Saturday, February 23, 2008

Lazy Bones Casserole

This is one of grandma's recipes. I just needed something simple to put together for dinner one night and I found this one. It was pretty tasty.

1 lb ground beef
1 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 can cream of chicken soup or chicken rice soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
8 ounces of small uncooked noodles
1/2 package of frozen peas

Brown meat. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Put in a greased 2 quart casserole. Bake covered at 350 for 1 1/2 hours. If it becomes too dry, add water.

Lemon Mushroom Chicken

We had this for dinner Thursday night and we loved it. Ryan raved about it that night and he took leftovers the next day for lunch and again thought they were great. It's a pretty simple recipe and shouldn't take too long if the chicken isn't frozen.

From Light and Tasty:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup plus 2 tsp all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 T butter
1/3 cup plus 3 T reduced sodium chicken broth, divided
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1 T lemon juice

Flatten chicken to 1/2 inch thickness. In a large, resealable bag, combine 1/4 cup flour, salt and pepper. Add chicken, one piece at a time, and shake to coat.

In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook chicken in butter for 5-6 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm. (I kept the chicken in the pan while making the sauce.)

Add 1/3 cup broth to the pan, stirring to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Add mushrooms; cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until tender.

Combine the remaining flour and broth until smooth; stir into the mushroom mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in lemon juice. Serve with chicken.

We had mashed potatoes with this and peas-yum.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Thai Shrimp and Noodles

Another Taste of Home recipe and we had this for dinner one night this week.

1 pound cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/3 cup Italian salad dressing
8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 T minced fresh cilantro
2 T chunky peanut butter
1 T honey
1 T soy sauce
1 tsp minced fresh gingerroot
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup julienned carrots
1 cup chopped green onions
2 T vegetable oil
1 T sesame oil

In a large, resealable bag, combine shrimp and salad dressing. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.
In a small bowl, combine broth, cilantro, peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, ginger and pepper flakes; set aside. In a large skillet, saute carrots and onions in oils for 2-3 minutes or until the veggies are crisp-tender.
Drain shrimp and discard marinade. Add shrimp to vegetables; cook for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Drain pasta and place in large bowl. Add shrimp mixture and the peanut butter mixture. Toss to coat.

Cappuccino Muffins

I have been doing some baking and cooking this week, I just haven't had the time to get on the computer. Ryan is very spoiled and I try to make some kind of muffins or bread for breakfast because otherwise he doesn't really eat anything. I made these the other day and he loved them! These are a Taste of Home recipe.

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 T instant coffee granules
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir milk and coffee granules until the coffee is dissolved. Add butter, egg and vanilla; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 375 for 17-20 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Seasoned Baked Potatoes

From Light and Tasty: These potatoes are so easy to make are really good.

4 medium baking potatoes
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Scrub potatoes and cut in half lengthwise. Place cut side up on ungreased baking dish. Brush or drizzle oil over. Sprinkle with basil, onion salt and garlic powder. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until tender.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies


This is a recipe that I got from grandma. She rated them as good and I agree.

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup margarine or butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Filling:
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup softened butter or margarine
2-3 T light cream or milk

Glaze:
1 oz semisweet chocolate
1 T margarine

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat, set aside. In mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar until light, add flour, baking powder and melted chocolate. Pour into greased 9x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Cool. For filling, beat powdered sugar, peanut butter and butter in mixing bowl. Stir in cream or milk. Spread over cooled brownies. For the glaze, Melt remaining chocolate and butter in saucepan until smooth. Spread over peanut butter layer. Cover and cool.

Caribbean Chicken Chili

This was our Valentine's Day dinner. We love spicy food and it has been really cold here lately so it worked out well. This is from The Dinner Doctor Cookbook which has many really good and easy recipes.

1 medium sized sweet onion
1 T olive oil
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 tsp jerk seasoning
2 cans white beans, with their liquid (15.5 oz each, I used navy beans, but any white bean will do)
1 chicken flavored bouillon cube
Dash of hot pepper sauce, or more to taste
1 T heavy (whipping) cream, optional (I did not use and it tasted great)

Cut the onion in half lengthwise, then cut each half crosswise into thin half moon slices, you'll need about 1 cup. Saute the onions in a 4 quart saucepan over medium heat in the olive oil. Cook about 3 minutes, until soft. Add the chicken and jerk seasoning and cook, stirring, until the chicken is coated with the seasoning, 1 minute longer. Remove pan from heat and add the beans with their liquid, the bouillon cube and hot sauce. Fill one bean can with water and add. Stir. Place pan over high heat until liquid comes to a boil and the bouillon dissolves. Reduce heat and cover and simmer, 10 minutes. Add cream if desired, stir, cover and cook 2 minutes longer. Serve garnished with clives, cilantro and/or diced mango and red pepper if desired.

Oatmeal Waffles

I love the waffle maker that I got for Christmas. There are so many great waffle recipes and they're quick to make. This recipe I got from momadvice.com. She has a lot of really good and frugal recipes.

2 cups quick oats
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 T baking powder
1 beaten egg
1 T molasses
2 T corn or olive oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 cup sugar

Mix all ingredients together until there are no lumps. Pour into well greased waffle iron. Cook 4 minutes and enjoy!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Soy ginger chicken

Another fabulous meal thanks to my Rachel Ray casserole dish! This was really yummy! There is a version for the crock pot and one for the oven. I made it in the oven yesterday after work and it turned out great. It is a recipe from Martha Stewart, Everyday Foods that I've been wanting to try for a while and I'm glad I finally did.



