Cowboy Stew

Who doesn't think of beef stew as a comforting meal on a cold, crisp evening? I was really looking forward to coming home from a long day of work and sitting down to a steaming bowl of stew with a big hunk of french bread slathered in butter. To say I was disappointed was an understatement. One look at my face and the lack of chewing anything more than a couple of bites told my husband all he needed to know; his lunch for the next three days would be beef stew leftovers as he was the only one who was going to be eating it.

I'm not sure if it was because the beef was very sweet on account of the baked beans, or if the lack of carrots which are typically a part of my stew had me out of sorts. Or maybe it was the fact that my husband forgot that I can't stand big hunks of meat in my stew, or really anything for that matter, and didn't cut them small enough. The fact that you could make it in a crockpot was a plus, and if you enjoy your stew on the sweet side then I would suggest you try this recipe out. I think I'll be sticking with my traditional beef stew recipe for now. Enjoy!


Cowboy Stew
Source: What's For Dinner?

1 pound lean beef stew meat
4 potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 4" pieces
1/2 cup onion, chopped
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (28 oz.) can Bush's Vegetarian Baked Beans 

Mix beef, potatoes, onion, salt and pepper in a slow cooker. Spread beans over beef mixture. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or until beef is tender.

Makes 6 servings

Chicken Meatloaf

My original menu plan and recipe called for a turkey meatloaf. I thought, "Great, now I can use that ground turkey meat that has been in my freezer for months." Not until I pulled it out to thaw did I realize that it was actually ground chicken and not ground turkey. Oops.

I don't think the taste (what there was of it) was altered much. It wasn't a great recipe, in fact I will probably use a different meatloaf recipe I have for future meatloaf meals, but at least I branched out and tried something new. I guess that's all I have to say about it which is pretty sad in and of itself. Enjoy, should you decide to try it!

Chicken Meatloaf
1 pound ground chicken
1 egg
1/2 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pan with non-stick spray.

Combine all ingredients mixing by hand. Press into prepared loaf pan and cook for 45 minutes or until cooked through.

Orange Chicken Fajitas

Super easy recipe and pretty tasty too! There isn't a lot to this main dish as you can see in the ingredient list. It was pretty quick work to get the veggies and chicken chopped up and once they were cooked through and simmered for a few minutes in the juice it was time to dish up. Enjoy!

Orange Chicken Fajitas
2 yellow bell peppers
2 orange bell peppers
1 large white onion
1 1/2 to 2 pounds chicken breast tenders
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup orange juice

10-12 tortillas
shredded lettuce (optional)
sour cream (optional)
Mexican cheese (optional)

Wash and cut the peppers and onions into thin strips. Wash chicken tenders and cut them into strips.

Heat olive oil in a skillet and add chicken, peppers, and onions. Cook until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.

Add orange juice and let simmer for 5 minutes. Serve on flour or multigrain tortillas. Top with shredded lettuce, sour cream, and Mexican cheese if desired.


Makes 10-12 fajitas

Black Bean Pineapple Enchiladas

I'm not usually one to experiment with new recipes for foods that I've found that work for my family and we have a great chicken enchilada recipe already. However, I did come across this recipe in a book I was reading, the same as the pork chop recipe, so I was thinking that I would give it a try and see if it knocked my socks off like the pork chops.

While it didn't knock my socks of  it is a good enchilada recipe. The enchiladas are very filling and have a nice combination of textures and tastes with the chicken, black beans, and pineapple. I'm sure you could spice it up a bit more because it did seem like it was a little on the bland side. It was nice to get a large amount of enchiladas so that we could freeze some for lunches at a later date. Overall, I think we'll keep it in the books as one to use for variety but it in no way takes over as top dog for my other chicken enchilada recipe.Enjoy!

Note: I went ahead and used a rotisserie chicken, but you could just as easily bake or grill up some chicken breasts and shred them once they've cooled to the touch.


Black Bean Pineapple Enchiladas
1 red bell pepper
1/2 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 15 oz. can of black beans, drained
1 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple in pineapple juice
1 rotisserie chicken
1 cup Mexican shredded cheese
1 large can enchilada sauce
10 to 12 medium-size multigrain flour tortillas

Dice the red bell pepper and onion and saute in olive oil over medium heat or until tender. Add drained black beans and pineapple including juice into the skillet. Stir and heat.

