my g'ma pittman's casserole

i thought i'd share a super easy recipe with you all.  i made this tonight for dinner and, as always, there is very little left.  all 3 of my boys had 3rds helpings of this.  man, do they eat a lot!

to make it you need:

1 bag/box noodles (i usually use a 16 oz bag of egg noodles)
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped

1 large can diced tomatoes (drained)

1 can mexicorn (drained)

shredded cheddar cheese

and

salt and pepper

as long as i keep these in my cupboard at all times, i can always make this family favorite! 
ground beef, onion, cheese and noodles are also pantry staples in my house.

first, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

then, in a large pot, bring water to a boil and cook noodles according to package directions.
in a large skillet, brown the ground beef while also cooking the onions.  add salt and pepper to taste.

i bought this green pan specifically for making this recipe.  i used to have to brown the beef in one pan and then transfer everything into a casserole dish.  but now i just brown the beef, drain it and toss everything into the same pan.  one less dish to wash = a happy jenna.

of course, if you don't have a super huge, oven safe skillet/pan, you can just dump everything into a large casserole dish.

next, drain any excess fat from the beef and onions, then add the mexicorn and tomatoes.

drain the noodles before tossing them into the mix as well and then stir it all together.

sprinkle the top with some cheese and pop it in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

this deliciously cheesy wonderfulness will be ready to eat as soon as it cools off some!

this recipe is super easy to make and super easy to tweak, if you're missing something. 

substitute different types of noodles, chopped fresh tomatoes for canned, regular corn instead of mexicorn, or try adding other veggies like chopped peppers or olives... you get the idea. 

so simple and so good!

i hope your family likes it too!

the world's largest ice cream sandwich CAKE!

...ok, i may be exaggerating a little.  =)

for my oldest son's 6th birthday, he wanted me to make an ice cream sandwich cake.  so i looked around at different recipes online and got some ideas here and there.  but, staying true to my "who needs directions when i can probably do that by just winging it?" style, i came up with my own plan.
this is what i did:

first, i lined the pan i was using with foil.  then i put down:
1 layer of ice cream sandwiches, a layer of hot fudge, a layer of a mixture i made that consisted of cool whip, mini oreos and m&ms, and a layer of caramel topping.

 then i started with a second round of the same 4 toppings...

ice cream sandwiches...

hot fudge...

cool whip with mini oreos and m&ms in it...

the 2nd layer of caramel topping...

and then one last layer of ice cream sandwiches to make a "solid" top.

i then covered it with foil and stuck it in the freezer over night. 
the next day (party day!) i took it out, took off the foil and flipped it over onto a baking sheet.  it slipped right out of the pan i'd used and i easily peeled off the foil that i'd lined it with to start...

 voila!  ice cream sandwich cake!

it was HUGE!!! 

to frost it, i used more cool whip (just plain this time around; no add-ins), drizzled even more hot fudge down the edges and wrote a happy birthday message on top.

we had 40 people show up for his party and there was almost half of this leftover!  it wasn't because people didn't like it though.  it was a hit!

thankfully, i have neighbors who took some home with them or this little baby i'm growing would weigh an extra pound from me eating it all myself!  =)

***if you want to make this for yourself (and about 50 friends!), here's a list of what i used:

3 boxes of ice cream sandwiches (12 per box)

3 jars of hot fudge

2 jars of caramel topping

2 of the big (16 oz) tubs of cool whip- one to mix for layers, another to "frost" the cake

1 bag of mini oreos

about half of a 19.2 oz bag of m&ms

and, of course, a large pan and foil.

~~~ YUMMY!!! ~~~
i think i WILL have my cake and eat it too!