Winning Recipes
As I was getting well and it was almost time for my mom to go home, the last thing I needed to do to wean myself off of her help was to be able to cook again. We decided to find meals (I needed a new group of meals anyway - the other ones were getting old) that would allow me to sit during the preparation. Or meals that I could start early, then rest, then throw together in 10 minutes. We also chopped and prepped as many veggies, meats, and cheeses we could and froze them. We know Michael is a picky eater (honestly we all have things we really don't care for - his things just happen to be things I like and know how to make), so this task wasn't for the faint of heart. So, I hit pinterest and typed "meals with steak" "meals with beef" and I scrolled through things I already pinned and haven't tried.
I thought it would be fun to share with you the things that have been really yummy.
Scalloped potato and ham casserole:
I got this recipe from Pioneer woman. I made it exactly like her recipe once and it took about an hour to prepare, and about 3-4 hours to bake. No thanks! This is my 15 minute version.
chopped ham (I chopped a bunch a while back and kept it in the freezer)
chopped onion (again, from freezer)
store bought cubed hash brown potatoes
shredded cheddar cheese
shredded pepper jack cheese (Michael's favorite - I froze some of this too)
flour
milk/cream
butter
Cook onions in some butter and warm the ham in it too. When onions are translucent, add potatoes. Let those come together for a few minutes. (I added pepper, a little garlic powder, and a little salt.) Then make a hole in the middle and melt another pat of butter with a tbsp of flour on top to make a roux. Add as much milk/cream as you like - remember the potatoes are going to absorb all of it, so add enough. When that is all mixed together and warm, I stir in the cheese at the last minute, not to melt, just to incorporate. Then I turn it into a greased pan and bake it at 350 for 30 minutes. It's pretty and brown on top, and everything is cooked through. Oh, wee! I can feel that pepper jack.
Poor man's philly cheesesteak:
I got this recipe from pinterest. I couldn't remember the exact recipe, so I did my best from memory last night.
hoagie rolls
1 lb ground beef
cream of mushroom soup
onions (mine were from the freezer)
celery
provolone cheese (our favorite)
lettuce
In a sauté pan, cook the beef, onions, and celery. I added salt and pepper. When they are all cooked and the meat has been drained, add the can of soup.
Meanwhile, I toasted my hoagie roll so it would feel like a sub. Then I put a big portion of the beef mixture on one side and topped it with provolone cheese. I put it back in the oven to melt the cheese. I served it with lettuce and dipped mine in ketchup, which is how I like my cheesesteaks. :-)
Homemade Chinese beef and noodles:
Michael doesn't care for homemade Chinese food. Or Chinese food in general, but I love it. So, this was our compromise. He actually really liked it. I did too!
pre-sliced steak sliced thin for stir fry (this was a life saver to have it already sliced!)
2 packages ramen noodles
frozen store bought stir fry veggies
soy sauce
Boil the ramen noodles (just the noodles in water), drain, set aside.
I marinated the steak in soy sauce, but it didn't really matter - I couldn't really taste it. I cooked the beef in a little bit of oil for just a few minutes. Since it's nice and thin, it just needs a short amount of time. Don't over cook. Then add the veggies.
While those thaw and cook just a little (no one wants mushy Chinese food veggies - they should still have a bite), mix one of the packets of seasonings from the ramen package with about 1/4 cup soy sauce. If I had my way, I would have doubled all of that, but this was what Michael liked.
When veggies are cooked, add noodles and the soy sauce seasoning mixture.
Serve and eat with chop sticks if you're cool like that.
Chicken bacon ranch pizza:
I saw this recipe on pinterest and made it my own too. My mom, sister, Kara, and I had something so much like this at Johnny Garlic's in California. It was amazing.
crescent rolls
chicken
bacon
ranch dressing
cheddar cheese
green onions
tomatoes
Roll the crescent rolls out into a large rectangle (they make crescent sheets now which is easier) onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 until cooked through, but not golden brown. (It needs to go back in the oven when the toppings go on and you don't want to burn it.)
While that is in the oven, cook 4 slices of bacon. Set aside to cool and cook chicken in the bacon grease. When that is done, cut up the bacon, chicken, green onions, tomatoes, and shred the cheddar cheese.
Top baked crescent crust with ranch dressing (like you would pizza sauce). Add all the things you cut up. Bake in the oven until the cheese melts (everything is cooked already and you don't want the tomatoes to get gross).
