Onion Smothered Chicken

 We tried the meal delivery subscription EveryPlate and loved it. Sometimes it's fun to try meal kits like that because it gives me new ideas to incorporate into our meals. This is a great example of that. It's a slightly different flavor profile than I usually make, and the addition of the biscuits and carrots on the side made a big difference. I'm not sure I have ever made biscuits as a side for a chicken dinner - but I definitely will in the future. It was a hit. The chicken tasted so good on it's own, I wasn't sure if we'd enjoy the sauce on top but I really liked the combination of the two. 

Onion Smothered Chicken
(with roasted carrots, and biscuits) 

Source: EveryPlate

Ingredients: 

7-10 chicken tenders

6-8 carrots

1 yellow onion

1 tbs chicken stock concentrate

blackening spice (cajun spice) 

1/2 cup Sour Cream 

Garlic

Flour

3-6 Tbs Butter

1-2 Tbs Vegetable Oil

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits, recipe below. 

(optional: combine hot sauce, softened butter, and a bit of honey to serve on biscuits.) 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel, trim, and cut carrots on a diagonal into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Peel and finely chop garlic. Halve, peel, and thinly slice onion. Prepare biscuits.

2. Toss carrots on one side of a baking sheet with a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper. Roast on top rack for 12 minutes. (You'll add the biscuits at the midway point.) 

3. While carrots roast, pat chicken dry with paper towels (this ensures even browning rather than steaming the chicken). Season with blackening spice, salt, and pepper. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until browned and cooked through, 5-6 minutes per side. Turn off heat, transfer to a cutting board to rest.

4.  Once carrots have roasted 12 minutes, remove sheet from oven. Carefully add biscuits to empty side. Return to oven until biscuits are browned and cooked through and carrots are browned and tender, 8-11 minutes more. (Depending on the number of carrots, you may need to leave the carrots cooking and add the biscuits to a second sheet to bake on a second rack.) 

5. While everything roasts, heat a drizzle of oil in pan used for chicken over medium heat. Add onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and 2 tbs plain butter; cook stirring until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add 1 tbs flour; cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 1 minute. 

Gradually stir in 3/4-1 cup water into pan until fully incorporated. Bring to a boil; cook scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of pan until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 tbs chicken stock concentrate. Season with salt and pepper. 

Thinly slice chicken crosswise, divide among plates along with carrots and biscuits. Top chicken with gravy and serve. 


Biscuits

Source: Sugar Spun Run

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
¾ cup whole milk, 2% milk will also work

Directions: 
For best results, chill your butter in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before beginning this recipe. It's ideal that the butter is very cold for light, flaky, buttery biscuits.
Preheat oven to 425F and line a cookie sheet with baking mat. Set aside.

1. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside.

2. Remove your butter from the refrigerator and either cut it into your flour mixture using a pastry cutter or (preferred) use a box grater to shred the butter into small pieces and then add to the flour mixture and stir.

3. Cut the butter or combine the grated butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

4. Add milk, use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir until combined (don't over-work the dough).

5. Transfer your biscuit dough to a well-floured surface and use your hands to gently work the dough together. If the dough is too sticky, add flour until it is manageable.

 
6. Once the dough is cohesive, fold in half over itself and use your hands to gently flatten layers together. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and fold in half again, repeating this step 5-6 times but taking care to not overwork the dough.

7. Use your hands (do not use a rolling pin) to flatten the dough to 1" thick and lightly dust a 2 ¾" round biscuit cutter with flour.

 
8. Making close cuts, press the biscuit cutter straight down into the dough and drop the biscuit onto your prepared baking sheet.

9. Repeat until you have gotten as many biscuits as possible and place less than ½" apart on baking sheet.
Once you have gotten as many biscuits as possible out of the dough, gently re-work the dough to get out another biscuit or two until you have at least 6 biscuits.

10. Bake on 425F for 12 minutes or until tops are beginning to just turn lightly golden brown.
If desired, brush with melted salted butter immediately after removing from oven. Serve warm and enjoy.

