Crockpot Tortellini (modified a bit)

Someone posted this on facebook:

THE BEST Crockpot meal I've tried yet: Sounds too good not to try
 Ingredients: 1 bag of frozen tortellini 1 small bag of fresh spinach
 2 cans of italian style diced tomatoes 1 box or 4 cups or vegetable broth
 1 block of cream cheese put all ingredients in crockpot,
 chunking up the cream cheese. Cook on low for 5-6 hrs


OK.........I couldn't find FROZEN Tortellini, but I did some
refrigerated tortellini, so I put it in the freezer for a couple of
hours before I started this dish.  Not sure I had a SMALL bag of
spinach, but what I put in worked well.

When it was about 4.5 hours into cooking, I thought it was too runny,
so I added a couple tbsp of grated parmesan/romano cheese and I also

added some crushed garlic.

It is VERY good........and makes a LOT.   I think this picture is from pinterest.
Mine was not this runny, due to the fact that I added the grated cheese.

pea salad

my friend George gave me this recipe.
his wife and daughter make it often.
They use canned peas, but I use frozen,
that I just thaw out, no need to cook.

peas
hard boiled eggs
hard cheese chunks
chopped onion
cut up gherkins
and mayo

TRADER JOE's moist cornbread

Instead of following the directions on the box, I added one egg, a can of creamed corn and a little milk (I think about 1/4 cup) and followed the directions on the box and

This made the absolute best cornbread I have ever had

very moist and sooooooo tasty!  

MAC AND CHEESE RERUN (or redo) (or remake)

I made a huge mac and cheese casserole a few days ago and was getting a little bit tired of it, so I decided to do something to change it.

I spread the leftover mac and cheese on the bottom of a small casserole dish.  Poured a can of diced tomatoes (with garlic and something else) on top.  Baked for a half hour at 375,  took out of oven and put some french fried onions on top, and back in the oven for 5-6 minutes until they crisped up and started to brown.

Delicious!!!

FOUR BEAN SALAD

four cans of beans
I used
green beans
red kidney
white kidney
garbanza

chopped onion, celery and peppers

• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• a few tablespoons of honey mustard dressing

whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over bean mixture

stir and put in frig for a few hours before serving

Ham Gravy (my son in law Chris showed me how to do it)

separate the fat from the drippings in the bottom of the pan

put a couple of tbsp of the fat into a pan
put an equal amount of butter in the same pan
melt together
add some flour and cook for several minutes
let it sit for a couple of minutes

then gradually add the amount of drippings (minus the fat) until you get the consistency you want.

then add some parsley
                      paprika  (for color)
                      onion powder
                      garlic powder

if the gravy appears too thick, add some more of the cooking liquid, but cook it again.

SLICED BAKED POTATOES

Lenore Sulkers-Wright shared this recipe earlier today. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (Can also do in Microwave for 6 plus minutes)

Brush both side of potato slices with butter; place them on a cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated 400 degrees F oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides, turning once.

When potatoes are ready, top with bacon, cheese, green onion; continue baking until the cheese has melted;

Add a dollop of sour cream when done and enjoy!!

I prepared this with some changes: chopped pepperoni, mozzerella cheese and tomato relish and I skipped the sour cream, and IT IS SOOOOOOOOOOOO TASTY!!!! I am not sure what temp you are supposed to have the oven at, since both 375 and 400 are mentioned, so I went in between!