Post by: Wendy - Simply Steak

Since the next few days might be a tiny bit busy with Christmas and all, I figured I would post a few days early. 

Nothing beats grilled steak, baked potatoes and watermelon during summer. If you are like me though, going out in the cold to fire up the grill doesn't sound that appealing. These are all steak recipes that are quick, simple, (mostly) healthy, yummy and can be done indoors. You can use any cut of steak you prefer. I like to buy the package from Costco, cut them up into bite size pieces, bag them, and freeze them for when needed. Enjoy!

 Cheesesteaks

    With fries and or smoothies

(When making the steak for this meal, triple it to use with the Gyros and chimichangas)

1 lb steak

2 Tbsp butter

1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

Provolone cheese slices

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Tabasco sauce (definitely don’t skip it!)

4-6 Hoagie rolls

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter over med-high heat. When melted and bubbly, add steak. Stir constantly while it is cooking.
2. When meat is about halfway cooked, add onions and green peppers. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce. Continue stirring until meat is cooked through and the onion and peppers are tender.
3. Spoon the meat filling into sliced rolls. Top with cheese. Place the open-faced sandwiches on a baking sheet and put them under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until bread is toasted and cheese is melted. Don’t forget them…at all…or they will be burnt and gross and inedible…yuck!
4. Serve immediately.

American Gyros

   with fruit in season

Pitas (homemade if you are a superstar…I’m not)

Steak from Cheesesteak recipe

Cucumber

Ranch dressing

Cheese (we like white cheddar, but feta would be good too)

Lettuce

Any other toppings you prefer (tomato, red onion, etc)

1. Dice the cucumber and mix it with the ranch dressing. Fill up the pitas with everything and that is it. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

 (This isn't really a picture of it, but looks kind of similar.)

Crockpot steak over Rice

with green salad

1 lb Steak cut into bite size pieces

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup water

½ tsp basil

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp salt

Rice (or mashed potatoes)

1. Put steak in slow cooker. In small bowl combine the soup, garlic, water, basil, oregano and salt. Pour over meat. Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours.
2. All of you lucky ducks with rice cookers can do that early on too. (If you are going to make the picante beef and beans with rice, then double the rice now. If you are like me though, start up the rice and while it is cooking use the leftover lettuce and veggies from the gyros to make a green salad.
3. Spoon steak over rice and there you go.

Chimichangas

with refried or black beans

(These are also super yummy with chicken)

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil, plus more for frying

1/2 cup diced White Onion

1 1/2 teaspoons minced Garlic

1/2 tablespoon Chili Powder

1/4 teaspoon Oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground Cumin

3-4 cups cooked steak in bite-size pieces (or shredded chicken)

1 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Pepper

1 (4 oz) can Diced Green Chilies

8 (10 inch) Flour Tortillas, warmed

1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Toppings:  Salsa Verde, Sour Cream, etc

   1. In a large, deep skillet, pour in enough vegetable oil to fill half of it.  

       Heat at med-low heat. (This is for frying the chimichangas.) 

2. In another large skillet, heat 2 Tbs of oil over med-high heat. Throw in the diced onion and saute until slightly softened. Add in garlic, chili powder, oregano and cumin. Cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the steak. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the green chilies and keep on stirring and cooking for another 5 minutes or so until thoroughly heated. Set aside.
3. Warm tortillas in the microwave. On each tortilla, add 1/2 cup of the steak mixture into the center. Top with 2-3 Tbs of cheese. Fold sides over the mixture, then fold bottom over the sides and roll up. Place folded chimichangas, seam side down on a large plate/platter, and repeat with remaining tortillas. 
4. Using tongs, lower one chimichanga at a time, into the hot oil, seam side down. (It is helpful to hold them with the tongs while they are in the oil to keep them from opening)  Fry until golden brown on both sides. This only should take a minute or two, depending on how hot your oil is. Place deep fried chimichangas onto a paper towel lined plate to soak up grease. Serve immediately with your favorite toppings!
   
   

 (Once again, not a picture of it, but kind of similar)

Picante Beef and Beans

(I made this when we were first married and remember it being good. Kind of like a thick taco soup. It also makes a lot, so you can freeze half for another day.)

2 Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb steak, cut into pieces

1 Tbso chili powder

¾ cup salsa, thick and chunky

1 can black beans, undrained

1 can pinto beans, indrained

1 can stewed tomatoes

rice or chips

1. In a small cup, mix the cornstarch and water until smooth. Set aside.
2. Over med-high heat, heat oil. Add steak and chili powder and cook until
3. meat is browned, stirring often.
4. Add salsa, beans and tomatoes. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover,
5. and cook 5 min. or until steak is done.
6. Stir cornstarch mixture and add. Cook and stir constantly until it returns to a boil and thickens.
7. Serve over rice or with chips.

