Opal's Shepherd's Pie

Opal's Shepherd's Pie (Opal Madison)

1 lb. ground beef
1-2 cans tomato sauce
1 can green beans
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 1/2 c. grated cheese
6 medium potatoes or 3 cups instant mashed potatoes

Peel and boil potatoes. Mash and set aside. Brown ground beef with onion, salt, and pepper. Drain off the fat. Add tomato sauce and green beans. Place ground beef mixture in a baking dish. Whip potatoes and spoon on top of ground beef mixture. Top with grated cheese. Bake at 375* for 25 minutes.

Chicken Mushroom Crepes

Make crepes ahead of time. (If you want that recipe, let me know.) When I make mine I make sure to make enough that we'll have some left for dessert, in which I put melted butter and powdered sugar before rolling them up. YUM!

Chicken Filling With Mushroom Sauce

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
2 1/2 c. cooked chicken

Combine all ingredients.

Mushroom Sauce:

2 tbsp. melted butter
1 small onion; chopped
diced bell pepper to taste
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cube chicken bouillon
2 tbsp. water
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 c. cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients. Make sure bouillon cube is dissolved. Set aside some of the cheese or grate extra for the top.

Line crepes with filling. Roll up and place in a pan like enchiladas. Pour sauce over top. Cover and bake for 15 minutes at 350*. Sprinkle top with grated cheddar cheese and return to oven for 10 minutes.

Stacey's Stir Fry

Stacey's Stir Fry ala Stacey Hartley

1 1/2 lbs. steak
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 tbs fine chopped ginger root
2 garlic cloves minced
3 carrots sliced
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 medium onion
1 1/2 cup broccoli, chopped

Heat oil. Add steak, ginger root and garlic, heat for 2-3 minutes, then remove steak. Add carrots and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add vinegar, soy sauce, onion and broccoli. Cook for 2 minutes. Return the steak to the veggies and heat for 2 minutes and then serve over rice or noodles.

Marissa's Marinade

Marissa's Marinade

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup cooking wine
3 large cloves garlic
3 tsp. fresh ground ginger root
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. shredded parsley
1 tsp. salt

Mix it all together and add your meat.

I actually put 6 chicken breasts in it and froze it. I'll just take them out as we need them. This is seriously my favorite marinade!!!

KG's Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas
ala KG

4 chicken breast
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 c. Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
(reserve 1/2 c. for the top)
1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
(reserve 1/2 c. for the top)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 c. sour cream
1 4 oz. can green chilies, diced
1 c. red or green enchilada sauce
1/2 c. franks red sauce
12-14 tortillas

Brown chicken and onion. Drain. mix in enchilada sauce, franks red sauce and 2 c. of cheese. Fill each tortilla with mixture, roll and place, seam side down, in 9x13 pan or two small pans to freeze. Mix together sour cream, soup, and chilis; pour over top of tortillas. Bake uncovered at 375* for 20-30 minutes. Remove and top with remaining cheese and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf

Courtesy of Katie Joel

Ingredients:

Serves 8-10

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion , diced (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 clove garlic , minced
• 1 medium red pepper , finely diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 2 large eggs , lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray lightly with oil.

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions, garlic and bay leaf until the onions are tender, about 3 minutes. Add the red pepper and cook until the red pepper is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley and thyme and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove pan from the heat and let the onion mixture cool. Discard the bay leaf.

In a large bowl, combine the beef, eggs, bread crumbs, 1/2 cup of ketchup, the Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and the cooled vegetables. Use your hands to mix everything together.

Transfer the mixture to the center of the baking sheet and form into a loaf. Coat the meat loaf with the remaining 1/2 cup ketchup.

Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours (depending on the shape of your loaf), until the meat loaf is firm. Let set for about 5 minutes before slicing.

Cream of Potato Cheddar Cheese Soup

Cream of Cheddar Cheese Soup
(callie madison)

4 c. finely sliced and diced potatoes(peeled)
4 tbs butter
1/2 c. finely diced yellow onion
1/2 c. finely diced celery
2 cans chicken broth(14.5 oz)
1/4 c. water
4 chicken bouillon cubes(I actually only use 2)
8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 1/4 c. half and half (a little more in needed)
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
shredded colby/jack cheese(garnish)

On medium low heat in 3 quart saucepan saute celery and onion with butter. cook onion until clear; add celery, take care not to let onions brown. Add chicken broth, potatoes, and water. Place on medium low heat and cook until potatoes are very soft and tender. When potatoes are done add chicken bouillon cubes and cook until cubes have been dissolved. Mash the potatoes slightly but leaving most of them in chunks. reduce heat and add half and half, stir in mixture. add shredded sharp cheddar cheese and stir until cheese is completely melted and dissolved into mixture. sprinkle sugar, pepper, and salt into soup; stir. Let soup simmer very slowly for 20-30 minutes taking care not to let it scorch. When ready to serve, garnish with shredded cold/jack and maybe a little parsley.

