenly over the whole thing. I usually swirl a half of can of water in the soup can to get everything out and pour that in too. Cover with foil and bake for 4 hours at 300F. Less tender cuts of meat such as round steak will be a lot more tender with a longer cooking time at a lower temperature, hence the 4 hours at 300F.

Sliced Onions

 

Round Steak Added

 

  

 

Out of the Oven and Fork Tender

 

One 4 oz piece of this meat is listed as 180 calories and 9g of fat. Add in the calorie count for the rest of the ingredients.

You could also substitute a pot roast for the round steak.

Now you can crock pot this if you have a large enough crock pot, but then there is the clean up. You can pressure cook it, but there is a pressure cooker to wash. Should serve 6 from the pan and nothing to wash except a couple of knives that I used for vegetables. I just rinse them off.

Chicken Stir Fry With Onion And Sweet Red Pepper In Spicy Peanut Sauce





2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 20oz) cut in to 1 inch cubes

1/2 medium onion, cut up

1 sweet red pepper, cut up

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup Trader Joe Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette

Saute the chicken with the onion in the olive oil over med-high heat. After about 15 minutes, add the red pepper and the peanut sauce. Continue to saute' until the sauce is reduced to a glaze. (about 10 more min) Serve over rice.

 

Applesauce/Carrot and Sometimes Ginger/Raisin Cake

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

4 eggs or 1 cup egg substitute

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 Tbs ground cinnamon

2  tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbs vanilla extract

3 cups grated raw carrots. (these can usually be found already grated at the market)

If you want a little different flavor, add 1 tsp ground ginger and maybe a cup of raisins.


Preheat oven to 350F

I put all of the ingredients except the carrots in a disposable baking pan and mix well.  When the mixture is thoroughly blended, fold in the carrots until evenly distributed.

Bake 45 minutes and check with a toothpick. It is pretty hard to over bake this as it is very moist but be sure it is done in the center or you will have pudding.

Frost with your choice as you like or leave plain without the added calories.

You can get 16 squares out of this at about 209 cal each if you use the egg substitute instead of eggs.

Some added variations: 1 cup raisins, 1 tsp ground ginger, Substitute molasses for the honey. I really like the different flavor of the Ginger.

Should be just a measuring cup and mixing spoon to wash

 Lemon Pepper Pappardelle

 

8 oz bag of  Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper Pappardelle Pasta

 3 Tbs Olive Oil

 
1 lb. Trader Joe's Uncooked Prawns, peeled and devined.  (I could not resist the Seafood Blend, so I used it instead.)

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

 Salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbs. Italian Parsley, Chopped.

 

 

Cook Pasta in boiling water for about 8-10 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saute' pan over medium-high heat.  Season prawns, (or seafood blend) with salt and pepper and saute until shrimp are just pink.  Drain pasta, toss with the prawns and lemon juice.  Sprinkle with parsley.  The seafood blend had quite a lot of liquid that I poured off, rather than end up boiling the mix.  Once the liquid was drained, I added the olive oil and stir fried until done.  I don't think that the shrimp would have that much liquid

 

 Roger's Adaptation of the Libby's Pumpkin Pie Recipe

 

 A single portion of pie crust is around 100 calories.  A single portion of this pumpkin pie filling is 180 calories.  1/3 of the calories in a slice of pumpkin pie is the crust.  You can either take the savings OR eat a 1/3 larger piece, OR maybe add a little whipped cream!  I left out the crust both for calorie savings as well as no mess of making pie crust and no dish washing.

 

1 29 oz. Can Libbys Pumpkin 280 Calories

 1 1/2 cups Sugar  1161 Calories

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

 1/2 tsp ground cloves

 1 cup egg substitute  120 calories OR you can use 4 eggs 320 calories

 2 cans fat-free evaporated milk  600 Calories

This recipe is for two regular 9" pies. I use a single 9 X 12 disposable aluminum baking pan. Just thoroughly mix all of the ingredients together in the pan. Because of the size and depth of the pan, these cooking times that are different from the recipe on the can.

Preheat oven to 425F. Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce temp to 350 and bake for about 1 to 1 1/2 hr. longer. Top should start to brown and have small cracks. Let cool on a rack for about an hour. I then cover and refrigerate overnight so it is good and firm for serving the next day. Easy on the whipped cream.

