Salisbury Steak

I always see Salisbury Steak on the menu at the Cheesecake Factory under the "Specials" list, but I never really knew what it was.  Sooo......the other day, after going to the Cheesecake Factory and getting their incredible White Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake (so sinful), I decided to look up a Salisbury Steak recipe.  I learned it was basically a very beefy/steaky-flavored hamburger patty with gravy.  Sounds pretty darn good to me!  So I decided to create my own recipe.  The result was filled with delicious mushroom, onion, beefy, yummyness! The hamburger patty itself is super flavorful, and using some of the gravy ingredients - like the soup mixes - in the actual patty ingredients make the patty incredibly tender as well.  This was the  first time I had ever tasted Salisbury Steak, and it's the only recipe I will use because it was so tasty.  I highly recommend serving this over creamy, garlic mashed potatoes, and with a side of peas, and/or corn.  The next time I make it, I'm going to attempt making it into a Shepherd's Pie!  My dad came up with that [surprisingly] great idea.  I also want to make the patties into meatballs and try having it as a pasta, with the gravy as the pasta sauce.  Yum yum yum!  Whatever variations you want to make out of this recipe, I promise it will taste fantabulous.  Don't even bother ordering the Cheesecake Factory one...this one is definitely better. :)

Ingredients:
1 10-oz can French Onion Soup
1 10-oz can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 packet Dry Onion Soup
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 large white onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together 1/3 cup French onion soup, 1/4 cup Cream of Mushroom soup, and a dash of the dry onion soup with ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, and black pepper. Shape into 6 patties.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown both sides of patties (do not cook them completely through in the center.  The insides should not be cooked completely, only the outside). Pour off excess fat.  Gently spread the onions and mushrooms on top of the patties and throughout the skillet.
3. In a small bowl, blend flour and both remaining soups until smooth. Mix in remaining dry onion soup, ketchup, water, Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder. Pour over meat, onions, and mushrooms in the skillet. Cover, and cook for 20 minutes, gently stirring occasionally.  Serve hot.

Italian Meatballs

I have finally made the ultimate Italian meatball.  My mom has made meatballs before, but they always fell apart really easily and were rather bland (sorry if you're reading this, mom...).  I have had really good meatballs a few times at some Italian restaurants, so I wanted to try to create a knock-your-socks-off meatball recipe myself.  These meatballs literally melt in your mouth.  I seriously ate like four after just pulling them out of the oven.  The milk makes them so incredibly moist, and the flavors blend wonderfully well together.  They have a nice balance of flavors that will only get better once the flavors develop even further in a homemade tomato sauce (the meatballs are superb alone, though).  I served this over spaghetti with home made tomato sauce (I'm still working on a killer tomato sauce recipe, and I'll post it as soon as I can!), freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and crusty French bread.  It was wayyy better than any spaghetti and meatballs I've ever had in any restaurant.  I used 80, 20 ground beef and 2% milk, but 90,10 and 95, 5 will also work for the beef, and any low fat milk will certainly work.  These make awesome left overs, and freeze well too.  Bon Appetit! 




Yield: about 12 meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 large onion (or 1 small onion), finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup low fat milk
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).  Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place the beef into a mixing bowl, and season with salt, onion, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, oregano, red pepper flakes, and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Add the milk, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. Mix until evenly blended, then form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs, and place onto a baking sheet.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, remove the baking sheet, and gently flip (more like roll) the meatballs to the opposite side.  The side that was first on the bottom should now be very lightly brown.  Bake in the oven for another 8-12 minutes, or until no longer pink in the center (I suggest testing one at 8 minutes).

Cheesy Garlic Chicken

   

Who doesn't love cheesy, buttery, chicken?  This is a perfect comfort food recipe: chicken breasts dipped in garlic butter and cheddar bread crumbs, then drizzled with more butter and sprinkled with crushed croutons.  Mmmmmm.  I served this a few days ago with my cucumber tomato salad recipe, found here.  The combo was so delicious together and my parents wouldn't stop telling me how amazing the meal was.  I can't wait to experiment with this recipe by using different cheeses, breadcrumbs, and crackers/croutons.  I want to try it with Ritz crackers and white cheddar cheese next(:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup dry, italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup crushed croutons
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded thin

