Chicken with Dried Beef - Family Favorite

This may be my most favorite meal ever. I could eat it weekly. If I ever had to choose a last meal, this would probably be it (or a truly perfect medium rare steak, but I can't make that myself). I know it doesn't look like much, but trust me, it is yummy yummy! And I only learned in the last few years that our source for this recipe is my great-grandmother; that makes it extra special. I know she didn't invent it. I've seen it called Chicken Supreme or various other type things around the web, but we know about it because of her. Since we're having a "lean" Valentine's Day this year (no cards for DH and me (we did get our son a card), no dinner out like usual), I've decided to make this for dinner tonight instead. It's red and white, and both DH and I adore it. Sounds perfect to me!

Chicken with Dried Beef
Source: Helen Click (Erin's great-grandmother)

Ingredients:

• 1 small jar (2.25 oz) dried beef
• 16 oz sour cream (reduced fat is fine, not fat free)
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup (fat free is fine)
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2-3 cups prepared rice

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Cut dried beef into small pieces (about 1/2 inch). Sprinkle about half into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish until the bottom is mostly covered.
• In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mushroom soup, and remaining dried beef.
• Evenly space chicken breasts in a single layer on top of the dried beef. Top chicken breasts with sour cream mixture.
• Cover with foil and bake for 60-70 minutes. Uncover and let stand 5 minutes. Serve chicken and sauce over prepared rice.

Erin’s Notes:

• I usually make it with reduced fat sour cream and fat free soup, though it is extra decadent with the full fat versions of both.
• The original recipe called for wrapping each chicken breast in bacon and adding a whole stick of butter to the sauce! YIKES! I've never made it that way, though. Trust me, this is perfectly yummy just the way it is.

I'm still here!

Life got away from me in November and December. I've spent January trying to catch up. Hopefully I'll make it back over here soon! Sorry for the delay.

Salisbury Steak from AllRecipes - Family Favorite

I certainly wouldn't say that this is a classic Salisbury Steak recipe, but whatever it is, it is yummy. I found this recipe many years ago, not long after we bought our first house (that was 2001). Both my husband and I loved it from the start. I've made one minor adaptation, discussed at the end, but otherwise, this is still how I make it all these years later.

Salisbury Steak
Source: adapted from AllRecipes.com, submitted by Kelly Berenger

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup
• 1/2 cup dry seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper (optional)
• ketchup - 2 Tablespoons (for meat) plus 1/3 cup (for sauce)
  
• Worcestershire sauce - 1 Tablespoon (for meat) plus 2 Tablespoons (for sauce)
  
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

Directions:

• In a large bowl, mix ground beef with 1/3 cup soup, bread crumbs, egg, salt, black pepper, 2 Tablespoons ketchup and 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire. Shape into six patties.
• In a large skillet, brown both sides of patties over medium-high heat. Pour off excess fat.
• In a small bowl, blend flour and remaining soup until smooth. Mix in water, mustard powder, plus remaining ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.
• Pour sauce over meat in skillet. Cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Erin’s Notes:

• For the 1/3 cup of soup that goes in the meat, I usually spoon out most of the onions, then add a little of the liquid. That way most of the onions are in the meat adding flavor, leaving most of the liquid to keep the sauce smooth.
• I usually brown the patties until they are mostly done, then pour on the sauce. I simmer covered until the meat is done, then simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens.
• Works fine with ground turkey, perhaps adding a bit more ketchup and Worcestershire sauce to the meat, though I do still prefer this particular recipe with beef.
• I've begun experimenting with making these in muffin tins instead of browning in a skillet. Will update if/when I perfect the method.
  

Turtle Pretzels from Recipe Zaar

These fall into my favorite recipe category: Easy But Awesome! I already love chocolate covered pretzels. Toss in caramel and pecans, and how could this possibly be bad? Answer: it can't! They really do taste just like a turtle candy, but with the added extra salty crunch of the pretzel. They are simply wonderful. You can make as many or as few as you like, which is why I didn't include amounts/numbers below. The hardest part is unwrapping all the candies. Enjoy!

Turtle Pretzels
Source: slightly adapted from Recipe Zaar Recipe #107408 (now Food.com)

Ingredients:

• grid-style small pretzels
• bag of Rolo chocolate-covered caramel candies, unwrapped
• pecan halves
• (you should have equal numbers of pretzels, candies, and pecans)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 250°F
• Place pretzels in a single layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet (as few or as many as you like).
• Put one Rolo on each pretzel, as centered as possible.
• Put the Rolo/pretzels in the oven until the Rolos soften and start to melt (about 4 minutes for me). Note: Rolos will retain their shape, even when soft enough for the next step.
• Remove from the oven and push one pecan half down in the middle of each Rolo.
• Let cool. (I had to put them in the refrigerator to get them to set properly.)
• Remove from the parchment and store in an air tight container. (I keep mine in the fridge.)
• Best if removed from refrigerator a few minutes before serving to warm up slightly.