Should only have to rinse one mixing spoon and possibly a measuring cup.

2161 total calories using egg substitute and the FF milk.  Divided by 12 servings = 180 calories each. It is pretty much fat-free.

 

 

Lynda’s Right Side Up Cake

 

 

1 Yellow Cake Mix  with ingedients called for on the box.  ( I use Betty Crocker)

1 20oz can Pineapple Chunks, drained.  (use the juice and some water for the liquid)
1 20oz can Cherry Pie Filling.  (Peach also works well)

Thouroughly drain the pineapple and save the juice.  If you don't really drain the pineapple your cake will usually be too soft in the middle.  Add enough water to the juice to bring it up to the one cup called for in the mix.  Put all of the cake mix ingredients in a 9 X 12 disposable pan. Mix and beat as called for on the cake mix box.  BTW, I use 3/4 cup egg substitute instead of the three eggs.  Sprinkle the pineapple evenly over the smoothed out batter and push the chunks down so they are on the bottom.  Evenly distribute spoonfuls of the pie filling in "pockets" over the top.  Bake at 350F. I found out that you need a total of 55-65 minutes to get this to bake through because of the extra ingredients.  YMMV*.  It should start to brown on top and the center should spring back when touched.  A great dessert  and all you usually have to wash, is a measuring cup and bowl scraper. 

*Your Mileage May Vary

 

Melinda's Corn Casserole

§  1 #2 can Regular corn, drained

§  1 #2 can creamed corn

§  8 ounces sour cream

§  1 stick butter, melted

§  1 box Jiffy Corn Bread mix

§  1 can diced green chili (roasted are best)

§  Red pepper flakes (optional)

§  Black olives, sliced (optional)

 

1.Mix all together in deep baking dish, stir well. May add black olives (drained) or red pepper pieces, or green chili's (drained) or all, sprinkle black olives on top.

2.Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to an 1 hour or until edges are brown, the center will be soft. Do not double recipe, but rather make two separate batches. Enjoy

 

Roger's Notes:

I tried this in an 8X8 foil pan and I found the pan a little small.  I am going to try this in a 9X12 foil pan.  I baked it the full hour to get it a little brown on top and it wasn't soft in the middle.  I will report back on the change it pan size.  I mixed it up in the baking pan so nothing to wash!

P.S.  Pan size works better with 8X8

Note on so-called lo-cal or diet spreads: They are at least 50% or more water and unsuited for cooking.  Check the label.

 

Roger's Five (or Six) Can Turkey Chili With Beans

1 lb 93/7 ground turkey
1 medium onion
1 diced bell pepper to taste
1/4 cup chili or taco seasoning mix or two envelopes of the same.  More if you like it spicy.
2, 15oz cans kidney beans, drained
1, 15oz can tomato sauce
1, 15oz can diced tomato with juice
1, 15oz can whole corn and/or sliced black olives, drained.

Brown turkey in a sauce pan large enough to hold all of the ingredients.  Drain off the meat juice early and add the onion and continue to brown.  Sprinkle the seasoning mix over the drained meat and continue to brown.  (you don't want to pour off the onion and seasoning with the meat juice)  When it looks about right, add all of the other ingredients.  Simmer for 1-2 hours to blend flavors. 

This only uses one pan and If you have the kind that has a snap-on plastic lid, your can store and reheat this without and additional pans to wash.

Makes about 8, one cup servings.  About 250 calories each.  5 grams of fat each.

 

Roger's Favorite Traeger Recipes

 

 

Rogers Smoked Tri-Tip




Buy nice sized, Tri-Tip Roasts. Don't skimp on quality or size. Don't use the steaks. I hate to sound like a Costco commercial but they have the best. Usually in a 2 or 3 pack. They freeze well. I either rub them with garlic salt or use your favorite rub. Put in a ziplock and let marinate for a couple of hours or overnight. Bring it out about 30 minutes before smoking to let come towards room temperature. Don't marinate in barbecue sauce. I just start the grill on smoke, let it come to temperature, put the meat on with the temperature probe in and close the lid. You don't need to turn them. Usually about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get internal temperature to 137 (medium rare) Take them off, cover with foil and let set for about 5 minutes. Slice thin across the grain and serve. BTW, use a disposable cooking pan to serve and no serving platter to wash.
 

