Noodle Shyt a Change Up Recipe

I know the name sounds terrible, but this is a great quick and cheap recipe.  When the father of my children and I first married, we didn't have much money. We kept expenses down by eating what I now call poverty meals. They were great tasting, the kids loved them, and they didn't break the budget. I still make most of them to this day, because they are good eats.  The kids and my favorite was a ground beef and noodle delight. We could eat it every night, but I felt that variety was necessary. We did, however, eat it frequently. One night the hubby came home from work, took a sniff of the air and said, "Are we having that noodle shyt again?" The stuff became lovingly know as Noodle Shyt from then on. If the adult children find out that I am making it, they  make all kinds of excuses to stop by at dinner time.

This is a change up recipe. This picture is of the original shyt, but it is great with any type of frozen or fresh vegetable. It is especially nice with kale or spinach. If you use any other type of veggie, it needs to be cooked before going into the casserole. 

Preheat oven to 350°F

Ingredients:

1 pound of lean ground beef
1/2 pound of noodles, any variety that has some heft to it.
1 small onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or granules
2 to 3 cans of Cream of Celery Soup, however any cream soup would work.

Procedure

Brown onions, garlic and beef.  Cook noodles until done. Throw all ingredients into a large casserole dish, and add soup.  Mix well and cook in oven for 30 minutes. 

Change Ups

Add drained canned Veggies of choice
Add thawed frozen Veggies of choice-microwave to heat through
Add greens of choice

Who Say Old Dogs Can't Learn New Tricks? Snickerdoodle Recipe

My daughter insulted my snickerdoodle cookie recipe the other day. She swore that a friend of hers at work made the BEST snickerdoodle cookies because she uses cream of tartar. My Doubting Thomas mind went into denial. What the heck could that possibly have to do with making a great Snickerdoodle? So the chemist in me wanted the facts and went after them. I found this lovely explanation of just what Cream of Tartar is and does here. It helped me with my previous study of how to make your own cookie recipe here.

So now I'm convinced that my daughter is on to something. So I begged the cookie recipe from her, and now for the surprise. She was right about them being a superior cookie. Who would have guessed that a spring puppy could educate the old dog?

There were several things that I learned here. 

1. The darn things don't necessarily get really browned, and if you leave them in the oven until they do, you get a brick like Snickerdoodle. 
2. When you cook them properly, you get much softer cookies.
3. My spell check doesn't like Snickerdoodle, and keeps placing red lines under it.
4. If you add two more tablespoons of flour to the recipe the cookies are softer. Go figure. Learned this from my Grandmother-in-law.
5. The large end of a melon ball maker is the perfect size to make 1 inch cookie balls.
6. Here is a good deal on Good Ceylon cinnamon and it makes all the difference in the way the cookie tastes.
7. These are very easy cookies to make.

Here they are, with a favorite tea. They are perfect with a cup of Green Tea, but coffee is also good. There is nothing that improves the taste of coffee like a good sweet food, and snickerdoodles fit that bill nicely. So no more preamble, here is the recipe.

Snickerdoodles

Preheat oven to 400°F

Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies

Place parchment on the cookie sheet, no need to put oil or grease on the sheets. It also keeps them from browning too much on bottom.

Ingredients

1 ½ Cups sugar

½ Cup margarine

½ Cup Crisco

2 eggs

2 ¾ Cups flour

2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

Procedure

Mix ½ C sugar and 2 t cinnamon in a small bowl.

I found it easier to use my stand mixer for this.  Cream sugar & shortening. Add egg and mix well.

Combine remaining dry ingredients, and mix together well.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredient a little at a time.

I the large end of my melon ball maker to make 1” balls. Roll the dough in sugar and cinnamon mixture.  Place 2” apart on cookie sheet.

Bake 8 – 10 minutes. Remember to err on the side of too short a time, and these things should not get brown on the edges, for if they do, they become hard as rocks. I left mine in 8 minutes exactly after the first batch, and they were divine.

I hope you enjoy.
Namaste

Reading Crochet Patterns

This is another one of my eclectic posts.  I have a new Great Granddaughter on the way, and will be crocheting things that I am now pinning on Pinterest. This instruction list will be most helpful.  With this post, the only thing I need to get up here is the afghan stitch, and I'm all set to renew my ability. I have been slacking since the kids started school, and I went back to work. I'm cutting back on the jobs I take, so have more play time. I'm looking forward to making some things for the baby, and my own home.

I found these old stitch instructions in a stack of old books that my mother-in-law had. Her daughter went through what she wanted, and I got the rest. I have seen so many patterns on Pinterest that have the those symbols in the bottom right of the instructions, and never knew how to read them. NOW, with these instructions I can interpret the instructions. YAY!

I decided to share these on Pinterest in order to keep them safe for posterity, and to share with friends. I have crocheted for many years, but have never seen those type of instructions until I started hanging out on Pinterest. I have not been able to find these instructions on Pinterest, and thought it was about time to get some out there that I could use when I need them. I needed to place them some place for my own benefit as well.