Mini Shepherd's Pie

Combined and changed a few recipes to come up with this little savory for a friend's bridal shower.

Ingredients:
1 box puff pastry, brought to room temperature
1 pound ground beef
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
4 stalks celery (or 2 cups chopped)
2 carrots, diced
1 packet onion soup mix
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Bragg's Amino Acids or soy sauce
2-1/2 cups mashed potatoes (can be instant if desired, I used sour cream and chive flavored)

Directions:
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Brown ground beef in a large pan. When most pink is gone, add chopped onion and carrots. Cook about 5 minutes, and add celery, onion soup mix, red wine vinegar and amino acids (or soy sauce). Cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/2 cup of the mashed potatoes. When thickened, remove from heat and let rest.

Roll out each puff pastry on a floured surface, aiming for a rectangle 12"x16" or larger. Cut into 12 equal squares from each pastry. Lay each square in a muffin pan cup and press in lightly. Divide meat filling between pastry cups (approx 3 Tbsp-1/4 cup each), and top with about 2 Tbsp mashed potato. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 350 degrees

My first time making these, I only used the mashed potato in the mix. But topping with mashed potato is what makes this Shepherds pie, rather than just mini meat pies.

Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

I adapted this one from a recipe posted at The Recipe Critic. It might be my new favorite crock-pot meal! It worked best for me to prepare everything the night before, and just pop it in my Crock-pot on my way out the door in the morning.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds Flank Steak
• 1/3 cup Almond Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic Cloves
• 1/4 cup Dried Minced Onion
• 1/4 teaspoon Dried Ginger
• 3/4 cup Bragg's Amino Acids
• 3/4 cup Water
• 1/2 cup Splenda Brown Sugar
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1 cup snow peas
• Chopped Green Onion for garnish

Directions

• Cut Flank Steak into thin strips. In a large ziplock, add flank steak pieces and almond flour. Shake to coat.
• If prepping in advance, add all ingredients but snow peas and green onion to the ziplock and leave overnight in the fridge. In the morning empty ziplock bag contents into slow cooker.
• OR If prepping in the morning, add olive oil, minced garlic, minced onion, dried ginger, amino acids, water, Splenda and carrots to slow cooker and stir. Add coated flank steak and stir again until coated in the sauce.
• Cook on high 2-3 hours or on low 4-5 hours until cooked through and tender. Add Snow peas in last hour of cooking. Serve over rice or riced cauliflower. Garnish with green onions.

Saucy Chicken and Peaches

As regular readers will know, I get many of my recipes passed to me from my sister, Mercy. She even sent me a whole cookbook put together by her church group. This is one of the gems I found in that cookbook, and it was submitted to the book by my awesome sister!  I had forgotten to post it to the blog until I was talking about it with my friend Carrie tonight.

Saucy Chicken and Peaches

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 2 c. canned peaches (1 large can)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon basil

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat until hot.
2. Add chicken, cook 4-5 minutes. Turn chicken over, cover and cook another 4-5 minutes until juices run clear.
3. Remove from skillet; keep warm. You can also cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces to cook more quickly and for better serving sizes for small appetites.
4. Meanwhile, drain peach syrup into glass measuring cup. Add water to make 1 cup of liquid.
5. Whisk cornstarch, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and basil into peach liquid.
6. Pour liquid into hot skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
7. Gently Stir in Peaches and chicken.
8. Serve over hot rice.

Mercy's family likes the sauce so much, she makes double. Then she saves half of the peaches in custard cups for the kids to eat cold.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Similar to the dish at Chevy's by the same name, this spicy soup will clear out clogged nasal passages in a snap!

Ingredients:

• 4 (small) corn tortillas
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 12 oz.), cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 cans (about 28-30 oz) chicken broth
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies, undrained
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 cup shredded mexican blend shredded cheese

 Preheat oven to 400. Cut tortillas into 1/2 inch strips. lay out flat on baking stone. Bake 7-8 minutes or until crispy.  In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add chicken chunks and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add onion and garlic, chili powder and cumin. cook and stir 2 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes and chilies. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Serve Soup over tortilla strips, topped with cilantro. sprinkle cheese evenly between bowls.

Makes 4 servings

Honey Walnut...Chicken

I usually see this dish prepared with Batter-dipped, Fried Shrimp, but since I'm not a big fan of shrimp, I made my own recipe for a similar dish. It's not as amazingly sinful as the entree from my favorite local Chinese place, but it's a bit healthier and every bit as tasty.

Ingredients:

•  1/2 cup mayonnaise
•  4 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 3/4 cup candied walnuts
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small chunks 

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine mayo, honey and sweetened condensed milk. set aside. In a non-stick skillet or lightly oiled saucepan, stir-fry chicken pieces until no longer pink.  I usually cook them for 7-9 , minutes on medium high heat, and then cover, reduce heat to low and allow to cook through (about 5 more minutes). Combine with Candied walnuts and cooked chicken and serve over steamed rice topped with a handful of shredded lettuce.

Barbecue Pork Sandwiches

Here's a simple crockpot recipe for pulled pork sandwiches. Perfect for winter days like we've been having recently. You'll LOVE how yummy the house will smell when these are cooking.

