Beefy Sour Cream Noodle Bake

 

It’s Spring, but it's still chilly rainy here and here’s a classic recipe that may be the epitome of comfort food for this weather!  It’s a layered combination of meatiness, cheesiness and creaminess!

 

 

Beefy Sour Cream Noodle Bake is a mouthwatering hearty dish of ground beef, tomato sauce and egg noodles combined; a layer of cottage cheese, sour cream and green onions, topped with a layer cheddar cheese.  Simple ingredients that most people like.  

Chicken Tinga, not with my IP!

I know a lot of you are obsessed with your Instant Pot, that "miracle" small appliance! 

 I researched it carefully, 

read your posts about the wonders of it, 

got suckered in, 

purchased one.  

Unfortunately, there’s no IP love here.  It all went downhill with this recipe...

First off, I browned the tomatillos and onions nicely.  Then added the seasonings, stock and diced tomatoes; removed the skin and bones from the chicken and added that to the pot.

The next step is when it all went wrong!  Put the lid on, lock it in place and set the IP to pressure cook, it sounds sooooo easy!  Wrong! 

Once again, I couldn’t get the lid on, couldn’t lock it in place.  It was sort of tricky the first 2 or 3 times I used it, this time it was impossible.

I even read the manual for the umpteenth time, still couldn’t do it.  Then I asked Bill to try it, he had no more luck than I did.  After being frustrated for 30 or so minutes, I watched a video of some man demonstrating placing the lid on and locking it in place - he must've been a magician!

It sounds so simple, but it’s so crazy.  I never did get the lid on, couldn’t cook the chicken in it, ended up braising the chicken in the tomato mixture, in a casserole dish, in the oven.  

By then, I had lost all interest in it and dinner too - just wanted it over with and done!  I'd just rather cook ~ stir ~ & taste ~ my way.

The chicken turned out OK though, tasted OK.  We decided we’d like it over noodles instead of a traditional Chicken Tinga recipe with tostada shells. 

The last step in this disaster:   Bag up the IP and put in the garbage can outside ~ the next day was garbage day and I was happy to be rid of the darn thing and get back the space it demanded!!! 

There is one positive thing I can say about my Instant Pot ~ at least I didn't have to clean the contraption!

I’m hoping I’ve learned my lesson and won’t buy the next pricey kitchen gadget that comes along...


Chicken Tinga
Printable recipe

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large tomatillos, husked and quartered
1 onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup chicken stock
1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon seasoned pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 teaspoon chipotle purée
8 ounces uncooked extra wide egg noodles

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°.
Place olive oil in IP (skillet) on medium high heat.  
Add tomatillos and cook until browned; add onions and garlic, and cook until browned, about 3 minutes.
Add chicken stock and stir.
Add tomatoes with their juice, oregano, salt, pepper and chili powder, stir to combine.
Transfer the tomato mixture to a casserole dish that has been coated with cooking spray.
Add chicken and chipotle purée, stir well.
Place lid on dish and cook until chicken is cooked through and tomato mixture has thickened.
Meanwhile, cook noodles in boiling water according to package directions.
After cooking, transfer chicken to a plate and pull it into bite-size pieces.  Return to tomato mixture and combine.
Transfer chicken and tomatoes to serving bowl.
Serve over cooked noodles or tostada shells.


Enjoy!

Midwestern Chicken and Noodles over Mashed Potatoes and My 8 Year Blogiversary!

Spoon chicken and noodles over what?  Mashed potatoes, really!  Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

It isn’t soup, it’s not a potpie, it’s a hotdish ~ it’s thick and creamy noodles topping a mound of mashed potatoes.

Creamy, rich gravy smothers bites of savory chicken, chewy noodles and mashed potatoes. You haven’t eaten Midwestern food until you eat this for supper!

We like mushrooms with the noodles, skip them if you don’t.  Chop up and add carrots or celery, if you desire.  I poached chicken breasts, but I’ve also picked the meat off a rotisserie chicken when in a hurry.  

It may not make a pretty picture, but it more than makes up for it in goodness.  And if you have leftovers, it’s your lucky day!

Chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes is a great hearty homestyle one-dish meal for a crisp evening, any day of the week!

As a side note ~ I was recently reminded that I  have been blogging for 8 years now.  I started this blog October 29, 2009, that's a lot of posts!  Back then, I just wanted a way to organize and document family recipes.

I look back and cringe at some early posts, the writing, the photos.  But what makes up for that is the great people I have virtually "met" along the way.  I feel like I truly know many of you who share the same passion I do:  food.

I've seen a lot of blogs come and go over the years and I've learned a lot along the way from reading what you share ~ whether your travels, books you've read, music you like, food from your kitchen or in restaurants, I've enjoyed it all!

Thank you for all for visiting here and your positive comments!  

And I give a special thank you to our older son, Bill, Jr., Bubba here on my blog, for helping me to start it all!  Couldn't have done it without you, son! 

Here's to 8 more years... 

Yield: 4-6 servings

Midwestern Chicken and Noodles over Mashed Potatoes

Midwestern hearty chicken and noodles at it's best!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large jar of Heinz Homestyle Chicken Gravy
• 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 4-6 cups chicken broth, divided
• 1/4 cup flour
• 8 ounces egg noodles
• 2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Enough mashed potatoes for everyone

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a large skillet, or pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and mushrooms, and sauté until cooked.
2. In a liquid measuring cup or blender, whisk 1/4 cup broth and flour until smooth, no lumps. Stir into skillet mixture.
3. Add remaining broth, gravy and soup to mixture, stir well, bring to a boil.
4. Add noodles. Cover and cook until noodles are almost tender, about 7 minutes. Add more broth if needed.
5. Stir in chicken and heat through. Add additional salt and pepper, if needed.
6. Serve immediately over mashed potatoes.

notes

Add more broth or water as needed, the noodles soak it up.
This dish should be just a touch soupy, but much thicker than a noodle soup.  
Takes about 1 hour, total time to prepare.

Enjoy!