4 Chicken Breast Fillet's butterflied (lay on a flat surface and slice horizontally but not all the way through)
2 boxes stove top stuffing mix
Asparagus,
Carrots
Mushrooms
Honey,
Pecans
Salt and pepper to taste
Butter.
4 slices swiss cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 soup can of milk
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar.
Okay so here goes:
Take your butterflied chicken breast fillets and season them liberally with salt and pepper. Set aside. Take your fresh asparagus and break them where they break on their own. If you don't know what I am talking about, here is a video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hx6rNViqbs Set aside.
In a frying pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter, and saute your mushrooms. (DO NOT ADD SALT)
Take 6 asparagus spears and place them on the one side of your butterflied chicken breast fillets. Top with mushrooms. Place a slice of swiss cheese (or other white cheese) over the top of the asparagus and mushroom filling. You may want to "seal" these fillets together with toothpicks, but I just do things carefully. In your frying pan, place your fillets and pan fry them partially. Making sure to get a good browning on the fillets edges. Prepare your stove top stuffing. Place in a 9x13 inch casserole dish, spreading evenly. Now place your partially cooked chicken breast fillets on top of stuffing. Cover with tin foil. (to prevent drying out) Bake for 15 minutes or until your chicken reaches 165 degrees. While this is baking, in a small pan, empty your cream of mushroom soup, worcestershire sauce, and balsamic vinegar and mix with 1/2 of a can of milk and heat through.
In a second small pan, slice on a diagonal your carrots in thin slices. Add 2 tablespoons of butter, and saute the carrots until crisp tender. Now add pecans and toast them just enough to bring out the nutty oils. You will see the glistening sheen on them. Now add 1 cup of honey and stir the whole mixture and serve as an amazing side dish.
To serve your main dish, plate and pour over the top of each serving your mushroom "sauce". In this dinner meal you get some decadence without much work. It's easy and in spite of the prep time, requires no real expertise. Enjoy!
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Monday, December 8, 2014
Center Cut Pork Chops, potatoes, broccoli-cauliflower-carrot mix
Center cut pork chops
White potatoes, mashed
Bagged broccoli-cauliflower-carrots
Jiffy corn bread mix
Garlic Salt
Butter
Milk (for potatoes)
30 Wheat Ritz Crackers, ground
1 tablespoon Sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Milk
1 cup Flour
In a small bowl, mix together flour and wheat Ritz Crackers, salt and pepper and sugar. Set aside. In a second bowl, mix milk and eggs. Dip pork chops into the egg-milk mixture and then dredge them in the flour and wheat Ritz Cracker mixture. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the internal temp is 145 degrees.
While this is cooking, peel, cube and boil potatoes. In the pot, add milk, butter, garlic salt, (you can also add some sour cream and chives here and some cream cheese--it's a taste thing)
Steam your veggies and top with cheese if you want to.
Make your Jiffy corn bread according to the directions.
Serve!!!
White potatoes, mashed
Bagged broccoli-cauliflower-carrots
Jiffy corn bread mix
Garlic Salt
Butter
Milk (for potatoes)
30 Wheat Ritz Crackers, ground
1 tablespoon Sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Milk
1 cup Flour
In a small bowl, mix together flour and wheat Ritz Crackers, salt and pepper and sugar. Set aside. In a second bowl, mix milk and eggs. Dip pork chops into the egg-milk mixture and then dredge them in the flour and wheat Ritz Cracker mixture. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the internal temp is 145 degrees.
While this is cooking, peel, cube and boil potatoes. In the pot, add milk, butter, garlic salt, (you can also add some sour cream and chives here and some cream cheese--it's a taste thing)
Steam your veggies and top with cheese if you want to.
Make your Jiffy corn bread according to the directions.
Serve!!!
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Easy Peasy!!!
Beef, mixed vegetables, steamed potatoes, canned tomatoes was the list today. And so..what else could it be but SOUP!!! Vegetable Beef Soup.
2 pounds cubed (1 inch) beef
3 cups cubed steamed potatoes
15 ounce canned tomatoes
32 ounces frozen corn, peas, beans and cubed carrots
2 quarts beef broth
1 large diced onion
In a large skillet, brown off and cook the cubed beef and the diced onions. Season with salt and pepper. In a large dutch oven or soup pot, pour all beef broth, and the frozen vegetables. In a smaller bowl, mash up the tomatoes and then add them to your soup pot. Bring the whole pot to a boil. Once boiling add the meat and the potatoes. Reduce to a simmer and serve with your favorite grilled cheese sandwich or even a PB&J. Either way it's a filling healthy meal. By the way, leftovers will freeze easily or you may "can " it. This you can do buy heating to a boil and pouring into jars. Add your lids and place on a cookie sheet inside a 250 degree oven for about an hour. This is called oven canning and when you remove the jars from the oven, carefully place the jars on the counter to cool. As they cool you will hear a distinctive "pop" of the lid sealing itself. Once cooled, tighten lids completely and store on your shelves. According to the information I have read, this will last up to a year if unopened and properly sealed.
