KID'S STUFF

AMERICAN CHOP SUEY

CONTENTS: American Chop Suey Baked Ziti Best Ever Sugar Cookies Chicken Fingers Chicken Pockets Dirt Cake Hungry Jack Casserole Impossible Cheeseburger Pie Impossible Lasagna Pie Jello Poke Cake Macaroni Pie Macaroni Pizza Casserole Monkey Bread Monkey Shake Pudding-Wiches Ranch-Style Chicken Fingers Risa's Totally Awesome Pepperoni Pizza Three Corn Casserole Back to Recipe Page

*American Chop Suey is a New England dish. It's called goulash down here in Virginia, but whatever the name, it's always been a favorite of my entire family.*
1 lb. Hamburg 2 C elbow macaroni Spaghetti sauce 1 Green pepper, chopped	Cook elbow macaroni. Saute green pepper in a small amout of margarine. Add hambur to pan and brown, breaking up meat as it cooks. Drain any excess fat and add tomato sauce and cooked elbows. Saute over low heat for 30 minutes or so. Best if done a day before and left overnight in the refrigerator.
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BAKED ZITI
1 (16 ounce) package ziti 1/2 lb. ground beef 1 small onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic minced 3 C (or more) your favorite spaghetti sauce 1 lb. mozzarella cheese, sliced thin 1/2 C grated Romano or Parmesan cheese	Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside. Cook beef, onion and garlic in large skillet, stirring to crumble meat. Drain excess fat. Stir spaghetti sauce and ziti into the meat mixture. Layer half this mixture in a 13x9 inch pan and place 1/2 mozzarella cheese on top. Layer remaining meat-pasta mixture over that and top with 1/2 of the remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes; remove foil and top with remaining cheeses. Bake an additional 10 minutes
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CHICKEN FINGERS
12 boneless chicken breasts 1 canister (16 ounces) bread crumbs (any flavor) 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. onion powder 2 sticks of melted butter	Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut chicken into cubes or strips. Mix together bread crumbs, Parmesan, salt, onion powder. Dip chicken in melted butter; roll in bread crumb mixture and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Refrigerate until ready to cook. Bake 15-20 min, turning once. Enjoy!
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CHICKEN POCKETS
**My son, who claims to hate chicken, loves* this recipe. I make a bunch and freeze them. They're actually addictive.***
3 or 4 boned, skinned chicken breasts, flattened Glaze for chicken* 1 3-oz. brick cream cheese, softened About 3 oz. of herbed cream cheese, softened 1 tsp. garlic powder 1/2 tsp. onion powder 1/2 tsp. combined curry & coriander (or a little more) 1 can crescent rolls beaten egg Italian bread crumbs	1. Apply some sort of glaze on breasts. I use a conserve I get from Bermuda - Rhubarb and Ginger Conserve. Any jelly/conserve/jam with a spicy flavor is good. Cook chicken either in the oven or on the grill. Shred the breasts into small pieces. 2. Combine cream cheeses w/spices. Add chicken and mix well. 3. Open can of rolls and stretch out each roll a little. Then put a small amount of chicken mixture on each one and roll up. Dip in egg, then in bread crumbs. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, or til a little more than golden brown.
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DIRT CAKE
1 medium-size flower pot (about 8 inches in diameter works well, or use two small pots about 6 inches in diameter) 1 garden trowel 3 large gummy or plastic worms Plastic flowers 1 16-oz. bag Oreo cookies 1/2 C (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened 1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened 1 C confectioners' sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 2 4-serving-size boxes instant chocolate-fudge flavor pudding (or vanilla) 3 C milk 1 12-oz. tub whipped topping, thawed	Crush cookies until they resemble potting soil, set aside. Cream butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. Set aside. Combine pudding mix and milk until well blended, then fold in the whipped topping. Gently fold cream cheese and pudding mixtures together. To put the cake together, layer 1/3 of the cookie crumbs in the flower pot, followed by 1/2 the pudding mixture, 1/3 of the crumbs, the rest of the pudding mixture and topping with the remaining cookie crumbs. Refrigerate 10 to 12 hours. About 1/2 hour before serving, remove from refrigerator and decorate with flowers. Serve by digging out portions with the trowel. Serves 10 to 12.
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HUNGRY JACK CASSEROLE
*I got this recipe from ParentsPlace.com. Although it's heavy on the cholesterol, it's actually pretty tasty, even for us adults.*
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef 1 tsp. salt 1 can pork-n-beans 1 can corn (drained) 2 Tbs. brown sugar 3/4 C BBQ sauce 1 Tbs. chopped onion 1 can Hungry Jack Biscuits 1-2 C shredded cheddar cheese	Preheat oven to 375. Brown hamburg and onions. Add salt, pork-n-beans, corn, brown sugar, and BBQ sauce. Heat til bubbly. Pour into 2 qt. casserole. Cut biscuits in half and place, cut side down, around top of casserole. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 25 minutes.
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IMPOSSIBLE CHEESEBURGER PIE
1 lb Ground beef 1 C Chopped onion 1/2 tsp Salt 1 C Shredded Cheddar cheese 1 C Milk 1/2 C Bisquick baking mix 2 Eggs	Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cook ground beef and onion; drain. Stir in salt. Spread in greased 9" pie plate; sprinkle with cheese. Stir remaining ingredients with fork until blended. Pour into plate. Bake 25 min. or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
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IMPOSSIBLE LASAGNA PIE