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs. Boneless Pork Top Loin
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 can cola (can be diet if desired)
• 1 cup barbecue sauce

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook covered, on high for 5-6 hours, or until meat is very tender. Shred pork with two forks. Serve on rolls. These are great served with potato skins for a football party.

Mercy's Russian Chicken

Another quick and easy (and super yummy) recipe from my big Sis. This chicken with a sweet & tart sauce is best served over rice. You'll want to double the sauce if you plan more than 4 servings.

Ingredients:
4 chicken Breasts, or 4-6 chicken breast fillets. (I like boneless skinless for health and simplicity)
1/2 bottle Russian salad dressing
1/2 jar (about 1.5 cups) of Apricot preserves
1 packet onion soup mix
rice (cooked, plan for about 1 cup per serving)

Directions:
Mix salad dressing, apricot preserves and onion soup mix in small bowl. Place chicken in an 8 x 8" (or 9 x 13 for a doubled recipe). Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve over rice.

This made a lovely simple meal served with some green beans, but I may experiment with putting some vegetables into the baking dish with the chicken next time. Thanks again for the recipe Sis!

Baked Rigatoni

I'm not sure how I "lost" this recipe, but I looked everywhere for it for weeks, and suddenly it was back in my recipe basket. Hooray! This recipe comes from my old boss, Denise Goldman, who had adapted another recipe to fit her family's low fat lifestyle.

The original recipe makes a 9x13 pan, but I like to split the casserole into two 8x8s. I cook one and freeze one for later use. If you choose to do the same, make the whole recipe as directed, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Move from Freezer to Fridge for about 24 hours prior to cooking, and allow to warm to room temperature in the last hour. Then bake as directed.

Ingredients:
12 oz. pkg. Whole Grain Rigatoni
3/4 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsifted flour (I use whole wheat)
4 cups milk
4 teaspoons chicken boullion
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 pound cubed cooked ham
10 oz. pkg mixed veggies

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In large pan, cook onion in oil until tender
3. Stir in flour, then milk and boullion. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly; remove from heat.
4. Stir in one cup cheese, stir until melted
5. Combine noodles, sauce, ham and veggies. Pour into a greased 13x9" dish. Top with remaining cheese.
6. Bake 30 minutes or until hot & bubbly.

Serve with french bread & salad.

Vegetarian White Chili

I got this recipe off of a new favorite website - Sparkpeople.com. It's a great place to track your nutrition and fitness, as well as a good resource for health information.

Ingredients:

• 3 cans white beans (navy, great northern, cannellini, ) undrained
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoon Oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne
• 2 cups water (more or less depending on taste)

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a crock pot or soup pot and heat. Serve with Whole wheat rolls. Serves 6. If you have room for some more calories in your day, add cooked shredded chicken breast.

Nutritional Info (without chicken)
Fat: 0.5g
Carbohydrates: 22.0g
Calories:119.4
Protein: 7.9g

Creamy Tomato Bisque

Oh my goodness, has it really been nearly a month since my last recipe? Oh this just won't do! Here's tonight's dinner - Creamy Tomato Bisque. I love it served with a salad and French Bread, but if you need to serve more people, use it as a sauce on Pasta! I actually got this recipe from my friend Karol. She thought of it when we shared our dinner at Palermo, Elk Grove's best Italian Ristorante! I made a few adjustments, mostly due to not shopping in advance!

Ingredients:

• ½ cup chopped onions (chop them as small as possible! A pampered Chef food chopper works wonders!)
• 3/4 cup unsalted (I used salted) butter
• pinch dill seed
• dash dill weed
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (add an extra can of tomatoes if tripling recipe)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 4 Tbsp. flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• pinch white pepper
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (I used some fresh, some dried)
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup gorgonzola or parmesean cheese

Directions:
If you have a food processor - get it out. You'll need it to puree the soup. If you DON'T have a food processor, I advise chopping the onions to smithereens before cooking, and combining all other veggies and herbs in a blender before they go in the soup pot.

In a large pot, saute onions in 6 Tbsp. butter along with dill seed, dill weed, and herbs for 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and chicken broth and heat.

Make a roux (thickening paste) by blending 4 Tbsp. butter and 4 Tbsp. flour, whisking constantly over medium heat for 3 minutes, without browning. Add roux to soup and whisk to blend. Add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Add chopped parsley, honey, cream, half and half and cheese. Remove from heat and puree. Strain. (I just poured it through a wire strainer). Reheat to serve. Since this soup is thin, it is best served in a mug. Dip Fresh warm french bread in it if you like!

Chicken Casserole from Kristen

So this may be what all the Nesties call Salsa Chicken, but I first tasted it at Kristen and Domenick's house, after painting with them for the afternoon. Hunger may be the best sauce, but I think this casserole is going to be a family favorite, even when we're not starved!

