Our Table this Week

Sunday: Murphy's Hot Hamburgers

Monday: French Dip Sandwiches

Tuesday: Sausage Casserole

Wednesday: Bangers and Mash

Thursday: Pesto Tortellini with French Bread

Friday: Ham and Potatoes with some Apples too

Incredible Pumpkin Cookies

I needed to make some cookies for some friends and I wanted to try something new. I found this pumpkin cookie recipe and fell in love. It is amazing! The frosting is so creamy and tastes like caramel. It is such a yummy combination with the pumpkin. The original recipe made a ton of cookies, so I cut it in half. It still made 3 dozen.

Ingredients:

• 1 cups shortening
• 1 cups white sugar
• 1 cups canned pumpkin
• 1 eggs
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Frosting Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  
• 1 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Cream shortening, white sugar and pumpkin. Add eggs and mix well. Sift together the baking soda, ground cinnamon, salt and flour. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Drop from spoon to cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. To Make Frosting: Cook butter, milk, and brown sugar until dissolved. Cool and add confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Drizzle over warm cookies.

Bow-tie 'Lasagna'

I made this last night and it was delicious. I love lasagna but don't always have the time to put it together. This tastes a lot like it but is so much easier. I found the recipe over on Tasty Kitchen. Here it is:

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Ground Chuck
• 12 oz. box of Bow-tie Noodles
  
• 1 jar of spaghetti sauce
  
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (or More, Make It To Your Taste)
• ½ cups Mozzarella Cheese
• ½ cups Sour Cream

Directions:
Cook the ground chuck in a frying pan until fully browned. At the same time, cook the bow-tie noodles according to the directions on the package. Once the noodles are cooked and drained, add the olive oil in with the noodles and add in the spaghetti sauce.
When the beef is totally browned, drain the excess fat and add the ground beef into the sauce. Next add the spices, cheese, sour cream and stir it all together. Let it all warm up and melt together, over low heat, for about five minutes or until the cheese is all melted and yummy. Serve it up and enjoy!

This Week

Sunday: Soup and Sandwiches

Monday: Bow-tie Lasagna

Tuesday: Poor Sunday Soup

Wednesday: Meatball Subs

Thursday: Mummy Dogs

Friday: Eat Out

Saturday: Out of Town

Time for Comfort Food

Sunday: Fried Pork Chops and Baked Potatoes

Monday: Italian Pot Pies

Tuesday: Plov- I learned how to make this in Russia and it is amazing. The flavors melt together in such a yummy way. I am going to try and wing this recipe. We'll see how it goes.

Wednesday: Penne Bake with Spinach and Tomatoes

Thursday: Stuffed Peppers

Friday: Date Night!!

It's Been a While Menu

Lots of new recipes this week. Hopefully they are all wonderful and easy to make!!

Sunday: Pot Roast- Don't let the lack of liquid fool you with this recipe. The roast is still moist and delicious!!

Monday: Vegetarian Chili- We are big meat eaters in this family and so I am really hoping my husband doesn't miss the meat too much!

Tuesday: Meatloaf

Wednesday: Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

Thursday: Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Shells

Friday: Meatball Subs

The Menu

Sunday: Family dinner at Aunt's house. She made the most amazing skirt steak. I need that recipe! It was heaven.

Monday: Butter Chicken

Tuesday: Breakfast for Dinner- Eggs, hash browns, and sausage links

Wednesday: Baked Ziti- First time making this one. Hope it is good!

Thursday: Beef Stew

Friday: Pork Chops with apples

Butter Chicken

I LOVE Indian Food. It is my favorite ethnic food, followed closely by Chinese and Thai food. I always figured it was hard to cook, until I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen. Normally, I don't love trying recipes where I have to go and buy new spices that I don't use very often, but in this case, it was worth it! As the chicken simmers in its sauce, I just stand by the stove and breathe in the yummy exotic smells. It is heaven with a little naan bread on the side, which we happened to find in our local Winco. Anyway, here is my version of the recipe and here is a link to the original, in case you want to see it. The original recipe is a little heavier on garlic, cayenne pepper (I leave this out totally), cream, and marinade time.

Ingredients:

• 4 pieces Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (cut Into Bite Sized Pieces)
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoons Black Pepper
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Coriander
• ¼ teaspoons Cumin
• ¼ teaspoons Cardamom
• 1 whole Lime, Juiced
• 1 whole Onion, Diced
• ¼ cups Butter
• 1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Tomato Sauce
• 1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Petite Diced Tomatoes
• 1/4 cup Whipping Cream- the original recipe calls for a pint of whipping cream but that seemed like a lot. I just add the cream until I think it tastes good which for me is 1/4 of a cup. You can also uses half and half for a slightly less fattening options:)
• 2 cups Basmati Rice (or However Much You Want)

Optional Ingrdients:

• 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper- I don't love spicy food and so I just leave this out but if you are going to add it, put it in the marinade with the other spices
• 1 bunch Chopped Cilantro, to taste- We can't eat cilantro in our house. My husband think it tastes like soap but it sounds like a lovely addition to the recipe. Add this right before serving.

