Recipe for Hungry Teens

I've frequently been making the following recipe for my kids - along with their friends, who so often appear around dinnertime.  It's a big hit plus it's fast to make.  My kids even use the words "it's the shit, Mom" when describing this dish.  Try it - both you and your hungry children will be happy!!

Hashbrown Casserole

Mix together a large bag of frozen, shredded hashbrowns with a large can of cream of chicken (or any other type) soup along with 1/2 to 1 cup of sour cream plus about 1/4 cup of milk.  Add in grated cheese and your cooked meat of choice.  You can add in leftover meat or, as I did tonight, add in hamburger that I cooked with onion and garlic.  If you don't want to mix it all together, you can even layer this like a lasagna in the pan.  Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish; sprinkle the top with Panko bread crumbs (has to be Panko, which you can buy by the box or from the bulk foods section.)  Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.  Yum!

Another new recipe I've been trying out that I found in Cosmopolitan of all places is the following marinade.  I'll marinate chicken or pork loin in this marinade all day, then cook it at night.  This has also been a big hit at our house.

Molasses Glaze

1/4 cup strong black coffee, cold or room temperature
3 Tbs molasses
2 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs chopped thyme
Salt and pepper

Mix all the above together then marinate your meat of choice over night or all day.  I used this for pork loin and cooked it on 375 degrees until it reached 145 degrees.  Two or three times during the cooking process I dumped more of the leftover marinade over the loin.  Once done, let sit for ten minutes then slice.