Yummy Chicken ‘Stroganoff’
Guys, this dish is a new go-to!!! It’s soooooo satisfying to the palate, but so easy!!! Just account for the cook time, and this is a great weeknight meal!! A perfect Sunday dinner, though.
I’m still working on my photo quality. Don’t judge this dish on my poor picture-taking! It almost looks like a stroganoff, which in some ways, it is. But, also, not. The original recipe calls for sour cream, but I used plain yogurt, as that’s all I had. It was soooooo goood!! My 4 year old had seconds!!! The mustard flavor is really secondary. So, don’t be scared off if you hate dijon.
I’m in love with my newest Le Creuset pan. Look how good the chicken looks inside of it! I’m biased…
For the noodles, the original recipe calls for ‘super noodles’, and they sound delish! But, I didn’t have chicken bouillon on hand, so I couldn’t do them. I simply added butter and parsley to my egg noodles and that was plenty good! Although, I do plan to try the original method, if you don’t have all of the ingredients for the noodles, don’t let that stop you from cooking this chicken!
I PROMISE you will enjoy this dish.
Yummy Chicken 'Stroganoff'
Ingredients
- 6-8 chicken thighs boneless and skinless
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 to mato chopped, juice and seeds removed (I used a beefsteak tomato)
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt
- *Buttered egg noodles with parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat and brown chicken on both sides, working in batches, if necessary, so that the chicken doesn't steam. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Add remaining oil to the same pan, and sauté the onions till translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook down for about the same amount of time. Stir in the garlic and cook for one minute, stirring often. Add in the tomato and flour, and cook for about 1 minute, to cook off the flour flavor. Add the dried tarragon. Deglaze the pan with white wine, allowing it to cook, so that the alcohol can burn off. Return the chicken to the pan, and add your chicken stock. Cover, and place in the oven for 45 minutes (30 minutes covered and 15 minutes with the lid removed).
- When finished, remove the chicken from the pan and add the mustard and yogurt, and whisk until blended. Return the chicken to the pan, and spoon some of the sauce over the chicken, so that it is well coated. Serve with butter and parsley noodles.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Crazy Easy Quick Bread
I haven’t made a post in a while because I updated my website! It’s kind of exciting. 🙂 Now, I need to work on my picture taking abilities. Yikes!
I made this bread the first time I introduced my daughter to salmon, so that she would have something on her plate that I knew she’d like, in case her salmon experience was a catastrophe! This bread really is true to its name. It’s crazy easy!! And, it’s also yummy. Two super important factors when cooking a weeknight meal!
The secret ingredient in this bread is beer! Any ol’ bottle of beer will do, except maybe Guinness. But, hey, if you’re so inclined, give it a go! 🙂 Beer has yeast in it. A perfect pairing for bread making. Another really important ingredient in this bread is self-rising flour. Don’t substitute for another flour, as self-rising flour has salt and baking powder already in it, which is why we don’t need to add any of that stuff into this recipe! This bread is a bit dense. It’s definitely not for sandwich making. But, along side a meal, it’s perfect!!
Enjoy!
Crazy Easy Quick Bread
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 can or bottle of beer
- 1 heaping tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- butter for greasing the pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Generously grease your bread pan with butter. Place all of your ingredients (minus the butter) into one bowl and stir until combined. Transfer to your greased loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Remove loaf from the pan and let cool slightly before slicing.
Notes
Turkey Sausage and Arugula Pasta
I have been making this dish since I saw Giada making it on her Food Network show a few years ago. She tops this yummy sauce over baked potatoes, but I far prefer it served with pasta. This dish looks really similar to another dish I made, Cheesy Sausage Pasta, but it is very different. I just like to use shells as my pasta of choice. 🙂
There are many things that I like about this dish. It’s a great weeknight meal, because it comes together quickly. The sausage adds so much flavor on it’s own. It’s almost fool proof! You can easily switch out the arugula for spinach, should your local grocery store not carry it. Like I did this time around. I do prefer arugula, though, as it doesn’t go mushy as quickly as spinach. But, my daughter loves both, and that’s enough for me!
In a pinch, you can use pork sausage for this recipe, as it is more readily available, but be sure to drain off the fat. Sweet sausage is also much more kid friendly than the spicy variety. My daughter picked up on the spice in this dish right away when I couldn’t find sweet sausage, and she wasn’t as big a fan. So, I stick to the sweet stuff now.
The arugula or spinach will look like too much when you first add it to your dish. But, it will wilt down really quickly.
See? Mmmmm….this is yummy stuff.