Orzo Sausage Soup

Orzo Sausage Soup
Adapted from: The Kitchen Girl and Gimme Some Oven









Ingredients:

1/2 lb. Pork Sausage [not breakfast sausage]
2 tablespoons oil
1 small white onion, peeled and diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
6 cups chicken stock
1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1  Orzo pasta
1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp salt

Black pepper to taste
4 cups loosely packed spinach
salt and black pepper
optional toppings: freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions:
Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for 4 minutes, until soft. Add carrots, celery and garlic and saute for an additional 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, orzo (pasta), thyme, oregano, rosemary and stir to combine. Bring soup to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente.


INSTRUCTIONS

Heat a 4-quart soup pot on medium-high. Add SAUSAGE to the pot, breaking it into small pieces; brown the sausage, stirring as needed; transfer to a plate; set aside. Carefully drain the extra grease, if needed.
To the same heated skillet, add ONION, GARLIC, and CELERY; sauté until fragrant and tender, stirring as needed (3-4 min). Add dry ORZO; sauté until toasted and fragrant (about 2-3 min); stirring as needed.
Add CHICKEN BROTH, DICED TOMATOES with their juice, ITALIAN SEASONING, SALT, PEPPER, and BROWNED SAUSAGE.

Bring soup just to boil; then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until orzo is cooked to your liking (10-15 min).

Stir in the SPINACH and cook for 1-2 minutes until it is bright green and wilted. Taste, and season with salt and black pepper as needed. 

Serve warm, garnished with your desired toppings.

(Instant Pot) 

Instant Pot Instructions for Italian Sausage Soup
Select "Sauté" on the Instant Pot.
When the display reads "Hot", add sausage, separating it and stirring as needed until fully browned. Transfer sausage to a plate and set aside. You can drain the sausage fat from the Instant Pot into a heat-safe container or use it to saute the veggies.
Continue with the "saute" function on the Instant Pot. Utilize the sausage fat or heat a small amount of OLIVE OIL; then add ONION, CELERY, and GARLIC to the Instant Pot and saute until tender, stirring as needed (about 3 minutes).
Add DRY ORZO, CHICKEN BROTH, DICED TOMATOES with their juice, ITALIAN SEASONING; SALT, PEPPER, and BROWNED SAUSAGE.
Press the "Cancel" function on the Instant Pot.
Secure the lid and turn the pressure release valve to the "Sealing" position.
Select "Manual" and set the Instant Pot on Manual +1 minute high pressure (use +2 minutes if using whole wheat orzo).
When the cycle is complete, a Quick Pressure Release (QPR) is needed to depressurize the cooker and prevent overcooking the orzo pasta.
This is done by turning the pressure release valve from "sealing" to "venting" position, using an oven mitt for protection.

Allow the cooker to fully release all of the pressure until the 'float valve' drops before attempting to open the lid. This process can take several minutes. The cooker automatically goes into "Keep Warm" mode until you shut it off.

Stir in the SPINACH and cook for 1-2 minutes until it is bright green and wilted. Taste, and season with salt and black pepper as needed. 

Easy Round Steak and Gravy

My Grandpa Walker owns an Angus cattle ranch in Wyoming. He and my Grandma have always been very generous and shared an abundance of meat with us (both my family growing up, as well as David and I after we were married). If they didn't actually fill the freezer with meat, they would send meat money. We've been so incredibly blessed. A couple of months ago, my Dad showed up to my house to fill our freezer with a shelf-full of freshly packed meat. A variety of ground beef, roasts, steaks, etc. Not only is it the best quality meat you can find, but everytime I open the freezer to make tacos or some other dinner I am filled with gratitude for my Grandpa.

This story is going somewhere. Tonight I made this new recipe using a couple of round steaks from my freezer and again- not only was it so delicious but I was so grateful to just have the meat stocked up in my freezer. I guess that's where this is going.

My favorite thing about this, other than the flavorful gravy and tender meat, was that the way to prepare the meat made it easy for me to split it into two pans and add mushrooms to one and not to the other. David doesn't love mushrooms, and has recently reminded me that mushrooms soak into everything that they touch with their mushroom-y flavor, but I love them and so it worked out perfectly.