Pull apart white meat chicken and shred. Add chicken to the skillet and cook until hot.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9x13 glass or casserole dishes. (I used a 9x13 and a 9x9.)

Lay one tortilla in the dish and scoop approximately 1/2 cup filling into tortilla, place filling in the center from end to end. Roll up tortilla, completely enclosing the filling. Place seam side down in dish. Stuff and roll the rest of the tortillas the same way until the dish is full. Pour the enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle cheese on top.

Bake for 15 minutes or until bubbly hot.

Makes 10 to 12 enchiladas

Slow Cooker BBQ Pork Sandwiches

Oh, how I love a pulled pork sandwich! I don't know what it is about shredded pork slathered in barbecue sauce nestled in a chewy roll, but I fall for it every time. My husband can attest to the fact that I am not a big fan of hunks of meat especially on a sandwich, so I think that the fact that these are thinly shredded pieces that are perfectly bite-sized adds to the allure.

Before this meal I had never attempted to make these at home. They were saved for the few times we ventured out to a great barbecue restaurant where I would ponder over and worry about whether their idea of a pulled pork sandwich was the same as mine. Some were and some weren't. Well now I don't have to have all that anxiety added to my life. I can make them at home as often as I want and know that I am getting exactly what I want!

These are so easy to make. Put the meat and sauce in the crockpot and go about the rest of your day. Pull it out about dinner time to shred and re-coat with barbecue sauce and you are set. Just thinking about it while
typing this up is making me hungry for one. Enjoy!


Slow Cooker BBQ Pork Sandwiches
Source: Adapted from Kraft 

2 pound boneless pork shoulder

3 onions, sliced, separated into rings

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

8 kaiser rolls, split
thinly sliced cheddar cheese, optional

 
Place meat in slow cooker; top with onions and barbecue sauce. Cover with lid. Cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours (or on HIGH 4 to 5 hours).
 
Remove meat from slow cooker; cut off and discard excess fat. Chop meat into small pieces or shred with fork. Return to slow cooker; stir until evenly coated with sauce.
 
Fill rolls with meat mixture just before serving. If desired, add a thin slice of cheese before covering meat with top bun. 

Makes 8 servings

Grain-Mustard Pork Chops

I am not a big fan of pork chops. In fact, both my mom and my husband were surprised to hear that pork chops were on the menu at my house. I don't know if it was a bad experience with a dry, shake and bake pork chop or what, but I have steered clear of them for years. Don't get me wrong, I will eat pork. Every now and then we have ham, pork bacon (although now it is usually turkey bacon), and pork loin, but I can probably count it on two hands how often we eat pork throughout the year.

I believe these pork chops may have changed all that. I came across this recipe in a book that I was reading and thought it sounded easy and fairly tasty. I was still a little nervous when I pulled the pork chops out of their package to marinade, just the thought of it being pork chop made me rethink my dinner plans. I held steady though, finished mixing the rub, and got the pork chops marinading in the fridge for the day.

The grilled pork chops looked beautiful. The leftover rub smelled delicious. We were so hungry that we dished up and dug in. Even me. I was about halfway through my pork chop when I realized that I had not taken a picture. Thank goodness there was a piece left from the kids' pork chop. The slices in the photo were the only part left of mine.

This was definitely a tasty dish! I enjoyed the flavor and moistness of the pork chop, and it was definitely enhanced by dipping it in the leftover rub. Enjoy!


Grain-Mustard Pork Chops

1/2 cup grain Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons herb garden seasoning
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
1 pound thick cut boneless pork loin chops

In a small bowl, combine the mustard, herb garden seasoning, garlic, honey, and chopped parsley. Reserve 1/4 cup of the rub for serving.

Transfer mustard mixture to a resealable plastic bag. Add the pork chops and thoroughly coat with the mustard mixture.Let the pork chops sit for at least 5 minutes or as long as overnight, in the refrigerator, before grilling.

Heat grill to medium heat. Grill the chops for 6 to 7 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving platter and serve sprinkled with the reserved rub.

Makes 4 servings

Chicken Caesar Wraps

A short and sweet write up. Great wraps! Yummy salad! Either way you eat it, it tastes great!


