Category: Meats

Beef · Casseroles · Holiday Fare · Meats

Beef Lombardi

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There is nothing much I enjoy more (well, actually I guess there is a lot more that I enjoy, such as: grandchildren, traveling, shopping, baking, AGT, Candy Crush to name a few) than getting out old magazines from years gone by to search out the tried and true recipes. Peter Pumpkin lets me keep the magazines in “seasons” in plastic tubs which are stored away in the infamous storage shed about 5 miles from our house. When fall comes rolling around, I pull out the old ones, some going back as far as the 90’s. Doesn’t it seem like it was just the 90’s, but seems weird that that is now considered “far back”? Well, last night while waiting for Forte to sing on AGT, I was thumbing through a 2003 October Southern Living and found several recipes that sound scrumptious. It’s interesting as different seasons of our lives roll around, different recipes appeal to us than they would have before. I cannot believe that I didn’t even look at this one, or if I did, my memory fails me (which since I am still so young & hip, I’m sure it is not that). Guys will love this because of the name, goes perfectly for those Monday night football game meals.

Serves 6
1 lb lean ground beef (or turkey)
1 (14 1/2 oz) can chopped tomatoes
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chiles
2 teas sugar
2 teas salt
1/4 teas pepper
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 (6 oz) package medium egg noodles
6 green onions, chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 cup (4 oz) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
Garnish: fresh parsley sprigs
Cook beef of turkey in a large skillet over medium heat 5-7 minutes, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain
Stir in chopped tomatoes and next 4 ingredients; cook 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and bay leaf and simmer 30 minutes.
Cook egg noodles according to package directions; drain.
Stir together egg noodles, chopped green onions and sour cream until blended.
Place noodle mixture in bottom of a lightly greased 13×9 baking dish. Discard bay leaf and the top with meat mixture; sprinkle evenly with cheeses.
Bake, covered with foil at 350 for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 more minutes. Garnish with parsley, if desired.
*This freezes up to 1 month if desired, before baking. To bake, thaw completely in refrigerator overnight and bake as directed.
*To lighten use fat free sour cream and reduced fat cheddar cheese and reduce amount of cheese on top to 1/2 each type. (but really, if you make this during football season, you are using so many calories jumping up and down for your team, you can afford to use the real stuff)

Holiday Fare · Meats

Slow-Cooker Cranberry-Orange Pork Roast

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2 Tablespoons oil

1 flat boneless pork loin roast (about 4 pounds)

1 can (14 oz) whole berry cranberry sauce

1/2 cup Kraft Classic Catalina Dressing

1 tablespoon less-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon zest and 1/4 cup juice from 1 orange

Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add meat and cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until browned on both sides. Transfer meat to slow cooker.

Mix cranberry sauce, dressing and soy sauce; pour over meat. Cover with lid. Cook on low 4 to 5 hours. Remove meat from cooker, reserving liquid in the slow cooker. Whisk remaining ingredients in small bowl until blended. Stir into liquid. Cook covered on high 10 minutes or until thickened.

Slice meat and place on serving platter. Drizzle with some of the sauce. Serve remaining sauce on the side.

*For best results do not cook meat on “high” setting in crock pot.

Makes 12-14 servings

Chicken · Meats

#785 Way to Cook Chicken

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They just keep coming. Just when you think that no one can invent another way to bake chicken, but here it is folks, a new recipe that really is a great recipe. Our daughter, Christi, who lives in Orlando texted this to me a few days ago. I went to the store, have bought the chicken and am making it tonight. She assured me that it is just so moist and yummy. She is a teacher and a mom of our sweet little Kenley (of course you knew that we would finally be given a granddaughter, but lives on the other side of the world, I mean Florida)  After our 4 grandsons, I guess you don’t have to wonder about how many pink dresses are flying over your heads right now, being sent to her from California. Anyway, sorry, I got carried away. Will update you tomorrow as to how amazing this recipe is after we indulge tonight on this new treasure.

