Swedish Meatballs

These have been a staple at my house for as long as I have been married.  In fact, I even grew up eating this for dinner probably a couple times a month.  Super easy, super yummy.  My kids eat it like candy.  Tastes even better as leftovers!!

 

Combine the following ingredients all together and shape into meatballs.   Place them in a medium heat skillet.  Pick a skillet that you have a lid for.  I like to let the bottom of the meatball brown a little and then turn them once.

1 pound ground beef

1 cup minute rice

1 egg slightly beaten

2 tablespoons minced onion (I use dehydrated onions)

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Dash of pepper

1/2 cup milk

After all you meatballs are in the skillet combine the following ingredients together and pour over the meatballs.

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2/3 cup milk (the original recipe calls for water but I think it is much better if you use milk)

1 teaspoon lemon juice.

Make sure all the meatballs have a little bit of soup on or around them.  Lower the heat to a simmer and cover for about 15 minutes.

Serve over rice or noodles!

*****Side note, I always double this recipe for my family, 7 people.  If you double it, still only use one slightly beaten egg.  Doubling makes just the right amount for dinner plus a little leftover for lunch the next day.

Hope you like it as much as my family!!

Christina (UTmomof5)

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

So in my attempt to find a substitute for the ever evil smart cookie co chocolate cookie with white chocolate chips, I decided this would recipe would have to do. As I didn't want to drive that far and I wanted to make something I had all the ingredients on hand, I found this little beauty on the back of the reeses peanut butter chip package - thats how I made it and it was delicious, but I've decided it would be just as tasty with white chocolate chips instead, so feel free to try either or both if you really need a chocolate fix.

2 c. flour
3/4 c. hersheys cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/4 c(2-1/2 sticks) butter softened
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1-2/3 c(10oz pkg) Peanut butter or white chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in peanut butter or white chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-9 minutes. Do not overbake; cookie will be soft. They will puff while baking and flatten while cooling. Cool slighty; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4-1/2 dozen cookies.

Karley

Greek Chicken and Kudos for Karley!

Last night we tried this recipe for blackened chicken and fettucine alfredo that Karley posted a while back. YUM-O! It was really great. I think this will be my new go-to meal for anytime we have company over. Ya gotta try it.

This is a recipe that was originally from Allrecipes.com. Kari found it and told me how great it was, now it's a standard at my house--even the kids eat it! I've made a few minor adjustments over time, just to make it easier.

GREEK CHICKEN
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded flat (I put mine on a cutting board and put peice of plastic wrap over them while I pound them, just to cut down on messiness)
1/4 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 c (or so) feta cheese, crumbled
1 T lemon juice---and a 1/4 c or so for later
1 t dried oregano (unless your feta is already seasoned when you buy it)
2 T olive oil
2 c water
2 t chicken bouillon (or 2 cubes)
1 can diced tomatoes
2 c torn spinach leaves

Put olive oil in skillet and heat up. Pound chicken breast flat. Combine feta, oregano, and 1 T lemon juice to form a thick paste-like consistency. Spread over half of each chicken breast, fold each breast in half around cheese mixture. Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour mixture, place in skillet to brown each side (2-3 min for each side). Tilt skillet to allow oil to run into a pool at the edge. Add some (about a T) of your left-over flour mixture to the oil and mix together (this will help to thicken up the sauce). Pour in the can of tomatoes, water, chicken bouillon and lemon juice (more or less of the juice, depending on your tastes). Cover and cook until chicken is cooked through. Add spinach leaves about 5 min before done.

We love to have this with cous-cous or those Rice-a-Roni whole grain blends. The sauce is tasty over the rice, too.

Tamara

Breakfast Casserole

So lately I have really been into breakfast, sometimes it just sounds better than dinner, and in my quest for things that can be made ahead or frozen due to my extra baby helping hands, I like to work while she's asleep and this recipe works perfectlyfor that, and it can.... and should be made a day ahead.

Breakfast Casserole
1 pkg (12 oz) Breakfast Sausage Links 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
6 english muffins, cut into 1 in cubes 12 eggs
1/4 c. butter, melted 2 c. milk
2 c. mixed cheese - like mexican or colby jack 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. chopped onion 1/2 tsp pepper
5-8 strips of bacon - cooked

Cook sausage according to package directions. Cool slightly; cut into 1/4in slices. Place english muffin cubes in a greased 9x13 baking dish; drizle with butter. Layer with sausage, cheese, onion, and green pepper. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour over cheese. Sprinkle with bacon. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Uncover and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes.

