French Onion Beef Casserole - Home Cooked Recipe #87

 Tis the season for comfort food! And what is more comforting then a creamy casserole? Nada. I present to you the French onion beef casserole. It is easy to make, great for a weeknight, and inexpensive. It is a delicious dish that is perfect for the fall/winter season.

French Onion Beef Casserole

Ingredients:

• 
  1 pound ground beef
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/2 package egg noodles, cooked according to package directions
• 1 can cream of onion soup (really, any cream soup you have would work)
• 1 8 ounce container of French onion dip (I use a refrigerated brand)
• French's fried onions
• salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. While egg noodles are cooking, brown ground beef with diced onion. When beef is browned drain and season with salt and pepper. Mix together noodles, beef mixture, soup, and dip. Pour in to greased 9x13 baking dish. Top with fried onions. Bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Dijon Beef Stew - Home Cooked Recipe #86

 Once in a while I come across a gem of a recipe either on television or the internet. This particular recipe I saw on Rachael Ray a week or so ago. It looked so good I couldn't even wait for it to get cold here in FL to make it. And I am really glad I didn't wait because it is SO delicious! I made slight adjustments to the recipe based on ingredients I had on hand, but you can find the original recipe HERE if you want to make it exactly as she does. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did in our house. 

DIJON BEEF STEW

Ingredients:

(STEW)

• 2 lbs stew meat (bite size chunks)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tbs ground sage
• salt & pepper
• 4-6 tbs butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 shallots, sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup dry sherry 
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 tbs Worcestershire
• 1 bag baby carrots
• 4-6 red potatoes, quartered
• 1/2 cup grainy dijon mustard

(MUSHROOMS)

• 16 oz white mushrooms, sliced 
• 4 tbs butter
• salt & pepper
• 1 tbs ground thyme
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• juice of 1/2 a lemon

Directions:
(STEW) Heat 4 tbs butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Mix sage, salt, and pepper into flour. Coat stew meat pieces lightly with flour. Brown stew meat pieces in the butter, in 2 batches. Set beef aside. Add more butter if needed to Dutch oven. Add in shallots and onions. Season with salt and pepper and add in bay leaf. Cook until soft, approximately 8 minutes. Deglaze pot with sherry. Let reduce by half. Add Dijon, broth, and Worcestershire. Stir beef back in. Reduce heat to low and simmer beef for 90 minutes. Add in carrots and potatoes, and simmer for 45 more minutes. Stir in grainy mustard. Once mustard is in, turn off heat and prepare mushrooms.
(MUSHROOMS) Heat butter in large sauté pan. Add mushrooms and cook until browned. Season with salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic - cook one minute. Deglaze pan with sherry. Turn off heat and squeeze in lemon juice. Top stew with sherry mushrooms.

ENJOY!

Cheesy Italian Chicken - CROCK*POT CAFE 16

Hey all! It has been really strange time hasn't it? 2020 has to be the oddest year of my life yet, and I am sure many of yours too. With pandemic happening, a civil rights movement sweeping the nation, murder hornets, and who knows what else, the last thing we have time to think about is what's for dinner. So I have a solution for you! This easy, 4 ingredient, tasty recipe that you can set and forget. I found the recipe on TikTok. Several users posted it so I am not sure where it originated from. But I am glad we tried it because now it is a household favorite!

Cheesy Italian Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts ( you can easily double or triple the chicken in this recipe - or even sub boneless, skinless chicken thighs - and the other ingredients can remain the same)
• 1 block cream cheese
• 1 bottle Olive Garden Italian salad dressing (or sub whatever Italian dressing you like best)
• 1/2 bag shredded Parmesan (I would reserve the other half for topping)

Directions:
Place chicken in slow cooker. Cover with Italian dressing, cream cheese, and Parmesan. Cook on low for 4 hours. You can shred the chicken once cooked like we did or leave the breasts whole. Serve with rice or noodles & top with additional Parmesan if desired. Enjoy!

Risotto with Sea Scallops - Home Cooked Recipe #85

Risotto is a comforting rice dish that warms the heart (and belly!). Once I mastered the technique to make it, I find it a lot easier than a lot of cooking shows make it seem! Hubby and myself LOVE sea scallops, and find they make a perfect topping for risotto. But because they are so expensive, we only have them occasionally as a treat. Also, not that many sea scallops come in a package, so I like to serve them with something hearty like risotto so we feel like we are getting a complete and filling meal. Mushrooms were on sale the week when I grabbed the scallops, so I added them to this dish to round it out. Talk about an umami bomb! But you could also use vegetables such as peas or asparagus; these are other popular veggies served with risotto. If I am working with more of a budget, I will cook up some shrimp as the protein instead of scallops, since shrimp are generally more affordable. If you don't like or can't eat seafood, you can always top the risotto with the protein of your choice - or leave it out altogether! Risotto is very versatile, and only requires a smidgen of patience.

Risotto with Sea Scallops

Ingredients:

• 12-16 ounce package of sea scallops
• 8 ounce package of sliced mushrooms
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 2 cups water
• 4 cups chicken broth (I use 1 carton of low sodium chicken broth - usually Swanson's or Progresso)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup heavy cream or half & half
• 6 TBS butter
• salt and pepper
• soy sauce
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:
Heat water and broth in a saucepan over medium/low, keep close to skillet.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high. Once hot, but not smoking, add 2 TBS butter. Saute mushrooms until brown and cooked, about 5-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and a dash or two of soy sauce. Remove from pan.
Add 2 TBS butter to pan. Season scallops with salt and pepper. Add to skillet and cook for a minute and a half on the first side. Flip over (you should have a nice golden brown crust), and cook an additional 90 seconds. Remove from pan. 
Add remaining butter and diced onion. Cook for 2 minutes. Turn down heat to medium. Add in garlic, saute an additional minute. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in arborio rice. Toast rice with onions and garlic for a minute or two. Begin adding broth mixture, a ladle or two at a time. Once most of the liquid is absorbed, add another ladle or two and repeat until approximately 1/2 the broth mixture is gone. At this point, begin tasting the rice for doneness, adding the broth mixture a ladle at a time until rice is fully cooked. This process usually takes 20 to 25 minutes. Once the rice is al dente, turn off heat. Stir in cream and Parmesan. Serve immediately, topped with mushrooms and scallops. Enjoy!