Here’s what you need to do:
Turkey Sausage and Arugula Pasta
Turkey Sausage and Arugula Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium white or yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
- 1 package of sweet turkey sausage about 4 or 5 sausages, casing removed
- 1 jar tomato basil sauce 2 cups
- 3 cups arugula or spinach
- 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 pound pasta your choice of noodle
Instructions
- In a large skillet, sauté the onions in olive oil over medium high heat until translucent. Add minced garlic and salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute, stirring often. Add the turkey sausage and cook until the meat has cooked through. Add in the tomato sauce and arugula. Let the arugula cook into the sauce until it reduces in size. Add in the mascarpone cheese and stir till combined. Remove the skillet from the heat, and stir in the parmesan cheese. Add pasta into the sauce, and finish with more parmesan cheese.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
As I sit here at 7am on a Saturday morning with a tea in my hand, the fire lit and debating eating an oatmeal raisin cookie that I made last night, I thought it might be a good time to write a post about them! And eat a cookie. It’s basically breakfast ingredients, right??
For Christmas, my husband got me a Le Creuset cookie jar! Cute gift, since cookies are kinda my thing. At least at Christmastime. Little did I know, he had a plan that I should keep this cookie jar full of cookies all the time! Sneaky.
He’s been asking for oatmeal raisin cookies for weeks! I promised him I would make them once the jar was empty of the rice krispy treats I had made previous. Now that report cards are done, the pressure is off, and it’s the start of the weekend, I thought that last night was the perfect night to make them!
I found this recipe over 10 years ago on a bed and breakfast site that I can no longer locate. I have tweaked this recipe quite a bit over the years. At Christmastime, I make these cookies, with cranberries and white chocolate chips. They have been a long time favorite.
The original recipe is made with shortening, which I generally don’t like to bake cookies with. I’ve tried this recipe with both salted and unsalted butter. Either is fine. I, honestly, don’t notice much of a difference. In truth, I think I prefer these cookies made with salted butter. I have also cut back on the sugar in this recipe, as I found 2 cups to be way too much. I opted to add more brown sugar, because I like my cookies chewy. But, if you like a crispier type of cookie, just switch the amounts of white and brown sugar.
Oatmeal Raisin Cokies
Ingredients
- 1 cup or 2 sticks, butter (softened at room temperature)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups quick cook oatmeal
- 2 cups raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 Farenheit
- Cream butter and sugars together.
- Add the eggs and vanilla.
- Slowly add flour, baking soda and salt until combined.
- Add oatmeal and raisins until all is combined.
- With your cookie scoop, or spoon, drop cookies onto a parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes - A medium sized cookie yields 3 dozen.
- Enjoy!
Weeknight Beef Stroganoff
My mom used to make beef stroganoff for special occasions when I was young. It’s still one of my brother’s favorite dishes. I came across this recipe that is so similar to my mom’s, and such a cinch to make! I’ve made it several times now. Mid week! Easy and so tasty! And a great way to introduce steak to your littles.
Speaking of steak, this dish doesn’t require an expensive cut. Sirloin is what most people use. I used Rib Eye because that is what I had in the freezer. Any cut would work.
The first time I made this, I used a whole can of tomato paste, because I didn’t want to throw away what was left in the can. I could instantly tell that the sauce was too tomato-y, so I added more broth and it turned out just fine. The second time I did this, I only used the recommended amount, and it was also very good. So, you can’t really go wrong.
Weeknight Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 2 Rib Eye Steaks thinly sliced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Medium onion diced
- Mushrooms sliced (8 ounces)*
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 Cups beef broth
- 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 Tablespoons dry sherry
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 Cup sour cream**
- 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- Cook egg noodles in boiling salted water until al dente (soft but still a bite); toss with butter once cooked (about 2 tablespoons), and set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat oil and add the beef in batches, so that the meat doesn't overcrowd and boil. The beef will cook very quickly. Cook for about 2 minutes per side, depending how thinly you sliced your steak. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- Add in the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the mushrooms and cook until soft, another 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute.
- Stir in the beef broth and tomato paste and stir until the sauce thickens a little, about 2 minutes.
- Return the beef, and all its juice, to the pan.
- Add in the sherry, salt, pepper, and thyme.
- Reduce the heat and allow the sauce to simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add in the sour cream.
- Sprinkle chopped parsley into the sauce, reserving some for garnish.
- Serve over buttered egg noodles.
- Enjoy!
