I am not a big user of soup mixes – but I really like the Pasta Fagioli recipe from Bean Cuisine.

1 Bean Cuisine Ultima Pasta Fagioli Mix
1 1/2 onions diced and fried, or 3/4 cup Barista (Fried onions)
1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped
1 stalk of leek, cut in half and then in 1/2″ slices
3 tsp garlic puree
7 1/2 cups water
2 Tbsp Beef Base
1 tsp salt
14 ox. can diced Italian tomatoes (used Dei Fratelli with herbs and olive oil)

Add all to a large soup pot and cook for three hours.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp cornstarch
4 Tbsp soy sauce

Mix cornstarch and soy sauce, and marinate chicken in it for 15 minutes. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon before cooking.

2 Tbsp peanut oil
1/2 lb. broccoli, cut into small bite-sized pieces
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
1/4 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cups bean sprouts, rinsed well
1 cup chicken broth

Heat oil to medium-high, and stir fry chicken until browned. Remove and add broccoli and onion. Stir fry for 2 more minutes. Add mushrooms, sprouts, chicken, chicken broth and remaining marinade and cook five minutes.

Serve over rice.

This recipe came out of “Louisiana Real and Rustic” and I have a note on the page: Bam! It was when the Food Network was new and Emeril was big, big news. We loved watching Emeril cook and on a visit to New Orleans in 1999, Kumy and I treated ourselves to a fabulous multi-course dinner sitting at the coveted counter of one of Emeril’s restaurants. The cooks used Emeril’s famous “throw the salt on the pan from far away” trick, although they didn’t yell “Bam!” – but it was still fun to watch.

I know that some people use lima beans or other beans to make this, but I love red beans. It’s worth it to use red beans you soak yourself if you have the time, but comes out pretty good using canned beans, too. I must have made this for Mardi Gras, 2001, according to the name.

Soak 1 lb. red beans overnight in water, drain and set aside.
(Or use 4 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained. We don’t get the red beans they use in New Orleans in Nebraska, but kidney beans work fine.)

1 tsp oil
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped peppers (I often use more – 1 cup, because I love peppers.)
1/2 cup celery (Again, I often use more because I love celery.)
1 tsp salt
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme leaves (I often use more because, well, you know.)

Heat oil in a dutch oven and saute veggies and spices for 5 minutes.

4 bay leaves
1 lb. turkey ham or regular ham cut into cubes
6 oz. smoked sausage, cut in half and sliced into 1/4″ thick pieces

Add bay leaves and meat and saute 5 more minutes.

Beans
3 Tbsp chopped garlic
8-10 cups water

Add beans, garlic and water and stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer two hours. Use a spoon to mash about 1/2 of the beans against the side of the pot. Add water if the mix gets too dry. Cook 1 1/2 more hours. Check the seasoning and serve with rice. You don’t want the red beans too dry – you’ll want to sop up all the broth with some crusty french bread.

1 1/2 lb ground beef
3/4 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp dry parsley
1 tsp garlic puree
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix all together. It’s sometimes easier to mix this with your hands,but can be really cold! Form small balls and fry in a little olive oil. Add to spaghetti sauce and serve over pasta.

I sometimes make my meatballs into little meat patties because I’m too impatient to wait and cook them on all sides. Tastes just the same and cooks quicker.

You can also just drop them into the spaghetti sauce without frying them and let them cook in the sauce.  Just make them really small. (My friend Connie’s Mom, Mary used to make meatballs that way and she is Italian – so it must be legit.)

Does anyone ever make this anymore? It was a food group when we were growing up!

But with 7 people in the family, it was a quick, delicious casserole that fed a lot of people. Recipes like this that called for a can of mushroom soup are legendary, and they often included a packet of Lipton’s onion soup mix.  But they were tasty!

1 9-oz bag wide egg noodles
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 can tuna in spring water, drained
1 can Campbell’s golden mushroom soup
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/8 barista (fried onions) In this case you could use french fried onions.)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Cook noodles in salted water according to package directions, adding peas for the last minute of cooking. Drain. In an ovenproof skillet, mix everything else, and heat for five minutes until warmed through. Add the noodles and peas and gently mix. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Can top with extra onions before baking.

Now let’s go watch “The Waltons!”

1 box uncooked lasagna noodles
2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce. I like Prego’s Traditional for this.
1 lb. hamburger, browned
1 container ricotta cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
2 packages of mozzarella cheese – hold back 1 cup for topping
1 tsp salt
2 tsp parsley
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano

Mix hamburger and spaghetti sauce. Mix ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella and spices in a bowl. Pour a generous amount of sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Layer lasagna noodles across the bottom, breaking noodles to fit. Layer half of the cheese on the noodles. Add a layer of spaghetti sauce and a layer of lasagna noodles. Repeat one more time, and then pour the last of the spaghetti sauce over the top. Sprinkle mozzarella on the top and baked at 350 for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

From 1-4-2000.  Kumy loves this and so do I. When I made this when the kids were little, I would make it in two stages: the kid version and the grownup version. Now we just make it all together – and serve it over pasta.

1st Stage – Kids

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast and thighs, cut into slices
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
water (1/4 to 1/2 cup?)

Heat oil in a large pot and saute chicken. Remove chicken and add onions, cooking until translucent. Add garlic and saute a couple more minutes. Add everything else and cook together for 30 minutes or more.

Stop here for the kid’s version and serve over pasta.

2nd Stage – Grownups

1 package button mushroom, halved
1 tsp butter
dash salt and pepper
1/2 cup merlot or dry red wine

Saute mushrooms in melted butter for several minutes until they release their water. Keep cooking until most of the water evaporates. Add salt and pepper. Deglaze the pan with red wine, and add to chicken mixture. Heat through and serve over pasta.

This is a really simple casserole that works great when you’re cooking in a place with limited supplies, like a cabin.

I like to make this when we stay at Niobrara State Park, and it’s easy to bring most of the pantry ingredients along. I usually just pick up the meat at Farnik’s Market in Niobrara. It’s a hearty dish that makes a good dinner with a nice salad and hot rolls.

1 pkg spaghetti or fettucine, broken up
1 lb. hamburger
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp brown sugar
salt to taste
Parmesan

Cook spaghetti and set aside. Brown meat and add spices, brown sugar and spaghetti sauce. Blend sauce and pasta, cover and let sit a few minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

2 Tbsp Olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 lb. stew meat
2 carrots, diced
1 parsnip, diced
1/2 tsp brown sugar
12 small potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
red wine or beef stock
salt & pepper
1 bay leaf
1 tsp basil

Heat oil in a dutch oven and saute onions until translucent. Remove and add in stew meat, letting it brown and turning occasionally. Remove the meat and add a little more oil, adding carrots and parsnips. Saute for a few minutes and then add the brown sugar. Stir in salt and pepper to taste (1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper?) a bay leaf and basil.

Deglaze the pan with a little wine or beef stock and put everything including the potatoes into a casserole dish with the potatoes. Pour red wine or beef stock to cover. Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours. Check seasonings and serve.

Note:  sometimes I buy a roast and cut it into chunks for stew.  Seems to work just fine.  Stew meat tends to be expensive – not sure why – and roast is often cheaper per pound.