Roger's Smoked Turkey Meat Loaf



Done to 180* Internal Temperature

Two, one pound trays of 93/7 ground turkey.  (93% breast and 7% Thigh) I use Foster Farms from Costco.

About 3/4 cup Matzo Meal, Oatmeal, Crumbs or your favorite
Two eggs (I use 1/2 cup Kirkland egg substitute
One envelope Liptons Dry Onion Soup Mix

I mix this together in an aluminum baking pan so no bowl to wash.  BTW, I use the CLEAN bare hands method. You can also use disposable gloves.

Smoke for about 4 hours or internal temp comes to 180* Let stand for about 10 minutes and slice.

As  near as I can calculate from the ingredients, a 4 oz slice is 195 calories.  Eight, 4 oz slices in a 2 lb meat loaf. 

This is a basic recipe.  You can add any of your favorite ingredients.  In the past, I have pressed olives in to the loaf.  I have added green chili's, corn, barbecue sauce, ketchup, etc.  As I write this I am getting ready to fix one and I am going to add one pound of hot Italian Sausage that was given to me by a fellow LazyDazer (Melinda) and I haven't figured out what to do with it until now.  I will report on the results.  (Report:  GREAT!)

Roger's Smoked Pork Loin

I use Swifts Premium loins with Smoky Mesquite marinade in the package.  These came two loins in a pack and are about a foot long each.  I get mine at Costco but they are available at most any supermarket.  They also come without marinade if you want to use your own. 

You can smoke these for a while if you want, but they are done at 145* internal temperature.  I smoke mine for about 30 minutes and then turn the heat up to medium or 350*  If you start with 350*, they will be done in about 30 minutes.  Cook uncoverd in a disposable aluminum pan.  Slice in to medallions and serve.  These are solid meat and serve up very nice.  4 oz serving 120 calories.

 

Roger's Smoked Baby Back Ribs

 

If you are going to smoke more than 1-2 racks of ribs, you are going to need a rib rack.  You can see one on the traeger website. This stacks them like books on a shelf and you should be able to smoke 4 racks at a time depending on the size. Put the large ends down.   I have never skinned them.  I just rub, trim off the "clod" on one end and put them on the smoker.  What I call the "clod" is just the end where the bone and meat are kind of mixed up.  I take these parts and put them in a slow cooker with some barbecue sauce and give them about 6-8 hours on low heat. The racks of ribs need to smoke for at least 4 hours.  They can go up to another 2 if they are not fall-off-the-bone tender at 4 hours.  You can put a shallow pan of apple juice in the smoker to keep them from getting too dry or spray them once in a while with apple juice.  If you want to cook on barbecue sauce, brush it on at the last 1/2 hour and turn the heat up to high or 400*.  If you leave the sauce on too long with heat, it will just burn.  I was told by a manager at a Black Angus that they cook their ribs the day before, refrigerate and just heat them up on the grill for serving the next day.  I have tried this and they actually seem to turn out smokier and more tender.

 

Elizabeth's Barbecued Potatoes

This is a great side dish that you can bake right along with your hot dogs, hamburgers, steaks etc. On Medium or High heat.   They won't cook on smoke setting as it doesn't get hot enough to adequately cook the potatoes.  Just put them in the oven at 350* for the same time. 

Slice up about 5-6 medium russet potato.  (redskins are too firm for my taste)  Halve potato the long way and them slice them about 1/8" thick.
Dice up a medium onion
Elizabeth uses about a half cube of butter, but I use about 1/4 cup olive oil.
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine above ingredients in a disposable aluminum pan.  Cover with foil and cook at 350* or
 medium heat for 1to 1 1/2 hour or potatoes are soft done. Elizabeth likes to make smaller batches in foil pouches, but I prefer the pans.

Variations on this basic recipe are almost endless.  I have added a handful of baby carrots and/or sliced  mushrooms.  You can mix in cut up hot dogs, or diced spam or ham according to your taste.  Peas or corn are also interesting.

One of my favorites is to blend in a can of cream of mushroom soup and about 1 1/2 cup of diced Velveeta.  Comes pretty close to Au Gratin.

French Toast Casserole 

 

Here is a great recipe for a French Toast Casserole that serves 8 and is a great dish for that breakfast potluck. If you are careful, you can prepare this with nothing to wash and just throw away the foil pan when you are finished. I just mix everything together in the baking pan. Dry ingredients can be measured using the appropriate spoons or cups and then just wiped out. Some liquid ingredients can be estimated or if you use a measuring cup or spoons, you can just rinse them out.

INGREDIENTS

Nonstick cooking spray or softened butter

8 large eggs. (I use 4 eggs and one cup of egg substitute)

2-1/4 cups half and half or whole milk

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar or more white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 12- to 16-ounce loaf French or Italian bread, cubed

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, cut into small pieces

Powdered sugar, for serving

Butter, for serving

Warm maple or pancake syrup, for serving

PREPARATION

Coat a 9- by 13-inch foil baking dish with cooking spray or softened butter and set aside.
I put half of the bread cubes in the egg mixture in the pan and then just smoosh them down. Then dot the mixture with half of the cream cheese cubes (BTW, "cubing" cream cheese is not so easy) Then put the rest of the bread cubes over the top and smoosh them down so they absorb the egg mix. Dot the rest of the cream cheese evenly over the top

Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate overnight.

 

When ready to cook, remove the foil from the casserole and bake at 350 for 55 to 60 minutes, or the top is slightly crusty and golden brown.
I found that I had to turn the temp up to 400 at the end and give it another 10 minutes to get it to brown. Let it set for 5-10 minutes if you can to let it firm up.

Put a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar in a small kitchen sieve and dust the top of the casserole with it. Cut the casserole into portions and serve warm with butter and syrup.

Here is the finished product:

My daughter observed that if I just add raisins to this we have a great bread pudding.





Here is a quick, Lo Cal meal I whip up using these ingredients:

Easy Chicken Mac

1 Can Progresso Light Chicken Noodle Soup
1 Can Chicken Broth
8 oz Raw, Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, Diced
1 Cup Elbow Macaroni or Pasta of Your Choice.

Put soup, broth and diced chicken in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Then add the elbow macaroni and simmer 12-14 min or until done.

Simmering the chicken for 14 min or so is plenty of time for it to cook through. You don't have to cook it separate and have another pan to wash.

This makes about three, two cup servings. I added up the calorie count for all the ingredients and it comes out to 371 calories per two cup serving. A great lunch.

Total utensils to wash, one saucepan, one ladle, and one chef's knife.

By the way, I use paper plates to cut up meat, vegetables, etc. on, so no cutting board to wash.

Crock Pot Green Beans With Bacon

This is a another farm boy favorite!

12-16 oz green beans

1 small onion

2 slices bacon or use hot dogs

1 can chicken broth

Put these in the Crock Pot all together and cook on low for about 6 hours.  Great side dish.

 

 

 John's Ribs

1-2 racks of baby back ribs rubbed with Louisiana Style Cajun Seasoning

Marinade:

1/3 cup Jalapeno Jelly

1/3 cup Yoshida Sauce

1/3 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Sauce

Cook the ribs in sealed foil for 6 hours @ 200F.  When done, drain the juice and remove the foil.  Coat the ribs with the marinade and put on the grill @ 350-400F for 15-30 minutes to glaze.

 

 

 

Crockpot Potato Casserole

 

 

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes peeled or unpeeled

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup chicken broth, (or water)

1 small onion

2 slices thick sliced bacon

I have the 1 1/2 quart Crock Pot so my recipe is smaller.  You can easily double it.

Cook on low 6-8 hours or until potatoes are REALLY done.

 

 

 

Roger's Easy Spaghetti And Sauce

This one is great for pot lucks and could be doubled if you want a spaghetti feed.

1 lb ground meat. (I use turkey, you can use beef, goat, your preference, or for you vegetable types, leave it out)

1 small onion

1 can (15oz) diced tomato

1 can (15oz) tomato sauce

1 envelope dry spaghetti sauce mix

1 lb package dry spaghetti or other pasta.  ( I prefer angel hair)

The entire batch of sauce, without the meat is 325 calories.

The 1 lb of ground turkey adds 640 calories

1 lb of angel hair pasta 1680 calories total

In a large saucepan, brown the meat and the onion.  Drain off the liquid.  Add the tomato sauce, sauce mix, diced tomato and your choice of additions.  Simmer for an hour.

