Egg Salad Sandwiches

Would you like to know the secret to the perfect egg salad sandwich?   I think I'm sensing a theme with my posts lately, besides my 1970's plates and poor photography that is. 

Anyway, you know how egg salad from the deli is just super fluffy and yummy?  Well, for one, they use extra yolks but the real secret to great egg salad, in my not so humble opinion, is butter.



You'll need:

8 hard boiled eggs, chilled
1 tablespoon mayonaise
1 tablespoon Dijon style mustard
1/4 red onion, minced
1/2 teaspoon of fresh dill
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon franks red hot sauce (you didn't think I only had ONE secret ingredient, did you?)

8 slices of bread.

Peel your eggs and separate the yolk from 2 of them, discarding the whites (or eat them).  Mash the two yolks, along with the 6 whole eggs with a fork.  No need to get it fine, chunky is better.

Mix the rest of your ingredients in.  The butter will solidify with the rest of the cold ingredients and give your egg salad the richest most decadent texture.


YUM.  And, might I add, that this is an incredibly inexpensive easy meal to throw together.  Especially if you are like me and always have hard boiled eggs in the fridge.

Buffalo chicken wraps.

I like to make this for lunch on the weekends. Usually I have chicken left over from something, but if not you could use chicken nuggets (if you have kids in the house you probably have some) or a rotisserie chicken or whatever.

So you'll need:

Chicken cut into chunks or strips.

1/3 cup melted butter

1/3 cup hot sauce (I use Franks)

lettuce

tortilla

Mix the melted butter and the hot sauce together well.

Put chicken and lettuce in the tortilla. Spoon sauce over. Roll and eat. Alternatively, if you are looking to cut carbs you can wrap the chicken and sauce in the lettuce leaf. Add cheese if you desire :)

Chicken and Couscous Salad

I made this up on the fly, trying to use up some couscous and chicken that I had on hand and it was wonderful! Let me see if I can list the ingredients correctly :)




First, you need 2 chicken breasts that have been marinated in the lemon and garlic marinade from this post. Then, roast the chicken breasts at 425 for about 1/2 hour. Cut into bite sized pieces.

You also need:

1 medium zuchinni
1 small red onion
1 portabella mushroom
1 cup tri color couscous
1 cup water
1 tomato

While your chicken is roasting: Sprinkle salt and pepper on your mushroom (you don't have to use portabella, but it's what I had) and saute it in a pan of olive oil for about 5-6 minutes per side. Toss in sliced zucchini and diced onion and saute at the same time. When the mushroom is cooked cut it in to bite sized pieces. Add 1 cup of water to the veggie mixture and bring to a boil. Stir in couscous, remove from heat and cover. Let stand 5 minutes and prepare dressing.


Dressing:

• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Combine chicken and veggie mixture in a bowl and toss with dressing. Serve with tomato slices.

Bisquick Mix

Save money and make your own bisquick mix! I love this because I never use a full box of bisquick mix before I need to toss it.

• 4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup shortening

Combine dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times to mix. Add shortening and pulse until it is combined with the dry ingredients.

Use as you would regular Bisquick mix! Check out Betty Crocker's website for tons of recipes.

Shepard's Pie

This is a really easy meal that you can prep the day (or two) before and pop it in the oven when you get home. I usually defrost about a pound and a half of ground beef and make something like tacos with part of it and Shepard's Pie with the other part. I've even gotten away with 1/2 pound of ground beef in this recipe. Or, you could make a double batch of the meat mixture and freeze for later but do not freeze mashed potato, it doesn't fare well.

Adapted from Simply Recipes

• 1 lb of ground beef, or a little less if you do what I do above.
  
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas, green beans... whatever you have.
  
• 2 tablespoons butter
  
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 - 3 cups or so of mashed potatoes, I cheat and use instant (ssshhh). You could make it from scratch and you'll need about 4 potatoes depending on their size.
  
• Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Cook the ground beef and drain the fat off, set aside. In the same pan melt your butter and saute your onions until tender. Add back the ground beef and stir in the vegetables. If you are using carrots add them when you start the onions, any other veggies are added after the onions are cooked. Add salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, longer if carrots need to cook more.

Transfer meat mixture to a baking dish and top with mashed potatoes. Cook in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes and then turn the broiler on for 3-5 minutes to brown the potatoes.

Serves 4 - 6 generous portions.

Simply delicious pancakes

Everyone needs a simple pancake recipe. This one is very good and produces very fluffy pancakes that just soak up the syrup. Throw some bacon in the oven (375 for about 25 minutes) and you've got a wonderful breakfast with very little effort... or clean up! This recipe is good for 2 adults and 2 small kids, double for more people.

