Spaghetti Pie

This is a fantastic change from regular old fashioned spaghetti.  It's extremely simple to throw together, tastes delicious and freezes great too!!  WIN WIN WIN!  My husband was a big fan and my little guy ate handful after handful. 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground Italian sausage
• 1 box thin spaghetti noodles
• 1 jar favorite pasta sauce
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

*This makes two pies! 

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Boil noodles according to package directions.  Brown sausage over medium heat until cooked through.  Add sauce, tomatoes, and paste to meat and set aside.  Drain noodles and add back to pot with olive oil.  Mix eggs, Parmesan cheese and garlic powder together and toss into noodles, and add pasta sauce.  Place noodles into a greased pie pan, top with mozzarella cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

Salsa Verde Enchiladas with Avocado Cream Sauce

 I have been seeing lots of pins for Avocado Cream Sauce Enchiladas and they all look amazing.  I had a jar of salsa Verde on hand so I created my own version and they were absolutely divine.  The cream sauce was amazing and would be fantastic as a dip on its own.  Everyone loved them and I will be making this again for sure!

Ingredients:

• 6-10 tortillas, ( I used 6 medium flour tortillas)
• 2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1 lb chicken thighs
• 1 16 oz jar salsa verde
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 large avocado
• 1/2 cup cilantro. sliced
• 1/8 teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:  Place chicken and 3/4 can salsa in lightly greased crockpot, cook on high for about 4 hours and shred.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium sauce pan melt butter over medium/high heat and add flour forming a roux.  Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and add sour cream, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne.  Add avocado, cilantro, remaining salsa, and cream sauce into a food processor and blend until creamy.  Pour enough cream sauce to coat the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 pan.  Spoon about 1/4 cup chicken into each tortilla and sprinkle with a little cheese, roll up and place in baking dish.  Cover enchiladas with cream sauce,  top with remaining cheese and bake for 30 minutes.

Sausage Alfredo Penne

This was a raid the cupboard throw together meal.  Every time I go shopping with my husband he always grabs a jar of the store bought Alfredo sauce.  He loves it, I hate it.  I had a jar of sauce and a pound of Italian sausage so I decided to put them to use.  The sauce is so bland so I added some ingredients for kick and let it simmer for several hours with the sausage to incorporate some flavor.  This is definitely not a skinny girl meal but sometimes you have to indulge.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound penne
• 1 jar alfredo sauce (mine was roasted garlic)
• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, optional
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:  In a large skillet brown sausage with garlic.  Add sauce (use milk to shake any excess sauce from jar), sherry, cayenne, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, and salt and pepper.  Simmer for at least and hour.   Boil noodles according to package and add to sauce.  Top with cheese and serve.

Garlic Sherry Pork Tenderloin

I am so glad my aunt reintroduced me to Pork.  My last tenderloin was delicious and this one just as good.  It was so tender and extremely moist.  Another easy and comforting meal.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 pork tenderloin
• 1/4 cup Sherry cooking wine
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper

 

Directions:  Remove tenderloin from package and pat dry with paper towels.  Add tenderloin to Ziploc bag and add all remaining ingredients and marinate for a hour or so.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray baking dish with non stick spray and add tenderloin with marinade and bake for 30 minutes.

 

 

Balsamic Peppercorn Steak

 

Several years ago I went to a really nice steakhouse and ordered the peppercorn steak and I have never been so disappointed in a meal.  For the price tag it should have been so much better.  Needless to say I was a little nervous to attempt a peppercorn of my own but I am so glad I did.  Now I don't have to BBQ in the middle of winter outside!!!

 

Ingredients:

• 2 Rib Eye Steaks
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons balsamic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon beef bouillon
• 1/4 cup milk

 

Directions:  Pat steaks dry with paper towels and cover both sides with pepper and salt.  Place in Ziploc bag with balsamic and marinate for at least 15 minutes.  In a large skillet over medium heat add olive oil, butter, garlic, and ginger and heat until butter is melted.  Add steak and cook for about 2 minutes on each side.  Remove steaks and place on separate plate.  In skillet add beef bouillon and milk and bring to a boil.  Place steaks back in skillet and cook for about 30 seconds on each side.  Remove from heat and serve.





Sweet and Sour Roasted Chicken

So first let me point out my rookie mistake!  I forgot to cover the chicken for the first hour so as you can see it got a little crisp.  Also the reason for lot posting a picture of the finished whole chicken.  However, the chicken was fantastic.  I also served it with my Easy Scalloped Potatoes.  So I bought a whole chicken the other day and I was debating how I wanted to prepare it.  Awhile back I made Orange Marmalade Pork Tenderloin and purchased two jars of Orange Marmalade.  It was staring me down in my pantry so I was debating how I could use it.  I remembered from awhile back these sweet and sour meatballs I made years ago.  I will make them soon and decided to adapt from that recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 5-6 pound whole chicken
• 1 jar Orange Marmalade ( We will use the zest and the peeled orange)
• 1 bottle Heinz Chili Sauce
• 1 orange
• 4-5 celery stalks
• 1/2 stick butter, sliced
• non stick spray

Directions:  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a medium saucepan heat Marmalade and Chili Sauce with the zest from the orange.  Heat until blended well.   Meanwhile remove the innards from chicken and rinse and pat dry.  In a large roasting pan spray with non stick spray and lay celery stalks.  Place chicken on celery and add a couple cutter pieces under the skin and rub the chicken with the rest.  Add peeled orange into the cavity and pour 1/4 of sauce over chicken and spread around.  Make sure to pour some under the skin as well.  Bake covered for one hour then remove and bake for another 1/2 hour uncovered.   Use remaining sauce to pour over chicken when serving. ( I had lots left over so I froze it for a later time)

Korean Style Ground Beef

I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe.  I had some ground beef that I needed to use so I typed "ground beef" into pinterest and this is what I found.  I made a couple changes but not much.  Such a simple and fast meal that tastes great! 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 package mushrooms
• 1/2 small onion chopped
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup brown sugar ( start with 1/4 and add more if desired)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce 
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, zested
• 1 teaspoon sriracha (optional)
• green onions for garnish

Directions: Heat butter and oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms.  Saute until onions are soft and add ground beef and cook until browned.  Add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper and sriracha. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Serve over steamed rice and top with green onions.

 

Tequila Lime Chicken

Thank you Pioneer Woman!!  My parents were coming out for dinner and I had no idea what I wanted to make.  Luckily I decided to watch The Pioneer Woman and this is what she was cooking.  It looked so good so I decided to give it a try.  It was DELICIOUS.  The chicken is really moist and the flavor is amazing.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup tequila
• 3 limes (juiced)
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 can green chilies or 1 diced jalapeno
• 1 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese or pepper jack
• salt and pepper

Directions:  In food processor blend tequila, lime juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and chilies.  Add olive oil and cilantro and blend just a tiny bit until cilantro is chopped.  Add chicken to bag and marinate chicken for 3 hours.  Grill chicken on medium heat about 4-5 minutes on each side.  Top each piece with cheese until melted and enjoy.

Orange Marmalade Pork Tenderloin

For the Fourth of July this year we spent the week in Iowa for a family Reunion and my Aunt Kathy made this dish and it was fantastic.  My husband is not a big fan of pork and he was begging me to make this.  I am not sure exactly how my aunt made it but she did tell me the ingredients so I tried it and it was fantastic. 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Pork Tenderloin
• 1 jar orange marmalade
• 3 tablespoons worcestershire
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

Directions: Mix orange marmalade, worcestershire, balsamic vinegar, and cayenne pepper in a pot and heat over medium heat stirring frequently.  In a gallon Ziploc bag add pork tenderloin.  When sauce is heater should look runny pour half over tenderloin in bag and marinate for 2 hours.  Add tenderloin to baking dish and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and additional cayenne pepper if desired.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes covered and uncovered for an additional 5-10 minutes.  Depending on your oven it might take less time so check meat when uncovering it. Re-heat glaze and pour over meat and enjoy!

Hamburger Gravy

After having a craving for the Hamburger Gravy in grade school several years ago, I threw this together and it is now one of my favorite dinners.  My husband loves fake potatoes so, I sometimes serve over those!  I also only had a can of french style green beens last time and I just threw them right on top and it was delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb hamburger
• 1 can cream of mushroom
• 1/4 packet onion soup mix
• 1 cup beef consome
• salt, pepper, and paprika to taste.

Directions: 

1. Brown beef in skillet. 
2. Add cream of mushroom soup and beef consome.  
3. Sprinkle with onion soup mix and bring to a light boil, stirring occasionally.
4. Reduce heat and let simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve over potatoes.

Sweetface Turkey

First let me apologize for the terrible picture.  I took this picture for my brother to show him what he was missing and this was before I had the idea to start a blog.  However I wanted you to see how it looks in the pan while cooking.  I have never been a fan of turkey so I was really shocked to find myself getting a second helping.  This is extremely moist and delicious.  Also the leftovers make for a great turkey pot pie.
Ingredients:

• Whole Turkey, or Turkey Breast
• 1  1 pound bag baby carrots
• 6 full peeled carrot sticks
• 6-8 celery sticks
• 1 large sweet onion sliced or chopped
• 1 stick butter
• 1 tablespoon pepper
• 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1-2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 cups chicken broth

Directions:  Chop onion, celery, and add to bowl.  Sprinkle with pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic, and seasoning salt.  Marinate in bowl overnight.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Remove neck and giblets from turkey, rinse, and pat dry.  Melt half the stick of butter and add to meat injector.  Inject the breast and thighs with butter.  Place peeled carrot sticks in the middle of the roasting pan.  Stuff turkey with half of the marinated celery and onions.  Place turkey on top of the peeled carrots.  Sprinkle the remaining vegetables around the turkey and add baby carrots.  Add two cups chicken broth and sprinkle with extra salt and pepper if desired.  Rub remaining butter over the turkey.  Cover turkey with foil and cook in oven until turkey temp is 180 degrees.  Baste every hour and leave uncovered for last 30 minutes.
Cookers Note:  You do not have to inject your turkey if you do not have a meat injector.  With leftovers I make a turkey pot pie. The vegetables are a great side dish as well, I always add some to my plate.
Directions  for Pot Pie:  Save chicken broth and vegetables from the roasting pan.  In sauce pan melt 2 tablespoons butter and whisk in 2 tablespoons flour.  Whisk until creamy and add in 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1 can cream of mushroom soup.  Add in more broth if needed.  Whisk until well blended and add in leftover turkey and vegetables (Celery, onions, and carrots).  You can add in other vegetables of your choice if you would like.  Pour into pie crust and add another crust on top.  Cut 4 slits on top of pie and cook at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour.  I usually have enough for two pies.