Sarah's Week

YEA it's my turn.  This is my recipe plan for the week (though we all know that what we plan doesn't always happen... :)  These are some family favorites, so I hope you guys try them, cause they're goooood.

Monday: Chicken'n'Cream
Tuesday: IKEA Meatballs
Wednesday: Chicken Taquitos
Thursday: Drip Beef Sandwiches
Friday: Pork Chops with Cornell Sauce

ps - I'm loving all the new recipes!  Thanks all who are participating!  I think all the weeks in July are still available, if some of you readers want to hop into the fun.

Pork Chops with Cornell BBQ Sauce

Cornell BBQ Sauce (yes, an original of Cornell, in Ithaca, NY)

2 eggs
1/2 cup canola/vegetable oil
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 T. season all
1/2 t. pepper

Combine all ingredients.  Let pork chops marinate in the mixture.  Also good on chicken, though it was designed for pork chops.  And yes, I know when you think of bbq sauce you think of a red sauce, but those hippies in Ithaca are weird (trust me on this one :)  It's really good, even if it's not a red sauce.  And it makes A LOT so I usually half it and still have more than enough.  

Drip Beef Sandwiches

This is the original of The Pioneer Woman.  It's pretty delish.  :)

1 chuck / pot roast (3-5 lbs)

1 can beef consume (similar to beef broth, but not technically the same thing)

1/2 Jar of Pepperoncinis, including juice

4 t. Italian Seasoning (she uses dry, I use dressing, like what you'd put on a salad)

Throw it all together in the oven at 275 degrees for 5-6 hours.  Or cook everything in a crock pot for 5-6 hours on low (this is how I do it).  Shred meat and remove Pepperoncinis (unless you want to eat them, as Cory does).  Serve on rolls with melted swiss cheese (I cut my rolls in half and put on the swiss cheese, and broil them in my toaster oven till the cheese melts).  Also makes for yummy leftover meat.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Again, yum.
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/04/baked-creamy-chicken-taquitos/

The directions and pictures are on their blog, so it would be easier for you to just click on the link.  But here's what you'll need, ingredient-wise.

And no, I don't use sliced green onions.  Ew.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
print recipe text only

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken (for extra yumminess, use grilled taco chicken!)
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas (and actually, flour ones are really good as well)
kosher salt
cooking spray

IKEA Meatballs

Ok, love these.  *Love*

http://www.food.com/recipe/ikea-swedish-meatballs-294387

Meatballs:

• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup cream (half and half) or 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (or toasted panko, crushed)
• 2 small cold boiled yukon gold potatoes
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt
• white pepper
• 1 dash allspice (optional)

Cream Sauce:

• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1 cup low sodium beef broth
• 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon white flour
• 1 tablespoon butter
• salt, to taste
• white pepper

Directions:

1 For Meatballs:.

2 Fry the onion till golden in a couple of tablespoons of lightly browned butter.

3 Mash the potatoes

4 Mix all the ingredients until meatball consistency.

5 Flavour with salt, white pepper and (optional) a little finely crushed allspice.

6 Shape the mixture into relatively large, round balls and transfer to a floured cutting board.

7 Fry them slowly in plenty of butter.

8 Cream Sauce:.

9 Melt butter in pan and add flour, whisk till golden brown and flour is cooked.

10 Add Beef Stock and Cream until desired thickness.

11 Season well with salt and pepper.

12 Serve the meatballs with the sauce, freshly boiled yukon potatoes, and lingonberry jam.

*Ok, I never use white pepper, just regular ol' black pepper is fine.  And I never put the potatoes in the meatballs, but serve with a side of mashed potatoes.  Like I said - love!  These are also fabulous to freeze.  I usually make the whole batch, cook half, and freeze the other half.  Then all I have to do is cook the meatballs and make the sauce.  Quick and easy.

Chicken'n'Cream

This is an old family favorite.  My mom's made it ever since I can remember.  There's not really a recipe, per se, but I'll do my best.

