Thursday, April 4, 2013

Sliders

We've been sick all week. Well, three of us at different intervals all entwined  I wanted something yummy that did not consist of soup and crackers. Here we go.....

1 lb Ground Beef
2 t Steak Seasoning (McCormick, yum)
1 T W-Sauce
1 t Onion Powder
Slices of cheese
1 Pkg Pillsbury layered rolls
Celery Stalks
Peanut Butter
Craisins
Fruit
--ketchup, mustard, pickles, etc...toppings for burgers


Pre-heat your oven to 400 deg. Bake rolls according to package directions.

In a medium bowl combine first four ingredients. Roll meat into little balls that fit in the palm of your hand; flatten and press down in the middle. I made 9 little burgers. Heat a skillet on medium heat. Add 1 T oil. Once pan is hot add burgers. Cook about 5 min, then flip and cook for another 5 or until they're done to the temperature you like ~ about 160 deg F. Once they're about done quarter your cheese slices and lay a piece on each burger. Let the cheese melt, remove burger from heat; set on a plate.

Rinse and cut celery in halves or thirds. Fill the inside of celery with peanut butter. Top with craisins.

Prepare fruit.

Open the layered rolls wherever you want. Place your burger on the bottom. Add your toppings. Cover with the top of the roll. The rolls are buttered and the kids devoured them quicker than a regular burger!

Monday, March 11, 2013

Turkey Mac & Cheese

I don't know if this recipe has enough cheese! It's delicious and SO creamy....

8 oz noodles of your choice. Jacob chose this, but I also had mini shells on hand.
4 T butter
1/4 C flour
2 C milk
1 bay leaf
Dash of ground Nutmeg
2 1/2 C Cheddar Cheese (white, yellow, whichever), shredded
2 C Gruyere or Gouda Cheese, shredded
12 oz turkey sausage, stuffed with cheese (you can use any type of sausage or even kielbasa, I bought fully cooked meat), sliced
1 C crushed pretzels (Here, I would use bread crumbs instead, maybe not 1 full cup on crumbs. The pretzels came out soft)

Cook noodles according to package directions for al dente. While your water is coming to a boil, shred cheese. In a sauce pan melt butter over Med heat. Add flour and whisk 2 minutes. Add milk, bay leaf, and nutmeg. Whisk occasionally until thickened, about 5-8 minutes. (Drain noodles when they're done.) Add 2 C of cheddar cheese, and 2 C Gouda cheese to milk. Mix well. Add sausage and noodles, mix well. *Add up to 1 C of warm water to make the cheese less viscous. (you can use the water the noodles were cooked in here)* Spread mixture into a greased baking dish, at least 2 qt. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 C cheddar cheese and top with pretzels or bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes to heat through.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

A Yummy Fall Dinner

A little inspiration from everywhere, including my dad. Thanks Dad! This recipe has flavorful rice, moist chicken, savory apples and delicious veggies. I'm eating leftovers today,which is all thrown together and it tastes great that way too!

Chicken  - I eyeballed measurements, so I hope it's close!
4 Chicken Thighs
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp water
1/2 C bread crumbs
1/4 C fresh Parmesan cheese
1 T paprika
1 t garlic salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 deg. Spray cookie sheet with Pam. Pre-heat skillet with oil over medium heat. Pat chicken dry. In one bowl mix egg and water. In another bowl mix bread crumbs, cheese, paprika, salt. Dip chicken, one at a time, in egg then in bread mixture. Coating well. Brown in skillet. The chicken will not be cooked through. We want to seal the chicken in the crusty bread. Transfer chicken to cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes.

Rice -change amount of rice as needed
2 C water
1 C rice
1 T chicken bouillon

Bring water to a boil in a pot that has a cover. Add bouillon and rice. Bring temperature to Low and cover. Let sit on Low heat for 20 minutes.

Apples
4 medium apples (we used a red apple good for baking)
1/4 C brown sugar (more or less to taste)
2 t Ground Cinnamon (more or less to taste)

Pre-heat oven to 350 deg. Core and slice apples. We did not peel them, but you can if you or your kids don't like the skin. Place apple slices, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Toss to coat. Place apples on baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes. Serve warm. ** this also fills your house with a wonderful smell! You may want to do more apples late in the afternoon and get this done first, prior to the chicken so you can snack while you cook.....Yes, I'm that bad**

Vegetables
I cheated. Grab a bag or two of steam in the microwave veggies. Pour cooked veggies in a bowl, serve.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Chicken Souvlaki

I love a good gyro or souvlaki, however most of the dishes I found to try over the years just weren't up to par. This one is pretty good. Not an exact match to my beloved tzatziki sauce, but pretty darn good. Hey, I woofed it down!

Serves 4

For the chicken souvlaki:
2 T olive oil
1 T lemon juice
1 1/2 t minced garlic
1 1/2 t fresh oregano
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t coarse salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
4 pita bread
lettuce leaves
tomato slices
onion slices

Whisk together first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Add chicken thighs. Toss to coat and let marinade for at least 30 minutes (I let it sit for an hour, turning once). Pre-heat broiler to high. Place chicken on a baking sheet and broil for 4 minutes. Flip chicken over and broil for an additional 4 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, about 180 deg F. Cut chicken into bite-sized chunks.

You can either stuff your pita or fold it like a taco. Fill the bread with lettuce, tomato, onion and chicken. Top with tzatziki sauce to taste.

For the Tzatziki Sauce:
1 C Greek Yogurt (full fat is fine)
1/4 C diced seedless, peeled cucumber (about half a cucumber)
1 T minced garlic
1/2 t olive oil
1 t lemon juice
1/4 t coarse salt
pinch black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Stir to combine.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Kielbasa Bundles

Hello foodie friends. Yes, it has been a while. Here is something I made for lunch today with the family. It was fun having the kids help out when they could.

1/2 lb fully cooked kielbasa or Polish Sausage, chopped (I used Polska Kielbasa, 14 oz)
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 C green pepper, chopped (I used 1/4 green pepper, little over 1/4 C)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T butter
1/3 C barbecue sauce (I had Hickory Smoked on hand)
2 tubes (8 oz each) refrigerated crescent rolls
4 slices American cheese slices, halved
1 egg white
1 T water
Sesame Seeds

Pre-heat oven to 350 Deg.

In a large skillet (try deep dish), cook sausage for 5 minutes over medium heat. Drain any fat. Add onion, green pepper, garlic, and butter. Cook until vegetables are tender, about another 5 minutes. Stir in barbecue sauce and heat through.

While the vegetables are cooking; unroll crescent dough and separate into four rectangles; seal perforations. Place a cheese slice on half of each rectangle; top with 2 T sausage mixture. Fold dough over filling and pinch sides. Tuck any remaining dough underneath. Beat egg white and water together in a small bowl; brush over dough. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 8 bundles.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Julie & Julia

Last night I had the pleasure of watching the movie Julie and Julia with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. Growing up I liked Meryl Streep but I fell in love with her in the Devil Wears Prada. I find it ironic that I see myself as Andy in the Devil Wears Prada. I also see myself as Julie and just laugh. I find myself as a mix of these two. Here I am, a wife and mom wanting to further my knowledge in the cooking field. I don't mind cooking a meal twice - there are favorites, but I am always wanting to try a new recipe. On the flip side, cooking calms the nerves and I feel a sense of accomplishment and love when I prepare a "Sunday Dinner" for friends and family. Call it a love language. And here, I have a blog. If one (or any) of the Food Network Stars ever told me that my blog was terrible I would be heart broken like Julie in the movie. Then I would get over it and move on. It's my blog. =)

There's nothing more pleasing than going shopping for a specific dinner. Strolling down the isle of the market, picking out the freshest red meat, herbs with aroma that takes you places for a moment in time, the softness of a ripe peach that reminds you of warm mornings in bed.....I should go to cooking school..... Funny....someone with the mind set and previous track of an engineer going to cooking school....

Bon Appetit!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Banquet Dinner

Yes, I love to cook. Yes, I love to try new things. Yes, I want a quick dinner every once in a while that I just don't have to think about.

Dave and I were grocery shopping a couple weeks ago. We saw a dinner in a box deal by Banquet (yes, those instant lunch/dinner deals - but not in the frozen section). Ham and hashbrowns in cheese. Sounds yummy. I didn't think it was that bad. My kids - and it's been over 2 years.....I should know better.... didn't like it. I've cooked my kids meals for them ever since they started solids. They do NOT like any kind of instant dinner/lunch. I can't even get them to eat Chef Boyarde.......