Easy Round Steak and Gravy

Source: Clark's Condensed 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 to 2 pounds thin cut round steak
Steak Seasoning and Seasoning Salt

1/3 cup flour
1/2 C cooking oil
1 C diced onion
1 small can mushrooms
2 cans beef (or chicken broth + one cube beef bullion)
1 T worcestershire sauce

Directions:
Cut each steak into desired serving sizes. Salt and Pepper to taste.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cooking oil. Brown the steaks on both sides and set aside.
Pour off most of the oil, leaving about 1/3 of a cup. Add 1/3 C of flour to the oil and stir over medium/low heat until light brown. (For a gluten-free option, add cornstarch with chicken broth below.) Stir continuously so it doesn't burn. Add onion. Cook and stir for about a minute.
Slowly add the beef and chicken broth, stirring constantly. Add the worcestershire sauce and simmer for about five minutes.

Season steaks with steak seasoning and seasoning salt. Place in oven-safe baking dish, separating into two seperate dishes if you need a mushroom-free option. Pour half the gravy over one pan, then return to the stovetop while adding the mushrooms to the remaining gravy. Pour mushroom gravy over second pan. Bake at 275 degrees for one hour. (Or 200 for two hours)

Serve with mashed potatoes. 

Pork Loin Roast with Potatoes

I served this up for Sunday dinner and David looooooved it. He requested it go on the blog- so on it goes. (He was saying things like "best roast you've ever made" - but it was fast Sunday and we all know how good food tastes at dinner on Fast Sunday.) I think the biggest difference was making my own onion soup mix. I was just out of soup mixes, so I searched for a homemade one but it was really good. Unless you're in a huge hurry - it's totally worth it.




Pork Loin Roast with Potatoes
Source: Taste of Home
Onion Soup Mix Source: AllRecipes

Ingredients:
1 envelope onion soup mix OR

{1/4 cup dried onion flakes
{2 tablespoons low-sodium beef bouillon granules
{1/4 teaspoon onion powder
{1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes
{1/8 teaspoon celery seed
{1/8 teaspoon paprika
{1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 cups water, divided
1 bone-in pork loin roast (4 to 5 pounds)
2 to 3 pounds small red potatoes, cut in half (I used regular potatoes)
1-1/2 cups sliced onions


Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Stir in 1/2 cup water; let stand for 3 minutes.Place roast, fat side up, on a greased rack in a roasting pan. Pour remaining water into the pan. Combine potatoes and onions; spoon around the roast. Brush vegetables and roast with seasoning
mixture.
Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 2-1/2 to 3 hours (or 300 for 3-4 hours) or until a thermometer reads 160° and potatoes are tender. Baste and stir potatoes occasionally. Tent with foil if browning too fast.

Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Yield: 8-10 servings.
Thicken juices for gravy if desired. (Add juices and about 1 cup of cold water and 1 tbs cornstarch to a small pan, heat until boiling.)

Pot Roast

I didn't get a picture of this (yet) but it was definitely the best pot roast that I've ever made in the history of pot roasts that I've attempted to make - therefore, it must get recorded. 

Pot Roast 

Source: Recipes that Crock

Ingredients:
2-3 lb beef roast
5-6 potatoes, peeled and quartered
3-4 medium baby carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, quartered

2 pkgs brown gravy mix
2 c water


Directions:
Spray your crock pot with cooking spray. Rinse roast and brown in a hot frying pan for a couple of minutes on each side to brown. Place roast in crock pot, fat side up. Surround the roast with potatoes, onions and carrots.
Mix together one brown gravy packet with 1 c cold water and pour over the roast and veggies. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours (total). 

An hour before serving, mix together the remaining brown gravy mix and 1 c cold water. Pour over roast and veggies. Cover again for the last hour of cooking.

Mini Burritos

These were such a fun appetizer. I loved them! We took them to a party and they disappeared in minutes. I also think that I will be making them frequently for kids lunches/dinners. They are the perfect size for little hands. Plus, I almost always have these ingredients on hand.
Mini Burritos = Success! 

Mini Burritos
Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients:
1 1b ground beef
½ small onion, diced finely
1 packet (1 oz) taco seasoning mix (Chili Powder, Onion Powder, Garlic Salt, Cumin, Paprika)
3 tablespoons water
1 (15 oz) can refried beans

3/4 cup cooked rice (optional)
3/4 cup salsa
1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 package flour tortillas for burritos (10 tortillas; 8 inch)
butter for basting
Toppings: sour cream, guacamole, salsa


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet, brown the beef and onion until beef is no longer pink.
Add the taco seasoning and 3 tablespoons of water. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the refried beans, rice, salsa, and cheese.
Quarter each flour tortilla with a pizza slicer making 4 wedges from each tortilla. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of meat mixture onto the wide part of each tortilla. Fold the sides in and roll up towards the small end creating a mini burrito. Place burritos on a cookie sheet. If preparing ahead of time cover and refrigerate until serving.
Brush burritos with melted butter if desired. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until burritos are warm.