** I also used pizza crust instead of crescent crust once. That was good. I think the perfect solution will be a french bread crust. I'm still working on this one.
Chicken and broccoli crescent braid:
This is an old recipe, but it's hung in there over the years. I got this from Pampered Chef, I believe.
cooked, cubed chicken
cooked broccoli
shredded cheddar cheese
slivered almonds
crescent rolls
Roll the crescent rolls out into a large rectangle (they make crescent sheets now which is easier) onto a cookie sheet. Put chicken, broccoli, and cheese down the middle, long ways, so it looks like a log. Cut lines on the side of the log to make the dough look like it has fringes. Alternate bringing one fringe from each side at a time to the center, braiding them. Top with slivered almonds.
Bake at 375 until inside of crescent is done (the outside may be dark golden). No one likes raw crescent dough!
This is a great recipe because it has all your food groups in one place, and is healthy (except for the crescent rolls, that is!). lol.
Marinated steak:
This was from pinterest and was SO GOOD. Michael didn't really like it that much. It was okay, but he prefers me to make the steak I make every week that just has steak seasoning on it. I loved it and saw tons of possibilities with this meat.
marinate steak with:
soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
garlic
oregano
onion powder
steak seasoning
thyme
pepper
bay leaves
The recipe I got this from used it for kabobs, but I just used it on my trusty skirt steak.
Taco salad:
This was from pinterest, but I changed it up a little. The variations are endless.
iceburg lettuce (I prefer romain, but with tacos iceberg is better)
1 lb ground beef
1 taco seasoning packet
frozen corn
1 cup crushed cheese doritos
1 cup shredded cheese
1 tomato, chopped
store bought catalina dressing
Cook the beef, drain it, and sprinkle the taco seasoning packet in and stir to combine. Add frozen corn and stir until the corn is warmed through. Turn off heat and set aside.
Chop lettuce (for four adults, I chop a whole head of lettuce), add cheese, tomato, and doritos. Top with beef and corn and mix. Stir in catalina dressing. Everyone will go back for seconds and thirds. Trust me. (I leave the dressing out when I know I'll have leftovers - I just put the dressing bottle out for each person to add on their own plate. Dressing makes the leftover lettuce slimy.) Michael likes the leftovers because he doesn't mind the beef and corn cold. I don't like them cold.
** I've done variations with chicken, fritos, and avocado lime ranch dressing. Yum!
I hope you try some of these - they are so yummy! And they are pretty fast/easy. And they can be easily doubled to feed a crowd inexpensively. (If you're coming to visit soon, I'll be making these.) :-)
I thought it would be fun to share with you the things that have been really yummy.
Scalloped potato and ham casserole:
I got this recipe from Pioneer woman. I made it exactly like her recipe once and it took about an hour to prepare, and about 3-4 hours to bake. No thanks! This is my 15 minute version.
chopped ham (I chopped a bunch a while back and kept it in the freezer)
chopped onion (again, from freezer)
store bought cubed hash brown potatoes
shredded cheddar cheese
shredded pepper jack cheese (Michael's favorite - I froze some of this too)
flour
milk/cream
butter
Cook onions in some butter and warm the ham in it too. When onions are translucent, add potatoes. Let those come together for a few minutes. (I added pepper, a little garlic powder, and a little salt.) Then make a hole in the middle and melt another pat of butter with a tbsp of flour on top to make a roux. Add as much milk/cream as you like - remember the potatoes are going to absorb all of it, so add enough. When that is all mixed together and warm, I stir in the cheese at the last minute, not to melt, just to incorporate. Then I turn it into a greased pan and bake it at 350 for 30 minutes. It's pretty and brown on top, and everything is cooked through. Oh, wee! I can feel that pepper jack.
Poor man's philly cheesesteak:
I got this recipe from pinterest. I couldn't remember the exact recipe, so I did my best from memory last night.
hoagie rolls
1 lb ground beef
cream of mushroom soup
onions (mine were from the freezer)
celery
provolone cheese (our favorite)
lettuce
In a sauté pan, cook the beef, onions, and celery. I added salt and pepper. When they are all cooked and the meat has been drained, add the can of soup.
Meanwhile, I toasted my hoagie roll so it would feel like a sub. Then I put a big portion of the beef mixture on one side and topped it with provolone cheese. I put it back in the oven to melt the cheese. I served it with lettuce and dipped mine in ketchup, which is how I like my cheesesteaks. :-)
Homemade Chinese beef and noodles:
Michael doesn't care for homemade Chinese food. Or Chinese food in general, but I love it. So, this was our compromise. He actually really liked it. I did too!
pre-sliced steak sliced thin for stir fry (this was a life saver to have it already sliced!)