In a large pan, (spaghetti cooker) boil the pasta of your choice until done to your taste.  (I like to add a Tbs of olive oil to keep the noodles from sticking together) Combine the cooked pasta and sauce all at once or individual portions.  Sauce also works great over rice, macaroni, green beans, bread, use your imagination.  Some additions to the sauce could be, whole kernel corn, black olives, mushrooms, bell pepper. Use your imagination for whatever else you have on hand.

Let the pasta water cool down and save it for flushing your RV toilet.

Extra sauce and pasta can be stored in the fridge for a few days.  It also freezes well, (yes even the pasta)  Could be up to three meals for two campers.  Freeze some for later if you don't want spaghetti three days in a row.

 

 

 

Rogers Brussels Sprout Bake

Preheat oven or Traeger Barbecue 375-400F

12-15 medium Brussels sprouts halved lengthwise

2-3 Tbs olive oil

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup bread or panko crumbs

1 Tbs powdered garlic

Any other seasoning you might like

10 X 13 disposable aluminum baking pan

I just discovered that Brussels is spelled ending in "s".  Just one of those useful things you stumble on to using a spell check.  I used to just steamed them until tender. 

Someone told me about how to sauté them in olive oil and parmesan cheese.  I soon discovered that you need to at split them in half the long way and steam them before sauté or they would not cook well.  Basically, 12-15 sprouts split lengthwise, steamed 5-10 minutes.  Then place about 2-3 Tbs olive oil in a large sauté pan.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese on the oil, place the sprouts flat side down, sprinkle a little more cheese over the top and cook over med heat until starting to brown.  Much better than just steamed.  As usual, I worked this over in my mind, and added either powdered or crushed garlic to the oil and cheese in the pan.  Better, but not there yet. Still had a sauté pan to wash.  You know what is coming next.  This works just as well in an aluminum baking pan and bake at around 375-400F for 20-30 minutes.  No pan to wash.  THEN, how about breaded?  After they are split and steamed, let them cool some and dip them in egg, roll them in a mix of maybe 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup bread crumbs seasoned how you like.  Maybe add garlic powder, Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, use your imagination.  Better, but still messy. 

Next stop: Olive oil the baking pan, sprinkle the crumb/cheese mix on the bottom. Dip the halved sprouts in egg,  (I use egg substitute,less mess and no whisking) in a paper bowl.  Place the sprouts close together, flat side down in the oil and crumb/cheese mix.  Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mix over the top. Bake 375-400F about 20-25 minutes or until starting to brown.  Serve from the pan.  Nothing to wash except whatever you steamed the sprouts in!  This also works well on the Traeger Barbecue set at 375F.  Doesn't heat up the kitchen by running the oven.

Here they are with some roasted carrots on the side:

 

 

 Katharine's Tater Tots

This is a quick potato dish that my daughter prepares for just about any time.  Makes a great side dish and is fairly low-cal.

Preheat oven or Traeger barbecue to 375-400F
1 10 X 13 disposable aluminum baking pan

4-5 medium potatoes, diced (I don't peel)
2 envelopes onion soup mix
1/4 (or maybe a little more) olive oil

Roasting time: about 45-60 minutes


Cut up the potatoes and place in the old standard 10X13 aluminum baking pan.  Pour the olive oil over the top and sprinkle the soup mix.  Toss until well coated.  You can bake this covered or uncovered.  I usually cover with foil for about 20 minutes, remove, toss  and continue uncovered for 20 more minutes or until potatoes are tender. I don't salt as there is plenty of salt in the soup mix.

This batch was made with 2 envelopes ranch dip mix instead of the onion soup. (it's what I had on hand at the time)  I also wanted to try something different.  Turned out very tasty.  I think these will become "Roger's Ranch Potatoes"

Something To Do With Extra Brussells Sprouts, Green Beans And Parmesan Crumb Mix.

First I steamed these for 10 minutes.  Couple of Tbs olive oil in a roasting pan sprinkled with the crumb/cheese/garlic mix.  Place vegetables in the pan on top of the crumb mix, sprinkle the remaining crumbs over the top.  Roasted on the Traeger barbecue (or in your oven) at 375F. 

Here are the results.  You would think I would get tired of these vegetables, but they are soooo good.