My best hamburger goulash ever!

I make goulash a lot. But, this time it was delicious! Here's what I did:

1-2 lbs hamburger, browned
green, yellow, red peppers, onion (all chopped)
2 cans of tomato sauce
1 can of petite diced tomatoes
2 cups elbow noodles
2 cans (or more) beef broth
minced garlic
oregano
thyme
garlic salt
salt and pepper
couple generous splashes of chili lime Cholula sauce

Brown the hamburger. In separate skillet, saute onion, and peppers in oil until almost soft. Add all other ingredients except macaroni and hamburger. Let tomato mixture simmer while hamburger is cooking. Drain hamburger and add to tomato mixture. Add macaroni. Cover and simmer until macaroni is tender. Taste to see if additional spices are needed. A little water can be added in place of some of the beef broth if noodles need more liquid.

*The peppers I had were frozen from our garden this past summer. Also, I had a couple of small store bought tomatoes that I needed to use up. So, I chopped those up and added them.

*Serve with garlic toast.

Blunders in the kitchen...

Not every meal that I cook is good enough to brag about. Some of them are just plain disappointing. Because this is a blog about cooking, I must share the bad with the good! There are two meals that I have cooked recently that were not up to par. Okay, one meal and one dish. I'm not very good at frying things. Rarely do I fry because it's not healthy.  But, it would be nice to fry things every once in awhile and it turn out perfect. I either don't have the oil hot enough and it gets soggy with grease or the oil is too hot and it gets too brown and crispy. I fried some tenderloins for hot tenderloin sandwiches the other night in my iron skillet. Aren't iron skillets suppose to have even heating? I had to turn the outsides toward the center on one side to insure an even browning. They took FOREVER to cook! I only had 6. This was a weeknight and I needed to cook them before they went bad. But honestly, I was too tired to spend that much time in the kitchen and my patience was wearing thin. I peeled potatoes and microwaved them for mashed potatoes. Cooked them for 20 minutes in some water and thought they were done. Start mixing them with a mixer and realized that they were not completely done. I decided to just add more milk and butter and mix those son-of-a-guns until they were smooth. Did I mention that the tenderloins were taking forever to brown? So, I cranked up the heat. This is when they got crispy so that a steak knife could hardly cut them. With hot tenderloin sandwiches, white country gravy is really the best. I had too much oil in my skillet and didn't want to mess with homemade gravy so I looked for packets of gravy that you just add water. I only had one packet of white country gravy. Dang! So, I decided to use brown gravy mix because I had more of them. The dinner was edible - not my best by any means. Actually, the tenderloins were better warmed up the next day in the microwave because they were softer.

My other goof-up was au gratin potatoes. I added too much milk to my potatoes and instead of being creamy, they were soupy. They tasted fine, but were not pretty! The cheese didn't melt like it was suppose to and just sat in globs in the milk. It's kind of funny now that I think of it. Maybe I better watch some more cooking shows!

Pea Salad

I made a great pea salad today for the first time. Yes, it's a PEA salad. (I hear my son snickering in the background). I don't measure, so here are my estimates:

3-4 cups frozen peas (microwaved in water, then drained)
1 can of water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 1/2 cup -2 cups of mayonnaise
1 1/2 - 2 cups velveeta, chopped small chunks
green onion, chopped
jar of pimentos, drained
3 Tablespoons or to taste of Woeber's horseradish
5 slices of crispy bacon, chopped
1 cup of shredded cheese

Fold together, instead of stir, to keep peas intact. Chill for several hours before serving.

Enchiladas

I have many recipes for enchiladas. This is the recipe that we will be making for Nathan's birthday party. This is actually a recipe that we got from my sister-in-law. I don't measure anything in this recipe. So, use your best judgement. We make a LOT because they warm up very well and can be frozen. It takes two people. One to fry them in the skillet and the other to make and wrap them. Wear old clothing because enchilada sauce stains and grease from frying can pop. The fryer is advised to wear long sleeves.

browned hamburger
chopped fresh mushrooms
chopped onions
Monterrey Colby Jack shredded cheese
large flour tortilla shells
enchilada sauce (poured into pie pan)
chili powder
aluminum foil or wax paper

Brown hamburger. Set aside in bowl. Warm tortilla shells in microwave for about 30 seconds. Heat oil in a medium skillet (we use two skillets). Dip tortilla into pie pan of sauce and coat both sides. Set tortilla on a large plate. Add hamburger, onion, mushrooms, and cheese to the center. Don't fill too full. Wrap like an enchilada. Place in hot oil in skillet and fry until lightly brown. Turn once. Line casserole dish with either aluminum foil or wax paper. Place fried enchilada into lined casserole dish. Sprinkle with a dash of chili powder. Repeat frying procedure until bottom layer is full. Add wax paper (or aluminum foil) and start another layer in dish. We make meat and cheese, then switch to all cheese enchiladas. Add sour cream or salsa, if desired.

