Lettuce Wraps:
I think I started making this when Christopher and I were dating. It originated from a recipe from the "Body for Life Cookbook," and then sort of evolved from there to this recipe:
Lettuce Wrap Mix (found in Kroger with the Asian foods)
1 lb ground beef (could use ground turkey)
Sesame Seed Oil
Soy Sauce
Head of Iceberg Lettuce
Green Onions (chopped)
I cook the ground beef in a slotted Tupperware bowl in the microwave so I can drain as much fat as possible. I cook all my ground beef this way. I also buy 85/15 lean so, by the time I'm done it's super lean. My mom taught me this way, and I like it because I don't care for ground turkey.
I then put the meat in a skillet with a bit of sesame seed oil and the green onions. I let the green onions cook a bit and then I mix the lettuce wrap mix and soy sauce in with the meat (I just basically follow the directions on the packet). Scoop into iceberg lettuce and voila! Lettuce Wraps!
Goulash:
My friend Shannon made this for me once when she and her daughters were down from Michigan visiting. It's so simple, yet so yummy. I've passed it on to a few people. My friend Angela makes it all the time, her family calls it "Jen's Chili Mac."
1 lb ground beef
1 can Campbell's tomato soup
2 cans diced tomatoes with celery, onion and bell pepper (I prefer Del Monte)
Macaroni Shells
Brown the ground beef (I prefer my microwave method, but a skillet is fine). Mix tomatoes and soup with ground beef. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over noodles.
*Note: sometimes I'm really lazy and I just mix the tomatoes and soup with the meat in a microwaveable bowl and heat it up that way. Either way works!
King Ranch Chicken Casserole:
This is what I made the first time I ever made dinner for Christopher. He loves it. The original recipe (what I made the first time) has sautéed onions and bell pepper. I skip that part now.
Boiled, cut up chicken (I eyeball this, but I'd say 2 cups is about right)
2 cans Campbell's cream of Chicken Soup (original recipe calls for 1 chicken, 1 can of cream of mushroom. I love mushrooms, but not in my Mexican food)
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
Shredded Mexican Cheese (I use Kraft)
Tortilla Chips
Mix the chicken with the soups, Rotel tomatoes and spices. Put a handful of crushed chips in the bottom of a baking dish (I use the deep, oval Corningware casserole dish), then spoon half the chicken mixture, then a handful of cheese on top of that. I repeat, and end with a little more chips and cheese on top to create a "crust." Bake in the oven at 350* for about 25 minutes, or until casserole is hot and cheese is melted.
Stroganoff:
This is a recipe from my friend Casey. She used to make it for me in college when we were roommates. It's one of our favorites!
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tsp salt
1 clove garlic minced (I cheat and use the minced stuff out of the jar)
1/4 Tsp pepper
1 4oz can of mushrooms
1 10oz can of Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup sour cream
In a large skillet, cook and stir meat and onion in butter until meat is brown and onion is tender. (Again, I do my meat microwave method and then add to skillet after I've browned the onion in butter.) Stir in flour and salt, garlic, pepper and mushrooms; cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in soup; heat to boiling. Stir constantly. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream and cook until it is heated through. Serve over poppy seed noodles.
Poppy Seed Noodles:
Bag of egg noodles
Butter
Poppy Seeds
I boil the noodles and when they're done mix a little butter with them until it melts and sprinkle poppy seeds over them.
Chicken Pot Pie:
This is Christopher's grandparents' recipe. He loves it. His grandparents would make 2 when he came over for dinner so he could take one back with him to college. His sweet Grandmom, "Betty," shared it with me a few years ago.
2 cups white chicken cut up (you can use canned, I opt to boil chicken breasts)
3 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
1 can Swanson's chicken broth
1 can Vegall veggies (drained)
Pillsbury Ready Made Pie Crust
Melt the butter in a pot and add 4 Tbsp of flour. I stir in between adding the Tbsp of flour as to avoid clumps. Pour in the chicken broth. Cook on high heat and stir constantly until it's thick.
Put chicken in the bottom of a pie dish. Add Vegall on top, then pour butter mixture. Lay pie crust on top and cut slits in it. (If you want, you can get fancy and cut the pie crust into strips and make a lattice top.) Bake in the oven at 425* for 25-30 minutes.
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| This is when I actually took the time one fall to cut the crust out with little leaf shaped cookie cutters. Usually I'm not this creative. |
Short Ribs:
This is another infamous recipe from Christopher's grandparents. They made it for me the first time I went over there for dinner.
1 packet of short ribs (there's usually 1/2 lb - 1 lb in the pack at Kroger, found in the meat department)
1/2 onion chopped in big pieces
2 cans stewed tomatoes (I use my Cutco kitchen shears and cut them up into smaller chunks)
Butter
Cooked spaghetti noodles
Brown the short ribs in a deep skillet (or electric, that's what Betty uses) on butter on each side.
Add onions and tomatoes (I cut them when I pour them in the skillet, super easy when using the shears). Cover the skillet and let simmer for about an hour and a half - 2 hours. Serve over spaghetti noodles.
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| Sorry for the bad quality, this is from a pic I took on C's birthday and I had to zoom it in. |
Please know that I do cook healthy meals for us as well. We love to eat tilapia and salmon, and chicken breasts with veggies. But, I figure no one really needs a recipe for that. :)
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