You'll need:
Cubed chicken
Garlic (or garlic powder, if you don't have fresh garlic)
A few bouillon cubes
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
Rice

Sauté garlic and cubed chicken.  Cook until chicken is done (juices are clear).  Add enough water to cover the chicken and chicken bouillon for flavor (I usually use about 3).  Bring to boil.  Add whipping cream and let cook for a few minutes.  Thicken with cornstarch/water mixture (or flour/water mixture).  Serve over cooked rice.  Yum!

Makes good leftovers, too.  When Spencer's in one of those "moods" (where all he wants to eat is cheese), this is the one thing he'll eat.

Sunday Roast

Not that this recipe is anything really special, but it does produce a very tender roast that falls apart with a fork..  Just the way I like it.

 Sunday Roast
about 5 pound roast
1/4 c shortening
Lawry's season salt
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place roast in roasting pan with about 1/4 c shortening and season liberally with Lawry's and salt and pepper.

Brown roast at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes.  15-20 minutes a side

Add water (2 cups, enough to keep it moist) and decrease to 200 degrees if cooking overnight or 250 degree if cooking for several hours.

I find it works best to cook at the 200 from first thing in the morning and it's nice and tender by the afternoon.

I love to serve with mashed potatoes, gravy and the crescent rolls that I posted earlier this week!!

Chicken Pozole Soup (Mexican soup)

Okay I know that the weather is finally getting warm and soup isn't always the greatest idea, but if you have a cold day this is not hard to make and has refreshing garnish ideas.


Chicken Pozole Soup
 3 chicken breasts

1 medium onion-diced

2 Tbsp diced garlic

2-3 Red chili peppers soaked in hot water

2 cans diced tomatoes w/oregano and basil

(or add some more of these spices to the soup)

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp cumin

salt and pepper to taste

1 large can hominy drained and lightly rinsed

3-4 c. chicken broth (I use hot water and bouillon)

garnish with cilantro, sour cream, avocado or guacamole

Serve with tortilla chips

Sorry I forgot a few items that are featured below.  I am sometimes really lazy and don't want to  dice up my own garlic and keep this jar of garlic in the fridge.

Dice up dried (I use fresh) chili’s and let soak in about 1 cup of hot water (warmed in the microwave).

Dice chicken and brown in large pot with a little bit of oil.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Sauté onion and garlic until onion is soft. 

Add cumin and oregano

Add chicken broth/water and bouillon (I usually do 3 c water and 4 tsp bouillon and add the other 1 c from the soaked red peppers), hominy, tomatoes, and heat until hot.

Add soaked red peppers, add more salt and pepper as need

Garnish with these items or anything else that sounds great. 

And here's the end result!!  So yummy!

Tin Foil Dinners in the oven

I don't know about all of you..., but I love a good Tin Foil dinner.  So I was excited when my brother and his family figured out about how long to cook them in the oven. But this is an improvise type of recipe.  Sorry if you hate those type of things.

I'm also sorry I don't have pictures of this.  Maybe when I do it next I'll take pictures, but I make these on a day when I don't have much time for prep work for dinner, cause it doesn't take very long on the prep, but cooks for about 1-1.5 hr depending on your size of dinner.

We usually make 3-4 dinners for the 3 of us that eat and have lots of left overs cause we love them so much.

Ingredients (which can be changed to your preference along with amounts)
Hot Dogs,1-2/meal
Hamburger patties,1-2/meal
Potatoes, thinly sliced,1-2 medium/meal
Carrots, thinly sliced, I use baby carrots, 1-2 handfuls/meal
Onions, thinly sliced, 1/4/meal
Can of Cream of chicken soup
Montreal Steak seasoning
Lawry's seasoning salt
Salt and Pepper
Tin foil
Cookie sheet