Using the same ingredients, you can combine all the ingredients but the canned tomatoes (after cooking the beef and onions) and add a lovely brown gravy to serve over white rice. It can also be thickened to make a"brunswick" type stew that can be served over either rice or mashed potatoes.
Now,...if you really want to get ambitious, make a thicker stew and with a can of grands type biscuits, place half (horizontally) of your biscuit in a large muffin tin, fill with stew mixture and top with the other half of the biscuit and bake for a quick individual sized beef pot pie popover.
Enjoy!
2 pounds cubed (1 inch) beef
3 cups cubed steamed potatoes
15 ounce canned tomatoes
32 ounces frozen corn, peas, beans and cubed carrots
2 quarts beef broth
1 large diced onion
In a large skillet, brown off and cook the cubed beef and the diced onions. Season with salt and pepper. In a large dutch oven or soup pot, pour all beef broth, and the frozen vegetables. In a smaller bowl, mash up the tomatoes and then add them to your soup pot. Bring the whole pot to a boil. Once boiling add the meat and the potatoes. Reduce to a simmer and serve with your favorite grilled cheese sandwich or even a PB&J. Either way it's a filling healthy meal. By the way, leftovers will freeze easily or you may "can " it. This you can do buy heating to a boil and pouring into jars. Add your lids and place on a cookie sheet inside a 250 degree oven for about an hour. This is called oven canning and when you remove the jars from the oven, carefully place the jars on the counter to cool. As they cool you will hear a distinctive "pop" of the lid sealing itself. Once cooled, tighten lids completely and store on your shelves. According to the information I have read, this will last up to a year if unopened and properly sealed.
Using the same ingredients, you can combine all the ingredients but the canned tomatoes (after cooking the beef and onions) and add a lovely brown gravy to serve over white rice. It can also be thickened to make a"brunswick" type stew that can be served over either rice or mashed potatoes.
Now,...if you really want to get ambitious, make a thicker stew and with a can of grands type biscuits, place half (horizontally) of your biscuit in a large muffin tin, fill with stew mixture and top with the other half of the biscuit and bake for a quick individual sized beef pot pie popover.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Today's request included: Ground Beef, Frozen Green Beans, 1 Sweet Potato. My solution?
Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie
(adapted from the same recipe at the "Taste of Home" recipes. Prep time is 25 minutes and the Bake time is also 25 minutes.
1 large sweet potato
1 large white potato
1pound ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
frozen green beans
1 cup tomato sauce
2 ounces softened cream cheese (optional)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons 2% milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Scrub and pierce sweet potato and white potato; place on a microwave safe plate and microwave uncovered on high for 10-12 minutes or until tender. Turn once.
While that is cooking, in a large skillet cook beef and onion until it's cooked through. Drain completely. Add the beans tomato sauce and spices. Spray down your casserole dish and then pour the meat mixture into the dish and set it aside.
When cool enough to handle, cut potatoes in half and scoop out the pulp and place in a small bowl. Mash with butter, milk, softened cream cheese, salt and pepper and spread evenly over the meat mixture.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
***the recipe at Taste of Home uses corn instead of beans and used more spices.
Now this is only one recipe. There are plenty of things you can do with these ingredients seperately. I tend to do casseroles because they are easy "one dish wonders".
If you want to do separate "dishes" I would follow the following menu:
1 pound of ground beef,
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup diced onions
1 egg
mix all ingredients together and form into small meat balls. Brown off in a skillet until done.
In the same pan, add your favorite BBQ sauce and simmer on low.
green beans
1/4 cup diced onions
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 sweet potato, sliced
1 white potato, sliced
In a separate skillet, stir fry your sliced potatoes with onions and garlic and butter. When these are done and have a nice caramelization on the edges, add in your green beans and saute for a couple of minutes until they are heated through.
Serve with Corn Bread or Corn Bread Muffins.
Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie
(adapted from the same recipe at the "Taste of Home" recipes. Prep time is 25 minutes and the Bake time is also 25 minutes.
