SalleeB's Kitchen - Amish Ham Casserole

I love any dish that contains potatoes, ham, eggs, and cheese.
When I found this make and bake casserole recipe, I was thrilled to try a new recipe using four ingredients that I LOVE. Of course, I had to give it my own twist - cream cheese. 

Who doesn't like cream cheese? 
The addition of cream cheese makes this an indulgent and hearty version of a crust less breakfast pie that is not low calorie, but is low in carbs. It is perfectly suitable for breakfast or supper. 

I want to repeat what I already said though - This is not a low calorie dish.
However, I am tracking carbs AND staying below 2000 calories a day. I save calories to enable a calorie splurge that satisfies my craving for ham and potatoes surrounded by luscious, cheesy eggs without having them fried in oil, or butter. Baked is better, don't you agree?

An 8"x1" round cake pan yields four wedges of  hammy, cheesy goodness with 10.5 carbs and 387 calories a wedge.

Remember, I said it was low carb and the entire pan only has 42 grams of carbs! 

Two Tips to Use With This Recipe 

1. Have a left over baked potato? Remove the skin, dice the potato, and store it in the refrigerator for a day or two.  Add the diced potato to a soup or casserole.
2. Mix the casserole ingredients up to 24 hours ahead of time. After spooning the ingredients into the pan,  wrap it with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. When you want to bake the casserole, remove the plastic wrap, and pop the cold casserole into the cold oven and let it preheat with the oven. Set your timer for 25 minutes once the oven temperature reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

SalleeB's Kitchen - Amish Ham Casserole  Recipe                              Yield: 2-4 servings

Ingredients

• 8 ounces of cooked ham, diced
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 2 large eggs and 1 egg white, beaten
• 1 baked or microwaved potato, peeled and diced about 1 cup
• 1/3 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
• 1/3 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup small curd cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup cream cheese, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp. chili powder
• black pepper to taste

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease an 8"x1" round pan and set aside.
• Put diced ham, onion, potato, shredded cheeses, and cottage cheese into a medium bowl.
• Stir gently until the mixture is blended well.
• Combine the beaten eggs and egg white with the cream cheese pieces and stir until the cream cheese pieces are well coated with the beaten eggs
• Pour the eggs and cream cheese over the ham mixture
• Add seasonings and stir gently until blended well
• Spoon the mixture into greased 8' round pan and put the pan into the preheated oven
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the mixture is firm and bubbly.
• Change the oven setting from bake to broil.
• Broil the top of the casserole for 2-3 minutes, or until the top looks like the picture. 
• Take the casserole out of the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before slicing into 4 wedges. 

Enjoy a slice of homemade happiness on a plate!

SalleeB's Pizza Casserole

Looks like pizza, but it has a pasta crust!

Bill is not a fan of casseroles. 
However, this casserole won him over because the bottom layer is a tender, angel hair pasta "crust" topped with pizza toppings. A perfect bite contains an even amount of the pizza toppings and the angel hair pasta.
Wow, what a way to make your mouth happy!
Customize this recipe to make your favorite pizza in a casserole! 



Simply substitute a pound of your favorite meat, or a combination of meats. The possibilities are endless.

Ingredients   
This recipe can be downsized from a 13" x 9" pan to a 9" round or square pan.  Simply use half of each listed ingredient.

• 8 oz. angel hair pasta, broken into thirds and cooked
• 1 pound ground chuck or sirloin
• 3-4 oz. pepperoni slices
• 1/3 cup diced onion
• 1 -  24 oz. can spaghetti/pasta sauce
• 6.5 oz. can mushrooms, drained or  6 oz. of fresh, sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 8 oz. of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 oz. Parmesan cheese, about 1/2 cup

Directions

• Grease your casserole pan. Set aside.
• Break 8 oz. of angel hair pasta into thirds. Place in salted, boiling water. Turn heat down to simmer and cook pasta for five minutes. 
• Pour half of the pasta sauce into the greased casserole pan.
  
• Drain the pasta and place it in the casserole pan.
• Spread the pasta into a layer.
• Layer the remaining sauce over the pasta.
  

• Place the ground chuck and onion in a skillet. If using fresh sliced mushrooms, add them now.
• Begin to brown over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
• When the beef is about half way done, sprinkle the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper over the meat and onions. Using a spatula, work the seasoning into the meat and onions.
• When the beef is almost done, add the drained mushroom slices to the skillet. 
• Stir briefly with the spatula until the mixture is well blended. 
• Drain excess grease from the skillet.
• Layer the meat mixture over the sauce in the casserole dish.

  

  Pepperoni can be mixed into the meat mixture, or placed on top of the cheese layer.
  I prefer having in on top of  the cheese layer as shown in the first picture.

• Put cheeses on top of meat mixture
  
• Top the cheese with pepperoni slices as shown in the first picture. 
• Cover with foil.
• Large Batch: Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes; Small Batch: Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes
• Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes. 
• Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes.

Your pizza casserole is ready to serve!

Baked Italian Pasta Skillet

Yield: 4-6 servings         Time: about 40-50 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 ounces of small shell pasta
• 1/2 pound ground chuck
• 1/2 pound whole hog, mild pork sausage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1  - 4 ounce can mushrooms, drained
• 1 - 24 ounce can meat spaghetti sauce
• 1 - 10.5 ounce can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/8 cup water
• 1 cup shredded Colby jack cheese, slightly packed
• 1 Tablespoon Parmesan Romano cheese
• 1 ounce, or about 18 thin slices of pepperoni

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F or 175 degrees C
• Fill a 2 to 2.5 quart sauce pan about three-quarters full of water and bring to a boil. Do not add salt.

• While you're waiting for the water to boil, chunk up and brown the ground chuck, pork sausage, and dried Italian seasoning in a 12 inch, oven safe skillet.

• Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of Italian seasoning over the meat and mix it with a spatula as the meat browns.
• Place the browned meat into a colander that is sitting on top of another dish, or paper towels to drain off any excess fat.

• When your pot of water begins to boil, pour in shell pasta, and cook until al dente, about 7 - 8 minutes. Let the pot of water come back to a simmer after adding the pasta, but don't boil it. 
• While the pasta cooks, rinse your oven proof skillet briefly with hot water to remove excess fat.
• Next, combine the spaghetti sauce, mushroom soup, drained mushrooms, water, teaspoon of brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp. of dried Italian seasoning in the skillet.

• Add the browned meat.
• Drain the al dente pasta and stir it into the skillet of meat sauce.

• Slice pepperoni slices into quarters and sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture.
• Next, sprinkle the cup of shredded cheese over the top of the pasta
• Finally, sprinkle the Parmesan Romano cheese over the top of the shredded cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 20 - 25 minutes.

Enjoy eating some almost homemade happiness on a plate!

Baking Hen Shoulda Been a Stewing Hen!

The Baking Hen
Wow! I bought a "baking hen" a couple of weeks ago. Note the parentheses, I am being sarcastic
After thawing the frozen bird, I was ready to bake it for supper last night.
And the Meat Thermometer Said...
I baked the hen using a meat thermometer and took it out when it reached the correct temperature for poultry. Pushing gently down on the drumstick of the bird, I found that there was very little yield in that drumstick joint. Quickly, I relocated the meat thermometer from the middle of the breast to the back of the breast by the thigh. Yep, the thermometer still read 160 degrees Fahrenheit. The bird was done.
A Rubber Chicken or a Tough Old Bird?
However, after letting it rest for 20 minutes, my serrated knife acted like I was trying to cut through a firm, rubber ball. After switching to a newly sharpened butcher knife, I managed to cut off some breast meat for supper. The meat was done and wasn't dry, BUT Bill and I had to cut it up with steak knives. Our jaw muscles had a nice workout though.

Laughing through our meal of "tough old bird", we finished dinner and the remainder of the "baking hen" went into a large pot of water on the stove. Once the water started simmering, I tried to stick a fork into the bird every 30 minutes. It took two full hours of simmering to make that hen fork tender!

I am positive I bought the world's oldest baking hen AND it should have said stewing hen on the outside wrapper!

To conclude this post, chicken and noodles will be on the Bonham menu next.

Creating Simply Terrific Oven Lovin' Ribs

Yes! I can create  a simply terrific rack of baby back ribs, in the oven. 

The ribs are tender, pull-off-the-rib-bone, restaurant quality ribs. The secret to this achievement? A great recipe and Old Bay seasoning. 

