Here's where you'll find some of my favorite recipes. Some from cookbooks, some from the internet, some from friends, and some of my own creations. If you ever try any of them out, please be sure to let me know how it worked out for you!
Here's the first one. It's an insanely good breakfast casserole. Originally from allrecipes.com, I made some of my own changes to suit my family. We're VERY happy with it!
Ham, Cheese and (whatever else I have on hand) Hash Brown Casserole
Ingredients:
- 1 (32 oz) package of frozen hash brown potatoes
- 8 oz cooked ham, diced
- 2 (10.75 oz) cans cream of potato soup
- 1 (16 oz) container of sour cream
- 2 C shredded cheddar cheese
- 1.5 C grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. lightly grease a 9" x 13" baking dish.
- In a large bowl, mix hash browns, ham, soup, sour cream and cheddar cheese. Spread evenly into dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
- Bake 1 hour, or until bubbly and lightly brown.
However, it's Saturday morning, and when hubby wakes up, he and Munchkin will make pancakes. I, personally hate pancakes, but she loves them, and she loves her daddy. They can have fun with that.
Sunday, January 20....
I'm sick. Complete with fever and all. But, the family still has to eat. So this evening, I threw some stuff in the skillet (inspiration from allrecipes.com), added some elbow macaroni and said, "Here ya' go!"
Thankfully, the goulash-stuff turned out really good. I can actually taste it through my stuffiness. Here's the recipe.
Not Hungarian Goulash
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cups water
1 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1.5 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons dried Italian herb seasoning
1 bay leaf
seasoned salt to taste
1.5 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
garlic powder
onion powder
1. In a large Dutch oven, cook and stir the ground beef over medium-high heat, breaking the meat up as it cooks, until the meat is no longer pink and has started to brown, about 10 minutes. Skim off excess fat, and stir in the onions and garlic. Cook and stir the meat mixture until the onions are translucent, about 10 more minutes.
2. Stir in water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, and seasoned salt, and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in the macaroni, cover, and simmer over low heat until the pasta is tender, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, discard bay leaf, and serve.
Very generously serves 4, and this is a half recipe.
We will officially call this one the American Beefy Noodle Stuff, as opposed to the Asian Beefy Noodle Stuff that is tasty, too. While I'm at it, here's that recipe:
Asian Beefy Noodle Stuff
1 lb ground beef
1 can of diced tomatoes (I use petite diced)
1 can of mixed vegetables
1 package of ramen noodles (discard flavor packet)
1 onion, chopped
garlic, minced
salt and pepper
Season ground beef with salt and pepper. Put meat, onion and garlic in a large skillet and cook until all pink is gone and drain. Pour in the tomatoes and veggies (don't drain them, you need that liquid to cook the noodles). Next, put the noodles down in the liquid. Try to get them all covered. Bring mixture to a boil, cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to break the noodles up.
Serve it up! It ain't pretty, but it's good, fast and cheap! I always have the stuff for it on hand, but if you don't, it's easy to just use what you have. This feeds the three of us for a couple of days (breakfast and lunch for Munchkin and me, dinner/late night snack for hubby) after the initial meal.
3 Packet Pot Roast
Just do it. Pull out the slow cooker, put this stuff in, and just enjoy the goodness that is 3 Packet Pot Roast. I found it on Pinterest (a little obsession of mine, come and follow me! http://pinterest.com/aggiegurl/ ). Did a little tweaking, and made it even better.
3 lbs of Chuck roast (I like to use chuck roast because it has a good fat content)
1 packet of Italian dressing mix
1 packet of Ranch dressing mix
1 packet of brown gravy mix, or onion soup mix
1 cup water or red wine
some veggies and/or potatoes to toss in (carrots, onions, celery...whatever you'd like)
Season meat and brown in a skillet, if you'd like. You really don't need to salt it, the convenience products will take care of that.
Then, throw it in the slow cooker, veggies and all, on low for about 8 hours...more if you'd like. I've been known to go 10, if I get up early enough and get it started.
Get some good bread to soak up that gravy with. The meat should be fall apart tender.
Go ahead....do it....fall in love with your slow cooker all over again.