1/2 C Creamed cottage cheese 1 lb. Ground beef 1 C Shredded mozzarella cheese, divided 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp. Dried oregano 6 oz. can tomato paste 1/2 C Bisquick baking mix 1 C Milk 2 Eggs	Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a greased 9" pie plate spread cottage cheese. In a large skillet over medium heat cook ground beef until brown; drain. Stir in 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese, salt, oregano and tomato paste. Spoon evenly over cottage cheese. In a medium bowl whisk together remaining ingredients until blended; pour into pie plate. Bake 30-35 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 1-2 minutes longer or until melted. Serve.
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JELLO POKE CAKE
*I intend to make this recipe for the 4th of July... white cake mix, blueberry jello, and strawberries on the Cool Whip - a real patriotic cake!*
1 pkg. (2 layer size) white cake mix or pudding-style cake mix 1 pkg. (4 serving size) jello, your favorite flavor 1 C boiling water 1/2 C cold water 3 1/2 C (8 oz) Cool Whip, thawed	Prepare cake batter as directed on package, and pour into well-greased and floured 13 x 9 pan. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 15 minutes; then pierce with utlity fork at 1/2 inch intervals. Meanwhile, dissolve jello in boiling water. Add cold water and carefully pour over cake. Chill 3 to 4 hours. Frost with Cool Whip. Garnich with fruit if desired.
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MACARONI PIE
1 lb Cottage cheese 4 C Elbow macaroni (cooked) 4 Eggs 1 C Grated fresh Romano cheese 1/2 C Chopped fresh parsley	In a large bowl beat eggs and mix in cottage cheese, grated cheese, and parsley; combine well. Mix in the cooked macaroni. Generously grease an 8 x 12 casserole. Add mixture. bake in a 325 oven for 1 hour or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cut into pieces to serve.
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MACARONI PIZZA CASSEROLE
2 cups (8 oz.) elbow macaroni 1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup 1/4 cup each minced onion and green pepper (optional) 3 eggs 1 tsp. each oregano and sweet basil leaves 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 1 1/2 Tbls. sugar 16 oz. can tomato sauce 12 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese sliced pepperoni	Cook macaroni according to package, drain thoroughly. Combine with soup, onions, peppers, and eggs. Spread in greased 9x13-inch pan. Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes. Add seasonings to sauce; pour over macaroni and spread evenly. Sprinkle cheese on top and then top with pepperoni slices. Bake 10 minutes longer. (6-8 servings)
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MONKEY BREAD
4 cans of Grands biscuits (NOT buttermilk) cut into quarters 1 C sugar 4 tsp. cinnamon 4 Tbs. (or 1/4 C) dark Karo syrup 1/2 C margarine 1 C chopped nuts	Melt margarine; pour half in the bottom a Bundt pan. Sprinkle with nuts. Put sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag and coat a few quartered biscuits at a time. As they are coated, drop them into the Bundt pan, evenly distributing them throughout. When all the pieces are in, pour the rest of the margarine over the top, then pour the Karo syrup over the top. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon & sugar over all.* Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes*. Remove from pan immediately. I found that after coating all the pieces, I still had over 1/2 C sugar left. It seemed WAY too much sugar to add all the rest, so I only sprinkled a little over the top instead of adding it all. **The rolls that are closer to the middle were still doughy after 40 minutes, and I don't think it was because of my lousy oven. Check before you take it out by poking at the rolls near the middle. They should be cooked, not doughy. As I found out the hard way, once you remove this mess from the pan, it ain't going back in again!
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MONKEY SHAKE
*This recipe comes from Nordstrom's. It's really excellent - and for adults, add a shot of rum!*
1 ripe Papaya 1 ripe banana 2 oranges	Juice the oranges, add to blender. Scoop out papaya, peel the banana, and put papaya and banana in blender. Add about 3 or 4 ice cubes and blend until well incorporated. Yummm.
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PUDDING-WICHES
1 1/2 C cold milk 1/2 C peanut butter 1 pkg. instant Jello pudding (chocolate, vanilla, banana) 24 graham wafers	In a deep bowl, combine milk, peanut butter, and pudding. Mix w/blender till smooth. Let stand 5 minutes. Spread mixture 1/2" thick on half the wafers. Top w/remaining wafers and freeze about 3 hours. (makes 12)
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RANCH-STYLE CHICKEN FINGERS
4 boned chicken breasts 1 C Ranch Dressing 1/2 C Seasoned Bread Crumbs 1 Tbs. garlic powder Salt, pepper, paprika	Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the chicken into "fingers." Dip each finger into the ranch dressing and place in a foil-lined pan. Mix the remaining ingredients together and sprinkle heavily over chicken, coating thoroughly. Bake 1 1/4 hours or until crispy. Serve warm.
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RISA'S TOTALLY AWESOME PEPPERONI PIZZA
1 large thin crust Boboli Barilla pepper and garlic sauce Grated mozzarella and Parano cheese 8 wide, thinly-cut slices of pepperoni	Spread Boboli with sauce (I think that Barilla is the best ready-made sauce on the market). Spread grated cheeses over sauce. Lay pepperoni on top in a circle, with one in the middle. Bake at 450 for about 15 minutes.
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THREE CORN CASSEROLE
*Another recipe from Mimi Hiller's award-winning website - great for both adults and kids!*
1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup dairy sour cream 1 egg 1 can (16 oz) whole kernel corn, drained 1 can (16 oz) cream style corn, undrained 1 package (9 oz) corn muffin mix 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese	In large bowl, mix together butter, sour cream and egg. Stir in cans of corn and corn muffin mix. Spoon mixture into buttered 2-quart casserole dish. Bake in preheated 375-degree oven, 45 minutes. Add cheese; stir well. Cook additional 15 minutes, or until dish is slightly puffed.
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