Easy Beef Stroganoff

8 oz extra wide egg noodles

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 cup diced onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt and pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 packet brown gravy mix and the water it calls for

1/2 cup sour cream

1 can cream of mushroom soup 

2 tsp dried parsley

Directions: 

Start by boiling the noodles as directed on the package. When finished drain water and return noodles to pot and cover so the noodles don't dry out.

While noodles are cooking, start browning the meat in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once cooked, drain grease and add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper and garlic powder. Give it a good stir. 

Add the gravy mix and water, sour cream and mushroom soup. Stir mixture. Cook on low heat for ten to fifteen minutes. Stir in the dried parsley. 

To serve either mix sauce and noodles together or top noodles with the sauce. Which ever you prefer. 

Chicken Fried Rice

I randomly pinned this recipe on pinterest, and finally decided to give it a try. It was delicious! On top of that it was really easy to make. I have made other fried rice recipes before and they were always a little tasteless. This one had a good flavor and the chicken in it made it enough for a main dish. I did it with half chicken and half ham that is still leftover from Easter. I marinated the chicken in teriyaki sauce and then just cooked it in a pan and shredded it.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound chicken, about 2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 3 cups cooked rice 
• 2 Tbs sesame oil
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
• 2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce (more or less to taste)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp chopped green onions (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook and shred the chicken. I highly recommend cooking it in a slow cooker in this teryiaki sauce. (see notes below)
2. Preheat a large skillet or wok to medium heat. Pour sesame oil in the bottom. Add white onion and peas and carrots and fry until tender.
3. Slide the onion, peas and carrots to the side, and pour the beaten eggs onto the other side. Using a spatula, scramble the eggs. Once cooked, mix the eggs with the vegetable mix.
4. Add the rice and chicken to the veggie and egg mixture. Pour the soy sauce on top. Stir and fry the rice and veggie mixture until heated through and combined. Add chopped green onions if desired.

Tomatillo Ranch Chicken

I found this on Pinterest and decided to try it. I loved it and would definitely make it again. It would also be good to make in the slow cooker and use for chicken tacos. Also for Sarah, this is 13 ww points plus. (not including the rice)

Tomatillo Ranch Chicken

1 Cup Mayo (I used lite)
1/2 Cup buttermilk
1 pkg buttermilk ranch dressing mix
2 1/2 tsp garlic
1cup cilantro
3 tomatillos, husked and chopped
1/2 tsp lime juice
3-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1.Blend together the first seven ingredients.  Pour one cup of the dressing into a ziplock bag. Add chicken breasts.  Seal and chill at least 30 mins up or overnight.

2.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Discard marinade and place chicken breasts side by side in a shallow baking dish. Bake 20-25 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Top with additional dressing and serve with rice if desired. Enjoy!

Soft Pretzels

In an effort to keep my grocery budget in check, I have been buying fewer snacks, and making more of my own stuff and freezing things. I don't actually love to bake a ton (except in the Fall, something comes over me come October and I love to bake), but it's something I am willing to do if it will help save a little money. I have baked and frozen cookies, muffins, pumpkin bread, and these soft pretzels.  Lest you think I only feed my kids carbs, I also stock up on fruit and stuff like string cheese.  But, buying crackers and granola bars, etc. really runs up my grocery bill.  A friend of mine gave me this recipe.  It's really easy and the kids love it.  They are definitely best fresh from the oven, but I make a huge batch and freeze them, and then pull out and thaw a few at a time for afternoon snacks.  I plan on sticking one in Paige's lunch here and there too.  I don't get too particular about getting them perfect looking, I actually just tie them in a knot and throw them on the pan.  You can do any shape you want.

Ingredients:   1 1/2 cups warm water
                      1 Tbsp. yeast

Combine and let rest 5 minutes.  Then add the following ingredients to the yeast.  Mix with a dough hook or wooden spoon until dough forms a ball.

                      5 cups flour
                     1/4 cup sugar
                     1/4 cup powdered milk
                     1 1/2 tsp. salt
                   
Remove dough and cut into 12-15 small pieces.  Roll each piece into a snake about 18" long and twist into a pretzel shape, or make your own shapes, but not too thick or they won't cook in the center.

Dip uncooked pretzels into a bath of:

                     4 cups water
                     1/4 cup baking soda    **  This is a lot, you could also just half this part of the recipe.

Place on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with coarse salt.  Bake at 425 degrees until brown (approx. 10 minutes).  Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.

Chicken Spaghetti

This recipe is from The Pioneer Woman.  I haven't tried a lot of her recipes yet, but the ones I have tried, I have loved!  This one seemed a little strange when I decided to try it, but my whole family loves it, and that's saying something with my girls who have decided to be picky.  It makes a ton, so I freeze half (don't bake it first) for another day.  When you want to eat it,  defrost and bake according to directions.  This is also good when you need to take dinner to someone. 

