Week #1!

As requested, I've started this blog to share my weekly menu and favorite recipes...I really love to cook and entertain and I think I'm half way decent at both. I also really enjoy wine so I may attempt to share some of my favorites as well but by no means to I claim to be an expert. I simply love food and wine!



I plan my menu for the week and go to the store once. What I have found is that I tend to spend less money if I am only at the store once, list in hand. This also eliminates the stress of trying to figure out what we are going to eat each night. I've also started using my crock pot 3 times a week (sounds excessive, I know, but my oldest son has started football and the husband is the coach , so I need to have dinner ready when we get home at 8pm each night). I've been going to the store on Wednesdays so my menu's are from Wednesday to Wednesday. I usually leave one night in there for left-overs, take out or frozen pizza - gotta have one freebie, right?!

If you have any questions, suggestions, comments, sarcastic remarks (no wait, you can keep those to yourself) I'd love for you to share them with me!

Week #1:

Sweet and Sour Chicken
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 9-ounce jars sweet and sour sauce
1 16-ounce package frozen broccoli, carrots and water chestnuts (I couldn't find this particular mix so I did 8-ounces frozen broccoli, 8-ounces frozen carrots and 1 can water chestnuts)
2 1/2 cups hot cooked rice
1/4 cup chopped almonds, toasted

Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. In a slow cooker combine chicken, sweet and sour sauce and frozen vegetables.
Cover and cook on low heat from 5 - 5 1/2 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 hours. Serve with hot cooked rice. Sprinkle with almonds.
I served this with pot stickers as a side.
EASY and delicious!!!


Potato Soup
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup onions, minced
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper (I typically use less than this since I am feeding little people)
14 teaspoon ground red pepper (again, I use less than this)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into chunks

Combine broth, potatoes, onion and spices.
Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender.
Smash a few of the potatoes to release their starch for thickening.
Reduce to low heat.
Add cream cheese.
Heat, stirring frequently, until cheese melts.
I serve this with a fresh loaf of hot bread.


Round Steak with Mushroom Gravy
1.5 pound Round steak (you can use more or less depending on how many people you are feeding)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup milk
celery salt
pepper
garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil

Tenderize round steak and season with salt, pepper and garlic. Heat oil on stove and brown steak.
In electric skillet or crock pot combine cream of mushroom soup and milk.
Add browned steak.
If in crock pot cook on low heat, if in electric skillet cook at 250 degrees, for 5-6 hours.
I serve this with mashed potatoes, crescent rolls and a vegetable.


Classic Beef Stroganoff
1 1/2 pounds lean beef stew meat
1 tablespoon cooking oil (I use olive oil)
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced green onions or 1/2 cup chopped onion (I use green)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon Dried thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf (I didn't have any so this was not in mine!)
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/3 cup dry sherry
1 8-ounce container sour cream
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
4 cups hot cooked noodles or rice (I like noodles for this dish!)

Cut up any large pieces of stew meat. In a large skillet brown beef, half a time, in hot oil. Drain off fat.

In slow cooker place mushrooms, onions, garlic, oregano, salt, thyme, pepper, and bay leaf. Add stew meat. Pour beef broth and sherry over all. Cover; cook on low-heat for 8-10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4-5 hours. Discard bay leaf.

If using low heat setting, turn to high-heat setting. In a medium bowl whisk together sour cream, flour, and water until smooth. Stir about 1 cup of the hot liquid into sour cream mixture. Return all to cooker; stir to combine. Cover and cook on high heat for 30 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.

Serve over hot cooked noodles or rice.
I served this with crescent rolls and green beans.


Hungarian-Style Goulash
3 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 14.5-ounce can beef broth
1 14-ounce can chunky tomatoes with garlic and spices
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
2 tablespoons hot-style Hungarian paprika or paprika
1 teaspoon caraway seeds or fennel seeds (I use fennel)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 9-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed (I chose not to use any)
3 cups hot cooked noodles
1/3 cup sour cream

In slow cooker place potatoes, onions and garlic. Add beef. In a bowl combine broth, un-drained tomatoes, tomato paste, paprika, caraway or fennel seeds and salt. Pour over all.

Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 10-12 hours or on high-heat for 5-6 hours.

Stir thawed artichoke hearts into cooker. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Serve over hot cooked noodles. Top each serving with a spoonful of sour cream.

I served this with English muffins and a vegetable.


Chicken and Noodles
1 whole chicken
3 cups chicken broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
celery salt
mixed up pepper
garlic
minced onion
1-2 bags frozen egg noodles

In crock pot combine chicken broth and cream of mushroom soup.
Clean chicken and sprinkle minced onion inside. On outside, cover with salt, pepper and garlic.
Put chicken in crock pot, breast side down and sprinkle in more minced onion.
Cover and cook on high heat 6-7 hours.

Take chicken out of crock pot and shred. Put chicken in bowl and add some of the broth from the crock pot. Any left over broth can be used to cook noodles on the stove. I add chicken broth if there isn't enough left. Add cooked noodles to bowl with chicken and broth.

I serve this over home-made mashed potatoes with buttermilk biscuits.



If you try any of these recipes I'd love to know if you liked them and whether or not you thought these were easy to make. Or if you make similar dishes I'd love to hear about them as well - I love to try new things and I know there are always some things you can change that will make a recipe even better!

Wishing you a wonderful week and a full belly!
T