Directions:

Combine first 8 ingredients and marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Saute the onion in the butter until soft. Add marinated chicken and cook about 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Cook for 30 minutes over medium-low heat with the lid on. Add the whipping cream just before serving over Basmati rice.

This Week

Sunday- Sweet and Sour Chicken on Rice

Monday- Gyros

Tuesday- Soft Tacos

Wednesday- BBQ Pork Tenderloin with Rice and Veggies

Thursday- Fettuccine with Chicken and Broccoli

Friday- Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

Another Week- Another Menu

Sunday: Chicken Parmesan

Monday: Meatballs and Rice with garlic bread on the side

Tuesday: Chicken and Rice Soup

Wednesday: MM Sandwich and oven fries

Thursday: Potato Boats and Salad

Friday: Breakfast for Dinner-

St. Patty's Week Menu

I love Saint Patrick's Day!! I am not sure why I love it so much since I am not really Irish. I do love the color green and the Celtic dancing, and the bagpipes though. The food is pretty tasty too and so I decided to put together an Irish menu for this week. It involves lots of potatoes and meat. I am trying corned beef and cabbage for the first time and that should be fun. Hopefully it all turns out really good.

Sunday: Leftovers

Monday: Poor Sunday Soup- This soup makes me happy.

Tuesday: Shepherd's Pie- I don't have a recipe for this. I try to copy how my Mom made it when I was a kid, but I have made some small changes since Christian grew up with green beans under the meat and we always had corn. These days I like to combine them or do half for him and half for me. Either way it is mashed potatoes on top, browned ground beef seasoned with ketchup and spices in the middle, and veggies on the bottom. Oh, and some grated cheddar on top for some extra comfort flavor!

Wednesday: Corn Beef and Cabbage- Since this one is new for me, I am following a recipe I found on allrecipes.com.

Thursday: Bangers and Mash- We love this recipe! I couldn't find authentic bangers this year and so I am just using beef brauts, but it should still be good. I am going to dye the mash potatoes green just for some extra holiday fun.

Friday: Eat Out

Sweet Corn Bread or Muffins

I wanted some corn bread to go along with our chicken tortilla soup on Sunday, and rather than reaching for our normal corn bread mix, I decided to try and make it from scratch. Yeah, I am never using that mix again. This corn bread was so moist and fluffy. There is another recipe on the box that isn't as sweet and I think I will try that one next time too, so I have a sweet version and a more traditional one too. Here is the sweet recipe:

Alber's Sweet Corn Bread or Muffins
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup yellow corn meal
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 Tbsp. butter or margarine melted

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8x8 pan or 18-20 muffin cups (you can use paper-liners for muffins too).
Combine flour, sugar, corn meal, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine milk, eggs, veggie oil, and butter in a small bowl; mix well. Add to flour mixture; stir just until blended. Pour into pan or into muffin cups until 2/3 full.

-For corn bread: bake for 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

-For corn muffins: bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire racks. Serve warm.

Another Menu

The good news is that I finally bought a nicer camera, so that I can take my own pictures to go along with recipes. The bad news is that I haven't had any time to test it out. So, once again, here is a kind of boring post with just our menu for the week, but I do have a couple of recipes in the pipeline that I can't wait to share.

Sunday: Chicken Tortilla Soup- this was on last weeks menu but got pushed back. It takes some time to cook but is AMAZING!!!

Monday: Meatball Subs- I just used store bought meatballs, sauce, mozzarella cheese, and sub rolls from the grocery bakery. I put the meatballs in a sauce pan with a jar of sauce and let them cook for 25 minutes, that way the sauce and meat share flavors :). Then I broil the cheese on the rolls to melt the cheese until the bread gets golden around the edges. Put the meatballs on the sub and eat. I love these.

Tuesday: Pulled Pork Sandwiches with salads on the side- These were served at a church dinner and were delicious. I need to get her recipe. Seriously delicious. They had beans, cole slaw, and potato salad for side dishes that were all good too and homeade root beer to drink. Sometimes food at church functions isn't that great, but everything was really good. It was great to have a night off from the kitchen and there was even enough leftover to take some home to a hungry husband. It was great!

Wednesday: Chicken Stir Fry and Egg Rolls- I was feeling lazy and bought this dinner in a bag and the egg rolls in a box.

Thursday: Beef Tacos- Nothing too fancy here. Hamburger seasoned with a Taco seasoning packet, corn tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, and sour cream. Easy, but oh so tasty.

Friday: BLT's- Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomatoes is a heavenly combination of flavors. Also, nice and easy for a Friday night dinner.

It was kind of a lazy week in our kitchen. Lots of pre-made stuff and no new recipes, but I am hoping to find some good and tasty inspiration for next week!

What We're Eatin'

Sunday: Zataran's Red Beans and Rice with sausage

Monday: Creamy Spagetti- So easy! Noodles, spaghetti sauce and little sour cream.

Tuesday: Bean Burritos- This had no flavor. It was a pretty big bust!