Kristen's Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 2 cloves garlic
• small onion, sliced
• bell pepper, sliced
• 1 jar salsa (approx. 12 oz.)
• 8-10 small corn tortillas
• corn (optional)
• 1 bag pre-grated Mexican cheese blend

Brown chicken chunks, and add garlic, onion and bell pepper. Let veggies heat about 3 minutes, add Salsa and corn, cook just long enough to heat through. Remove from heat.
Line bottom of a 9x13 with tortillas, tearing if necessary, to fit. Layer 1/3 chicken mixture, 1/3 cheese, and another layer of tortillas. repeat with remaining ingredients, making sure cheese is on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, and then allow to cool for 15 minutes on the counter before serving.

Another from my Sis - Easy Chicken Pot Pie

I have to tell you - my Sister Mercy should really be the one with the blog. I have gotten SO many recipes from her over the years. Granted, she cooks for a family of 7! So I'm guessing it's not "leftovers again" at her house very often. In any case, I'm so glad she gave me a cookbook she and her church friends put together. Everything is super easy and so good! But of course - as all recipes - I've changed it a bit....

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• Pinch Pepper
• 1 bag frozen veggies, thawed (my house likes the potato & carrot stew mix, Mercy's family prefers broccoli, corn & cauliflower.)
• 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken (or about 2 chicken breasts)
  
• 1 (10 oz+) can of refrigerated flaky biscuits (we use Pillsbury Grands)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add Celery and onion, and stir over medium-high heat until crisp tender. Stir in Soup, milk and spices. Mix well. Stir in thawed veggies and chicken. Heat through. Pour into 13x9" baking dish.

Separate biscuits, and cut each one into four or six pieces. Place these chunks of dough on top of the filling mixture. They won't completely cover it, but nearly. Place in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown and filling is bubbly.

Gardener's delight - Vegetable Primavera over Pasta

I used to garden, but now I just enjoy the overflow from my Mom's veggie patch. I found this recipe years ago when I needed a simple way to use up ALL that squash!

Ingrediants:

• 1 package of your favorite pasta (I use a whole grain penne most often)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 pound fresh green beans, cut into 2" pieces
• 1 zuchini, halved and sliced
• 1 yellow squash, halved and sliced
• 1 or 2 bell pepper (red, orange yellow or green), sliced
• 1 cup light cream (sub whole milk for lower fat version)
• 1/2 cup fresh grated parmesean

Optional:

• grilled, sliced chicken breast

Directions:
Boil Pasta according to package directions.
Drizzle a little olive oil in a large skillet, and brown onion. Add green beans, saute for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add zucchini and yellow squash, then bell pepper. You shouldn't be cooking them long, they should be hot in the time it takes to boil the pasta. Add heated veggies to strained, cooked pasta, cover and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add cream and parmesean, stirring constantly. When cheese is melted, pour over pasta & veggies, toss and serve.
Obviously, this recipe gets less healthy if you put a ton of sauce on each serving. But there's lots of vitamins in the veggies, and whole grain pasta adds even more fiber. If your husband really needs meat with his meal, add sliced chicken breast on top of the pasta/veggie/sauce mixture.

An Old Favorite - Swiss Chicken Cutlets

This is another recipe that is easy to make, but impressive for company. It may look tricky, but the extra steps are well worth the taste!

Swiss Chicken Cutlets
Ingredients:

• 2-4 thin slices reduced-fat swiss cheese (approx. 2-4 ounces)
• 4 chicken cutlets, 1.4 inch thick (4 oz. each) You can substitute turkey breast slices if you don't want to find or pound cutlets.
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white wine (I generally serve the rest of the bottle with dinner)
• 1/4 teaspoon Oregano

Directions:
Starting at the narrow end, Roll each chicken cutlet with 1/2 a slice of cheese, jelly roll style. Tie with string. Combine flour & pepper in a ziplock bag, and toss cutlets in flour until coated. Melt butter over medium heat. Add cutlets, turning frequently, until golden (about 3 minutes).

Add broth, wine & oregano. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 10-12 minutes. Remove string & serve with rice and a veggie (Our favorite is Brussels sprouts!). I like to melt another 1/2 slice of cheese over each cutlet, and add a dash of oregano before serving. But I'm also a cheese fanatic, so you can do it either way!

Let's get cooking! French Dip Sandwiches

This blog started when my knottie girlfriends asked about my dinner plans. Or maybe I was just bragging. But a few asked for my recipe for French Dip Sandwiches and Twice Baked Potatoes. Someone else had eaten my Taco soup, and wanted that recipe. They asked for a cookbook, but I’m not that cool. I’ll give you a blog though! Let’s get started with those original recipes.

French dip is super easy. At least the way I do it!

· ½ pound thick sliced roast beef per person from the deli. [10.00 for 1 pound]
· 1 roll per person [1.99 for 6, or about 70 cents)
· Butter [almost free, you ought to have this!]
· Beef broth (1/2 can per person) [1.49]
· 1 packet onion soup mix per 4 people. [1.00]

Mix the broth and powdered onion soup mix, and place the sliced beef in the mixture. This can even be done the night before. Heat beef & au jus until it’s hot. Meanwhile, slice the rolls and lightly butter them. Toast them under the broiler (or on the BBQ if hubby needs a chore!) until crispy. Place warm meat on rolls and serve with individual cups of warm au jus.

[Total cost is about $14 for two servings. You can use less meat per serving though - this is a lot of food!]