Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Poppy Seed Chicken


This recipe came from my twin sisters-in-law. When they were in college they took turns making meals for everyone that lived in their appartment. This was one of their favorite recipes. It has become one of our favorites as well. It is very creamy and you can never go wrong with Ritz crackers.

3-4 Chicken Breasts (cubed or shredded) - I put chicken in the crock pot in the morning making this meal a quick fix.
1 can Cream of Chicken (Family Size - low fat)
1 cup Sour Cream (fat free)
2 pkgs Wheat Ritz crackers (crushed)
1 T Poppy Seeds
2 T Melted Butter

Pre-cook chicken. Mix sour cream and cream of chicken soup. In a casserole pan, add chicken, cream of chicken and sour cream. Crush ritz crackers and mix with melted butter. Top chicken mixture with ritz and sprinkle with poppy seeeds. Serve over rice or noodles. MMMmmmm good!!!

Cook at 350° for 30-40 minutes

Chicken Foil Dinner

It always makes me nervous to make meals for friends or family. Especially if I get brave and try something new. I had company coming over for dinner and needed something really yummy to make. My mom told me about this recipe that she called Chicken Foil Dinner. I felt ambitious and decided to give it a try. It is really quite easy to make. Once it was on the table ready to be eaten, I started feeling nervous. I questioned my resolve, serving something new but it was too late to change it so I had to just go with it. I prayed that it would be edible and hoped it would be much more. Our new friends loved it so much they called later asking for the recipe. Yea, what a relief. I was so glad it turned out so well!!

Ingredients

6 chicken breasts thawed
1 medium onion (Dice)
2 medium tomatoes (Chopped)
1/3 cup fresh parmesan cheese (Grated)
3 zucchini (Sliced)

Rub
1/4 t black pepper
1 T flour
1 T water
1/2 t basil
1/2 t Lawry's season salt

Lay out 6 pieces of foil

Mix Rub ingredients together and apply to chicken breasts. Lay each individually on the foil pieces. Then take the other ingredients and top the chicken with them. Onion, tomato, parmesan cheese and zucchini.

Oven - Wrap up the foil and bake at 450° for 40-50 minutes (chicken side down)

Barbecue - Preheat to medium. Double the foil. Cook for 20-23 minutes (chicken side down)

I have used both the oven and barbecue approach and both have turned out great. Let me know what you think.

BLT Sandwich


Today was such a HOT day! My house would not stay cool and that meant I wasn't going to cook. Dinner options were pretty limited at this point, cereal (which we ate last night), fast food (blah), or sandwiches. I always know it has to be tasty and filling so my children wouldn't come to me later saying they were still hungry.

I remembered my mother-in-law making us BLTs (Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato) sandwiches. Super simple microwave or fry up some bacon. Put on whole wheat bread. Flavor to taste with mayo, mustard and salt and pepper (a must in my house). Place lettuce, tomato and bacon on the bread and enjoy. My husband was very excited when he heard what I was cooking. This is one of his favorites!! Who would have guessed a sandwich night becoming something to cheer about.


Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

This is an awesome meal that is a hit at my house and I love it because it is very easy and quick to make. Great for those nights you don't want to cook all night but don't feel like going out either.

Lay the different ingredents in a 9x13 dish in this order...

First... 6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Second... lay 6-8 slices of ham over the chicken
Third... cover with 8 slices swiss cheese
Fourth... pour 2 cans cream of mushroom soup mixed with 1/2 milk on top.
Fifth... 1 bag of croutons, mashed and sprinkled on top.

Cook uncovered at 350 for 1 hour

Easy Cheesy, Fresh and Squeezy!

Hell Burger (the best burger EVER)

We can't take full credit for this idea. We watched an episode of Man vs. Food and they were visiting a restaurant that served up these delightful little burgers. We almost wanted to take a drive to Amarillo TX just to taste them. We then decided to try and make our own to save the 15.5 hour drive. Our first couple of goes at it were fun and tasty but we have now mastered the approach and these have become very popular. Our friends and family talk about them for weeks after we make them a round of Hell Burgers. They really love them. By the way, they are just as good without the Jalapeno's for your not-so-daring friends.

The (Semi Famous) Hell Burger

Warning: this is a hot one. Our 9 year old can handle it though.

2 lbs. Quality Ground beef

1 Medium or Large diced onion

Season to Taste (Salt, Pepper, Lawry's Steak Seasoning,)

1 Egg per 2 pounds of meat

Lettuce

Tomato

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Thaw ground beef and mix in onion, egg and salt and pepper. Also add in Lawry's Season Salt. Mix with hands and make into patties, ours are usually about 1/3 pound patties.

Preheat the electric griddle to 400 degrees cook the burger on one side for 3 to 4 minutes uncovered to sear it. I like sprinkling a coat of Lawry's seasoning and some cayenne pepper on the burger as it first starts cooking. Then flip it over and place under a metal bowl (See picture), these help to cook the meat all the way through and make it cook a little faster. I estimate that we cook for about 5 - 8 minutes then flip it over and do another 5 minutes on the first side.

Once you place the bowl on the burger put the jalapenos (sliced to make little circles) on the griddle. Brown (slightly). When you flip the burger place the Jalapenos on top of the patty. Keep under the bowl until fully cooked. When almost done put a handful of shredded cheese on top of the burger covering the Jalapenos. Cover again for 30 to 60 seconds to melt the cheese. Then serve it up with your choice of toppings and condiments. Our favorite is on my homemade wheat buns (see below) with just ketchup and mustard although on the show they put lettuce and tomato on as well.






Honey-whole wheat bun recipe

3 c. whole wheat flour

1/3 c. honey

1/4 c. shortening or butter

1 tbs. salt

2 pkg yeast (2 Tbs)

2 1/4 c. very warm water

3 to 4 c. whole-wheat flour

Combine in a glass bowl: honey, shortening (butter), salt, and water. Heat in microwave for 1 minute until hot (not boiling hot)

In your mixer put 3 cups of whole-wheat flour, crate a little cavity in the flour and pour the yeast in. Then pour hot ingredients on top and mix for about a second. Check to see if the water is bubbly, if it is that means your yeast is good (alive). Turn the mixer back on to a slow setting and continue adding flour very slowly as it mixes. When the dough comes off of the sides of your mixer the you have added enough flour. Let the dough continue to mix (knead) for 5 minutes. Place it in big bowl with damp towel over the top. Tip: heat helps the dough rise quicker, place it next to your hot oven.

After the dough has doubled in size, make into dinner rolls size balls (a little bigger than a golf ball). Smash as flat as you can. I even use a rolling pin. Place on a greased pan and then in oven. Then slice the rolls to make your bun.

Preheat Oven: 375

Bake Time: 10-12 minutes

Beef Strogenoff



Beef Stroganoff

I always get happy comments when my family sees beef stroganoff on the table. This is one of our favorites.

1 pound ground beef
1 can cream of chicken
1 onion
3 stalks of celery
1 can mushroom soup or mushrooms
1 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp salt

Cook meat until brown. Saute onions or celery. Add to meat along with other listed ingredents. Serve over rice or noodles.

simple french bread pizza





My children love making their own pizzas. This is fun and so easy to put together.

Shopping list
  • french bread
  • your favorite cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, prevolone)
  • 1 jar maranara sauce
  • Your favorite toppings: pepperoni, pineapple, ham, barbecued chicken, peppers, etc.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Red and Yellow Pepper Chicken

6 chicken breast - roll in flour
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. sour cream
1 can (26 oz) cream of chicken
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom
2 c. cheddar cheese
1 c. red bell pepper
1 c. yellow bell pepper

Bake for 2 hours at 350. Serve over noodles or rice.

My adaptions:
1. I use whatever peppers (red, yellow, orange, green) I have on hand. You can't mess this recipe up. That is what I like about it.


Beef Stroganoff

I always get happy comments when my family sees beef stroganoff on the table. This is one of our favorites.

1 pound ground beef
1 can cream of chicken
1 onion
3 stalks of celery
1 can mushroom soup or mushrooms
1 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp salt

Cook meat until brown. Saute onions or celery. Add to meat along with other listed ingredents. Serve over rice or noodles.