Week 20 -- French Dip Sandwiches with au Jus

These make everyone in my family happy!


And they are easy. EASY, Easy, easy.

In a crockpot, put in whatever beef you may have in your freezer. I often use round steak, but I have used skirt steaks, flank steaks, rump roasts, you name it. Sometimes I use a crazy combination of those -- like when I have 1 small flank steak and 1 small skirt steak which would not be enough for one meal by themselves, I just throw them in the crock pot. Add 3 cups of water, 3 tsp of beef base (or beef boullion cubes) and add 3 tbs of soy sauce.

Let it cook all day.

Take out the meat and chop / shred it. Strain the broth in the crock pot for your au jus. Serve on a toasted roll.

Sometimes I add cheese, sometimes I sautee mushrooms and add those too. But most of the time it is just bread and meat and dip. (and of course some healthy fruits and veggies on the side!)

Week 16 - Ground Turkey meatballs

These were delicious.  Sorry but no pictures.

1 pound ground turkey
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan
1 egg
some salt and pepper
some fresh basil (cuz I happened to have it)

Mix together, shape into balls.  Place onto a broiler pan. 

Broil on the lower rack for 12-15 minutes, pull out and then turn and do a few more minutes till it is crispy everywhere on the outside.  (My low rack is pretty far from the boiler, if yours is not then watch them more closely -- broilers are great, but I do burn things quite often using them because I turn my back for 2 seconds!!!)

I served with mashed potatoes, white gravy and lingonberry sauce -- just like IKEA or Sweden -- only much yummier and with far fewer calories!!!

Week 9 -- Chicken Taco Rice

We made this at my ward's cooking group this month (along with the salsa I posted for week 8).  This is great because depsite it being a "new" food to my kids, they all ate it and LIKED it. 

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins
1 pkg frozen corn
2 tsp. olive oil
1 medium red or green pepper
1 16oz can chicken broth
1 ½ cup instant rice (I used brown rice)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 pkg. taco seasoning

Cook the chicken.  Dice and set aside.  Cut peppers and sauté them in oil. Set aside.   In skillet add broth, tomato sauce, taco seasonin, chicken, and corn. Bring to a boil, then add peppers. Stir in rice and cover. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Use as a filling for tortillas.  Top with sour cream, cheese, and what ever else you like.

I also added 2 cans of black beans.  For my family, this made enough for 3-4 meals.  Very easy, very quick, and very yummy. 

Week 6 - Chicken and Noodles

So here is what I wanted to make off Pioneerwomancooks.com that required the homemade noodles. It was delicous. I highly recommend it.

Here is her recipe and if you follow the link you can see all her pictures.

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 6
Ingredients
1 whole Cut Up Fryer Chicken
2 whole Carrots, Diced
2 stalks Celery, Diced
½ whole Medium Onion, Diced (optional)
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoons Turmeric
¼ teaspoons White Pepper (more To Taste)
¼ teaspoons Ground Thyme
2 teaspoons Parsley Flakes
16 ounces, weight Frozen "homemade" Egg Noodles
3 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
Preparation Instructions
Cover chicken in 4 quarts water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove chicken from pot with a slotted spoon. With two forks, remove as much meat from the bones as you can, slightly shredding meat in the process. Return bones to broth and simmer on low, covered, for 45 minutes.
Remove bones from broth with a slotted spoon, making sure to get any small bones that might have detached.
Add the carrots and celery (and onions, if using) to the pot, followed by the herbs and spices. Stir to combine and simmer for ten minutes to meld flavors.
Increase heat and add frozen egg noodles and chicken. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes.
Mix flour and a little water. Stir until smooth. Pour into soup, stir to combine, and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until broth thickens a bit. Test and adjust seasonings as needed.

Here is what I did different. I added 1 tsp of onion powder and 4 tsp of chicken boullion. And it took me two bowls of flour to get it thick enough.

Southwest egg rolls-- week 4

 

 

 

This is an easy meal all my kids love.