1 lb of chicken (I am using chicken breasts)

1/2 cup mayo

1/4 cup parmesan

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Spray a baking dish with Pam. Mix mayo and parmesan cheese. Place chicken in baking dish and spread the mayo mixture on top of chicken. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and bake at 425 for 20-30 minutes, (depending on which chicken pieces you use, breasts always take a little longer) Christi assures us that this is the BEST and moist chicken.

She also said that you could use plain Greek yogurt, adding a little lemon juice to it before adding the parmesan cheese, to save calories and fat content.

Beef · Meats

Cilantro Sauce & Grilled Steaks

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Why do I do this?  Why do I seem to think that just because it is August I have to grill out every night to make up for all the times during the summer I didn’t grill out? It’s like it finally dawns on me that summer will be over in a couple of weeks (even though the temps won’t drop for at least another 3 months) and we haven’t used our new barbeque pit more than a dozen times. So I feel like I have to grill out every night so I will feel like I have used my summer lazy days to grill. I would hate for Southern Living Magazine to show up on my door step one summer day to find me in the kitchen making chicken and dumplings instead of outside on the back porch, with my little grill fork in my hand and my bowl of fresh fruit sitting on the table beside the barbeque pit. What would they think?

In order to keep my southern roots reputation in tact, I guess I should hurriedly get those tongs out and light up the fire. Tonight, we are having grilled steaks with cilantro sauce. Taken from Taste of Home (do these people know how to cook, summer style or what?) this sauce has become a favorite. I can put it on anything from tacos to tapas, from steaks to salmon (and since I’m one of the 3 people in the world that doesn’t like salmon, the cilantro covers up the taste so I can at least swallow it, without gaging,  when family insists on having it. Do not send me hate mail, I still wont’ like it).

2 cups fresh parsley leaves

2 cups fresh cilantro leaves

1 cup fresh mint leaves

8 garlic cloves

1 3/4 teas kosher salt, divided

1/2 teas, plus 3/4 teas freshly ground pepper, divided

2 cups olive oil

2/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 tables lemon juice

1/2 teas crushed red pepper flakes

4 lbs beef flat iron steaks or top sirloin steaks (1″ thick)

Place herbs, garlic, 1 teas salt and 1/2 teas pepper in food processor; pulse until herbs are chopped. Gradually add oil, vinegar, lemon juice and pepper flakes, processing just until blended.

Sprinkle steaks with remaining salt and pepper. Grill, covered over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until meat reaches 145 degrees (medium would be 160 and well done would be 170)

Cut steaks into 1/4″ slices; serve with sauce

Chicken · Daily Thoughts · Meats · Starches

Security Guards & Smouthered Chicken

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While living in CA we went onto watch the Ranger vs Angels play. We were excited to be going out to an evening of eating junk food without guilt. Why is it, when you are enjoying sports events or carnivals, car shows or festivals, we eat as though none of the calories will turn to fat? We pigged out on two tubs of popcorn, peanuts and foot long hot dogs. But we did have the sense to wash it all down with a diet Pepsi, after all, we do have to watch our cholesterol. We didn’t concern ourselves one iota with the fact that we had consumed more calories in one night that we had all week. But it was ok, we were watching baseball.

It was at this point in the evening, when we realized that we had eaten our way through the first 4 innings. We then began to notice two security guards, which walked back and forth, back and forth, right in front of us. The “lady” guard walked in front of “baby Huey” guard, neither one of them looking to the left or to the right, just straight ahead. We became so interested in them that we missed a homerun. We noticed that Baby Huey guard was probably not over the age of 25 and maybe was in training. If lady guard stopped, he stopped, when lady guard walked, he walked, always the same amount of space between them.  Baby Huey must have weighed over 300 lbs and I must say that there was no way he would have been able to run for help or chase anyone trying to steal 3rd base. I truly am in horrible physical shape and over weight. The heaviest thing I can probably lift would be a extra large piece of cheesecake to my mouth. The only time I even try to run is when the blue light comes on at KMart, but I am here to tell you, I think I would be able to beat Baby Huey to be first in line at the hamburger stand. It didn’t give us a sense of security at all. We both sat there and wondered, “what is the biggest size of security uniforms made”? As we watched the snack guys running up and down the stands, yelling, “hot dogs, cotton candy, ice cream”, we talked among ourselves about why didn’t they make these guys the security people? They are able to run up and down the stairs without having to carry an oxygen tank with them. They can throw a hot dog through the air like it was a feather. If a terrorist was running after me, I would vote for the hot dog guy to come to my aid any day before Baby Huey. At least he could stuff cotton candy down the terrorist throat, giving me a chance to hide under the hot dog cart. So we came away, knowing that we will be writing to the NBL with our suggestion that they switch the roles. Snack guys would become security people, baby Huey’s would become snack guys.

