Chicken Lo Mein

I am such a  bad blogger, I haven't posted since September. I've cooked a lot and taken photos of plenty of dishes but I haven't been in a mood to write. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things so I'm posting about last nights dinner.

Lo mein isn't my favorite thing but I had all the ingredients on hand so I thought I'd try it anyway. It didn't taste much like take out but it wasn't bad. I made extra sauce but it ended up being too saucy and the sauce was much too thick so I would recommend cutting back on the cornstarch. I added some red pepper flakes to the leftovers to give it a little kick, that made it a little less bland.

I found the recipe at Mom's Fridge and it was okay but i don't think it will go into permanent rotation.

Mac and Cheese - Fail!

I have been wanting macaroni salad for a few days and decided to make some last night. I had already started cooking the pasta when I realized I didn't have all the stuff to make it, one day perhaps I will learn to get all the ingredients together before I start cooking. So I figured since the noodles were already cooked I would make some macaroni and cheese. I had a recipe bookmarked to try and I followed the instructions except I used a cup of mozzarella and the rest cheddar. I don't know what happened but the texture of the sauce was gritty. Was it the mozzarella? Should I have cooked the flour longer? Total failure :-(

Ravioli Lasagna

Quick, easy and good! I used the frozen spinach which may have been a mistake as I actually had someone refuse to eat it it, no this someone was not a child even if they acted like it. "What's that icky green stuff? I'm not eating this." I personally didn't even taste the spinach except where it was clumped up in a few places. I would try this one again, without the spinach to accommodate my family.

I found this recipe over at Dinner With Julie.

Ravioli Lasagna

1 large jar good-quality tomato sauce
2 16-18 oz. bags fresh or frozen large ravioli – any kind
1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 cup grated part-skim mozzarella (or as much as you like)
½ cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spray a 9”x13” baking dish with nonstick spray, and spread about a third of the tomato sauce over the bottom. Lay half the ravioli in a single layer overtop. Sprinkle with the spinach and half the cheese, another third of the sauce and then the remaining ravioli, sauce and cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake another 10 minutes, until golden and bubbly.

Serves 6.

Amish Macaroni Salad

I love macaroni salad...well, there is one macaroni salad I always loved. It was at a local pizza place that is unfortunately closed and has been for quite a few years now. I know they bought it but I don't know where from. When I got the salad bar the only thing I put in it was macaroni salad and maybe a few spiced apple rings. Anyway, I've tried macaroni salad from different places and different brands. None have ever lived up to that pizza place. This one comes really close. I found it at Chocolate Moosey's blog

I've made it twice so far with a couple of changes. The first time I only used two hard boiled eggs because when I was chopping them, three looked like it would be way too many. I only used celery not green pepper and I cut back on the sugar. The second time I skipped the eggs completely, it didn't make a big difference but I think I prefer it with out the eggs. I also increased the amount of dressing by half it didn't make a big difference so I would stick with the original amount. Normally I have a problem with the sauce being absorbed into the pasta too much but I didn't have too much of a problem this time. That could be because I let the pasta cool completely or maybe because I rinsed the pasta with cool water. It did get a little thick but a couple of drops of milk stirred in before serving smoothed it back out.

Here's the recipe as found in Chocolate Moosey's blog

Amish Macaroni Salad
1/2 lb. elbow macaroni (I just guessed)
1/4 cup chopped celery or green pepper (or both)
1/4 cup grated carrots
2 Tbsp chopped white onion
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped (yolks optional)
Paprika
1 cup mayo
2 Tbsp vinegar
1/4 cup sugar (you can cut back to 2 Tbsp if needed)
1 Tbsp yellow mustard

1. Cook macaroni as directed. Drain and let cool.
2. After the macaroni cools, mix with celery, green pepper, carrots, onion, and eggs.
3. In a small bowl, combine mayo, vinegar, sugar, and mustard. Fold into macaroni mixture. Sprinkle the top with paprika and stir a couple of times to mix it in. Cover and let chill at least 2 hours, although overnight is best.

Chicken Broccoli Noodle Bake

The recipe came from here at Recipezaar.

This was a nice recipe with a comfort food feel about it. Every thought it was okay except it needed to be saucier. It's something I might make again.

• 1/2 lb egg noodles
• 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
• 1 cup cooked chicken, diced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1. Cook noodles in boiling, salted water until almost tender, drain.
2. Mix soup and milk, add to noodles and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. In a 2 qt casserole, arrange 1/3 of the noodles, top with all of the broccoli.
4. Top with 1/3 of the noodles, then with all of the chicken.
5. Cover with remaining noodles.
6. Mix butter with bread crumbs and sprinkle over the top.
7. Bake uncovered at 350° until brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes.