Poutine is French fries topped with brown gravy and cheese curds. I’ve seen many variations on this dish. I guess it’s all about what you like or how much time you want to spend in the kitchen. My recipe I’m sharing with you is versatile, easy and full of flavor.

I tell people to use your favorite French fries. I chose to make homemade fries this time around. The gravy is just packaged brown gravy mix. I had some left over roast beef and decided to add it. If your a vegetarian or don’t eat red meat just leave it out. It’ll still be delicious. Cheese curds are typically used, but they can be costly. So if your counting your pennies, a yummy substitute is shredded mozzarella cheese.

Poutine is a great meal on its own, but I accompanied it this time with a broccoli slaw. Broccoli slaw is my grandson’s favorite side dish. He had been asking for it. So I decided to surprise him by including it. I’ll share the recipe for it in the future.

Here’s the recipe if you want to give it a try. You won’t regret it.

RECIPE

Favorite French Fries
1 package of brown gravy mix - followed directions given on the package
1 package of cheese curds
roast beef - optional

Cook your favorite French fries, The brown gravy mix I used required 2 cups of water and mix. Not all packages are the same so follow the instructions on the package. Whisk together and heat until thick and bubble. If desired, now add roast beef and heat through. While everything’s hot, layer French fries, gravy and top with cheese curds. 😋 Yum.

Granddaughter, Liberty enjoying poutine!

Today I was on my own for lunch. I was hungry for some ham salad, but only had s small amount of shaved ham. It’s not very often I have a taste for a particular food, so this is the sandwich I came up with. It did so much more than satisfy my craving, that I just had to share.

Recipe

Shaved Ham
Hard Boiled Egg
Sliced Onion
Thinly Sliced Celery
Sliced Sweet Pickle
Mayo
Bun ( I used a Hard Roll)

Slice the bun. Lather both bun halves with mayo. Layer the Hard boiled egg, onion, celery, and sweet pickle. Enjoy

Our Grandkids love to cook. This is our grandson Tucker. Tonight is his turn to cook. Since the grandkids are home schooled, cooking is an easy way to incorporate education without them knowing it and enjoying it. Tucker’s a hands on kid. Always busy. He likes taking things apart and putting them back together, trying to make it better in the process. He loves to make things out of nothing. Boxes and duct tape are treasures to him. This young man was lucky to have spent some time getting to know his great grandpa ( Dale), who was a WWII veteran. This has given him a great respect for our country’s veterans and a love for anything to do with WWII. Tonight, Tucker’s making a meatball casserole with a side of baked beans. I won’t be helping him, for that would be taboo. I’ll just be by his side to answer any questions he might have, help if asked, make sure he’s safe, and making sure he doesn’t try to make it better. 😳. Lol

Recipe

Meatballs

2 lbs. ground beef
1 egg
1 stalk of saltine crackers crushed
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbls oil

Meatball gravy

6 cups water
1 Tbls Italian seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 Tbls flour

1 pkg hash brown potatoes
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 stick butter
1 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper

First make the meatballs. Combine the ground beef, egg, crackers, milk, onion powder, sage, pepper. Form in to golf ball size meat balls. Heat large fry pan with oil and add meatballs cover. Turn meatballs as the brown. Remove browned meatballs and set aside.
Add 6 cups of water, Italian seasoning, onion powder, and bouillon to fry pan let come to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Add enough of this hot liquid to flour until it becomes a thin paste. Add to paste to seasoned liquid and whisk until combined. Return meat to mixture and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Set aside. Combine hash browns, cheese, butter, onion powder, salt and pepper. Place hash brown mixture into large casserole dish. Top with meatballs and pour gravy over all. Cover and place in a preheated 350 degree oven and cook for 1 hour. Serves 8-10 people.
Enjoy. ​

The last few evenings at our house have been physically and mentally exhausting. The thought of fixing dinner was the last thing I wanted to deal with, but everyone’s gotta eat. Today, I’m ahead of the game . I’m pulling out the crockpot.
I decided I was gonna make my melt in your mouth cube steak. It’s always a hit with the family. Now, what to have with it? It’s gotta be easy. I decided to serve the cube steak and gravy over steamed in the bag cauliflower rice paired with a side of steamed in the bag corn and some sliced oranges. How easy is that! Now to get started.

RECIPE

1 cube steak per person. 1 used 6 cube steaks 1 1/2 lbs cut into strips
seasoned the steaks with
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp seasoned salt
salt and pepper

flour coating for cube steak strips
1 cup flour
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp pepper

1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon left over seasoned flour from coating meat
4 cups water
2 beef bouillon

2 bags steam in the bag cauliflower rice
follow instructions on bag

Cute cube steaks in strips. Place in bowl. Season with onion powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt, salt and pepper.
For flour coating, combine flour, onion powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt, pepper. Coat meat.
Heat oil in fry pan on meadium high heat. Add meat to oil with only enough to cover bottom of pan. Brown one side of meat the flip and brown other side. Remove from pan and place into crockpot. Continue with this until all meat is browned, There will be meat and flour drippings floating around or stuck to the pan. Leave them. They will help season and thicken the gravy.
Remove fry pan with drippings from heat when finished with browning meat. Add butter to pan to melt. Scrape drippings from the bottom while melting butter. Place back on heat incorporate 1 tablespoon of leftover flour mixture used to coat meat. Stir until the consistency of a paste. Add 2 cups of water slowly, and keep whisking until thickened.Add the remaining 2 cups of water and beef bouillon. Keep whisking until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook 5 minutes more. Pour over browned cube steaks in crockpot. Stir cover with lid.
Cook on high for 3 hours
or low for 6 hours
times may vary some depending on your crockpot

Heat steam in the bag cauliflower rice as directed on the package. Top rice with cube steak and gravy. Enjoy!​

Now, I know not everyone likes cauliflower rice. If that’s you, don’t let it stop you from trying this recipe. It’s also good on white rice, brown rice, mashed potatoes, egg noodles, and other pastas as well. I’ve thrown in potatoes and carrots in the crockpot with the cube steaks and gravy. Cooking time was the same. Made for a great stew. Try it with peppers and onions over rice. Do you like mushrooms? Try adding mushrooms and onions and serving over noodles. Make extra and serve over toast topped with a fried or poached egg. This recipe is so versatile. Give it a try.

I came across a good sale on brownies, where it was gonna cost $.50 a box with no limit on quantity. Needless to say, I bought several boxes. 🤭. With the holidays ahead of us, I knew these would be nice to have on hand. Brownies are always a yummy treat but I wanted to try something different. Most of the recipes I saw looked really good but required more work than I wanted to give. With our busy lives, I like things to be quick and easy, so I went to work.

​I went to our pantry and and found two cookie mixes one was chocolate chip and the other was peanut butter. I always think of peanut blossoms when I see peanut butter cookies, so when I saw Hershey kisses in my pantry I immediately knew I was gonna use them as well.
​
All I did was stir up the mixes per the instruction on the packages, sprayed a 9x13 backing dish with non stick spray. Poured the brownie mixture in first. Next, I just dolloped the chocolate chip cookie dough mixture followed by the peanut butter cookie mixture. Baked at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. The length of time varies per oven. My knife came out clean at 25 minutes so I knew it was done. The smell was heavenly. I let it cool some before adding the kisses to the top. Oh boy! These turned out so good. We’ll definitely be making these again. I made these late afternoon, and they were gone by bedtime.

Recipe

1 box brownie mix
1 package chocolate chip cookie dough
1 package peanut butter cookie dough
​20 Hershey kisses
use ingredients per each individual package

Separately mix together each mix. Spray a 9x13 backing dish. Pour in brownie mixture. Dollop chocolate chip cookie mixture randomly on top of brownie mixture Do the same with the peanut butter cookie mixture. Place in preheated 350 degree oven and cook for 25-30 minutes. Until when knife inserted come out clean. Cool and top with kisses.

This recipe was cheap, quick and easy.
Brownie mix $.50 even at regular price is usually under $1.00
cookie mixes $1.00 each
ingredients for mixes were staples already on hand
the kisses were the most expensive

​Try this recipe and share with your friends!

This zucchini is cooked on the stove top. It’s quick, easy and packed full of flavor.

Recipe

1 medium grated zucchini
1 medium grated carrot
1 chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
grated Parmesan cheese

Wash and grate zucchini. Peel, wash and grate carrot. Peel, wash and chop onion and garlic. In a medium fry pan heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook until onion is tender and add carrot. Cook until carrot is heated through, then add the zucchini and do the same. Don’t want the carrots and zucchini mushy. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and top with Parmesan cheese. Can be served as an entree or side dish.
Entree serves 2
Side dish serves 4

​

This zucchini dish is so easy to make and packed full of flavor.

