Cowboy Pasta

  What Ya'll Need:
1 lb. Hamburger meat
2 cans Ranch Style Beans
2 (12 oz.) VELVEETA Shells & Cheese Dinner
1 can of diced tomatoes and green chilies*
salt and pepper for taste
What to Do:

Cook hamburger meat; drain, add the beans and cook on medium heat covered. Cook Shells & cheese according to package. When done add both meat mixture and noodles together until completely combined and serve warm.

**Cooking Note: We have added broccoli and corn before and it was also very good. I almost always serve this with a vegetable and bread.

This makes about 8 one cup servings!  

Old Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie

flaked coconut

3 cups half-and-half

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (9 inch) pie shell, baked

1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Direction :

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake it, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, combine the half-and-half, eggs, sugar, flour and salt and mix well. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in 3/4 cup of the toasted coconut and the vanilla extract. Reserve the remaining coconut to top the pie.

Pour the filling into the pie shell and chill until firm, about 4 hours.

Top with whipped topping and with the reserved coconut.

New York Cheesecake

INGREDIENTS

    5 large eggs, room temperature

    2 cups (one pint) sour cream, room temperature

    4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

    8 tablespoons (one stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

    1 1/2 cups sugar

    2 tablespoons cornstarch

    1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

    1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

    1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

DIRECTIONS

    Generously butter the inside of a 10-inch springform pan. Wrap a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil tightly around the outside bottom and sides, crimping and pleating the foil to make it conform to the pan. This will help to prevent water seeping into the pan when you put it into the bain-marie. Position the baking rack in the center of the oven; preheat the oven to 300* Fahrenheit.

    In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs with the sour cream until well blended.

    In a medium-sized bowl, beat the cream cheese with the butter until smooth and creamy. Add this to the egg-sour cream mixture and beat until smooth.

    Add the sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest and beat thoroughly, about 2 minutes.

    Pour into the prepared springform pan and place in a roasting pan (or other pan) large enough to prevent the sides from touching. Place in the oven and carefully pour in enough very hot tap water to reach halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

    Bake for 2 hours, 15 minutes, or until the cake is very lightly colored and a knife inserted in the center emerges clean. Remove from the water bath and carefully peel the aluminum foil from around the pan. Let stand at room temperature until completely cool, about 4 hours. Refrigerate, covered, until well chilled. For best flavor and texture, this cheesecake is best chilled overnight.

Fried Cabbage with Bacon and Onions

 1 medium head green cabbage, chopped loosely
3 slices bacon, chopped
1/4 large onion or 1/2 small to medium onion, chopped
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce (optional)
salt & pepper to taste

How to make it :

In a large pan cook the chopped bacon over medium to medium-high heat.  Once the fat renders off and there's plenty of bacon grease in the pan, add the chopped onion.  Right when the bacon has just started to crisp, add the chopped cabbage, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce (optional but I like the tiny bit of smokey tang that it gives some foods).  Stir occasionally until cabbage is softened.  I like some pieces to get a little pan browned so I don't stir very often.  Taste before serving as you may need to add more salt and pepper depending on your preference.