Another first!

Well, you know, I'm still trying to do 40 new things for my 40th year. Yesterday I added a new item to my list. Although I'm not sure how many things are on the list at this point. I don't think I've hit 10 yet. I better get with it!

I have never just made up a recipe before. I'm talking the whole thing! It was kinda exciting and empowering. For just a little bit I felt like Martha Stewart, Rachel Ray, The Pioneer Woman, and my friend Sarah(who probably cooks better than all the others!).

I got home late from work and didn't have a whole lot of time. I usually cook supper at my folks house since my mom works down in the City and gets home kinda late. I was struggling to find something to fix. Mom had fixed a big ol' bag of noodles the other night and they were still in the fridge. I browned some ground beef with a chopped onion then added some Italion Seasonings, ground garlic, and black pepper. It smelled pretty good at this point. Then I added a can of diced tomatoes(drained) and a can of tomatoe sauce and let it kinda cook for a little bit. I then added some heavy cream and let it cook for a while longer. I put the noodles in a 9 x 13 dish and poured the saucy stuff over it and stirred it all up. Put it in a hot oven covered for awhile til mom got home with some Mozarella. I pulled it out of the oven, added the cheese, then put it back in uncovered for a little bit til it melted. It was Yummy!!! My dad even liked it and he's pretty picky! Mom said it was kinda like Hamburger Helper which we never at when I was growing up so I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not, but she said she liked it.

When my dad said he liked it I told him he could thank The Pioneer Woman. He said, "Do I have to?" What I meant was that since I've been looking at her cooking blog and cookbook I've been a little more open to trying something a little different and new. Maybe a little more aggressive cook. I've always been a cook who had to have the recipe right in front of me and pretty much follow it to a tee! Now, it wasn't exactly the most healthy meal we've ever eaten, but it was low in sodium for my dad! That's huge!!! I think next time I'll try it with some penne pasta. That would be great!

So, what can I call this? Any ideas???? Homemade Hamburger Helper is not an options by the way! I only need to come up with something so that when my dad says, "Hey can you fix that noodle thing" we can actually call it something nice.