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, and cook the garlic until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. In a shallow bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano, and pepper.  Sprinkle some breadcrumbs (not from the mixture) onto the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish in a thin layer.
4. Dip each chicken breast in the garlic butter to coat, then press into the cheddar bread crumb mixture. Arrange the coated chicken breasts in the 9x13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with any remaining butter and top with any remaining bread crumb mixture.  Sprinkle crushed croutons on top, lightly pressing them onto the chicken to keep from falling off.
5. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Nutty Coconut Fish

 

This is now my mom's favorite fish recipe.  And probably my 2nd favorite fish recipe (behind my mommy's salmon, of course, found here).  I absolutely love the unique flavor of this dish.  The nuts, coconut, and mustard give the fish a wonderful, tasty flavor that I've never had before.  The mayonnaise and mustard makes this also the most juicy and moist fish I've ever had.  It's so tender on the inside, and then slightly crunchy, sweet, and nutty on the inside.   It's also healthier than your usual crusted fish because it's baked, as opposed to fried.  Another thing I love about this dish is it's so versatile; you can used different types of mustard, nuts, bread crumbs, and fish fillets, and it always turns out incredibly delicious.  

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup prepared mustard
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound whitefish fillets (I used codd)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish.
2. In a small bowl, blend mayonnaise and mustard. In a medium bowl, mix dry bread crumbs, shredded coconut, chopped nuts, sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper.
3. Dip fish in the mayonnaise mixture, then in the bread crumb mixture. Arrange coated fish fillets in the prepared baking dish.
4. Bake 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven, until fish is easily flaked with a fork.

Baked Chicken Nuggets

 

I will never again order chicken nuggets at a restaurant (unless it's Chick-Fil-A of course...I just can't get enough of those), because I can now make them just as good at home!    I wanted to create a much more healthy alternative than deep fried nuggets and these baked ones actually taste better!   They are so much better than any fast food place or frozen nuggets. The milk really tenderizes the chicken and makes them super juicy.  And broiling them for the last five minutes makes the outside perfectly crisp.  Who says chicken nuggets are just for kids?  My mom and I finished all of these off in one sitting; [we just couldn't stop popping them into our mouths!] We had them as a main dish for dinner, but they would be great as an appetizer too. Serve these with ketchup and/or honey mustard...Mmm Mmm Mmm...

Ingredients:

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2-inch sized pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. Mix well. Put milk in a bowl or dish for dipping.
3. Dip chicken pieces into the milk first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place the well-coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.  Set the oven to broil, and bake for 5 more minutes.  Immediately remove cooked nuggets from cookie sheet and place on a cooling rack.  Place the cooling rack over the used cookie sheet to prevent crumbs from falling and to keep nuggets warm.

Chicken Parmesan

This is the best chicken Parmesan ever.  I won't order it in restaurants because I never like any other nearly as much as this one.  My mom makes this every week, and it's always perfect.  I think the secret is that the chicken breasts are thick and juicy, instead of pounding them thin.  I hate when chicken Parmesan has breasts that are really breaded...and then the chicken is really thin.  It makes the breaded part way too overpowering and you can't taste the chicken as much.  In this recipe, every bite is a thick, juicy, full of flavor, cheesy chicken chunk slathered in tomato sauce. Mmm-Mmm!


Ingredients:
6 skinless chicken breasts - about 1 inch thick
Tomato (Spaghetti) Sauce
Shredded Mozzerella cheese
Italian seasoning 
3 cloves of crushed garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
Italian bread crumbs
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Your choice of pasta (I usually use penne, angel hair, spaghetti, or bow tie)


Instructions:
1. Cover chicken breasts with bread crumbs in a thin coat until evenly coated.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil and 3 cloves garlic in a large skillet.  Fry chicken breasts 2 minutes on each side.  Place on paper towels to remove excess liquid.
3.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
4.  Place chicken breasts in a greased baking dish.  Pour spaghetti sauce on top of breasts, and coat evenly.  Sprinkle a generous amount of mozzarella cheese on top so it covers nearly all of breasts.  
5.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and add a generous amount of Parmesan cheese.  Cook for 5 more minutes (until cheese is completely melted).
6.  Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes.
7. Cook pasta according to manufacture's instructions and serve chicken breasts over pasta.