Tag: Main Dishes

Macaroni & Cheese

This came from a Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, and Mom often made this when we were growing up. I basically never put in onions. You can even add chopped up hot dogs or ham, which is delicious but also a bit greasy. You don’t necessarily have to bake it. It comes out great just made on the stovetop. I even once made a cheddar fondue with this sauce recipe, but added a lot more cheese. It was delicious.

If you’re making it gluten free, I’ve made it doubled on the stove (unbaked) a few times, and it’s amazing. I love the buttery sauce. I use a whole 12 oz. box of gluten free rotini. And you can either use gluten free flour or replace with half the cornstarch.

Below is a picture of the baked version (it absorbs a lot of the sauce). The recipe card picture is made with gluten free rotini and hot dogs, which has much more sauce–usually I add more pasta when I make the stovetop version because it’s very saucy.

Make it a meal with:

  • Peas
  • Apple Slices

Macaroni & Cheese

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: medium
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Baked or unbaked, tastes great. You can even add sliced hot dogs.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ c. Elbow Macaroni or Rotini (or gluten free rotini–if doubling and making on stove, use 12 oz. box)
  • 3 Tbsp. Butter
  • 2 Tbsp. Flour (or 1 Tbsp. cornstarch)
  • ½ tsp. Salt
  • Dash of Pepper
  • 2 c. Milk
  • ¼ c. Onion, finely chopped (optional)
  • 8 oz. Cheddar Cheese (2 c. if cubed) (sharp is best, but mild is still delicious)
  • (optional) Hot dogs cut into rounds (1 pack of 8 hot dogs is good for a double batch)

Directions

(Double recipe for large family, to fill 9×13 pan.) Cook and drain macaroni. In saucepan, melt butter and blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Add milk, then cook and stir till thick and bubbly. Add onion and cheese, stirring till cheese is melted. Mix cheese sauce with macaroni (and add hot dogs if using). You can serve as is or pour into 1 ½ qt. casserole or sprayed 9×13 pan and bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or till heated through.


Manicotti

The filling is good for manicotti shells or jumbo shells. And it makes great leftovers.

If you’re making it gluten free, good luck finding gluten free manicotti shells. I’m pretty sure those unicorns do exist, though, haha. I usually end up making gluten free rotini or penne, and layering it like I’d layer lasagna. It bakes nicely and is delicious.

Make it a meal with:

  • Garlic Bread or Breadsticks
  • Corn
  • Green Salad
  • Jell-O

Manicotti

  • Servings: 5
  • Difficulty: medium
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Delicious, great leftovers, and freezes well.

Ingredients

  • 10 Manicotti Shells, cooked in salt water
  • 1 pt. Ricotta Cheese
  • 1 Egg, beaten
  • ¼ c. Parmesan Cheese
  • ½ c. Shredded Mozzarella
  • 1 Tbsp. Parsley Flakes
  • Spaghetti Sauce
  • Mozzarella Cheese for topping

Directions

Combine ricotta, eggs, parmesan, and parsley. Stuff into shells either with a spoon or by putting the filling in a quart bag, cutting off the tip, and piping into the shells. Place some spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Place stuffed shells on top of sauce. Pour remaining sauce over top of shells. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Cook at 350° for 30 minutes.


Lemon Chicken

This recipe came from Aunt LaRee, and it’s wonderful for grilling. You can also broil it in your oven if you don’t want to fire up the grill. Take note that the chicken needs to marinate for 4 hours, though.

And this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Lemon Chicken

  • Servings: 6?
  • Difficulty: easy
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Easy, flavorful, and great for grilling. Remember to marinate 4 hours.

Ingredients

  • ¾ c. Oil
  • ¾ c. Lemon Juice
  • 1 Tbsp. Garlic Salt
  • 2 tsp. Onion Powder
  • 2 tsp. Basil
  • Chicken Breasts or pieces

Directions

Mix all ingredients in gallon bag. Marinate 4 hours. Then place chicken on grill and heat until grill reaches 350°. Then reduce heat to low. Grill (or broil) for 3-6 minutes on each side (or more, depending on thickness of chicken) until internal temperature reaches 165°. 15-20 minutes for bone-in.


Kalua Pork

Michael got this recipe on his mission from a Hawaiian family, and we’ve made it a lot since then. It’s great and very easy for large gatherings, and your house smells delicious all day. Plus, pork shoulder is often on sale, even as low as 99 cents a pound. Kalua pork is a little greasy, though, so take note. We often serve it on rice, but it’s also great on hamburger buns or Hawaiian sweet rolls.

And good news, this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Kalua Pork

  • Servings: 12?
  • Difficulty: easy
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Very easy and great for large gatherings.

Ingredients

  • 5-6 lb. Pork Shoulder/Butt (boneless if possible, but bone-in is fine)
  • 1 Tbsp.+ Sea Salt
  • 1 Tbsp. Liquid Smoke
  • 1 bottle Hawaiian BBQ Sauce (optional)

Directions

Combine ingredients and cook on low in oven at 200° or in crock pot on low for 14-20 hours. May season with more salt afterwards, if needed. After cooked, pull apart with fork and serve on rice with BBQ sauce (if desired). You can place the pork back in the crock pot to keep it warm, but remove most of the liquid or it will be very fatty.