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 1/4 cups milk

Beat egg. Stir in butter and milk. Combine flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Stir into egg mixture. Lightly grease a griddle. Heat griddle to medium heat and drop about 1/4 cup batter onto griddle. When bubbles begin to appear around outside edge and break, turn with a spatula and cook the other side. Serve with warm syrup and butter.

Fried Rice

This is excellent Fried Rice, courtesy of Sara Moulton from Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals. I subbed chicken for the shrimp since my husband doesn't like seafood and I also used fresh ginger and not crystallized ginger since I didn't have any, it turned out fantastic!

It's also a great recipe to use up left over rice, chicken and veggies.

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Kosher salt and freshly milled black pepper
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
2 cups frozen shelled and deveined shrimp, halved
One 10-ounce package frozen peas
3 cups leftover cooked long-grain white rice or simple boiled rice
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice wine or dry sherry
2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Reduce the heat to medium. Combine the eggs with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper and pour into the skillet. Cook, stirring, until scrambled, about 1 minute. Break into small pieces and transfer to a bowl

2. Add another tablespoon of oil, the onion, and garlic to the pan; cook, stirring 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and peas; cook until the shrimp are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the eggs.

3. Heat the remaining tablespoon oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly crispy.

4. Stir together the soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, and sesame oil; add to the skillet along with the shrimp, peas, and egg. Cook just until the egg is heated through and serve.

Black Bean Nacho Pizza

This was DELISH! And, ironically enough I found it on delish.com.

I didn't follow the grilling part though, I put it on my own pizza crust and just use the general ingredients:

• 1 cup(s) canned black beans, rinsed
• 1/2 cup(s) chopped jarred roasted red peppers
• 1 garlic, quartered
• 1 tablespoon(s) chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
• Yellow cornmeal, for dusting
• 1 cup(s) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 2 medium plum tomatoes, diced
• 4 medium scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup(s) chopped pitted ripe black olives
• 2 tablespoon(s) chopped pickled jalapeños

First, prepare your pizza dough for proofing, this is a thinner crust recipe.

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/2-1 tablespoon olive oil
• cornmeal

Put a little sugar in your warm water and add the yeast. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead until no longer sticky, adding flour if needed. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a warm cloth and set aside to proof for 1/2 hour. I usually stick mine in the oven with the light on.

Then, put your black beans and roasted red pepper in the food processor and pulse for a few minutes. Mix your bean mixture with the garlic, chili powder and salt.

When the dough is ready roll it onto a pizza pan sprayed with olive oil or Pam. It will either make 2 small pizza's or one large one. You can pre-cook the pizza crust now if you want, but you don't have to. Bake it at 425 for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle with cornmeal. Spread bean mixture down. Layer the rest of the ingredients and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until the crust starts to brown. Serve with sour cream if desired.

Oh, I also added some fresh cilantro :)

Black Bean Quesadilla's

Yet another black bean recipe... :)

7 ounces of mashed black beans (1/2 a can)
2/3 cup salsa
Flour tortillas cut in half
Chicken (optional)
Sour Cream

Place tortillas on un-greased cookie sheet.

Mix beans and salsa. Spread bean mixture on tortilla halves. Top with chicken if desired and Monteray jack cheese. Top with remaining tortilla halves.

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Dressing

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Salad

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup grilled fresh corn kernel or 1 can corn, drained
• 3/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup tomato, diced
• 1/2 cup sweet red pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh basil and/or parsley or basil, finely chopped
  

Combine salad ingredients and then whisk the dressing mixture and pour over the salad. Combine until mixed.

Slow Cooker Beef, Barley and Vegetable Stew

Perfect meal for a cold day and makes plenty so you can freeze a few batches too!

• 1 (3 pound) beef chuck roast - or any other cut of beef you'd like to use
  
• 1 cup barley
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cans corn
  
• 4 cups water
• 4 cubes beef bouillon cubes
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
  
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

If you want you can add a few diced potatoes to this too, or some cabbage. You can also use up whatever veggies you have on hand if you need to. Just think about what you'd like in your stew!

Put everything but the barley in your slow cooker and put on low for about 8 hours. Then, stir everything up and cut the meat into bite sized pieces if you need to. Add the barley and cook an additional hour on low. Serve with some warm crusty bread and enjoy!

Makes about 8 hearty servings.

Split Pea Soup

What's the perfect way to get use out of that leftover ham bone from Easter? Make split pea soup! I make mine in the crockpot, so we have a nice hot meal when we come home from work.

