Ground Beef Stroganoff

Whenever I get together with other Mamas, I always end up asking about their dinner ideas, and this was the latest idea I received.  My husband gobbled this down and my son was literally licking his fingers.  I will say we have another winner! 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 package egg noodles
• 1/2 small sweet onion, finely diced
• 1 package mushrooms, optional (my husband picked his out)
• 2 tablespoons butter (if adding mushrooms)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

Directions:  Boil noodles according to package instructions.  In a large skillet melt butter and saute mushrooms until soft, set aside.  Add ground beef and onions to skillet and cook until beef is cook through.  Add soup, sour cream, broth, and seasonings to seasoning to a medium bowl and whisk together until blended together.  Pour over ground beef and heat over medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.  Serve over noodles and enjoy. 
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
pepper, to taste

Hashbrown Casserole

My husband rarely has a request for dinner, so when he asked for a breakfast casserole I obliged.  I decided to stick to the basics because he is not a huge fan of veggies.  This was extremely delicious and we all gobbled it down, including our 14 month old son. 

Ingredients:

• 1 package breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen hash browns, thawed
• 6 eggs
• pepper, to taste

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet brown sausage until completely cooked through.  In a large bowl whisk eggs together and add sausage.  Place hash browns in a lightly greased casserole dish and pour egg/meat mixture over the top.  Bake for 30 minutes then top with cheese and bake for an additional 15 minutes. 

Creamy Italian Chicken

I came across this recipe on pinterest a while back, and have made it several times.  However, I have switched to baking it because the crock would dry out the chicken a little to much.  I have made pasta with just the sauce several times and either way it is extremely delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 package chicken breasts (4 breasts)
• 1 PHILADELPHIA Italian cheese and Herb Cooking Creme
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• pepper, to taste

Directions:  Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl mix together cooking creme, soup, pepper, and paprika until well blended.  Place chicken breasts into a greased casserole dish and cover with sauce.  Bake covered for 45-50 minutes.  Serve over rice or noodles.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

I crave tuna casserole about 4 times every year, I have no idea why, but randomly I need to have it!  Is there anything better or easier than placing all ingredients in one dish with literally no fuss?  I think not.  Well, maybe takeout.  This recipe is great, inexpensive, and simple.  For non tuna eaters replace with canned or shredded chicken.
Ingredients:

• 1 bag egg noodles
• 2 cans tuna
• 1 can cream of mushroom
• 6 oz plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup peas, frozen
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
• dash of garlic
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:  Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.  Boil noodles according to package directions.  In a large bow mix tuna, cream of mushroom, Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, milk, peas, and all seasonings.  When noodles are done mix into tuna mixture and pour into greased casserole dish.  Top with remaining cheese and bake for 20 minutes covered and 5 minutes uncovered.

Cookers Note:  This recipe if for a 9 x 13 baking dish however, I make it in a small casserole dish and freeze one for a later date.

Indoor Grilled Tri Tip Steaks

This is my first time attempting tri tip steaks and they were fantastic.  The marinade was delicious, and left the house smelling amazing.  Grilling inside is becoming my new favorite thing.  It is nice to get a little feel of summer on these extremely cold days. 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 package tri tip steaks (about 1 lb)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• pepper, to taste

Directions:  Season steaks on both side with garlic powder and pepper.  Place in a large bowl and add soy sauce and Worcestershire.  Let marinade in refrigerator on each side for 30 minutes each, then let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before grilling.  Melt butter over medium/high heat in a large skillet and grill on each side for about 4-5 minutes. 

Strawberry Orange Mint Salad

I cannot even begin to describe how amazingly delicious this salad is. This was served at a picnic this summer and I am so surprised it took me this long to remember it.  I have no idea if this is the recipe that was used, but it tastes just as I remember!  This is a must try recipe perfect for any type of gathering.