Brown ground turkey in a skillet with fajita seasoning.
When turkey is thouroughly cooked add a can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
Then add a cup or so of frozen corn.

Fill flour tortillas with the mixture and also add grated cheese.
Fold them up tightly and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Eat with lots of lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and cilantro jalapeno ranch!

Broccoli Cheese Potato Soup

I set out to make this soup last night. I looked for a recipe and found 2. One for cheesy broccoli soup and one for cream of broccoli potato soup. I combined them and tweaked them.

It was the best soup. Everyone agreed. All the kids loved it. Trent loved it. I loved it!

So here is the recipe (so I can remember what I did)

1/2 quart of half and half
6 cups skim milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (I prefer sharp)
1 1/2 to 2 crowns of broccoli
2 large potatoes (peeled and diced)
1/4 cup minced onion
1 Tbs chicken boullion
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour

salt and pepper to taste.

You will need 3 pans.

I used a 6qt, a 3 qt, and a 2 qt saucepans.

In the 6 qt pan, I melted 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter. I added a slightly heaped 1/2 cup of all purpose flour and whisked the two together. Then I added about 2 inches of skim milk into the pan (probably 3-4 cups) whisking constantly until the flour/butter roux was smooth and the milk was starting to thicken. Then I turned off the heat until the other two pans caught up.

In the 3 qt pan, I steamed the broccoli. The pan was nearly full and I would guess it was 1 1/2 crowns of broccoli. (I used the fresh broccoli that is already trimmed and ready to go from costco -- You could also use frozen, but I think fresh made a big difference.) When the broccoli was done I drained off the water and ran 2 sharp knives through the broccoli a few times to break up any large pieces.

In the 2 qt pan, I added 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced and 1/4 cup dry minced onion. (I am sure real onions would be great too, but I didn't have any) I covered them just barely with water and let them boil until the potatoes were tender (not mushy)

Once the 2 smaller pans are finished I turned the heat back on the white sauce. I added 1/2 quart of half and half and a TBS of chicken boullion. Then I added the broccoli and the potatoes/onions (and all the water from the potatoes and onions -- do not add the broccoli water-- too green!) I stirred it all and then added more milk until I had the desired consistency. Slightly runnier than I wanted the final product to be.

I brought it up to a nice simmer and then turned off the heat. Then I added the grated sharp cheddar cheese and stirred until it was all melter. REMEMBER, if you add the cheese and your soup is too hot or it boils your soup will be grainy and greasy -- Always add the cheese after removing from all heat and make sure it is not still boiling.

Serve with fresh bread!

My Favorite (and ridiculously easy) Lasagna

First, I did not grow up eating lasagna. My mother does not like cheese, any cheese. So I cannot recall ever having lasagna as a child. As an adult I tried it and liked it and so started asking around for recipes and trying them. Some were easy, some were complicated, some were so-so, some were awful and then my friend, DeAnn gave me her recipe. I loved it and have been making it often ever since.

Here is how I make it. Assembly takes about 10 minutes. When you are done, pop one in the oven for tonight and one in the freezer for another night!

1. Get 2 9 X 13 pans out.
2. 2 boxes of lasagna noodles (I buy the walmart brand -- I use 1 whole box and 3 noodles from the second box)
3. One large Prego Traditional spaghetti sauce -- It is the large plastic container and is 4 lbs 3 oz. (You can obviously use any kind of spaghetti sauce, I am just telling you how I do it)
4. 1 16 oz fat free cottage cheese (Often I use the 24 oz tub -- and I always made it with the regular cottage cheese and then one day tried the fat free kind and never noticed a difference, so now I always use the fat free -- but the regular stuff works great too!)
5. 1 16 oz fat free sour cream (same as above, I did not notice a difference between the regular or fat free -- so I use the fat free)
6. Mozzarella cheese -- preferably sliced (it helps your layers stay layered) but I have used shredded often -- I usually plan on about 2 pounds (but for healthy sake you can skimp if you need to)
7. 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
8. 2 cups of water

My children prefer this without meat -- but if you want to include it, brown 1-2 pounds of ground beef and add it to the red sauce.

