Kitchen Meets Culinary Clutz

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Make pie crusts as directed above for Two-Crust Pie using 9-inch glass pie pan.
2. In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender.
3. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened.
4.  Stir in chicken, mixed vegetables and potatoes (let simmer for about 5 extra minutes if veggies are thrown in frozen). Remove from heat.
5. Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust.
6. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning.
7.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yee-haw! Your cowpokes will love this meal!

1. Brown beef until fully cooked.
2. Drain off excess fat.
3. Add minced garlic, potato pieces, beef broth, and tomato sauce.
4. Stir, cover with lid and let cook on Med to Med-High heat for 35 – 40 minutes (stirring occasionally), or until potatoes, are fork tender and liquid has cooked off, turn down heat to Low setting.
5. Stir in 1 - 2 cans of cut green beans during last 5-minutes of cooking, (replace lid).
6. Add desired amount of seasoned salt for flavor. 

It's not quite autumn yet but when the rain finally came to Oklahoma, the triple digit temperatures disappeared, blessing us with a brief spell of cooler weather, and with it came a hankering for some good 'ol comfort food.

If you're in a bind, and forgot to thaw out stewing beef the night before, don't worry. Run to the freezer and grab yourself a pound of cubed stewing beef and lets get this classic stew recipe thrown together and brewing before y'all have to hustle out to work for the day.

Here's what you'll need:

1. Spray the sides and bottom of the slow cooker bowl.
2. Set your meat inside the slow cooker.
3. Mix together the flour salt and pepper, and pour evenly over meat. (If using thawed meat, stir to coat each piece.)
4. Add remaining ingredients. (This is where you can omit any veggies, or onions that don’t agree with your taste buds, or add extra veggies to your heart’s content, and rest assure that your stew will still taste just as hearty!)
5. Stir to mix well.
6. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 10 to 12 hours (For thawed meat only, stew can be cooked on HIGH for 4-6 hrs.).

Bring your water to a boil in a witch's pot. But wait, first make sure your witch's pot has been washed clean of the Earthworm and Eyeball stew made the day before.

While your water is trying to boil, start the sauce.  Add the jar of spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce to your meat and heat until warm. Mix well then set aside. (This is a messy task! I managed to splatter sauce all over my shirt just now, *bleh*)

I love pasta!

Add the elbow noodles to the boiling water and cook according to package directions. . Ooh and Preheat oven to 425°F.

Quick grab a box of Texas Toast from your freezer and arrange on baking stone. To make your hungry brood think you've slaved over a hot stove all day, hide the evidence (packaging)  in the trash. Do it now, Quick!!

Next, drain your elbow noodles and dump them in a 13 x 9-in. casserole dish, being extra careful not to burn yourself with the extremely hot steam. *ooh-la-la*

Dump the prepared meat sauce on top of the noodles and then mix it all together real well. This part is challenging because stray noodles like to jump out of the dish, making a saucy mess on the counter.

Add the yummy cheese...

..And spread it evenly over all the noodles. Place casserole dish on bottom rack and Texas toast on rack above. Bake for 13 minutes or until Toast is browned and Noodles are bubbly.

When dinner is done make the child, who felt they should be served first, clean up the saucy mess you left on the stove top!

Today for dinner my plan was to make a Steak Salad, however the kids had other plans.  I dare not argue with their other plans because I've always encouraged my kids to partake in meal planning even if it involved the kids creating their own meal ideas.

This recipe is one of their favorites:

1. Prepared lettuce as you would any salad, making sure lettuce pieces are cut into bite-sized pieces.
2. Cut Cherry Tomatoes into 4-slices each. 
3. Add Red and Green Bell Pepper.
4. Toss lettuce, tomatoes and peppers to mix
5. Serve salad and allow the kids to top their individual servings of salad with the remaining toppings of choice.

Alrighty!!! Grab your ingredients because this dish is ultra easy! I am so thankful our week is over. It was a busy one with award ceremonies, school functions, sporting activities, volunteer work, and lending a helping hand to friends both near and far! I am sitting back and relaxing now. "I'm beat!" I barely stayed awake while getting my nails done this afternoon! Ha! Ok well, How about that dinner?