Spicy Sausage Penne - Pinterest #1

I decided to do a monthly experiment this year and blog about it.  If you don't know what Pinterest is, it's a website that allows you to "pin" pictures, ideas, recipes, etc. on a virtual bulletin board and it lets you browse other peoples boards and vice versa.  It's a fun way to share things on the internet but be careful, because it can be VERY addicting.  It's so easy to stare at fun ideas on Pinterest all day and not actually get anything done.  There is also a funny website called Pinstrosity that shows people's failed attempts to copy what they've pinned.  I'm going to do a Pinterest Experiment each month and see if I succeed or fail!  I will include a link to the original "pin" and the original picture vs. a picture of my version so you can see how well I did!

My first Pinterest Experiment is a recipe (most of them will probably be recipes since I'm not very crafty).  The picture of Spicy Sausage Penne looked so good I wanted to eat it as soon as I saw it.  I finally made it for dinner last week and it was good.  It was spicier than I expected, but I guess with "Spicy" in the title I should have known.  I forgot the green onions, so my picture doesn't look as good but it was pretty tasty.  I think I used a different cheese blend too since mine looks so yellow (or maybe I should blame that on my camera).  My verdict: it was good.  I would give myself a 7 out of 10 since I didn't follow the recipe exactly.  But, at least it wasn't a failure!  So, what do you think?  How did I do?

Pinterest version

 

My version

For the recipe, follow the link above (recipe title) to the website where it was originally posted.

Cheeseburger Pizza Pasta

I'm still trying to use up all the food in my pantry before leaving the country.  I have very random things so it's hard to follow recipes.  I had one can of cheddar cheese soup and it reminded me of a recipe I tried a while ago (Cheeseburger Pasta)...it was ok, but I wasn't sure I wanted to eat it again.  And, since I didn't have all the other ingredients, I couldn't duplicate it.  So, I decided to MODIFY it and make it work with what I had.  The results: better than the original.  It turned out like goulash and it was really good.  I added too much pasta (because I needed to use it all) so it wasn't as saucy as it might have been...but it was really good.  And, it was good as leftovers the next day!  I'll include the original recipe (in case you want to try it) and also my modified recipe.

My ingredients.

Brown the hamburger with the onions.

 

Add the cheese soup, the pizza sauce, and the chili's.

Add the pasta and the water.

Let it simmer while the pasta cooks.

Delicious and hot!

Top with mozzarella cheese and enjoy!

Cheeseburger Pasta (original recipe)

1 pound ground beef
1 can (10.75 oz.) condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 can (10.75 oz.) condensed tomato soup
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups uncooked medium shell pasta

Directions:
-Cook beef in skillet until browned.  Pour off fat.
-Add soups, water, and pasta.  Heat to a boil.
-Cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until done, stirring often.

Cheeseburger Pizza Pasta (MODIFIED recipe)

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped (I used dried chopped onions because I had them and I'm lazy)
1 can (10.75 oz.) condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 can (15 oz.) pizza sauce
1 can (4.5 oz.) chopped green chili's
1 1/4 cups water
2 cups uncooked medium shell pasta (I used macaroni because that's what  I had...I liked it better because it tasted more like goulash with the macaroni instead of shells)
Mozzarella cheese as garnish

Directions:
-Brown beef and onion in a large pot.  Pour off fat.
-Add soup, pizza sauce, chili's, water, and pasta.  Heat to a boil.
-Cover and cook over medium heat 10-12 minutes or until noodles are done, stirring often.

Dirty dishes.  The meal is made in one pot so there aren't many dishes.

Cheeseburger Pizza Pasta

Taste: 4 out of 5

Dirty Dishes: 5 out of 5

Time/Effort: 5 out of 5

TOTAL: 14 out of 15

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Last night we had a sort of Olympic Opening Ceremony party.  It wasn't a full party since we don't have TV, but we watched the festivities online...Cheryl, Jen, and I sat on the couch and starred at the laptop screen.  It was fun to spend the evening with friends.  We also had fun making (and eating) dinner together.  I am about to share with you one of my favorite meals.  Enjoy our version of Tuna Noodle Casserole...

The ingredients (I used more cheese than is pictured).

  

Mix the soup and tuna and other ingredients.

  

Meanwhile, boil the egg noodles until done (depending on your definition of "done").

  

Also meanwhile, continue mixing all the other ingredients.

