Snappy Smothered Chicken (from Southern Living)

I saw this recipe in a recent Southern Living magazine so I cut it out. One day after work, I was running a little late getting home, but still wanted to cook so I picked up a rotisserie chicken at HEB and made this. Both Kevin and I loved it, it was pretty easy, and it made enough for both of us to have leftovers for lunch the next day. Of course, you can cook your own chicken too.

1 (8 oz.) pkg. wide egg noodles
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crumbled
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 tbsp. butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 package mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp. jarred minced garlic
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
1/3 dry white wine (can substitute with 1/3 additional milk)
1 rotisserie chicken, cut into serving pieces
2 tbsp. chopped parsley

1. Prepare noodles and keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, stir together paprika, thyme, salt, and pepper in small bowl.
3. Melt butter in large skillet over med-high heat; add onion and mushrooms, and saute 8-10 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in garlic and paprika mixture; saute 2 minutes. Add soup, milk, and if desired, wine, and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add chicken pieces. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until chicken in thoroughly heated. Stir in parsley. Serve over hot noodles.

Gorgonzola Steaks

I copied this recipe from one of Kellie's cookbooks at Bunco. It was the most flavorful beef dish I've made in ages. We ate it with roasted sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli. Delish!

Ingredients:
8 4-oz cuts of lean beef (tried it with bottom round, too tough - I'll use sirloin next time)
4 oz gorgonzola crumbles (find in cheese section, near feta, goat cheese, etc.)
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp minced shallots
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp course salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
8 green onions, chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat grill and broiler.
2. Mix garlic, shallots, olive oil, salt & pepper. Spread about 2/3 mixture over tops of steaks. Grill for about 8 minutes or until cooked as desired.
3. Place steaks on broiler pan. Sprinkle each with 1/2 oz gorgonzola and 1/2 tbsp breadcrumbs. Spread remaining oil mixture over green onions and place around steaks. Broil 5-6" from heat for 3-5 minutes or until cheese and breadcrumbs are browned.

* Note - I don't have a grill, so I just cooked everything all at once under the broiler and it worked just fine. I used thin cuts of meat, so it cooked through before cheese and breadcrumbs started to burn.

Number of Servings: 8
Nutrition per serving: 330 cal, 16 g fat, 1 g fiber, 38 g protein

Chicken Fried Steaks w/ Creamed Pan Gray & Biscuits

from Rachel Ray Top 30 30-Minute Meals

1 package bake off biscuits (such as Pillsbury) prepared to packaged directions
2 round steaks, ½ inch thick (1 ½ lbs total)
Wax paper
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons flour
1 ¼ cups beef broth or stock
¼ cup half & half or cream
Preheat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat.

Set steaks on wax-paper-lined work surface and cover with another piece of wax paper. Pound steaks to a ¼ inch thickness. Set steaks aside. Line work surface with more wax paper. Pour ½ cup flour into each of town piles on opposite ends of this work space. Add cornmeal, paprika, salt and pepper to one pile of flour. Beat eggs and water in a pie plate or shallow dish.

Cut steaks in half and coat first in plain flour, then in egg, and then in the seasoned flour and cornmeal mixture.

Add 2 tablespoons oil to hot skillet and brown 2 steaks at a time. as they brown, remove from the pan, and add more oil as needed. When the last 2 portions are browned, add the first two back to the pan. Cover pan, lower heat to medium-low and cook covered, 15 minutes.

Remove steaks to serving platter and pour off all but 2 to3 tablespoons of drippings. Add 2 tablespoons flour to the drippings, and cook, 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and season with salt and pepper. Add half-and-half or cream and whisk into gravy. When gravy bubbles, remove from heat. Top steaks and warm biscuits with gravy and serve with steamed green beans.

Pizza Sloppy Joes

This is a super-tasty alternative to your regular sloppy joes.

1lb ground beef
1(15oz) can pizza sauce
2c Italian style cheese(whichever is your favorite, I use a blend)

-Brown ground beef in skillet, drain excess grease if necessary.

-Add in pizza sauce, mix well, and let simmer for four minutes.

-stir in half the cheese, continue to heat until melty, then serve on buns or open face on French bread that's been lightly toasted.

-Makes 4-6 typical size sandwiches

**The original Kraft recipe had it as 8oz sauce to 1lb browned ground beef, this wasn't saucy enough for our family, so we increased it to a 15oz can and now it's finger lickin' messy!

Did I die? Is this heaven?

Not only did I find this great new recipe, but a whole 'nother recipe blog that peeps from our circles post to. :)

Foil Packet Fish Tacos

adapted from a HunrgyGirl recipe ...

1lb raw tilapia (fresh or thawed from frozen)
1/2 med onion thinly sliced
1 small green bell thinly sliced
4tsp lime juice
2tsp taco seasoning
4 large or 8 small corn tortillas
**Black Beans, jack cheese, salsa, avocado**

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Place fish and veggies in a bowl. Spray lightly with nonstick spray. Sprinkle on taco seasoning and lime juice and toss to coat.

Set out a large piece of tin foil. Set fish and veggies in middle and wrap in up in a "packet". Just make sure it's completely sealed.

Place packet on baking pan, and into oven. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. Drain any excess liquid and allow to cool for a few moments.

Warm tortillas, pile fish and veggies in the middle, and top with beans, cheese, salsa, or whatever tickles your fancy. We had ours with black beans and jack cheese. They were awesome.

Taco Seasoning

adapted from Allrecipes.com ...

1tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4tsp onion powder
1/4tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4tsp dried oregano
1/2tsp paprika
1&1/2tsp ground cumin
1tsp sea salt(or course kosher salt)
1tsp fresh ground black pepper

Just mix them all together! Works just like one packet of the store bought stuff, will season one pound ground beef or go in your favorite recipes. So much tastier, though. Hubby and I will never go back.