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place large sheet of Tin foil down, and I cut 2 hot dogs lengthwise and place them on the tinfoil and place my hamburger patty on top. (My dad calls this the burnt sacrifice when you cook them on a real fire...meaning that the hot dogs can get burnt and it saves your hamburger patty:) For my husband I do 2 hamburger patties, cause he doesn't like hot dogs.  I don't mind hot dogs, and I love the flavor they add to the meal.
Then I season the meat with Montreal, Lawry's, salt, and pepper.
I cut all my potatoes, carrots, and onion in my Bosch food processor so they are evenly sliced.  And it's easy that way too.
I then put what amount of vegetables each person likes on the meats.
Distribute a few dollops of cream of chicken soup on top (this creates a gravy of sorts).  I use the entire can for 4 large dinners.
Then take the short ends of the tin foil and match them at center of the meal and then roll several times, then roll each edge of tin foil to close the meal and keep all the juices in!!
Cook for at least 1 hour-1 1/2 hrs depending on the size of the dinner.  The 2 hamburger patty meal take 1 1/2 hrs. Maybe cause they are a little larger.
Sometimes I put my hubby's meal in first and then after 30 minutes I put in mine.
Check to see if the veggies are cooked to desired softness and usually the meat is done by then.

Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes-All recipes.com with few slight changes

 1 pound lean ground beef/turkey

         1-1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

         1/4 cup chopped onion

         1/4 cup finely chopped green or red bell pepper

         1 cup ketchup

         8 oz. tomato sauce

         2 tablespoons brown sugar

         1 tablespoon vinegar

         1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

         1 tablespoon dry mustard

         1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

         1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat a deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat and add ground
meat. Brown meat until it is cooked thoroughly. Carefully drain and discard fat. Transfer meat to a bowl.

To same pan, heat oil on medium heat; and add onions and peppers and cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. (If I'm in a hurry, or lazy, I'll just add them to the hamburger just before it is totally done and start them sauteing , just make sure the onion and green pepper are soft before you add the rest of the ingredients)

 When vegetables are tender, return meat to pan and add remaining ingredients. 

Stir frequently to cover meat with sauce. Reduce heat to low and cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly.

Then serve up on favorite bun, or make your own using the potato refrigerator dough.

Some of the reviews on allrecipes.com stated that it was too sweet if you aren't a fan of the sweeter sloppy joes decrease the brown sugar.  But I wouldn't say I like sloppy joes in general, but I did love this recipe and it's fast!!!

Sorry again no plated picture, we love to have corn on the cob when it comes in our Bountiful Basket or when it's in season.  I can hardly wait!

Hope you enjoy!

Refrigerator Rolls/homemade buns

Ingredients

2/3 c. oil

2 eggs

1 c. warm milk

1 c. mashed potato

½ c. sugar (double this for scones or spudnuts)

 2 tsp salt

½ c water

1-2 T Yeast

5-6 c. flour

Mix all ingredients except for flour, let set for 20 minutes.

Add 2 c. of flour at a time & mix for 2 minutes. Each time, repeat until not sticky.  Let raise in bowl.

Make into rolls-See below

350 degrees for 12-15 mintues

*Parker house roll-circle folded in half with margarine melted

*clover leaf rolls-3 marble sized ball in muffin tin-let rise

* crescent roll-roll in circle, cut like a pizza and then roll from outside of triangle to the center corner.

*scones or spudnuts- fry at  375 degrees until brown on each side.

 *Cinnamon/Orange rolls

CAN be Refrigerate up to 1 week.  Take out 3 hours to let it warm up.

 Here's how I make crescent rolls:
Roll out to be about 1/4 inch thick
Cut into wedges

Then roll from the wide outside edge toward the pointy inner edge

Then bend slightly and put on greased pan.

Grilled Sweet Salmon

Grilled Sweet Salmon- Allrecipes.com
I really liked this, but when I do it again, I'll follow the recipe, but add more of the spices right before I grill. I also halved the following recipe.

Ingredients     

         1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets

         lemon pepper to taste

         garlic powder to taste

         salt to taste

         1/3 cup soy sauce

         1/3 cup brown sugar

         1/3 cup water

         1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions

Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.