Wednesday: Bow-tie Lasagna- Yum and Yum. This was our first time trying this recipe and it was a hit all around.

Thursday: Chicken Tortilla Soup- So good! We actually ate this on Sunday but either way it was great.

Friday: Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry- I love Jamie Oliver because his recipes are always fresh and flavorful. This one has fresh ginger in it and is really tasty. It's pretty easy too. I love to serve it on Chinese noodles instead of rice.

Poor Sunday Soup

This is a recipe that I brought back from Russia. One of my companions was Ukrainian and would make this soup for us on cold afternoons.I love this soup because it uses cheap ingredients and has good hearty flavor. I do it a little differently every time because I never wrote the recipe down, but here is the gist of things:

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large carrot shredded on a cheese grater
1 small onion diced
2 medium potatoes cut into 1 inch pieces
1- 32 ounce box chicken broth or 4 cups of broth made from chicken bouillon

Optional- 1 cup egg noodles: I just started adding these recently because my kids love noodles. You might need to add another cup of broth if you add noodles though, just depending on how chunky you like your soup.

Directions: Heat oil over medium heat in a large sauce pan. Add onion and shredded carrot and cook until they start to soften. Add chicken broth and potatoes and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender. Pour into bowls and enjoy!

If you add noodles, cook the taters until they are soft but still slightly firm in the center, and then put the noodles in and cook according to the noodle package directions. Pour into bowls and enjoy.

Weekly Menu #3

Sunday- Black Beans and Sausage -I wasn't sure about this recipe when I saw the ingredient list, but I love Everyday Food recipes. This turned out pretty yummy.

Monday:Murphy's Hot Burger - I shaped the patties like hearts for Valentines:)

Tuesday: Chicken Fajitas- Chicken, onion, green pepper, and fajita seasoning

Wednesday: Poor Sunday Soup - This soup has really cheap ingredients and is great on a cold winter day.

Thursday: Steak Tips- steak tips, brown gravy packet, and egg noodles

Friday: Pot Roast- Pot roast, seasoning packet, and veggies

Saturday- Dinner in Park City! Yum!

Weekly Menu #2

Sunday-Honey Teriyaki Chicken - This was on last week's menu, but we had pizza instead.

Monday-Breakfast for Dinner- Southern hash browns, eggs, and sausage links

Tuesday- Spaghetti and Meatballs

Wednesday-Fresh Pasta and Pesto from Caputo's Deli

Thursday- Italian Pot Pies

Friday- Pesto Tortellini Soup

Saturday- Eat Out

Honey Teriyaki Chicken

This is another recipe from Everyday Foods. It has wonderful flavor! Here is the recipe and picture from their website. One of these days I will get a better camera, so that I can take my own pictures:)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 pounds total)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl, mix honey, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat. Transfer chicken and sauce to baking sheet.
2. Bake chicken, skin side up, basting occasionally with pan juices, until well browned and cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve chicken drizzled with pan juices.

Easy Alfredo Sauce

Christian loves Chicken Aflredo and so I decided I needed to learn how to make it myself. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and it was pretty easy and really tasty.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup heavy cream (I used whole milk because I was too lazy to buy cream)
  
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  

Directions:
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes, then add garlic and cheese and whisk quickly, heating through. Stir in parsley and serve.

-Okay, I didn't add parsley to this recipe. I didn't add it to the stew recipe either. I never have fresh parsley in my fridge and forgot to buy it. I figured it wouldn't make or break the recipe, but who knows, maybe the parsley really makes the dish. Next time, I will have to try it.

Beef Noodle Stew

I am in love with Martha Stewart's Everday Food magazine. It is my favorite piece of mail every month. The recipes are relatively easy and don't normally require crazy expensive ingredients. After months of finding delicious looking recipes in there that called for a Dutch Oven pot, I decided to ask Santa for one of my own. This was the first recipe that I made in my new pot, and we loved it! Good flavor and less salty than other beef stew versions.

Here is a link to the original and a picture of the stew from Martha.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 medium onion, sliced lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 pound carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
• 2 cups egg noodles
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar (Christian is not a vinegar lover and so I left this out)

Directions:

1. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over high. Add beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook until seared and brown, about 6 minutes. Add onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion begins to soften (reducing heat if necessary), about 5 minutes. Stir in flour until beef and onion are coated and cook 1 to 2 minutes (do not burn). Add broth and 3 cups water, stirring and scraping up browned bits. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until beef is tender, about 25 minutes.
2. Add carrots and potatoes and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Add noodles and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, stir in parsley and vinegar.
   

This Weeks Grub #1

I have a hard time remembering menus from one week to the other and so I figured posting them would be a good way to remind myself of stuff we haven't had for a while. This will also help me post more recipes since many of the ones on these menus aren't on our blog yet. Here is what we are having or had already this week:

Sunday: Beef Noodle Stew
Monday: Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli
Tuesday: Grilled Sandwiches and Soup
Wednesday: BBQ Cups
Thursday: Honey Teriyaki Chicken
Friday: Sausage Casserole
Saturday: Eat out:)