FOOD RECIPES : QUICK STEAK and GRAVY

QUICK STEAK and GRAVY Food Recipes, This great week night dinner is fast and satisfying for sure.  It is  made with cubed beef steak and is versatile enough to feed two or twenty.  It's rich brown gravy is flawless and the whole thing is table ready in about 35  minutes (depending on the thickness of your cube steak).

The ingredients listed here are for one pound of cubed beef steak (it makes about 2 cups of gravy). Double or triple the ingredients as you like.

1 pound cubed beef steak (see note)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon flour (to add to gravy)
little extra flour to coat the cubed steak
(1) 4 serving size envelope of Lipton's Beefy Mushroom soup mix (see note)
2 cups water
(no salt...there's salt in the soup mix)
pepper to taste

Cut the cubed beef steaks into serving size pieces and dust them with pepper (no salt). Coat them in a little flour (shake off the excess) and brown them in 2 tablespoons of vegetable (or Canola) oil.

Remove the browned meat to a plate.  Mix 1 tablespoon flour with the dry soup mix and mix it all into the oil and meat juices in the same pan that you browned the meat in. Whisk in two cups of water and use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up any browned bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan. Stir till the gravy is thick.

Put the  meat back in the gravy and turn it way down to a slow simmer.  Simmer (covered) until the meat is tender (see note below).

Serve over rice or mashed potatoes for a quick and easy dinner that even Picky-picky husband loves.

NOTE:   Some people have said they can not find Lipton's Beefy Mushroom soup mix. You can also use Lipton's Onion soup mix.

NOTE: How long you let the meat simmer in the sauce depends on how thick (and how tender) your cubed beef steaks are. The ones I buy are fairly thin, so I usually simmer them in the gravy for about 30 minutes. If you have thick cube steak (or if it looks a little tough) it may take more like 45-60 minutes to get fork tender.
QUICK STEAK and GRAVY FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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FOOD RECIPES : PEANUT BUTTER KRISPIE TREATS

PEANUT BUTTER KRISPIE TREATS Food Recipes, This recipe has been around forever; it is one of those classic sweet treats from our childhood.  Picky-picky husband is a big fan of the old fashioned Rice Krispie treats made with melted marshmallows, so he initially resisted this peanut butter version (he resists change).  However, this evening, I noticed that the pan of treats, on the kitchen counter, had been seriously noshed upon.

This recipe is SUPER easy and uses all pantry ingredients, which is a good thing.  It goes together in just minutes (the longest part of this recipe is the cool down time). They cut beautifully if you let them cool all the way down and they travel well.

1 cup light Karo syrup
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups Rice Krispie cereal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips (see note)

Mix the syrup and granulated sugar in a heavy saucepan, over medium heat (stirring). Bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat; stir in peanut butter until smooth and well mixed.

Pour over Rice Krispie cereal and stir to coat evenly.  Press into a lightly greased 11" x 7" pan (see note) and press down evenly with slightly damp hands.

Melt the chocolate chips and stir until smooth (I melted mine in my microwave at 60% power for about 1½ minutes).  Spread evenly over bars.  Cool about an hour before cutting.

NOTE: This recipe calls for half semi-sweet chocolate chips and half peanut butter chips, but any combo would work well.  I found a similar recipe that used half semi-sweet chocolate chips and half butterscotch chips for the frosting (they called them Scotcheroo's).

NOTE: The size of the pan is not really important. Just remember that the smaller the pan is, the thicker the treats will be and the bigger the pan is the thinner they will be.

PEANUT BUTTER KRISPIE TREATS FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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FOOD RECIPES : APPLE and HERB PORK CHOPS

APPLE and HERB PORK CHOPS Food Recipes, It has been very cold and snowy here, even for Alaska (-16 last night), so we have been "hunkering down" close to home lately. This type of weather inspires me in the kitchen for some strange reason and the result of that "hunkering" is today's Apple and Herb Pork Chops, they are "fall apart tender" and a nice change from traditional fried pork chops.

(4) ¾” thick pork chops (pork sirloins work well too)

1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dired marjoram
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil + 1 teaspoon butter
½ cup chopped sweet onion
3 granny smith apples (peeled, cored and large diced)
1/4 cup brown sugar packed (I like dark brown sugar)
¼ cup butter melted
pinch of red pepper flakes (more if you like more heat)

Mix the herbs, salt and pepper and rub all over the pork. Cover and chill for 6 to 8 hours. Brown the pork chops in 1 tablespoon olive oil mixed with 1 tablespoon of butter then put them in a 9 x 13 baking pan. In the same frying pan you browned the chops in, saute the chopped onion until it is sweet; add ¼ cup butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar and the large-dice apples. Heat ONLY until sugar has completely dissolved (apples will still be raw).