1 (16 0z) package dried split peas - rinsed
1 ham bone
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stalk celery including leafy parts, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
6-8 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth or water)

Layer everything in the crock pot, then pour the liquid over the top. Don't stir. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Remove bay leaves, ham bone and any large chunks of ham. If you want a smooth soup, remove and puree 1/3 of the soup and add it back in. Cut up large chunks of ham and add them back into the soup. Serve and enjoy!

Egg Salad Sandwiches

Since a lot of us are going to have some hard cooked eggs to use... I wrote down what I typically use in egg salad. I season to taste though and have never actually written down what I do. The butter is optional and not a normal thing to put in egg salad, but it helps hold it all together and makes for a very rich egg salad. Sometimes, if I'm feeling like being healthy, I leave that out. If I'm felling REALLY healthy I use half non fat plain yogurt and half mayonnaise. You could also replace the eggs all together with tofu. It works really well but only if you let it sit at least an hour in the fridge so the tofu can soak up all of the flavors. If you don't use Helmans mayo you really must give it a try, it is the best.

• 6 eggs, hard cooked, cooled and diced
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup tablespoons Helmans mayonnaise, more if desired for consistency

Add the mayo last, so you can control the consistency and get what you want.

Optional ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
  
• 1 stalk celery chopped very fine, including the leafy parts
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
  
• 2 tablespoons pickle relish
  
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
• lettuce
  

• 16 slices bread

Obviously you can cut this down too :) My husband usually eats 2 sandwiches that are stuffed enough for 4 sandwiches, so 1/2 of the mixture is gone in one meal.

Chicken Noodle Soup

The PERFECT lunch on a cold day. You'll have to bear with me though because I didn't follow a recipe, I just put it together on the fly :)

Last night I put 1 can of chicken broth and 4 - 5 cans of water (enough to cover everything) into the crock pot. I then put 3 large whole chicken pieces (bone in) into that. You could use boneless chicken breasts too, if you prefer.

Then add:

1 large chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
1/2 to 1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon parsley
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning (I actually had some rotisserie seasoning I used)
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
2 bay leaves
1/2 lb wide egg noodles (more or less depending on how many you like in your soup)
salt and pepper

Put everything in the crock pot except the salt, pepper and egg noodles and turn it on low. Cook for about 8-10 hours. I did it overnight so we'd have it for lunch today.

Take the chicken pieces out making sure to get all the bones out too. Remove the bay leaves and toss. Cut the chicken up with a fork and toss the bones. While you are doing this the broth should have settled and you can skim any fat off the top with a spoon. Add the chicken back in. If it doesn't seem like you have enough liquid, you can add a bit more water. Put the egg noodles in and cook another 45 minutes or so on low, until the egg noodles are done. Serve and season to taste with salt and pepper.


This is an easy recipe to alter. Just leave things out you don't like. You can also add things like parsnips, potato, leak, dill...

Quick and Easy Potato Soup!

No peeling or dicing potatoes for this recipe, it calls for hashbrowns! I started with a recipe from the fix it and forget it 5 ingredient favorites cookbook and made a lot of modifications :) My husband said "This is the best soup you have ever made, ever. Is there more?"


3 cups chicken broth
2lbs bag frozen hash brown potatoes
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 teaspoons pepper
1 chopped medium onion
1/2 pound chopped cooked bacon
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons parsley
1 teaspoon dill
1 tablespoon chicken bullion
1 cup sour cream (you can use yogurt as well)
3 cups milk (I advise using at least 2%)
1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack or cheddar cheese (depending on how cheesy you like it.

If making on the stovetop:

Put everything but the bacon and cheese in the pot and bring until it just starts to boil. Reduce heat and blend with a hand blender until smooth - or you can leave some chunks of potato. Add the bacon and simmer for about 20 - 30 minutes. Add in cheese and blend until smooth.

If making in the crockpot -

Place everything but the bacon and cheese in the crock pot. Saute the onions and set aside. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or until potatoes are soft. Blend the potato mixture with a hand blender until smooth - or you can leave some chunks of potato. Add in the bacon and cheese and blend thoroughly. Cover and cook on high until cheese melts and soup is hot.


I served this with some warm crusty bread and salad with italian dressing

Italian Dressing

Since I'm trying to eat from my pantry right now I needed to actually make some salad dressing. What a concept huh? Anyway, I came across this recipe online and made a few modifications. Much cheaper than buying salad dressing and very tasty too!

YUM!