Add your favorite toppings such as sour cream, guacamole, and salsa.

Beef and Noodles

I made a beef roast a couple of weeks ago and was lamenting to David that I always do the same things when I make a roast (delicious things, but the same things). Mostly just roast with potatoes, and french dip sandwiches. Luckily, I came across a few new beef roast dishes to try. I made a few things, but this meal was by far the winner. Like, David couldn't stop talking about this meal. You'd think that I'd suddenly become a master chef rivaling Bobby Flay. It was so funny. I'll let you in on a secret - it's the way I cooked the roast.... and the homemade noodles. 

Melt-in-your-mouth pieces of shredded beef with homemade egg noodles in a salty broth. Comfort food doesn't get much better than this. 

(Don't be scared of the egg noodles, it was actually really easy and SO much less expensive than the frozen egg noodles you can buy at the store and SO much tastier than dried egg noodles. 

Beef and Noodles
Source: Adapted from Spicy Southern Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 lb cooked and shredded beef roast, (recipe below)

Homemade egg noodles, (recipe below)

2 TBS dried onion flakes
3 beef bullion cubes
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp parsley flakes
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp black pepper

1 can cream of chicken soup (or mushroom if your husband likes mushrooms more than mine)
4-6 cups water

salt and pepper to taste
parsley for garnish, optional

Directions:
Prepare egg noodles following recipe below. Set out previously cooked beef roast. (I used leftover beef roast from another meal. If you don't have leftover roast, earlier in the day you will need to put your raw beef roast in the crock pot using the recipe below so that it will be ready at this point.)

In a medium sized pot, combine cream of chicken soup, seasonings (bullion, onion flakes, etc...), and 4-6 cups of water (add more water if you want it more like a soup and less water if you want it to be more like a beef and noodle dish with a smaller amount of broth). Bring to a boil. Add beef and egg noodles. Cook until noodles are al dente (cooked all the way through, but not soggy.)

Serve hot with rolls on the side. If your family is anything like mine, this will be a dinner-time hit!



Egg Noodles
2 cups all purpose flour, plus additional for dusting the board
4 eggs, beaten
¼-1/2 teaspoon salt

http://dineanddish.net/2015/04/easy-homemade-egg-noodles-recipe/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/fresh-pasta-recipe.html

Mound the flour in the center of a clean countertop. Make a well in the middle of the flour, add the eggs and salt. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and begin to incorporate the flour starting with the inner rim of the well. As you incorporate the eggs, keep pushing the flour up to retain the well shape (do not worry if it looks messy). The dough will come together in a shaggy mass when about half of the flour is incorporated. When the mixture starts to become stiff, start kneading the dough with both hands incorporating all of the flour.

Scrape the area to find any loose bits of dough, then re-flour the surface. Continue kneading, adding flour as necessary, until the dough is thick and smooth in texture.The dough will only take as much flour as it needs, so don't worry about adding too much, the rest will fall off, or stay on the outside covering the dough so it won't stick.

Roll out the dough, until very thin, at least 1/8". (The dough will expand/bubble quite a bit while cooking, so try to get it as thin as  possible. Once your dough is rolled out, use a pizza cutter to slice your dough into thin vertical strips. Make a couple of slices horizontally until your noodles are a desired size.

Remember, fresh pasta cooks much faster than dry pasta. It will only need 3-6 minutes until it's cooked through!

Shredded Beef Roast

2-3lb chuck roast
1 large onion, peeled then roughly chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled then smashed
15oz can beef broth
1 Tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
lots of garlic salt and pepper
4oz can chopped green chiles

Directions
Trim large pieces of excess fat from roast then cut into 6-8 big hunks. Add onion, garlic, and beef broth into the bottom of a crock pot then nestle beef into mixture. Sprinkle in chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, and pepper and then place the lid on top and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or until beef shreds easily. Remove beef then shred and place into a large bowl with enough cooking liquid to make it juicy, but not so much that it's dripping. Pull out as many onions as you'd like to include with the beef. Stir in green chiles. Discard remaining cooking liquid.

