Beef Stroganoff

This is another recipe that I grew up with and it is SOOO delicious. It is a lot more involved than my normal recipes but it is great for special occasions when you want something fancier. The sauce is just a little bit tangy which makes it GREAT! The picture is courtesy of IFood and can be found here.

BEEF STROGANOFF

½ c. chopped onion
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp salad oil
1 ½ - 2 lbs. round steak
3 Tbsp. flour (heaping)
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 c. chicken bullion (1 c water – 1 cube chicken bullion)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can water
2 Tbsp. tomato sauce
1 tsp. lemon concentrate
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ pt. sour cream (1 cup)

Melt butter; add onions – sauté for 5 mins. While sautéing, cut meat - cut fat off first. After onions are sautéed, take out and put in bowl and set aside. Mix flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Dip meat in flour, making sure to cover completely. Brown in oil – brown on one side and then turn over and brown on other side (if you have more mat than will fit in pan, brown both sides then push it to the side). You may need to add a little oil if it gets too dry while browning meat.

Dissolve bullion cube on heat. Put in blender and add left over flour. After blended, add to meat. Add onion and butter mix. Add cream of mushroom soup and 1 can water. Mix well. Add tomato sauce, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 45 minutes – 1 hour, starting from time you brown meat – covered.

25 minutes before done, start cooking rice (long grain). For every cup of rice add 2 cups water and 1 tsp salt. Bring water to boil, add rice. Cover. Turn to low. Cook until water is gone – approximately 15 minutes.

When meat and rice are done turn off pans and add sour cream.

Classic Repeat : Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

This is a quick and delicious recipe that we love around our house. (And I am told it is a favorite at my brother-in-law's household too!) And I like to believe that it is better for you than most fettucine alfredos because it isn't made with heavy cream. I made a few changes to the recipe this time for extra flavor so instead of just posting the link I am going to post the entire recipe again. The picture is courtesy of Campbell's Kitchen.

CHICKEN & BROCCOLI ALFREDO

8 oz. uncooked linguine or spaghetti
1 c fresh or frozen broccoli florets
2 T butter or margarine
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 c milk
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 t pepper
½ t salt
1 tsp fresh minced garlic
juice of half a lemon

Prepare linguine according to package directions. Add broccoli for last four minutes of cooking time; drain. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink, stirring often. Add soup, milk, cheese, pepper, salt, garlic, lemon juice and linguine mixture; heat through, stirring occasionally. Serve with additional cheese. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Chicken Sour Cream Enchiladas

These are some of my FAVORITE enchiladas. There are never leftovers and they are flavorful and creamy. The ingredient list is again, easy and basic, and you just can't go wrong with this one! The picture is courtesy of Nibble Dish and can be found here.

MOM’S CHICKEN SOUR CREAM ENCHILADAS

2 cans cream of chicken soup
½ chopped onion (or sprinkle in onion powder)
1 can diced chilies
¾ c. water (or chicken broth)
2 cups diced, cooked chicken
12 - 16 oz. Sour cream
Cheddar Cheese
Tortillas

Mix together in a warm pan: soup, onion, chilies, and water. Add chicken. Fold in sour cream. Heat tortillas in frying pan (I just spray the pan or put in a little butter). In a 9 x 13 pan cover bottom of pan with sauce. Put 2 Tbsp. sauce and 1 Tbsp. grated cheese into tortilla and roll. Put side by side in pan. Cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Cover. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. These are even better if they sit for one hour before baking.

Crockpot Creamy Southwestern Chicken Nachos

This is a fantastic recipe from Real Mom Kitchen that was very tasty and full of flavor. So easy to make with limited ingredients too! Remember for crockpot recipes that the HIGH setting is twice as fast as the LOW setting. So if you want things to move more quickly, divide the LOW setting in half and just leave it on HIGH. However, you also have to realize that your meat will be more tender if you cook it longer on LOW. I followed the settings listed on the original recipe and my chicken was perfect - easy to shred and still very tender. The picture is courtesy of Real Mom Kitchen and can be found here. My nachos were not as "Creamy" as the picture makes it look. It was a perfect blend of chicken, beans, corn, salsa, and cream cheese without anything being too overpowering.