Ingredients
3/4 cup olive oil(or vegetable oil)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning

Directions
1Combine all ingredients in a bottle.
2Shake to blend.
3Allow flavors to blend about an hour or so, Will even be more flavorful the following day. Be sure to refrigerate any leftovers.
4Makes about 1 cup.

Biscuits and Gravy

My last few posts seem to be an homage to my childhood, lol. This was one of my Dad's favorite meals of all time and he made it for us quite frequently growing up. His parent's used to make it as well and they grew up eating it during the great depression. So here we are full circle. And, in a recession no less, so it's quite fitting. My husband was just laid off for the second time this year. Wonderful huh? You'll probably see that I'm going to stray from my menu plan a bit, or at least alter some recipes, because I didn't make it to the grocery store before he was laid off. So... we're eating from our pantry for a bit.

First up... Biscuits and Gravy! I had some cooked ground hamburger left over from spaghetti and nothing to make Tacos so this is what I came up with. Oh, and I threw in some leftover breakfast sausage I had too. Cheap and easy.

1 or 2 packages of white gravy mix depending on how much you like (or you can make your own, it's pretty easy).
1/2 pound of ground meat (sausage, beef or a mix of both )
Biscuits (refrigerated, make your own or use Bisquick mix)
Pepper

It's pretty easy... Pop the biscuits in the oven, then prepare the gravy and add your cooked ground beef. I add plenty of pepper to my gravy mix too. Then, open your biscuits up on your plate and serve lots of warm gravy on top! Voila, a very filling yummy meal!

Eyeball Toast

Yes, I know it sounds disgusting. But, it's really just a fried egg sandwich. My Dad used to make them for us when we were little. SOOOO good and fun for kids :) This would be a good Halloween breakfast too.

What you need:

1 slice of bread
1 egg
butter
mustard (optional)

Butter both sides of your bread.

Then, find a small juice cup (a kids cup works well) and cut a small circle out of the center of your slices of bread.

Heat your pan and spray with non stick spray and put one slice of bread down. Then crack your egg into the hole. Cook on one side until your bread toasts and then flip it over and cook on the other side. Serve with mustard if you want.

Eat with a fork and enjoy!

Katie's version of Black Eyed Peas

Tonight I decided to make stuffed pork chops and while rummaging through my freezer for a side I found a bag of black eyed peas. I think I bought them once with the notion that they would be a good healthy finger food for my son Dillon and never made them for him. So, there they were, still sitting in my freezer. I thought hey, they need to be eaten...

I cooked them and then decided they needed a kick, so I added an onion and a green pepper. Then a can of rotel tomatoes. I also threw a pinch of garlic, salt, basil and a bay leaf in. No method to my madness. Then I realized I should just throw some ham in, and hey, I had some leftover ham! But, by then it was no longer a side, it was a meal! So, needless to say, dinner is done for tomorrow and I still don't have a side for tonight and my chops have 1/2 hour to go.

It is good though!

If I had to guess the recipe, here is what it would be:

1lb bag of frozen black eyed peas
Cook beans according to bag directions along with diced onion and diced pepper. Drain about 1/2 the liquid off.

Add:
1 can of rotel tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1/2 pound or so of cubed or diced or chunked cooked ham - whatever you have.


Season to taste with:

Salt, Pepper, Basil and Oregano

Simmer for 1/2 hour or so.

"Buttered" Noodles

Now, this isn't something I'd personally want to eat on a regular basis but when you have a picky toddler it may very well be something you find yourself making on a daily basis. My 20 month old son, like many toddlers, is on a carb and dairy diet. He will eat waffles, pancakes, bread, noodles, milk, yogurt and cheese. And blueberries. Oh, and sometimes a banana. He used to be a banana freak but lately hasn't been eating them too often. He used to be GREAT about eating his veggies. Green beans, carrots, peas, broccoli and even spinach but one day he just stopped. I HAVE to get some veggies into him. "Buttered" noodles are one way.

Pretty much, I cook 8 ounces or so of some kind of toddler friendly pasta (bow tie, penne) and then mix in a tablespoon or two of margarine or butter along with 6 - 8 ounces of squash puree. Make sure it is VERY smooth so your kids can't tell it's there. You can buy jarred squash puree if you want to save time. Mix in some parmesan cheese as well.

I always serve veggies like broccoli or peas and carrots along side or mixed into the noddles (or mac and cheese below), but just in case he picks them out I know he got *some* veggies hidden in the noodles.

You can also mix squash puree into Kraft Mac and Cheese. Just skip the milk because this will add enough liquid.

Any bit helps!