This Beef and Noodle recipe may also be made as a crock pot meal using the following instructions: 

Crock Pot Beef and Noodles
Place beef roast in slow cooker. Sprinkle seasonings from both recipes on top. Add cream soup and smear on top of roast. Add beef broth.
Put lid on crockpot and cook 9 to 10 hours on LOW.
Remove lid and shred beef using 2 forks. Add noodles and enough water to mostly submerge the noodles.

Cook for 1 hour. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

Mexican Rice

A delicious side dish, but bulky enough for a meatless lunch or dinner. Yum! 

Mexican Rice
Source: The Peaden Life

Ingredients:
1/2 Onion, diced
3 cups Rice, cooked
1 can Diced tomatoes, drained
1 can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Corn, drained
1/2 cup salsa (to taste, more can be added for desired consistancy)
Salt & Pepper
Cumin
Chili Powder
Garlic Powder
Onion Salt
Paprika
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Directions:
In a large frypan, saute onion in a small bit of oil. Add rice, tomatoes, black beans, and corn and stir together. Add salsa. Season with about 1/2 tsp each of cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion salt, and paprika.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Top with cheese and serve.

Chicken & Zucchini (tex-mex)

I'm always looking for good zucchini recipes for our summer zucchini harvest (or in cases like this year, my parents zucchini harvest that they have been so generous to share with us). I like this one because most of my zucchini dishes are pasta-based, but this is a delicious & fresh use for that yummy zucchini.

Tex-Mex Chicken & Zucchini
Source: Adapted from iFoodReal

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb boneless & skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
1 tbsp cumin, divided
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup corn, frozen or fresh
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp chili powder
1 large zucchini, diced
1 cup Tex Mex or cheddar cheese

optional, top with:

1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped

(The original recipe also calls for: 2 medium bell peppers, chopped and 14 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed. I didn't have these on hand when I made the dish, and it was still super yummy. But next time I think I'd definitely make sure to add in the black beans.) 

Directions:
Add olive oil to large skillet and heat to medium. Add onion and garlic, then saute until translucent. Add bell pepper and saute for a few more minutes. Move mixture to a side of the skillet and add chicken. Sprinkle with 1 tsp cumin, salt and black pepper. Saute until golden brown, about 5 -7 minutes.

Add corn, beans, tomatoes, chili powder and remaining cumin. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add zucchini and stir. Sprinkle with cheese, cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Top with green onions and cilantro. Serve hot.

Middleton Tacos

Our friends the Middletons make the most amazing tacos. We begged for their recipe so we could add it to our repertoire. Toasted corn tortillas, melted cheese, tender marinated meat, and a avocado pico for the top. Mmmmm. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. When the Middletons invited us over for dinner, they didn't know that their name would forever live on in our dinner rotation - because we call this dish "Middleton Tacos." (Chicken tacos doesn't seem to do the dish justice.) 

Middleton Tacos

Source: Mike and Ali Middleton

Ingredients: 

Chicken

Marinade - equal parts, garlic powder, cumin, season salt, pepper, paprika, coriander, chili powder, and Caldo de Tomate, and lime juice + enough vegetable oil to coat/cover the chicken. 

Corn tortillas

Cheese

Lettuce

Avocado Pico - equal parts diced tomatoes, onion, avocado, and cilantro

(For three chicken breasts, I used about one teaspoon of each spice for the marinade and about 1 1/2 -2 cups of oil. I also used 2 tomatoes, 2 avocados, and one onion.) 

Directions: 

The night before, slice chicken breasts into tenders (allowing more of the meat to come into contact with the marinade). Combine marinade spices and oil.  Pour marinade over chicken in a tupperware container and thoroughly coat chicken. Let sit overnight. 

Grill chicken until cooked through. Slice into thin strips (or you could shred). 

Place corn tortillas on a griddle, toast on one side (abt. 1 minute) then flip and cover with cheese. When cheese is melted, add chicken, pico mixture, and lettuce - and serve! 

*When making this for a group of people, you can start crisping up the tortillas and melting the cheese right before serving, then place the tortillas on a cookie sheet. You can cover them with parchment paper and then add a second layer of tortillas for people to grab as they start making their tacos. But don't use wax paper or the cheese will stick. It's also good to have someone manning the griddle to keep the warm tortillas coming. 