1 large sweet potato
1 large white potato
1pound ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
frozen green beans
1 cup tomato sauce
2 ounces softened cream cheese (optional)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons 2% milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Scrub and pierce sweet potato and white potato; place on a microwave safe plate and microwave uncovered on high for 10-12 minutes or until tender. Turn once.
While that is cooking, in a large skillet cook beef and onion until it's cooked through. Drain completely. Add the beans tomato sauce and spices. Spray down your casserole dish and then pour the meat mixture into the dish and set it aside.
When cool enough to handle, cut potatoes in half and scoop out the pulp and place in a small bowl. Mash with butter, milk, softened cream cheese, salt and pepper and spread evenly over the meat mixture.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
***the recipe at Taste of Home uses corn instead of beans and used more spices.
Now this is only one recipe. There are plenty of things you can do with these ingredients seperately. I tend to do casseroles because they are easy "one dish wonders".
If you want to do separate "dishes" I would follow the following menu:
1 pound of ground beef,
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup diced onions
1 egg
mix all ingredients together and form into small meat balls. Brown off in a skillet until done.
In the same pan, add your favorite BBQ sauce and simmer on low.
green beans
1/4 cup diced onions
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 sweet potato, sliced
1 white potato, sliced
In a separate skillet, stir fry your sliced potatoes with onions and garlic and butter. When these are done and have a nice caramelization on the edges, add in your green beans and saute for a couple of minutes until they are heated through.
Serve with Corn Bread or Corn Bread Muffins.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Turkey Tired!!!
Today was leftover turkey, stuffing, broccoli, carrots, and rolls. So of course the recipe will be...Turkey Stuffing Casserole. Quite simply this is the same as the Chicken stuffing casserole but you use your leftover turkey.
layer stuffing, broccoli, carrots in a casserole dish. Open a can of cream of chicken soup and mix it with half a can of milk. Pour over the whole dish and bake. If you want to make it even healthier, add all the green been casserole leftovers as well. It will just make it a creamier messy dish. Either way, by the time you get to this point, it should be the last of your Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner. Enjoy!
layer stuffing, broccoli, carrots in a casserole dish. Open a can of cream of chicken soup and mix it with half a can of milk. Pour over the whole dish and bake. If you want to make it even healthier, add all the green been casserole leftovers as well. It will just make it a creamier messy dish. Either way, by the time you get to this point, it should be the last of your Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner. Enjoy!
Monday, December 1, 2014
Chicken, Broccoli, and rice?
Today's challenge for dinner was Chicken, Broccoli and Rice. My solutions were the following two recipes:
Broccoli Rice Casserole
1 can of condensed cream of broccoli soup
1 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked rice
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 chicken breasts (or pieces)
1 pinch Paprika
Broccoli
Velveeta or shredded cheese
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Stir together the soup, water, rice and pepper in an 11 inch casserole dish. Top with chicken breasts. Sprinkle with paprika and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and on the outer rim of the casserole dish, surrounding the chicken, place your broccoli pieces and sprinkle with the shredded cheese or pieces of Velveeta. Return to oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, Make sure that your chicken is at 165 degrees on the meat thermometer. (NO PINK AT ALL)
_________________________________________________________________________________
Balsamic Chicken
Broccoli
Chicken
Cream of chicken soup
Cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can of milk
Velveeta (1/4 of bar)
3 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar (or to taste)[we like lots]
3 tablespoons Worchestershire Sauce (or to taste)[we like lots]
Butter, margarine, or Pam Spray
Cut chicken into bite size pieces and season with salt and pepper. Stir fry in a pan with the butter, margarine or Pam the chicken until the edges are crisp tender and the chicken is done. Remove from pan the pieces of chicken and set aside.
To the pan, add the cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, milk and velveeta and stir to get all ingredients combined and smooth. Once smooth, add the Balsamic Vinegar and Worcestershire Sauce TO YOUR TASTE. This is an important step because in our family we love the strong taste of the Balsamic and Worcestershire. After the sauce changes to that nice deep rich color from the last two ingredients, add your chicken back and simmer until hot through. Serve over rice with a side of Broccoli. I suggest a salad as well, since this is a very starchy meal.
And there you have it folks....2 "meals" using the 3 requested ingredients. If you have a set of ingredients, please let me have a go at it. I love coming up with menu suggestions.
