#7 Salisbury Steak

Does anyone else find it weird that I am nearly fifty years old, love to cook, and yet have never made such a traditional meal as Salisbury Steak? I love Salisbury Steak, but have never ever cooked it myself. I just think that's weird.  So, when my favorite tv cook, Food Network's Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond) made her version of the classic meal on her wonderful Saturday morning show I thought, "It's time to give it a try."

Once again, I am not going to post the recipe because the "All Rights Reserved" statement right at the top of the downloaded recipe scares me.  Maybe someone can tell me whether it is okay to include the actual recipe here, as long as I credit Mrs. Drummond.  In the meantime, simply go to the Food Network site, click on Pioneer Woman, and find the Salisbury Steak recipe. I did make one change to the recipe:  I added mushrooms.

By the way, my seven year old grandson, Austin, has decided that he is my official food critic.  After declaring one of my previous recipes as "the best thing he has ever eaten," he did offer one suggestion for my attempt at Salisbury Steak.  He thinks it could do without the onions.  But, he did eat a lot of the onions before realizing they were there and, "you know I don't like onions."  Overall, from all three grandkids, and my son:  four pretty empty plates, a "it was so good" from Connor, and no leftovers for my daughter-in-law when she got home from work.  So, all-in-all, I'd say my first attempt at the classic Salisbury Steak was a great big yummo!  Thank you Mrs. Pioneer Woman!

#6 Corn and Cheese Chowder

Do you know who Ree Drummond is? If you answered yes, then I know you are a "foody" like me, and are probably obsessed with The Food Network.  I absolutely love watching the various cooking shows on The Food Network, but my very favorite show is The Pioneer Woman.  That's where you will find Mrs. Ree Drummond and the rest of her cattle farming family.  Although I've watched the network for several years, this is the first show and host that has really captured my attention enough to plan my Saturday mornings around, when the weekly show is scheduled to air.  Ree is such a pleasure to watch, and I have several of her recipes printed and ready to try.

The first one I tried is called Corn and Cheese Chowder.  Oh my goodness is this soup/chowder delicious.  I can't put my finger on what I like the best about this soup--the hint of bacon, the combination of the veggies (corn, peppers and onions), the smooth creaminess, or my first time using pepper jack cheese.  Whatever it was, this warm comforting soup hit the spot following a few hours outdoors on a beautiful, but chilly Michigan afternoon.

Usually I end my posts with the recipe, but since I found this one at The Food Network site, and it does have "All Rights Reserved" right under the title, I didn't think I should take the chance of breaking any copyright laws.  So, if you are interested in trying this scrumptious chowder, and I think you should, simply go to foodnetwork.com and click on The Pioneer Woman.  All of Reed Drummond's recipes from the show are there.  My next one?  Her Salisbury Steak recipe!

Thank you Ree Drummond for sharing your family and your good, down-home cooking!

#5 Stuffed Shells with Sausage and Spinach

One of my favorite websites is Pinterest--to put it simply:  I'm addicted to it.  That is where I found this recipe. If you haven't explored Pinterest yet, you don't know what you are missing! There are so many wonderful and interesting things, including hundreds and hundreds of recipes for everything imaginable. 

Most of the recipes that I have pinned are desserts or snacks, so far, but this one caught my attention one day when I was looking for something for dinner.  It is really a simple, simple recipe to put together, and so worth it. It was so yummy that I had it for dinner on Sunday, and then lunch and dinner on both Monday and Tuesday!  Sounds silly, I know, but I loved it, and it was such an easy left-over to heat up again.  And you know what, I just might make it again this weekend for my grandkids because I think they will like it too!  Give it a try and let me know if you like it as much as I do!

The ingredients:  16-18 jumbo pasta shells; 1 pound fresh pork sausage links, casing removed; 1 tbs minced garlic; 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes; 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeeze dry; 1/2 cup ricotta cheese; 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese; salt & pepper.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and fill a large bowl with cold water and ice, set aside.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta shells and cook according to package directions.  Drain well then add to ice water until ready to stuff.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add pork sausage then use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage, cook 5-6 minutes until browned.  Add garlic and cook 30 seconds, then add tomatoes and spinach; cook 1 minute.  Remove pan from heat and stir in ricotta cheese.

Using a spoon, fill pasta shells with pork filling and arrange in a baking dish (9"x9" works well.) Sprinkle tops with shredded cheese then bake in the oven, 25-30 minutes until cheese has melted and tips of shells begin to crisp and brown.  YUMMY!

#4 Farmhouse Barbecue Muffins

My favorite day of the week is Wednesday. Why? Because every Weds. is "dinner with the grandkids" day.  It is the perfect day to try out new recipes because the kids are usually up for trying anything new, and usually I can get one of them to help me cook.  Reading recipes and cooking is such a fantastic learning time for kids, and my grandchildren love it.  Baking is what they love to do the most, especially sugar cookies, but I think that's because it's usually quite messy and they get to sneak licks of frosting (but who doesn't love to do that!)

Well this Wednesday, I tried a recipe called "Farmhouse Barbecue Muffins."  The boys were too busy playing to help this time, but Clarabelle did help after she woke up from her short nap.  Sometimes when she comes home from school she is such a sleepy little soon-to-be five year old!  She was in charge of pressing the muffins into the muffin tins and did a fabulous job!

For dinner, we paired the wonderful meat-filled muffins with an Italian pasta salad that I make and kid favorite cottage cheese (I think Connor would eat an entire container of cottage cheese if you let him!)  The new recipe was such a success.  Austin declared, "Grandma, this is one of my favorite things you have ever made!"  Now, in all fairness, Austin is always very generous with his compliments, and he says that quite often about things I make (he's such a nice boy and enjoys his meals!) but I know it's a good meal when every single plate is completely empty.  Simply, my grandkids (and my son and daughter-in-law) loved this recipe!    Give it a try!

Farmhouse Barbecue Muffins
1 tube buttermilk biscuits, 1 pound ground beef, 1/2 cup ketchup, 3 Tbs brown sugar, 1 Tbs cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp chili powder and 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese.
Separate dough into 10 biscuits; flatten into 5-in circles. Press each into the bottom and up the sides of a greased muffin cup; set aside. In a skillet, brown ground beef; drain. In a small bowl, mix ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar and chili powder; stir until smooth.  Add to meat and mix well. Divide the meat mixture among biscuit-lined muffin cups, using about 1/4 cup for each. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from tin and serving.

#3 Sweet Potato & Garlic Soup

     After a very stressful day at work, and an extra long day at that, I almost headed straight for the nearest fast food restaurant.  I even got in the drive thru lane before I convinced myself that I have got to quit dealing with stress by eating junk!  Hmmmm . . . could it be that the encouraging words of my good friend and healthy living inspiration Tami W. are finally sinking in?  Or maybe it was when I opened my wallet and suddenly said to myself, "Why do I want to spend probably seven or eight bucks on a greasy, unhealthy meal that's only going to make me feel incredibly guilty later on?"  Maybe it was the simple scolding I gave myself over the fact that I did buy a few ingredients over the weekend for a new recipe, and yet the recipe remained hidden among the pages of the new cookbook "I just had to have." Whatever it was, I'm glad because instead I turned away from the "land of unhealthiness," drove straight home, put on my jammies, cracked open that cookbook and cooked the stress of the day away.  And I'll tell you . . . there is nothing more comforting then relaxing with a steaming bowl of homemade, yummy soup.  

The new recipe for this week comes from a cookbook I bought over the summer called "The 100 Calorie Cookbook-Delicious Dishes for Healthy Eating."  This is the first recipe I've tried from the book and the very first time I have ever make anything with sweet potatoes.  Is that weird?  Can't say that I have eaten a lot of sweet potatoes, but for the most part, I've enjoyed every dish I have ever had that included sweet potatoes--except one:  I can't stand the sweet potatoes fries from Burger King--sorry, but yucky.  So, tonight I tackled the sweet potato!

The soup I made--Sweet Potato & Garlic--was yummy, so simple to make, and much healthier than the fast food grease pile I was going to devour.  Like I said, there's nothing like a hot bowl of soup to whisk the stress of the day away.  Enjoy!

Recipe:  1 whole garlic bulb, 2 sprays olive oil, 1 onion (chopped), 10 1/2 oz sweet potatoes (peeled & chopped), 4 cups vegetable stock, 4 oz green string beans (trimmed & finely chopped), pepper, 4 tbsp lowfat plain yogurt, 1 tbsp snipped fresh chives.

1. Preheat oven to 375. Pull garlic bulb apart and put in a small roasting pan. Roast for 20 min. or until soft. Remove and let cool before squeezing out the soft insides. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottom pan, add the onion and sweet potato, and cook, stirring continuously, for 5 min. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the green beans and the roasted garlic flesh and continue to simmer for 10 min, or until the potatoes are tender. Remove and let cool slightly.
3. Set aside 2 tbs of the cooked green beans, then pass the soup through a food processor or blender, and return to the rinsed-out pan. Add the reserved beans with pepper to taste and heat through for 3 min.
4. Ladle into a bowl and swirl a spoonful of yogurt into the soup. Sprinkle with snipped chives.

Makes 4 servings, 92 calories per portion.

#2 Granola

After a very stressful week I was so looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Unfortunately, an equally stressful Saturday night has lead to a Sunday of "I'm going to cook or bake today and nothing else."  So, other than a quick trip to the store for some missing ingredients, I did not leave my house.  The extent of my day was watching tv (a couple movies, Serena wins the U.S. Open, Big Brother, Kardashiens-yep I watch them!), laundry, and trying out a couple of new recipes.  I needed a day just like what I had.

The greatest part of my "me day," I actually tried TWO brand new recipes instead of just one!  So, I think I'll go ahead and share two posts this week instead of one--that way if I have to miss a week later on, I'll still be on track to complete my goal:  52 weeks, 52 recipes.

So, the first new recipe that I tried today was actually given to me from a wonderful co-worker.  April W. is one of the friendliest, sweetest, and funniest gals I have the pleasure of working with.  She is honestly someone I look forward to seeing every day because no matter what is going on or how busy the day is, she manages to make me smile.  I appreciate that more than she knows.  A couple of months ago she shared her granola recipe with me, along with a generous sample--which, again being honest, I completely devoured in one sitting--who does that!!!  It was so yummy I just couldn't stop eating it.  It could be dangerous now that I have a complete batch of my own!  I already had a small serving with milk--now I can't wait for breakfast tomorrow!  Oh, and yes, while I'm typing this, I am munching away! :)  Soooo . . . thank you, April.  You contributed to my "me day" Sunday, and I'll be enjoying crunchy granola for, hopefully, more than a day this time!

Recipe:  6 T brown sugar, 1 C almonds (sliced or chopped), 3/4 C coconut, 1 C cashews, 3/4 tsp kosher salt, 3 C rolled oats.  Toss well.  Add 1/4 C vegetable or canola oil and 6 T maple syrup.  Toss again.  Lay on a large deep cookie sheet (I actually used two sheets.)  Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hr. 15 min.  Stir every fifteen min. When done, it will still feel a bit moist, but don't bake anymore. When it cools it becomes crisp.  Toss with dried fruit, if you'd like (I liked!)  That's it!

I'll share the second new recipe from "me day" later this week!  Happy thoughts!

#1 Slow Cooker Rice Pudding

The first recipe I decided to try was one that I found in the Sept. 2012 issue of Woman's Day magazine.  It looked like a very simple recipe and the photograph included in the magazine made the dish look scrumptious.  The name of the recipe:  Slow Cooker Rice Pudding.

Rice pudding is not something I have every tried, that I remember anyway, until recently.  One of my friends and co-workers, Mr. Cliff Redes, always brings homemade rice pudding to the many potlucks that we have at work.  I've always avoided it, even at every one's insistence that his is the best.  Honestly, it just didn't every look very appetizing.  Well, one day this past spring, I finally broke down and tried it.  And, oh my God . . . . . . . it was simply one of the best desserts (yep, I think Rice Pudding is a dessert, although I have since come to learn that many consider it a breakfast dish, too.)  I was hooked!  At the next event that Mr. Redes brought his "to die for" dish, I swear I ate more than half of the entire casserole dish filled with the yummy concoction all by myself!  I couldn't get enough of it!

Sooooo . . . .  when I saw this recipe, I thought . . . . this is the one to start with! 

Well, my first attempt was so-so.  First, I made a mistake right from the start that I think affected the consistency of the pudding.  I was suppose to set the slow cooker on high and cook the mixture until "slightly thickened" 2-3 hours.  My mistake?  The slow cooker started off on low.  In my defense, it's a brand new cooker, and I thought I set it for high, but I guess not.  So, about 45 minutes in, I realized my mistake and moved it to high.  But, I think the mistake was made enough to affect the dish because it didn't turn out as creamy as Rice Pudding King Rede's rice pudding is.

But, even though it wasn't the consistency I would like, it still was yummy.  In fact, with the added strawberries and hazelnut-chocolate spread drizzled over it--quite yummy!

So, overall, I was pleased with the dish, but would definitely like to try it again, this time cooking it the right way from the beginning.  I'd like to see if that makes a difference or not.  My rice pudding doesn't come close to King Rede's rice pudding, but I'm going to keep trying!

The recipe:  14-oz can sweetened condensed milk, 5 cups whole milk, 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 Tbsp hazelnut-chocolate spread, sliced strawberries.  In a 5-6 quart slow cooker, whisk together the s.c. milk and whole milk. Stir in rice. Cook, covered, until the rice is tender and the mixture has slightly thickened, 2-3 hours on high. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Drizzle the hazelnut-chocolate spread over the rice pudding. Spoon into bowls and top with strawberries.