CROCKPOT CREAMY SOUTHWESTERN CHICKEN NACHOS
From Real Mom Kitchen

• 1 small bag frozen corn
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 large frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 16-oz jar medium salsa (Medium salsa is a must, mild isn’t flavorful enough)
• 1 8 oz package of cream cheese
• tortilla chips
• Any other additional toppings you desire such as chopped cilantro, diced avocado, diced green onion, sliced olives, etc.

1. Pour bag of frozen corn in bottom of crock pot. (Can corn can be used in place of the frozen. Just drain it and put the chicken in first followed by the corn)
2. Place frozen chicken breasts on top of corn and cover with rinsed and drained black beans and jar of medium salsa.
3. Cook on high for 1 hour, and then on low for 4 hours.
4. Shred chicken with forks and mix in cream cheese until melted and creamy.
5. Serve with tortilla chips and add toppings to individual servings.

Marinated Manti Turkey (Or Chicken!)

This recipe is one that I grew up with. My mom does it all the time and it is HIGHLY requested. The longer you let the turkey, or chicken, marinate the better it gets. Super easy, super delicious, what could be better than that? The picture isn't exactly the same recipe but it looks a lot like it and is courtesy of Taste of Home found here.

TURKEY MARINADE

1 cup soy sauce
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups Sprite
1 tsp. horseradish sauce

Marinate overnight. Keep in sauce until ready to barbecue. While cooking pour sauce over the top.

*This is for a basic amount of chicken or turkey (probably about 4 breasts cut up.) Make sure that the amount of meat you use can be covered completely. Double the recipe if you have to.

Paprika Chicken with Sour Cream Gravy

This meal has been repeated quite a few times in our house. I love the sour cream gravy on this spicy chicken. The original recipe is QUITE spicy so cut back on the black and red peppers if you are afraid of having your nose run after eating dinner. But it is quite delicious and although the cooking directions seem pretty unusual, it really does work! If you want to cut back on the fat content use margarine and fat free sour cream. This meal is also very versatile as to what you serve it with. We have eaten it over noodles, rice, and even mashed potatoes.

PAPRIKA CHICKEN WITH SOUR CREAM GRAVY
From Campbell's Kitchen

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground red pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup sliced green onion
1 container (8 oz.) sour cream

Mix flour, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper and red pepper in a Ziploc baggie. Place chicken inside and coat chicken thoroughly.

Heat butter in skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken 10 min. or until browned. Set chicken aside. Add soup and green onions. Heat to a boil. Return chicken to pan. Cover and cook over low heat 10 min. or until chicken is done. Stir in sour cream.

*Cutting up the chicken into large chunks is MUCH more efficient! Stirring the sour cream into the mixture when you have chicken breasts is VERY difficult!

Mom Troff's Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE SOUPS!!!!! And I am pretty picky about my soups. Anytime my mom makes this one it is the first soup to go and we are all really quick to get our bowls up there so we can get a big helping before we lose our chance. Be forewarned, however. This soup is spicy. If you don't like spicy you may want to add sour cream to your final dish. Or you can leave out the diced green chilies all together, but it will lose some of it's unique flavor. I mixed my little girl's bowl of soup with a little bit of milk and she had no problems with it. I can almost promise that you will love this one. If you don't - you're crazy! The picture is courtesy of FanFoodie.