Erin's Notes: original recipe called for mini-twists

Taco Cornbread Bake from Plain Chicken

This was one of the first recipes I tried from Pinterest. (I assume you know about Pinterest, right? If not, read my rhapsodizing about it on my main blog.) It was a good idea, but I didn't love it. To me, the cornbread was way too sweet (I'm a southerner; no sugar in my cornbread, please! Sugar goes in the sweet tea.) The base also tasted like it was missing something, though I can't really put my finger on what. I'll keep hunting for similar recipes, I think.

Taco Cornbread Bake
Source: Plain Chicken, found on Pinterest

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground round
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chiles
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 box Jiffy corn bread mix, plus ingredients to make cornbread
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• sour cream
• salsa

Directions:

• In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the water and taco seasoning. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup of cheese, Rotel tomatoes and black beans. Spoon into a greased 8x8 baking dish.
• Prepare corn bread mix according to package directions for corn bread. Spread over beef mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Jo Mama's World Famous Spaghetti from RecipeZaar - Family Favorite

There are not words to describe this spaghetti sauce, but I will give it a try. How about Italian Heaven in a Bowl? The author of this recipe, Sharlene W, says her kids will give up a steak dinner to have this spaghetti sauce at home, and I completely believe it. I have stopped getting spaghetti when I go out to restaurants because I know I can make better - THIS sauce - at home. It makes enough to feed an army, and the recipe could be easily halved, but trust me, don't. Make the whole batch and freeze half. You'll be thankful when you're craving it again in a few weeks and all you have to do is thaw some out.

Jo Mama's World Famous Spaghetti by Sharlene~W
Source: Originally from RecipeZaar, now Food.com

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs Italian sausage, casings removed
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1-2 cups water (the longer it simmers, the more water you need)
• 3 teaspoons basil
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1 lb thin spaghetti
• good quality parmesan cheese

Directions:

• In large heavy pot, brown Italian sausage, breaking up as you stir. Drain fat.
• Add onions and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until onions are softened.
• Add garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and water. Add basil, parsley, brown sugar, salt, crushed red pepper (if using), and black pepper.
• Stir well and barely bring to a boil. Stir in red wine.
• Simmer on low, stirring frequently for at least an hour. A longer simmer makes for a better sauce, just be careful not to let it burn! Add more water, as needed, to achieve and maintain the desired consistency.
• Cook pasta according to package directions. Ladle sauce over drained pasta and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Erin's Notes:

• I usually use half mild and half sweet Italian sausage. I prefer petite diced tomatoes. If I can find the tomatoes, sauce, and paste with basil/oregano/garlic already in it, I use that. I definitely leave out the red pepper flakes (you know me).
• I will be perfectly honest, it takes me about 2.5 hours from the moment I walk into the kitchen to start the meal to the moment I serve it into bowls over pasta. It's about 1 hour of active cooking "get it in the pot" time, plus 90 additional minutes of simmering. I just can't seem to get it done any faster, but this recipe is so good, it is definitely worth it!

Turkey Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf from Paula Deen - Family Favorite

You know that most any Paula Deen recipe is going to have either butter or bacon in it. No butter here, but she makes up for it with mayonnaise and cheese. Believe me, this isn't healthy, but we do try to improve it some by using 99% lean ground turkey breast instead of ground beef. There is plenty of fat in the rest of the mix-ins to keep it moist!

We've also found that a half batch of this is plenty for four servings. Can easily be prepared ahead (hold the toppings) and refrigerated overnight before baking as directed the following day.

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf
Source: adapted from Paula Deen, FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey breast (98-99% lean), or ground beef
• 10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, or equivalent real bacon bits
• 8 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs, toasted, or 1/4 cup crushed croutons
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup prepared mustard
• 1 (6-ounce) can French fried onions, divided

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Take half the french fried onions and crush them in a zip top bag.
• In a large bowl, combine ground meat, bacon, cheese, eggs, bread crumbs, mayo, Worchestershire, salt, pepper, and crushed french fried onions, mixing well.
• In a small bowl, combine the ketchup and mustard. Stir half of the ketchup mixture into meat mixture, reserving remaining ketchup mixture.
• Gently pat/press meat mixture into a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan (don't make it too dense), or shape into a loaf and place on a rack in a broiler pan.* Spread remaining ketchup mixture over loaf. Bake 40 minutes. Top with French fried onions; bake another 10 to 15 minutes, or until onions are golden brown and meat is cooked through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

* Note: Can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated overnight. Remove from refrigerator when ready to bake and continue with instructions. May require a few extra minutes cooking time.