*If you make them, you have to invite us over!  :)

Zucchini Pizza

Cut off both ends of one zucchini and peel until all the green is gone. One medium to large zucchini made 2 pizzas. I use a carrot peeler. Once the green is all gone, finish peeling zucchini into a strainer until you get to the seeds. You can also put in food processor to shred. Don't peel the seeds. Throw the rest away or slice and keep for later use. Place the strainer over another bowl to catch liquid. Sprinkle liberally with salt. Let sit for 30 minutes and liquid will drain into bottom bowl. While zucchini is sitting, other vegetables or toppings can be prepared. After zucchini sits, squeeze as much liquid out of it as possible. Discard liquid.

Add pizza sauce to crust. This time I used an already prepared/cooked crust (like Baboli). Add some cheese (mozzarella, pizza flavored cheese, parmesan, or feta) to sauce, not a lot, just enough to give the toppings something to stick to. Add drained zucchini strips. Continue adding whatever toppings you want. We used zucchini, mushrooms, turkey pepperoni, chopped tomatoes, and chopped jalapenos for our toppings. Finish off with more cheese.

Cook according to crust directions. I cooked on ungreased pizza pans on the grill outside at 350 degrees for approx. 15 minutes until cheese is melted and crust looks crisp.

Fruity Monkey Bread (kid approved!)

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com. Additionally, I took some of the comments that were made to the recipe and made some changes.

1 can of biscuits
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 apple (chopped small)
dried craisens
chopped pecans
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. nutmeg

Mix sugar and cinnamon in Ziploc bag. Tear biscuits into fourths. Place biscuits in bag and zip up. Shake -- not your hips -- the bag, until coated. Spray a bundt pan (tube pan with hole in the middle), or muffin tins, or bread pans with non-stick spray. Layer biscuits, apple, craisens, and pecans in pan. In a medium saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar. Add vanilla and nutmeg. Bring to boil and boil for 1 minute. Pour mixture over biscuits. Cook 350 degrees. If bundt pan is used, cook for 35 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil. If smaller pan is used, cook for less time - like 20 minutes. Keep checking to avoid burning the tops or boil overs.

I used muffin tins and mini bread pans and cooked for 20 minutes. I didn't cover with aluminum foil.  I put fruit and nuts on top. May want to put them on bottom of pan next time.

Winning breakfast casserole! (pic included)

This is my son's new favorite breakfast casserole recipe. I got it out of our local newspaper on the same page as an article about Charlie Sheen. So, that is why I called it the WINNING breakfast casserole. This is the recipe as written. I will add changes that I made at the bottom, if anyone is interested.

8 slices of bacon
1 med onion chopped (1 cup)
1 loaf (8 oz) Italian bread, cut into 1-in cubes (5 cups)
2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp. Reserve 2 TBS of the drippings. Drain bacon on paper towels; crumble and set aside.  Add onion to drippings in skillet; cook and stir three min. or until softened. Spread 1/2 of the bread cubes in a greased 13 X 9 baking dish.  Layer with half each of onion, bacon, cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese.  Spread evenly with cottage cheese. Top with remaining bread cubes, onion, bacon, cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. Beat eggs in medium bowl until foamy. Add milk, mustard, nutmeg and pepper; beat until blended. Pour evenly over top.  Press bread cubes lightly into egg mixture until completely covered. Let stand 10 min. Bake 40-50 min or until center is set and top is golden brown. Makes 12 servings.  --recipe from McCormick


CHANGES I MADE: I substituted Jennie-O turkey ham for the bacon. Instead of Italian bread loaf, I used gourmet whole grain wheat loaf. I estimated on all measurements of cheese, as well as adding fresh parmesan cheese. I estimated on the cottage cheese, probably using more than one cup. Recipe calls for 5 eggs. I used 2 eggs and enough "egg whites" for 6 more eggs because it didn't look "eggy" enough. It says to bake 40-50 minutes. I cooked for a full 60 minutes, uncovered. Picture below:

This picture taken after cooking for 50 minutes.