Recipe

1 medium sliced zucchini
1 medium sliced tomato
1 medium sliced onion
Velveeta cheese 1/2 of 16 oz package
salt and pepper

Wash and slice zucchini, tomato and onion. In a casserole dish layer all the zucchini on the bottom followed by the sliced tomato and then onion. Season with salt and pepper. Slice the velveeta cheese and top casserole. Place in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Can can served as an entree or side dish.
Entree serves 4
side dish serves 6

The smell of vegetable soup simmering on the stove is my way of welcoming in fall. This is the time of year when everyone is getting ready for the upcoming holidays. Families are busy with after school activities. Cold and flu start creeping there way into our homes. Life just seems to become a little chaotic for whatever reason.

This recipe makes a large pot of soup. It’s packed full of nutrition. Be prepared to have lots of leftovers, unless you made this for a crowd. The leftovers is why I make such a large pot. It’s so good to heat up the next day. I like to freeze leftovers. This is a fast easy alternative to fast food on those chaotic days. Do you have a friend or coworker who doesn’t cook? Or maybe you have a family member or neighbor who lives alone or isn’t feeling well. Ladle some of this soup into a mason jar and attach a note. It makes for a welcoming heartfelt gift and looks pretty too.

This recipe is versatile also. You don’t eat meat, omit it and use vegetable stock instead. My daughter, Andrea, doesn’t like peas so I replaced peas with great northern beans. My daughter, Emily, doesn’t like corn mixed in with things, so when we share with her I omit the corn.
Give this recipe a try and fill your house with an aroma sure to please.

Recipe

1 1/2 pound of beef stew meat
2 32oz beef broth
2 cups water
1 28 oz can tomatoes
1 15 oz can corn
1 15 oz can green beans
1 15 oz can great northern beans
1 large onion roughly chopped
2 stalks of celery roughly chopped
1 cup of roughly chopped carrot
2 medium potatoes peeled and cubed
1 medium head of roughly chopped cabbage
3 beef bouillon cubes
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Lawry’s season salt
salt and pepper to taste

In a large stock pot brown beef stew meat on medium to high heat. In my pictures below you’ll see I changed pots while adding ingredients. This was because I thought I could fit it all into my everyday pot instead of my big mama jama pot. I was wrong. Pour beef stock and water over browned meat and stir, scraping the meat dripping from the bottom . Next, add the canned tomatoes. Drain the liquid off the can of corn, green beans and great northern beans and add to pot. Peel, wash and roughly chop onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, cabbage and add to pot. Add seasonings and stir. Continue to cook on medium to high heat until soup comes to a full boil. Reduce heat to a slow simmer and cook for at least 3 hrs with lid on. Lift lid occasionally and stir so nothing sticks to the bottom. Serve hot. Enjoy.

There are days when I just don’t want any meat for dinner. This is an easy, delicious dish just for one of those days. If you feel the need for meat, this dish also makes a great side dish. I’ve also topped the pasta with grilled chicken breast, which was equally as delicious.

Recipe

1 box 16 oz bow tie pasta
1 medium onion
6 cloves of finely chopped garlic about 2 Tbls
​2 cups broccoli
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3-4 Tbls olive oil
2 Tbls butter
Pinch red pepper flakes
salt and per to taste

Chop the onion and garlic then set aside. Boil the pasta and blanch the broccoli. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add onion and garlic. Cook until onions are transparent, careful not to burn. Add pasta and broccoli heat add butter, red pepper flakes Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Enjoy. Serves 4-6 depending on the appetite.

Recipe

1 lb. beef stew meat
1 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper
​Knorr beef bouillon 3 cubes
6 cups water

4 cups flour
6 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

I used my crockpot for this batch of beef and noodles. Place stew meat in crockpot, top with onion powder and salt and pepper. Cook on high for 3 hours. This will cook the stew meat until tender and also brown it. After cooking for For 3 hours add 6 cups of water and bouillon. Turn down to low and let simmer another 2 or 3 hours. 1 hour before we’re ready to eat I add the noodles. You can choose to make your noodles (recipe following) or buy them.
Serves 6 - 8

Place 4 cups of flour into a large bowl. Make a well for the eggs.

Add salt and pepper. Beat eggs incorporating the flour into the eggs from the sides. Continue to do this until it’s easy to handle. Place on a floured surface and knead until it is pliable enough to roll out. Kneading to much will cause your noodles to be tough. Roll out and cut. .My grandkids love to help with making noodles and do quite well. They helped with this batch so as you can see the noodles are different shapes and sizes. I help a little to try and help keep them about the same thickness and size just so they cook a little more evenly. I failed a little helping this time but that’s ok, knowing they helping wil make this batch more enjoyable. Separate and let the noodles sit aside. I like to make them early in the day so they can dry out some. Add to stew meat and broth in the crock pot and cook for 1 hour. No need to thicken the broth the flour on the noodles will take care of that. Serve and enjoy.