Indian Chicken Curry

This summer our local library is holding a Summer Reading Program for both kids and adults. It's been fun to branch out a bit to read some different books and do some different activities. One of the items to check off is "Check out a Cookbook and try a new recipe". I was excited, and ended up with "The Convenience Cook" (I will say that flipping through cookbooks is not the easiest thing of the world when trying to handle a baby and 3-year-old). It was interesting to read through the authors comments about her recipes. I ended up choosing to try the Chicken Curry and I'm glad that I did! I had an awesome experience at an Indian restaurant back in my college days and I've wanted to try to replicate that, but none of the curry recipes I've come across have really done it for me. This one was SO simple, came together really quick, and was delicious! I like feeling like I'm introducing different flavors to my kids, and I think that this is something that is a nice change in our normal flavor profile while still being yummy, affordable, and easy. 

Indian Chicken Curry
Source: The Convenience Cook, page 109, slightly adapted. I would definitely recommend getting this cookbook - there are a lot of good recipes and great cooking tips.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup diced onion
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
4 tsp curry powder
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups cubed, chicken
S&P

Hot white rice
Naan, Indian Flatbread

Directions:
In a skillet, heat 1tbsp oil over medium heat. Cook chicken until golden brown, dump onto plate and set aside. Heat remaining oil in skilled, then add onion and cook until softened. Add flour and curry powder and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add stock and cook, stirring, until thickened. Add chicken. cover and simmer until chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve over hot rice and with warm Indian bread. Naan recipe HERE.

Hot Ham and Cheese

I picked up some hoagie bun rolls at my favorite Sara Lee Bread Outlet for super cheap and I was looking for something to do with them that was yummy and a bit more than just regular deli sandwiches. I had an idea of what I wanted and, with a few adjustments, this fit the bill! The ham and cheese, sautéed onions, and bacon combine together to create a delicious flavor profile. (I've been watching cooking shows with David, can you tell?)

Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches
Source: Adapted from Pinch of Yum

Ingredients:
6 hoagie buns

6 slices bacon
1/2 yellow onion
6 tablespoons salted butter, divided
1 heaping Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
12 slices deli ham (or more- depending on how much meat you like)
12 slices cheddar cheese

Directions:
Place bacon on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil. Bake in oven at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until crispy. Slice onion into thin strips. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet; add onions and cook over very low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The onions should turn a deep golden color and taste sweet. 

Melt 4 T butter and whisk with the mustard and Worcestershire sauce.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Brush the inside of each bun with mustard mixture. Top with ham, onions, bacon, and cheese. Brush the top of the bun with remaining butter. Repeat for remaining sandwiches. Bake for 20 minutes or until warmed through and cheese is melted. Serve hot! 

*Note: I added spinach to my sandwich after baking and it was super yummy. I'd definitely recommend it. 

Easy Beef Stroganoff

I have to admit, our very very favorite stroganoff is this Beef Stroganoff. Almost always, I'd rather take the time to make that if I'm going to plan stroganoff for dinner. But every once in a while when I need a quick meal, or I have leftover hamburger and am not feeling any of my mexican dishes - this is a great option. Another Peaden family recipe, although I believe this one is a more recent addition to their meal rotation (I think Amy found it and they all loved it). It's yummy and filling, and oh-so-easy.

Easy Beef Stroganoff
Source: Sue & Amy Peaden

Ingredients:
1/2 lb hamburger (the original recipe calls for a whole pound, but we like more sauce in our sauce:meat ratio)
1/2 C diced onions
1 C sour cream
2 T ketchup
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
2 cans cream of chicken soup
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a large frying pan, brown hamburger. When almost finished cooking, add onions and cook until translucent. (If using leftover hamburger, cook onions first and then add in hamburger to reheat.) Add in remaining ingredients and heat through. Serve over noodles or rice.

Stromboli

One of my new favorite meals to make (and eat) is Stromboli. I love that it is super versatile and you can make it with pretty much anything that you have around. I love that it's easy and I love how yummy it is. We've had it 3 or 4 times in the last month, with different fillings every time. It makes me feel like an awesome baker when I pull something out of the oven and it's perfectly golden and crisp. There are so many variations of this, I just know it's going to be a family favorite for a long time to come.