Chicken Caesar Wraps
Source: Taste of Home

3/4 cup fat-free creamy Caesar salad dressing 
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 
1/4 teaspoon pepper 
3 cups cubed cooked chicken breast 
2 cups torn romaine 
3/4 cup Caesar salad croutons, coarsely chopped 
6 whole wheat tortillas (8 inches)

In a large bowl, combine the dressing, cheese, garlic powder and pepper. Add the chicken, romaine and croutons. Spoon 2/3 cup chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla; roll up. 

Yields: 6 servings.

Pepperoni Bread

I saw this recipe and thought since it looked so easy it might be a nice, quick dinner. I guess quick is a relative term, especially since it takes about 5 hours or so to thaw the frozen bread dough. Once the dough was thawed it was relatively simple to put together. Just three easy ingredients: frozen bread dough, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese.

I have to admit though, I was a bit disappointed. After having made stromboli a few months ago this was a bit boring in comparison. Easier, but not quite the variety. I think next time I would add some marinara and some other toppings with the pepperoni.

Pepperoni Bread
Source: Brown Eyed Baker

1 loaf frozen bread dough
Sliced pepperoni
Shredded mozzarella cheese

Thaw the frozen bread dough and allow to rise.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut the dough in half and roll out two rectangles. Layer the pepperoni on the dough, and then cover with mozzarella cheese. Roll up lengthwise and seal the ends and seam and place seam-side down on the baking sheet.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and the cheese is bubbling.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

 
Macaroni and cheese . . . who doesn't love stringy, melted, ooey, gooey cheese? How about stringy, melted cheese with some crunchy bread crumbs sprinkled on top? This is the second baked macaroni and cheese recipe I've made and I think I like it better than the first. I decided to use fairly mild cheeses this time (I think the pepper jack in the last one threw our son for a loop) and I loved the bread crumb topping that coated the entire dish. Of course, our son still barely touched this until the next day when it was heated up as leftovers. I have to agree with him though, macaroni and cheese just may be better the next day rather than the first. Enjoy!


Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Source: Brown Eyed Baker

8 oz. elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 cups milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup swiss cheese, divided
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs


Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and salt and stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in dry mustard. Add milk gradually, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in 1/4 cup of the cheddar, 1/4 cup of the mozzarella, and 1/4 cup of the swiss. Mix cheese sauce and macaroni in a large bowl. Spoon into a 9 x 7 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar, mozzarella and swiss.

Melt remaining butter in saucepan over medium heat. Combine bread crumbs and melted butter in a small bowl and mix well. Sprinkle on top of the cheese. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Stromboli

I've had stromboli on my top 100 list for a while but for some reason I haven't even thought about making it. I think that when I think about baking I usually think about sweets and sweet breads, because I suddenly realized that even though I am fasting from sugar (or was when I made this) I can still bake and I can still bake things on my top 100 list.

This was a fantastic dish! It took a bit more work that homemade pizza but not much more, and it tasted delicious. We had it for dinner that night, and then as leftovers for the next two days. I thought the leftovers tasted even better than the first meal (I reheated in the oven for about 12 minutes). Enjoy!

Making the pizza dough by hand was a bit sticky . . .

Sauteing the veggies and adding in the sausage . . .

Punching down the dough and getting it divided and rolled out . . .

 

Filling and rolling the dough . . .

The almost finished and finished product . . . 

(You can see that practice does make perfect! For the first stromboli, I put the somewhat warm sausage mixture right on the dough which proceeded to heat up the dough causing it to thin and stick to the counter. For the second stromboli, I put the ham, pepperoni, and olives first creating a barrier.)

 

Stromboli

Source: Adapted from Food Network

Basic Pizza Dough, recipe follows

1/2 pound Italian sausage

1 cup sliced yellow onions

1/2 cup thinly sliced red bell peppers

1/2 cup thinly sliced green bell peppers

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 pound sliced ham

1/4 pound thinly sliced pepperoni

1/2 cup sliced black olives

2 cups shredded provolone

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water to make an egg wash

1 cup finely grated parmesan

Make the pizza dough first, as it has to rise for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until browned and the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. (If fatty, remove sausage with a slotted spoon and drain well on paper towels. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan.) If there is no sausage fat, add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet. Add onions and bell peppers, and cook, stirring, until very soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet and set aside.

Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the dough to a large rectangle, about 9x13 inches. Leaving a 1-inch border, layer half of the ham and half of the pepperoni, overlapping slightly. Add half of the olives, half of the sausage mixture, and half of the provolone and mozzarella cheeses over the top. Using a pastry brush, paint the border of 1 long edge with egg wash. Starting at the opposite long end without egg wash, roll up the dough into a cylinder, pinching the edges to seal. Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining ingredients. Let the dough rise, 20-30 minutes. 

Brush the top of each stromboli with egg wash. Bake until nearly completely golden brown and starting to crisp, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle each stromboli with parmesan cheese and return to the oven until the cheese is melted and the dough is golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes. Slice thickly and serve.

Basic Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water

1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, sugar, and 1 tablespoon oil and stir to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.

Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing by hand until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue adding the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until all the flour is incorporated but the dough is still slightly sticky. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes.

Oil a large mixing bowl with the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Prime Rib Roast with Herb Rub accompanied by Au Jus

Christmas dinner for us is usually either ham or prime rib and this is the second year in a row that I have decided it would be prime rib. Some of that decision comes from the fact that we purchase a quarter of a cow in November and we usually can't get through all of the roasts and steaks in a one year time frame unless we purposefully plan when to eat them. And since it is already in our freezer it would be an unnecessary expense to go out and buy a ham. It's also nice to eat something a bit more formal since we've just eaten turkey about a month prior for our Thanksgiving dinner.

For this prime rib I used the same herb rub that I posted earlier for a cross rib roast and it got rave reviews from my family. With the herb rub you didn't even need au jus and horseradish because it was delicious all on its own merit. However, I did make an accompaniment of au jus since sometimes it is nice to have something to dip your meat into for extra flavor and because I didn't realize just how tasty it would be with the herb rub. I would have to say that I liked the prime rib best on its own for Christmas dinner, but I liked the au jus sauce for the leftovers. The au jus recipe is posted below.

For the herb rub recipe, click here. You can cook it the same as the cross rib roast, or at 325 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes per pound. Check temperature to your liking using a meat thermometer.

Au Jus (click here for original recipe)
2 cups water
1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

In a large saucepan, combine the water, bouillon, pepper, garlic salt, and pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 15 - 20 minutes.

Side Note: You may need to play around with the pepper a bit to get it to your family's tastes.

Orange Cashew Chicken

Orange cashew chicken, mmmmmm! As I've mentioned before, it is hard to get a decent picture of hot foods so even though this photo might not be the greatest this really is a yummy dish. This is one of the meals on our menu that my husband requests over and over again. We typically end up wanting more than one serving, and even if you can hold yourself back from taking seconds I guarantee that you will eat a spoonful here or there out of the pan before it gets put in the fridge as leftovers. It really is delicious and filling. Enjoy!

Orange Cashew Chicken
Makes 4 servings

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium carrots, sliced
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce (or Bragg Liquid Aminos)
1/4 to 1/2 cup cashews
Hot cooked rice

**You will most likely need to get your rice going before you start on the cashew chicken. The cashew chicken takes about 15-20 minutes to make.**

In a large skillet or wok, stir fry carrots and celery in oil for about 4 minutes. Add chicken, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until juices run clear. Reduce heat.

In a bowl, combine the cornstarch, ginger, orange juice, honey and soy sauce until blended. Stir into chicken mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cashews. Serve over rice.

Filled Cresent Rolls

Have I ever mentioned that my son is preschool age? Along with that, have I ever mentioned that I am a teacher? No. Well, preschool age son and a mother who is a teacher add up to schooling happening at home (at least for now). And as preschool lessons can be a bit hands-on, sometimes our food choices go along with what he is doing for preschool. Enter exhibit A, pizza filled crescent rolls.

How many of you have crescent shaped objects in your home? Not many, I bet. When I saw that this was our shape for the week (and we usually go on a scavenger hunt to find items in our shape of the week), I started wracking my brain to come up with something. I thought about croissants because I think they are on my top 100 list, but I figured that they were more time consuming than I wanted and my almost 4 year old would most likely not appreciate all the effort they required. Crescent rolls were the next best thing.

I wanted to make it fun and I figured he wouldn't likely eat a ham and cheese filled roll, so we went with a pizza filling. Pizza sauce, pepperoni, and cheese. Yes, I know, it's not original but it does suit what a preschooler would find exciting.

