Beef Stroganoff

An oldie but goodie, this one is from my mom. It takes a long time in the oven, but putting it together is SUPER quick and easy, and it comes out ready to serve!

Beef Stroganoff

Mix in a large bowl:
-1 large onion, sliced thin
-1/4c. flour
-1/4c. dried breadcrumbs
-1 can of beef consumme (10.5oz, undiluted)
-1/2c. red wine or broth

In a casserole dish:
-1 lb. chuck roast, cubed
-Sliced mushrooms to your liking

Pour the bowl mixture over the meat and mushrooms. Cover and bake in oven at 300 degrees for 3 hours. Serve over rice or noodles.

Smashed Sweet Potatoes

Steaks are a rarity at our house, but the hubby is having a crazy time at work, so I decided to treat him to one of his favorites. Too lazy to light up the grill, I just seared mine on the stove top tonight.

Smashed Sweet Potatoes

-Quarter as many potatoes as you want to cook, put them in a pot and cover with water. (I leave the skins on - it's easier and I like the texture it adds.)
-Boil until soft.
-Drain and smash.
-Mix in a bit of milk, butter, honey or agave.
-Serve topped with sliced mushrooms sauteed in olive oil.

Chicken Parm Pizza

It's Friday night, which reliably means pizza night in this house! Tonight I tried something new... not bad!

Chicken Parm Pizza

Crust:
Here, you have lots of options. You can make your own, buy the pre-baked variety ala Bertolli in your grocery aisle, or stop somewhere in between, which is what I did. I like the refrigerated crust from Trader Joes. One tip contrary to the printed directions on the package, though... You'll get a better crust if you roll out the dough and bake it with no sauce or toppings for 10-12 minutes first!


Toppings:
-Pizza sauce
-Breaded chicken, chopped
-Fresh basil leaves
-Mozzarella cheese
-Parmesan cheese

Bake until the cheese is melted and chicken is heated through.

NOTE: Ours was actually faux chicken parm pizza since I tried out a new soy protein product on ours tonight, Gardein Chicken Tenders. My meat-eaters gave it 2 thumbs up :)

Unstuffed Peppers

I wish I could take credit for the clever name on this one, but all credit is due to a smart woman who wrote into the Rachel Ray mag. All the delicious flavors of the labor intensive stuffed pepper without all the labor. What more could you ask for? I took her fabulous idea and tweaked it to match my family's preferences. And I'm telling you... NOTHING gets me excited for dinner like a giant pan of colorful veggies!

Un-stuffed Peppers

Rice:
-If you've got some cooked and stored in the fridge, this becomes a one-pot wonder!
-If not, then cook up the rice of your choosing while you're prepping and cooking the veggies.

In a large pan or wok, combine:
-Crush, minced or chopped garlic*
-Bell peppers, chopped
-Mushrooms, chopped
-Onion, chopped
-Olive oil or coconut oil
-Salt and pepper

Saute to desired tenderness.
Top with cheese of your choosing (optinal).

*(I prefer fresh garlicbut this is a GREAT alternative found in your grocer's freezer section!)

**We used this as one of our vegetarian meals for the week and with all the great veggie flavors, we didn't miss the meat one bit. If you do want to add something in, the original recipe called for ground sausage.

Spinach Soup

On a rainy day like today, nothing beats a warm bowl of soup! This would have made a great entry for St. Patty's day, but either way, we enjoyed it tonight! I thought it tasted great, but it is going to take my preschooler (who will eat a spinach salad, no problem) a couple more exposures to get used to it. You wouldn't believe how much spinach is packed into this nutrient dense soup.

Spinach Soup

In a large pot:

-Melt 4 Tbs of butter.
-Add 1 Tbs of flour and cook until it becomes a thick, foamy mixture (about 2-3 min)
-Add about 1 lb of fresh spinach in and cook until wilted.
-Add 2 1/2 c. broth and remove from heat.

At this point you need to puree the soup. I dumped mine into a blender, but you could also use a food processor or an immersion blender if you're fancy (I only wish I had one!).

Once pureed, put the soup back in the pot over medium to low heat.

In a separate bowl:
-Mix 1/2 c. heavy cream and 2 egg yolks.

Slowly dump and mix the cream mixture and into the soup.

Finishing touches:
-Flavor with salt and pepper.
-I recommend serving it right away. I made mine a little early and waited for the hubby to get home, but it separated a bit after sitting.
-Serve with a salad and side of buttered toast.

Homemade Chicken Mac n Cheese

Okay, so this one definitely doesn't fall under the "good for you" category, but it is an amazing comfort food treat every now and again. I forgot to snap a picture of this before we dug in and with the help of our neighbors over for dinner, we devoured most of it, leaving us with what you see here.

Chicken Mac N Cheese

Prep:
-I love the flavor and protein a roasted chicken adds to man n cheese. Tonight I cheated and used a rotissere chicken from the store, but you could roast a whole chicken in the oven or the crockpot if you prefer to do it yourself.
-Once you've cooked (or bought) your chicken, remove the meat from the bone and skin and set aside.
-Boil your noodles of choice to al dente. Drain and stir in shredded chicken.
-Preheat oven to 325.


Cheese Sauce. In a large pan:
-Saute a small chopped onion and minced or chopped garlic in a bit of olive oil or coconut oil.
-Add 3 Tbs of flour and 3 Tbs of butter. Cook 2-3 minutes. This is your "roux", pronounced "roo".
-Just before the roux turns brown, whisk in 1 c. milk and 1 c. broth.
-Let it sit over medium heat until it bubbles and thickens.
-Sprinkle in a palm full of nutmeg.
-Melt 2 c. shredded cheddar into the sauce.

Finishing Touches:
-Pour the cheese sauce over the noodles and chicken.
-Put noodles and cheese into a 9 x 13 baking dish.
-Sprinkle a bit of shredded cheddar and whole wheat bread crumbs.
-Bake for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted and the top is crusty.

Get creative here based on your family's liking. A friend once made this with bacon (and it was DELICIOUS!). Another friend adds in pimentos because her young son and husband are big fans. Veggies of all kinds are good roasted in. What else will you add? The possibilities are endless!

Meatballs!

We're baaaaaaaack and after a 9 day break, I was ready to hit the kitchen and cook away today! I spent the morning making my very first batch of homemade baby food, sweet potatoes, and they were a hit! I am really looking forward to this adventure and am loosely following Ruth Yaron's Super Baby Food methods for anyone who is curious.

Alas, tonight it was back to cooking for the "grown up" part of my family and meatballs were on the menu. These are some of my favorite because they are quick to put together and only take only a few minutes to cook through.

Meatballs
Prep:
-Cover a rimmed cookie sheet with foil and lightly grease with butter or oil.
-Preheat broiler.

Mix in a large bowl:
-1lb ground beef
-apple, grated
-small onion, grated
-hand full of bread crumbs*
-palm full of finely chopped parsley
-handful of shredded cheddar cheese
-1 egg
-salt and pepper

Take off your rings and dig in, squishing the ingredients until they are mixed well. Form into 16 meatballs, and place meatballs on the prepared cookie sheet.

Bake meatballs in the broiler for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through and browned on top. (I have a raw meat phobia so I always cut the middle one open just to be sure.) Our broiler cooks a little unevenly, so I also check and rotate my pan a couple of times during cooking, you just have to know your oven/broiler to know if this is necessary.

Finishing Touches:
I served ours over egg noodles tossed with butter (coconut oil would make a great substitution here) and fresh, chopped parsley.

*Substitute cooked quinoa for GF version.