(L)Oven Monday – Short Ribs in the Crock Pot

January 16, 2017January 2, 2017 RefreshHer1 Comment

I have some tried and true recipes that I have fixed many many times over the years, and yesterday’s dinner was one of those. I fixed Short Ribs and Lima Beans. Don’t turn your nose up at the Lima beans; I don’t like Limas except when they’re served in this dish! This recipe is a great one for Sunday since it’s cooked in the slow cooker. The ribs fall off the bone and are so delicious after cooking in the soups that season them and the beans. Here’s my recipe:

Short Ribs and Lima Bean Casserole – In the crock pot

Short ribs – a couple packages – sorry I don’t have the “pounds”

1 pkg. frozen lima beans

1 pkg. Lipton Onion soup

1 Can vegetable beef soup with barley

1/2 can water

Place the ribs in the bottom of crock pot. Mix the beans, soups and water in a bowl. then pour over ribs. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove ribs and beans. Thicken the liquid in the crock pot with about 1/3 cup of water and 3 tbl. flour mixed together. Turn crock pot to high and stir in flour/water mixture. Cook until thickened (about 10 minutes).

Baked potatoes or mashed potatoes are good with this meal because of the nice gravy.

A great salad to serve with this meal is Mandarin Orange Tossed Salad. On Saturday night I prepared the lettuce, celery, green onions and almonds. After church all I had to do was mix the ingredients in the salad bowls and stir the quick dressing together. It’s light and refreshing!

Mandarin Orange Tossed Salad

1/4 cup wine vinegar

1/2 cup oil

1 tbl. sugar

salt and pepper to taste

3 3/4 oz. slivered almonds

2 tbl. sugar

1 head lettuce, chopped (I like leaf or Bibb lettuce)

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup chopped celery

1 11 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained

Combine vinegar, oil and 1 tbl. sugar, salt and pepper in bowl; mix well. Set aside. Combine almonds with 2 tbl. sugar in skillet. Cook over low heat until sugar melts and almonds are coated and light brown, stirring constantly. Cool to room temperature. Combine lettuce, green onions, celery, oranges, and almonds in salad bowl. Add dressing at serving time, tossing gently to mix well.

What was cooking your kitchen yesterday?

Dinner · dinner in 30 minutes · Family life · main dish

Make Your Own “Dream Dinner”

January 2, 2017January 2, 2017 RefreshHer1 Comment

Have you heard of Dream Dinners? You can check out this video if you’re unfamiliar. The basic idea is that you go to a Dream Dinner store, where they have prepared ingredients for you to assemble meals into freezer bags to make up complete dinners for your family for the month. I heard about it through a gal I watched on You Tube. While I’m sure it’s really convenient, it can’t be cheap! She also said there were some meals they had they didn’t like and wouldn’t have again.

Testimonials on the Dream Dinner’s site said their families were now able to eat together and have become closer as a result. Family mealtimes are important, and they do strengthen families, but if you’re on a budget, there are creative ways to make family meals happen in a much less expensive way. Here’s one suggestion…

Pork Taco meal.jpg

Recently while putting away leftovers from a meal I’d made, I had the idea to bag it together just like I’d seen on the Dream Dinners. I had made Pork Tacos, Refried Beans and Spanish Rice -all from scratch and I had enough for another supper meal for my husband and me, but rather than eating it two nights in a row, I pulled out the freezer bags. I put the Rice in one, the Beans in another and the Pork in another, then I put all the small bags together in a large freezer bag and labeled it, “Pork Taco Dinner.” How great it will be on a busy day to pull this out in the morning and let it thaw, then simply warm it up that evening! It’s better than having leftovers two nights in a row, and it’s better than paying someone twice what it would cost me to fix it! I’ve always been a huge fan of freezing food, but having the whole meal together in one bag is a great plan!

I plan on doing this more often! You could simply double whatever you’re making and eat one for supper tonight and put the other into freezer bags for another day. There’s no need to have to do a month’s worth, or even a whole week’s worth at one time! Wouldn’t it be nice just to know you have a whole meal in a bag all ready to eat for ONE day? Start there, then perhaps you can build on that.