Beef with Broccoli

http://rainydaygal.com/2011/02/03/beef-with-broccoli/

This was delicious! Don't bother wasting time or money going out, 

this is super easy and oh so yummy!!

The following use the grill, but are too good not to include:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/09/steakhouse-pizza/

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/08/steak-and-mango-salad/

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/03/chili-lime-steak-salad/

Post by: Paige - Turkey Recipe Week

Turkey Recipe Week by Paige

 (You can substitute any recipe with Chicken if you prefer)

(Another note, I would not make all of these meals in one week! That would be an excessive amount of cooking. These recipes are an accumulation of the last three and a half weeks of recipes)

Sunday:

Turkey

Cranberry Sauce

Fat Potatoes

• 8 Russet potatoes
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 1 stick of butter
•  Salt
•  Pepper

You know how to make these. Note: I like to leave the skin on to increase fiber.

How to cook a perfect turkey:

Hot to deconstruct a roasted turkey or chicken:

Monday:

Grapes

Carrots

Turkey Hot Pockets

•  2 pkgs of refrigerator crescent rolls
• 1 pkg 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 bundle of green onions, chopped
• 1 box of frozen and chopped spinach, drained
• Shredded turkey or cubed

Preheat oven to 350. Roll out the crescents so that the dough is flat. Pinch two triangles together to make a rectangle. Put about four rectangles on each cookie sheet. It will make about 8 hot pockets on two cookie sheets. Mix together the 8 oz of softened cream cheese, turkey, chopped green onions, and very very VERY well drained spinach in a medium bowl. Then take a large cookie scoop and put one heap of mixture on each rectangle of dough. Fold the sides of the dough over so it covers the mixture. Lightly press on the sides of the dough with your fingers, just enough to make sure the filling won't escape. Remove from 350 degree oven after about 10 minutes or until tops of hot pockets are golden brown. Really easy to save extras in the fridge, just wrap in tin foil or put in individual zip loc bags. Reheat them in the microwave for 45 seconds.

Tuesday:

Cream of Mushroom or Chicken Soup

White Rice

Shredded Turkey

Get out your rice cooker and start making some white fluffy rice! Make however much rice your usually do for dinner. Instead of water, I like to add chicken broth to make it really flavorful. Or you can add chicken base to the water and stir it in. Either way get your rice going and then shred your meat of choice. In a medium pot over the stove or heat up one can of mushroom soup  add a little bit of milk to thin it out, add salt, pepper, your meat of choice. Put the shredded meat in the soup and spoon it over the rice. Then pile it high with basic haystack items. *

*Top with green onion, bell peppers, almonds, pineapple, broccoli, chinese croutons, peas, olives, mandarins, etc. any basic haystack items

Wednesday:

Turkey Pad 
Thai (this is more difficult than the other recipes)

• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 limes, 1 juiced and 1 cut into wedges for serving(I only had lemon juice on hand)
• 1/4 cup fish sauce (I used Soy sauce, but a teeny tiny amount)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar(Use regular vinegar or don't put in at all)
• 1 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce(Just don't)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded or cubed cooked turkey
• 8 ounces linguini, broken in half (use regular spaghetti you have on hand)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 large carrot, grated (you could also toss in some steamed broccoli)
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts (I didn't add any peanuts, but that is usually in pad thai)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 cups bean sprouts (I also added shredded cabbage to bulk up the veggies)
• 3 scallions, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

Directions

To make the sauce: In a bowl, pour the boiling water over the brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and sriracha and stir. Place the leftover turkey in the pad Thai sauce and let it absorb the flavors while prepping the rest of the dish. Next, prepare the pasta: cook the linguine one minute less than the manufacturer's directions. Drain, and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok or large saute pan over high heat until very hot, almost smoking. Add the onions and stir fry 1 minute. Add the garlic and stir. Then add the eggs and cook for 30 seconds, stirring. Add the linguini and turkey with sauce and cook, stirring for a few minutes. Remove from heat and toss in grated carrot, peanuts, cilantro, bean sprouts and scallion. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/turkey-pad-thai-recipe/index.html

Thursday:

Refried Beans (from the can, reheat)

Basic Mexican Rice

Turkey Enchiladas

• 2-1/2 cups Cooked, Shredded Chicken (or TURKEY)
• 2 cups Reserved Broth From Chicken (or add water plus chicken bouillon cubes)
• 3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
• 12 whole Corn Tortillas (we used white corn pkg of 18)
• 1 whole Large Onion, Diced
• 3 whole 4 Oz Cans Whole Green Chilies, Diced
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Seeded And Finely Diced (Nope Nope Nope!!!)
• 1 teaspoon Paprika (I didn't add this)
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 2-1/2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Picante Sauce (optional)
• Cilantro, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Fry tortillas for no longer than 20 seconds, just to soften (do not allow to become crisp.) Place tortillas on a large towel or stack of paper towels to drain.

Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in separate skillet over medium heat. Add onions and jalapenos and saute for 1 minute, just to start the cooking process. Add chicken, half of the green chilies, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Stir together. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Add cream and stir, allowing mixture to bubble and get hot. Turn off heat and set aside.

In a separate large skillet, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together and cook over medium heat for one minute. Pour in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth. Whisk together and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the other half of the chilies. Reduce heat, then stir in sour cream. Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

To assemble, spoon chicken mixture on top of tortillas, one by one. Top with plenty of cheese and roll up. Place seam side down in a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Pour cheese mixture all over the top of the tortillas. Top with extra cheese if you'd like, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle generously with chopped cilantro.

Serve with picante sauce, if desired.

Faint. Repeat as needed.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/11/white-chicken-enchiladas/

Basic Mexican Rice

• 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
• 1/2 whole Large Onion, Chopped
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 cups Long Grain Rice
• 1 can Rotel (10 Ounce) (I really rinsed and drained this gooooood or else too spicy)
• 1 can Whole Tomatoes (14.5 Ounce)
• 2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth (more If Needed)
• 1 teaspoon Cumin (more To Taste)
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• Fresh Cilantro, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions and garlic, then cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add rice and garlic. Stir constantly, making sure the rice doesn’t burn. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes. Add Ro-tel and tomatoes. Stir to combine and let cook for 2 minutes. Finally, add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 to 15 additional minutes or until rice is done. Add more liquid as needed; rice shouldn’t be sticky.

Just before serving, sprinkle lots of freshly chopped cilantro over the top. Serve immediately.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/11/good-ol-basic-mexican-rice/

Friday:

Baby Carrots

Turkey Sandwiches

• Grainy mustard (to spread on both sides)
•  Tomoatoes, sliced
• Romaine Lettuce
• Turkey breast, sliced
• Cranberry sauce (unless that is weird to you)
• Havarti cheese, yum.
• Bacon would be yummy too
• Build your own sandwich on  hearty multigrain bread.

Saturday:

Pita Bread (From Costco, we liked the tomato mushroom flavor pita with the soup)

Sweet Potato Soup

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons olive oil (I used canola or vegetable oil because it was closer to the pan)
• 3 large or 6 small shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds (about 2 to 3) sweet potatoes, peeled, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (Leave the skin of the potatoes, it won't affect the color or taste, but increases YOUR daily fiber intake)
• 2 (6-inch long) stems fresh rosemary (don't cheat with the dry herbs, buy a couple of real sprigs, the rosemary really makes the soup!)
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I didn't want to go to the store and buy broth, so I mixed six cups of warm water and chicken base in my vita mix and then added it to the pot)
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature (Don't use mascarpone! It is way too expensive, besides it is basically fancy Cream Cheese, so add half a 8 oz. brick and call it a day)
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup (I did NOT add the maple syrup, the soup was already naturally sweet from the sweet potatoes, but Nathan liked it with the syrup, so taste it before you add any sort of sweetener. Another option--Mom added sugar because she did not have maple syrup on hand.)
• If you have heavy cream on hand, add a tablespoon or two, it was delicious!

Directions

In an 8-quart stockpot, melt the butter and oil together over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, rosemary and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the sweet potatoes are very tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the rosemary stems. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until smooth and thick. Whisk in the mascarpone cheese and maple syrup until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Keep the soup warm over low heat until ready to serve.

Cook's Note: The soup can also be pureed by ladling, in batches, into a food processor or blender and blended until smooth.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/creamy-sweet-potato-and-rosemary-soup-recipe/index.html

Nathan's Favorite:

Cuties or Orange slices

Pizza Sandwich

• 1 Large Loaf  French Bread, Bakery fresh ($1.50 or less from grocery store)
• 16 oz. can of tomato paste
•  Italian Seasoning, dried  (probably in your cupboard but never use)
• 2 cups Mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 package Pepperoni, ready to eat kind
•  4 oz. can of sliced olives
• 1/3 cup parmesean cheese (I don't like it with parmesan, better left off)
• Bell peppers (also optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees or turn your broiler on if you are feeling risky. Cut your loaf horizontally in half. Lay the loafs on a foil lined cookie sheet. Spread the tomato paste on both inside layers as if spreading mayo or mustard on a sandwich. Sprinkle with italian seasoning or oregano and basil, whatever feels right to you. Then sprinkle with cheeses, pepperonis, olives and bell peppers in whatever order you want. I usually put veggies on top so that they can get cooked a little faster. (No one likes raw peppers on their sandwich.).  Put the sandwich in the oven open faced and cook until nice and melted. Put the halves on top of each other and slice diagonally. Yum!