So I found this recipe in my coupon clipping, its a johnsonville recipe and if you get the paper you have $1 off 2 pkg, this is the recipe with what I changed in it, but theres said you could use red pepper and bacon bits - not a true fan of either but just giving you some breakfast options......it sure is yummy and super easy to make, enjoy it. Another tip for things like this recipe is I like to buy the heat and eat pre-cooked bacon, that way I don't have a whole pound of bacon on my hands...well lets face it I would eat the whole thing, if you haven't tried the heat and eat, its great for when you just need a few slices, like BLT's or this :)

Karley

Gobble Up Granola Snacks

Here's another one I found on Allrecipes.com that I have been making alot lately. I love them!

2 1/2 c crispy rice cereal (I made half of this puffed brown rice to add more fiber--I got it at Walmart)
2 c quick cooking oats (I made half of this rolled oats, for the same reason)
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c light corn syrup
1/2 c peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

raisins, chocolate chips, etc.

Combine the brown sugar and corn syrup in a pot and heat until boiling. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Combine with cereal and oats and stir until well coated. Turn out onto a cookie sheet. When it has cooled a bit, you can form it into a "sheet", adding in chocolate chips or raisins, etc. When completely cooled, cut into bars.

Tamara

Kettle Corn

I found this one on Allrecipes. It is inexpensive, easy, and delicious! I made some tonight and we ate it while we played Clue together as a family.

1/4 c oil
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c popcorn kernels

Put oil in pot (I used the same pot I make soup in). Put three kernels of corn in the pot, cover it with a lid (we learned the hard way that this was important--when the first kernel popped it flew out and hit me and it was HOT). When all three kernels of corn have popped, stir in the sugar and add the rest of the corn. Cover and shake the pot back and forth until the popping slows down (or until you run out of room!). Add some salt, and voila! Enjoy!

Tamara

Pork Chops and Rice (or Chicken and Rice)

My family is really into dutch oven cooking, but you don't have to get out the charcoal for this one. We use a 10" dutch oven with lid in the oven for this (I got it for my husband for our anniversary at WalMart for about $20), but I'm sure that you could use an ovenproof pan and lid, or even just a regular baking dish.

6 pork chops (or chicken pieces/breasts)
2 cups rice
2 tsp. salf
1 onion, chopped
4 cups water
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken if using chicken)
1 tbsp. oil

Brown pork chops (or chicken) in dutch oven with oil and onions. Pour rice over the pork chops (or chicken) and stir well. Add soup, water and salt; and mix well. Cover and bake at 350 F for 30 - 45 minutes. All the liquid will be absorbed when it is done. Enjoy!

Mo's Macaroni and Cheese

This is one that our family loves. It makes a big 9x13 - so when it's just Matthew, myself and the baby, I'll split in half and put it in two bread loaf pans, and freeze one of them for future use. Leftovers for the next few days stay really well and heat up easily in the microwave.

one pound macaroni - cooked to directions
3 tbls. butter (real butter, not that maragine crap) :)
3 tbls. flour
2 1/2 cups milk (1 or 2% is ok)
20 ounces cheese - any combination you like. We like sharp cheddar.
fresh ground black pepper to taste
panko bread crumbs - about 1/2 a cup (these are Japanese bread crumbs and usually found in the oriental section of your grocery store)
melted butter for top of bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 F. After you have your macaroni cooked and drained, set aside. Melt butter in large frying pan. Add flour and cook for 2 minutes. It's ok if it gets slightly browned.

Add milk and simmer until slightly thickened. Stir continually because you do not want it to burn. I use a rubber spatula or rubber whisk and it works really well.

Add cheese, reserving some for the top of the macaroni and cheese before it goes into the oven. Stir until completely melted.

Add cheese to macaroni and stir well until combined evenly.

Pour into 9x13 pan, or two bread loaf pans if splitting recipe. Add reserved cheese to top. Top with panko bread crumbs and melted butter. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until bubbly and bread crumbs have browned. Enjoy!

Super Yummy Meatballs

I'm on a huge new-recipe kick (hence this blog). I came across this one on Allrecipes.com a couple of weeks ago. It was called "The Best Meatballs You'll Ever Have". It was their featured recipe and had really good reviews, so we tried them today with spaghetti. They weren't kidding. These are really, really good!

Karley, who posts on here too, is a total kitchen master. She told me a while ago about how you can freeze meatballs by putting them on a cookie sheet in the freezer and then transferring them to a bag once they're frozen. I plan on making a huge batch of these soon and freezing them.

Here ya go:

INGREDIENTS
1 pound lean ground beef
3/4 cup crushed seasoned croutons (or seasoned bread crumbs)
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (for my kids' sake, I'll leave these out next time. I thought the meatballs were perfect, but kids are more sensitive to spicy stuff)
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (I mixed up my own. I found the combo here on Allrecipes)
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, croutons, sweet onion, egg, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, red pepper flakes, and Cajun seasoning. Form the mixture by hand into meatballs.
Heat the olive oil and melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Place the meatballs in the skillet, and cook, turning constantly, 20 minutes, or to desired doneness.

