Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Brown Gravy

I'm a sucker for the Food Network cooking shows.  One of my favorites still happens to be Sandra's Money Saving Meals.  That's where I got this recipe from.  I was having a lazy moment catching up on some of my shows over the weekend and happened to watch this episode. It was exactly what I needed as I was/am in a cooking rut again and needed to use up the ground beef in my fridge before it went bad.  I wanted to make a dinner that was fast and easy and delicious.  Oh boy does this one fit the bill!  It was a HUGE hit with my family!  Each person, adult and child, gave it TWO thumbs UP!  I kid you not!

{salisbury steak with brown gravy}

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds 80 percent lean ground beef
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon Montreal Steak seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 (8-ounce) package sliced baby portobello mushrooms (I used shiitake mushrooms I reconstituted and used the "mushroom broth" adding beef bouillon to enhance the flavors)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 (14-ounce) cans beef broth. 

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-hi heat. Add the onion and saute until soft, about 6 minutes. Put 1/2 of the onion in a large bowl and the remainder in another bowl. In the large bowl add the beef, bread crumbs, grill seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and the egg. Mix to combine everything well and form the mixture into 6 oval patties. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the patties until they are well browned, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Remove the steaks and pour off all but 2 tablespoons the fat. (The patties will not be cooked through and will finish cooking in the gravy.)

Put the pan back on the heat, add the mushrooms, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the remaining onions, sprinkle in the flour, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the beef broth and bring it to a boil. Return the patties to the pan, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce has thickened and the steaks are cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Serving Yield:6

Corkscrew Chicken

I'm stocking up on my freezer meals again.  This one was SUPER easy in both prep and cooking and the taste delivered.  Can't beat that!

{corkscrew chicken}
  serves 6
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves cut into bite sized pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
3T olive oil (spray works too)
2 garlic cloves, minced (less if you don't like garlic as much as me!)
1-26oz. can spaghetti sauce
1 c. chicken broth (omit if you are NOT freezing noodles uncooked)
2 c. rotini noodles (or something similar)
fresh basil, chiffonade cut
Parmesan cheese

Eating night of:  Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Set aside.  Saute chicken onion and garlic in olive oil until chicken is no longer pink. Stir in spaghetti sauce and drained pasta and toss to evenly coat.  Heat to boiling.  Top with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.

To Freeze: Saute chicken, onion and garlic in olive oil until chicken is no longer pink.  Stir in spaghetti sauce and chicken broth. Heat just to boiling. Remove from heat. Stir in uncooked noodles. Allow to cool completely. Place in gallon freezer bag.  Label and freeze.
  To Serve: Thaw. Place in saucepan and heat to boiling.

Radish Dip

I know I'm late to share this for the big Super Bowl weekend, but I just KNOW that you'll find time to make this dip.  It's bursting with flavors! Green onion. Garlic. Cream Cheese. Radishes. Oh, boy!  It's the kind of dip that makes you want to lick the bowl clean.  I almost did when my friend (thanks Perda!) made this for me.  Thankfully, I did show some semblance of self control.  Only a little. It's THAT good!


{radish dip}

1-8oz block Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 c. Butter, softened (do not use margarine if you can avoid it!)

1 c. finely chopped radishes. About one bunch. (I dry the radishes after chopping with paper towels so they won't turn the dip pink.)

1/2 c. finely chopped green onions

2 tsp dried parsley flakes

1/2 tsp season salt (I prefer Lawry's)

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Cream butter and cream cheese together in medium bowl.  Combine remaining ingredients until well combined.  Chill overnight or for a couple of days for best flavor.  Okay, you can chill for at least ONE hour, but the flavors will taste better if you can plan ahead and let it sit longer.  Trust me on this one.

Serve with either crackers or veggies.

Sunday Supper Roast

Since getting pregnant with, and having, baby #3, we've eaten out so much more than ever.  I know it's partly due to those crazy pregnancy hormones affecting my taste buds and also partly due to the lack of energy.  If you've had a baby, you know what I'm talking about!  Well, upon review of not only my waistline but also our financial goals, I decided that one of my New Year's resolutions goals is to eat out only once per week...if that.  So, I'm working on finding some great FAST, go-to menus that my family loves.  

This is one of those recipes because: 

  1. Both kids and adults gobble it up.  

  2. It's fast to prep and throw together. 

  3. It can cook all day in my slow cooker while I'm at work so I can come home to a delicious smelling house and a meal ready to go! 

Not only does the slow cooker make the meat fall-apart delicious, but the combination of the onion soup, garlic and seasonings creates such a beautiful symphony of flavors in your mouth!  The potatoes and carrots are perfectly tender and the gravy so easy to make, although it is delicious without it, too!

{sunday supper roast}

1 (2.2 oz.) box beefy onion soup (2 env.)
1 (3 1/2 lb.) beef rump roast
2 lb. small red potatoes, scrubbed and halved
5 large carrots, chunky sliced (about 1 1/2" sections)
4 celery ribs, chunky sliced (about 1 1/2" sections)
8 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp. garlic pepper
2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans beef broth, separated
1/4 cup flour
 
Roll the meat in both packages of onion soup. Set aside. In a 5-6 quart crock-pot, place half each of the potatoes, carrots, celery, and garlic. Season with half each of the garlic pepper and thyme.  Tuck the bay leaf into the veggies.  Pour all but 1/2 cup of broth over veggies.  Add the roast and scrape any dry soup mix left on top.  Cover with the remaining veggies and seasonings.  Cover and cook on LOW for 9 to 10 hours.  Remove meat and veggies and keep warm.  Pour the juices from the pot into a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Whisk together the saved 1/2 cup broth and the flour.  Pour slowly into boiling juices.  Stir until gravy is thickened, about 3 minutes.  Pour over meat and vegetables and serve.

Sloppy Janes

If you've been following me for any length of time, you've probably already seen this recipe, but it's so good and uses so much ZUCCHINI that I just have to remind you of all it's wholesome delicious goodness!

This recipe has very little meat (you could even go all vegetarian and do NO meat).  It consists of grated carrots, grated zucchini, diced onion and seasonings.  I've even put some of my wheat berries in substitute of hamburger and it still tastes fantastic!  This is also a recipe that I can eyeball measurements on and it still turns out excellent! I LOVE recipes that are forgiving like that!

It is also VERY freezer friendly so when I make it I cook up a HUGE batch and put family serving sizes into quart zip top freezer bags and it's ready for a rainy day.  The zucchini, carrots and onion freeze well, on their own, so if you prefer, you could freeze the bags of pre-grated and diced veggies so all you had to do would be to dump the frozen veggies into the pan add the seasonings and sauces and voila!  A FAST, EASY, DELICIOUS dinner in minutes!!!

{sloppy janes recipe}