Hungarian Goulash

This is a dish that my Mom makes for my Dad on his birthday every year. I was always excited for his birthday dinner because that seemed like the only time we would have this. It's a very flavorful dish, and though it may take a little time to prepare, it's easy!

Ingredients:
2 and 1/2 lbs. Round Steak, cubed
1 c. chopped onion
garlic
1/4 c. flour
1 and 1/2 Tbs. paprika
1 and 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. thyme
2 bay leaves
2 8oz. cans tomato sauce
1 c. sour cream

Directions:
Brown meat in 1/4 cup oil. Reduce heat, add onion and garlic. Cook onions until tender, not brown. Stir in flour and seasonings. Add tomato sauce, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until meat is tender (1 hr.). Stir often towards end. Remove bay leaves, stir in sour cream and heat (but don't boil). Serve over hot noodles.

*The recipe didn't say how much garlic to put in, so I just put in a few minced garlic cloves.
*It will be really thick before adding the sour cream. I thought I might have done something wrong, but nope!
*My Dad says it's important that you let it simmer for at least an hour so that the flavors can come out and so the meat can tenderize.

Ham Casserole

This is another one of my mom's casseroles that I absolutely love. Besides being delicious, it's also really cheap and easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

8 oz. cooked curly noodles
3 oz. cream cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can milk (we use the soup can to measure milk)
4-6 green onions, chopped
cubed ham
cheddar cheese (grated)

Directions:
Cook noodles and drain then return to pot. Add cream cheese, soup, milk, ham and green onions to noodles and stir until combined. Place half noodle mixture in casserole dish, layer with cheese and then put other half noodle mixture on top of that. Top with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until bubbly.

* The amount of ham is a matter of personal preference. I usually just buy some pre-cubed ham at the store and I use about 3/4 of the package.

One Dish Chicken

Brian combined a recipe from his mom and someone on his mission to get his recipe. We actually call it Stuffing Chicken, but it is also commonly called one dish chicken. It is surprisingly very easy and quite yummy.

Ingredients:

1 box chicken flavored stuffing
2-4 chicken breasts (basically as much as you want)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:
Either prepare the stuffing according to the box, or you can do what Brian does. He just puts the mix in a bowl with a couple Tbs. of softened margarine and enough hot water to make the stuffing all moist (always more water than I think, probably about a cup). Then he lets it sit while he gets the other parts ready. I would say follow the box if you want to make sure it turns out right. Put the chicken breasts in a glass baking dish and top with soup and sour cream (I cut my chicken in smaller pieces so that it cooks faster). Put prepared stuffing on top of that and pop in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees or until the chicken is cooked through.

*When cooking for the two of us, I use a 8x8 pyrex and it has a bit extra stuffing. If you are cooking for more than four people, I would use a 9x13 pan. You just put in as much chicken according to how many people you are serving and then use two cans of soup. One box of stuffing is plenty for a 9x13 pan as well.

*You may have noticed that ours has carrots in the picture above. Sometimes I like to add carrots around the chicken, but it takes longer to cook if you do it that way. I have decided I like to cook them separately, as they cook more efficiently that way. I'm sure other veggies would be yummy in it if you want to experiment :).

Menu: December 31 - January 6

This time, our return from a long vacation wasn't as hard because Paul decided to take the day off yesterday. :) We planned the menu together and went shopping first thing. I like this way much better. Here's what we planned:

Wednesday (today): Potato Soup
Thursday (Paul's Birthday): Hawaiian Haystacks (or Chinese Haystacks, as Paul's family calls them) and wantons
Friday: Golden Porkchops
Saturday: Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas (Chef Britta)
Sunday: Meatloaf, carrots, mashed potatoes, and homemade rolls
Monday: Yakisoba
Tuesday: Chicken quesadillas

Happy New Year, everyone! :)

Found: New Blog of YUMMINESS!

I'm not sure if that's how you spell yumminess, but it works for me. I was poking around blogs today and found a food blog belonging to a friend of mine from high school. Here's the site www.thefrostedcupcake.blogspot.com. Don't let the name fool you! She has yummy dinners posted in addition to her frosted treats. I can't wait to try them when I have some time. I'm proud of you Jennie for sticking to your meal planning. You're a shining example to us all! Use the site well!

Menu: December 9 - December 15

I have a bunch of great recipes to share, and I'll try to get caught up in posting them over the next couple days.

Until then, here's this week's menu! It was much easier than last week, but that's because I'm only using one new recipe (and by new I mean it's not already posted here). It's been a while since I've used so many recipes I already have. :) Sorry guys!

Tuesday: Italian Crescent Bake (this is the recipe leftover from last week's menu because Paul spontaneously decided to take me on a date! :) )
Wednesday: Chicken Cutlets
Thursday: unplanned...we have a conflict of events here, one is Paul's company Christmas Party
Friday: Chili and Cornbread
Saturday: Potato Soup
Sunday: Easy Chicken Roll-Ups (FFR)
Monday: Golden Pork Chops

Menu: December 3 - December 8

What a wake up call it is to come home from an almost two-week vacation and have to plan a menu once again! This was hard! I discovered a cookbook of Paul's that I've never looked at before, so a lot of this week's meals come from there. We'll see how it goes!

Wednesday: Chili Chicken Tacos (Chef Britta)
Thursday: Hamburger Stroganoff
Friday: Suzy's Italian Chicken
Saturday: BBQ Beef Bowls
Sunday: Italian Crescent Bake
Monday: Easy Vegetarian Lasagna