EZ Sweet & Sour Chicken

Unlike the usual sweet and sour chicken, this version is not breaded so it isn't  as heavy.  It goes together really quick, with just a few simple ingredients, but it packs a lot of flavor.  It's great served over rice.  You can whip this up in the same amount of time it would take you to get it delivered.  The only thing missing is the fortune cookie!

The EZ Sweet and Sour Chicken Party. 
Also invited but not pictured: 
Garlic, Soy Sauce and Red Pepper Flakes!



Saute carrot slices in butter and brown sugar
in a separate skillet.  I forgot to tell you that
butter and brown sugar were late-comers to the party!



Combine soup, pineapple, garlic, lemon juice,
honey, soy sauce and spices. 

Stir sauce ingredients until hot and thickened. 
Season well with salt and pepper.

Add chicken strips, green pepper,
and sauteed carrots to the thickened sauce mixture.



Stir in green onion tops and red pepper flakes.



Garnish with additional green onion tops,
and serve with hot cooked rice and egg rolls.

EZ Sweet & Sour Chicken


3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup
1 (8-ounce) can pineapple chunks, undrained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
1 green pepper cut into strips
6 green onions, sliced (green part only)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
hot cooked rice

In a skillet over medium heat, saute carrot slices in butter and brown sugar until tender, but still crisp.  Meanwhile in a separate skillet over medium heat, combine the soup, pineapple, garlic honey, lemon juice, paprika, dry mustard and soy sauce.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Stir until thoroughly heated and sauce begins to thicken.   Add carrots, chicken, and green pepper to sauce mixture and cook until chicken is done, around 8 minutes.  Stir in green onions and red pepper flakes.  Serve over hot, cooked rice.  Garnish with additional green onion tops if desired.

Prep Time:  Approximately 20 minutes     Cook Time:  Approximately 20 minutes

Pizza Mac

I think most people believe we have gourmet meals every night.  So I'm usually embarrassed when I run into people I know at the grocery store and I have things like Pop Tarts and Macaroni and Cheese in my basket.  It's not steak and lobster every night.  (I've actually never even cooked a lobster.)  Anyway, like most folks, we have our fair share of casseroles.  But that doesn't mean everything has to taste like canned cream soup either.  Pizza Mac has all the flavors of pizza, but the comfort of mac and cheese.  It's gooey like a lasagna, but simple to put together as a casserole!

The Pizza Mac Line-Up

Brown ground beef with onion
and green pepper.  Be sure to season
well with salt and pepper.



Combine cooked macaroni with the
cheese powder and place in bottom of
greased casserole dish.  Top with shredded cheddar
cheese, then the beef mixture.



Top beef mixture with pizza sauce.

Layer pepperoni on top of pizza sauce.

Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake about 20 minutes, or until heated
through and cheese is melted.

Cheesy Pizza Goodness!

Pizza Mac
1 package (7-1/4 ounces) macaroni and cheese mix
6 cups water
1 pound ground beef
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (about half the package)
1 jar (14 ounces) pizza sauce
1 package sliced pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (whole package)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Remove cheese packet from mac and cheese box and set aside.  Bring water to a boil and add macaroni.  Cook for 9 minutes.  Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook the ground beef, onion and green pepper until beef is no longer pink.  Drain.  Drain the macaroni and add contents of cheese packet.  (Just the nuclear orange cheese powder, not the milk or butter the box preparation calls for. )  Keep stirring until cheese powder is dissolved and mixed well with the macaroni.  Spread into a greased 13x9-inch baking dish.  Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.  Top with beef mixture.  Spread pizza sauce on top of beef mixture and cover with a layer of pepperoni.  On top of the pepperoni, sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese.  Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes until heated through.

Prep Time:  Approximately 25 minutes     Cook Time:  Approximately 20 minutes

National Hot & Spicy Day: Fantastic Chili!

It's National Hot and Spicy Day.  What sounds better than a big, hot bowl of chili?  I varied a little from our usual recipe.  This one differs both in vegetables and spices.  It also has a tiny touch of cinnamon and a little bit of chocolate.  It smells divine, and tastes even better!

The Fantastic Chili Line-Up

Start by chopping your vegetables
and pre-measuring your ingredients. 
It looks like a long list of ingredients,
but 7 of them are canned,
and 5 of them are herbs and spices. 
It's not nearly as daunting as it looks,
especially if you get organized ahead of time.

Brown beef until no longer pink. 
Be sure to season well with salt and pepper.

Saute vegetables for 15 minutes.

Combine sauteed vegetable mixture with drained beef.

Combine in a large Dutch oven or soup pot.

Add ingredients in order listed on recipe.

Combine all ingredients together and simmer for 2 hours.

Happy National Hot & Spicy Day!

Fantastic Chili
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 stalks of celery, diced
4 yellow onions, minced
14 cloves garlic, minced
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
5 canned chipotle peppers, diced
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
5 pounds ground beef
3 cans (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon cumin
1 1/2 cups PLUS 4 tablespoons chili powder
3 bay leaves
6 tablespoons dark tequila
5 tablespoons dark beer
hot pepper sauce to taste
3 cans (14.5 ounces) tomato sauce
6 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium low heat.  Add celery, onions, garlic, jalapenos, chipotles and cilantro.  Saute for 15 minutes.  In a separate large skillet, saute beef until pink no longer remains.  Be sure and season beef well with salt and pepper.  Drain grease from meat.  Combine the sauteed vegetable mixture with the beef and add the remaining ingredients in order listed.  Stir well and simmer 2 hours on the stove top.

Prep Time:  Approximately 30 minutes     Cook Time:  Approximately 2 hours

Italian Beef Sandwiches...And we're not even Italian!