We Made Room For Dessert 29 - Air Fryer Hand Pies

It has been a LONG time since I posted a dessert recipe. This week we are making room for a little something sweet! And it uses one of my favorite kitchen devices - an air fryer!!! Super simple and super quick cooking, this dessert is sure to please. And it is very adaptable as you could use any type of filling you want. I used apple pie filling but you could use blueberry, cherry, lemon, pumpkin, etc. And you could also get creative and use pudding as the filling to have a creamier version, or even something cream cheese based.

Apple Air Fryer Hand Pies

Ingredients:

• 1 box of pie dough (2 crusts) - I use Pillsbury; you can make your own if preferred!
• 1 can pie filling - I used Comstock apple
• 1 cup powder sugar
• 1/8 cup milk

Directions:
Cut rounds out of the pie dough. I got 10 out of 2 crusts using my handy set of biscuit cutters. You could also use a large glass or small bowl. Put a small amount of filling in each round, fold over, and crimp with a fork to close. Place 4 at a time in your air fryer. Cook at 370 for 8 minutes. Place on rack to cool for about 20-30 minutes. Mix together powder sugar and milk while pies are cooling. Dip each hand pie completely in glaze. Place back on rack to dry. Enjoy!

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole - CROCK*POT CAFE 15

It's always a bonus when I am searching for recipes and I end up making one that quickly becomes a family favorite. This dish is definitely one of those. Because who doesn't want a creamy, cheesy, comforting dish in winter? Or anytime? Because really, we don't have a whole lot of winter here where I live. But hubs and I always want a creamy, cheesy dinner! And the best part about this one is that your slow cooker will do the majority of the work for you. It is so easy and delicious - and easily adaptable!

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Slow Cooker Casserole

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 can condensed broccoli cheese soup
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 & 1/2 cups long grain white rice (NOT COOKED)
• 1/2 stick butter (4 TBSP) sliced
• 4 oz shredded cheddar

Directions:
Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray of your choice - do NOT skip this step. Mix together all ingredients EXCEPT shredded cheddar in a mixing bowl. Pour in to your greased slow cooker, making sure butter slices, chicken chunks, and rice are evenly distributed. Top with shredded cheddar. Cook on low for 4 hours. I serve it with a salad. ENJOY!

Slow Cooker Ravioli Casserole - CROCK*POT CAFE 14

I love a versatile dish that basically cooks itself. I came across a couple recipes on the internet for a similar dish and thought I would try it with my own spins on it. It is a super easy recipe that you can let cook while you are out of the house. There are many ways to make it your own and I will include some of those tips.

Slow Cooker Ravioli Casserole

Ingredients:

• 16oz bag frozen cheese ravioli (you can also use a meat filled if you prefer. Or really ravioli with any filling you like. It's up to you! You can also use refrigerated ravioli but I would reduce the cook time in half if you do)
• 1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce (I prefer Ragu meat flavored)
• 3 oz of pesto (I used 1/2 a jar of pesto from Aldi - you can make your own or use another brand)
• 8 oz heavy cream

***Optional: Some great additions include shredded mozzarella (which I would have used but I did not have any on hand), parmesan, ground beef, sausage, pepperoni, bell peppers, and much more. Just throw them on top before cooking!

Directions
Spray your crock pot with cooking spray. Layer in half the jar of tomato sauce. Pour on the raviolis. Pour on the remaining tomato sauce. Mix together the heavy cream and pesto and then pour over the top. Cook on low for 4 hours. Serve with garlic bread and a salad. Enjoy!

***I did not get a picture of the finished product but it basically looked like a baked ravioli dish and hubs loved it!

Cornbread Casserole - Instant Pot Inspirations #2

It's a new year! Welcome 2020. One of my cooking goals in 2020 is to use my instant pot more. I was so thrilled to get it and then so scared to use it. Now I am completely in love. For New Year's day dinner I made one of my side dishes in it and I want to share the recipe with you to start the new year right! It came out so much moister and more tender than the oven version and I think you will enjoy it as much as I did. I found the original recipe HERE and then modified it slightly. You will need an electric pressure cooker for this recipe as well as a mini bundt pan (preferably nonstick). I found the bundt pan super cheap at my local Aldi a few months ago, but I know you can also find them at Amazon, and I believe possibly Walmart or Target.

Instant Pot Corn Casserole

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 1 can creamed corn
• 4 tbs melted butter
• 1/2 cup sour cream (I only use Breakstone's)
• salt & pepper

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together. Grease mini bundt pan. Pour batter into pan and then cover tightly with foil. Put two cups of water in the inner pot. Place your trivet inside (mine is the metal one that comes with your pot, I also believe they sell silicone versions and you could also use that with no problem), and then place the bundt pan on your trivet. Secure your lid and make sure your valve is set to sealing. Hit the pressure cook button and set your time to 45 minutes. When the cooking is complete, do a quick release. Once your pin drops, carefully remove the bundt pan and let cool for at least 5 minutes. Then carefully remove the casserole from the bundt pan onto a plate. Enjoy!