March 10, 2013
It's Sunday. That means I going to do my best to cook a real meal for my kid and hubby. Let's score another win.....This recipe was randomly picked by KP and the hubster. You see, they chose this recipe during one of KP's potty breaks. They had been discussing it for quite some time and we decided that today would be as good a day as any to give it a go. So, for Sunday supper (we had kolaches for a late brunch after Mass, so Sunday dinner wasn't something that we were interested in) we had Mustard Seed & Panko Crusted Pork Tenderloin. It's a recipe from a Progresso (courtesy Michael Chiarello) cookbook, of all things! And, a very good one, I might add.
You'll need:
Directions:
March 25, 2013
Beef & Broccoli for the Slow Cooker
I have this whole allergy thing regarding fresh and pickled ginger...which is no fun because I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Asian food (well, at least American versions of Asian dishes). Because of my allergy, I tend to stay away from some of my more favorite restaurants like 888 Bistro, Pei Wei, Kim Son and the like. Instead, I have to figure out how to do Chinese without fresh ginger in the recipe. It does change the taste just a little, but it's worth it to not have to visit the emergency room.....or funeral home.
Soooooo,I've Little Baby has been craving Beef and Broccoli....and I needed something that I didn't have to baby-sit....soooooo, a little research and tweaking and here is what I came up with.
1 lb boneless beef chuck roast, thinly sliced
1 cup beef broth (I used low sodium)
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 Tbs sesame oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs cornstarch
4-6 Tbs of hte cooking liquid, AFTER it's cooked
Broccoli (I didn't measure, just dumped an entire bag from the produce section...I *think* that it was the 12 oz bag)
Whisk together the beef broth, brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic, and pour into slow cooker.
Put beef slices in.
Turn slow cooker on low for 4-6 hours
30 minutes before cooktime is up, take out the cooking liquid and mix with cornstarch. Pour slurry back into slow cooker and mix well, add broccoli.
serve with rice
My beef was done in four hours, so check your crock pot, as temperatures may vary
You can use frozen, unthawed broccoli or fresh broccoli
You can add fresh gingerroot, but my whole ginger-allergy-thingy precludes that from happening
May 24, 2013
Ok, so it's been a hot minute since I've had a chance to update the Cooking & Baking portion of the blog.....The latest thing to talk about is doughnuts.
I tried to make some using, what I thought was going to be a pretty tasty recipe, but they ended up flopping. Not that they were horrible, but something was definitely missing. The were supposed to be chocolate chip cake doughnuts....because I'm pregnant and craving cake doughnuts.....which is strange, because the only doughnuts I have ever craved, or loved for that matter, are sold at a little place called Krispy Kreme...heard of them? Well, they are no longer in my area (boo!!!!) so if I want one, I must visit my in-laws in Maryland and then drive 45 minutes just to see that beautiful sign! Or Freemont street in Vegas...either way, I have to purchase a plane ticket.
Anywho, my taste-testers and I were disappointed. But I did discover the glazed sour cream cake doughnut holes from the local grocery store yesterday. That will hold me for now.
I'll work on the recipe and share it later. As for now, I hesitate to post the working recipe, as I don't want the original creator to sue me for not liking their doughnuts. Once I work out the kinks, I'll post my results.
I also tried to make Cookies and Cream Muddy Buddies. I need practice, because while the recipe tasted great (both hubby and Lil' Bit loved it), it doesn't exactly look like something that I would put into cute little bags and send to school with the kiddo. Apparently, there is a technique that I need to learn.....which means practice.....which means that Matt's co-workers are going to be inundated with various versions of Muddy Buddies/Puppy Chow/WhateverOtherNameYouCallIt. I only hope that they are willing to take one for the team!
Other than that....It's been a lot of the same old-same old. Partly because I'm currently on bed rest, partly because KP's out of school for the summer and we have three weeks before the summer craziness starts and 7ish weeks before JellyBean makes his/her debut (we hope).
I've got some recipes that we'll be trying soon, and I will share the results as events warrant. Until then,
Happy Eating!!
Sunday, January 20....
I'm sick. Complete with fever and all. But, the family still has to eat. So this evening, I threw some stuff in the skillet (inspiration from allrecipes.com), added some elbow macaroni and said, "Here ya' go!"
Thankfully, the goulash-stuff turned out really good. I can actually taste it through my stuffiness. Here's the recipe.