Step 1 : In a bowl mix together the cottage cheese and sour cream.
Step 2 : Place about 1 cup of the red sauce in the bottom of each pan
Step 3 : Place 1 layer of noodles on next. (These are not pre-cooked or oven
ready-- just the plain jane ones) In my pans it is 4 noodles per pan
Step 4 : Spread 1/4 of the cottage cheese/sour cream mixture on top of the
noodles per pan.
Step 5 : Place the sliced mozzarella on next.
Step 6 : Then place the red sauce on next (about 1/4 of what is left per pan)
Step 7 : Repeat steps 3, 4, 5, and 6
Step 8 : If you have been using meat, your pans are pretty well full, so sprinkle
the parmesan on top -- If you are not using meat, add 1 more layer of
noodles and top with a small amount of red sauce and the parmesan cheese.
Step 9 : Add 1 cup of water to each pan. I usually pour it around the edges and
use a fork to help it get all the way down.

Now, cover one pan with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour, then uncover and bake for 20-30 more minutes. If you don't want it kind of soupy, then let it stand for 20 minutes before serving. (my family is never patient enough, so our first round is kind of soupy, perfect for dipping garlic bread, but the second round is firm and nicely holds its layers)

Take the other pan and cover it and put it in the freezer. When you want another lasagna dinner, you are already -- bake at 350 for 1 hour covered in foil and 30 minutes uncovered.

2 meals in 10 minutes. And it is outstanding!

Mini Meatloaf

This recipe is so easy and so quick and so tasty and so healthy.

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 box chicken stuffing mix (I usually use the store brand because it is cheaper and in this recipe it doesn't matter how fluffy the mix gets)

Put your hands inside plastic sandwich baggies and knead until well combined. Shape into small balls that will fit into a muffin pan. (this makes 12).

Bake at 350 for 20 - 30 minutes. They are crispy on the outside and moist in the middle. We each eat about 2 of them (which is only 2.66 ounces of meat) so if you are looking for portion control, this is perfect and filling. If you splurge and eat 4 of them you are looking at only 5.32 ounces -- still smaller than many burgers and most steaks. I usually serve them with baked potatoes or rice pilaf and brocolli (and of course ketchup for the kiddos).

Apples

We got this idea from a suggestion my Aunt Kellie left on facebook. We used a melon baller to make little mini apple balls and then dipped those in chocolate, caramel and sprinkles. They were just the right size for the kids -- and you really don't waste much apple!

For dinner we had Chicken salad.
1 can chicken breast
1 TBS mayo
1/2 a large apple
2 ribs of celery

We served it over a bed of lettuce and on english muffins. It was delicious.

Homemade Taquitos

Trent helping to plate them.

Here they are pan frying. (Can you guess who ran out of toothpicks and had to use skewers to hold the tortilla rolls closed?)

You can fill the flour tortillas with anything. This time I filled them with pulled Sweet pork and cheddar cheese. They were delicious!

Pulled Sweet pork is just a pork loin or tenderloin cooked all day in a crockpot until you can pull it apart. I cook it with Blended pace picante sauce and brown sugar.

Chicken Fried Steak

Here it is. Doesn't it look good? After watching "The next food network star" and seeing them plate a "beauty" plate. I decided to also. I think Trent will think we were all fancy when he gets home and goes to heat up his save plate . . . OH wait, because of the gold edging on the china if you stick it in the microwave it sparks . . . Oh well, I will show him this picture so that when he wonders why his food looks like I have scraped it off someone elses plate I can assure him he is not eating the kids food left on their plate (cuz I would NEVER do something like that, put the food my kids don't touch on his plate????)