Lasagna

So delicious! Wonderful flavors, makes great leftovers, and freezes well. Great for special occasions or Sunday, but it does take a fair amount of time.

If you’re making it gluten free, you can certainly try gluten free lasagna noodles. I’ve never found them in the store, though, but I haven’t looked very hard. I usually end up making gluten free rotini or penne, and layering it like I’d layer regular lasagna. It bakes nicely and is delicious.

Make it a meal with:

  • Garlic Bread or Breadsticks
  • Corn
  • Green Salad
  • Jell-O

Lasagna

  • Servings: 9
  • Difficulty: medium
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Delicious, great leftovers, and freezes well.

Ingredients

  • 9-10 cooked, drained Lasagna Noodles
  • ½ lb-1 lb Cottage Cheese
  • 3 c. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
  • Spaghetti Sauce (homemade)
  • Parmesan Cheese

Directions

In a greased 9×13 pan, place a thin layer of sauce. Layer 3 noodles, sauce, 1/2 the cottage cheese–not too thick–use a spoon to shake on over the top, then a light layer of mozzarella cheese. Repeat previous layer. Last layer: put on 3 noodles and remaining sauce. Put heavy layer of Mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with parmesan cheese to finish. Bake covered at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes until cheese is lightly browned. Do not over brown. Let sit 10 minutes before cutting and serving.


Hamburger Soup

On a crisp Fall evening, nothing beats the smell of simmering hamburger soup and freshly baked blueberry muffins. Hamburger soup is comforting and tastes even better the next day.

If you’re making this gluten free, make sure to use the substitute for condensed tomato soup since there’s wheat in tomato soup. You can also use Pacific Foods Tomato Soup and an extra container filled with water.

Make it a meal with:

  • Muffins or French Bread
  • Fresh Fruit

Hamburger Soup

  • Servings: 6?
  • Difficulty: easy-medium
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A comforting soup, even better the next day.

Ingredients

  • 2 lb. Hamburger
  • 1 Onion, chopped
  • 3 to 5 Potatoes, chopped
  • 2-3 large Carrots (about), chopped
  • 2 small cans Tomato Soup
    • For gluten free, use:
    • 16 oz. Tomato Sauce
    • 1 Tbsp. Sugar
    • 2 Tbsp. Cornstarch
    • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 4 cans Water (about 44 oz. or 5 1/2 c. water)
  • 1 tsp. Salt (about)
  • 1 heaping Tbsp. Brown Sugar
  • 2 Cloves
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 1 c. Frozen Corn (optional)

Directions

Brown hamburger, then add onion to cook. Add rest of ingredients and bring to boil. Cook till carrots are done (about 30-45 minutes simmering). Add corn at end to warm through. Before serving, remove cloves and bay leaf if you can find them. Haha, or warn people to keep an eye out for them.


Creamed Tuna

Normally I don’t like any recipe with canned tuna in it (except tuna sandwiches). But I remember Mom making this, and it never really tasted like tuna. Mostly it tasted deliciously of onion. It’s a great recipe when you don’t have many fresh ingredients available, and it’s pretty comforting. I don’t make this as often anymore, but it’s a good recipe to have on hand if you have lots of tuna.

If you’re making this gluten free, make sure to use cornstarch instead of flour.

Make it a meal with:

  • Rice
  • Peas
  • Fruit Salad

Creamed Tuna

  • Servings: 4?
  • Difficulty: easy
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Comforting and great for using pantry foods.

Ingredients

  • ½ c. Butter
  • ½ c. Flour (or 1/4 c. cornstarch)
  • 3 c. Milk
  • 1 Tbsp. Dried Minced Onion
  • 2 cans White Tuna
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

In frying pan, melt butter and add flour or cornstarch. Mix well and cook a little. Add remaining ingredients. Serve on rice.


Mom’s Fried Chicken

Mom would make this fried chicken when we were growing up. It’s pretty simple and doesn’t have lots of herbs, but it’s still delicious.

If you’re making this gluten free, of course just use gluten free flour.

Make it a meal with:

  • French Bread
  • Green Salad
  • Corn
  • Fresh Fruit

Fried Chicken

  • Servings: 10
  • Difficulty: medium
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Simple but tasty.

Ingredients

  • About 10 Chicken Thighs
  • ½ c. Butter
  • ½ c. Vegetable Oil
  • 1 c. Flour (or gluten free flour)
  • 1 tsp. Salt

Directions

(Salt chicken before coating with flour.)  Combine flour and salt in gallon bag. Place chicken in bag and shake to coat. Fry chicken in butter and oil, skin side down for 15 minutes till golden. Turn over. Turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes.