In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. 

Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat. 

Refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours.
Preheat grill for medium heat.

Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. 

(I also put tin foil on my grill and keep the skin on the one side of the salmon and then when when I take it off the tin foil the skin stays on the tin foil.) Then I place on an oiled grill grate for the other side.

Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. I served with wild rice and carrots.

Sorry I realized I didn't get a picture of the final dish...We were in a hurry to eat.  But it was pretty yummy for a new recipe!

Weekly Menu

So this week I want to share a recipe that I'll use several times throughout the week...It's a potato refrigerator dough that can stay in the fridge for a week and be pulled out and baked for lots of different things.  I'll share it with the Sloppy Joes so you can make homemade buns if you'd like!!

Tuesday:Grilled Salmon, Wild Rice, and Carrots
Wednesday: Sloppy Joes with homemade hamburger buns/rolls
Thursday: Tin Foil Dinners in the oven
Friday: Chicken Pozole Soup with Tortilla chips
Saturday/Sunday: Roast, Mash Potatoes, Gravy, and Crescent rolls

Thursday: Macaroni and Tomato Juice with Grilled Cheese

So Thursday was one of those quick and easy meal days. We made one of my husband's favorite comfort food meals, which also happens to be our kid's favorite, as evidenced by the fact that they both ate 3 bowls! All I do is cook macaroni noodles, drain the water, and then add enough tomato juice to cover the pasta. Heat until it's slightly bubbly, then add salt, pepper, butter, Worcestershire sauce to taste. We like to eat it with grilled cheese sandwiches. Sorry I didn't get a picture of this one either but trust me it's yummy!

Wednesday: Asian Chicken and Lime-Cilantro-Rice

My sister in law also made this dinner, but I forgot to take a picture of the chicken. She just found the recipe online, so here are the links:

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/05/asian-bbq-chicken/

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/06/lime-cilantro-rice-with-pineapple/

Tuesday: Focaccia Sandwiches

This week Neil's sister has been staying with us, and she made us some delicious dinners. After a long day at Seven Peaks, I came home to this waiting for me!

To make the focaccia bread, you mix 3 c water and 2 t salt. Mix and make a well in the center. Then add:

1 T sugar

2 1/4 t yeast

1 1/3 c warm water

Let it bubble up. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil. Knead until it forms a nice dough ball. Let rise in a warm oven for about an hour. Roll out on pan. Let rise 30n min. Cover with olive oil and spices (rosemary, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, basil, etc.) Bake @ 350 for about 20 min.

Once your bread is cooked, cut it into sandwich-size pieces. Add whatever you'd like to the center. We added pepperoni, cheese and spaghetti sauce, but you could also do ham and cheese, turkey, cheese and avacado, or whatever you like on sandwiches! Grill the sandwich in a sandwich maker or Foreman grill, and enjoy!

Monday: Flautas

Flautas is another one of my favorite meals, although it is not all that good for you....oh, well. To start off, here is the recipe:

3 T butter

1/4 c flour

1 t salt

1 c chicken broth

1 t grated onion

1 T parsley

1 T lemon juice

Dash paprika, nutmeg, pepper

3 chicken breasts

I start by boiling my chicken and dice or shred it when finished. In a saucepan, melt the butter and then add the flour and salt. Add chicken broth (I just use the water I boiled the chicken in) and stir until thickened. Add the rest of the ingredients, and then stir in the chicken. At this point, it should look like this: (sorry about the blurry foreground, I was using my close-up lens)

Spoon mixture into flour tortillas, roll and secure with a toothpick. Fry in oil until golden brown (that would be the unhealthy part). I heat my oil on the stove at about medium heat. Place on a plate covered with paper towels to help drain the oil.

I like to eat my flautas with sour cream, guacamole, and salsa. I'm not very good at eating vegetables, hence the lack of them in all of my pictures, but I think we may have topped off the meal with strawberries from our garden...yum!

