Salisbury Steak

So I'm sure like a lot of others my only experience ever with Salisbury steak is the frozen dinners from some company that I can't think of right now...and it had frozen mashed potatoes and usually peas. Well I decided that tonight I would try to make an actual Salisbury steak dinner with fresh ingredients, homemade mashed potatoes and corn(that well yea was frozen). This recipe comes from my favorite Midwestern cook Ree Drummond, who if she ever wants to switch kitchens I am so game for that...and all the appliances!

 http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/salisbury-steak-recipe.html

I can say I love this recipe! It was simple and all in one pan!

 

 

I made homemade mashed potatoes which is pretty simple. I cleaned the potatoes, diced them into chunky pieces leaving the skins on for extra vitamins, tossed them into the water and let them boil away(maybe 15-20 mins). I than drained them, popped them into my mixer, poured maybe 1/4 cup of milk and a couple tablespoons of butter mixed it all together and made sure the mashed potatoes were smooth. Seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper to taste and they are done!

 

This recipe hands down is on the best lists for my guys! There were no leftovers again...which is always a great sign! The steak was moist, the gravy was amazing and it was just a simple recipe with ingredients that are easy to find or even have them on hand in your pantry. I can't wait to find more of Ree's recipes to review and test out on my family... 

Irish Beef Handpies

So I figured I would completely step outside out my comfort box of pretty traditional and easy atnd try this Martha Stewart recipe, and boy was I nervous! There are a few crafty/cooking people I love and one of them is Martha...my friends usually joke with me about being the Southern Martha. Love my friends...so anyways. While this recipe is really good and it's extremely hardy my handpie didn't look as pretty as Martha's, just warning y'all.

 http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/irish-beef-hand-pies-recipe

 Now Martha's recipe calls for green cabbage, but our local store was out of green so I went with the purple cabbage which gives it a great color...and also I choose to use fresh thyme from my herb garden instead of dry.

Thankfully this is a one pan recipe which I love! And it was surprisingly easier than I was thinking. Thank you Martha!

Now I have to practice a lot more to make my handpie's look pretty and make the pie crust into better looking squares instead of lumps of meat, potatoes, cabbage yumminess! My guys compared it to a pot pie version of a shepherd pie and they loved them! There were no leftovers so I guess on St Patrick's Day I will make this for my family!

Meatless Pasta Bake

Tonight it was just the husband and I. Our 15yr old is out working a Cub Scout Haunted trail with the Boy Scouts so I figured tonight I would make something that gave me enough leftovers when the boy child gets home tomorrow. And this recipe hit the mark...it's a pretty simple recipe with ingredients that are easy to find and are pretty much staples in most pantries.

This recipe comes from the awesome people at Cravings of a Lunatic(love the name)...

http://www.cravingsofalunatic.com/2011/10/meatless-mondays-meatless-pasta-bake.html

 

 Now I have to admit there are a few things that I wasn't to crazy about with this dish. The biggest thing is that I had to use 2 pots, 1 skillet and a casserole dish. So I think I need to figure out a good way to combine almost everything into one skillet. Which shouldn't be to hard. The other thing and it's just my preference next time I make this I'm going to cut the chili powder by half, it was pretty overwhelming to my taste buds...it does add a nice kick to the recipe. I also used a red onion because our local Wal-Mart was out of yellow onions *sigh*

I have to say that both my husband and I enjoyed this dish...it was hearty enough that after a plate each we were full. I add yeast rolls to this and it was awesome!

Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken

Now I'm not sure if I've mentioned that I LOVE super easy recipes. The fewer the ingredients the happier this girl is..and this recipe is right up there! After having to go pick up my son from school, very last minute and way beyond anyone's control I needed something easy and quick! And with it only taking 25 mins to cook that is really quick!

This recipe has 4 ingredients for the marinade and 3 for the chicken...there for yay on my part!

It comes from the girls at Classy Clutter

http://www.classyclutter.net/2012/09/baked-parmesan-garlic-chicken.html

I love the fact that I can make the marinade and just let it sit in the fridge for a few hours and not have to stress over anything!

I love cheese and nothing beats parmesan cheese, while right up there with swiss cheese but a strong second place! So of course I had to add just a bit more parm cheese...maybe like another half cup of it but hey no one has to know!

 

 

Now once it was done baking I served my chicken with steamed broccoli and steamed rice. And of course add a slice of lemon and a couple sprigs of cilantro for a bit of pretty. I have to say I was really glad that I made myself a plate before I went walking because when I got home the guys had eaten 5 chicken breasts, all the steams broccoli and rice so I'll take that is that this recipe was a huge hit!