Yep, the Old Bay label is right in saying it can be used on meat. It is definitely good on meat. So good in fact, that I chose to update my "Simply Terrific Ribs" recipe that I posted in 2014.

Want to try making some killer. oven lovin' ribs at home? 

Click Here for the only recipe you will EVER need to make a perfect rack of ribs.

Use this recipe to create some oven lovin' ribs that your friends and family will rave about for days, weeks, or maybe months! 

Arroz con Pollo

Puerto Rico was my home for three years, 1978 - 1981. 

One of the Puerto Rican dishes that I love is Arroz con Pollo, or Chicken with Rice. 

Arroz con Pollo is an easy, one pot main dish that has many different variations.  

My pantry style version does not use fresh peppers. Instead, I get the pepper flavor from my secret ingredient - Hunt's Manwich sauce. 

Tonight, give your family a taste of Puerto Rico on a budget!

3-4 Servings - use three leg quarters               

4-6 servings - use four leg quarters

1- 1/2 hours from start to finish

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• ½ tsp. dried cumin
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp. paprika
• 3 chicken leg quarters, cut into 6 pieces
• 3 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 ½ cup long grain rice
• ¼ tsp. garlic powder
• 2 cubes, 0r 2 tsp. chicken boullion
• 2 ½ cups of hot water
• ½ of a 15 oz. can Hunts Manwich sauce

optional - half a cup of frozen peas

Directions

• Place the first five ingredients into a one gallon, zip top freezer bag.  Shake the seasoning mix until it is mixed well.

• Using a paper towel, pat the chicken pieces to remove all moisture.
• Place the chicken pieces into the gallon zip top bag with the seasoning mixture. Seal the bag and shake until all of the chicken pieces are evenly covered with the seasoning.
• Heat the canola oil in a deep, twelve inch skillet until the oil is hot, but not smoking.

• Add the chicken pieces skin side down and brown for about six minutes on each side over medium high heat.  Do not let the oil smoke or get dark.

• Put the browned chicken on a plate.
• Add the chopped onion to the skillet and cook until soft, stirring occasionally

While the onion is cooking

                                               

Dissolve the chicken bouillon in the hot water.

Add 1/4 tsp. garlic powder and ½ can of Hunts Manwich sauce to the chicken bouillon. Stir until blended. 

Set aside.

• Add the uncooked rice to the skillet with the soft onion and cook for about one minute or until the rice turns golden. 

• Carefully add the bouillon-Manwich mixture to the browned rice. Stir to make sure the rice is evenly distributed in the skillet and covered with liquid.
•  Place the browned chicken into the skillet and pour in juices that collected on the plate into the skillet.
• Bring the rice mixture back to a boil.
• stir in the frozen peas
• Turn the heat down to medium-low and cover the skillet. Cook until the chicken is done and the rice has absorbed most of the liquid. About 30-35 minutes.

Notice that the onions are on top of the golden brown rice and the tender, pull apart with your fingers, chicken. 

• Turn the heat off and let the covered skillet stand for about ten minutes before removing the chicken and fluffing the rice with a fork.

Adapted from a recipe by Melissa d'Arabian

Watch for my next post - I will show you how to make another main dish that will use the other half cup of Hunt's Manwich sauce.

Sallee'sSix - Six Dish Summer Fun Menu!

Summer camping and traveling begins tomorrow! It is Memorial Day weekend, the official start of summer fun! I am sharing a list of six easy recipes for a wonderful summer weekend meal! Create your own summer fun menu from the choices below. 

Your Summer Fun Menu

• Non-alcoholic drink - pick your lemonade from your choice of 40 flavors. I think I would like to try the watermelon lemonade.
• Main dish - Strip steak seasoned with fresh garden herbs. Sallee's tip: Mix the herbs with 20 oz. of ground chuck for five, quarter pound garden burgers.
• Salad - original "like your grandma's" traditional potato salad, or a delicious blackberry salad that features a bed of salad greens, a scoop of cottage cheese surrounded with fresh blackberries and sprinkled with slivered almonds and tangy sweet dried cranberries. 
• Pick a veggie - How about grilled corn, grilled veggie skewers, or grilled romaine hearts?
• Dessert for Family Fun- How about chocolate covered strawberry s'mores for dessert? 

