Beef-Stuffed French Bread

This is an easy recipe that was perfect for my night of having to feed a child in the car between her volleyball practice, dance rehearsal, 2 volleyball games, and Play rehearsal. Instead of filling a long loaf of french bread, I actually bought large dinner rolls, hollowed them out, filled them, and baked them just like I would have with french bread, but it made it easier to have them individual servings and to travel in the car since the roll kept the filling within it.  We avoided mess, which was and is important.

adapted from: Taste of Home

8 ServingsPrep/Total Time: 25 min.

Ingredients

• 1 unsliced loaf French bread (1 pound) (or 8 large dinner rolls)
• 1.5 pounds ground beef
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 4 slices cheese, halved (I used Meunster)

Directions

• Cut off top of bread. Carefully hollow out bottom of loaf, leaving a
• 1/2-in. shell. Cut removed bread into small cubes; set aside. In a
• skillet, brown beef; drain. Add onion, green pepper, celery,
• Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Cook and stir 3-4 minutes. Add 
• cheddar cheese soup.  Stir in the reserved bread cubes. Spread into bread shell. 
• Top with cheese. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 
• 6-8 minutes or until cheese is melted. Replace bread top.  Yield: 8 servings.

Lemon Chicken Piccata

Lemon Chicken Piccata
Adapted from allrecipes

This was a hit for the whole family!

INGREDIENTS:

3 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1/2-inch medallions salt and pepper to taste 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons olive oil, or as needed 1 clove garlic, minced 2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (juice from other half of lemon) 2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed -(I would call this optional because my kids will freak out if they see them) 3 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons minced Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place a serving platter into the oven to warm.
2.	Season the chicken breast pieces with salt and pepper and dredge them in flour. Shake off excess flour. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet; pan-fry the chicken pieces until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Work in batches and do not crowd skillet, adding oil as needed . Place the chicken pieces onto the warmed platter in the oven. When finished with all the chicken, drain most of the oil from the skillet, leaving a thin coating on the surface of the pan.
3.	Cook and stir the minced garlic in the skillet until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Pour in the chicken broth. Scrape and dissolve any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the lemon slices and bring the mixture to a boil. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces to about 2/3 cup, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the lemon juice and capers; simmer until the sauce is reduced and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes more. Drop the butter into the skillet and swirl it into the sauce by tilting the skillet until the butter is melted and incorporated. Add the parsley; remove from heat and set aside.
4.	Arrange the chicken medallions on serving plates and spoon sauce over each portion to serve.

Slow-Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos

Slow-Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos

recipe adapted from: gimme some oven

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds beef (I used top sirloin steaks)
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 cup beef stock
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Flour/corn tortillas
Favorite taco toppings:
• guacamole or avocado
• fresh salsa
• Mexican rice
• grated cheese
• fresh lettuce
• tomato
• onion
• cilantro
• squeeze of lime juice

Method

Whisk together the chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika in a small bowl. Rub the spice mix into the beef, covering each side evenly.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully place the beef in the skillet and sear on each side until browned. Add the diced onion and minced garlic on top of the seared beef in the slow cooker.

Remove the beef from the skillet and place in the bottom of a slow cooker. Leave the pan on the heat, and add in the beef stock to deglaze, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato paste and whisk into the pan sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for a 3-5 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. Pour the pan sauce down over the onions, garlic, and beef in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Shred the beef and onions with two forks. Serve the beef in the flour tortillas, topped with your favorite taco toppings.

Chicken Pesto Burgers with Pesto Mayo

Chicken Pesto Burgers with Pesto Mayo

My family absolutely loves these.  When entertaining, we'll often make sliders with traditional American burgers, buffalo burgers (made with buffalo sauce and blue cheese in the ground beef), and these delicious light pesto burgers.  

What you'll need

• FOR THE BURGERS:
• 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken (I've used ground turkey and my family can't tell the difference)
• 3/4 cup grated sharp Cheddar or 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (we like a combo of both)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons pesto (store-bought or your favorite recipe)
• Oil for brushing the burgers
• 6 burger rolls
• Lettuce
• Sliced tomatoes
• FOR THE PESTO MAYONNAISE:
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons pesto

How to make it

1. Line a medium-size baking sheet with plastic wrap and set it aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken, cheese, salt, and pepper, mayo, and pesto, gently tossing the mixture with your hands or a large fork, until evenly blended.
2. 
   
3. Shape the meat into six 1/2-inch-thick patties, placing each one on the lined baking sheet as you go. Cover the burgers with plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes to firm them. (Note: The patties will be softer than traditional hamburgers. You may also want to add up to 1/4 c panko crumbs to help them not fall through the grill.)
4. 
   
5. While the meat is chilling, prepare the grill and make the Pesto Mayonnaise (just combine the ingredients in a small bowl). Then brush one side of each of the burgers with a little oil and place them on the grill, oiled side down. Lightly brush oil on the other side of the burgers and cook them for 5 minutes on each side, turning once, or until the meat is no longer pink inside.
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8. Adapted from Familyfun magazine

MmmmGood Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Even though it's warming up (finally) here in Idaho, I still crave comfort food.  This was requested by C-man, and he was supposed to get it in the crockpot before school; unfortunately, he takes forever to wake up, so I completed the task after dropping off all the kids.  My house smelled marvelous the whole day!  It was perfect with our whole wheat bread and a salad.

MmmGood Slow Cooker Beef Stew

2 pounds beef stew meat, (browned in pan over stove in oil, salt & pepper, then cut in bite size pieces)

*I never use stew meat--I found top loin steaks on sale and used those.
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp pepper
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
6oz can tomato paste
32oz beef broth
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups baby carrots carrots
4-5 small red potatoes,cut into bite-sized pieces (about 3 cups)
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon oregano
1 cups frozen peas

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Directions:

1.  Combine beef, celery, carrots, red onion, potatoes, salt,  pepper, garlic, parsley, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, and tomato paste in the crock pot. Cook on LOW for 10 hours or on HIGH for 6-7 hours.  I cooked it on low for 7 hours, panicked when the potatoes weren't soft, and turned it up to high for 2 hours because I'm always nervous like that. 

2.  About 30 minutes before serving, mix the cornstarch and the water together in a small dish and pour into the crockpot. Mix until well combined. This will add a nice thickness to the stew. Next add in your frozen peas. Continue cooking covered for 30 minutes.

Adapted from family fresh meals