Along with a savory roll we also made our dessert out of crescent rolls.  I know the photo below is not super appetizing (I know what comes to mind when I look at the picture but I'll refrain from mentioning it on here), but it did actually taste pretty good. We cut up pieces of a snickers bar and then placed a few inside the crescent roll. They then melt into ooey, gooey yumminess while the roll is baking. I know this post is definitely not showcasing gourmet, as most of mine are not, but it was definitely a hit for the preschooler in our house and that was the intended audience! Enjoy! 

Macaroni and Cheese

When my son is asked what he would like for a "fun" dinner during our meal planning I can usually count on my one hand the choices that he will pick from. If he had free reign over his meals they would consist of chicken nuggets, hamburgers, pancakes, hot dogs, or macaroni and cheese. I guess that's why God created parents.

We don't often have macaroni and cheese because we still don't do a lot of dairy in his diet, but since we are nearing his birthday (and we usually try a bit of dairy around then) I decided to add it to our menu. I am not a huge fan of the box type mac and cheese, so I decided to go all out and use a recipe from my copy of The P.ioneer Woman Cooks, a recipe that is about as far from the box stuff as you can get.

You can either use all cheddar cheese in this dish, or you can mix and match any cheese you want. I decided to do a 1/2 pound of cheddar, a 1/4 pound of monterey jack, and a 1/4 pound of pepper jack. I swear, that 1/4 pound of pepper jack should not have as big of an influence on those 8 servings of pasta, but holy cow, it did! Not only that, but it resulted in my son not eating more than one bite before stating that he didn't like the black stuff (ground pepper) in his dinner. It was really the pepper jack cheese but I wasn't about to admit that to him. On a happier note, he ate the leftovers the next day no problem, and I was amazed at how much more tame the pepper jack cheese was the second time around.

I believe you can find the recipe on her website, but mine came from her cookbook. Enjoy!

Macaroni and Cheese
Source: The Pioneer Woman

4 cups dry macaroni
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 heaping teaspoons dry mustard
1 pound cheddar or other desired cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Cook the macaroni until very firm. The macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain. (If you're in a hurry and don't want to bake the macaroni and cheese, cook it until it's done.) 

In a small bowl, beat the egg.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a large baking dish. (I used a 9-inch square pan.)

In a large pot, melt the butter and sprinkle in the flour. Whisk it together over medium-low heat. Cook for 5 minutes, constantly whisking. Don't let it burn.

Pour in the milk. Add the mustard and whisk until smooth. Cook for 5 minutes or until very thick, whisking constantly. (We had to cook it for much longer than 5 minutes and finally turned the heat up to medium-high or high, whisking constantly, in order to get it to thicken.) Reduce the heat to low.

Slowly pour 1/4 cup of the sauce into the beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the egg. Whisk until smooth. Pour the egg mixture back into the sauce, continuing to whisk. Add in all but 1/2 cup of the cheese and stir until melted. Add the seasonings. Taste the sauce and add more seasonings as nbeeded.

Pour in the cooked, drained macaroni and stir to combine. Pour into the baking dish and top with remaining cheese. (If you fully cooked the macaroni in the first step, then serve immediately.)

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.

Chicken Kabobs

 
Although it is still officially summer where we live that season has pretty much ended for us. The weather has turned cooler, grayer, cloudier, and wetter and it makes you want to curl up with a good book most of those days. And while many of my cooking/baking experiences lately have been breads and muffins using up the zucchini from our garden (those posts will be coming soon), I thought I'd share a close-out meal of summer. I guess I really shouldn't say close-out meal because even when it is freezing, blowing, raining, and possibly snowing, we still use our gas grill. One of the best purchases ever made where cooking is concerned!

We did a pretty simple chicken kabob to use up some of the veggies and fruits we had sitting in our fridge. My husband was in charge of skewering the items so we ended up with a great assortment. As you can see from the kabobs on top, some have all tomatoes, all pineapple, or all chicken, and then others further down in the stack are an assortment of items on a skewer. It really is a simple and easy meal, the longest part is preparing your items to be skewered (can you tell I like that word!). Enjoy!