Not Hungarian Goulash
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cups water
1 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1.5 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons dried Italian herb seasoning
1 bay leaf
seasoned salt to taste
1.5 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
garlic powder
onion powder
1. In a large Dutch oven, cook and stir the ground beef over medium-high heat, breaking the meat up as it cooks, until the meat is no longer pink and has started to brown, about 10 minutes. Skim off excess fat, and stir in the onions and garlic. Cook and stir the meat mixture until the onions are translucent, about 10 more minutes.
2. Stir in water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, and seasoned salt, and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in the macaroni, cover, and simmer over low heat until the pasta is tender, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, discard bay leaf, and serve.
Very generously serves 4, and this is a half recipe.
We will officially call this one the American Beefy Noodle Stuff, as opposed to the Asian Beefy Noodle Stuff that is tasty, too. While I'm at it, here's that recipe:
Asian Beefy Noodle Stuff
1 lb ground beef
1 can of diced tomatoes (I use petite diced)
1 can of mixed vegetables
1 package of ramen noodles (discard flavor packet)
1 onion, chopped
garlic, minced
salt and pepper
Season ground beef with salt and pepper. Put meat, onion and garlic in a large skillet and cook until all pink is gone and drain. Pour in the tomatoes and veggies (don't drain them, you need that liquid to cook the noodles). Next, put the noodles down in the liquid. Try to get them all covered. Bring mixture to a boil, cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to break the noodles up.
Serve it up! It ain't pretty, but it's good, fast and cheap! I always have the stuff for it on hand, but if you don't, it's easy to just use what you have. This feeds the three of us for a couple of days (breakfast and lunch for Munchkin and me, dinner/late night snack for hubby) after the initial meal.
3 Packet Pot Roast
Just do it. Pull out the slow cooker, put this stuff in, and just enjoy the goodness that is 3 Packet Pot Roast. I found it on Pinterest (a little obsession of mine, come and follow me! http://pinterest.com/aggiegurl/ ). Did a little tweaking, and made it even better.
3 lbs of Chuck roast (I like to use chuck roast because it has a good fat content)
1 packet of Italian dressing mix
1 packet of Ranch dressing mix
1 packet of brown gravy mix, or onion soup mix
1 cup water or red wine
some veggies and/or potatoes to toss in (carrots, onions, celery...whatever you'd like)
Season meat and brown in a skillet, if you'd like. You really don't need to salt it, the convenience products will take care of that.
Then, throw it in the slow cooker, veggies and all, on low for about 8 hours...more if you'd like. I've been known to go 10, if I get up early enough and get it started.
Get some good bread to soak up that gravy with. The meat should be fall apart tender.
Go ahead....do it....fall in love with your slow cooker all over again.
March 10, 2013
It's Sunday. That means I going to do my best to cook a real meal for my kid and hubby. Let's score another win.....This recipe was randomly picked by KP and the hubster. You see, they chose this recipe during one of KP's potty breaks. They had been discussing it for quite some time and we decided that today would be as good a day as any to give it a go. So, for Sunday supper (we had kolaches for a late brunch after Mass, so Sunday dinner wasn't something that we were interested in) we had Mustard Seed & Panko Crusted Pork Tenderloin. It's a recipe from a Progresso (courtesy Michael Chiarello) cookbook, of all things! And, a very good one, I might add.
You'll need:
- 2 Tablespoons brown mustard seeds
- 2 Tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
- 1 Cup Panko breadcrumbs (or regular)
- 2 Pork tenderloins (1 to 1 1/4 lb each)
- 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Coarse sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 Cup Dijon Mustard
Directions:
- Heat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large skillet, toast mustard seeds over medium-high heat until fragrant, stirring frequently. Lightly crush mustard seeds with a mortar and pestle, spice mill, or coffee grinder. Put in a small bowl and mix in bread crumbs.
- Rub pork tenderloins with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Brush with mustard and roll in bread crumb mixture.
- In a 12" ovenproof skillet, heat remaining tablespoon of oil until hot, but not smoking. Add pork to skillet and cook on all sides until brown, approximately 5-7 minutes.
- Place skillet, pork and all, in oven and roast until internal temperature reaches at least 160 degrees F. Remove pork from skillet to cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.
Notes:
- I could only find yellow mustard seeds at the grocery store. It was cold and rainy, and I wasn't in the mood to go in search of brown ones, so I used 4 tablespoons of yellow mustard seeds.
