Home Update

Sorry I have not been on lately, but I have been cleaning hard and trying out some new recipes! I feel like I am really getting better at everything. The house is cleaner than ever. And I am learning to cook pretty much everything from scratch WITHOUT burning it or messing it up!


As far as cleaning goes, I have decided that I am going to make this apartment shine newer than when I got here-which shouldn't be too hard, but I mean really "re-doing" it all like repainting and steam cleaning it. (Which we will do at the beginning of next year.) Until then, I have been doing stuff like bleaching all the base boards and doors, scrubbing and repainting the vent covers, and attempting to get the yellow out of the linoleum. This place doesn't NEED it to look okay, but I decided if we are going to be here the next 2 or 3 years while we are trying to buy a house, I want it to look good. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to paint the walls a different color, but I may do a semi-gloss paint so it is easier to wash than the flat paint we have. 


As far as cooking and baking goes, I have tried so many new things lately, but these are the ones I am going to post: Baked Penne, Stuffed Peppers, and Crock Pot Lasagna. As far as baking goes, I have some recipes for homemade hot chocolate and gingerbread cake. 


Baked Penne: 


Ingredients:


1 pound ground beef 


1- 24 ounce jar of spaghetti sauce (I like to use the Hunts sauces in different flavors like 4 Cheeses or Garlic and Herb)


1/2-10 ounce tub of PHILADELPHIA Italian Cheese and Hearb Cooking Creme (Okay, this did not sound appealing to me at first. I am the pickiest person, but this stuff is AMAZING!)


1 cup Shredded Cheese (Any Kind)


3 cups of cooked Penne pasta

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Brown meat and drain. Str in spaghetti sauce, cooking creme, cheese, and pasta. 

3. Stir until melted and mixed. 

4. Pour in a casserole dish. 

5. Bake for 20 minutes. 

Stuffed Peppers: 

Ingredients:

Bell Peppers-1 for every 2 cups

1 pound of ground beef

Taco seasoning (Here is a link for a recipe for homemade taco seasoning. I have not tried it yet, but I will post my tweaked version when I do: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/taco-seasoning-i/detail.aspx)

Refried beans

Rice

Shredded cheese

Any other toppings you want on your "tacos" like tomatoes, onion, etc. 

Directions:

1. Brown meat and drain. Stir in taco seasoning.

2. Boil rice. 

3. Heat refried beans.   

4. Cut peppers in half, remove seeds, and boil for 5 minutes.  

Fill peppers with beans, rice, and meat. Add toppings.

Crock Pot Lasagna: 

Ingredients: 

1 pound of ground beef

2-15 ounce cans of tomato sauce

1-6 ounce can of tomato paste

Dried Basil (To taste)

Dried Oregano (To taste)

1/2-12 ounce package of lasagna noodles

3 cups of cheese (Any type)

 

Parmesan cheese 

Directions:


1. Brown meat and drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce, paste, and seasonings until mixed. 


2. Boil noodles. 


3. Layer in crockpot-meat, noodles, cheese. Sprinkle top with Parmesan and cook on low heat for 4 to 6 hours. 


Here are the links to the hot chocolate and gingerbread cake. I did not tweak either one. The hot chocolate tasted good. The gingerbread cake I thought was sort of bland, but my Husband said it was the icing. 


http://allrecipes.com/recipe/gingerbread-iii/detail.aspx


http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fluffy-hot-chocolate-2/detail.aspx

Baked Penne

Stuffed Peppers