Recipes    Tip: Use your snipping tool to snip and save recipes to your laptop.

1. 40 Summer Lemonade Recipes at 365 Days of Baking     Click Here 
2. Garden Herb Strip Steak       Click Here
3. Hellman's "The Original Potato Salad"    Click Here
4. Blackberry Salad   Click Here
5. 18 Grilled Vegetable Recipes from Laurel Randolph    Click Here
6. Chocolate Covered Strawberry S'mores at almost Supermom    Click Here

Crock pot BBQ Baby Back Ribs in January

Tangy parsley potato salad and crockpot BBQ Baby Back Ribs. 

Saturday was a gorgeous day! Fifty-five degrees and sunshine is almost unheard of  in Missouri,during January. It was a perfect day to get some yard work done, get some sun, and eat barbecue. 

The unseasonably warm weather kicked in my desire to eat BBQ. 

Of course, it doesn't take much for me to start craving barbecued baby back ribs. My love of pork ribs slathered in honey hickory BBQ sauce has been well known for years, but I didn't discover crock pot BBQ ribs until last year when I saw a recipe over at The Country Cook. Now I can get my BBQ fix and get the yard work done at the same time. Sound good? I am happy to share my "secret recipe" with all of you.

The Country Cook's Crock pot BBQ Ribs                Click here for the recipe 

For marvelous, oven baked ribs that are finished in the broiler, try the recipe below.

Sallee's Simply Terrific BBQ Ribs                           Click here for the recipe

Parsley Potato Salad

Ingredients

• 4  medium white potatoes
• 1 cup of mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. sweet pickle juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper, or black pepper
• 2-3 teaspoons of dried parsley. I usually use 3 teaspoons.
• 1/4 tsp. celery seed
• 1/4 cup minced white, or yellow, onion

Directions

• Peel and cut potatoes into bite size squares.
• Place potatoes into a pot of water with water that just covers the potatoes.
• Simmer potatoes until just fork tender, about 15-20 minutes. 
• Drain the water off of the potatoes and set aside.
• Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, sweet pickle juice, salt, pepper, and parsley in a medium bowl. 
• Add potatoes and minced onion. Gently stir until well mixed. (A minute or two)
• Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of three hours. The flavors develop and blend in a wonderful way if you chill the potato salad for four to six hours.

Note: 

1. After chilling, your potato salad may be too thick because the potatoes soaked up all the moisture. Add a tablespoon,or two of milk, and gently stir it into your potato salad to regain a creamy consistency. 

2. Another option is to use chicken broth.

Deep Dish Pizza Casserole

Bill is not a fan of casseroles. However, this casserole won him over because the top layer is a hamburger, pepperoni, mushroom, and onion pizza. The bottom layer is a tender, angel hair pasta "crust".

My perfect bite contained an even amount of pizza layer and angel hair pasta. Wow, was my mouth happy!

Customize this recipe to make your favorite pizza in a casserole! Simply substitute a pound of your favorite meat, or a combination of meats. Make a supreme pizza by adding green peppers and black olives to your seasoned meat and onion mixture. The possibilities are endless.


Ingredients
8 oz. angel hair pasta, broken into thirds and cooked
1 pound ground chuck or sirloin
3-4 oz. pepperoni slices
1/3 cup diced onion
1 24 oz. can pasta sauce
6.5 oz can mushrooms, drained
1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
8 oz. of shredded mozzarella cheese
2 oz. Parmesan cheese, about 1/2 cup
Directions

• Grease a 9"x13" casserole pan. Set aside.

• Break 8 oz. of angel hair pasta into thirds. Place in boiling water. Turn heat down to simmer and cook pasta for five minutes. Drain the pasta and place it in the greased casserole pan. Spread the pasta into a layer.

• Layer the can of pasta sauce over the pasta. 

• Place the ground chuck and onion in a skillet. Begin to brown over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

• When the beef is about half way done, sprinkle the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper over the meat and onions. Work the seasoning into the meat and onions with a spatula. Work = stirring in with a spatula
• When the beef is almost done, add the mushrooms and pepperoni slices to the skillet. Stir briefly with a spatula until the mixture is well blended. Drain excess grease from the skillet.
• Layer the meat mixture over the sauce in the casserole dish.

