Salisbury steak meatballs

 

Ingredients

• 32 oz. bag frozen fully cooked meatballs
• 1 packet brown gravy mix
• 1 packet onion soup mix
• 1 packet of dry Ranch seasoning mix 
• 2 cups beef broth 
• 1 sliced onion 
• 2 tablespoons of cooking oil of any kind.

Instructions

• Place sliced onions in a pan with the oil and saute for five minutes.
• Place frozen meatballs in a large pan that has a lid. The same pan
  
• Add brown gravy, onion soup mix, ranch and broth  to the pan and stir until well combined and powder has dissolved.
  
• Make sure the meatballs are submerged in the liquid. Cover the pan and set stovetop to medium heat. Heat meatballs for 15 to 20 minutes making sure to stir frequently.
  
• Once meatballs are starting you can now prepare your side, I love to make mashed potatoes, I make the boxed potatoes and add milk and butter.
• Serve over mashed potatoes or rice.
• When I get home from work who has time to make real mashed potatoes 😳

Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta

 

Ingredients

Lemon-Herb Chicken

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced into cutlets
• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp. lemon zest
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp.  paprika
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 3/4 tsp. Seasoned salt
• 3/4 tsp. black pepper

Creamy Lemon Pasta

• 1 lb. pasta of choice (I chose Bow tie but you can use something long and twirly, such as bucatini, spaghetti, pappardelle, or fettuccine)
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 tsp.  salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley (plus more for garnish)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (plus more for garnish
• 1 Tbsp. lemon zest plus 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Optional add-ins- optional 

• Fresh baby spinach or arugula, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted broccoli, sautéed mushrooms

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil.
  
• Meanwhile, prepare chicken. Place chicken in a bowl and combine with olive oil, lemon zest, and spices. Toss well to thoroughly coat both sides of chicken in seasoning.
  
  Heat a large high-sided skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Arrange chicken in pan and cook until nicely golden and internal temperature reaches 165ºF, about 7 to 10 minutes, per side depending on thickness. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. What I like to do with my chicken breast is cut them in half and pound them into thin pieces and they cook quickly in 10 minutes. Five minutes per side.
  
• If your water is boiling at this point, begin cooking pasta until just shyof al dente (the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce). Before draining, reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water.
  
  Prepare sauce. Add butter to the pan (no need to wipe clean) along with chopped yellow onion. Cook over medium heat until the onion softens, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 to 2 minutes, until aromatic.
  
  Add heavy cream, broth, salt, and black pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, until the mixture slightly thickens, about 5 to 6 minutes.
  
  Stir in parsley, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and juice.
  
• Add pasta to the pan with sauce, along with 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water. Increase the heat to medium-high, and toss vigorously with a pair of tongs. Continue cooking and tossing constantly, until the pasta is glossed in a thick sauce, about 2 minutes.
  
  If the sauce becomes too tight, add another splash of the reserved pasta water and toss again. When the sauce is nicely thickened and glossy, turn off heat.
  
• Thinly slice chicken and place on top of the pasta. Garnish with extra chopped fresh parsley, grated Parmesan, cracked black pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
  

Notes

• If you plan on adding any veggies, add them to the sauce right after stirring in the parsley, Parmesan, and lemon. 
• To Store. Place leftovers in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Stuffed peppers w/Rice

 

Ingredients

• 4 sweet bell peppers, any color
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 lb. ground beef
• ½ cup finely diced onion
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or mozzarella cheese, divided
• Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley or basil

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise, discarding seeds and membranes. Place peppers, cut side up, in a microwave-safe 13x9-inch baking dish. Add 2 tablespoons of water to the dish. Lightly cover with parchment paper. Microwave until peppers begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Drain any excess liquid.*
  
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and onion; cook until the meat is no longer pink. Drain off fat. Stir in cooked rice, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Add ½ cup of cheddar and ½ cup of Monterey Jack or mozzarella. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
  
• Season the inside of each pepper with salt and pepper. Stuff peppers with beef mixture and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cover with foil.
• Bake until tender and heated through, about 35 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining ½ cup of cheddar and remaining ½ cup of Monterey Jack or mozzarella.
  
