Yum-O Casser-O

According to Our Best Bites, where I discovered this delicious recipe, this dish is actually called Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole.  But here at our house we have renamed it Yum-O Casser-O.

Because it is Yum-O. And creamy, warm, delicious, savory comfort food at it's best.

Really, every now and then I just crave a good steamy casserole, and this is undoubtedly one of the best I've made in a very long time.  Maybe ever.

Go here for complete recipe, photos, instructions, etc.



Ingredients:

• 12 oz wide egg noodles (7 3/4 cups) 
• salt and pepper 
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine 
• 1 small onion, chopped fine 
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour 
• 2 cups half-and-half 
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise and trimmed 
• 4 ounces deli American cheese, chopped coarse 
• 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed and patted dry 
• 25 Ritz Crackers, crushed coarse 

Directions:
1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in a large pot or dutch oven. Add noodles and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until just al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water until cool. Drain again and set aside.

2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in now-empty pot over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl; set aside. In now-empty pot, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in half and half, a little at at time as you whisk to incorporate flour mixture and smooth out lumps. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink, 8-10 minutes. (Chicken won’t be cooked all the way through, that’s okay)

3. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Remove pot from heat, transfer chicken to plate, and shred into bite-size pieces once cool enough to handle. Whisk American and cheddar cheeses into sauce until smooth. Stir shredded chicken, noodles, bell pepper mixture, peas, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 1/4 teaspoons pepper into cheese sauce.

4. Transfer mixture to 13×9 inch baking dish and top with crackers. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, about 15 minutes. Let casserole cool on wire rack for about 15 minutes. Serve.

P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef Copycat Recipe

Mmmmmm....this was truly heavenly.



After two friends tried this recipe and raved about it's deliciousness, we decided to give it a try tonight.  Now it's your turn to try it! You will thank me later.  

Recipe can be found here.  We doubled the amounts, and had leftovers for another meal.

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil 
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced 
• 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped 
• 1/2 cup soy sauce 
• 1/2 cup water 
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar 
• vegetable oil, for frying (about 1 cup) 
• 1 lb flank steak (I used beef stir-fry meat, because it was enormously cheaper, and we still liked it a lot!)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch 
• 2 large green onions, sliced on the diagonal into one-inch lengths 

Directions:

1. Make the sauce by heating 2 tsp of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over med/low heat. Don't get the oil too hot. 
2. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. 
3. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from the heat. 
4. Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4" thick bite-size slices (Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts). (Obviously you can skip this step if you buy stir-fry meat that is already cut up.)
5. Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks. 
6. As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (you may also use a skillet for this step as long as the beef will be mostly covered with oil). Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking. 
7. Add the beef to the oil and sauté for just two minutes, or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges.  You don't need a thorough cooking here since the beef is going to go back on the heat later. Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly. 
8. After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour the oil out of the wok or skillet. 
9. Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and simmer for one minute. 
10. Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, then add all the green onions. 
11. Cook for one more minute, then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate. Leave the excess sauce behind in the pan. 

 We served this over rice, and next time I think I will try throwing in some steamed broccoli at the same time as the green onions.  This meal really has a delicious flavor that we all loved.

Hamburger Divan Skillet

My friend made this for me and shared the recipe when I asked.  We made it recently for dinner as well.  This is a delicious, family-pleasing, thirty-minute meal, and a little different from anything we usually eat.  I'll be making this again, yum! 



Serves 6.

Ingredients

•  6 oz uncooked spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces (1 1/2 cups) 
• 3 cups frozen broccoli cuts (you can substitute whatever vegetable you want, really.)
• 1 container (10 oz) refrigerated Alfredo sauce 
• 1/3 cup half-and-half 
• 1 1/2 lb lean ground beef 
• 1 pkg (3 oz) cream cheese, cut into cubes 
• 1 jar (6 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained (optional, we did not include mushrooms this time, but I plan to next time!)
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz) 

Directions:
Cook spaghetti as directed on package, adding broccoli during last minute of cooking time. Drain; return to saucepan. Cover to keep warm. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine Alfredo sauce and half-and-half; blend well. Brown ground beef in large skillet over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain. Reduce heat to medium. Stir sauce mixture, cream cheese and mushrooms into ground beef. Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is thoroughly heated, stirring frequently. Stir in cooked spaghetti and broccoli. Cook an additional minute. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Makes 6 (1 1/2-cup) servings

Perfect Steaks

We never eat out for Valentine's Day.  Instead, we prefer to cook a delicious meal at home, something special, and eat together as a family by candlelight.  The kids love it, and it's way better than waiting in long lines in our opinion.  :)  This year, we decided steak sounded perfect.  We don't cook steak very much, and in the past we've only grilled it, which in our experience hasn't turned out awesome. 

I wanted to learn how to cook the perfect, restaurant-quality steak.  So, obviously I went to The Pioneer Woman's website.  She never fails me.  Never.  I love her.

She has a complete tutorial on how to cook steak, including choosing the meat, etc.  And she cooks it on her stovetop.  We tried her method, and it was hands down the best home cooked steaks we have ever tried.  Tender and juicy and utterly delicious.  The only ingredients are: steak, Lawry's Season Salt, McCormick's Lemon Pepper, and some butter.  For her complete tutorial, click here.