Chicken Kabobs
boneless skinless chicken breasts, marinated with your favorite marinade or sauce
pineapple
tomato
onion
squash
pepper

Cross Rib Roast with Herb Rub

Do you know how hard it is to get an appetizing picture of a main dish? I know my family is not too keen on sitting around waiting for me to get a great shot for my blog while their dinner is rapidly cooling on the counter. Hence, for most of my main dish photos you will see a photo of the item on the plate it is being served on, as a part of the entire dinner, or possibly separated just before it goes in the freezer. And that being said, it may not look like a photo for a food magazine, but last I checked I wasn't working for one of those anyway.

This recipe really was a scrumptious way to prepare a fairly low budget cut of meat. For a long time I wasn't sure the best way to prepare a cross-rib roast, and we aren't big roast eaters, so it had been sitting in my freezer for many months until I finally broke down and searched and found this recipe. Delicious! Enjoy!

Cross Rib Roast with Herb Rub

Source: Food.com

2 pounds cross-rib roast

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush roast with balsamic vinegar. Make a paste with the remaining ingredients and apply to meat. 

Roast meat at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for 40 to 60 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 125 degrees. 

Remove from oven; cover loosely with foil and let stand 15 to 25 minutes.

Chicken Enchiladas

If you ever have a baby, a family illness, or some other need for a meal to be delivered to you this is most likely what I will holding while standing on your doorstep. These chicken enchiladas are mild tasting, delicious, very filling, and they freeze great. Enjoy!

Chicken Enchiladas

Makes about 8-10 enchiladas (depending on how full you fill them)

10 ounces cooked chicken (can do fresh or canned)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can diced green chiles

1 can green chile enchilada sauce

1 container sour cream

8-10 medium tortillas 

cheddar or jack cheese, shredded (enough for sprinkling over the top)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Mix chicken, cream of chicken soup, green chiles, and about half of the can of enchilada sauce in a bowl until combined. Pour about a 1/4 of the remaining enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. 

Spread a spoonful of sour cream over tortilla. Place small amount of chicken mixture on one end of tortilla. Roll it up and place it seam side down in pan. (I usually do this a an assembly line with all 8-10 tortillas laid out on the counter so that I can evenly distribute the chicken mixture.)

When all enchiladas are in the pan, pour the rest of enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkle generously with shredded cheese. Bake for about 20-30 minutes. 

If planning to freeze, cool completely, then wrap 2 at a time in aluminum foil.

Lasagna

Who can resist a great lasagna recipe? B.etty Crock.er has gotten me through many a year with this standby lasagna recipe. I typcially make a few changes to the original recipe (like more cheese than they call for) but for the most part it is straight out of the cookbook. By they way, Italian sausage and ricotta cheese make a big difference in the overall taste of the dish so make sure you use those ingredients instead of a beef/pork sausage and cottage cheese substitute. Enjoy!

Italian Sausage Lasagna
Makes 8 servings

1 pound Italian sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 can (16 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
12 uncooked lasagna noodles (I usually boil a few extra in case of rips)
1 carton (16 ounces) ricotta cheese
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Cook sausage, onion and garlic in skillet, stirring occasionally, until sausage is brown; drain. Stir in 2 tablespoons parsley, the sugar, basil, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 45 minutes or until slightly thickened. (I usually never let it simmer that long.)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook noodles as directed on package; drain. Mix ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon parsley and the oregano.

Lay four noodles on the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Spread with half of the meat sauce. Spread with half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Sprinkle about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese over the top. Layer with four more noodles, the other half of the meat sauce, the other half of the ricotta cheese mixture, and another 1 to 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese. Layer with the last four noodles, the remaining mozzarella cheese and the 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes. Check and cover with foil if darkening too much. Bake for another 15 minutes. Let stand about 15 minutes before cutting.

Daring Bakers - Traditional British Pudding

The April 2010 Daring Bakers� challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

The challenge this month was to make a traditional British pudding using suet as one of the ingredients. From the beginning I was nervous because I had never made, nor even seen a British pudding, and I had no idea what suet was. For those of you that are thinking the same thing here is a brief description of both.

Not being British it took me a bit to wrap my head around the fact that they use the word "pudding" to mean many different things. "Pudding" can be a black pudding and white pudding, a sort of meat and grain sausage. It is also used as a generic word for dessert. It also can be any dish cooked in a pudding bowl or pudding cloth, normally steamed or boiled but sometimes baked. And finally, as an endearment (for example, "How are you today my pudding?"). For this challenge the third meaning, a dish cooked in a pudding bowl or cloth, applies.