• Bake, uncovered, until cheese melts, about 10 more minutes. Serve warm. Garnish with fresh parsley or basil.
  

Notes

*Alternatively, you can pre-bake the peppers in the oven instead of in the microwave. To do so, fill a baking dish large enough to fit peppers with about ½ -inch of water. Place peppers cut-side down in water, cover with foil, and bake for about 20 minutes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/2 of a stuffed pepper | Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 484mg | Potassium: 508mg | Fiber: 2g| Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2349IU | Vitamin C: 81mg | Calcium: 235mg | Iron: 2mg

Carbonated Chicken

 

Carbonated Chicken 

Ingredients

• 1 chicken , cut into 8 pieces
• 1/4 cup cornstarch , 1/4 cup reserved for coating
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 3/4 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin 
• 1 teaspoon paprika 
• 1 teaspoon Ginger 
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 3/4 cup carbonated water 
• 3 cups peanut or canola oil

Instructions

1. Mix all the dry ingredients including the seasoning 
2. Add the water and whisk.
3. The batter should not be too runny or too thick but loose.
4. Dip the chicken  into the wet batter until completely coated.
5. Let drip for a couple of seconds and gently lower into pot of oil.
6. Fry in 350 degree peanut or canola oil. for 8-10 minutes until cooked through in small batches. And then flip and cook again for 8-10 minutes.
   
7. Drain on metal rack, not paper towels, that would make it soggy.

BIRRIA MEXICAN TACOS

Ingredients

For the Meat

• 1 Large pot roast
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Pepper
• 1 Tsp Ground Cumin

For the Sauce/Broth

• 4 Dried Ancho Chiles
• 4 Dried Guajillo Chiles
• 1 Chipotle Pepper
• 1 Tsp dried thyme
• 1 Tsp Dried Oregano
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Cumin
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger
• 1/2 Cinnamon Stick
• 8 Cloves Garlic
• 1/2 Large Onion
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Salt
• 4 Red Tomatoes
• 1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups Water
• Cilantro 
• 1 bag of Mexican blend cheese

Instructions

Preparation (all methods)

• Season the meat with salt, pepper, and cumin
• Cut open the dried chiles with scissors and remove the seeds
• Fry the dried chiles with a small amount of oil in a frying pan for 2-3 minutes, moving constantly so they don't burn. Set aside
• Add the chiles from the previous step to a small pot with boiling water for about 10 minutes, or until softened. 
• In the same frying pan where you fried the chiles, add 1 tablespoon of oil and cook the onions and tomatoes until they are browned. Add the garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and all of the remaining spices except for the ground cumin and ginger. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, moving it around often. 
• Add the chiles (including the water), the ingredients from the previous step, and the ginger, cumin, apple cider vinegar and water to a blender and blend until smooth. It will still be pretty thick, but that is fine. Then set aside the resulting sauce for the next step. 
• Pour the sauce over the meat in a large bowl and cover. If using the oven or stovetop methods, you will want to marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight. If using the electric pressure cooker option, you can marinate it, but it isn't necessary. 
• Follow the cooking instructions according to your preferred method below. 

Method 1 - Stovetop

• Add the meat with the marinade to a large stockpot and cook over medium heat, covered, for about three hours, or until the meat falls off the bones and is easy to shred. 

Method 2 - Oven 

• Add the meat with the marinade to a large oven-safe dish and cover with aluminum foil and cook at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 2 hours or until the meat is easy to shred. 

Method 3 - Electric Pressure Cooker *Preferred Method

• Add the meat with the marinade (or just the meat and the marinade separately if you chose not to marinate it) to the pot of the electric pressure cooker. 
• Follow instructions for your electric pressure cooker to bring it to high pressure and cook for 45 minutes. Release pressure naturally for 5 minutes and then use the quick pressure release option to release the rest of the pressure. Remove the lid per instructions and the meat will be tender and ready to shred. 