Sunday: French Dip Sandwiches

Wow, this week has been busy, so sorry I'm late on these posts. I have been on top of things enough to take pictures of most of my meals, even though I'm just getting around to posting them. Anyway, I'm going to start with Sunday since it is one of my all-time favorite meals. It's a crock-pot meal so it's super easy, and it's absolutely delicious. Here are the ingredients:

1 Roast (about 3 lbs, somewhat fatty to enhance the flavor)

3 c water

3 c beef broth (I just use bullion)

2 pkg Au Jus sauce

2 pkg Italian Dressing

I usually start cooking the roast between 8-9 in the morning, since we have 9:00 church. I put a frozen roast in the crockpot, and add all of the ingredients at once. I let it cook on low all day, and we eat about 5. In the last hour, I shred the meat (it basically just falls apart at this point) so that it can soak up the juices.

This picture was taken after we had already eaten, but it gives you the idea....

When you're ready, serve it on rolls (I use Hoagie Rolls) with swiss cheese, and sauteed onions and green peppers if you wish. I also like to have a little bowl with some juice in it for dipping. Serve it with a side of fruit or veggies (or both) and presto! you have an awesome meal. :)

Gah!(aka where did the week go?)

So when I signed up for this week of recipes, I thought - no biggie, we do meal planning lists every week. It'll be a breeze. Famous.last.words. Sorry for the lateness:

Monday: Weeknight Spaghetti and Meatballs
Tues: Fast Soup & Dumplings
Wed: Baked Chicken (Mom style)
Thurs: Sweetheart salad
Fri: Fried Rice

I have to go teach some undergrads now, but the rest of the posts will be up tonight. Cheers!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Sorry, no pics today, camera died.

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp oregano
3-4 chicken breasts

Combine in a quart-sized ziplock bag
Heat oven to 400 F
Cover baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray
Take tongs and add 1 piece of chicken at a time to the crumb mixture and shake to coat.
Remove from bag and place on baking sheet. Press remaining coating into chicken pieces.
Spray tops with cooking oil
Bake 12-15 minutes, or until cooked through

Serve with crusty rolls and salad or a veggie of your choice. We used broccoli tonight.

Veggie Noodle Mix

I'm not too great at measuring while cooking, unless it's a totally new recipe or I think it needs to be exact, so I don't know exactly how much I used, but I guessed here. You can do a lot of different things with it, adding different veggies depending on what you have.

This is what I did last night:
Approx. 1 cup sliced carrots
1 head of broccoli, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped or sliced (The first time with this, I liked it. Usually I do 2 ribs sliced celery)
1 can Cream of Chicken or Cream of Celery soup
1/2 can water
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 package egg noodles (or about 2 cups cooked rice)
(I didn't have this last night, but you can also add 1 cup chopped cooked chicken)

Heat sauce pan
Add the veggies and cook 2 minutes
Add the soup
Add 1/2 can water
Stir to combine.
Cook, stirring occasionally until mixture is slightly thickened


Cook noodles (or rice)
Add to veggie/soup mixture and stir to combine


Serve immediately. Bowls tend to work best.

Tex Mex BBQ Turkey Wraps

This recipe is another one that you can pretty much do whatever you want with.

Approx 2 cups shredded turkey
1 to 1 1/2 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce
1 cup rice
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 tortillas

1. Combine turkey and BBQ sauce
Heat in skillet on medium for about 15 mins


2. Cook rice according to package directions.

3. Heat tortillas in microwave in 10 second intervals until warm to touch.

4. Build wraps by placing hot BBQ turkey on lower third of each tortilla, top with 2 Tbsp cheese and 1/4 cup rice. Roll bottom edge of tortilla over ingredients.


You can serve it with chips and salsa or corn.

Salsa:
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 to 1 jalepeno seeded and sliced
1/2 bunch cilantro

Combine in blender, puree for about 3-4 seconds.