Whew!!! This one was hard. Of course I had in mind when I saw tuna the traditional tuna casserole. But with no noodles, I had no choice but to come up with something else. I did find out that she does have so frozen peas as well. And so, the following was born:
Tuna Au Gratin
8 large potatoes
2 cans tuna in water
1 bag frozen peas
2 large carrots diced
4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
4 cups milk
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice the large potatoes into 1/4 inch slices and add the two cans of tuna by tossing together with the peas and the diced carrots. Make 2 layers of potatoes first in a buttered deep large casserole dish. This part doesn't have to be layered but they can be as long as you make sure that the tuna is dispersed nicely among the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Set aside.
In a pot on the stove, melt butter and slowly stir in the flour, salt, and pepper over medium heat, whisking CONSTANTLY. DO NOT STOP OR YOU WILL GET LUMPS IN YOUR SAUCE. Add milk a cup at a time until sauce is smooth and silky. When it has thickened add in three and a half cups of the finely shredded cheddar cheese. Continue to stir until cheese is completely melted. This should be about a minute. Remove from heat immediately. Pour over the casserole dish filled with your potatoes, tuna, peas and carrots.
Cover with tin foil and bake for 1 and a half hours. (90 minutes). Just before moving this from the oven, in a frying pan on the stove, toast your slivered almonds. (I would add some seasoning like garlic salt, or cayenne pepper,) When the casserole comes out of the oven, remove tin foil and top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Bake another 10 minutes to form a top to the casserole. When you remove it from the oven for the last time, sprinkle with the slivered almonds and serve.
Friday, December 12, 2014
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Chicken Breast Fillet, Asparagus, Stove Top Stuffing, Carrots, Mushrooms
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!
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!
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.
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