Spinach and Cheese Manicotti

Nothing says comfort food to me but pasta...I don't care what type of pasta they all scream comfort food. When I was little my favorite dinner was always my mom's spaghetti and garlic bread. Unfortunately I was allergic to tomatoes but that didn't stop this kid from eating "sketti and bread. Thankfully I outgrew my allergies..yay me! So anyways, tonight was a quiet night in my house that meant I could cook a meal that took a bit of time to make and enjoy the effort of cooking.

Our recipe comes from recipegirl.com

 http://www.recipegirl.com/2011/02/21/spinach-and-cheese-stuffed-manicotti/

Now thankfully all the ingredients are an easy find as you can see...now I choose to use fresh spinach and added a bit of cottage cheese just to add a bit more umph to the manicotti.

 

 

Because I have RA it's a lot easier for me to use my kitchen aid stand mixer and the paddle to mix the cheese, spinach, and other ingredients into a smooth mixture. And than I used a gallon ziplock bag to pipe in the cheese/spinach mixture into the manicotti noodles. If you haven't ever tried using a ziplock bag to pipe a mixture it's super easy, just put whatever batter you're using in a ziplock bag and snip the tip and go to town. And the best part is easy clean!

 

 

I poured half a jar of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of my baking vessel and then I took the left over spinach/cheese mixture and piped around the noodles, just so I didn't waste the fabulous mixture. Than topped the noodles with the rest of the sauce and covered it with lots of cheese!! I love cheese!
Did I mention I love cheese...but white cheese only! Yes I weird...than I baked this fabulous dish for 50 mins and out came a gooey hot delicious dinner...

My guys loved it..we added fresh baked rolls from the local grocery store and it was a meal that no person in their right mind could turn down! I added a bit of fresh parsley for touch of green. There are 3 of us in the house right now and there was NO leftovers...my guys ate the entire pan minus the 2 pieces I was able to take out for myself. So yes this recipe was a hit!

The Best Crock Pot Chicken Chili(?)

So it's Monday and Monday's in my house are always busy so when I found this recipe on Pinterest I know I had to try it. I mean come on they had it titled as "The Best Crock Pot Chicken Chili" recipe how can I not try it!? This recipe comes from our friends at The Best Blog Recipes...

http://thebestblogrecipes.com/2013/07/the-best-crock-pot-chicken-chili.html

Now I have to say I love chili and I love chicken so what's better than combining the two? Nothing I say..absolutely nothing! But is this recipe "The Best"?? Well.....It's pretty damn good!

I have to admit I did add Great Northern Beans into the chili just because it's a personal taste thing and instead of a yellow onion I used a red onion, once again personal taste, but aside from that I did follow the recipe. And all the ingredients are easy to find and pretty inexpensive.

Which the exception of sautéing the onions you cook everything in the crock pot. And the smells that were coming from the crock pot were divine!  

This chili recipe is fabulous...one bowl can fill you up. It's thick and hearty and just completely The Best Chicken Chili I've had yet! And of course the guys in my house are already requesting I make this for next week.

Chicken Gyros

So I stumbled upon tonight's recipes while looking up baklava recipes...and decided what the heck I love gyros and it looked pretty easy! Well I have decided that looks at times can be a bit deceiving. This recipe takes a bit of time and planning but I have to say it is worth it! I learned how to make homemade flat bread and tzatziki sauce which I am super excited about! So go me!! I have to say all the ingredients were easy to find..I have a mini herb garden so I try to use as much fresh as I can.

Anyways...tonight's dish is from our friends at cookingclassy.com

http://www.cookingclassy.com/2013/09/gyros-chicken-souvlaki-tzatkiki-homemade-greek-flatbread/

Now as I said this recipe does take some time and preparation....

First step is to get the marinate made for the chicken, which the prep took me about 10 mins and than marinated the chicken for 4 hrs. Now I put slits in my chicken to help get the flavors into the meat.

After marinating for 4hrs I used my indoor grill since I was just completely lazy to get the outdoor grill up and ready. But the chicken came out fabulous on this!

 

 

Now while I was waiting for the chicken to marinate I made my tzakziki. This took maybe 40 mins since 30 of it you have to let your cucumbers absorb salt but after that everything just gets thrown into the food processor and gets blended up into a rich wonderful sauce! And make sure you put it in the fridge for 4hrs to help thickening up a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

Now check it out...the flat bread! This took me about 15 mins to make the dough and an hr and a half for the dough to rise. Than just rolled the dough into equal size dough balls..take your rolling pin flatten them out into circles(or close to circles) pull out your skillet and cook your flat bread. Super easy and so really good!

 

 

Once everything is done, baked, cooked or whatever put whatever tasty toppings you want on it and enjoy! I added fries as our side since it was something simple. My guys give it 2 thumbs up and are looking forward to leftovers tomorrow for lunch!