Beef stew

After 8 hours simmering in the slow cooker, this was one tasty meal!

Ingredients
1 bay leaf.
2lbs. beef, cubed.
1/4 cup flour.
1tsp paprika.
3 lg. carrots cut into 1/2" pieces.
2 stalks celery, 1/2 " pieces.
3 lg potatoes, cut into 1" chinks.
7oz. beef broth. (1/2 can)
1 1/2 tsp salt.
1/2 tsp pepper.
1/3 cup soy sauce.
1 small onion thinly sliced.
8oz. mini bella mushrooms, cut in half, no stems.
1 can tomato sauce. (8oz.)
2 tsp Italian seasoning.
1/4 cup barbecue sauce. (any flavor you want)

In a slow cooker, put bay leaf on bottom.
layer potatoes, then carrots. Top with meat.
Mix flour, pepper, salt, paprika and soy sauce.
Pour over meat.
top with sliced onions.
Combine beef broth, tomato sauce and Italian seasoning.
Pour over onions.
 Add barbecue sauce.
Top with mushrooms.
Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours, or high 4-5 hours.
Serve over biscuits., bread or oven rolls.

Manhattan Omelet

 Many years ago, we use to go out for Sunday breakfast at a place called the Evergreen Grill. They had this delicious omelet. The place is now long gone, but the omelet lives on.   :-)
This is what is called, a Manhattan Omelet.
A good way to use up left over corned beef from St Patties dinner.  :-)
Shredded corned beef, cream cheese, and Swiss cheese. Yummy!

This is a 4 egg omelet. I'm not very good at making omelets, but this is worth the effort.

Cook eggs, flip, turn heat to low and fill with corned beef...

add cream cheese...

fold and flip...

add Swiss cheese, cover to heat insides and melt Swiss cheese...

serve...Yummy

Sweet and Sour Pork Cutlets

Sweet and Sour pork Cutlets
 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 boneless pork loin cutlets
2 tablespoons oil
1 can unsweetened pineapple chunks, drained
1 red pepper, cut into slices
8 sugar snap peas, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup sugar, Craig used Splenda, cuts out 774 calories but not the taste.
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cold water
hot cooked rice

Put flour into a large resealable plastic bag.
Add pork cutlets, one at a time, and shake to coat.
In a large skillet, heat oil and brown pork on both sides.

Transfer to a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.

top with pineapple, red pepper and snap peas; set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, broth, vinegar, ketchup, and water. Bring to boil over medium heat; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened.
Pour over chops.

Bake, uncovered, at 325 for 40-45 minutes. Serve with rice.

Potato Latkes

Yum! Potato Latkes!

 2 cups peeled and shredded potatoes.
1/2 cup finely chopped onion.
3 eggs, beaten.
2 Tbl flour.
1 1/2 tsp salt.
1/2 cup canola oil.

Line a bowl with several paper towels. add grated potatoes into bowl. Using more paper towels, squeeze out as much water as possible. Discard paper towels.
Add onion, flour, salt, and eggs, then stir to combine.

Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add oil. When oil is hot, place large spoonfuls of potato mixture into pan. Flatten each to about 1/2 inch thick. Cook to a golden brown, (approx. 2-5 min.)

Then turn and brown other side.

Remove and pat dry with paper towels.

Serve warm.

Mushroom Lasagna

Here's another delicious dish!
If you love mushrooms, this is for you!
Now this is a good vegetarian dish, but Craig needs his meat, so he added a lb of cooked lean ground beef to the sauce, and it was a complete meal.  :-)

Ingredients

     1 cup boiling water
    1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
    1 tablespoon butter
    2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
    1 1/4 cups chopped shallots (about 4)
    1 (8-ounce) package presliced cremini mushrooms
    1 (4-ounce) package presliced exotic mushroom blend
    1 teaspoon salt, divided
    1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
    1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
    6 garlic cloves, minced and divided
    1/2 cup white wine
    1/3 cup (3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
    2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, divided
    3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk, divided
    1 1/10 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/4 cup)
    Cooking spray
    9 no-boil lasagna noodles
    1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation

    1. Preheat oven to 350°.
    2. Combine 1 cup boiling water and porcini. Cover and let stand 30 minutes; strain mixture through a cheesecloth-lined sieve over a bowl, reserving liquid and mushrooms.
    3. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shallots to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add cremini and exotic mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; sauté 6 minutes or until mushrooms are browned. Add thyme and 3 garlic cloves; sauté 1 minute. Stir in wine; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until liquid almost evaporates, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Remove from heat; stir in cream cheese and 1 tablespoon chives. Add reserved porcini mushrooms.
    4. Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add remaining 3 garlic cloves to pan; sauté 30 seconds. Add the reserved porcini liquid, 2 3/4 cups milk, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper; bring to a boil. Combine remaining 1/4 cup milk and flour in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add flour mixture to milk mixture, and simmer 2 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly with a whisk.
    5. Spoon 1/2 cup sauce into an 11 x 7-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray, and top with 3 noodles. Spread half of mushroom mixture over noodles. Repeat layers, ending with remaining sauce. Sprinkle cheese over top. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until golden. Top with remaining 1 tablespoon chopped chives.
This recipie was a bit more involed than Craig likes, but it was so good, he says it's a keeper.  :-)

tequila grilled chicken

A nice twist to grilled chicken!
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin.
1 teaspoon chili powder.
3/4 teaspoons sea salt.
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder.
6 bone-in chicken thighs.
3/4 cup pineapple juice.
1/3 cup tequila.
1/4 cup honey.
2 teaspoons corn starch.
2 teaspoons water.
2 teaspoons grated lime rind.
3 tablespoons lime juice.
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper.
cooking spray.

1. Preheat grill to medium-high using both burners. After preheating, turn the left burner off. (leave the right burner on)
2. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; rub evenly over chicken.
3. Bring the pineapple juice, tequila, and honey to a boil in a small sauce-pan; cook until reduced to 3/4 cup (about 10 minutes).Combine cornstarch and 2 teaspoons water in a small bowl, stir well. Add cornstarch mixture to juice mixture, stirring constantly with whisk. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in lime rind, 3 teaspoons lime juice, and red pepper.
4. Place chicken on rack coated with cooking spray over right burner (direct heat). Cover and grill for 5 minutes on each side, basting occasionally with juice mixture.Move the chicken to grill rack over left burner (indirect heat). Cover and grill an additional 5 minutes on each side or until done, occasionally basting.
We had this with corn on the cob and pasta salad.

peachy pork cutlets

This is a real easy and tasty pork dish!
2 teaspoons olive oil.
4 (4ounce) center-cut boneless pork loin chops, trimmed
1/2 teaspoon salt.
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper.
2 tablespoons thinly sliced onions.
2 teaspoons thyme.
2 peaches, each cut into 8 wedges.
1/2 cup dry white wine.
1/2 cup fat-free lower-sodium chicken broth.
2 teaspoons honey.
2 teaspoons butter.
1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle chops evenly with salt and pepper. Add chops to pan; cook for 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan and keep warm.
Add onions thyme and peach's to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; bring to boil. Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 2 minutes). Stir in broth and honey; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in butter. Spoon over chops.
We served them with rice and asparagus.