Pizza Tot Casserole ***

The second I saw this, I knew we needed to try it.  I don't know what it is, but I am absolutely in love with tater tots.  There.  I've said it.  The first step is admitting it, right?  So you throw tater tots in a recipe, and chances are pretty good that I'm going to like it.  I'm like an overgrown kid in that respect.  Except for the regular tater tot casserole with the cream of ___ soups.  Never been a fan of that one.  I'd gladly pick the tots off the top of it, though.  :-)
I really thought I had mushrooms when I bought the ingredients, but I was wrong, unfortunately.  We had just the basic recipe, as is, but it was still great.  The kids and dh all enjoyed it as well.  Next time, I want to use the little mini pepperonis, just to save a little time (like a whole 5 seconds, lol), and I'll make sure to do the mushrooms and add a little more cheese.  Other than that, this one is a winner with us just as it's written.  Thank you, Rachel, for another awesome recipe.  :-)

PIZZA TOT CASSEROLE
(4kowboys ~ Rachel)

1lb. ground beef
1 jar pizza sauce
10-15 slices pepperoni, chopped
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 bag frozen tater tots
*additional toppings optional

Preheat oven 425 degrees. Crumble and brown the ground meat until done, add sauce, pepperoni and heat through. Pour into 13x9 casserole dish. Cover with Mozzarella cheese *(add any other additional toppings you would like such as mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, ham, whatever you like on your pizza!). Top with tator tots covering top. Bake in oven uncovered for 30 minutes or until tots are crispy brown.

Chili Dog Spaghetti ***

I thought this was pretty good.  Nothing fabulous, by any means, but a good, easy weeknight meal.  Oldest ds loved it.  Youngest ds said there was "too much ketchup sauce." lol.  Dh and I both liked it.  I used angel hair pasta and turkey hot dogs, but other than that, I pretty much stuck to the recipe.

CHILI DOG SPAGHETTI
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Taste of Home)

8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1 package (1 pound) hot dogs, halved lengthwise and sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the hot dogs, onion and celery in oil until tender. Stir in the tomato sauce, mustard, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, for 5-8 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.
Drain spaghetti; toss with hot dog mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Yield: 6 servings.

Salmon Patties ****

This was the third time I've made this recipe, and just like the other times, we loved it!  I got requests for thirds from my youngest, who is an extremely picky eater, so that's pretty amazing.  I made a few changes this time, though.  This time, I cut back to a sleeve and a half of crackers (I originally used 2 sleeves).  I did cut back the salt to about 1/4 tsp this time.  With the salted crackers, it's really not that necessary.  I also used fat free Saltines instead of regular.  They don't mush up as well as the others, but the flavor stayed the same.   I did have to add back a little of the salmon juice this time, to make them stick better.  They were so yummy, though.  My mom always served salmon patties with fried potatoes growing up, so that's what we have with them too.  It's kind of a comfort factor for me.  :)

SALMON PATTIES
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

2 (15 ½ ounce) cans salmon
1 ½ sleeves saltine crackers
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
4-6 tablespoons onions, chopped
oil, for frying

Drain liquid from salmon.
Remove large bones, skin, and dark brown spots from salmon.
Gently break up salmon and set aside.
Crush sleeves of crackers into crumbs, and add to salmon.
Stir in egg, onions, salt, and pepper.
Roll salmon into balls and squash into patties.
Brown in hot oil a few minutes on each side until golden.

* Reserve some liquid from the salmon if the patties are too dry to hold together, add 1-2 teaspoons.

Crockpot Overnight Oatmeal with Maple and Brown Sugar ****

Oh. My. Word.  I am absolutely in love with steel-cut oatmeal!  I tried overnight oats with the old-fashioned oats once, and I ended up with a horrid, clumpy mess.  I was slow to try it again, but I decided to give it one more chance.  I am so very glad I did.  This is delicious!  The texture is a little different than regular, obviously, but it's just wonderful.  I will experiment with other flavors later, but for now, this is my craving.  The best part is that I could just put the leftovers in a tupperware bowl in the fridge.  Three different mornings this week, I took it back out, scooped some in a bowl, microwaved it, added a little milk, and had a hot breakfast with hardly any effort.  So yummy!  I never did get a pic, but I'll try to get one when I make it again next time (probably next week, lol).