Notes
**You can use whatever type of sour cream you like, but full fat makes this dish much more scrumptious
Nonna’s Tiramisu
Years and years ago, I made tiramisu for a boyfriend, with the help of a good Italian friend from high school. It turned out great, but I haven’t made it since. About a month ago, my husband, and some family and I went to a wine club that we are new members of for a private dinner, and tiramisu was for dessert that night. The tiramisu was good, but the cookie still had some bite to it, and I felt like I could make it better.
Fast forward two weeks later, over my lunch break, I found myself at McCall’s Cake Decorating store in Toronto for some Christmas baking ingredients. Surprisingly, they were selling ladyfingers, and since I wanted to make tiramisu, I bought them. I asked the girl behind the counter if she thought I could make two pans of tiramisu with the amount of lady fingers I had. She told me she would ask the woman that was in the basement, as she makes them all the time. From the basement, a lovely, little Italian Grandma comes up, and proceeds, in broken English, to tell me the recipe she has used for 30 years! 1 egg, 1 spoonful of sugar, and 100 grams of mascarpone, is what she said. She told me that for an 8×10 pan, she uses 5 eggs, 5 spoonfuls of sugar, and 500 grams of mascarpone. I thought that was all she was going to share, but then she kept going! She told me to separate the eggs, and beat the yolks with the sugar and then the mascarpone.
Till it looks like this.
In a separate bowl, beat your egg whites until they reach a soft peak.
Like this.
Fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture.
This is what you end up with. Just the right amount of sweetness.
I will tell you, that the container of mascarpone that I bought was only 475 grams, which I knew was 25 grams short from what Nonna told me to use! But, I figured, I’d be fine. In truth, and this is just between you and me, I think 6 eggs, 6 spoonfuls of sugar, and 600 grams of mascarpone would have been better, as we all felt that it tasted a bit heavy on the coffee and could have used a bit more custard. BUT, it was still damn good and needs to be shared.
Nonna's Tiramisu
Ingredients
- 3 cups of espresso cooled
- 1 package of ladyfingers about 50 ladyfingers
- 5 eggs separated
- 5 tablespoons of sugar
- 500 grams of mascarpone
- Cocoa for dusting
Instructions
- Working quickly, dip each lady finger, one at a time into the espresso, on both sides. Don't let the ladyfingers sit in the espresso, as they will absorb way too much liquid. A quick dip.
- Place each ladyfinger side by side, to fill in the space of the pan.
- Once your bottom layer has been filled with ladyfingers, put half of your custard on top and spread smooth.
- Repeat with another layer of ladyfingers.
- Finish with the remainder of your custard.
- Dust generously with cocoa to finish.
- Enjoy!!!
(Source: Boss Of The Apple Sauce)
Leftover Turkey Pot Pie
I’m visiting my parents over the holidays right now. Nothing was planned for dinner tonight, and since we had a lot of leftovers, I got to thinking of what I could do. My mom happened to have everything at home to make this dish, so it was a no brainer. This is really easy, and tasty!!
For the pie crust, I used store bought. It’s quick and easy. Don’t fuss over making your own for this dish.
Leftover Turkey Pot Pie
Ingredients
- Leftover Turkey Pot Pie
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup each diced onion diced carrot, and diced celery
- 3 cups shredded turkey
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- Splash of white wine optional
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup half and half
- 1 whole unbaked pie crust
- 1 whole egg
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Melt butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook until the onions become translucent. About 5 minutes.
- Add the shredded turkey and mix into veggies. Stir flour into the meat and veg. Cook for about 1 minute, to cook off the flour flavor. Add the broth and wine and cook until the sauce thickens. Add the turmeric, salt, and pepper.
- Add half and half, and let mixture bubble. Remove from heat and pour mixture into a casserole dish.
- Prepare pie crust according to package instructions.
- Place pie crust over top of meat mixture.
- Brush with egg wash (whipped egg and 2 tablespoons water).
- You won't need to use all of the egg wash.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust has browned.
- Enjoy!
Raw Brussel Sprout Salad with Pomegranate and Apple
Every five weeks, after I get my hair done, I go shopping at Whole Foods, because it’s so close to my salon. It’s my little guilty pleasure. When I was there, I saw baby brussel sprouts, and while I have scarring childhood memories of eating brussel sprouts, I wanted to give them another chance, with bacon. While I was in the produce area, there happened to be someone showcasing brussel sprouts in a fresh salad!! I was intrigued. I tried it. I liked it!!! I thought it would be a perfect salad for Christmas dinner. So, that’s what I did. I had no idea of amounts of anything. All I knew was the ingredients I needed.
