Here is a hearty dinner dish with a kick of spicy flavor. This recipe uses the Spicy Paprika Rub from Everyday Food with ground beef and boxed Velveeta shells and cheese. You could also use ground chuck or sirloin, and pick the meat/fat ratio you like best (I used 94/6).

1 lb ground beef
3 tsp Spicy Paprika Rub
1 family-size pkg of Velveeta Shells ‘n Cheese boxed dinner

Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Add shells and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

Meanwhile, brown beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Once beef is no longer pink, add Spicy Paprika Rub (drain beef first if desired). Saute for 3-5 additional minutes.

Add shells to beef and pour cheese pouch over dish. Mix well, combining beef with shells and cheese (to warm the pouch, place on a non-burner part of the stove while everything else cooks).

Serve immediately.

Shown below, with Apples Roasted with Root Vegetables:

Based on a tasty Fall recipe from www.MichiganApples.com, this dish combines tart apples with onions, potatoes, carrots and parsnips with light seasoning. The original recipe called for all of the apples and vegetables to be peeled, but I feel that peeling vegetables is a bit of a waste. I did peel the carrots and parsnips, but I wasn’t meticulous about it – a little bit of peel isn’t going to hurt anything. The recipe makes about 8 servings, so it can easily be halved if that is too much food.

3 cups tart apples, cored and cut into wedges
2 cups carrots, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch thick rounds
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
1 lb small red skin potatoes, cut into quarters
2 large sweet potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2 cups parsnips, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch chunks 
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried thyme or 1 tsp fresh chopped thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper 

Preheat oven to 425F

Combine apples, carrots, onion, red skin potatoes, sweet potatoes, and parsnips in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Toss to coat and spread vegetables evenly on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and beginning to caramelize. Remove from oven and serve.   

Root vegetables on a baking sheet:

Bake and serve:

Jenn’s Cook Book has received over 2000 hits! There are now more than 200 recipes posted, and many more to come. The heading “Special Projects” has been added to the categories, which includes Gingerama, Paprika-thon, Farmer’s Market, and the new projects DIY Herbal Teas and Turmeric-mania. Also included is the new “Autumnal Delights” category, focusing on recipes using Fall produce. There are also rumors that I might be cooking Thanksgiving Dinner this year, so stay tuned.

Books for Cooks is up and running! It is still being updated, so continue to check back for more listings. We are still trying to set up a guestbook/message and/or discussion board. If you have any ideas, please let me know!

Thanks to everyone who keeps checking in on me and has passed on the website to family and friends! As you can see, there are big plans to keep the fun going on Jenn’s Cook Book. Thank you!

In general, I am against kitchen tools with only one designated purpose, such as (and I am not making these up):

garlic press, tomato corer, avocado slicer, cherry pitter, apple corer, mushroom slicer, lettuce knife, pickle picker, potato masher, citrus zester, strawberry huller, orange peeler, cookie dough scooper, chili twister, truffle shaver, ice cream scoopers (that’s what spoons are for!), and those little things you jam into the ends of corn-on-the-cob

I will make allowances for pizza cutters and cheese slicers, and I will even condone the use of a vegetable peeler as it is a multi-use utensil. In the past, I placed melon ballers in the former category of needless tools with limited purposes, but now I see it is a tool with immense possibility.

10 things to do with a melon baller:

Scoop melons (duh), as well as soft cheeses, butter, and ice cream (take that ice cream scooper!)

Seed melons, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, peppers, and pumpkins

Core pears, apples, and even pineapples if you try hard enough

Remove pits from peaches, plums, nectarines, and apricots

Measure ground coffee

Plant seeds

Create perfect cookie dough balls (talk about portion control)

Make twice baked potatoes

Use as a tool to make sand or snow sculptures

Shape meatballs

And the 11th thing to do with a melon baller…

Stir tea when you run out of clean spoons

This recipe has appeared in several different forms, and here is the latest reincarnation. If you like cheesy broccoli soup and one-pot dishes, this is the recipe for you.

1 small onion, minced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp smoked paprika
3 cups chicken broth
1 pkg frozen broccoli florets, thawed
2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp black ground pepper
1 pkg (12-14 oz) processed cheese, such as Velveeta, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Coat a large stockpot with cooking spray. Over medium heat, saute onions and garlic for 3-5 minutes or until onion begins to soften. Add paprika and saute 2 minutes, until fragrant.

Add chicken broth and broccoli, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk flour into milk and add to soup. Add pepper and stir well until thickened, about 5 minutes (do not boil).

Remove from heat and stir in cubed cheese. Stir until melted. Serve topped with shredded cheese.