We know that sometimes teeth can feel sore after orthodontic appointments.
Here are some yummy family-friendly recipes for you to enjoy!

Best Baked Spaghetti
Melt-in-your-Mouth Meatballs
Down Home Macaroni & Cheese
Beef Enchiladas
Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Fabulous French Toast
Twisty Soft Pretzels
Quick Cake Mix Cookies
Apple (Not Too) Crisp

Best Baked Spaghetti

Ingredients
- 1 lb. Ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped or 1 Tablespoon dried onion
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 3 (8oz) cans tomato sauce
- ½ cup Burgundy or merlot wine (optional)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup grated American Cheese, about 4 slices, or ½ cup grated mild cheddar cheese
- ½ lb. Dry spaghetti, broken in half

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large no-stick frying pan, sauté meat, onion and garlic. Add tomato sauce, wine, oregano, sugar and salt. Simmer and cover 1 hour, stirring occasionally. (It makes a difference if you can take this amount of time. Otherwise, 20 minutes will serve to heat everything.) Cook spaghetti per package instructions, drain. Put half the spaghetti in a greased 3-quart casserole dish, and then add half the sauce and ¼ cup of the grated cheese. Add the remaining spaghetti and sauce; stir everything with a large spoon. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Best if baked for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes about 6 to 8 servings.
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Melt-in-your-Mouth Meatballs

Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp minced onion
- 1 Tablespoon very finely chopped green pepper
- 1 egg, beaten
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly with hands. Form or roll into 24 equal sized balls. Place in a well-greased 9"x13"x2" casserole dish and bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Serve with a smooth spaghetti sauce over soft pasta.
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Down Home Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients
- ¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, divided
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 cup milk
- ½ lb. (8oz.) Velveeta Cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked, drained

½ cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese
6 RITZ Crackers, crushed

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 3 Tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Whisk in flour; cook 2 minutes stirring constantly. Gradually stir in milk; cool until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Add Velveeta; cook 3 minutes or until melted, stirring frequently. Stir in macaroni.
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Spoon into a 2-quart casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle cheddar on top. Melt remaining butter; toss with cracker crumbs. Sprinkle over top and bake 20 minutes or until heated through. Makes 5 servings.


Beef Enchiladas

Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 10 flour tortillas, cut into small bite-size pieces
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 can (4 oz) green chilies, chopped
- 1 can (4.5 oz) black olives, chopped
- 1 can (10 ¾ oz) cream of chicken soup
- 1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes and green chilies
- ½ cup water

Directions
Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a skillet, cook the ground beef, onion and garlic. Drain and run through a food processor or blender. In a greased 9"x13"x2" casserole dish, layer ½ the mixture, tortillas, cheese, green chilies, and black olives. Repeat. In a medium sized bowl, combine the soup, diced tomatoes, green chilies, and water. Mix thoroughly and pour over the top of the layered ingredients. In a preheated oven, bake covered at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serves 6-8.
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Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients
- 3 ½ lbs. Russet potatoes
- 16 oz (2 cups) half and half
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 Tablespoons kosher salt
- 6 oz grated Parmesan

Directions
Peel and dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size. Place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat then reduce to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork. Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and set aside. Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water. Mash and add the garlic-cream mixture, salt, and Parmesan; stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens and then serve. Serves 10 to 12.
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Fabulous French Toast

Ingredients
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup milk
- Dash of vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon margarine
- 2 pieces of bread

Directions
Crack the egg into a medium-sized bowl and beat well. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract. Place the margarine in a frying pan over medium heat. It is hot enough when the margarine starts to bubble.

Dunk each piece of bread into the egg mixture. Make sure the bread is completely covered. Cook the bread in the frying pan over low heat until the underside is light brown (about 5 minutes). Flip the bread and cook again for another 5 minutes or until light brown. Serves 1 to 2.
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Twisty Soft Pretzels

Ingredients
- ¾ cup warm water
- ½ envelope yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- Pinches of salt or cinnamon-sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together warm water, yeast and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, mix salt and flour with a large spoon. After 5 minutes, stir yeast mix into flour mix. With well-floured hands, shape dough into 6-inch rods, initials, animals or traditional twisted pretzel shapes. Brush them with the beaten egg and place on a greased cookie sheet. If desired, sprinkle them with extra salt or cinnamon-sugar. Bake for 12 minutes at 425 degrees.
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Quick Cake Mix Cookies

Ingredients
- 1 box cake mix (Any flavor, the size it takes to make two 9” rounds)
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients using an electric mixer until well blended and creamy (about 1 minute). Using a tablespoon, drop onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 9 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes about 4 dozen. Store in a covered container.
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Apple (Not Too) Crisp

Ingredients
- 4 cups (about 8 large apples) peeled, coarsely sliced apples. (Macintosh and Rome apples work well; avoid Delicious apples).
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1/3 cup margarine, chopped into small bits

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9x13” pan, spread sliced apples. Sprinkle with the water and cinnamon. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar and margarine with a pastry cutter or fork, until mixture becomes fine crumbs. Sprinkle crumb topping over apples. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Cover with foil while warm to soften the topping. Makes about 8 servings.
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