  

Add the noodles to the other ingredients; mix well, then spread in 9x13 pan.

  

Sprinkle more cheese on top and more fried onions.

Cheryl is a great hand model/scooping model.  I never get a picture of the finished casserole because we always start eating before I remember to take one!

Such a yummy (and easy) dinner!

 Tuna Noodle Casserole

1 package (12 oz.) egg noodles
1/4 cup chopped onions (I use dried chopped onions because I'm usually too lazy to actually chop an onion - but either works)
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded (I use any type of cheese I happen to have...usually a blend or mozzarella - I also use more than 2 cups...closer to 3)
1 cup frozen green peas (I often use a little more because I like peas)
2 cans (6 oz.) tuna, drained
2 cans (10.5 oz.) mushroom soup
1 can (4.5 oz.) mushrooms (I often omit this if I don't have any)
1 can (6 oz.) French's fried onions (the original recipe called for less, but who are we kidding?)

Directions:
-Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Cook pasta in boiling water for 8-10 minutes.  Drain.
-In a large bowl, thoroughly mix chopped onions, 1 cup cheese (I usually use 1 1/2 cups),  peas, tuna, soup, mushrooms, and half the can of fried onions.  Add noodles (let them cool for a couple minutes).
-Transfer mixture to a 9x13-inch baking dish and top with remaining cheese (another 1 1/2 cups) and remaining fried onions.
-Bake in 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

   

Dirty dishes - not bad.  The casserole dish isn't pictured and it's usually the worst thing to wash because of all the stuck-on cheese.  But, since this meal is essentially made in one bowl, I'd say it's pretty good.  (If you chop the onions, you'd have a few more dirty dishes.)

 

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Taste: 5 out of 5

Dirty Dishes: 4 out of 5

Time/Effort: 5 out of 5

TOTAL: 14 out of 15

Week 46

November 13
Abby came over and we had a BBQ. I made Quinoa and Black Beans...it was really yummy and went well with our polish sausages and chorizo. It was a great meal!

November 14
Bill returned from a 3-day dive trip. He had a lot of fun. And, like a responsible adult, he washed and rinsed his dive gear before putting it away. Good job!

November 15
I got my new camera today...I'm hoping it helps me take better pictures. Although, if the problem with my pictures is the way I take them, then a new camera might not help. Either way, it was fun to play around with it and practice different focal points.

November 16
Still playing with my camera. So far, I think the pictures are better. Ubi looks so cute!!

November 17
I asked Bill to pick up the dog's towel, but when he got downstairs, the cat had claimed it. She decided it was a cozy place to rest.

November 18
We treated ourselves to lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant. It was so good...I'm hungry just thinking about it! It's one of the few places I will miss when we leave here.

November 19
We ordered a pizza and it came cut like this...with lots of itty bitty pieces. Maybe the person cutting the pizza was new. It was actually more convenient for me to eat it this way so I appreciated it.

Week 41

October 9
While we were in the US, we spent a lot of time shopping. (There are many things you miss from America when you live in a foreign country.) We also had shopping lists from several of our friends for things to bring back. We were out all day and went to many fun stores - but I forgot to take pictures. The only time I took pictures was in Walmart - of the Christmas blow-up lawn decorations (for a friend in Panama). At least this picture represents the vast randomness of our shopping list...it was so fun!

October 10
Much of my focus during a vacation to the US is on food...and enjoying the restaurants I can't go to when I'm gone. So, we ate out everyday - sometimes twice a day. Here is our second visit to Shari's (a diner-type chain). I love Shari's!! And, what a beautiful Oregon fall day it was!!

October 11
Another day, another restaurant! Dinner at Red Lobster, if only for the CHEDDAR BAY BISCUITS!! I ate so many biscuits and they were delicious. The other food was good too - but those biscuits are amazing!!

October 12
Tonight we went downtown to the Old Spaghetti Factory on the river. It was dark so we couldn't really see the river, but it's such a fun restaurant. We had one of the back rooms almost to ourselves. And, delicious food!

October 13
This is my future kitchen...I hope. Except, we're going to completely remodel it. So, this is the "before" shot and someday I hope to show you the "after" shot. We spent three hours at the house and I forgot to take a picture of the outside. Oh well! This is inside the house we hope to buy!