CROCKPOT OVERNIGHT OATMEAL WITH MAPLE AND BROWN SUGAR
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

8 cups water
2 cups steel-cut oatmeal (ONLY USE STEEL-CUT)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup

Add all ingredients to 5- or 6-quart slow cooker.  Cook on low for 6-7 hours.  Drizzle each serving with maple syrup if desired.

Fast as Lightning Mississippi Mud Cake ***

Dh LOVES Mississippi Mud Cookies, so he requested a cake like that for his b-day.  I didn't have much time to do the more involved recipes I found, but this one seemed like a good sub.  He wasn't crazy about the marshmallow topping, but the rest of us loved it.  I only used one box of brownies and put it in a 9x13 pan.  I also melted the frosting in the microwave for a minute or so, to make it easier to drizzle.  The boys and I snacked on it all weekend, so it was definitely a keeper for us.  :-)

FAST AS LIGHTNING MISSISSIPPI MUD CAKE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Food.com)

1 cup chopped pecans
2 (17 5/8 ounce) packages fudge brownie mix
2 large eggs (or as directed on pkg.)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or as directed on pkg.)
1/4 cup water (or as directed on pkg.)
1 (10 1/2 ounce) bag miniature marshmallows
chocolate frosting (store bought or homemade)

Place the pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until toasted.
Prepare mix according to the package directions using eggs, vegetable oil, and water; pour into a greased 15x10 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan.
Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and top with marshmallows; bake 8 to 10 more minutes.
Drizzle warm cake with Chocolate Frosting, and sprinkle evenly with toasted pecans. Enjoy!

The Best Meatloaf ****

This one has been around the BBC board for a long time.  I believe the first time I tried it was back in 2006, if my old records are correct (your guess is as good as mine on that one).  It is hands-down my favorite basic meatloaf recipe.  After looking for pictures on Recipezaar, I noticed that the same recipe on there defines the "seasoned bread crumbs" as being the stuffing breadcrumbs from Pepperidge Farm.  I always just use Italian breadcrumbs, but I'll bet the stuffing ones would make it even better than it already is.  I'll have to give that a try.  Oh, and as always, I subbed ground turkey.
Anyway, I like that this one doesn't have any tomato ingredients in the actual meatloaf itself.  It allows you to taste the meat, and it lets you enjoy the sauce more, as the flavors are different.  Complementary, but different.  One of my favorite parts is the addition of the mustard to the topping.  In my opinion, that keeps it from being overly sweet.  There were "oohs" and "ahhs" coming from all around the table tonight, so I definitely need to make this stuff more often! 

Photo courtesy of Recipezaar

THE BEST MEATLOAF
(Cyndy-Peytonsmommy31804)

1-1.5 lb. lean ground beef
1/3 C seasoned bread crumbs
¼ C grated Parmesan
Freshly ground pepper
1 egg
1 tsp. dehydrated onion (or ½ c. chopped onion, or some onion powder)
1 garlic clove, minced (I use more)
½ tsp. Italian seasoning
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 350*.
Combine all ingredients and put into loaf pan.

In a small bowl combine:
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. ketchup
1 TB mustard

Pour this on top of meat mixture, and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour.
*Amy's notes: I like to double the meat mixture (using ground turkey) and keep the sauce amounts the same.

Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli ***

First of all, I have never tried roasted broccoli in any way, so this really kind of blew my mind.  Sad as it may be, it never even occurred to me to try roasting it.  I've done asparagus and green beans and even spinach, but I never even considered broccoli.  I loved it.  Unfortunately, I cut my stalks WAY too small, so most of mine burnt.  The few I got to try that weren't, though, were heavenly.  I've already bought a new head of broccoli to try again this week.  It's part of our supper for tonight, hopefully.  I let the youngest boy try it with me, but the oldest just turned his nose up at it because of the burnt ones on there.  Same with dh (gee, wonder where he gets it?).  We'll see how it goes this week, and I'll post a new review. 
I obviously didn't take a picture of my nasty burnt ones, but there is a picture on the OP's website.  The link to her review is below the title of the recipe.

PARMESAN-ROASTED BROCCOLI
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ via What a Dish!)

1-2 pounds broccoli (2 small heads)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Good olive oil
1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest, optional
1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon julienned fresh basil leaves, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart.
3. Place the broccoli florets on a baking pan (I used 9x13) large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.
4. Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 1 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot.