Kalyn's Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

     Growing up we use to LOVE having Gołąbki (a traditional polish dish made with boiled cabbage leaves wrapped around a ground meat mixture of onion, peppers, and rice with a tomato sauce on-top). They were always best the next day. Now that it is my turn to make them, I can't seem to have the time or patience to do all that work. I found this recipe from Skinnytaste.com Kalyn's stuffed cabbage casserole. I knew I just had to try it and it was awesome! No it isn't exactly the same, just like if you were to make Grandma Darga's pb&j with the same ingredients at home it still doesn't taste just like hers. But this was a very close second plus a lot healthier. This is a great meal to make into a freezer meal to have on hand. I bet this would be good with some leftover summer veggies from the garden. 

grilled steak marianade

Are you hungry yet? Are you itching for some yummy summer grilling?

Best Steak Marinade in Existence

from Allrecipes.com

In blender, mix:

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tbs garlic powder

3 tbs dried basil

1 1/2 tbs dried parsley

1 tsp ground black pepper

Optional:

1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce

1 clove minced garlic

Pour over meat. Cover and refrigerate for minimum 1hr (overnight is best)

Grill meat to liking.

Enjoy!!! 

Rosemary Ranch Chicken Marinade

This is my new favorite marinade that Meredith found.  I've made it for all my recent events.  Everyone loves it. The chicken is so moist and flavorful.   I used it for marinading the chicken and the veggies when I make Kabobs.  If you are doing both, I would double the marinade.

Rosemary Ranch Chicken Marinade for Kabobs
adapted from realmomkitchen

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup homemade ranch dressing (hidden valley recipe)
3 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried rosemary or a fresh sprigs chopped
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon white sugar

5 boneless skinless chicken breast halves – if making Kabobs-cut into cubes

Other Items for Kabobs- cube each item so it is skewerable

Fresh pineapple- cubed/chunked
cherry tomatoes- washed
canned whole potatoes

green/red/orange/yellow peppers- cubed/chunked

onions- cubed/chunked

Mushrooms- washed

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the olive oil, ranch dressing, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, salt, lemon juice, white vinegar, pepper, and sugar. If you are making Kabobs then make 2 bowls- One for chicken and one for veggies. Equally pour marinade over each bowl or Ziploc bag. Stir to coat with the marinade or move the bag around to cover the food. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer.
2. Preheat the grill for medium-high heat. Thread chicken onto skewers and discard marinade. Thread like veggies on skewers.You can baste with the veggie marinade. DO NOT use the chicken marinade for basting.
3. Grill skewers for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and the juices run clear or the veggies are cooked.

Mostaccioli/ Mrs. Taylors Goulash

Let me start saying it was hard for me to make this dish.  First, I normally make it for a crowd. I've never made it for just the 4 of us.  My normal shopping consists of Sams club where I get the peppers, onions, meat, cheese, spaghetti sauce and sour cream in big portions so bare with me as I make this in smaller portions.


I got this recipe from my moms neighbor.  She calls it Goulash but its what I consider mostaccoili. I love her goulash and the mostaccioli at Billy’s Tip ‘n Inn. So, I combined the two.

Ingredients

1lb Ground Turkey or Beef
1lb Bulk Ground Italian Sausage
1 lb sour cream
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 box of penne or ziti noodles
a few small baby carrots chopped (adds sweetness)
1 chopped onion
1 piece of celery chopped
1 pepper chopped- red or green
Mozzarella cheese ( I like the big bag of stuff at Sams)

Brown together the Turkey, Italian Sausage, peppers, carrots, celery and onions.  Drain the grease then add the Spaghetti sauce.  In a separate pot- boil the water and cook the noodles. Keep the noodles and meat SEPARATE!


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Layer in a 9x13 pan with some of the noodles, then meat sauce then a few dollops of sour cream all over. Repeat with the noodles, meat sauce and sour cream until you have used everything up.  Then top it with that delicious Mozzarella Cheese and Parmesan if you have it.  Cover with foil then bake for 45 min to 1 hour. At the end remove the foil and bake till the cheese gets a little "kissed" on the top from from the heat about 15min.

Enjoy! Serve with garlic bread and a salad.

Meatball Sliders

This dish is a great recipe to make double the meat part so you can freeze it. Then for those nights that you just don't have time to cook, all you have to do is pull out some of the already cooked meatballs, thaw them, then you have half the work already done.

This recipe was adapted from Annie's eats: Mini Meatball sliders with basil pesto

Meatball Sliders

yields 20 sliders

For the sauce:

2 jars spaghetti sauce (approximately 56 oz)

   Optional: If your spaghetti sauce is on the *plain* side you will want to spruce it up with some onion, garlic, basil, oregano, parsley, and some sugar.

Water

For the meatballs:

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup milk

1lb. ground beef pr ground turkey

1 egg

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp dried basil

For the pesto:

1 jar of Classico-Traditional Basil Pesto

or Annies's eats recipe for pesto

For the sliders:

24 dinner rolls

Olive oil spray

12 slices provolone cheese

Directions:

1)To make meatballs, combine 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs and milk in a medium bowl and let rest 10 min. Then add remaining breadcrumbs, ground meat, egg, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, and basil into bowl. Roll meatballs into 1 1/4 in diameter. 

2) Bake meatballs at 375 degrees for 25min or until cooked through. 

3) In a large deep saute pan, saute onion and garlic in butter or live oil until onions are translucent. Add in spices.Pour in jar sauce and add water to thin down sauce to your liking. Bring to a boil then simmer.

4) Add meatballs to sauce and let simmer 30 min.
    *If making enough to freeze some for later then this is where you will remove that amount and let cool down on jelly roll pan and then freeze.

5) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To assemble sliders, lay rolls open and spray lightly with olive oil. Bake in oven for 5 min or until lightly toasted. Slice a cooked meatball in half and lay both halves down on bottom roll.  Spoon small amount of sauce over meatballs. Top with cheese. (leave the top of the roll off) Bake another 5 min. Then spoon pesto on top of cheese and some spaghetti sauce. Top with top of roll. 

Ginger Beef Stir-Fry

This is a very easy dish that has great flavor and doesn't taste like it is missing something authentic. I like making this dish with whatever veggies I have on hand. Just because you don't have carrots or peppers doesn't mean you can't make this dish. I just can't wait for my garden to bloom so I can just walk outside and get whatever I need! Hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do.

Ginger Beef Stir Fry

From: Annie's-eats

1 tsp. cornstarch
¼ cup cold water
3 tbsp. plum sauce
1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
1 lb. boneless sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
1 tbsp. vegetable
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin
1½ cups small broccoli florets
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
4 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp. salted peanuts, chopped (optional)
Rice, for serving
Sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions:
1) In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water; whisk until smooth.  Stir in the plum sauce, ginger, soy sauce and red pepper flakes.  Set aside. (Ginger- I use veggie peeler to remove the skin then a microplane to shave/grate it) 
2) In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the steak strips until no longer pink.  Remove to a plate and set aside, draining the excess fat from the skillet if necessary.  Add the oil to the pan and heat through. 
3) Add the red pepper, broccoli and carrot pieces to the skillet and stir fry until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. 
4) Mix in the green onion and garlic and cook about 30 seconds.  Return the steak pieces to the pan.  
5) Add the sauce to the pan, stirring well to coat everything.  Cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes more.  Stir in the peanuts.

Menu 6/13/11

Monday: Ginger beef stir-fry

Tuesday: Mini meatball sliders with basil pesto

Wednesday: Korean bbq beef

Thursday: Mexi-chicken campanelle

Friday:Grilled chicken with Filipino bbq sauce.

Saturday:Chicken rollatini with-prosciutto

Sunday: Turkey burgers

Beef Taquitos

We like mexican in this house. This recipe can be made for a main dish or cut up for an appetizer. Also, it just so happens to be one of my LEFTOVER MAKEOVERS. I will make a chuck roast in the slow-cooker and use the meat for pot roast one night, french dip sandwiches another, and/or beef taquitos/burritos. You can also make these and freeze some for a snack or such later.

Beef Taquitos
adapted fromOur Best Bites- Baked beef taquitos

3 cups cooked beef roast
4 oz green chilies
1/2 tsp minced adobo chili (from adobo sauce can) RINSE SEEDS OFF and USE GLOVES!
3 tsp adobo sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
zest from one lime
1 Tbsp lime juice
12 oz queso fresco cheese

20-6" white corn tortillas or soft flour tortillas
Olive oil cooking spray
Kosher salt

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2) Combine in a medium bowl, meat, adobo chili, adobo sauce, garlic powder, coriander, cumin, chili powder, zest, and juice and mix well.
3) Microwave 10 tortillas wrapped in damped paper towel for 1 minute to soften.
4) Crumble 1 Tbsp of queso fresco cheese down middle of 1 tortilla. Then add 2 Tbsp meat mixture. Then roll up and place seam side down on a lightly sprayed baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
5) Lightly spray tops of taquitos with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
6) Bake for 20 min or until edges are golden.

* If you want to freeze some of these, you will make them all the way up until the baking part and then freeze them. When baking them from frozen, make sure you write on the freezer bag "bake at 425, for 30 min." These can be baked right from freezer without thawing first. Or you can just freeze the meat mixture into a freezer bag. Make sure you write on he bag what it is though.

Root Beer Pulled Pork

 Pulled pork is one of my favorite meals that I can make one day and make it into something else the next.  I cook the pork in the slow cooker, shred it, then split it up into freezer bags in dinner serving sizes. Another thing I like about this is, out of a 2.5 lb pork tenderloin I get 3 dinners out of it. Plus if I can keep an eye out for when it goes on sale, it makes for a super cheap dinner.

Here is the recipe:
Root Beer Pulled Pork sandwiches 
from The girl who ate everything

1 (2lb) Pork Tenderloin
1- 12 oz can Root Beer
1 bottle BBQ Sauce

Directions:
1) Put pork tenderloin in slow cooker.
2) Pour root beer all over and cover with a lid. Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours.
3) Once cooked, drain and remove root beer from slow cooker. Shred pork and separate into meal size portions (2/3). Place 1/3 back into slow cooker on warm and pour in bbq sauce. Heat for 20-30 min.

* Ideas on how to use pulled pork:
   fajitas
   pot pie
   nachos
   cuban sandwich
   chili

Meat Pies

The meat mixture in these pies have endless possibilities. The seasoning is just WOW.SO.GOOD.

Adapted Natchitoches meat pies- From Our Best Bites.

Meat Pies
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
5 mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
2+ tsp. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
Tabasco sauce to taste
2 cans beef broth
Puff Pastry, Thawed or pie crust dough
Egg wash- 1 egg and 1/4 cup water whisked 




Directions:
1) In a large skillet, brown ground beef and ground pork, breaking the meat into small pieces. When it’s about halfway cooked, drain excess fat (if necessary) and then add green and red peppers, mushrooms, onion, celery, and garlic. Cook until vegetables are tender and onions are translucent. 
2) Add 2 tsp. Tony’s and 1/4 tsp. Tabasco. 
3) Add beef broth and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Cook for about 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with additional Tony’s and Tabasco if necessary, keeping in mind that the seasonings will mellow in the pie. 
*You can refrigerate this mixture for 3-4 days before baking the pies.
4) Take puff pastry and lay out on a lightly floured surface. You can make these into any size you want. I made One BIG one for two of us to share and a few smaller ones. Place meat mixture into middle of puff pastry, leaving a 1/2inch border. Fold over puff pastry and crimp edges with fork or twist edges shut. Brush with an egg wash.
5) Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min or until golden on top.

Nick's Grilled Chicken

It is summer time! I love grilling for many reasons:

• If you do it right, very few dishes to clean.
• Doesn't heat up the house.
• Isn't a heavy meal so it is nice and lite.
• Brings happy memories of summer time fun and relaxing.

Nick's Grilled Chicken

2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Newman's Own Family Recipe Italian (Paul Newman's)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Onion powder

1) Pound chicken breast to be 1/4 in thick.
2) Combine all the ingredients into quart size zip-block bag.
3) Marinate 1hr or more.
4) Turn grill onto high heat and spray grates with olive oil.
5) Once the grill is at 400 degrees put chicken on and turn down heat to medium high.
6) After 5 min flip chicken. Cook until internal temp is 165-180 degrees.

Almond Boneless Chicken

Want Chinese? Don't want to go out? Here is your answer. Almond boneless chicken. This is Nick's favorite and the only chinese dish he will eat. And guess what else? You can only get it in Michigan. Go figure!

Almond Boneless Chicken

4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces or whole breasts

Batter

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1 egg white

Sauce

4 Tbsp cornstarch

4 Tbsp water

3 cups chicken broth (low sodium)

1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms (optional)

3 Tbsp butter

2 tsp soy sauce

3 Tbsp chicken bouillon granules

Sliced Almonds (optional-but this is called ALMOND after all)

Sliced green onion

To make batter:

In a medium bowl mix all batter ingredients together until smooth. Cover and let sit 30min. Add chicken either cut up or whole, toss to coat.

Heat oil in medium/large pan to 350 degrees. Add chicken and fry for approximately 3 min for bites and 6 min for whole breasts. As always test a piece first to make sure it is cooked to 165 degrees. Batter should be slightly golden.

While frying chicken, make almond sauce. 

To make sauce:

In a small sauce pan, mix cornstarch and water until smooth. Gradually add the chicken broth, mushrooms, butter, soy sauce, and bouillon granules. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Let boil 1 min and then keep warm.

Serve over rice and sprinkle almonds and green onions.

Fry some chicken to golden brown.

Make almond sauce.

Add some rice and there you go!