Ingredients

• 1 navel orange, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar, honey, or agave nectar
• 1/2 teaspoon mint, fresh or dried

Directions: Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

 

Overnight Strawberry Almond French Toast

This recipe is adapted from my Overnight French Toast.  We had some friends coming over for brunch and I wanted something yummy, but not so sugary for the little ones.  I loved the overnight french toast I made awhile back, so I lightened it up with honey and less butter.  I will say I like the full fat version better because I am not a huge fan of honey.  The only difference with the lighter version is the bottom layer is a little softer because it doesn't get the crisp from the brown sugar bottom.  The bottom layer is more like a pudding and the top layer is crisp like regular french toast. 

 

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 loaf texas toast or french cut bread
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 bag frozen sliced strawberries, thawed
• Cinnamon

Directions: Pre Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix eggs, milk, and vanilla in small bowl. In separate bowl melt butter in honey. Coat bottom of 9 by 13 baking dish with honey mix. Cover honey with a layer of bread then pour half of the egg mix over the top. Sprinkle with strawberries and cover with second layer of bread. Pour remaining egg mixture over the top and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover over night and bake covered for 30 minutes and 15 minutes uncovered.

BBQ Beef Biscuit Pockets

One of my favorite food blogs to follow is Chef-In-Training because I feel like our food styles are very similar.  I think her blog is actually the reason I started blogging in the first place.  Anyway, she posted this recipe, and I was dying to try it.  My husband is not a fan of pie crust, so I substituted with biscuits.  No silverware needed! 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 package refrigerated biscuits
• 1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup corn, frozen
• 1 1/2 cup favorite BBQ sauce

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown beef in skillet until cooked and drain excess fat.  Stir in corn and BBQ sauce until coated evenly.  Flatten all biscuits with hands or a roller until about 1/4 inch thick.  Top half of the biscuits with meat and Cheddar cheese.  Place the remaining flattened biscuits over the top and pinch the sides together making a pie.  Cut four lines in the top for ventilation.  Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Semi Homemade Biscuits and Gravy

Every time my husband and I go out for breakfast he always orders biscuits and gravy.  We have had some really good ones and some really bad ones.  The good ones always have thick and creamy gravy with lots of sausage and the bad ones are the opposite.  I decided to surprise him one morning and we were  both pleasantly surprised with how fantastic and simple it was to make. 

Ingredients:

• 1 package refrigerated biscuits
• 1 lb breakfast sausage
• 1 package country style gravy mix
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 1/2 cups cold milk
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• Tabasco, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Directions:  Bake biscuits according to package.  In a large skillet brown sausage over medium heat.  Sprinkle sausage with gravy mix and thoroughly mix.  Slowly stir in water followed by milk.  Season with paprika, Tabasco, and pepper.  Pour gravy over biscuits and serve.

Left Over Salsa Verde Pork Burritos

 

Since the Seahawks made the playoffs we decided to have The Breakfast Club over for the game.  My husband does breakfast with a group of high school friends every other Friday morning AKA The Breakfast Club.  It was a very last minute thing so of course I went into a little five minute panic trying to figure out what to feed everyone.  You are probably laughing if you know me and read panic, I never panic.  Those five minutes consisted of me quickly checking the pantry and my phone for an idea.  I found a jar of salsa verde and quickly decided to make salsa verde pork tacos, panic over.  P.S. everyone always raves about how tasty these are and they always looked stunned when you tell them how easy they are.

Ingredients: 

• leftover pork (recipe here)
• large tortillas
• black beans
• white rice, steamed
• salsa
• shredded cheese
• cilantro

Directions:  Add desired amounts of ingredients to a heated tortilla.  I microwave mine for about 20 seconds.  Fold in both sides of the tortilla then roll into a burrito!

Stuffing Stuffed Chicken with Cranberry Glaze

Have you ever woken up really excited about getting to eat your leftovers?  Yeah, neither have I until now.  It was seriously 10 in the morning and I was debating whether it was alright to eat now or wait until actual lunch time.  This is like a one dish thanksgiving.  To make it even easier you can totally skip stuffing the chicken and just serving the stuffing on the side but, I had lots of fun pounding at the chicken. 