2 packages ramen noodles
frozen store bought stir fry veggies
soy sauce
Boil the ramen noodles (just the noodles in water), drain, set aside.
I marinated the steak in soy sauce, but it didn't really matter - I couldn't really taste it. I cooked the beef in a little bit of oil for just a few minutes. Since it's nice and thin, it just needs a short amount of time. Don't over cook. Then add the veggies.
While those thaw and cook just a little (no one wants mushy Chinese food veggies - they should still have a bite), mix one of the packets of seasonings from the ramen package with about 1/4 cup soy sauce. If I had my way, I would have doubled all of that, but this was what Michael liked.
When veggies are cooked, add noodles and the soy sauce seasoning mixture.
Serve and eat with chop sticks if you're cool like that.
Chicken bacon ranch pizza:
I saw this recipe on pinterest and made it my own too. My mom, sister, Kara, and I had something so much like this at Johnny Garlic's in California. It was amazing.
crescent rolls
chicken
bacon
ranch dressing
cheddar cheese
green onions
tomatoes
Roll the crescent rolls out into a large rectangle (they make crescent sheets now which is easier) onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 until cooked through, but not golden brown. (It needs to go back in the oven when the toppings go on and you don't want to burn it.)
While that is in the oven, cook 4 slices of bacon. Set aside to cool and cook chicken in the bacon grease. When that is done, cut up the bacon, chicken, green onions, tomatoes, and shred the cheddar cheese.
Top baked crescent crust with ranch dressing (like you would pizza sauce). Add all the things you cut up. Bake in the oven until the cheese melts (everything is cooked already and you don't want the tomatoes to get gross).
** I also used pizza crust instead of crescent crust once. That was good. I think the perfect solution will be a french bread crust. I'm still working on this one.
Chicken and broccoli crescent braid:
This is an old recipe, but it's hung in there over the years. I got this from Pampered Chef, I believe.
cooked, cubed chicken
cooked broccoli
shredded cheddar cheese
slivered almonds
crescent rolls
Roll the crescent rolls out into a large rectangle (they make crescent sheets now which is easier) onto a cookie sheet. Put chicken, broccoli, and cheese down the middle, long ways, so it looks like a log. Cut lines on the side of the log to make the dough look like it has fringes. Alternate bringing one fringe from each side at a time to the center, braiding them. Top with slivered almonds.
Bake at 375 until inside of crescent is done (the outside may be dark golden). No one likes raw crescent dough!
This is a great recipe because it has all your food groups in one place, and is healthy (except for the crescent rolls, that is!). lol.
Marinated steak:
This was from pinterest and was SO GOOD. Michael didn't really like it that much. It was okay, but he prefers me to make the steak I make every week that just has steak seasoning on it. I loved it and saw tons of possibilities with this meat.
marinate steak with:
soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
garlic
oregano
onion powder
steak seasoning
thyme
pepper
bay leaves
The recipe I got this from used it for kabobs, but I just used it on my trusty skirt steak.
Taco salad:
This was from pinterest, but I changed it up a little. The variations are endless.
iceburg lettuce (I prefer romain, but with tacos iceberg is better)
1 lb ground beef
1 taco seasoning packet
frozen corn
1 cup crushed cheese doritos
1 cup shredded cheese
1 tomato, chopped
store bought catalina dressing
Cook the beef, drain it, and sprinkle the taco seasoning packet in and stir to combine. Add frozen corn and stir until the corn is warmed through. Turn off heat and set aside.
Chop lettuce (for four adults, I chop a whole head of lettuce), add cheese, tomato, and doritos. Top with beef and corn and mix. Stir in catalina dressing. Everyone will go back for seconds and thirds. Trust me. (I leave the dressing out when I know I'll have leftovers - I just put the dressing bottle out for each person to add on their own plate. Dressing makes the leftover lettuce slimy.) Michael likes the leftovers because he doesn't mind the beef and corn cold. I don't like them cold.
** I've done variations with chicken, fritos, and avocado lime ranch dressing. Yum!
I hope you try some of these - they are so yummy! And they are pretty fast/easy. And they can be easily doubled to feed a crowd inexpensively. (If you're coming to visit soon, I'll be making these.) :-)
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