I took this picture at Whole Foods, so that I would remember what I needed to buy.
I made enough salad to feed many people. It’s a nice salad to adjust easily for a small or large crowd. I, also, used a mandolin to shave my brussel sprouts, but you could easily use a knife. Just make sure to slice them thinly.
To release the pomegranates from their skin, I like to use a meat tenderizer, instead of the wooden spoon that is so often suggested. I just don’t find that the spoon does the trick. But, in a pinch, you can easily find pomegranates ready to eat. You will just pay quite a bit more.
For the almonds: I toasted mine. You can do this in the oven, but I did mine in a pan over the stove, with no oil or butter. This process doesn’t take long, so don’t leave them sitting for too long without moving them around.
For the vinaigrette: Usually for a dressing like this, follow the general rule of 1 part acid (in this case, lemon) to 3 parts oil. Add about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Shake, shake, shake.
Raw Brussel Sprout Salad with Pomegranate and Apple
Ingredients
- 1 pound brussel sprouts shaved
- 3/4 cup shaved almonds toasted
- 1 to 2 apples sliced like matchsticks (or julienne)
- 1 Pomegranate seeds removed
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Mix the lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper together and set aside.
- Shave the brussel sprouts.
- Add them into a salad bowl with the apple and pomegranate.
- Drizzle with vinaigrette and top with almonds.
- Enjoy!
Slow Cooker (Spaghetti and) Meatballs
We are on a bit of a meatball craze these days. My daughter loves them, so that makes it especially motivating. I have already posted a recipe for The Mighty Meatball, but I like to use those meatballs for everything but the traditional ‘spaghetti and meatball’; although, you could very easily use those that way too! I actually got this recipe off of a page that I liked on Facebook, called Tasty. It’s an ingenious site, with quick viewings of complete recipes. I liked the slow cooker option to this recipe, since, if I can, I like to prepare more than one meal on a Sunday, and this recipe allows for that!
The first time I made this, I followed the recipe exactly. Originally, it calls for hot Italian sausage and and square of mozzarella inside the meatball. Personally, I didn’t notice the cheese at all, and my daughter really did notice the heat from the hot sausage. So, the second time I made it, I eliminated both, and it was a hit! It can’t get much easier than this guys. Try this recipe!
Slow Cooker (Spaghetti and) Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup bread crumbs plain or seasoned
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup parsley
- Jarred Marinara Sauce good quality*
Instructions
- In a bowl, blend all the ingredients together, except for the marinara sauce.
- Form into golf sized (or smaller) balls.
- Place a layer of meatballs on the bottom of your slow cooker, and drizzle with some of the marinara sauce.
- Place another layer of meatballs.
- Drizzle more marinara sauce.
- Repeat until all meatballs are in the slow cooker.
- Set slow cooker to high for 2 and a half hours.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Quick and Tasty Carbonara
I have tried many carbonara recipes over the years, as it’s one of my husband’s favorite comfort foods. This recipe is my favorite of any I’ve tried, and it’s the quickest! My daughter gobbled up her entire serving. She told me that she likes this pasta as much as she likes cotton candy. That’s saying something!
This past weekend, we had a lot of my family visiting, which was awesome, but we never got the chance to grocery shop for the week! Luckily, we had enough pantry items, that I managed to get our dinners done still. Today, while I was at work, I was wracking my brain as to what I could make us for dinner. I received my recipe of the day email from The Food Network, and that was my inspiration for dinner. I had eggs, bacon, pasta, parmesan cheese, and parsley. Thanks, Food Network!!
Quick and Tasty Carbonara
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti dry
- 1/2 pound bacon organic, thick cut, cut into smalls strips
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 large eggs brought to room temp, cracked and whipped
- 1 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus more for serving
- 1 bunch of parsley finely chopped
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat pan on medium to medium-high heat. Once hot, add bacon.
- Drain off excess fat once cooked, except for 1 to 2 tablespoons.
- At the same time, bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.
- Once boiling, cook pasta to al dente in texture.
- Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water for later use.
- Combine the beaten eggs and cheese together and set aside.
- Once bacon has cooked, and has been removed from the pan, toss in the minced garlic into the olive oil and bacon fat and stir continuously for about 1 minute.
- Add your cooked pasta directly into the hot garlic oil mixture.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the egg/cheese mixture slowly, mixing constantly, to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
- At this time, add in some of your reserved pasta water to help loosen up your sauce to the right consistency.
- Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Add in your minced parsley.
- Enjoy!!
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