Sea Salt Truffles

I wanted to make an extra nice treat for Valentine's Day this year for my sweetheart, people I visit teach, Katelee's teacher, and a few special friends.  So, I tried these amazing truffles by The Pioneer Woman.  They are to die for, and much easier than they look, though they do take some time.  But they are so worth it.  Truly. Amazing.

You can find the complete recipe and instructions, complete with beautiful pics here.

Here is her printable recipe:

Description

These are delicious and very easy-to-make chocolate truffles with an unlikely surprise: a sprinkling of light, fluffly sea salt. It’s a seemingly unlikely, but absolutely scrumptious and special, flavor combination that has to be experienced to be believed.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces, weight (up To 9 Oz.) Good Semisweet Chocolate
• 8 ounces, weight (up To 9 Oz.) Good Bittersweet Chocolate
• 1 can (14 Oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
• 8 ounces, weight Meltable Milk Chocolate
• Sea Salt

Preparation

Heat dark chocolates and condensed milk in a double boiler over medium low heat until chocolate is melted. Stir—mixture will have a slight marshmallow texture. Stir in vanilla.
Remove from heat, cover and refrigerate for two hours.
Once chilled, roll in balls, then roll in melted milk chocolate coating. Sprinkle with sea salt or other fine, coarse sprinkles.

Italian Beef Stew

Yum, this beef stew recipe is pure perfection.

Recipe adapted by Our Best Bites from Cooking Light

Ingredients:

• About 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion (about 1 medium onion) 
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot 
• About 1 tablespoon minced garlic 
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (plus more for seasoning the stew at the end if necessary) 
• 1 1/2-2 lb. cubed beef or beef stew meat 
• 1 cup grape juice with 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 
• 2 15-oz. cans diced Italian tomatoes, undrained (unsalted if desired–it’s not the worst idea because a lot of salt is going into this recipe, so lower sodium products can help you control the sodium content) 
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth or stock or 1 1/2 cups water + 1 1/2 teaspoons beef base 
• 1/2 cup water 
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano (substitute: I used 3/4 tsp. dried oregano)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (substitute: I used 3/4 tsp. dried thyme)
• 1 bay leaf 
• 8-10 ounces sliced baby portabella or cremini mushroooms 
• 3/4 cup sliced carrots 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil 
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 

Instructions: Chop the onions, first batch of carrots, and the garlic and set it aside. Heat about a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil in a stock pot or a Dutch oven over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the onions and carrots and saute for about 5 minutes or until the onions are tender and translucent.

Add the garlic and saute it for about 1 more minute, stirring constantly. Remove it from the pan and set it aside.

Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pot. In a shallow dish, whisk together 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper. Toss the beef in the flour and then transfer the beef to the pot. Cook the beef on medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes, browning it on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Combine the juice and vinegar and pour the juice/vinegar mixture into the pan and allow it to deglaze the pan (loosen up the cooked bits on the bottom of the pan). Scrape it regularly for about 5 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by about 2/3.

Return the meat and onion mixture to the pan. Add the undrained canned tomatoes, broth, and water. Strip the thyme and oregano leaves from their stems and then chop up about 2 teaspoons of each. Add those to the stew mixture along with 1 bay leaf. Add your mushrooms and some more chopped carrot to the stew. Bring it to a boil and then cover the stew and reduce the heat to a steady simmer for about 1 1/2-2 hours or until the beef is tender.

Discard the bay leaf and then add some chopped parsley and basil and season with salt to taste. Serve it with crusty bread. Makes about 8 servings.

Freezer Instructions: Prepare through deglazing the pan. Place all of the ingredients except for the water, fresh basil, and fresh parsley into a freezer bag or freezer safe container and freeze. Freeze the herbs separately in a small freezer safe bag. When ready to serve, place the contents of the large freezer bag and 1/2 cup of water into a slow cooker and cook on high for 6- 8 hours or on low for 8-10 hours. 1 hour before serving, add fresh herbs.

Ranch Crock Pot Pork Chops with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Tried this recipe for dinner last night, after tweaking it a bit to fit our preferences, and we all really enjoyed it.  I've never tried cooking pork chops in a crock pot before, and they came out so tender and flavorful! And let's face it, this is about as easy as it gets, but you could still serve this to company. 

 

Ingredients

• 6 pork chops, ½ inch thick 
• 2 pkg dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning 
• 2 (10¾ oz) cans Cream of Chicken Soup 
• 4 lbs peeled, cubed potatoes 
• butter 
• fresh grated Parmesan cheese 
• garlic salt 
• milk
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

Place pork chops, ranch seasoning and soup into a crock pot on low heat for 6 hours. About 45 minutes before pork chops are done, place potatoes into a large pot of cold water. Place onto stove top over high heat and bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, cook for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and transfer to the work bowl of a stand or electric mixer. Mix on low until potatoes are mashed then add butter, Parmesan, garlic, milk, salt and pepper to taste.  Scoop mashed potatoes onto serving plates and top with pork chops and soup gravy from crock pot. I put a little parsley on top to serve. Serves 6. Really yummy!