• Buy the pre-tenderized cubed steak.
• Make a seasoned flour mixture (flour, Lawry's seasoning salt, onion powder, garlic powder, ranch dressing packet . . . anything you like)
• Dip the meat in the flour and then dip into a beaten egg and then back into the flour.
• Have a skillet with about 1/8 inch of oil hot. Place the meat in the skillet. Allow it to brown on one side for about a minute. Turn and do the same to the other.
• Once both sides are browned, remove from skillet (allow the oil to drip off) and place in an oven safe dish.
• Bake at 350 for 20-30 more minutes.Tips, don't crowd the meat in the oil or oven.
• When finished with the skillet, pour off the oil, but leave the drippings. Add more of the seasoned flour and 2 TBS of butter and stir with a wire whisk to make a roux. Add 2 cups of milk and whisk continually until thickend. Country Gravy!!!!

Now, here's reality. I get to "plate" 5 plates all at once -- not because I am on the next food network star, but because it is my only shot at being able to sit and eat with my kids for more that 2 minutes!!!!!

Friday Pizza

Every Friday, we have Pizza. I know it sounds boring, but we all love it.

It is always homemade, and it is absolutely the best pizza -- yes, better than delivery, take-out, frozen, or gourmet.

First, sometime around 3:30 in the afternoon I make the dough. It takes roughly 2 minutes. Here is the recipe.

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbs yeast (I always use the rapid rise, bread machine yeast)
1 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs vegetable oil
4 cups of flour (I often do slightly less -- like I just don't fill the 4th cup all the way since I know I will use 1/4 cup of flour when I roll out the dough)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder (this is optional, but I nearly always add it)

Add those things in that order as fast as you can. I put it in my Kitchen aid with the dough hook and let it run for about 2 minutes. Then you leave it alone. I am sure you could remove the dough hook and let it rise in a nice separate bowl covered nicely with a pretty dish towel, but I never bother. I turn off the kitchenaid and leave it in there (dough hook and all) until it has risen double in size. (In a rush I have let it rise for as little as 20 minutes without noticing any change in result).

When you return, divide the dough in half and flour the countertop. Roll it out and place onto a pizza pan (sprayed with cooking spray). This recipe makes 2 large pizza crusts. As you can see from the photos, I doubled it.

Then top with sauce (I always use Prego traditional). Add cheese and other toppings. Bake at 475 until the crust is done. (About 12-15 minutes)

What kind of weird angle is that????

Now, I must share my quick tip.

Often, as soon as I finish rolling out one pizza crust, I place it in the oven to start baking. Then I roll out the next and place it in the oven. If I am only making 2 pizzas I let them cook while I clean up and get out all the toppings. If I am making 4 pizzas I just keep rolling the dough and putting them in the oven and by the time the 4th one goes in, I pull the 1st one out to get all of its toppings.

I don't let the crusts cook all the way, just until they start to change color (slighlty golden). Then you add the toppings and finish in the oven for only about 5 more minutes. It really helps you get pizza on the table fast. Also, many times I add the toppings to the cooked crust and then freeze the whole pizza to be used at a later date or I take it to someone and let them pop it in their oven for just 5 minutes and they can enjoy oven fresh homemade pizza!

Baked Potatoes

Yes, I know that a recipe for baked potatoes is like a recipe for boiling water, but I do do it different.

Wash potatoes.
Place in a 500 degree oven. (Do not poke, pierce, or stab)
Remove an hour later.
Eat.

The insides will be soft and the skin will be crisp! This is how I love them. I have never had one burst this way (although I have had one burst when I did it the other way-- pricking and wrapping in foil and baking at 350 for an hour???)

Pizza variation

I make pizza every Friday night. Last night we tried this variety. This time I tried the refrigerated pizza crusts (they were OK, but not great) and a fresh tomato topping. We rolled out the crust and then topped it with a thin layer of. . .

*2 Tbs mayo
*1 tsp chopped garlic
*1 tsp sugar
*1/2 tsp dried basil (although fresh would be better)

We place very thinly sliced tomatoes on next and then topped with mozzarella and parmesan. It was yummy!

Not as good as our regular pizza, but it is always fun to do things different!