I had a roast in the freezer, and I was thinking of something besides carrots and potatoes.  A hearty, toasty beef sandwich is just the thing for a  Friday night in front of the tv!

The Italian Beef Sandwich Line-Up

Place roast in Dutch oven

Brown roast on all sides until light golden in color.

Season roast on both sides with salt and pepper.

Add dry Italian salad dressing mix

Add beer

Add pepperoncinis, with their liquid.

Simmer roast with salad dressing, beer and peppers for 3 hours.

Place roast on cutting board and slice thinly,
against the grain.



Serve with pan juices for dipping



Italian Beef Sandwiches
3-4 pound roast (pretty much any cut will do)
2 packages dry Italian salad dressing mix
2 cans beer (whatever you have on hand)
1 jar pepperoncini peppers, undrained
hoagie style sandwich rolls
sliced provolone cheese, optional

Place roast in a Dutch oven on cold stove.  Turn burner to medium and brown meat on all sides.  Browning is important as it seals in the juices and flavor of the meat.  You want a light golden color on all sides.  No longer pink, but not dark brown.  Once browned, season both sides of the roast with salt and pepper.  Add dry salad dressing packets, peppers with liquid and about one and a half of the beers.  Stir well to combine and simmer covered, about 2 hours.  Check liquid level at the 2 hour point, and add the rest of the beer if necessary.  Cook for another hour.  Remove beef to cutting board and slice thinly, against the grain of the meat.  Toast hoagie rolls under low-broiler on a baking sheet.  Top each roll with a pile of sliced meat and provolone cheese.  Return to broiler until cheese is melted.  Top with a few peppers from the Dutch oven and serve with "au jus" for dipping.

Prep Time:  Approximately 20 minutes     Cook Time:  Approximately 3 hours

Lasagna Soup

Lasagna is so tasty, but face it, it's kind of a hassle to make.  How much better would it be to dump all of those ingredients into a pot and have it as a soup?

The Lasagna Soup Line-Up



Salt and pepper ground beef, and
brown with onions and garlic.

Add tomatoes and spaghetti sauce.

Add chicken and beef bouillon. 
See note below recipe regarding bouillon.



Add spices and seasonings.



Break lasagna noodles into pieces.

Add broken lasagna noodles.

Top with ricotta and shredded mozzarella for garnish.

This recipe was featured at The Country Cook's Soups and Stews Linky Party!

Lasagna Soup

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, coarsely chopped (undrained)
1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
4 teaspoons chicken Better Than Bouillon (or 4 chicken bouillon cubes) see below
2 teaspoons beef Better Than Bouillon (or 2 beef bouillon cubes) see below
6 cups water
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 box lasagna noodles, broken into pieces
ricotta cheese for garnish
shredded mozzarella cheese for garnish

In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook ground beef with onion and garlic.  Salt and pepper generously.  When beef is brown, drain grease from beef mixture and return to pot.  Add tomatoes (with juice), spaghetti sauce, bouillon, water and spices and seasonings.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.  Stir in broken lasagna noodles and cook until noodles are tender, about 15 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Remove bay leaf and discard.  Spoon soup into bowls, and top each serving with a dollop of ricotta cheese and shredded mozzarella.

Prep Time:  Approximately 20 minutes     Cook Time:  Approximately 40 minutes

Note:  Better Than Bouillon is a "paste" form of bouillon.  1 teaspoon is the equivalent of 1 bouillon cube.  This paste can be dissolved with boiling water to create stock and is available in many flavors including:  chicken, beef, vegetable, mushroom and more.  I prefer this type of bouillon to the cube form.  The jar is kept in the refrigerator, and you simply spoon out the amount you need.  No cubes to unwrap, and the flavor is much better.

Buffalo Chicken Casserole

Hot wings are so good, but sometimes they take a little too long to make for a weeknight meal.  But what if you combined your hot wings with the old standby hash brown casserole?  All the same great flavors, but in a time saving casserole.  Bonus?  No hot sauce on your fingers!

Buffalo Chicken Casserole Line-Up

Combine chicken strips and buffalo wing sauce.
A good set of Stainless Steel Tongs
will keep the raw chicken and
hot sauce off your hands.

Add blue cheese dressing.
Have you ever tried one of these 
Displacement Measuring Cups?
They are so handy.
Especially for measuring sticky things
like peanut butter, shortening, honey...
(You know all the stuff that is hard
to get out of a standard measuring cup)

Add shredded cheddar cheese.

Add cream of celery soup.

Place chicken strips evenly over potato mixture.

Combine cracker crumbs and melted butter.

Top chicken strips with butter and cracker mixture.
I love this Le Creuset Baking Dish.
Oven and dishwasher safe,
and easy clean up!

Cover with foil and bake covered for 30 minutes. 
Remove foil and bake for additional time.



Just like Buffalo Wings, only easier. 
We added some extra hot sauce on our servings!



Buffalo Chicken Casserole
1 1/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce (I like Frank's RedHot)
6 cups frozen (partially thawed) southern-style hash browns
1 cup blue cheese dressing
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup (1 sleeve) buttery crackers, crushed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 13x9-inch oven safe casserole dish.  Cut chicken breasts into strips and season with salt and pepper.  In a bowl, combine chicken strips with wing sauce,  In a separate bowl combine hash browns, blue cheese dressing, cheddar cheese and cream of celery soup, seasoning mixture with salt and pepper.  Spoon potato mixture into greased casserole dish.  Evenly place chicken strips over potato mixture.  Combine cracker crumbs and melted butter.  Spread evenly over chicken strips.  Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until chicken strips are done.  Serve with celery and carrot sticks.

Prep Time:  Approximately 10 minutes     Cook Time:  Approximately 55 minutes