Ok, that is off my chest I can post the recipe that I am making tonight. We are headed to watch Forever Plaid and need to eat and run (well, not like the hot dog guys, we will take the car). This is a quick easy recipe that uses store bought rotisserie chicken.

1 (8 oz) package wide egg noodles

1 teas paprika

1 teas dried thyme leaves, crumbled

1/2 teas salt

1/2 teas pepper

3 tables butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 (16 oz) package mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

2 tsp minced garlic

1 (10 3/4 oz) cream of mushroom soup

1 cup milk

1/3 cup dry white wine (or more milk if you don’t want to use wine)

1 rotisserie chicken cut into serving pieces

1 tables chopped fresh parsley

Prepare noodles as directed on package. Set aside and keep warm

Stir together paprika, dried thyme, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms and sauté 8-10 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in garlic and paprika mixture. Saute 2 more minutes. Add soup, milk and wine. Bring to just beginning to boil stage, stirring frequently. Add chicken pieces. spoon sauce over top of chicken. Reduce to a low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Stir in 1 tables parsley. Serve over hot cooked noodles.

Serves: 4

Breakfast · Casseroles · Meats

Summer Overnight Biscuit, Sausage & Apple Casserole

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Because it is summer we tend to want foods that are “lighter” in texture, but still full flavored and filling. Sausage casseroles tend to be a little heavy for summer liking, but when I found this one, because of the chopped apple (I tend to think that anything that has fruit in it makes it automatically healthier, never paying attention to the other ingredients. I just tell myself that, “well it has fruit in it, it must be healthy”), it just sounded like a summer casserole. Plus, it uses up those cans of biscuits in your fridge that are almost out of date.

2 pounds of Jimmy Dean mild sausage or sage flavored

2 tart apples, cored and siced

6 cups torn or cut baked biscuits in 1″ pieces

9 eggs, beaten

1/2 teas Dijon mustard

1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

3 cups milk

Salt & Pepper to taste

Fry the sausage in a skillet, breaking it up as it cooks. Drain, reserving the fat, and let sausage cool,

Saute the apples in the reserved fat; remove from pan and cool.

Move the biscuit pieces to a large resealable plastic bag. Whisk together the eggs, mustard, cheese and milk in a large bowl. Stir in cooled sausage and apples. season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to the plastic bag. Place the bag inside another resealable plastic bag with zipper facing opposite direction to prevent leaks. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight or up to 2 days.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350. Pour mixture into a buttered 13×9 baking dish or divide between 2 (1 1/2 qt) casserole dishes, that have been greased.

Bake covered 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 30 min or until eggs are set.