Orange Chicken (Panda Express)

This is adapted from the Original Orange Chicken by Panda Express recipe on Tasty. It’s very delicious. But in typical Tasty fashion, there were things wrong with the recipe that they don’t show in the video. Like the fact that you have to double the liquid for the batter or you’ll basically have biscuit dough. But it’s a really great recipe that I’ve made many times, gluten free and regular. I’ve even made the chicken and just served it with sweet and sour sauce for a sweet and sour chicken. And frankly the chicken is so good and salty that we have a hard time not eating it all like popcorn chicken as it comes out. I usually make a huge batch and freeze one gallon bag of leftovers because it takes quite a while to make.

If you’re making it gluten free, of course use gluten free flour and gluten free soy sauce or tamari. Luckily it fries up and tastes the same if it’s gluten free or regular.

Make it a meal with:

  • Rice
  • Broccoli
  • Egg Rolls
  • Fortune Cookies

Orange Chicken (Panda Express)

  • Servings: 10
  • Difficulty: medium-hard
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Wonderful, but it takes lots of time.

Ingredients

  • 4 lb. chicken breasts, cubed into 1″ x 1″
  • 1 Tbsp. Salt
  • 1 tsp. Pepper
  • 1 c. Cornstarch
  • 3 c. Flour (or gluten free flour with xanthan gum)
  • 1 Egg
  • 3+ c. Water
  • 2 Tbsp. Oil
  • 6 c. Oil for frying (or however much to fill the electric skillet appropriately)

Orange Sauce

  • 3 Tbsp. Oil
  • 1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
  • 3 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
  • Pinch of ginger (optional)
  • 3/4 c. Sugar
  • 3/4 c. Brown Sugar
  • 3/4 c. Orange Juice
  • 3/4 c. White Vinegar
  • 6 Tbsp. Soy Sauce (or gluten free soy sauce/tamari)
  • 1/4 c. Water
  • 1/4 c. Cornstarch

Directions

In large bowl, mix salt, pepper, cornstarch, flour. Add egg, water, and oil until it reaches consistency of pancake batter (may need to add more water). Add chicken to batter and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Heat oil to 375° in electric skillet. (You  may want to go below the max fill line because it takes longer to heat the oil and doesn’t hold the heat as well if it’s fuller, I’ve found.) Add chicken and cook 5-6 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove chicken from pan with a slotted metal spoon or tongs and transfer to a paper towel lined cookie sheet.

For sauce, heat heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat and add oil. Once the oil shimmers, add red pepper flakes, ginger, and garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Careful, the garlic turns dark quickly. Add sugars and stir to combine. Add orange juice and allow sugars to dissolve, stirring occasionally. Add vinegar and soy sauce and stir to combine. In a small bowl, add cornstarch to water, and whisk to combine. Add to pan with sauce and stir (if it thickens too much, add more water). Continue to cook sauce until it’s thick like maple syrup. Spoon a little sauce over the chicken and see how strong the sauce tastes on the chicken, adding more as desired.

To freeze leftovers, keep chicken and sauce separate. Freeze the chicken in a gallon bag and the sauce in a quart bag. You can also freeze a quart bag of cooked rice and put all the bags together in a grocery bag in the freezer.

To reheat from frozen, I find that the chicken holds up the best and retains its breading best when you microwave for 2 minutes, then heat on the stove. Heat some oil in a pan and warm up the chicken. Try not to stir a lot because the breading does tend to fall off if there’s a lot of movement. Place the sealed bag of sauce in water to thaw. You may need to add some water to the chicken pan and cover with a lid to steam. Once the chicken is hot, add the desired amount of sauce and heat through. To reheat frozen rice, poke some holes in the bag with a fork and microwave for 5 minutes at a time until hot.


Pesto Chicken

Man, I love pesto chicken SO much. It’s one of my very favorite meals. Garlic, basil, cheese, and tomato combine so well. You can make this as separate chicken breasts in a pan, or you can mix cubed chicken and cut up tomato with sauce in the pasta. Either way is delicious, but the separate chicken breasts in the pan seems a little more special for special occasions.

And good news, this one is naturally gluten free–just serve it with gluten free noodles.

Make it a meal with:

  • Pasta
  • Garlic Bread or Breadsticks
  • Corn or Green Beans
  • Fresh Fruit

Pesto Chicken

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Absolutely delicious, great for special occasions or weeknight dinners.

Ingredients

  • 3 large Chicken Breasts, fileted in half so they’re half the thickness (6 total pieces)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 10 oz. jar Basil Pesto
  • 2 large Tomatoes, sliced
  • Sliced or shredded Mozzarella
  • Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

Place the fileted chicken breasts in a greased 9×13 pan and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the pesto over the chicken. Then cover each chicken with 1-2 tomato slices (salted and peppered), and top with cheese. (Optional: Sprinkle parmesan over all.) Cook at 375° for about 30-45 minutes or until the temperature reaches 165°. Also broil to melt the cheese until slightly golden brown at the end. Serve with pasta, and make sure to spoon the delicious liquid from the pan over the pasta.