I should have doubled this one for sure but I hadn't made it prior so we weren't sure we'd like it. We love it!!!

Zesty Vegetable Chicken Soup

Side note: I had written about Lemon chicken Mushroom...it's actually Chicken Scallopine and I have already done a blog on that. Click here. It's definitely a favorite!!!

Zesty Vegetable Chicken Soup

Broth
2 quarts water
3 lbs chicken on bone or 2 pounds chicken breasts(my preference)
1 large onion quartered
2 medium carrots, quartered
2 celery ribs, quartered
8 whole allspice
2 bay
1 TBS salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Soup
1 quart V-8 juice
3 celery ribs, sliced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 c. uncooked egg noodles

In a crock pot or soup kettle, bring broth ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 hours or until meat is tender. Remove chicken; allow to cool. Skim fat and strain broth; discard vegetables and seasonings. If needed, remove meat from bones and shred or cut into bite size pieces; return to broth. Add the first 10 soup ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Stir in noodles. Return to a boil; cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until noodles are tender.

Baked Lemon Pasta

I'll give credit when I can but I cannot remember where I got this one and some I adapt from several recipes and make it my own. This is seriously a favorite! We already ate all the servings this week!

Baked Lemon Pasta

1 pound thin spaghetti
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
2 cups sour cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste if desired
Plenty of Parmesan cheese(I like canned or powder to mix it in and then shredded fresh for the top)
Flat leaf parsley, chopped
Extra lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente.
In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over LOW HEAT.
When butter is melted, add minced garlic.
Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat.
Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary.
Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish.
Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.)
When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top.
Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley.
Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end.

Serve with crusty French bread and a simple green salad.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

The first one will be easy because Stephanie already had it nicely typed up and it comes with a photo! :) I doubled this one.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

From Melanie

1 can chicken broth

1 small onion, diced

1/3 c. flour

1/4 c. butter

Pepper to taste

2 c. milk (I used 1%)

1 1/2 c. shredded sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 c. shredded swiss cheese

steamed chopped broccoli (I used about 3 cups of broccoli florets, we love broccoli though)

Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes. In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour and pepper. Cook together for a couple of minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium-high heat until soup starts to thicken. Next add chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add cheeses and steamed broccoli. Serve immediately.

Makes approximately 3 adult size servings in bread bowls.

Ok fine you twisted my arm.

I'll post the recipes over the next week or so.

Chicken Scallopine is divine!

I love cooking with KG. It's really one of my favorite things. Especially when trying a new recipe and when it turns out so well! He and Flower got home from karate and while he showered, I laid out all the ingredients. Then we let Flower watch a cartoon and we enjoyed a little 'date night' and got to work. This is one of my favorite new recipes lately.
With the help of The Pioneer Woman we turned this cast of characters...
...into this.

It was so yummy! We highly recommend it. Flower scarfed it down and then licked the plate clean!
*Photos compliments of PW. For more amazing photos and step by step instructions visit the link above, you will not be disappointed!

PW’s Chicken Scallopine

1 pound linguine
6 boneless, skinless, trimmed chicken breasts
Flour
Salt & Pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
12 ounces white mushrooms, sliced thin
1 cup dry white wine
1 lemon
1/2 cup heavy cream (can use half & half)
1 heaping tablespoon capers
chopped fresh Italian parsley

Cook pasta according to package directions.
Flatten chicken breasts to uniform thickness. Salt and pepper both sides, then dredge in flour.
Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry chicken breasts until golden brown. Remove to a plate and set aside.
Throw mushrooms into the pan and stir. Immediately pour in wine, then squeeze juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon. Stir to deglaze the pan, then cook vigorously for 1 minute, until sauce reduces.
Pour in cream and stir, then add capers and parsley and stir. Turn off heat. Stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Don’t undersalt!
Place pasta and chicken on a platter and top with every last drop of sauce. Generously sprinkle Parmesan Cheese over the top.

Another recipe we tried recently and liked is:

Skillet Chicken with Broccoli, Pasta, and Parmesan Cheese
adapted from The Best Skillet Recipes

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch squares
Table salt and ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
8 ounces ziti (penne makes a great substitution - I've used both with great results)
4 1/4 cups water
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4-5 cups broccoli florets (depending on how much broccoli you want)
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped coarse
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (asiago was the cheese in the original recipe and can be interchanged, but I always have parmesan on hand so I used that)
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook for 1 minute without stirring. Stir the chicken and continue to cook until most, but not all, of the pink color has disappeared and the chicken is lightly browned around the edges, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a clean bowl and set aside.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, onion, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the skillet. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened, 2 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the pasta, 3 cups of the water, and the broth. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the liquid is very thick and syrupy and almost completely absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, and the remaining 1 1/4 cups water. Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the broccoli turns bright green and is almost tender, 2-3 minutes.

Uncover and return the heat to medium-high. Stir in the cream, parmesan, and reserved chicken with any accumulated juices and continue to simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is cooked and heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, passing more grated parmesan at the table, if desired.