That’s my challenge to you – see what you can pull together to make and freeze ahead. Have the elements for that meal in one large bag. It will eliminate calling out for pizza, or running up to a local restaurant because you’re too tired to cook. Become your own Dream Dinner maker; it’s really doable, it’s cheaper, and you’ll be making things you know your family loves!

My mind is whirling with several ideas.
Swiss Steak
Taco Casserole
Turkey Meatball Sandwiches with Honey Chipotle Sauce

What would you make and freeze?

Dream on!

Denise Signature 150 px

Cooking · Dinner · main dish · soup

(L)Oven Monday – Comforting Soup

December 26, 2016December 25, 2016 RefreshHer9 Comments

Hapy Monday and the Day after Christmas! I trust you had a wonderful time of celebration! I’ll share about mine on Friday when we hit the highlights!

potato-soup-3a

Often after all the rich holiday foods, a simple meal of a comforting, homemade soup is just the thing to have for supper. One reason I love this soup is because it’s so incredibly good, but it’s also really simple.

The recipe is for Baked Potato Soup, and it’s from Cooking Light, but I’ve tweaked it a bit. Baking the potatoes makes it easy to assemble, and I also think it makes the soup so much better than boiled potatoes chunks. This also means there’s no peeling or cutting necessary! Just wrap the potaotes in foil, pop them in the oven, and in an hour you’ll be ready to make supper. The baked potatoes make fine shreds of potatoes that give the soup a creaminess that is irresistable and comforting!

I had some holiday ham left over, so instead of topping it with bacon, the chunks of ham added the perfect flavor. So, you add what you have, bacon OR ham, and I think you’ll be delighted with the results!

Baked Potato Soup

4 Baked potatoes
2 Cups milk
1-2 Cups Chicken Stock
3 – 4 T. flour
Salt & Pepper
Sour Cream
Bacon or ham
Cheddar Cheese

Let Baked potatoes cool slightly, then scoop out the potato flesh from the skins and place in a bowl. Set aside.

Heat milk in a saucepan and slowly add flour, whisking in to combine. Cook until slightly thickened. Add Chicken stock, stir to combine. Add potatoes into mixture. Cook until thickened. If using ham, add it at this point. Cook until heated through.
Remove pan from the heat. Stir in 1/2 Cup Sour cream.

Ladle soup into bowls. Top with bacon, (if you didn’t use the ham) and shredded Cheddar Cheese.

My husband declared that this was the “best Potato soup ever!” Try it and tell me if you agree!

Enjoy!

Denise Signature 150 px

Dinner · dinner in 30 minutes · Fall · home · main dish

My Three Go-To Meals

October 31, 2016October 31, 2016 RefreshHer6 Comments

Three Go-To Meals.jpg

There are always busy fall/winter days that demand a fast supper meal. For those days, I try to keep the ingredients on hand for the entree’s listed above because they are:

Done in under 30 minutes
Filling
Delicious!!!

To make White Castle Sliders, Cheese Ravioli with Tomatoes, and Sausage Corn Chowder, all I need to keep on hand is:

2 pounds hamburger
Hawaiian Rolls – I freeze these
Frozen Cheese Ravioli – I recently tried Aldi’s brand and it was very good!
Tomatoes (I freeze the cherry tomatoes and use them for this dish if I don’t have fresh on hand)
Red Onion
Parmesan Cheese
Canned Corn
Cream Corn
Evaporated milk
Potatoes
1 pound Sausage

These are all very basic staple items to keep. Having them on hand allows me to put a great meal together so quickly!

White castle sliders.jpg

White Castle Sliders

2# hamburger (80/20)

Dried Onion Flakes

Seasoned Salt

Sister Shubert Rolls

Sprinkle dried onion flakes in the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish.

Press beef over onion flakes, make a one huge patty.

Sprinkle with Seasoned salt.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until done.

Drain and Pat grease off.

Top with cheese slices. Place back in oven for 2 minutes to melt.

Remove and slice into hamburger patties, the size of your buns.

Pasta dishes are great for quick meals, but this one isn’t your normal Spaghetti and pasta meal! This is one of our favorites – in a hurry or not! Add some toasted French Bread and a salad and your meal is complete!

