Beef · dinner in 30 minutes · Main dish.

An American Favorite – Salisbury Steak

Recently I went to the kitchen to fix supper and I suddenly thought about an old favorite recipe, and the craving for it caused me to immediately change my menu for the night! It’s one of those comfort-food kind-of-dishes that is delicious, easy and filling, yet so simple that I had everything for it on hand already! It’s also ready in under 30 minutes!!

What did I make?  Salisbury steak.!  If you’re thinking about the frozen dinner variety, think again.  This is meaty, plump and bursting with flavor as well as plenty of gravy to cover the meat and/or any potato you might eat with it.

Continue reading “An American Favorite – Salisbury Steak”
Bread · Cooking · Dinner · main dish · Pasta

(L)Oven Monday – Comfort Food Classic

meat loaf meal

I recently needed to fix a meal for a couple who had spent many days and nights in the hospital.  They needed a nourishing, comforting meal.  That’s when I jumped on my blog’s recipe index to look for my long-time favorite recipe for Meatloaf. I mean you can’t get more comforting than meatloaf and the trimmings for a great home cooked meal, right? It was then that I was shocked to find that I have never shared that recipe here on my blog!  What?  I’ve been making it for YEARS!

I will fix that need today and share this incredibly easy and yummy meatloaf!It’s from Taste of Home and it’s called “Mom’s Best Meatloaf” for a reason!  It’s not over-seasoned; it’s just right!

To accompany the meatloaf, I made the best macaroni and cheese I’ve ever had.  A sweet friend at church brought this cheesy heaven to my husband and me when we were caring for my mother-in-law in several years ago.  I asked my friend for the recipe, and also if she minded if I shared it with you!  She happily passed it on.  Thank you, Bethany!

Here was my menu for the Comfort Food Meal:

Mom’s Best Meatloaf
Macaroni and Cheese
Southern Green Beans
Fried Apples
Low-Fat Baking Powder Biscuits

meat loaf

Mom’s Best Meatloaf

Ingredients

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup soft bread crumbs
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chopped green pepper
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1 teaspoon dill weed
  • 1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef (90% lean)
  • Additional ketchup

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the first 11 ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Press into an ungreased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pan.
  2. Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Drizzle top of loaf with ketchup; bake 15 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 160°. Yield: 6-8 servings.

mac and cheese

My Favorite Ever Macaroni and Cheese

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add pasta, and cook until done; drain.
  2. In 9×13 inch baking dish, stir together macaroni, shredded Cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle topping over macaroni mixture.
  3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is golden.

This meal is comfort heaven!  Make it for someone who needs some love – or make it for your own family to show your love!

What’s your best comfort food meal?

With love from my country kitchen,

Denise Signature 150 px

 

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

My Three Go-To Meals

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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:

  1. Done in under 30 minutes
  2. Filling
  3. 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!  

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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!
ravioli

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,

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dinner in 30 minutes · Main dish.

Did Someone Say Shrimp Sauce?

 

shrimp sauce.jpg

During our recent sabbatical, my husband and I were blessed with the opportunity to eat out quite a bit, thanks to the gracious gifts of our church family. One evening we ventured out to a local Asian restaurant that we hadn’t been to in a very long time. The meal we ordered was a mixed meat grilled on a hibachi and served with a side of Shrimp sauce. The meat was great. The vegetables were flavorful, but the shrimp sauce was OUT OF THIS WORLD! We doused added it to every bite!

Last week when I was making beef stir fry at home, the memory of that glorious sauce popped into my head and I Googled it in search of a recipe. I was shocked at the simple ingredients that are used to make the sauce. I had every ingredient on hand! This meal was so good, and it made me happy to be whipping it up in my own kitchen!

stir fry.jpg

Let me share with you the way I make my stir-fry and then I’ll add the simple recipe for the shrimp sauce.

Stir Fry
½ lb. your choice of meat – chicken, beef or shrimp
2 Tbl. Oil

In a wok, stir fry the meat until it Is cooked through. Remove meat and cover to keep warm. Add a little more oil to the wok and cook vegetables of your choice, starting with the vegetables that take longer to cook, then adding the other vegetables a bit later. The list below is the order I add my vegetables.

Zucchini
Red, green or yellow peppers – I like to ad a variety of these
Snow peas
Onion
Stir fry until crisp-tender.
In a small bowl, mix:
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbl. Corn starch.
2 Tbl. Soy sauce

Add this mixture to the vegetables and stir to thicken. Add meat and stir to cover with the sauce.
Serve with Shrimp sauce.

Shrimp Sauce
1 Cup Mayo – I used reduced fat
¼ cup ketchup
1 tbl sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Dash of hot sauce

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. If you can make it an hour ahead and refrigerate it, the flavors will combine even better. I served mine immediately and it was still delicious, so don’t let that hinder you!

We won’t have stir-fry in the future without this sauce, I can promise you! This is great with any Asian food, so whip this up and dunk away!

If you could recreate any restaurant food you’ve had, what would it be?

With love from my country kitchen,

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Sunday Dinner

The Best Sunday Roast Beef

Roast Dinner.jpg

Coming home from Sunday services to a home cooked meal that greets you with wonderful, enticing aromas when you walk in the door is a gift from heaven.  Everyone is starving and no one wants to wait for long meal prep.  It’s great to have a sure-fire way to cook a meal so it will be ready to eat when you get home. I have a solution for you!

Roast Beef platter

This recipe has been my favorite way to cook a roast for lots of years.Also, if you’re not great at making gravy, this recipe is a blessing because it makes its own gravy!   You could use any variety of beef cuts – Chuck Steak, round roast, whatever is on sale.  The technique is the same, but you may just need longer cooking times for larger pieces of beef.  

Here’s the recipe:

Sunday Roast Beef Dinner
Roast beef
Oil
Carrots – However many you need for your group
Potatoes – ”
Lipton Onion Soup
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Water or broth

Directions:  Add a couple tablespoons of oil to a shallow pan and sear the meat (cook at  high temperature just to brown and caramelize a crust on the meat.) You could even do this part the night before!
Place roast and vegetables in a crock pot.
Spread undiluted soup over roast, icing it like a cake!
Sprinkle Onion soup over the mushroom soup and vegetables.  Add a cup of water or chicken or beef broth.

Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

Beef
Before cooking

Serve meat and vegetables with the gravy in the crock pot.

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You’ll be the woman of the year for anyone who eats this meal with you!  It makes the meat flavorful and moist!  Sunday dinner problems are solved.  You’re welcome!  😉

What did you have for Sunday dinner yesterday?

With love from my country kitchen,