Recipes | beth1977

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Ingredients

Ham Cubes 1 1/2 cups (cooked)

Chicken Slice or Diced or even Shredded 1 1/2 Cups (cooked)

Swiss Cheese 12 oz

Parmesan Cheese 1/4 cup

Spaghetti Uncooked 6 oz

Sea Salt 1 tbsp

Butter or Margarine 1/2 stick or 4 tbsp

All Purpose Flour 3 tbsp

Milk 3 cups

Nutmeg a couple dashes

Frozen Broccoli Florets 12 oz

Ritz Crackers 1/2 of a sleeve

Directions

Were going to start with the spaghetti. Fill a large pot half way with water and add your sea salt, you want it to taste like the ocean, it's your chance to flavor the pasta. Once water comes to a boil add your spaghetti and stir. When it comes back to a boil cook until el dante, about 7 - 8 minutes. Strain spaghetti and allow to rest. Covering with a wet paper towel will keep it from drying out but I don't bother since it's going to be baked. Time to make the rue. I love making rue. I know some folks are afraid of it but you can't really mess it up. Put 3 tbsp of butter in the pot you boiled your spaghetti and melt butter on medium heat. Sprinkle your flour over the butter and whisk or stir briskly and cook a minute or two. Add 1 cup of your milk and whisk briskly as well as raise heat to medium high. Continue whisking dissolving the flour and butter balls and as it begins to thicken add another cup of milk and continue whisking. Don't turn your back you don't want it to burn or boil over. You may need to turn heat down to medium again. If you see all the flour balls are dissolved add your last cup of milk and whisk raising temperature again if you lowered it. Your should have a white creamy sauce. Turn down heat to medium low and add your parmesan cheese, swiss cheese, the tbsp of butter remaining, nutmeg and stir to well combined. Add in your spaghetti noodles. Microwave your broccoli 4 minutes. Add chicken, ham and cooked broccoli to your noodles and cheese sauce. Preheat oven to 350 . Crumble up ritz crackers to resemble bread crumbs. Pour your pot of chicken cordon bleu casserole in a 2 quart casserole and sprinkle with ritz crumbs. I cut some butter on top my casserole before the bread crumbs. My sauce was a little thicker than usual and my mom always added extra butter. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Take a look at the pictures and see how lovely and delicious this dish is. A great use of leftover ham and chicken.

Ham Loaf ~ Pennsylvania Dutch

Ingredients

1 lb ground ham

1 lb ground chicken, turkey or turkey ham (I used Chicken)

3/4 cup milk

1 cup bread crumbs

3 egg yolks or 2 whole eggs

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 cup cheese

20 oz can crushed pineapple

1/4 cups braggs liquid aminos or soy sauce

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp Honey

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp cornstarch

Directions

Preheat oven 350

In a large bowl combine your ground meats and add milk, bread crumbs, eggs, pepper. I use my hands to thoroughly blend ingredients together but you can use a spoon if you prefer. Once everything is united and all cozy together place half of mixture in the shape of a loaf on a greased 9 x 12 baking sheet, layer on cheese, and cover with remaining meat mixture sealing all edges.

In a sauce pan combine the crushed pineapple with all ingredients except cornstarch. simmer over medium heat 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle in your cornstarch and whisk to well combined. I know you are suppose to make a slurry with a cold liquid first but it works just fine for me if you sprinkle and whisk. raise temperature to a boil and turn heat back down stirring so you don't have an explosion of pineapple. leave on low a few minutes and your ready to spoon over you ham loaf. I reserved some so I could spoon more over half way threw cooking.

Bake 1 hour at 350

at 1/2 hour if you did like me spoon more pineapple glaze over the loaf and allow any remaining to serve with meal.

~side dish reccomendations

Rice

Mashed taters

bake potato

green beans

cucumbers and onions

corn on the cobb

macaroni and cheese

London Broil also known as Flank Steak

Ingredients

1 3-5 lb london broil (they make excellent beef jerkey as well)

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp chipotle

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp kosher or himalayan sea salt

2 tsp paprika

4 tbsp honey dijon or brown or horseradish mustard

1 large onion

Directions

Lay your london broil out on a plate and take a knife and score diamonds into the meat lightly on both sides. As you see in photo. Mix garlic onion powder, chipotle, pepper, salt, paprika, in a small bowl and mix. slice onion finely. Sprinkle half of seasoning over meat and smear with half of mustard and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Repeat with other side of meat. Nothing like getting your hands dirty in a meat seasoning kinda way. Place the meat on a large slice of aluminum foil. If no foil go ahead and use syran wrap or a ziplock. layer sliced onions under and over meat then tightly sealing. Place in refrigerator for dinner the next day. or at least 4 hours. When ready to grill bring meat to room temperature. Heating your grill up now. Or if you desire to broil your meat warm your broiler up. Cook over medium high heat 7 minutes each side for medium. Our grills and ovens and microwaves all unfortuantely vary but this is a cut of meat that requires a shorter length cooking you definitely want pink inside or in our case Red in the middle. If you arent comfortable at 7 minutes make it 9. Don't lift the lid of your grill constantly. Keep it covered. The cooking temperature varies to much from opening and closing. Let the meat stand 5 minutes before slicing for serving. Be sure to cut along with the grain or you will lose alot of the juice from battling with the meat.

Tater Tot Casserole

1.5 lbs ground beef

1 can corn drained or peas, green beans, whats you favorite

1 large onion diced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup sour cream greek yogurt would also work here ~see notes

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup~see notes

3/4 cup cheddar cheese( or your preference of cheese )

2 lb bag tater tots

Preheat oven to 375*

Grease a 9 x 12 in bake pan or casserole or something close to that size. Were not perfect people here!

Now grab a nice size skillet and saute the onions in 1-2 tbsp olive , sesame, or coconut oil. Hey if ya just have canola or vegetable thats fine too.

Add your ground beef when the onions are slightly transparent and softened. now for the seasonings..3-7 salt pepper worcestershire garlic onion... yum.. Over medium high heat cook until meat is cooked.Turn off heat and add sour cream, soup, and milk. Pour into the dish your using and tope with half of cheese, then tater tots and bake 30 minutes, remove casserole and top with other half of cheese and finish cooking another 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy enjoy. This is one of my jeffs favorites

If your want to freeze this for future baking .. DO NOT BAKE Follow all steps except placing in oven. Wrap with plastic wrap and then foil. Careful to protect from air a.k.a. oxygen. : )

Notes~Greek yogurt alternative, keep in mind the heating process when placed in the oven will gravely decrease the live active cultures but the flavor is still amazing.

~Cream of mushroom soup. I make my own. You will find I do alot of from scratch cooking.

Doritos Taco Casserole

Ingredients

1 Bag of those family size Doritos

1 1/2 onion sliced and diced

8 oz mushrooms sliced and diced

1 lb ground beef (I used extra lean 4.5 grams fat per 4 oz. serving)

5 garlic cloves minced

1 package taco seasoning mix (first time I ever purchased it)

1 cup salsa (I have also used diced tomatoes with peppers)

~I am a use whats in your pantry girl

1 cup sour cream (greek yogurt can be substituted)

1 jar salsa conqueso

1 can campbells cheddar cheese soup

2 cups cheddar cheese

worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper

Optional Toppers

Lettuce

Tomato

Sour cream

Jalepeno

Refried Beans

Guacamole

Pretty much anything you put on nachos or tacos

*Now that you have your ingredients picked out, sliced and diced and are drowling over the dinner your about to create... Lets begin. Preheat oven to 350*

Grab the salsa or tomatos with chilles and put in a strainer. If you don't have a strainer I bet a coffee filter or a couple paper towels will do. I am a recycler that hates things going to waste so I save the juice strained off for broth or as liquid needed when making another recipe that might just call for water. Salsa juice is also wonderful for making bloody marys. Open mind open mouth happy stomach.. Back to business ladies and gentlemen.

*In a fry pan or dutch oven if you prefer place the diced onions and mushrooms and garlic with olive oil, coconut oil, canola your choice, 2 tsps was plenty for me. And honestly when I cook just for me I skip it but it sure helps the moisture of the veggies. Then again the whole measuring and following a recipe for me is super hard. I've cooked and baked so much of my life I am comfortable with just going with my instincts. Stay on track as I ramble.. It's not hard. Sautee for 5-7 minutes over medium heat, add ground beef and a few dashes of worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and continue sauteeing until meat is almost done. If your not comfortable with the idea of not fully cooked me go ahead and brown it but it does go into the oven and will finish cooking. So relax and just breath and know I won't sicken you .. Add the taco seasoning to the meat in the pan you have chosen stirring til combined and smelling so taco nacho right now.

*In a large bowl combine the drained salsa, sour cream, cheddar cheese soup, salsa conqueso and 1 cup cheddar cheese. Stir until combined evenly and looking like some sloppy yumminess. Add this to beef mixture. or add beef mixture to bowl if your pan is not large enough to accomodate the additions.

*Break up your doritos, I used cool ranch but any flavor you prefer is quite okay! Don't make crumbs of the nachos. You want about 3 pieces from 1 chip no more.

*Place a layer of the broken chips in a 2 quart casserole dish, top with a layer of the cheesy meaty mixture, layer again with doritos and cheesy meaty mixture until ingredients are used up. Like making lasagna just not.

Top off with remaining cheese and place in the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes

Remove from oven and now its add your toppings or plate it up so everyone can chose there own toppings!

Chicken Tenderloin Nuggets

Ingredients

1 lb chicken tenderloins

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup milk

1 lemon~sliced

2 cups Panko bread crumbs

salt and pepper to your taste

Directions

Place chicken tenderloins in a gallon zip lock bag. In a small bowl combine yogurt and milk until creamy and blended. Pour over chicken tenderloins. Place lemon slices in the bag with the yogurt and chicken. Allow to refrigerate overnight or at lease 4 hours. When your ready to bake, preheat oven to 425*, Pour out chicken and cut into chuncks with a knife or kitchen shears. Yes you can do the chunks before marinating. I was multi tasking and it didn't get done. Place a few chunks into the panko and turn to coat. I pressed down a little and make sure they are well covered, but they always come out just fine. Place chicken on a baking sheet sprayed with non stick cooking spray and bake for 25-30 minutes. Enjoy plain or with your favorite dipping sauce. I served them up with baked pub fries. Recipe to follow.

Pierogi Chicken Pie

Ingredients

1 large Idaho potato

1 large vidalia onion

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1/4 cup cheddar cheese shreds

1 tablespoon parmesan cheese

2 egg yolks (you absolutely can use whole eggs~I had whites for breakfast)

Himalayan Sea salt (after this recipe post I think you know I use it exclusively)

Pepper

2 Boneless skinless chicken thighs

4 egg roll wrappers
extra egg wash for sealing edges and coating the pie

bread crumbs

Ready.. Lets go...

Preheat oven 350*

Directions

So first you want to pound you chicken thighs out to flatten them in a rectange.

You can use a hammer, mallet, rolling pin, heck even a can of soup or beans.

I can't really save the exact measurements because my thighs may not be the same as yours but you want them smaller than the egg roll wrapper and definitely not to the point of being see threw. Once pounded out sprinkle with salt and pepper. cover with syran wrap and place in fridge while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Slice your potato in half, and then in half again and slice thinly 1 1/2-2 mm think scallop or au gratin potato width. Place in bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut ends off your onion and cut in half and in half again like your potato and again slice thinly the width of your potatoes. place in bowl with potatoes. sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. I love salt and onions. It is lovely how it draws out the onions sweetness. Cover with syran wrap and microwave 4-5 minutes. Microwave temperatures vary . In another bowl combine your ricotta, cottage, parmesan and cheddar cheese with your eggs, mix well to make sure combined evenly. Uncover your veggie mix and unite with cheese mix.. Ahh now you understand to correlation with a pierogi.. spray a baking pan with cooking spray. Get your chicken out of the fridge. Place two of your egg roll wrappers on the bake pan (seperately) . Coat your thighs with bread crumbs and place one on each egg roll wrapper. Top with your potato cheese mixture , the extra egg wash.. go around the edges of the egg roll wrapper now. Place another egg roll wrapper on top of chicken and veggies. Seal the edges together and fold over like wrapping a present. Now do the same with the other one. Coat lightly with the egg wash . Bake for 30 - 45 minutes. Cooking temperatures vary between ovens. My Pennsylvania oven took 45 my Georgia oven 30. So turn the light on in there rather than open the door and look at 30 minutes. The beautiful efficient thing about thigh meat. You can't really mess it up. Remove from oven and enjoy.

*Hey if you want to use breast meat that is doable too! Follow the same instructions friends.

Black Bean and Rice Patties

~by the girl who loathes beans

Ingredients

1 can low sodium black beans

1 1/2 cup white rice (cooked) ~great use of leftover chinese

2 vidalia or spanish onions sliced and diced

1 packet no sodium beef bouillon ~I use herb-ox

1/8 teaspoon pink himalayan sea salt

1/4 cup water

worcestershire sauce~a few dashes

onion powder

garlic powder

cumin

black pepper

*Drain beans in strainer and rinse until water runs clear. Prepare rice unless you already have rice on hand. Cudos to us who use every leftover in some way. If you haven't got prepared rice this is my simplest rice cooking method. Place a cup of white rice in a saucepan with 2 1/4 cups water. I realize its usually a ratio of 1 cup to 2 but you will see why I prefer the extra liquid. Add some salt. I only use pink himalayan sea salt. Its mineral rich and I have a bad liver. They told me I was to avoid salt entirely which made no sense to me so threw research I was turned on to this beautiful pink salt that does not cause me the edema or more sever ascites. Minerals .. blessed essential minerals 84 + . Anyway, bring the rice water and salt to a hard boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and cover with lid removing from heat element. It will likely boil over if you do not. Let this stand a good half and hour. Don't I repeat Do not lift the lid at all, not once. Men are more likely than women to do this but just putting it out there. Go back to business with the recipe at hand.

Slice and dice those onions place in frying pan or sauce up to you and add the packet of bouillon and 1/8 tsp pink salt a few dashes of worcestershire with 1/4 cup water.. cook over medium heat for 20 minutes . See the rice and the onions are partners . How resourceful!

Place beans in a medium size bowl and top with cooked onions , 1 1/2 cups of the cooked rice, and add your seasonings. I listed what I used . I dont measure I play looksy but and 1/8 of each would be suffice certainly but if you have other favorite seasonings go at it. Now mash up with a potato masher, meat tenderizer, pastry blender or you can use a food processor but you want to keep the rice and beans semi intact not pureed.

Let sit awhile or refridgerate to let the flavors marinate and ingredients come together and thicken a bit (starch and protein) When your ready form into patties , spray your skillet with cooking spray or some olive oil and cook over medium heat 5-7 minutes each side. Mine turned out amazing. I dont like beans at all but need more protein in my diet. I was uber excited I conquered ingredients I usually run fry. I didn't even need ketchup. I believe it was the rice that overwhelmed my palate of the mystery in the blackness hidden in my patty..