- Be sure to trim the silverskin from the tenderloin (or have a nice butcher do it for you). It will only get tough and cause the tenderloin to curl up during the cooking process.
- The handle of the skillet will be really, really, really hot when you take it out of the oven (remember, the oven was set to 400 degrees....that's hot). And, hot metal looks just like cold metal....don't ask me how I know....just know that I know.
- Don't be afraid to use your hands to smear the mustard all over the meat (as long as you have soap and warm running water to wash your hands with)....it's easier than a brush, and you can get all of the nooks and crannies.
- Same goes with the breadcrumb/mustard seed mixture.
- Let the meat rest....that way, the juice stays in the meat, and not on the cutting board.
- The recipe said to roast for 8-10 minutes or until pork has a slight blush of pink in the center, but I like for my pork to be really good and done. I roasted to 170 degrees (thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the larger tenderloin) and had no problems with dryness.
Good luck! If you give it a try, come back and let me know how it worked out for you.
March 25, 2013
Beef & Broccoli for the Slow Cooker
I have this whole allergy thing regarding fresh and pickled ginger...which is no fun because I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Asian food (well, at least American versions of Asian dishes). Because of my allergy, I tend to stay away from some of my more favorite restaurants like 888 Bistro, Pei Wei, Kim Son and the like. Instead, I have to figure out how to do Chinese without fresh ginger in the recipe. It does change the taste just a little, but it's worth it to not have to visit the emergency room.....or funeral home.
Soooooo,
1 lb boneless beef chuck roast, thinly sliced
1 cup beef broth (I used low sodium)
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 Tbs sesame oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs cornstarch
4-6 Tbs of hte cooking liquid, AFTER it's cooked
Broccoli (I didn't measure, just dumped an entire bag from the produce section...I *think* that it was the 12 oz bag)
Whisk together the beef broth, brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic, and pour into slow cooker.
Put beef slices in.
Turn slow cooker on low for 4-6 hours
30 minutes before cooktime is up, take out the cooking liquid and mix with cornstarch. Pour slurry back into slow cooker and mix well, add broccoli.
serve with rice
My beef was done in four hours, so check your crock pot, as temperatures may vary
You can use frozen, unthawed broccoli or fresh broccoli
You can add fresh gingerroot, but my whole ginger-allergy-thingy precludes that from happening
May 24, 2013
Ok, so it's been a hot minute since I've had a chance to update the Cooking & Baking portion of the blog.....The latest thing to talk about is doughnuts.
I tried to make some using, what I thought was going to be a pretty tasty recipe, but they ended up flopping. Not that they were horrible, but something was definitely missing. The were supposed to be chocolate chip cake doughnuts....because I'm pregnant and craving cake doughnuts.....which is strange, because the only doughnuts I have ever craved, or loved for that matter, are sold at a little place called Krispy Kreme...heard of them? Well, they are no longer in my area (boo!!!!) so if I want one, I must visit my in-laws in Maryland and then drive 45 minutes just to see that beautiful sign! Or Freemont street in Vegas...either way, I have to purchase a plane ticket.
Anywho, my taste-testers and I were disappointed. But I did discover the glazed sour cream cake doughnut holes from the local grocery store yesterday. That will hold me for now.
I'll work on the recipe and share it later. As for now, I hesitate to post the working recipe, as I don't want the original creator to sue me for not liking their doughnuts. Once I work out the kinks, I'll post my results.
I also tried to make Cookies and Cream Muddy Buddies. I need practice, because while the recipe tasted great (both hubby and Lil' Bit loved it), it doesn't exactly look like something that I would put into cute little bags and send to school with the kiddo. Apparently, there is a technique that I need to learn.....which means practice.....which means that Matt's co-workers are going to be inundated with various versions of Muddy Buddies/Puppy Chow/WhateverOtherNameYouCallIt. I only hope that they are willing to take one for the team!
Other than that....It's been a lot of the same old-same old. Partly because I'm currently on bed rest, partly because KP's out of school for the summer and we have three weeks before the summer craziness starts and 7ish weeks before JellyBean makes his/her debut (we hope).
I've got some recipes that we'll be trying soon, and I will share the results as events warrant. Until then,
Happy Eating!!
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