MOM TROFF’S CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken, cooked and shredded
1 can (15 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (4 oz) diced green chilies
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 pkg. (10 oz) frozen corn
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
6 corn tortillas
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish (It is even better with shredded Parmesan)

In Crock-pot, combine shredded chicken, crushed tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chilies and garlic. Add water, chicken broth, cumin, chili powder, salt, black pepper, and frozen corn. Cover and cook on Low 6 to 8 hours or on High 3 to 4 hours. Add cilantro ½ hour before serving. For tortilla strips, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with vegetable oil. Cut tortillas into 2½ X ½ inch strips. Spread tortilla strips onto baking sheet. Bake, turning occasionally, until crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle tortilla strips and grated Parmesan cheese over soup. Serve immediately.

*NOTE: If you don't want to do this as a crockpot recipe all you have to do is add all of the ingredients together and heat thoroughly. Yes, it is that easy. And you don't have to make your own tortilla strips. Buy them or just used crushed chips.

Chocolate Mint Brownies

Yesterday was my sweet mother's birthday! (She is now the ripe old age of 24... ;-)) We got to celebrate with a fabulous dinner and presents and I brought the dessert. My mom and I have been addicted to mint everything since as long as I can remember. If it is mint flavored, we like it! This is another great recipe from My Kitchen Cafe found here. I expected them to be super rich and they were pretty rich, but just enough so that they were still delicious. Although the ingredient list is a bit long, I had most of the things already on hand. I just used the ice cream chocolate syrup that we had in the fridge. Very tasty and very moist! Thanks to Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe for the picture.

CHOCOLATE MINT BROWNIES
From My Kitchen Cafe

Bottom layer:
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, beaten (FYI: the original recipe replaces two of these 4 eggs with 1/2 cup egg substitute)
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup

Mint layer:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 drops green food coloring

Glaze:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare bottom layer, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and salt; stir with a whisk. Combine granulated sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 tablespoons water, vanilla, eggs, and chocolate syrup in a medium bowl; stir until smooth. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring until blended. BATTER WILL BE VERY THIN! Pour batter into a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

3. To prepare mint layer, combine powdered sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, and next 3 ingredients (through food coloring) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until smooth. Spread mint mixture over cooled cake. (If you prefer the non-mint version: substitute vanilla extract for the mint extract.)

4. To prepare the glaze, combine the chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Let stand 2 minutes. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Cut into 20 pieces.

Classic Repeat: Hot Dog Casserole

This one is not healthy by any means. But if you wanted to make it better then you could spend the extra money to buy fat free hot dogs and low fat cheese. This one was a HUGE hit in my house growing up and it is a sure-fire kid pleaser! Jake and I like to mix some hot sauce in with ours and it is DELICIOUS. Besides, if nothing else, it is SOOOOOO cheap to make. A pack of hot dogs is easily $0.88, we got 10 lbs. of potatoes on sale for $0.58. Basically the most expensive part is the cheese. And if you are wise and buy the cheese in bulk it is a lot cheaper. Smith's Tillamook cheese is regularly just over $11 for 5 pounds of pre-shredded cheddar cheese. Cheap and tasty? That is my kind of meal!

http://shaylaskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/11/hot-dog-casserole.html

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

I know. Really. I wouldn't have ever thought to do it, but apparently someone did. And trust me, as bizarre as it seems and as crazy as you think I am... it is delicious. Really. You are going to have to take that leap of faith and try it because it really is delicious. Thanks to Allrecipes.com for the original recipe (which my mother has nicely modified) and the picture.


PUMPKIN BLACK BEAN SOUP

• 4 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained (21/2 beans/1 1/2 pureed)
• 1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cups chopped onion
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 3 large links sausage, sliced
• 2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 can diced chilies

Directions

1. Pour 2 cans of the black beans into a food processor or blender, along with the can of tomatoes. Puree until smooth. Set aside.
2. Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the onion is softened. Stir in the bean puree, remaining can of beans, beef broth, pumpkin puree, cumin, diced chilies and apple cider vinegar. Mix until well blended, then simmer for about 25 minutes, or until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Stir in the sausage, and heat through before serving.