Broccoli Rice Casserole
1 can of condensed cream of broccoli soup
1 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked rice
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 chicken breasts (or pieces)
1 pinch Paprika
Broccoli
Velveeta or shredded cheese
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Stir together the soup, water, rice and pepper in an 11 inch casserole dish. Top with chicken breasts. Sprinkle with paprika and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and on the outer rim of the casserole dish, surrounding the chicken, place your broccoli pieces and sprinkle with the shredded cheese or pieces of Velveeta. Return to oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, Make sure that your chicken is at 165 degrees on the meat thermometer. (NO PINK AT ALL)
_________________________________________________________________________________
Balsamic Chicken
Broccoli
Chicken
Cream of chicken soup
Cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can of milk
Velveeta (1/4 of bar)
3 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar (or to taste)[we like lots]
3 tablespoons Worchestershire Sauce (or to taste)[we like lots]
Butter, margarine, or Pam Spray
Cut chicken into bite size pieces and season with salt and pepper. Stir fry in a pan with the butter, margarine or Pam the chicken until the edges are crisp tender and the chicken is done. Remove from pan the pieces of chicken and set aside.
To the pan, add the cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, milk and velveeta and stir to get all ingredients combined and smooth. Once smooth, add the Balsamic Vinegar and Worcestershire Sauce TO YOUR TASTE. This is an important step because in our family we love the strong taste of the Balsamic and Worcestershire. After the sauce changes to that nice deep rich color from the last two ingredients, add your chicken back and simmer until hot through. Serve over rice with a side of Broccoli. I suggest a salad as well, since this is a very starchy meal.
And there you have it folks....2 "meals" using the 3 requested ingredients. If you have a set of ingredients, please let me have a go at it. I love coming up with menu suggestions.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
What's for Dinner?
For some time now, I have been watching The Food Network channel shows and especially the competition shows. Let's take Chopped. I try to take what they get in their mystery baskets and come up with recipes. I do the same for Cutthroat Kitchen and any other show that I can just to be able to test my ability to come up with something nutritious. Now...I may not be as "gourmet" as these people are on the shows, but I can come up with a good wholesome meal. As an example, on the cooking show that is on right now about the "holiday bake off"... they were given a "ready made" pie crust from the refrigerated section and were told to make something with it but not a pie. My thought was "empanadas" or some other "pastry". However, I could think of so much that my brain was on fire. I also thought,...this could be fried as well. But then...it's a baking competition. But for me, filling it with a savory filling and making a pocket with it was an option. Let's pretend. Cut out circles with a large cutter or free hand it. Place cooked steak, caramelized onions, cooked bell peppers, mushrooms and shredded cheese. Bake and you will come out with amazing "Philly Cheesesteak" rounds. But for the sweet side, I would take some lemon curd and some blueberries and mix them together and bake them in the circles or in the empanada shape and top with the crystallized sugar and a small amount of meringue. I think that would be a great "tart".
So...because of a request from a dear relative/friend, I am asking---what's for dinner? What do you have in your cabinets and freezer and yet still don't have a clue of what to do for dinner with? Give me a list. I'll figure something out. Hopefully I will also get feedback on it and people to let me know how it turned out and how it was received by the family. Please keep in mind that, no matter what the products are, I also try to be budget friendly. This all started when I was a young college student and had maybe $20 for groceries per week. I did things like have ramen noodles soup but adding in thin slices of ham or turkey with frozen veggies and maybe a sprinkling of parmesean cheese. I sometimes added an egg to turn it into an "egg drop" feel to the much more filling soup. I have also turned it into a thicker "stew" by adding a little flour or corn starch (depended on what meat was in it) to create a more savory dish that could be served over rice or potatoes. Even macaroni and cheese can be made to be filling with the right additions. Don't hesitate...send me what you've got. I'll do my best. After all, this is what fun is to me.
So...because of a request from a dear relative/friend, I am asking---what's for dinner? What do you have in your cabinets and freezer and yet still don't have a clue of what to do for dinner with? Give me a list. I'll figure something out. Hopefully I will also get feedback on it and people to let me know how it turned out and how it was received by the family. Please keep in mind that, no matter what the products are, I also try to be budget friendly. This all started when I was a young college student and had maybe $20 for groceries per week. I did things like have ramen noodles soup but adding in thin slices of ham or turkey with frozen veggies and maybe a sprinkling of parmesean cheese. I sometimes added an egg to turn it into an "egg drop" feel to the much more filling soup. I have also turned it into a thicker "stew" by adding a little flour or corn starch (depended on what meat was in it) to create a more savory dish that could be served over rice or potatoes. Even macaroni and cheese can be made to be filling with the right additions. Don't hesitate...send me what you've got. I'll do my best. After all, this is what fun is to me.
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