Now, on to suet. Suet is the hard but flaky fat found on the inside of a cow or sheep around the kidneys and that area of the body. Suet in its raw form crumbles easily into small chunks. It also melts at quite a low temperature, which has an effect on how it works in cooking. Suet can be rendered, which is basically melting it and then straining out any larger pieces, or it can be used in its raw form. So basically we would be making our own shortening.

For this challenge we were given the option of making a savory or a sweet pudding, and total control over the ingredients even to the point of substituting butter or margarine for suet. The method of cooking was the main component of this challenge and we were given the option to steam or boil the pudding. As I started pouring over recipes I realized that there were a lot of options. I also knew that I wanted to make a savory and a sweet. When I came across this video showing how to make Spotted Dick, a traditional British pudding, I knew I had to try it. It is basically a sweet spongecake with golden raisins shaped in the form of a log.

I did use butter in this version because the suet was still frozen from the butcher. The dough was a bit stickier than I thought it would be once it was all mixed together but I was able to get it rolled up decently in the waxed paper. I ended up making two loaves instead of one because of the size of my steamer. You can see that as they steam the loaves swell larger, so they did end up touching each other in the pan but it did not seem to affect their final product. The paper stuck to the spongecake a bit but it maintained its overall structure in spite of it. I made a vanilla custard to go along with it and added some fresh strawberries. My husband and I both thought that the Spotted Dick actually tasted better without the custard but that might be because we are not used to eating custard.

My second British pudding I decided to do a savory pudding with a suet crust. I poured over more recipes and there were a lot, let me repeat a lot, of recipes for steak and kidney pudding. While I know this probably would have been the most traditional I could have gone for I just could not bring myself to buy, cook, and eat kidney. So when I saw this video showing how to make a steak and mushroom pudding I opted for that instead. I did not render the suet, instead I just crumbled it onto the scale to make sure I had the correct amount. There was not much of a smell and it was basically white crumbs, but after crumbling it a bit I did start to get grossed out by the sound it made tearing off the little strips of connective tissue. I could tell it was similar to shortening even at that point when I went to wash my hands and it took hot water and soap to get the greasy feel washed away.

It was very easy to make and tasted delicious, almost like a meat filled pie, but I don't think I'll be making it again, at least not a savory pudding. The savory puddings with a suet crust have to be steamed for about 5 hours and I have learned that 5 hours of steaming is not good for my pocketbook nor my house. Why you ask? First off, my gas stove has got be cranked to about medium high to keep the water boiling which creates the steam, and having the burner on medium high for 5 hours straight uses way more gas than I would ever use to cook a meal. Secondly, I didn't realize that it would put so much condensation into the air that my 110 year old wood framed single pane windows would have water running down the glass and pooling up on the wood frames below. By the way, that process alone created quite the smell. The kitchen smelled great but you would walk out into the living room, dining room, and even our bedroom which is the farthest room away and wonder what the smell was. I realized after my second trip in that it was the wood on my windows releasing an unpleasant odor that only 110 years of being in existence could create. I could have used my slow cooker but there was no way that it would get water up to the boiling point and keep it boiling for the length of time needed to cook the pudding. So while my husband and I enjoyed the final product, we did not enjoy the cooking method as much.

My final pudding was decided on after I saw so many people post the yummiest looking photos of chocolate pudding. I had decided to steer away from chocolate since I do many other desserts with chocolate, but it called my name and since it was relatively easy to do I did it at the same time that the savory pudding was cooking. I'm sure having two steaming pots going, one for 5 hours and the other for about 1 hour, didn't help the dew point being reached in our house. I think that of the three this is the pudding that I would make again. Go figure, it was chocolate. It only took about 45 minutes to steam and it was like an individual serving of chocolate cake. A scoop of ice cream would have gone nicely but I only had a tall glass of cold milk to accompany it. 

  

This post is already long as it is so I am just going to post the links where I got the recipes instead of actually typing out the entire recipe. Enjoy!

Recipe and Video for Spotted Dick
Recipe and Video for Steak and Mushroom Pudding
Recipe for Very Chocolate Pudding (I made only half of the recipe that is posted and it made two 8 oz. ramekin sized cakes)