Beef Strogonoff

This is one of mine and Joe's favorite dinners. It is so easy and I don't have a real recipe. You would laugh if I wrote it down the way my mom told me how to make it over the phone. Luckily it is pretty hard to mess it up.

-1 pound of stir fry or stew beef (you can use more but I am not a huge meat eater so I usually use less)
-1 pint of sour cream
-1 onion (doesn't really matter what kind, I used a mayan sweet onion tonight and it was good)
-1 pint of sliced white mushrooms
- 1 packet of Liptons onion soup mix
-1 tablespoon of flour
-2 cups of water
-Worchestershire sauce
- package of egg noodles

-dice onions and cook with beef and a few dashes of worchestershire sauce until beef is browned, add mushrooms and flour, let mushrooms cook for a minute and then add the water and onion soup mix. Turn down the heat to med low, cover and let simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

-turn heat off and when it stops bubbling add in the sour cream and turn heat back on low to warm back up.

-About 5 minutes before sauce is down simmering boil water for egg noodles and cook.

I promise it is so Yummy. Perfect for a cold night like tonight.

My Church Christmas Party

So I was in charge of the ward Christmas party food, and although I didn't take any pictures, I have to share a super easy recipe with you. Goes like this.

6 chicken breasts
1 package of dry ranch dressing
1 package of dry Italian dressing
1 stick of butter

Put chicken breasts in crockpot, sprinkle both seasoning packets over all the chicken, cut the butter into slices and place over all the chicken. Cook in crockpot on low for 6-8 hours. Everyone loved it! Easy peasy lemon squeasy.

Broccoli Potato Soup

I got this recipe from Better Homes and Gardens a few months ago. I was very surprised when I made it and it came out good. This was my first attempt at making soup from scratch and it has quickly become on of our favorites.

-2 medium red potatoes, chopped (I just used regular potatoes because that's all I had)

-1 14 oz can chicken broth

-3 cups of small broccoli florets

-2 cups of milk

-3 tbsp all purpose flour

-2 cups smoked Gouda cheese, shredded (8 oz)

-In large sauce pan combine potatoes and broth. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 8 minutes. Mash slightly. Add broccoli and milk; bring just to simmering

-In medium bowl toss flour with cheese; gradually add to soup, stirring cheese until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

Now just a hint, usually I get the Gouda at Safeway because that is where I normally shop, but last night we decided to walk to Fry's and get it. Well the cheese is like a $1.50 less at Safeway then Fry's and it is a better quality. This recipe surprised me how easy it was especially since it is from Better Homes and Gardens. It would also be great served in a bread bowl. Yummy!!!

It's Shake and Bake and I helped!

Ok, so this may be a lame attempt at cooking, but I love Shake and Bake! For dinner on Thursday night, I made Shake and Bake pork chops. (Sorry Steph, I know you hate pork).

Ingredients:

Pork Chops - I prefer boneless pork chops as they are easier to eat

Shake and Bake seasoning - it comes in a few different flavors, so find the one that you like. I used Italian seasoning for this meal, but it is good with other flavors too.

Apple Sauce

Since it is just me, I only used 2 pork chops and a little bit of Shake and Bake. Wet the pork chops and put the Shake and Bake in a baggie. Shake the pork chops in the bag. Put them on a cookie sheet that is ungreased. You can also line your cookie sheet with foil and save on clean up. Put them in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve with apple sauce and enjoy! I also had green beans with my dinner on Thursday as you can see. Those are real simple. I just opened the can, drained it and put some on my plate. If you can't tell, I like simple. :) Tomorrow night, I'm making shredded chicken burritos and bean dip. I figured I needed to get my Thursday night's dinner on here before I went off and made something else.

Chili

This is supposed to be a five bean chili but I don't like some of the beans that you are supposed to put in to it so mine is really a three bean chili.

-1 pound of ground beef
-2 cups of chopped onion
-2 cans of red kidney beans (drained)
-1 can of pinto beans (drained)
-2 cans of black beans (drained)
-2 (14.5 oz) cans of diced tomatoes with jalapenos
-1 8 oz can of tomatoe sauce
-2 packets of chili seasoning mix

-In skillet brown ground beef with the onions. Put the mixture in a slow cooker.

-Add in remaining ingredients and stir together. Cover and cook on high setting for 4 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.

This is super easy, I threw it together on my lunch break in like 20 minutes. Great for a busy day.

Banana Bread

This is my mom's banana bread recipe. It is seriously the BEST banana bread I have ever had.

-1 cup sugar

-1 cup (2 med) mashed bananas

-1/2 cup butter, softened

-1/4 cup of milk

-1 teaspoon vanilla

-2 eggs

-2 cups unbleached or all purpose flour

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1/2 teaspoon salt

*In large bowl, blend first six ingredients; beat one minute at medium speed

*Stir in remaining ingredients just until dry ingredients are moistened.

*Pour batter into prepared pan

*350 degrees for 50-60 minutes

Obviously you can add in some nuts, but really why would you want to ruin it that way!!!

PS. It totally isn't burnt the lighting was just bad and it looks darker then it is.

Messy Potatoes

This is one of my family's favorite Thanksgiving recipes. The picture looks kinda nasty because I forgot to take one until after everyone attacked it. It's not at all healthy but it is so yummy!!!

- 1 30 oz. bag Ore-Ida Southern Style Hash Browns
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups crushed corn flakes or crackers
- 1/2 a white onions, chopped
- ¼ cup butter or margarine melted

Mix soup, sour cream, salt, pepper, onions and cheese in a large mixing bowl. Add hash browns and stir to combine. Place in greased 13x9 pan. Top with butter and cornflakes mixed together. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly around the edges.

Now if you try this out don't get the store brand hash browns. Believe me it doesn't come out right if you do. Also we like club crackers crushed on top better then the corn flakes.

Thanksgiving Tips

First off this isn't really a recipe, just some tips and tricks that I have learned by making Thanksgiving dinner for the past 7 years.
Cook the turkey in a cooking bag. Seriously, I cooked a 14 pound turkey in 2 and a half hours yesterday and it was perfect. Also, after the turkey is cooked, let it sit for half an hour. If you want the turkey skin crispier just cut open the top of the bag, tuck the sides of the bag around the turkey and throw the turkey back in for about 30 minutes. I personally think that skin is gross so I skip that last step.
Also, mashed potatoes. Well when making them my hubby uses only butter and sour cream. Makes for yummy potatoes but I don't want to know what the calorie count on those are.
Dinner rolls, as I have discovered are a pain in the butt, so my best tip for those is COSTCO!
Everything else I make comes from a can or a box (I have never claimed to be a great cook).
Well, I guess that is it. I will put up actual recipes once I start cooking again.

Hawaiian Haystack

I made Hawaiian Haystack for dinner tonight. I will add a picture later as I did not take a picture of it before I ate it. Thank goodness for leftovers!

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast
3/4 cups rice (raw)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1 can pineapple chunks
Shredded cheese
Chow mein noodles

Cook the chicken breasts however you prefer. At my mom's suggestion, I boiled them in water. I added salt to the water, but you can also add garlic salt or chicken boullion to the water. After the chicken is cooked, shred it or cut it into small chunks. Cook the rice in 1 1/2 cups of water. If you boil the chicken, you can use the chicken broth to cook the rice for flavor. While the rice is cooking, combine the can of soup with 1/2 cup of milk and heat it up. Once it is heated, stir in the cooked rice and add the chicken. Serve in a bowl. Top with shredded cheese, pineapple and chow mein noodles if desired. I have had it with tomotoes on top too. It has been a while since I have used tomatoes to top it off, but I remember it being good.

I am a very picky eater and I ate this way back in the day when I was just a little kid. There really isn't anything not to like in it. It is very filling too, so a little goes a long way. It reheats very well too.

Enjoy!

~Lisa