• Put cheeses on top of meat mixture. 

• Cover with foil.
• Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes. 

Your deep dish pizza casserole is ready to serve!
Edited 12/30/2016

Sallee's Six: The Apple Edition

Cinnamon Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cake.

Apples make me think of apple pie and bobbing for apples. Today, we do not bob for apples at fall festivals or harvest gatherings. Too unhygienic. Apple bobbing may be a curiosity now, but everyone has a favorite apple pie recipe or apple laden dessert. Listed below are six links to kitchen tested, amazing apple recipes for every meal and event.

Sallee's Six: The Apple Edition              

1. Food Network has an amazing list of fifty, yes fifty, food items that you can make with apples. The list includes main dishes, desserts, and side dishes. 50 Things to Make With Apples
2. Allrecipes.com has over a thousand apple recipes that have been reviewed and rated by home cooks. Apple Recipes
3. Mr. Food Test Kitchen has 34 quick and easy recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Mr. Food
4. My favorite place for recipes is BettyCrocker.com! Betty's list of Newest Apple Recipes includes Apple Crisp Crepes, Streusel Topped Apple Cheesecake Bars, and six more delicious apple offerings.
5. A healthy alternative for apple recipes, Cooking Light has 31 Apple Recipes for every meal and every occasion. 
6. Last, but not least is a Top 10 Apple Desserts recipe list from Taste of Home. How about making some Caramel Apple Bread Pudding? 

Apple Wisdom from Mom

My mother was taught many lessons with country proverbs. Mom then felt obligate to teach those same lessons to my siblings and I. Listed below are six of her favorite apple sayings. (idiom or proverbs)

1. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
2. You are the apple of my eye.
3. The apple does not fall far from the tree.
4. Don't be a crab apple.
5. One bad apple spoils the bunch.
6. As American as apple pie.

SalleeShares: Battle of Brooklyn

SalleeShares: Beat Bobby Flay - Battle of Brooklyn

This week I watched Beat Bobby Flay:Battle of Brooklyn.

Actually, I watched that episode three times! The main battle between Bobby Flay and twenty-five year old, executive chef Jordan Andino is full of interactions between Bobby, Guest Chefs Anne Burrell and Chris Santos, and of course rising, executive chef Jordan Andino.

I'm getting ahead of myself. Sorry. First is the battle of Brooklyn executive chefs Jordan Andino and Jennifer Cole-Ruiz. Bobby theatrically revealed the star of the battle: whole Arctic char.

Battle Arctic Char

Chef Jordan is full of theatrical energy. He literally dances with energy and flashes big smiles constantly. According to Chef Anne Burrell he needed more than "stealthy, clever, dance moves". However, he needed the time he spent dancing for plating. He was sweating and down to the last second with his plating.

Chef Jennifer Cole-Ruiz is a calm, confident, and focused chef who flashes an occasional brief smile.
She was all business. The focused energy served her well because her dish was plated a minute or two before the round bell was rung. Chef Jennifer watched Chef Jordan rushing to complete plating right down to the final second.

The term "fire and ice" was used to describe the pair of competing chefs.The opposite styles of Cole-Ruiz versus Andino were even more apparent with the two arctic char dishes - raw vs cooked, simple vs complex, professional filleting technique vs amateur filleting technique, calm vs flamboyant, and the list goes on. However, in the end, who made Arctic char the star? Chef Jordan Andino.

Signature Dish Battle - Korean Short Ribs

E.C. Jordan Andino was chosen by Chefs Anne Burrell and Chris Santos to Beat Bobby Flay with his signature dish of Korean Short Ribs.

Talking Smack Battle - Andino vs Flay

• When Chef Andino talked about being 25 and an executive chef already, Iron Chef Flay answered back with the fact that he already owned his first restaurant at twenty-five.
• Chef Andino talked about cooking at an early age. Chef Flay provided information  about his own early cooking experience. 
• Midway through the battle, Iron Chef Flay walked over to look at Executive Chef Andino's cooking food. The young chef immediately walked over to examine Iron Chef Flay's cooking food. Upon returning to their own stations Bobby called over to Jordan, " Hey Jordan, turn up your grill." Iron Chef scores another smack down point!