How to Serve And make tacos 

• Remove the meat From sauce and shred it. You can then Dip it in the soup made from the sauce that the meat cooked in or you can serve it with tortillas as tacos with cilantro, lime, onions, and salsa. Now after you have shredded the meat place it inside corn tortilla shells and add Mexican blend cheese then cook in a skillet with a little oil for 3 to 4 minutes on each side til crispy.  Remove from skillet and add cilantro and onions. Repeat until all tacos are cooked.
  

Chicken Flautas w/ sour cream and Guacamole

Ingredients
2 cooked chicken breasts , cut into small chunks
1 cup salsa
1 onion , minced
1 jalapeno pepper , cored and minced
1 tsp cumin
1 lime , juiced
3/4 cup grated monterey jack cheese
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
24 corn tortillas
vegetable oil
Instructions
In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, salsa, minced onion, jalapeño pepper, cumin, lime juice and grated cheeses.
Fill skillet with oil so that it is about 1 inch deep. Heat to medium, around 350-375F.
Wrap corn tortillas in a towel and place on a plate. Heat in a microwave for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and let the tortillas rest in the towel for 1-2 more minutes. This allows the tortillas to soften and be more pliable.
Spoon one heaping tablespoon in the middle of a tortilla. Spread it in a line across the middle of a tortilla. Tightly roll the tortilla into a cylinder. If desired, stick a toothpick in the tortilla to hold it in place.
Using tongs, place the flauta into the hot oil. If not using toothpicks, try to place the folded part of the tortilla at the bottom so that it does not open up during frying.
Let the flauta fry for 2-3 minutes (or until browned), then flip. Fry for another 2-3 minutes . Make sure that the flauta is nicely browned before removing from the hot oil.
Using tongs, remove the flauta from the oil and place on a paper towel to drain excess oil.
Prepare remaining flautas.
Serve with sour cream.

Garlic Parmesan wings

S

• 3 lbs. chicken wings (I like a mix of wings and drums) see notes
• 1 tbsp canola oil (or olive oil)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• cooking spray for spraying wire rack for cooking

PARMESAN GARLIC SAUCE

• 1 tsp canola oil (or olive oil)
• 6 cloves garlic miced, or 3 tsp bottled minced garlic
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 3 tbsp parmesan cheese (bottled is great) *more to taste if desired
• 1 1/2 tbsp light corn syrup
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground oregano 
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1-2 pinches dried red pepper flakes *optional, add more or less to taste

Sauce makes about 3/4 cup – perfect for 3 lbs of wings. Sauce can be doubled if you want sauce for dipping or heavily sauced wings.

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (this is not necessary but it makes for easy clean up so the wings drip on the parchment paper). Place an oven safe wire rack on the baking sheet. Spray wire rack with cooking spray.
• Using a paper towel, pat the wings to get them as dry as possible.
• Drizzle canola oil over the wings and toss to make sure they are evenly covered.
• Mix your kosher salt and pepper together. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the wings with oil and toss gently. Try and get the wings as evenly covered with the salt and pepper as you can.
• Line the wings up on the wire rack, trying to make sure they are not touching each other for even cooking. You can also bake them wings in batches if you don't have enough room all at once on the wire rack.
• Place the wings in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes. Flip the wings and bake for another 25 minutes.
• After the 50 minutes of baking, keep the wings in the oven and turn the oven temperature up to 450° and set your oven on broil. Let the wings broil for 3-5 minutes, then flip them over and let them broil for another 2-3 minutes or until they get crispy and browned to your liking.

  Remove from the oven when done

PARMESAN WING SAUCE

• While the wings are baking, in a small saucepan add the canola oil and garlic. Saute the garlic on medium heat until the garlic becomes fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.
• In a small bowl add all of the sauce ingredients. Add in the sautéed garlic. Mix the ingredients well. Add more or less parmesan cheese to taste. Add more or less red pepper flakes to taste.
• After the wings have baked and broiled, toss the wings in the Parmesan Garlic Sauce and enjoy! 
• We love our wings dipped in ranch dressing.