Beef Stroganoff

This was my grandma's recipe, and despite the fact that I'm not a big meat eater, I love it.  It was perfect for a comforting Sunday dinner on a crisp fall night, and makes 6-8 generous portions.  It's unlike a lot of other stroganoff recipes in that instead of being creamy and white sauce-based, it's tomato-based.  You can stir in 1/2 cup or so of sour cream at the end to make it creamier, but I like it as is.

2 1/2 pounds beef, cut in 1/2 inch cubes (I use top round, trimmed of fat)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, divided
1 large onion, diced
1 can sliced mushrooms (opt.) or scant 1/4 cup beef broth
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce or 2/3 cup tomato juice
salt & pepper
1 1/2 pound cooked pasta or rice

In a brown paper bag, toss cubed beef with flour until lightly coated.  Melt all but 1 Tbs. of butter in large skillet.  Brown beef on both sides, but don't worry about cooking it through (about 5 minutes).  Remove beef from skillet.  Melt remaining butter in skillet, the saute onions until softened.  Add in can of sliced mushrooms and their juice (or beef broth), tomato sauce  (or tomato juice), and browned beef.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to low.  Simmer on lowest heat for approximately 1 hour, until beef is tender.  Crockpot option:  empty skillet into crockpot with additional 1/4 cup liquid, and cook on low 6 hours or high 3 hours until meat is tender.

When meat is tender, serve over cooked pasta or rice (I like whole wheat egg noodles or penne).  

Easy Lemon Cookies

I needed a quick treat to make for visiting teaching this month, and I saw this recipe on one of my favorite cooking blogs, Boy Cheese Sandwich.  It took me about 30 minutes, including clean up, to have a tasty treat ready to go.

1 lemon cake mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  With a mixer, combine cake mix, eggs, and oil (dough will be stiff).  Roll tablespoon-sized balls in powdered sugar, then place on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets (I fit 12 on a sheet, as the dough didn't spread much).  Bake for 6-8 minutes (I did 8), or until just starting to crack.  Let cool for 2 minutes on sheets, then cool completely on racks.  Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

Spicy (or not!) Chicken Sandwiches with Cilantro-lime Mayo

I love summer meals, don't you? This recipe is soooooo easy! You just have to remember to get the chicken marinating earlier in the day, but once it's time to cook it, you'll have dinner ready in ten minutes!

I omitted the hot sauce altogether (neither my husband nor my kids are fans of spicy stuff) and it turned out great! The crunch on these is great (it's tortilla chips!). For my girls, I just cut up the chicken into strips and gave them the Kaiser rolls on the side.

As you can see above, we had ours with a simple salad that had a Spring/Baby Spinach mix with sliced strawberries, crumbled bacon, and mozzarella cubes. You honestly don't even need a sauce over it, but Lighthouse's Raspberry Walnut salad dressing would be a fantastic choice.

The link is at the bottom for the recipe.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spicy-chicken-sandwiches-with-cilantro-lime-mayo-10000001860085/

Broccoli Chicken Enchiladas

Can you tell enchiladas are my husband's favorite thing ever?  Since I get sick of having the same thing all the time, I try to put new little twists on old favorites.  Although this is far from authentic Mexican, it sure tasted good.  Plus, this is another meal that makes 2 pans, so it's perfect for freezing.

For the sauce:
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup (I use the 98% fat free kind to lighten this up)
2 1/2 cups fat free sour cream
1/3-1/2 cup dried minced onions
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1-2 tsp. canned diced green chilis
1 tsp. lemon juice

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients until thoroughly mixed.

For the enchiladas:
1 cup grilled chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cups broccoli, cut into small bite-size pieces
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1 tsp. olive oil
8-10 flour tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese, divided (I use part-skim mozzarella)

Preheat oven to 450.  Spray one large or two small baking dishes lightly with cooking spray.  In a large nonstick skillet, heat olive oil.  Saute onion and pepper until softened.  In a small pot, steam or boil broccoli until tender but still crisp (don't overcook--remember it will be baked too).  When onions and peppers are starting to brown and broccoli is done, add chicken, broccoli, olives, and about 3/4 cup sauce mixture (enough to make a moist but not runny filling) to the skillet.  Spread 1/4 cup sauce mixture onto bottom of prepared pan(s).  In each tortilla, place a few tablespoons of the chicken-broccoli filling and a sprinkle of cheese, then roll up.  Place seam-side down in prepared baking pan(s).  Repeat with remaining tortillas until filling is gone.  Spread remaining sauce over the top, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake for 5-7 minutes or until browned, bubbling, and heated through.  Watch closely so it doesn't burn!  Serve with black beans and a greens salad.

Lazy Lasagna

Does anyone else wish this dang snow would go away already? On the other hand, my husband loves it because he can get me to make warm, bubbly casseroles like this one because somehow in my mind it still feels like winter and therefore there's no need to be swimsuit-ready anytime soon.  This is not quite as easy as the Crockpot Lasagna recipe, but I like how this can be divided into two pans so one can be frozen for another day.