Anne cheered and called advice to Jordan through out the show. She scored a couple of points herself in the Smack Battle. In an aside to Chef Chris she said, "When chefs are running scared they pull out the eggs." Bobby heard her and replied with, "This egg is liquid gold."

In the end, the Iron Chef used his time wisely and Chef Jordan was again plating at near light speed to get done on time. He also forgot to incorporate his scrambled eggs into his fried rice and put them between the rice and short ribs. Experience and timing won out over youth. 

Who Will Win?

The three guest judges of the blind taste test are: Chef Johnathon Sawyer, Chef Roberto Trevino, and Chef Andy Ricker. 

Both short ribs were judged to be good. However, Jordan's fried rice and short ribs combo was called "heavy". The scrambled eggs had assumed an unappetizing, off color from being layered between the rice and short ribs.

In the end, Iron Chef Bobby Flay won another battle with his Orange Glazed Short Ribs and Kimchi Slaw. The egg in his dish was indeed "liquid gold". 

However, Chef Jordan Andino scored one more Smack Battle point by saying he was only twenty-five and would only get better. I think we are going to see a lot more of Executive Chef Jordan Andino.

Can Your Burger Beat Bobby Flay?

Do your friends rave over your burgers? Want to see if you have what it takes to beat Bobby Flay? Sept. 30, 2014  is the deadline for the Beat Bobby Flay burger contest. enter your burger and see if you can Beat Bobby Flay with your burger!

Country Bob Chicken Thighs for Two

Bill and I had never used Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce until May of this year. We were at a restaurant in southern Missoui tht had bottles of the sauce on the tables. Bill tried it and promptly asked me to find out where to buy it. Now I buy a family size bottle every other month for the two of us.

This five ingredient, oven roasted, chicken thigh recipe will provide you with some golden brown, homemade happiness on a plate! AND it is husband tested and approved.

My busy day recipe will yield two or three servings; eat one thigh tonight and eat one thigh for tomorrow's lunch.


Ingredients

• 4 bone in chicken thighs
• 1/4 cup Country Bob's Sauce
• 4 Tbsp salted butter
• 3 tsp. lemon juice
• Rainbow medley ground peppercorns (pink, white, green, and black peppercorn mix)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Grease a one quart casserole dish with shortening
• Place 1/4 cup of Country Bob's Sauce and lemon juice in a small bowl.
• Mix well with a whisk. Set aside.
• Place butter in a shallow bowl.
• Microwave 15-30 sec. to melt the butter.
• Dip chicken thighs into the melted butter.
• Place chicken thighs into the one quart casserole dish.
• Grind peppercorn blend onto both sides of the chicken thighs.
• Have chicken thighs skin side down.
• Spoon lemon juice mixture over the four thighs.
• Place into a 350 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes
• Turn chicken thighs over, skin side up.
• Spoon sauce over tops occasionally until the chicken is done.
• Bake for another 30 minutes,or until the skin is golden brown.

No meat thermometer? Try this test:  Use a dinner fork and pierce the thigh close to the bone. If the chicken thigh slides easily off the fork , it is done. 

Yield: 2-3 servings

Steak! Steak! We Love Steak!

Craving a steak?

Bill and I love steak! However, we have been satisfying our need for red meat with hand-formed (by me), 80/20 ground chuck patties. But finally, the urge for juicy, hot, rare to medium rare steak overcame my resolve to stretch our food bucks.

This is how it happened: 

1. I was pushing the shopping cart through the beef section of the local market.
2.  Almost simultaneously, a packaged pair of beautiful, rib eye steaks caught my attention; AND I saw a SALE sign fastened to the shelf edge under the packaged steak pairs. 
3. My self-talk went like this,"$13.36 for two 16 oz. rib eyes is cheap. That is less than a steak dinner at  C's Steakhouse. Why, that is only about $6.50 each for supper. What a bargain!" 
4. The red, marbled perfection of each steak smashed the weakened wall of my budgeting resolve into splinters. Swiftly, I grabbed and put a packaged pair of glorious, rib eye steaks into the shopping cart.
5. My traitorous brain was chanting, "Steak for dinner! Rib eye steak for dinner!"  I could hardly wait to get home and start preparing those gorgeous rib eyes.

