What's For Dinner?

Here's some of what I've been cooking 

for dinner lately.....

1. Loaded scrambled eggs with avocado, ham and lots of veggies.
2. Spicy chili with yummy toppings.
3. Reuben rolls.
4. Fried catfish with spicy fresh pineapple salsa.
5. Sweet and sour beef.
6. Beef tips and mushrooms.
7. Crispy chicken topped salad.

Have you been cooking anything yummy lately?

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Slice Of Life Saturday #1

  

I thought I'd start a fun new post category!

No words necessary...just my Saturday in photos.

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Spring Weekend

1. The crab apple trees are just about to burst open!
2. Still cool enough for jeans but warm enough for bare feet.
3. Cooked some yummy meals.
4. Cut three boys' hair.
5. Enjoyed watching Tiger in the sun dappled grass.
6. And who Tiger was watching in the branches above!

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What's For Dinner?

Here's what we've been eating at our house lately...

1. Baked salmon with lemon and thyme roasted brussel sprouts and red skinned potatoes.
2. Apple pie pancakes.  I just sauteed sliced apples in butter and cinnamon and piled them on top of buttermilk pancakes and syrup.
3. Pineapple and sriracha chicken thighs on rice.
4. Spinach salad.
5. A true 'clean out the fridge' soup made from a little leftover ground beef, rice, sliced mushrooms, onions, garlic and cream.
6. Grilled Ahi tuna steaks and sauteed veggies.
7. Grilled extra sharp white cheddar cheese and a bowl of roasted red pepper bisque.  The bisque was sold in a carton at the grocery and it was delish!  Just heat and eat.  We were remembering how we had lots of Campbell's tomato soup and grilled American cheese sandwiches when we were first married and dead broke.  This tasted a little better than that. haha.

Pull up a chair to the table...I'm still serving!

♥

What's For Dinner?

Here's what we've been eating lately...

1. Red potatoes, sugar snaps, sweet corn and bacon.  I started with sauteing the bacon in the skillet, then adding boiled potatoes and snaps, cut the corn off the cob and added it right in.  Super yummy.
2. Store-bought ham and cheese quiche.  This one is very good for a convenience food.  Cuisine Adventures.  Got it at Sams Club.
3. Teriyaki steak and fresh pineapple kabobs.
4. Gazpacho.  Chilled, spicy and perfect for hot summer days.  I have to tell you that The Mister kept calling it Gestapo.  OK...laughed so hard I cried.  He didn't know what was so funny until I explained...
5. Creamy chicken, mushroom and peas on rice.  Yummy garlicky sauce that started with mascarpone cheese.
6. Chicken salad with grapes, celery and cucumbers.  The binder was mayo with a little of each Marzetti dressings...Poppy Seed and Sweet Onion.

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Smothered Steak

One of my coworkers and I were chatting during a lull at the

cash-out table during an auction a few months back.

She mentioned loving cubed steak.  I wrinkled my nose.

I hadn't had cubed steak since I was a little girl.

It was a staple at our house, fried in a skillet with gravy

made from the drippings.  I liked it fine then but hadn't 

thought about it since, much less had a craving for it.

But she insisted I try it how she fixes it, so I made a mental

list of what she did and tried it myself.

Delicious!  Moist, tender, full of flavor and very inexpensive.

It's hard to photograph comfort food. ha.

It doesn't usually look appetizing on the plate!

But I tried here, and hope you'll give this a shot.

Smothered Steak

Brown cubed steaks in a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

Just sear and brown...about 3 minutes each side on high heat.

Remove from skillet and with a little more olive oil,

brown fresh sliced mushrooms and onions.

Add salt, pepper and garlic, taking care not to burn the garlic.

Transfer veggies to a bowl and stir in one can undiluted

cream of golden-mushroom-with-garlic soup.

Place steaks back into skillet and spread veggie mixture

over the steaks.  Cover and bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

♥

Beef and Cheddar Spirals

Cute little sandwich bites.  Great for an appetizer or snack.

I paired them with a salad and fruit for a light, summer meal.

Beef and Cheddar Spirals

1 can crescent dinner rolls

4 thin slices of roast beef

4 t Dijon mustard

1 c shredded cheddar cheese

1 T sesame seeds

Unroll dough into 4 long rectangles.  Press seams to seal.

Layer with mustard, beef and cheese.  Start with the short side

and roll so you have 4 rolls.  Press seams closed and slice each roll

into 4 spirals, creating 16 little sandwiches.  Put on parchment-lined

cookie sheet and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake 15-20 minutes at 375 until golden.

Can refrigerate 2 hours before baking.

These are also good using ham and Swiss, too!

I double the meat to make them a bit heartier, but

for an appetizer I would leave as is.

I'm hooking up with The Weekend Potluck!

Click HERE for more fun recipes!

One funny thing...I never buy crescent rolls in a can!  I've made these twice in the last month, and both times I couldn't get the can open! LOL!  I had trouble peeling off the paper, kind of holding it away from me in fear that the can would pop open and scare me.  Then when I got the paper off, I couldn't get it to pop open!  I'm glad I was alone in the kitchen as I'm sure it was a comical sight. :)  Geesh!

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Home Is....Using Leftovers

My sweet blog friend, Sandy, at Reluctant Entertainer

has started a new theme for Wednesdays all about

keeping home and entertaining. Today's theme is

using leftovers. I thought I'd share one of our

favorites, which is serving marinated grilled

flank steak one night and steak tacos the next.

Thin strips of marinated steak went into

warm, crispy taco shells along with guacamole, shredded cheese, sour cream, shredded romaine and home-canned salsa. Very yummy! For the original marinated flank steak recipe, you can click HERE.

To visit my other friends sharing their

"Home is..." tips for leftovers, click HERE.

And while you are there, be sure to check out

all of Sandy's wonderful blog! :)

Happy Cooking!

Garden Tomatoes

One wonderful way to enjoy them!

BBQ Beef Sandwiches

3-4 lbs. stew meat or roast

1 rib celery, diced

1 lg onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

14 oz ketchup

2 T bottled bbq sauce

dash cayeene

1 T chili powder

1 T salt

1/2 t pepper

1 c water

1 T vinegar

Cut and trim meat into large pieces.

Combine all other ingredients and pour over meat

in dutch oven. Heat til boiling, reduce heat, cover

and simmer 4 hours til meat is tender. Remove fat and

bone. Shred with fork. If too soupy, simmer uncover.

If too dry, add a little water.

~~~~

15 large sandwiches

~~~~

I usually make half this amount. And I usually

leave the celery and green pepper in large pieces

and remove them with the bone.

~~~~

This smells incredible while it's simmering all afternoon!

We gobbled it up...as shown... with oven fries and salad.

Shredded Beef Tacos

Real Simple Magazine had a recipe for Pulled Pork

Tacos for your crockpot this month.

I changed it a little...cooking it slow on the stove

and using a chuck roast instead. The results were

spicy and satisfying! They made the house smell

wonderful as they simmered all day!

****

Shredded Beef Tacos

2 c salsa, with more for serving

2.5 T chili powder

2 T dried oregano

1 t cumin

1 pinch ground red pepper

1 t sugar

2 T unsweetened cocoa

kosher salt

1-2.5 lb chuck roast

soft tortillas

****

Whisk sauce together and pour over meat

in stock pot. Bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat and

simmer 4-5 hours until meat is tender and can

be shredded with fork. Uncover and simmer longer

until liquid is incorporated into the meat.

Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Serve on warm tortillas with lime, sour cream

salsa, shredded cheese and cilantro.

Yum!

Beef and Noodles

Last month we had 20 guys over

for dinner from Taylor's high school

basketball team. We served Beef and Noodles...

so good, I made them again over the weekend!

Recipe

****

1.5 lbs stew meat, trimmed and cut in 1" cubes

1 onion, chopped

4 T butter

4 t Tones Beef Soup Base (from Sams Club)

12 oz wide egg noodles

****

Saute beef and onions in butter in large stock pot.

Cover with 5 cups of water.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low.

Simmer 2.5 hours, covered.

Take out meat, set aside.

Add soup base and noodles.

Cook until noodles are tender.

Return meat to pot and check seasonings

I usually add some salt and pepper at this point.

Enjoy!

For extra comfort, I made an apple crisp using my summer

orchard apples from the freezer.

I used my Blackberry Crisp recipe and just exchanged the fruit.

The recipe is in the comments section of that link if you are interested!