October 14
Yes, another restaurant. This time we stayed home and made the food come to us!! Bellagio's Pizza is what we served at our wedding and it is still one of our favorites. The chicken pesto pizza is so good. Again, I was so excited to eat that I didn't take a picture until the end...these are the leftovers!

October 15
Watching the Oregon game...in the airport. We bought tickets to go to this game (it was supposed to be in the afternoon of the day we were scheduled to leave Oregon) but then the kick-off time changed and we couldn't go (because it conflicted with our flight). Sadly, we were only able to watch part of it in the airport...and we were wishing we could have been in the stands!

Week 38

September 18
We ran out of water on Saturday and it still wasn't back on Sunday. That made for a miserable morning. We went without water for over 24 hours. When you're supposed to have water and it goes out...it can be very frustrating. Thankfully, the spigot in our carport worked (who knows why). So at least we could slowly fill up buckets to flush the toilets.

September 19
I made spaghetti and meatballs...it was so yummy. Of course, we ate too much but we really enjoyed it!

September 20
September is a VERY popular month for birthdays...and since I make a dessert for each person's birthday from my office, I've been super busy. I made raspberry muffins for the first birthday of the week.

September 21
I'm not sure what this sign means. Why wouldn't you just go straight...why bother going down around the loop? Who knows?!? Just another in my collection of funny/weird/interesting/confusing signs from Panama.

September 22
Another birthday. This time, chocolate chip cookies. I made extras so we could enjoy them at home too.

September 23
My car battery died! I guess it had lived a good life. We were happy that La Casa De Las Baterias made it so easy to buy a new one. Not exactly cheap, but easy!

September 24
DONUTS! So much fun and so delicious. Abby and Amber came over to spend a day making donuts. Abby was an expert and every step of the process and we ended up with 5 dozen delicious treats. Too many to eat...although I gave it a valiant effort and felt sick all night!

Week 30

July 24
We went to the mall, which is pretty normal for us on the weekend (the mall has good food and entertainment when you don't feel like spending much money). One thing that always bothers us in Panama is the parking. Most stores have little or no planned parking and drivers don't seem to care where they park. It is a huge problem and can be very annoying. Here is just one example...the lines are painted, but people just keep parking on the end of a row until there is practically no room to get around. One time, there was literally no room to get around and we had to backup and go another way!

July 25
I made tuna noodle casserole for dinner - it's one of my favorites. It was tasty and we ate WAY too much of it. We kept eating it the next two days too - delicious!

July 26
Homemade chocolate chip ice cream with brownies! So amazingly good!!

July 27
Our animals can be very needy. They just follow us around and stare at us sometimes. But, they're cute and we love them!

July 28
Peru's independence day - we celebrated by going out to a Peruvian restaurant. We enjoyed Aji de Gallina and Lomo Saltado and, of course, Inca Kola!

July 29
After a quick shopping trip, we stopped at the deli for lunch. Pasta salads, pesto sandwiches, and ceviche were a perfect lunch. We like Grand Deli Gourmet.

July 30
To celebrate Peru's independence (again), I made Peruvian food and invited a couple friends over. I forgot to take pictures of the food or of my friends! We had a good evening of tasty food and fun Peru memories/stories. I talked a lot and I'm grateful that Abby and Maggie pretended to be interested! At least I have a picture of my Peru coffee table books.

Week 22

May 29

Still in Bocas, we went on a day trip to see dolphins. It was tons of fun...we circled around them and they circled around us. When you see them up close, they are so much bigger than expected. I like dolphins! (My pictures of the dolphins weren't so good because my camera is slow. Check out Bill's photo's, they are much better!!)

May 30
This was the dock outside our room...our own personal dock. We went swimming and snorkeling right outside our room. It was a lot of fun and SO beautiful!

May 31
Another coffee maker. I don't even drink coffee, but we have 4 coffee makers. This one came with travel mugs and makes two separate cups at a time. Fancy!

June 1
Out to dinner at our favorite restaurant. Not exactly healthy, but we were invited by someone else and I just couldn't say no! Pesto pasta is delicious!

June 2
This is a healthier meal. Sauteed fish and green beans. We added a little rice because it was leftover. We really are trying to eat healthier.

June 3
Looking for houses online. I'm ready to buy a house! We found a really great one, but then someone else bought it. I guess it wasn't meant to be ours...too bad.

June 4

We attended a graduation party...congratulations, Megan!! We'll miss you!