I know you have done this too, so don't try to act innocent. All of us talk ourselves into buying things because the sign says,"SALE."

Grilling and broiling are popular ways to cook steak, but I pan fry my steaks. Okay, get the look of horror off of your face! 

Steaks taste marvelous when you prep them correctly and pan fry them in butter. 

The advantages of pan frying steaks in butter are:

• No grill of any kind is needed.
• No messy charcoal. 
• No charcoal lighter is required
• No flames burning your steak.
• No hot oven. 
• No unwieldy broiler pan. 
• AND a rare to medium rare steak is done in three to four minutes . Steak is the perfect fast food. 

Have I convinced you to try pan frying your steaks in butter?

Good. Now, it is time to cook a pair of juicy, tender steaks to rare or medium rare perfection.

Equipment

• a meat mallet
• a large nonstick skillet

Ingredients

• 2  cold rib eye, porterhouse, or New York strip steaks; sliced 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick
• meat tenderizer
• garlic powder (optional)
• chili powder (optional)
• rainbow peppercorn blend in a pepper mill
• fine sea salt
• 2-3 Tbsp. salted butter

Directions

Have your side dishes prepared. Your cold steaks will only need to cook for three to four minutes each.

First, set the cold steaks on top of a piece of wax paper, or aluminum foil.
Then, apply meat tenderizer following the directions on the container.
Next, apply desired amount of seasoning to top side of the steaks.

Using the course side of a meat mallet, the side shown in picture,
gently beat the seasoning into the steak, or steaks.
Repeat seasoning on the other side of the steak. Gently beat the
seasoning into the steak.
I try not to thin the steaks more than 1/3 - 1/2 of the original thickness

A perfectly seasoned and tenderized rib eye ready to go
into a hot, nonstick skillet.

Place 2 Tbsp. of butter into a large, nonstick skillet that is
over medium high heat. On my gas range, I use the
high output burner and set the flame on 7. When the butter is melted
and browning put a steak in the pan.

Bill likes rare steak, so I always cook his first. Immediately after
placing the steak into the hot skillet, set a timer for two minutes.
Check at one minute and if the steak is nicely browned like the one below
turn to the other side. If the skillet is getting too hot, turn the
heat to 6, but no lower or your steak will not cook correctly.

When the 2 minute timer goes off, reset timer for 1 more minute.
Check bottom of steak and if it looks like the picture above,
turn it over and continue cooking.
Immediately remove steak to a plate when the 1 minute timer goes off.
  

• Let the rare steak rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. 

• If you are cooking a second steak, add 1 Tbsp. butter to the skillet and allow it to melt and begin browning. Then add your second steak.
• For a medium rare steak, cook for 4 minutes. 2 minutes per side. Allow the steak to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Pantry Style Beef Stew

Bill doesn't care about cooking. However, as a single man, he did master a few recipes. Pantry Style Beef Stew is a combination of Bill's basic recipe for beef stew and my additions to that recipe.  

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. boneless chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 Tsp. canola oil
• 3 cups hot water
• 3 medium to large potatoes, peeled and diced into cubes
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped roughly
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly into rounds
• 1 – 15 oz. package beef stew seasoning mix
• 1/8 tsp. celery seed
• Unseasoned meat tenderizer (optional)

Directions

I start with my beef cubes on a large cutting board.

• Lightly sprinkle beef cubes with unseasoned meat tenderizer.
• Mix beef cubes with your hands to distribute tenderizer.
• Lightly sprinkle the beef cubes with unseasoned meat tenderizer again.
• Sprinkle with the 3 Tbsp. of flour.
• Mix with your hands until the meat is well coated with flour. Do not worry if a small amount of flour remains on the cutting board.
• Heat canola oil in a Dutch oven, or 2-quart stockpot.
• Add the beef cubes and brown on all sides.
• Add the hot water , seasoning mix, and celery seed.
• Stir well and bring the beef mixture to a boil.
• Remove pan with the beef mixture from the heat and cover.
• Place beef stew in the oven at 350 degrees.
• Bake for 45 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and stir well.
• Add all of the vegetables.
• Cover the pan.
• Bake for an hour, stirring every 20-25 minutes to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• Remove lid for the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Time to eat some pantry style beef stew!

Revised 12/28/2016