Post By: Brittney - Ham it up!

Sunday:

Spiral baked ham

Rosemary baked red potatoes

Salad

Notes: Buy a large ham at Costco, bake as directed but don't put the glaze on the whole thing. Eat less than 1/4 of it. Cut the remainder into bite size pieces. Put in 3-4 freezer bags and keep in the fridge/freezer for the week. For the potatoes, cube them, mix them around with oil, kosher (or regular) salt and dried rosemary. If you don't have rosemary, you could use another spice of your choice. Buy whatever kind of salad you would like. Costco has this great salad mix called Parisian (spelling??) that has dried cranberries, nuts, cheese in it. It's in the cold freezer room. It's not too big and could be used for lunch the next day, too.  Though the Quiche for Monday does call for Spinach so you could use leftover spinach from this salad for the next day. Enjoy! 

Monday: 

Quiche

Carrots

Notes: 

You could either buy a pie shell or just make one. Cheaper to make but easier to buy. I kind of combine two recipes for my quiche so below is the best guess at how I always combine them. For the carrots, I actually like to grate them like you grate cheese. Then eat them like a "salad." Or you could steam them.

Quiche:

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups Milk

1/2 tsp Salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Dash ground nutmeg

1 cup chopped cooked ham

1-2 cups lightly packed chopped fresh spinach

1 1/2 cups cheese (I like swiss or cheddar)

1 Tbs Flour

Add first 5 ingredients, then add ham. Add spinach and stir gently. Mix flour and cheese together then add to everything else. I usually make this part earlier in the day (even before work!) and keep it covered in the fridge. Then before dinner, add it to the ready pie shell and then back in the over at 325 for about 50 minutes. You could even make this the night before and reheat the next day. Often, if I had just a tad more of everything, it'll make two quiches nicely. Save one or give to a friend. Enjoy!

Tuesday:

Split Pea Soup

Corn Bread (JIFFY box all the way!)

Notes: I don't have a recipe for the split pea soup other than what I remember mom telling me. Pretty much, I put the dried split peas into the crockpot, cover them with water and a lot of salt, add some ham and the ham hock (save this from Sunday. If there was no actually hock in your ham, just add all the fatty portions of ham to this soup). If the dried peas came with a seasoning packet, add it now. If not, seriously consider adding the "trinity"-onions, celery, carrots all finely chopped (cuisinart!). Leave it on low all day. If you don't get this into the crock pot until mid morning, put it on high first then turn it to low after lunch. For the corn bread, just buy the Jiffy box and follow the directions. Enjoy!

Wednesday:

Ham meatballs

Rice

veggie of choice

Notes: the recipe for ham meatballs is below. They aren't your average meatballs and take quite a few ingredients. If you don't have most of them already on hand, skip this recipe. However, if you want to try them, they are pretty good. Or at least my boys ate them up. You can start the rice in a rice cooker and put the meatballs in the oven at the same time and they'll be done at the same time. Enjoy!

Meatballs:

2 beaten eggs

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (put them in toaster, then put them in cuisinart. Makes great bread crumbs for cheap!)

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 Tbs milk

1 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp pepper

12 oz cooked ham

12 oz ground beef (you could also do ground pork)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup ketchup

2 Tbs vinegar

1 tsp dry mustard (you could use regular mustard)

Combine first 8 ingredients. Shape into balls and place in a slightly greased baking dish. It'll probably make 18-20 meatballs. (If this is too many, half the recipes. Or make them and freeze them after baking them)  In a large bowl, combine last 4 ingredients, stir until sugar is dissolved, pour over meatballs. (you can do all this beforehand and keep covered in your fridge. Just take off cover before baking) Bake uncovered at 350 for 35 minutes or until meat looks cooked enough. Serve with sauce from bottom of baking dish. Enjoy! 

Thursday:

Eggs w/ ham Burrito (add ketchup for a fun flavor)

Fruit salad

Notes: make scrambled eggs and add remaining ham for the week, add cheese (if desired), salt/pepper, anything else you want. Put in warmed up tortilla, add ketchup, roll up. If I were mom and I frequented the farmers market, I would add cooked kale to this burrito! For the fruit salad, chop and mix any leftover fruit from the week. Add yogurt for a sweet taste. Enjoy!

Friday:

Forge for yourself.