Pressure Cooker

I have used my pressure cooker twice now. Both times to cook beans. The taste of beans that are not canned are AMAZING! Who would have thought beans would smell so good? Not to mention, they are very healthy and a great substitute for meat. If I don't cook anything else besides beans in my pressure cooker, it will still be worth it. A bag of beans (un-soaked) can be cooked in 30 minutes - with a quick steam release. My cooker is stainless steel. They are more expensive than the aluminum cookers, but I wanted a quality product that would last a long time. It is a 6-quart cooker, and sometimes I wonder if it will be big enough. You can cook whole meals in them; roasts, ribs, pork loins, etc. They are suppose to be just as tender, as if you slow-cooked them all day, but much much faster. It also promotes energy savings. Because it doesn't take as long to cook, the user saves electricity/gas to run the stove and also eliminates most of the heat from the kitchen when cooking during the summer. I cooked up some kidney beans today for some chili. I could have made the actual chili in the cooker (not just the beans), but there is something to be said for enjoying the aroma while it is cooking and leisurely "tending" to it. The weekend allows for more time to enjoy the joy of slow-cooking. But, for those busy times, get a pressure cooker!

Here is a link to a website for the cooker that I have. It has great ideas for meals and a time chart:

http://fastcooking.ca/pressure_cookers/cooking_times_pressure_cooker.php

Lasagna

Short Nathan story: Nathan was warming up some leftover lasagna for lunch. He says to me, "I think I'll become Italian." I said, "really? why is that?" He said, "They have the best food ever." Later, as he was eating, he asked if I put my lasagna recipe on my blog. I told him I couldn't remember. He said, "Check it." So, since I have not posted my recipe for my lasagna, I am posting now. Nathan recommends it.

1 lb ground beef (or sausage or half and half)
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 small fresh mushrooms, chopped (I used canned)
olives, chopped (optional)
2 jars or cans of spaghetti sauce
1 (16 oz)cottage cheese
1 pint ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (fresh is best)
1 egg
1 (16 oz) pkg. lasagna noodles
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded (separated)
oregano and/or basil

In a large skillet, cook hamburger (or sausage) until browned. Drain excess grease. Add mushrooms, onions, and olives until onions are transparent. Stir in one jar of pasta sauce, saving enough to cover noodles on top. Add oregano and/or basil. Heat through. In large bowl, combine cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, grated parmesan, one cup of mozzarella cheese, and one egg. Spread thin layer of meat sauce in the bottom of a 13 X 9 greased pan. (I usually have enough to do two pans)Layer with uncooked noodles, cheese mixture, and meat sauce. Last layers should be noodles, remainder of spaghetti sauce, and remainder of mozzarella cheese. Spray aluminum foil and cover. Cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover and cook 15 minutes more. Cheese should be lightly browned on top.

Easy and Quick Beef and Noodles

Wanted to share an easy and quick way to do beef and noodles. Buy Reames frozen egg noodles. These are the next best thing to homemade noodles, in my opinion. I also buy canned beef (two cans). Canned beef is not the healthiest choice, but we don't have it that often. The canned beef that I buy is from Aldi's. It is in a can similar to canned chicken or tuna (in the same area). It comes with a little bit of gravy in the can and is already cooked and tender. I cut/shred it into smaller pieces before using. Bring beef broth to a boil. You can use canned beef broth or leftover broth from a roast. You can also use beef bouillon cubes or granules and mix with water until dissolved, according to directions. Bring broth to a boil and then add noodles. Reduce heat and simmer until noodles are soft. Add canned beef with broth. To thicken broth for gravy, mix about 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with JUST enough COLD water, (while stirring with spoon) until cornstarch is dissolved. Add to simmering pot of broth and noodles. Stir until desired consistency. If needed, repeat cornstarch and water process to thicken even more.

Our family usually eats this with mashed potatoes, but they are optional. Sometimes, I use instant potatoes (Idahoan only - not all stores have this brand. Walmart does.) Tonight I'm mashing some real potatoes.