Put a stack of the apple-onion mixture on each browned pork chop, then drizzle any liquid left in the pan over the apples. Cover tightly and bake at 325° for 45 to 60 minutes or until “fall apart” tender. If the juices are thinner than you like, thicken them with a little cornstarch mixed with water.

APPLE and HERB PORK CHOPS FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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FOOD RECIPES : SPAGHETTI

SPAGHETTI Food Recipes,

On snowy winter days, when it is good to stay close to home, I enjoy making dinner in the slow cooker. One of our favorite's is spaghetti; our kids were raised on this recipe and it is one of picky-picky husbands favorites.

The thick and hearty sauce and tender meatballs really need a solid six hours or more in the slow cooker, so don't be tempted to rush this recipe. I love the way my kitchen smells when I make this sauce.


MEATBALLS

1 pound of lean (90% or better) ground beef

1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all of the meatball ingredients and shape into walnut size meatballs. Bake in a 350 oven for 15 minutes then drain well before adding to sauce.

 SPAGHETTI SAUCE

(1) 14 ounce can of tomato sauce

(1) 12 ounce can of tomato paste

4 cups water

1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup finely diced carrot

1 clove of minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons dried sweet basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon fennel seed

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon sugar

Saute the onions, garlic and carrots in the olive oil until they are very aromatic (they don't need to be cooked through). Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and bring to a boil.  Put EVERYTHING in the slow cooker and add the baked meatballs. Cook on high for 6 hours.

The last couple of hours, leave the slow cooker lid open just a crack so the sauce will reduce and thicken. Serve over spaghetti noodles.

NOTE: If you like mushrooms, add them the last hour of cooking.

NOTE: No matter how hard I try to make a "smaller" batch of spaghetti sauce, it always ends up making too much, so now I plan on it. The sauce that we don't use on night one, goes into a lasagna casserole for the freezer. Some sauces just need to be cooked in big batches I guess.

SPAGHETTI FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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FOOD RECIPES : CHOCOLATE SILK PIE

CHOCOLATE SILK PIE Food Recipes, Have you ever had a cream pie dessert that, was (not only) outrageously delicious, but the "mouth feel" was absolutely sublime? That perfectly describes this chocolate silk pie; it is the smoothest, creamiest chocolate filling we have ever eaten !!

Sorry about not having a photo of the final decorated pie.

CRUST   (see note below)

1¼ cups flour

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (use food processor)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

Combine the flour, finely chopped nuts and brown sugar; cut in the butter until  you get a crumb mixture. Make sure you don't press it into a ball = let it stay loose.  Spread the crumbs out on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for about 12 minutes, or until they crisp up (stir them a couple of times while baking).  Cool for about 15 minutes, then press them on the bottom and up the sides of a 9" spring form pan.  Set aside.

FILLING

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups heavy whipping cream (divided)

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)

In a small microwave bowl, mix the chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of the cream. Heat on 50% power for about 2 minutes, then stir. If they aren't completely melted and smooth, continue microwaving on 50% power (30 seconds at a time), stirring each time.  My microwave oven took the initial 2 minutes plus about 20 more seconds. COOL MELTED CHOCOLATE FOR 20 MINUTES BEFORE USING!!

In a different bowl, mix the remaining 1½ cups of whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat on high until stiff peaks form, set aside.

In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy, gradually mix in the melted chocolate mixture, beating until very smooth.  Gently fold in the whipped cream with a rubber spatula. Do this slowly so you don't deflate the air in the whipped cream..

Fill the pie crust with the filling, smooth the top and chill at least 4 to 6 hours (better overnight).

CRUST NOTE:  This crust was very tasty, but I don't think it was worth the extra effort.  I believe a graham cracker crust would be even better.  The next time I make this for a holiday, I have plans to use some of those tiny pre-made phyllo dough cups and just put the filling in those. I think they would be so festive and my family has really enjoyed the single serving desserts lately.

CHOCOLATE SILK PIE FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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FOOD RECIPES : CHERRY PIE BITES

CHERRY PIE BITES Food Recipes, My picky-picky husband LOVES cherry pie, but for some reason, he gets overwhelmed with a whole pie, go figure!!  I think it is the whole "get out a plate and fork" thing, haha!!  So, I decided to take a cue from Shelby, over at Life and Loves of Grumpys Honeybunch . She recently posted some little blueberry tarts (which I made at Christmas and they were fantastic), so I decided to do them this time with cherry.

The result was perfect and hubby was so happy with his "grab and go" treats. It didn't take him long to put a mini-scoop of vanilla ice cream on his mini-pie (he used the melon baller...so funny).

CRUST

1/2 cup butter  (room temperature)
3 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup flour

Mix with electric mixer (I use my stand mixer with paddle attachment) until you get a smooth dough. Wrap it in plastic and chill for about an hour.

FILLING

(1)  14½ ounce can tart pie cherries packed in water
3/4 cup granulated sugar (divided)
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon corn starch
pinch of table salt
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (do not leave out)
1 teaspoon butter

Drain the cherries, reserving the liquid.  Put the liquid, 1/2 cup of the sugar, salt and the cornstarch in a heavy saucepan.  Bring to a boil (while stirring) and cook until it gets VERY thick. 

Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, the drained cherries, the almond extract and butter. Stir until the butter is melted, then cool the filling.

Preheat oven to 375 and spray a mini-muffin tin with vegetable cooking spray.  Cut the chilled dough into 24 pieces and roll them into a ball and place in the prepared mini-muffin tin.

Now, you have to use your fingers and spread the dough across the bottom and up the sides of each mini-muffin space.  Better yet, if you have tart tamper or something similar, this step will go MUCH faster.  I use the rounded end of the wooden tool that came with my Kitchen Aid meat grinder, it works absolutely perfectly. Try and get the crust just a little taller than the edges of each muffin space (this helps keep the pie juices from dripping over (see photo).

Fill each of the little dough cups with some cooled cherry pie filling. It usually takes 3-4 cherries and just a "dab" of  the "goo?"  Don't overfill.

Bake at 375 for 25 to 30 minutes on the TOP RACK of your oven.   When the edge of the crust is light golden brown, they are done.  Let them sit in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes before removing them to a rack.

Delicious!!

CHERRY PIE BITES FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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FOOD RECIPES : ALMOND TOFFEE GRAHAMS

ALMOND TOFFEE GRAHAMS Food Recipes,

If you like Almond Roca candy, you will love this recipe !!

The first time I ate Almond Toffee Grahams was at a cookie exchange about 20+ years ago. With tons of cookies to choose from, I noticed people kept going back to the Almond Toffee Graham plate; one taste and I was "hooked".  When I found out how simple and fast they were to make, I was shocked (they taste complicated). I made them for some friends this Christmas and they were a huge hit !!

What do they taste like? Well, the cooked caramel sauce bakes into the graham crackers and produces a thin layer of candy that tastes like almond roca, then, with the melted chocolate and nuts added, what can I say; they are delicious !!

FOR SOME REASON, THIS PHOTO IS MISSING, I AM TRYING TO

LOCATE IT, SORRY ABOUT THE PROBLEM

graham crackers
1 cup unsalted butter (no substitutes)
1 cup brown sugar packed (I like dark, but light is good too)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups sliced almonds (toasted)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Now, a word about the pan:  This recipe uses a jelly roll pan (mine is 10½" x 15½" x 1").  The recipe says to grease the pan, but I don't like to do that (it makes for a greasy bottomed cookie). Instead, I use the new non-stick aluminum foil by Reynolds Wrap and I don't grease it at all (if you haven't tried it yet, it is well worth the price).  If you use regular foil, make sure you grease it.

Arrange graham crackers in a single layer on the jelly roll pan (should take about 15 graham crackers?). Try to leave as little space between the crackers as possible, but don't overlap them, you may have to break some of the crackers to make it all fit.

In a small saucepan, mix the butter and brown sugar. Bring to a gentle boil, and then set your timer for three minutes (stir constantly).

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.  Pour the caramel evenly over the graham crackers and bake in preheated 350 oven for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle evenly with the chocolate chips.  Wait a few minutes for the heat of the candied crackers to melt the chocolate chips, then spread the chocolate with a knife.
Sprinkle the toasted sliced almonds over the melted chocolate.

Let the whole pan cool in the fridge for about 20 minutes (to set the chocolate).  When the grahams are completely cool, and the chocolate is set, lift out of the pan and peel off the non-stick aluminum foil. Break into pieces and enjoy.

 

ALMOND TOFFEE GRAHAMS FOOD RECIPES
By Coleen Marie

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