Ingredients:   2 cups cooked chicken, shredded 

                       3 cups dried spaghetti, broken into two inch pieces

                       2 cans cream of mushroom soup

                       3 cups grated cheddar cheese, reserve 1 cup for the top

                       1/4 cup finely diced green pepper

                       1/4 cup finely diced onion

                       1 jar (4 ounces) diced pimentos, drained  (I actually have never put these in.)

                       2 cups reserved chicken broth from cooking chicken

                       1 tsp. seasoned salt

                       1/8 tsp (or more if you like) cayenne pepper (don't leave this out, it's part of what makes it so good)

                       salt and pepper, to taste

                       

Directions:  Cook chicken and shred to make 2 cups.  Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente.  Do not overcook.  When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients, except for the additional 1 cup of cheese.

                     Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining cheese.  Cover and freeze, or bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly.  (If the cheese on top starts to get too brown, cover with foil.)

Schnitzel

I felt like we needed to celebrate Germany's win in the world cup, so we had this incredibly authentic German meal. I have made schnitzel before, but this one turned out the very best. Note the sauerkraut up top. I like it with mashed potatoes and schnitzel, but I guess you could leave it off the plate. Just so you know I labeled this picture so I could eventually put it on my blog, and so none of you will steal my picture and try to pass it off as your own. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs pork chops

1/2 C Flour

3 T Grated Parmesan

2 Eggs

1/2 t Salt

1/4 t Pepper

2 T Milk

1 C Dry Bread Crumbs

Butter

Oil

Lemon Slices

1. Place thawed pork chops between plastic wrap or inside a ziploc bag. Pound with a meat mallet until very thin, about 1/4 inch. 

2. Combine parmesan, eggs, salt, pepper and milk in a medium sized bowl. Pour flour in a separate bowl, and bread crumbs in a third bowl. 

3. Coat pork chops in flour, then dip in the egg mixture. Then coat it in bread crumbs. Gently press the bread crumbs onto it to help them stick. Let them rest in a single layer for at least 30 minutes.

4. Melt 3 Tablespoons of butter in a skillet and add some oil. There needs to be quite a bit of butter and oil in the pan to keep the schnitzel from sticking to the pan. Once the butter and oil are heated cook the schnitzel until browned on each side, about 3 minutes on each side.

5. Squeeze lemon on top for added deliciousness.

*Okay here is the trickiest part of making schnitzel, cooking it all the way through without burning the outside. First you really need to make sure the meat is pounded thin so it can cook all the way through fast. Second tip, heat the oil over medium to medium high heat so it is hot enough to cook quickly, but don't let it get too hot, or your breading will burn and the inside will still be pink. 

Okay, that's it. They were delicious, so you should make them.

Knockoff Swig Sugar Cookie

Everyone knows how much I love my Swig sugar cookies. I found this recipe and of course it's not as good as an actual Swig cookie, its pretty darn close and its pretty darn good! 

Cookie Ingredients:

1 C Butter (room temperature)

3/4 C Vegetable Oil

1 1/4 C Sugar

3/4 C Powdered Sugar

2 T Water

2 Eggs

1/2 t Baking Soda

1/2 t Cream of Tarter

1 t Salt

5 1/2 C Flour

Cream together butter, vegetable oil. sugars, water and eggs. Combine dry ingredients and slowly add to butter mixture. Mix until everything is combines. Your dough should be a little crumbly and not sticky at all. Roll a golf ball sized ball of dough and place it on your cookie sheet. Now it's time to give these babies their signature rough edge. Put 1/4 cup of sugar and a pinch of salt in a dish. (this is in addition to the salt and sugar listed above.) Stick the bottom of a class in it. This will be your cookie press. Firmly press it into the center of your dough ball. You want your dough to spill our over the sides of the glass. If there is a lip it's even better. Bake at 350 for 8 min. They should just barely be browning on the bottom. Move cookies to a cooling rack. Once they are cool put them in the fridge. 

Sour Cream Frosting:

1/2 cup room temperature butter

3/4 C Sour Cream

Approx 1 2lb Package of Powdered Sugar (I never use the whole thing but love having extra on hand just incase I add to much milk!)

1 t salt

1/4 C Milk

Red Food Coloring

Start by creaming together butter and sour cream and salt.  Slowly add powdered sugar.  When it gets so thick its not frosting like add a splash of milk (I never had to add milk but if your frosting gets to thick you can add milk.)  Alternate this process until your frosting is the desired consistency.  Add 1 drop of red food coloring and whip on high for 1 minute.

Keep cookies in a sealed container until they are ready to serve.  The magic of a Swig Sugar Cookie is that the cookies are cold and the frosting is room temperature.  Frost right before serving