 

Ingredients:

• 3-4 chicken breasts, pounded flat
• 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (regular orange juice will work)
• 1 box stuffing mix
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1/2 small sweet onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions:  Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium pot melt butter and add onion, celery, and garlic until onions are soft.  Add water and bring to a boil reduce heat and stir in stuffing.  Place aside to cool.  In a medium size bowl mix together cranberry sauce, sugar, and orange juice.  Place two chicken breasts in a gallon sized Ziploc bag and pound with roller until 1/4 of an inch thick and repeat with remaining breasts.  Lay chicken breasts flat, top with stuffing and roll together.  Use toothpicks if needed to keep together.  Place chicken into a lightly greased baking dish and top with cranberry sauce.  Bake covered for 20 minutes and uncovered for another 20 minutes.

 

 
Before Baking

After Baking

 

Italian Meatball Subs

This is one of my never fails go to dinners.  I love making these subs because they are so simple and I have most of the ingredients on hand at any given moment. You can make these the night before and heat them in the crock pot when you are at work.    My husband is not a fan of bell peppers but I think they would be a Delicious with some fresh sauteed sweet onions.  Simple, fast, and easy! 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Italian sausage or chicken
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
• Sliced provolone cheese
• 1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce
• 1 package hoagie rolls

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl stir together sausage, onion, egg, and bread crumbs. Form into 1" balls, place on cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. (The last couple times I have made these I flatten the meatballs slightly with a spoon.  Makes it a lot easier to eat when they are flatter!)Meanwhile place sliced cheese on each side of hoagie rolls. Add cooked meatballs to sauce pan, add jar of sauce,and heat until warm. Place hoagie rolls onto a new cookie sheet and place in oven until cheese melts. Add three meatballs to sandwich and enjoy.

Cookers Note: For a lighter meal use Jennie-O Italian sausage and substitute breadcrumbs for oatmeal. Just add extra Italian seasoning to your meat mixture. However, the full fat version is so much better! You can always make the meatballs and freeze them. Then when you are having company or you know you will be in a time crunch for dinner add the frozen meatballs with a jar of sauce into your crock-pot and cook on low while at work.

Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes

I came across this recipe a while back and have been wanting to try it.  I am so glad I did because it is such a time and space saver that tastes fantastic.  The potatoes are perfectly cooked and the sauce is thick and creamy.  I made a couple changes and will be making this many times to come.

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs small red potatoes, sliced ( I peeled half of them)
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 can cream of mushroom
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• paprika, for garnish
• chives, for garnish

Directions:  Thinly slice potatoes and set aside.  In a large bowl mix sour cream, cream of mushroom, Worcestershire, pepper, and garlic powder.  Add in potatoes and mix until all potatoes are thoroughly coated.  Lay half of the potatoes in a lightly greased crock pot and sprinkle with 1 cup cheese and repeat with remaining potatoes and cheese.  Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 8 hours. Stir flour in for the last hour.  Top with paprika and chives before serving.

Chili Smothered Baked Potatoes

I am still working my way through the 10 pound bag of potatoes I got for Christmas.  I usually serve my chili over rice or pasta but I decided to give this a try and it was fantastic.  Here is my normal chili recipe however, I did not have any canned tomatoes on hand so I added a can of tomato soup and it is definitely a change I will keep. 
Ingredients:

• 4 russet potatoes
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 can mild chili beans
• 1 can kidney beans, drained
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1 small can diced green chilies
• 1 packet chili mix seasoning
• shredded cheese
• diced onions

Directions:   Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash and scrub potatoes and place directly on top rack in oven.  Bake for about an hour or until potatoes are soft.  In a large skillet brown beef over medium heat.  Add beans, soup, chilies and stir in seasoning mix.  Serve chili over potatoes and top with cheddar cheese and onions.