Stromboli
Source: Lauren's Latest

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. pizza dough
Dried parsley & Parmesan cheese
1 tbs milk
Filling ingredients such as
-Pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni
-Cheddar cheese, deli ham
-Ground beef, onions, red peppers, marinara sauce
-Salami, ham, mozarrella cheese, pizza sauce
-Chicken, bacon, cheese, alfredo sauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly spray and spread pizza dough out on baking sheet to be approximately 10x16. Spread pizza sauce (if desired) over 2/3's of the dough lengthwise, leaving a 3x16 rectangle of plain dough along one of the edges. Top sauce with remaining filling ingredients. Brush the plain strip of dough with a small amount of milk. Fold in the sides about an inch and brush them with milk. Roll up like a jelly roll lengthwise starting along the long edge of dough topped with all the fillings and ending with the plain strip of dough on the bottom of the roll. Brush the entire stromboli with milk and gently cut slats in the top of the dough every 1-2 inches. Sprinkle parsley and parmesan cheese over top and bake 8-10 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Remove from oven, cool 5 minutes and slice into pieces. Serve hot with a side of pizza sauce.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

When I was in high school, I made a cookbook for a Young Women in Excellence project. It was titled "A Recipe Book of Favorites". I collected all of my favorite recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner - typed them up and put them in a binder. That binder went to college with me and I have been grateful for it many many many times. However, in the almost-five years that David and I have been married - I've never once made this dinner for us. (Something to do with the fact that David doesn't like pineapple, soy sauce, or chinese food.) However, I've thought of it often and this week when I had a couple of peppers that needed to be used I decided to pull it out. Oh. My. Goodness. I can't believe that I have let so many years pass without enjoying this delectable goodness. I love it. I was immediately reminded why it made it into my recipe book of favorites. I'm pretty sure that the recipe came out of my family's old tattered copy of the Betty Crocker Cookbook. I love that cookbook. The pages are covered in grease/food and are all falling out but it has some of the most wonderful recipes. The new book isn't nearly as good. David didn't love it - for the reasons listed above - but he loves me and told me that I could make it whenever I wanted. Which I will be doing again soon. If you are looking for a delicious and fairly easy meal - this is it. SO good.  

Sweet & Sour Chicken
Source: Betty Crocket Cookbook/The Walker Family

Ingredients:
2 large chicken breasts
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 can pineapple chunks, drained (reserve syrup)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp soy sauce
2 carrots cut diagonally into thin slices
1 red or green bell pepper, cut into 3/4" pieces
1/4 onion chunked

Directions:
Cut chicken into 3/4" pieces. Heat oil in fry pan(I use a high edged electric skillet),  add chicken and brown. Right before chicken is done, add onions. When onions are slightly see-through, remove onions and chicken, set aside and keep warm.

Add enough water to reserved pineapple syrup to measure two cups. Heat syrup mixture, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, soy sauce, and carrots in fry pan. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until carrots are crisp-tender (about 6 minutes). Mix cornstarch and 2 tbs cold water; stir into sauce. Add chicken, pineapple, and green/red pepper. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Serve warm.

Sweet Pork Salads {Costa Vida Copycat with Dr. Pepper}

When I was in college at Utah State, I had a roommate that worked at Costa Vida. She would bring home extra rice and chips and even more importantly she had a 40% discount (or something) that we used on a fairly regular basis. We loved it. To this day, thinking about digging in to a nice big Sweet Pork Salad from Costa Vida makes my mouth water! Unfortunately, our budget doesn't allow for frequent Costa Vida runs. However, for practically the same price as ONE salad - you can make your own Copycat Costa Vida meal for the whole family.

I absolutely love this meal and love that I can make it at home in my crock pot. To make our dollars stretch I try to do the following things: 

1- Buy the pork roast on sale. You can get a nice 2-3 lb roast for just a couple of bucks if you time it right. Wait for a $1.48 - $1.60/lb sale and then stock up. Pork roasts freeze well and you can use them for many things. Don't pay $3/lb. 

2-After the pork roast is cooked and shredded, but before you add all of your ingredients, pull out a tupperware-full of pork to use for BBQ Pork Sandwiches. (If you have a big family, you should only do this if you buy a big roast - but I still recommend it. It's a great way to get several meals out of one roast.)