Daily Thoughts · Meats

Randy’s Birthday

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Today is a very special day in our home. Today is Randy’s birthday. He has requested pineapple cheeseburgers and German Chocolate cake, so I thought I would write about the cheeseburgers. When we first married and he shared with me that one of his favorite things to grill were pineapple cheeseburgers, so on the weekend he would be making them for me. Because we were in our first year of marriage, I smiled and said, “oh honey, that sounds great and I can’t wait to try them.” As soon as I could leave the room, I was already looking up directions to a local drive-thru (I had just moved to the Dallas area so was still having to learn my way around), so that after he fell asleep that night, I could go get a real hamburger as that sounded just awful. I couldn’t imagine the combination of pineapple, cheese and hamburger meat. Yuck, who had I married? I just couldn’t believe that I was going to have to actually eat this combination and how was I going to scrape it under the table while he was sitting at the table with me? Where was a dog when I needed it?
Well, I had planned my escape for barbeque night. I was going to slip a Tylenol PM in his diet coke and slip out to buy me a hamburger while he slept. Knowing I would be hungry because I just couldn’t stomach what he was going to be cooking after work.
Friday came and all day I just kept wondering how I was going to get rid of that awful creation of his, all the while making him think he was king of the grill. But being the resourceful wife that I was learning to be, I only bought enough meat for two hamburger patties. When he sets down my hamburger in front of me, I will somehow avert his attention to the television. Taking this opportunity, I was going to “accidently” drop the hamburger on the floor, after one bite. Well, all my planning and dreading biting into this creation of his came to a halt when I took one bite. It was amazing! I have been hooked every since. Thanks honey for introducing me to a hamburger that remains a hit in our home and our kids even request it when they come to visit. So in honor of Randy, here is the
recipe for Grilled Pineapple Cheeseburgers. Happy Birthday honey, you are still the love of my life
and I am so proud to be your wife….a cheeseburger and German Chocolate Cake will be our celebration tonight.
Recipe for Grilled Pineapple Cheeseburgers
Serves 6
Hamburger patties to feed 6
6 slices pineapple (we like the one in heavy syrup)
6 leaves of iceburg lettuce, rinsed and dry
6 slices American cheese
salad dressing or mayo (he uses Miracle Whip, I like Mayo)
Cook patties according to your liking. A little pink in center is great. Place a pineapple slice on top of patty and then a slice of cheese. Allow cheese to melt over pineapple slice. Remove to platter and spread dressing of your choice (mayo or Miracle Whip)onto bun. Place lettuce on bun and then cheesecovered patty. Enjoy…sometimes, we even grill the pineapple slice before placing on the meat. Add’s an extra bit of flavor…Happy Fourth and enjoy some fireworks.

Breads · Breakfast · Meats

Italian Brunch Torte

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I had a hard time deciding which if the two new recipes that I found over the weekend, taken once again from Taste of Home. If you even just want a magazine that gives you pretty much nothing but good, down home, (boy do I sound like a real “hick” or what) food, Taste of Home is your go to magazine. The recipes are usually so simple with not a lot of ingredients that you wouldn’t have around the house or just easy pick up at the grocery store. So this first one is such a easy recipe that is perfect for those late Saturday or Sunday breakfast when you are wanting something besides a granola bar or bacon and eggs.

2 tubes (8 oz each) crescent rolls, divided

1 teas olive oil

1 pack (6 oz) fresh baby spinach

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

7 eggs

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 teas Italian seasoning

1/4 teas pepper

1/2 lb thinly sliced ham

1/2 lb thinly sliced hard salami (opt) If you choose, just add another 1/2 lb of ham or turkey

1/2 lb sliced provolone cheese

2 jars (12 oz ea) roasted sweet red peppers, drained, sliced and patted dry

Preheat oven to 350. Place a greased 9″ springform pan on a double thickness of heavy duty foil (about 18″ square).

Securely wrap foil around the pan. Unroll one tube of crescent dough and separate into triangles. Press onto bottom of pan to form a crust, sealing seams well. Bake 10-15 min or until set.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add spinach and mushrooms; cook and stir until mushrooms are tender.

Drain on paper towels, blotting well. In a large bowl, whisk six eggs, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and pepper. (I added a little garlic powder)

Layer crust with half of the ham, salami, provolone cheese, red peppers and spinach mixture. Pour half of the egg mixture over the top. Repeat layers; top with the remaining mixture.

On a work surface, unroll and separate remaining dough into triangles. Press together to form a circle and seal seams; place dough over filling. Whisk remaining egg and brush over top of dough.