Cheese Ravioli with Tomatoes

Ingredients:

1 pound cherry tomatoes
2 shallots, cut into wedges (I use red onion instead)
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12 ounces frozen cheese ravioli

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Halve half of tomatoes. Arrange cut tomatoes, whole tomatoes, and shallots on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil; toss.
Bake at 425° for 35 minutes.
3. Add 2 tablespoons oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper to pan. Bake 10 minutes.
4. Cook ravioli according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain ravioli, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Add ravioli to tomatoes; toss. Add cooking liquid, if needed. Garnish with chopped basil.Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil; toss. Bake at 425° for 35 minutes.
3. Add 2 tablespoons oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper to pan. Bake 10 minutes.
4. Cook ravioli according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain ravioli, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Add ravioli to tomatoes; toss. Add cooking liquid, if needed. Garnish with chopped basil.

This chowder is so hearty and comforting! It’s been a favorite of our family for years! You could add some quick biscuits or just crackers and a salad to round it out.

corn-choweder

Sausage Corn Chowder

1 LB Bulk Pork Sausage
1 med onion
3 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2 cubes
2 cps water
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp salt
crushed 1/2 tsp pepper
1 15 1/4 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
1 14 3/4 oz can cream style corn
1 12oz can evaporated milk

Preparation:
Crumble pork sausage into 4 qt dutch oven; cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. add onion; cook about 5 minutes more or until sausage is brown. Add cubed potatoes, water, seasonings, bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in the whole kernel corn, cream style corn and evaporated milk. heat chowder through.
6 Main dish servings

There are other meal ingredients that I have kept ready for those busy days and I’ll share some of those next week. In the meantime, tell me what ingredients do you keep in your pantry and freezer and what meal do you make with them?

With love from my country kitchen,

baking · birthday · main dish · memories

Friday Favorites -My Old Kentucky Home

October 21, 2016October 20, 2016 RefreshHer2 Comments

Who doesn’t love a marker birthday celebration that includes a destination gathering, a train ride, family time, delicious food and shopping? All that encapsulated last weekend for us! We celebrated my mom’s 80th birthday a few months early, since January is typically icy and cold. What fun we had!

We rode the Kentucky dinner train in Bardstown, Kentucky. Afterwards we shopped in the adorable downtown. Below you’ll see the whole trip.

All aboard!!!!

The drive from my parent’s home to Bardstown had lots of beauty – a castle, a bridge PAINTED on the side of a building, and of course, the horse farms!

I love my parents dearly, and these pictures show how special they are, and how much they love each other. My mom does NOT look 80, and my dad is so handsome in his blue jeans and jacket! If parents could get the “cutest couple award” they would win in my book!

The food was very good! I had the Kentucky Hot Brown and Kentucky Derby Pie (it seemed like the obvious choice when riding My Old KY Dinner Train!). My husband said he definitely made the right choice with the Pot Roast dinner.

The folks doing the dinner graciously adorned my mom’s Apple Dumpling with a candle so we could sing to her! I love this shot of her blowing out her candle.

My husband and I ate with my sister, Sharee and her husband and enjoyed time to visit as we journeyed down the track and ate lunch. My twin and her husband were at my parent’s table, but we were just across the aisle, so visiting with them was no problem!

This is in downtown Bardstown – a city named one of the South’s best small towns by Southern Living Magazine! One boutique, Shaq and Coco was so much fun to shop in! I found a pair of $125 boots for $25! The whole downtown was quaint and inviting!

When we left Kentucky and headed home, we had all kinds of gorgeous views as you’ll see below. We even saw an outdoor wedding taking place! We had all kinds of fun making our way home – turning up country roads just “to see what’s back there!”

Before we moved to Tennessee nearly 16 years ago, I wanted to move back to Kentucky so badly. The central area is just so beautiful. But I am happy as can be where we are and I still get to go visit often and enjoy all the beauty and southern charm of Kentucky. The best part is that my family lives there, so it will always be “My Old Kentucky Home.”

This weekend is another kind of celebration and we’re gearing up in a big way! I’ll tell you about it next week! In the meantime, tell me what you did last week that was memorable and refreshing to you!

Stay refreshed,