1 1/2 boxes lasagna sheets
2 jars spaghetti sauce (I like Classico or Barilla, but it's up to you)
1 large container cottage cheese
1 large container ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided
2 eggs
1 Tbs. Italian seasoning
1/2 cup onion, diced (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
1/2 pound ground beef (optional)
 1 tsp. olive oil (optional)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes(optional)

Preheat oven to 400.  Lightly spray either two 8x8 pans or one 9x13 pan with cooking spray.  In a large nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Saute onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes until beginning to soften, then add in ground beef (if using).  When onions and garlic are translucent, and meat is browned, add spaghetti sauce and heat through.*  

In a mixing bowl, mix cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup parmesan, eggs, and Italian seasoning.

Ladle about 1/4 cup of sauce into sprayed baking pan(s).  Cover with uncooked lasagna noodles**, breaking into pieces to fill in all gaps.  Spoon 1/3 of ricotta mixture over noodles, covering well.  Ladle 1/3 of spaghetti sauce over cheese mixture, spreading to cover.  Cover with uncooked lasagna noodles, pressing down lightly to compact layers.  Repeat layering with remaining ricotta, sauce, and noodles.  In an 8x8 pan, I can fit about 4 noodles (broken to fit) per layer, and 4 layers of noodles in total.  Cover last layer of noodles with any remaining sauce and ricotta mixture.  Cover with foil and bake 1 hour.  Then remove foil and sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan over the top. Broil 3-5 minutes (watch closely) until browned and bubbly.  Serve with a green salad.

*I feel better about using store-bought spaghetti sauce if it's a good quality brand, doesn't have too much sugar, and I doctor it up with onions, garlic, and spices.  But to make this even simpler, you could skip the ground beef and onion mixture altogether, and just ladle the sauce into the pans right from the jar.

**You can buy either no-boil noodles, or just use regular lasagna noodles.  I've found that as long as each noodle ends up covered with plenty of sauce to give it moisture, and as long as you bake for at least 1 hour, it all works out fine.  Plus, it's easier and less messy to skip boiling the noodles!

Meatloaf

My husband has been gone during the week, so when he came home last weekend, I wanted to make him something hearty and comforting.  He loves meatloaf, which I've never made before, so I combined a few recipes I had and came up with this.  I served it with mashed potatoes (made so easy by the frozen Ore Ida Steam 'n Mash), roasted asparagus, and these caramel rolls.  Oh, and my husband liked it so much he had leftover meatloaf sandwiches 2 days in a row!

1 1/2 lbs. extra lean ground beef (I use either 93/7 or 96/4)
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup Stove Top Stuffing (dry)
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup mix (optional)
1 cup ketchup, divided
1/2 cup diced onions
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup diced green pepper
2 Tbs. shredded or grated parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper


In a nonstick skillet, saute onions, celery, garlic, and peppers in about 1 tsp. olive oil until softened and barely browned.  Scoop into a large mixing bowl and let cool.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375.  Mix together cooled veggies, soup mix (if using, or just add salt, pepper, and dried onion), dry stuffing mix, beaten eggs, 1/2 cup ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce.  Then mix with beef, being careful to distribute seasonings evenly without over mixing.  Shape into a loaf on a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper.*  Brush remaining 1/2 cup ketchup over the top.  Bake for 35-45 minutes until browned and cooked through (I did mine for 45 minutes and it was perfect).  Let rest covered with tinfoil for an additional 10 minutes.

*You can also use a loaf pan, but from what I've read, loaf pans steam the meatloaf instead of getting the outside crisp.  Plus then you have to wash the pan.

Chicken Pesto Pasta

The family party was last Sunday, and it was a hit.  I ended up doing lime jello jigglers, a huge green salad, broccoli pasta salad, rolls dyed green, and chicken kabobs with onions and green pepper.  To go with the salad and chicken, I made homemade pesto sauce and homemade Cafe Rio salad dressing, which were both yummy.  I had a little bit of chicken, broccoli, and pesto leftover, so I made this for dinner Monday night:

1 chicken breast, diced and seasoned with McCormick's Rotisserie Chicken seasoning
1 shallot, diced
1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil or butter
1 cup broccoli, cut into florets
1/3 to 1/2 box of penne pasta (I like whole wheat or Barilla Plus)
2 Tbs. flour
1/2-2/3 cup skim milk
3 heaping Tbs. prepared pesto sauce
4 sundried tomatoes, chopped
parmesan cheese, for garnish.

In a large pot, boil water for pasta.  Cook pasta according to package directions, adding in broccoli for last 2 minutes of cooking.  Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, melt butter or heat olive oil.  Saute shallot until it begins to soften, then add chicken, seasoning with salt and pepper.  When chicken is browned and nearly cooked through, sprinkle with flour and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.  Whisk in milk and bring mixture to a bubble.  Add in pesto, sundried tomatoes, and cooked pasta and broccoli, until heated through and thoroughly combined.

This made a big, hearty meal for just the two of us, but it can easily be doubled for larger families.