Tamara

Fluffy Fruit Salad

1 large box instant lemon pudding (I can never find a large box, so I use 2 small boxes)
1 lb strawberries, sliced
1 can pineapple chunks, drained
2 cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 bag marshmallows
1 large container cool whip

-Prepare pudding according to package, let set in fridge
-mix in fruit, marshmallows, and cool whip.

Pretty Easy! Pretty Tatsy! Hope you enjoy!

Kari

Stovetop Granola

I'm rebelling against buying packaged treats for my kids. They aren't the healthiest alternative, and they get snarfed down sooooo fast. A couple of days ago, I watched my daughter open a fruit roll-up, smoosh it into a ball, pop it in her mouth, chew a bit, and swallow it! A whole snack, gone in under two minutes. Then she went for another!

So, I'm looking for healthier, less-expensive alternatives. I'm also working on my food storage lately and looking for ways to rotate it. So, when I found this recipe for granola on Allrecipes.com, it really appealed to me. It turned out yummy and chewy. The kids like it in vanilla yogurt with frozen blueberries, but I think I ate most of it (that's the downside to my whole plan--fruitsnacks don't tempt me a bit, but homemade treats do!)

STOVETOP GRANOLA
1 T olive oil
2 c rolled oats (not quick oats)
1/3 c butter
2 T honey
1/3 c packed brown sugar
vanilla and cinnamon to taste
any additional nuts or dried fruits you would like (or not)

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add oats. Cook and stir to brown and toast, 5 min. or so. Turn out onto a cookie sheet while you make the coating.
Melt the butter in the same pan. Stir in the honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon (you can really tweak these last two to suit your own personal taste). Cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Return the oats to the pan. Cook and stir for another 5 minutes or so. Pour onto cookie sheet and spread to cool. After it cools you can put it in an airtight container or bag and add the nuts or fruit if you'd like. Enjoy! (But watch out, it's addictive!)

Tamara

Fettuccine Alfredo with Blackened Chicken

First the chicken....you can make the spice mix ahead and put it your pantry, I really don't remember where it came from other than it was a freezer meal book because you could freeze your chicken and keep the spices separate until you were ready to use them.

Blackened Chicken Breasts

Spice Mix:
2 tsp paprika 1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper 1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves

Brush about one tbsp melted butter on each chicken breast - use as little or as much chicken as you would like. Then brush / shake on 1 tbsp spice mixture per chicken breast. Drizzle a little oil in a skillet cook med heat about 10 min per side or until done. You could also send the hubby out to BBQ this little one up while you make the fettuccine. I like to cook the chicken a little earlier in the day so its already done - makes my dinner cooking a little easier. You could slice this and use it in your pasta or just use it as a sandwich in a roll.

Alfredo Pasta - this is my own take on this sauce to make is slightly lighter than the heavy cream versions

1/2 stick butter 1 box fettuccine
2 cups whipping cream 1/2 cup milk
1/8 tsp garlic powder 1/8 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup three cheese blend - Romano, Parmesan, Asiago or just use Parmesan
2 c. chopped broccoli (optional)

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cream, milk, garlic powder, and black pepper to the butter and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until thick. At the same time bring your water to boil and cook the pasta according to the box directions, about 4-5 min before the pasta is done, add the broccoli to the water. When the Alfredo sauce has thickened to your desired consistency add the 3 cheese blend. Drain the pasta and broccoli mixture the add to the sauce. Place on the plates and then add the blackened chicken on top.

Karley

Winger's at Home

Welcome to this blog! I hope that we can all share some great recipes and ideas here. I think we all get a little bored cooking the same things night after night, but it can be intimidating to try new recipes. Have you ever tried something new, hated it, and ended up sending your husband out for pizza instead? Hopefully we can avoid that whole scenario by sharing our tried and tasty recipes here.

The first one I'd like to share is Winger's sauce. I got this recipe from Deals to Meals. I loved it. We used it for wraps and salads last week. YUM-O!

2 1/2 c brown sugar
1/3 c Frank's hot sauce
3 T corn syrup
1/2 c apple cider vinegar (I used white, it tasted just fine)

Ok, so it's not the healthies thing : ). I used it sparingly and it was still delicious!

I made oven baked chicken to use the sauce with. I got this from Allrecipes.

chicken breasts (cut into pieces) or tenders
1 cup dried bread crumbs
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup mayonnaise thinned with milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
In a bowl mix together the bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt, pepper, & thyme.
Coat the chicken pieces with mayonnaise mixture. Place chicken pieces in bowl/bag with bread crumb mixture and coat/shake until well coated. Place chicken pieces in a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until juices run clear.

Enjoy!

Tamara