Hello all, happy Wednesday.  So it seems that it’s turning out to be yet another crazy week.  There is a lot going on and not enough time in the day to get everything done.   However, Zesty is surviving and back with another super simple dish that can be ready in no time flat and is packed with flavour.  If you haven’t noticed already, I am a big fan of deep flavour in my food and this Asian inspired number is just that.

Sometimes you feel like a salad, sometimes you do not want to see a green leafy vegetable for miles.  Moderation is the key. 

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Well I think it is safe to say that at some point in our lives we have all been exposed to a box of kraft dinner or two.  I first have to tell you a couple of mandatory ingredients that are a must have for a successfull batch of the popular fluorescent orange meal.

To start it off – if one does not have real milk and real butter they should not even open the package of kraft dinner and get started.  These really are must haves to make the kraft dinner as it was intended.  While cooking it at our house – I usually add a little less milk and little more butter than they suggest to make it creamier.  I find if you add to much milk it becomes soup-like ( which I am not a huge fan of)

Now because Kraft Dinner preparation is not rocket science… I thought I would spice this post up and show you how I spent yesterday at the house.  I tested ( not for the first time for some) the below add-in recipes to make sure they turned out edible and worthy of letting the world see inside my unique kraft dinner add-ins.  So I hope you enjoy the recipes to follow and if you have any different or interesting comments about Kraft Dinner – I would love to hear about them.

Ground Beef

• 1 lb. ground beef, cooked
• add taco seasoning (as you would to make meat for tacos, according to the package directions)
• drained 1 can (15 oz.) Mexican style diced tomatoes
• 1 Cup mushroom pieces and stems

Tuna

• 1 can (6 oz.) tuna, drained chunk
• 1 celery stalk, sliced
• dash of Italian seasoning
• 1 can (10-1/2 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup each milk and frozen peas

Chicken

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1/2 lb.), cooked, chopped
• 1 can (15 oz.) Italian style diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 cup chopped green peppers (about 1 medium)
• dash of thyme

Pepperoni/Hotdog

• 1 cup Pepperoni or hotdog slices (about 1/4 lb.)
• 1 cup chopped green peppers (about 1 medium)
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes (about 2 medium)

Ham

• 1 cup of cooked ham ( cubed)
• 1 cup of cooked spinach ( or baby spinach raw)
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 cup Bread crumbs

For the Ham Recipe above I like to stir in the parmesan cheese in at the very end then transfer everything to a casserole dish and top with bread crumbs and baked it in oven at 375 degrees until golden brown and bubbly.  And of course you can do that for any of the above choices but I find it works best with the ham and spinach.

Just for the record – I am not a huge fan of Kraft Dinner and I rarely eat it but it is fun to experiment. No matter how much you argue – most kids in this generation really do love the infamous orange noodle.