Salisbury Steak

Last night I was faced with a dilemma. I had two pounds of ground beef that was already defrosted (or as my friend Hannah says dethawed) and didn't know what to do with it. It was after 5 and I didn't want to turn the oven on. I didn't want to make meat loaf--it would take too long or hamburgers (I didn't have any buns). What to do? I pull out my cook book The Taste of Home cook book and started flipping through. I found a recipe for Salisbury Steak. I haven't ever made it before but it turned out pretty good. It tasted a lot like meat loaf but it didn't take nearly as long and used ingredients I had in the cupboard.

Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy

1 egg
1 can (10-1/2 ounces) condensed French onion soup, undiluted, divided (I used a french onion mix because I had it)
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs (I used Italian seasoned)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cold water
6 cups hot cooked egg noodles (I used instant mashed potatoes instead-its what I had)
chopped fresh parsley, optional

1) In a large bowl beat egg. Stir in 1/3 cup of soup, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Crumble beef over mixture; mix gently. Shape into six oval patties

2) In a skillet, brown patties over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside; drain if needed. Add the water, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and remaining soup to skillet. Bring to a boil.

3) Return patties to skillet. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minuts or unti lmeat is no longer pink. Remove patties.

4) Combine flour and cold water until smooth. Stir into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve patties and gravy over noodles. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Since I used 2 lbs of ground beef, I had a few extra patties. Tonight I made spaghetti out of the leftovers!

Mandarin and Craisin Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

1 bag of fresh baby spinach leaves, rinsed and patted dry
1 bag of craisins
1 can of mandarins, drained

1 bottle of Newman's Own Light Raspberry Walnut dressing

1 bag of candied almonds or walnuts
1 small package of crumbled feta cheese

Directions:
1. Place first 3 ingredients in a bowl.
2. Pour the necessary amount of dressing on the salad to nicely coat.
3. Toss it all together gently.
4. Top with the candied walnuts or almonds.
5. Sprinkle lightly with feta cheese.
6. Serve immediately.

NOTES
-This recipe is easily duplicated and is great during the holidays, because it's colorful.
-If you don't eat it right away the spinach looses it's crispness, but the salad still tastes the same. Just add some more leaves if needed.

Chocolate Strawberry Cake

1 box of Devil's Food Cake
1-2 baskets of strawberries (I prefer two)
1 can of whipped white frosting
1 can of whipped chocolate frosting
1 bag of mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
1. Follow the directions of the box to bake the Devil's Food Cake in two round cake pans. Let the cake completely cool. If the cake creates a mound on the top, cut it off to make it flat.
2. Thinly slice 1 basket of strawberries for the filling.
3. Slice the other basket of strawberries in quarters.
4. Place one of the cake rounds on your serving dish and spread the chocolate frosting on the top.
5. Place the thinly sliced strawberries in the middle as evenly as possible.
6. Place the other cake round on the top.
7. Spread the white frosting on the top and edges of the cake, if it doesn't completely cover the middle where the strawberries are don't worry about it. Also if cake crumbs mix with your frosting don't worry you're going to cover it.
8. Place the quartered strawberries on the top of the cake, as well as, around the base.
9. Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips on the top and sides of the cake.
10 Serve immediately. The juices from the strawberries will run and ruin the cake if you don't.

NOTE
I always think that I won't have enough cake mix and always buy 2 and have tons left over. You really only need 1 if you fill the pan half way.

RIBS

FoodsCo this week has spare ribs on sale for 0.97 per lb. I get there and this thing is huge its as long as the longest baking sheet I have. The whole thing was $10 and I got two slabs of ribs. I was excited. Here is a recipe for barbecue sauce just for fun which I did not use this time but have used it and it is very good but due to time constraints I used KC Masterpiece.

Barbecue Sauce
1 slice of bacon
1 bunch of fresh thyme
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 Tbsp. red or white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. dry mustard
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground paprika
ground black pepper

Wrap bacon around thyme bunch and tie with kitchen twine (or you can just wrap it with the bacon and just leave it)
Heat two count of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the thyme bundle and cook slowly for 3-4 minutes to render bacon fast and give the sauce a nice smoky taste. Add the garlic and onion and cook slowly without coloring for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Turn heat down to low, cook slowly for 20 minutes to meld the flavors. Strain to remove bacon, thyme, and onion.

Ribs
preheat the oven to 350 degrees
foil baking pan
place ribs in pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper
cover ribs loosely with foil
bake for one our turning halfway thorough
remove foil and brush one side generously with barbecue sauce and cook for 15-20 minutes
turn and brush other side with barbecue sauce and cook an additional 15-20 minutes
serve

Spicy Cuban Chicken

Bill found this one for us in a running magazine. It's really good. High in protein and good carbs

2/3 cup nonfat Italian dressing
2 cloves of garlic, crushed (or more)
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
11 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4 inch-thick strips
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/4 medium green bell peppers, chopped
3/4 medium onion, chopped
3/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
3 cups cooked rice (brown is best)
1-1/4 lbs. canned blacked beans, drained and rinsed
1-1/4 lbs. canned, diced tomatoes
3/4 tsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

Combine dressing, garlic, and ground red pepper in a glass measure or medium glass bowl. Place chicken in large glass bowl, pour dressing over chicken and refrigerate 30-60 minutes (or overnight). Remove chicken from marinade, drain well, discard marinade.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken, cook 5-7 minutes, stirring until chicken is slightly brown, spooning off excess liquid. Add bell peppers, onion, oregano, pepper, and cumin. Cook, stirring 4-5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add rice, black beans, and tomatoes. Cook 2-3 minutes more, or until thoroughly heated. Garnish with cilantro, serve immediately.

522 calories, 38.4 g. protein, 76.6 grams carbohydrates, 13.1 grams fiber

Ranch Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 .b)
1/4 cup ranch dressing (light)
1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs (I like the italian flavored)
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

1. Dip chicken into dressing, then coat with bread crumbs
2. In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil 12 to 15 minutes, turning once, until outside is golden brown and juice is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

Leftovers are great for salads or sandwiches!

Super Easy Enchilada Casserole

This is a super easy quick dinner I got from the Kraft Magazine. You make it in the microwave. Great for a potluck dish, meal to a family or just to have something easy on those busy nights.

prep 5 minutes, Total 30 minutes, Serves 4

1 lb. ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tsp chili powder
4 corn tortillas
1 cup Kraft Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup sour cream

1. microwave meat and onions in 2 qt. microwaveable dish on HIGH 4-6 minutes or until meat is done, stirring every 2 minutes.; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, water and chili powder. Microwave 5-9 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring every 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

2. Place 1 tortilla in same microwave dish; top with layers of 1/4 each meat sauce and cheese. Repeat layers 3 times. Microwave 2-5 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes. Top with tomatoes and sour cream.

Tips: I cooked the meat and sauce mixture in a sauce pan on the stove, but cooked the whole thing together in the microwave for 5 minutes. Also you can add in black beans, corn, olives or whatever you fancy.

Olivia's Penne Pasta with Spinach and Sun-dried Tomatoes

1 14.5 oz. box of Penne Rigate pasta (I use Ronzoni Smart Taste)
2 tbs. salt

1 tbs. olive oil
1/3 c. red wine vinegar
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 c. black olive juice (from can), reserving the black olives

1 can of black olives, minced
1/2 c. sun-dried tomatoes in oil (lightly rinsed), chopped
5 c. fresh spinach, roughly chopped

Prepare the pasta as directed, adding the 2 tbs. of salt to the boiling water. Drain the pasta when it's "al dente", meaning when it's cooked so that it's not too hard or soft, but retains a nice bite. Place in a large bowl.

For the dressing, combine the next six ingredients and whisk well.

Pour over the warm pasta and toss with the olives, tomatoes, and spinach.

Serve warm or cold.

Note:
Please season to taste.

I don't add salt to the dressing because of the salted pasta. You may want to add more.

Eggplants.... OVER EASY.... That's one of our little jokes.....

I have been wanting to try eggplant for a while and I thought I should just do it! I bought an eggplant and tried a new recipe I found online. It wasn't my favorite, but I'm a picky eater. Houston liked it and so did his family. Houston said it would be good as a side to beef and have another side be rice. It's too much to be just a side dish. So anyway, here it is.
Saute 1 green pepper and 1 medium onion in 2 tbs of butter
add 4 peeled roma tomato and let simmer for a few minutes
add cubed eggplant, 1/2 tsp basil and 1/4 oregano
cook until the vegetables are tender (about 15-20 min)

Peach Season

So I'm trying to make new things and use the ingredients that are in season. Here are recipes for Peach pie and peach cobbler.

Peach Pie
I got this recipe from the joy of cooking The crust is amazing!
(Makes a double crust)

Oil Pastry Recipe-Pie crust

Probably the easiest pie pastry to make. As you are using a liquid fat, you don't need as much fat in this recipe. You can roll and re-roll oil crusts with no ill effects.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil*
1/4 cup cold milk

* Extra-virgin olive oil may be substituted

In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Measure the vegetable oil and the milk into the same liquid measuring cup but do not stir. Add to the flour/salt mixture; mix briskly to combine until the dough comes together into a ball.

Divide the dough in half. Roll out each half to 1/8 inch thick between 2 sheets of wax paper.

NOTE: Because this pastry dough is made with oil, it must be used right away. After a day in the refrigerator, the oil will start to separate and seep out.

*I sprinkled the top with some cinnamon sugar before I put it in the oven.

PIE FILLING

Peel and slice 5 cups of peaches

sift over peaches

1/2 cup white or brown sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 tbls cornstarch

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cinnamon

put in pie shell and dot with 1 1/2 tbls of butter

cover pie with top pie crust and puncture for ventilation.

preheat oven to 450 degrees bake for 10 minutes

reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 35 minutes or until done.

Peach Cobbler

(I got this recipe from Aunt Pattie)

Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler:

1 package Pillsbury pie crust
8 cups sliced fresh peaches
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees
Spray an 8 inch square dish... Set aside

Combine the peaches, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice in a Dutch oven... (you can just use a pan). Allow the mixture to sit until the dry ingredients are dissolved and a syrup forms, about 15 minutes. Bring the peach mixture to a boil over medium heat. Decrease the heat to low and cook until the peaches are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the butter and vanilla.

Roll out the pie pastry and cut it into an 8 inch square. Spoon half of the peach mixture into the dish. Cover the mixture with the pastry square. Bake for 14 minutes or until lightly browned. Take the dish from the oven and spoon the rest of the peach mixture over the baked pastry shell. Roll out the rest of the dough and cut it into 6 or 8 strips about an inch wide. Arrange the strips into a lattice pattern over the peach mixture. Bake and additional 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown and done. Remove from oven . Serve warm with ice cream or whipping cream.

Olivia's Garlic Herb Mayo

1 c. light mayo
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tbsp. chives, chopped
1 tbsp. rosemary, chopped
1 tbsp. thyme, chopped

Combine and refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to meld.

Feel free to substitute other herbs as desired.