1/3 cup soy sauce

2 T dark brown sugar

5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped plus sprigs for garnish

1 piece fresh ginger (about 2 inches long), peeled and cut into thin strips (I didn't have the fresh ginger so I used 1 tsp of ginger powder)

5 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal (1 cup packed)

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground pepper

4 chicken drumsticks and 4 thighs, skin removed

2 medium carrots, thinly sliced crosswise

1 T cornstarch

cooked white rice, for serving



In the slow cooker:

1. In a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker, stir together soy sauce, sugar, garlic, cilantro, ginger, 1/2 cup scallions, vinegar, coriander and pepper. Add chicken and carrots; toss to coat. Cover and cook on low until chicken is tender, about 6 hours. Using a large spoon, skim off and discard any fat from surface of cooking liquid.

2. In a 2 cup glass measuring cup, whisk cornstarch with 1 T water. Ladle 1 cup cooking liquid into measuring cup; whisk to combine. Pour into a small saucepan, and bring to a boil; cook until thickened, about 1 minute. With slow cooker turned off, stir in cornstarch mixture. Serve chicken with white rice and garnish with cilantro sprigs and remaining 1/2 cup scallions.

In the oven:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Follow step 1, using a 5 quart Dutch oven or heavy pot with a tight fitting lid instead of the slow cooker. Add 1 cup of water, and cover. Transfer to oven; cook until chicken is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Proceed to step two.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Cleaning the Bowl

I'm sure it doesn't come as a surprise, but I don't care for cleaning very much, let alone cleaning the toilets. I really don't like the commercial toilet bowl cleaners that are full of chemicals. One time some splashed out while I was cleaning the toilet and dissolved part of my bathroom mat.

I found in one of the many magazines I get, Good Housekeeping or Better Homes and Gardens, a recipe for toilet bowl cleaner that worked great.

I sprinkled about 1/4 cup of baking soda around the toilet bowl and then poured 1/4 cup of white vinegar around in the bowl. I took the scrubby brush around the bowl a few times and it worked great! I'm definitely going to keep using this recipe when cleaning the bowls-it's much safer and easier!

Cheddar Baked Potato Slices

This is also from the same cookbook. These are really yummy and I may actually make these tonight!

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
4 medium baking potatoes, cut into 1/4" slices, about 4 cups
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 400. In small bowl, combine soup, paprika, and pepper. In greased 2 quart oblong baking dish, arrange potatoes slices in overlapping rows. Sprinkle with cheese, spoon soup mixture over cheese. Cover with foil and bake 10 minutes. Lower temp to 350 and bake 35 minutes longer. Uncover, bake 10 more minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.

Three in One Dish

This is also from "Sparks from the Kitchen", the Florence Herman cookbook. I made this one night when I just needed something to use up some veggies I had in the fridge. It does take a while to cook so you have to plan ahead a little bit.

1 1/2 pounds ground beef, browned
1 small onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, diced
salt and pepper, to taste
2 potatoes, cut up
3 carrots, cut up
1 small can of peas, drained
1 can of tomato soup
1/2 soup can of water

Heat oven to 350. Brown meat and drain. Mix in the vegetables (leave peas for last). Put in casserole dish. Mix soup and water and pour over top. Bake 1 1/2 hours.

Mixed Pasta Salad

I made this for the Superbowl and since Ryan and his brothers don't really care for vegetables, there was enough left for lunch for me for a few days. It turned out really good and was really simple. I got this recipe from "Sparks from the Kitchen", the Florence Herman cookbook.

1 pkg pasta, any shape desired (I figured about 8 oz)
1/2 cup creamy or regular Italian dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Sugar to taste (I didn't need to add any)

Cook pasta according to package directions, rinse and toss with salad oil if desired. Mix Italian dressing, mayo and sugar together until well blended. Pour over pasta. Add your favorite vegetables, such as celery, onions, carrots, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower and ripe olives.

It was almost better the next couple days.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Wisconsin's Best Scalloped Potatoes (with or without ham)

This is a recipe from grandma which I've made a few times. It doesn't call for ham, but it's a good way to use up leftover ham if you like it.

1/4 c butter
1/4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp pepper
2 cup milk
4 medium potatoes sliced about 1/8 inch thick
2/3 cup coarsely chopped onions
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups or so of chopped ham, optional

Melt the butter in a 1 quart saucepan over medium low heat. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring 1 minute. Gradually add milk. Cook and stir until sauce is thickened, 3-4 minutes. Butter a shallow 2 quart baking dish. Cover the bottom with 1/4 c of sauce. Add layers of half each of potatoes, onions, remaining sauce and cheese (ham if using), repeat layers. Cover with foil and bake in 350 degree oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Remove foil and bake 5 minutes longer. These are very yummy and bake up nice and crunchy.

Fudge Brownies

These are the best homemade brownies ever! I actually got this recipe from Hillbilly Housewife. She has a lot of good, cheap, made from scratch recipes like this one.

1 c melted margarine or butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
4 medium eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour

Melt the margarine in a microwave safe bowl. Combine the margarine and sugar in a large bowl with a spoon or whisk. Add all four eggs, and beat the mixture until it is sort of fluffy and emulsified. Add the salt, cocoa, and vanilla. Stir it up really well. Add the flour. Stir again until the mixture is thick and chocolatey. Turn the batter into a well oiled 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool before serving. Cut into 32 small squares. Delish!