3-Have the sweet pork on salads the first night and then use the leftover sweet pork in burritos a couple of nights later. Just add in the rice/beans and maybe a can of diced tomatoes if you need to stretch it. Wrap them up in tortillas and top with half a can of red enchilada sauce and some cheese. So yummy! 

Sweet Pork

Source: Adapted from New Day, New Dish

Ingredients:
2-3 lb. pork roast
1 (12 oz.) cans Dr. Pepper
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 jalapeno - seeded and chopped
2 carrots - shredded or finely chopped
1/4 c. onion, chopped
1 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce

1/2 c. salsa
3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 c. brown sugar

Directions:
Slightly thaw pork roast in microwave. Remove from packaging, rinse under running water, pat dry. Place roast in crock pot with 1/2 cup Dr. Pepper. Cook on high for 4-5 hours. Remove roast from crock pot and place in kitchen aid with paddle attachment. Run kitchen aid on medium speed to shred pork. (You may want to remove the large pieces, dump the small pieces back into the crock pot, and then continue to shred the large pieces to prevent the smaller pieces from becoming too tiny.) 

Place shredded pork back into crock pot and add remaining ingredients. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and cook 2-3 additional hours. 

Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and heat to medium heat. Place tortilla in pan and brown both sides. This only take 15-30 seconds, but it adds so much to your salad! Place rice, beans, meat and lettuce on top of tortilla and top with yummy cilantro ranch dressing. (Recipes below.)

I've tried many sweet pork recipes (you can find them all over the internet) - but this one is my favorite by far! However, I know that sometimes so many ingredients, and all of the chopping/prep work isn't really in the cards. So, this is my other favorite recipe which is much easier: 

Easy Sweet Pork 

Source: Six Sisters Stuff

3 lb. pork roast
16 oz. chunky salsa
1 can Dr. Pepper
2 c. brown sugar

Put pork in slow cooker and fill halfway with water. Cook 4 hours on high. Drain water, cut pork in thirds, mix together sauce and pour on top. Cook 4 more hours on low. Drain liquid and shred pork. Save a little liquid and mix it in with the pork so it is really moist.



Tomatillo/Cilantro Ranch Dressing
Source: Adapted from A Mommy's Life with a Touch of Yellow

Ingredients:
1 packet of buttermilk ranch dressing
1 Cup mayo/Miracle Whip
1 Cup buttermilk (the smallest carton is perfect)
1 bunch of cilantro (after you wash, make sure you pat dry)
2 tomatillos husked
1 jalapeno (take the rib and seeds out)
Garlic powder (just a few shakes)
juice from 1 lime

Directions:
Put the mayo, dressing mix, buttermilk, and garlic in a blender and mix until blended all together. Squeeze lime juice directly into the blender. Cut up tomatillos, jalapeno, cilantro and pat dry. Add to the blender and blend until everything is mixed together and creamy. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This can be stored in the fridge for several months - so don't throw your leftovers away. If it starts to separate - just shake it all back together.

Cilantro Lime Rice

Source: Favorite Family Recipes

(We don't always make this. Most of the time I just use regular white rice - but if I'm feeling fancy or want to go all out, I put this together and feel great about how easy it is. Also, as a side note- I never so anything special to my beans. I just open a can of black beans and a can of pinto beans and heat them up.) 

Ingredients
1 c. uncooked rice (long-grain, white rice)
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

Directions.
In a rice cooker combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Cook until rice is tender. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

Creamy Chicken Fajitas

I originally made this recipe using Philidelphia Cooking Creme. However, the last time I went to the store they didn't have any of the Sante Fe cooking creme. So, I decided to improvise and I actually liked the end result even more when I made it myself! I'm not surprised, because we typically like these flavors and ingredients - but I am happy, because anytime I can make something from scratch instead of paying money for a pre-packaged good I'm all for it. I will probably never buy the cooking creme again because I can save money making it this way and it was de.lic.ious.

Creamy Chicken Fajitas
Source: The Peaden Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 onion, sliced
1 green or red bell peppers, sliced
4 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp garlic salt
1/8tsp onion powder
Dash cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste

Tortillas
Sour Cream
Cheese
Avocado
Lettuce

Directions:

Cut chicken into strips and cook in olive oil in a pan. When chicken is cooked, add peppers and onion and saute until soft. Season with chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Add cream cheese and sour cream and stir until melted and heated through.

Serve in tortillas with cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato, and sour cream.