Bake, uncovered 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until thermometer reads 160 degrees. Cover loosely with foil if needed to prevent overbrowning.

Carefully loosen sides from pan with a knife; remove rim from pan. Let stand for 20 min before serving.

Casseroles · Chicken · Meats · Soups

Chicken & Biscuits in a Pot

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The last few days it has been such a delight and look through several new cookbooks that have come in the mail. One recipe that has caught my eye and sounds just like such a comfort food, yet, it comes from Food & Wine, which normally, I wouldn’t think of when I am thinking “comfort food”, but it just goes to show you that once again, you “cannot judge a book by it’s cover” Also, don’t know if you have noticed, but this is actually 2 days in a row that I am posting recipes that don’t have sugar in them. Am I getting healthy or what?

6 tables unsalted butter

2 shallots, thinly sliced (or 1/2 cup chopped onion)

1/2 pound shitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced

1 large carrot, cut into 1/2″ chunks

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 1/4 cup plus 1 table self rising flour

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

salt & pepper to taste

3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

1/2 cup frozen baby peas, (because we don’t like peas, we will be using green beans)

1 tables each: chopped sage and thyme

1/2 cup plus 2 tables whole milk

Preheat oven to 425. In a large dutch oven or cast iron casserole pan, melt 2 tables of the butter. Add the shallots, (you can use onions in place of shallots if you wish, I won’t send the shallot police looking for you.) mushrooms and carrot chunks and cook over medium heat, stirring until the shallots (onions) and mushrooms are softened, about 8 min.

Add wine and cook until completely evaporated, about 1 min. Stir in 1 tables of the flour and the broth and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer until thick, about 3 min. Stir in the chicken and peas (or green beans).

In a food processor, combine the remaining 1 1/4 cups of flour with the remaining 4 tables of butter and the chopped thyme and sage. Pulse 5 times. Add the whole milk just until a shot dough forms.

Using a small ice cream scoop (hurry and clean the ice cream scoop so you can have some ice cream while this is in the oven) or a tablespoon, scoop 20 balls of biscuit dough oven the chicken stew. Bake in the center of the oven for 25 min. Turn on the broiler and broil the stew for 1-2 min until the biscuits are golden. Let rest for 5 min before serving.  

Baking this dish takes the guessing out of how long you have to actually boil dumplings to get them just right. 

 

 

Casseroles · Chicken · Meats

Easter Chicken Enchiladas

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Got your attention now, who ever thought of having enchiladas at Easter? After you see this recipe, you might be inclined to push the ham away and get to the store to buy tortillas and cilantro. These are delicious and the cream cheese in them make them extra special for that pretty Easter buffet.

1 cup diced sweet onion (or if you are in a sour mood, I guess you could use a mean onion)

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups fresh chopped baby spinach

2 (4.5 oz) cans chopped green chiles, drained

3 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened *You can use the low fat cream cheese if you really really want, but just don’t get to skinny to fit into that new Easter outfit.

2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese (I used cheddar just because I like the flavor better than the jack cheese)

1/3 cup fresh cilantro (if you have a Trader Jo’s store close by, they sell little frozen trays of cilantro, which you keep frozen and just pop out a square of cilantro, allowing you to always have fresh cilantro on hand) (If using frozen squares, the substitution amounts are on the little tray)

8 (8 in) soft taco-size flour tortillas

Pam cooking spray

Tomatillo Salsa

Preheat oven to 350. Saute onion and garlic in hot oil in a large skillet over medium heat for 5 min or until onion is tender and clear. Add spinach and green chiles and sauté 1-2 min. Stir in chicken and next 3 ingredients and cook stirring continually for about 5 min, or until cheese melts.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla and roll it up. Sprinkle some shredded cheese on top.

Place rolled tortillas, seam side down in a greased pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 min or until golden brown. Top with Tomatillo Salsa.

TO MAKE AHEAD:

Prepare recipe as directed through placing the tortillas into a baking dish. Cover and keep in fridge, then allowing to stand at room temp about 30 min before you want to bake. Uncover and bake.