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.  

Fiesta Tortilla-Shrimp Casserole for Dinner!

 

If you’re hooked on  Mexican-inspired flavors and shrimp,  I’ve got the perfect dish for your dinner!

 

You may think this casserole that's loaded with shrimp, tortillas, corn, and green salsa is a bit strange with its mix of ingredients, but it’s truly delicious.  

 

Rustle Up This Tasty John Wayne Casserole for Supper!

 

He was an American icon,
ranking right up there with
Washington, Elvis, Lincoln, MLK, Jr, Superman,
JFK, Marilyn Monroe and Davy Crockett...  

 

 

Painting by Norman Rockwell
 

 He's the Duke, John Wayne! 

 

Hungarian Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Potatoes and Cabbage

 A chilly winter-time day calls for comfort food: 
potatoes and cabbage roasted alongside
pork tenderloin for a tasty meal. 

I’m a big fan of pork tenderloin, it’s an excellent cut of meat for cooking, simply because it’s versatile, fairly inexpensive, tasty and friendly with a wide variety of spices...

Savory Sour Cream Cornbread, it's Divine!

Cornbread is the perfect vehicle 

for sopping up the things 

that are 

on your plate!

Those cracks are a good thing in cornbread!

Everyone has their foibles ~ for me, it’s that corner slab of cornbread ~ the slice with two crispy edges.  Grandma liked it crumbled, submerged in a glass of cold buttermilk, and eaten with a spoon ~ whatever floats your boat...

Chicken and Stuffing Bake and Some Winter Diamond Dust!

 

Not since 1873 has it been this cold, 

on this date, March 4th, 

here in Chicagoland, 

blame it on the polar vortex!

Our thermometer read -4° this morning, that's with a windchill of -20°.

Diamond dust over Lake Michigan, Chicago

Diamond dust has been in the air this bitter cold winter ~ tiny ice crystals falling from an apparently clear sky, when the temperatures are subzero.  In sunlight, moonlight, or artificial light, the ice crystals glitter and shine like diamonds. 

Delicious Savory Mushroom Casserole!

No mushroom foraging for me ~ that’s a practice that could kill a person if a mistake was made!  The grocery store is my mushroom source.  

Morel foraging

Harvest Apple Salad

I've always liked Waldorf salad, and then I came across this recipe.  Fresh chopped apples, dried cherries, cubes of cheddar cheese, and a sprinkling of nuts, all folded in a tangy sour cream sauce.  

This recipe is adapted from a Chicago Tribune recipe of long ago.  The tartness of Granny Smith apples mingling with the sweet crisp taste of Honeycrisp apples is a flavorful combination or, use your favorite apple.  Substitute dried cranberries or raisins for cherries, if you like. And add coarsely chopped pecans or walnut in place of the nut topping.  The possibilities go on and on...

SAVORY BUTTERMILK CORNBREAD

 

Remember the old 

Southern saying, 

“If there’s sugar in the cornbread, 

there’s a Yankee  

in the kitchen!” 

My trusty iron skillet is older than dirt

If you’re looking for a sweet cornbread, you won’t find it here; in my way of thinking, real cornbread is not sweet.  This is southern-style corn bread, plenty of buttermilk and sour cream, and not a touch of sugar.  This is some tasty cornbread ~ just ask Bubba...

Tasty Sour Cream Skillet Cornbread

Take a guess...

what's more American than

apple pie.

It's cornbread, of course!

The English brought apple pie to our shores, but the Powhatan Indians taught the early immigrants how to parch, grind, and then mix the corn with boiling water to make "johnny cakes." 

Mouthwatering Creamy Ritz Chicken Bake

Chicken never tasted quite so good!

This dish is comforting, delicious, rich and buttery with tender bites of chicken ~ a recipe that’s in about any community or church cookbook, and surprisingly, there are a minimum of variations from one recipe to the next.

Chicken Fajitas, About the Easiest You Will Ever Make!

These could very well be the easiest

~ and maybe the tastiest fajitas ~

you'll ever make!

They are so good and super simple to make, thanks to Perdue Short Cuts, Grilled Fajita-style Chicken! 

Baked Salmon with Robust Creamy Blue Cheese Sauce

Salmon fishing in Oregon

Kind of funny, Bubba (the seafood lover) reminds me now and then of how, when he and Matt were growing up, I used to never like fish or any seafood except for tuna and salmon, the 2 he didn't like at all back then and still doesn't.  And of course those were the only ones I served back then, pleasing Matt.

These days, I like fish and some seafood, serving it most weeks here, with Bill tolerating salmon.
 
That's when I pep up salmon for Bill and I at dinner time, turning to this piquant sauce uniting blue cheese, cucumber and dill for the salmon.  It's a perfect combo!

There's nothing bland about this little sauce which you can whip up in no time.  In my book, piquant blue cheese always puts pizzazz in a dish!

As salmon is readily available, versatile and simply delicious, the quick prep time of this recipe and its short list of ingredients, makes it an even better dish ~ perfect for a weeknight meal or company too!

Cook this for your dinner tonight:  salmon, with a zesty sauce; a little green salad, and broccoli, maybe a glass of bubbly, and Voila!  You have yourself a great tasty dinner!

By the way, the sauce makes a great salad dressing for a wedge of iceberg lettuce.  

It will make you wonder why you ever ate kale salad, for sure!

Yield: 2-3 servingsAuthor: Pam

Baked Salmon with Creamy Blue Cheese, Cucumber and Dill Sauce

This piquant sauce will jazz up your salmon deliciously!

INGREDIENTS:

For the salmon:

• 1-1/2 pounds slab of salmon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained
• Salt and pepper, to taste

For the blue cheese, cucumber and dill sauce:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (light, if desired)
• 1/2 cup sour cream (light, if desired)
• 1/2 cup English cucumber, diced
• 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
• Dash of salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Place salmon on baking sheet, skin side down and brush with oil, season with salt and pepper.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on thickness, and until fish flakes easily with a fork.
4. Meanwhile:
5. Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
   Makes 1-1/2 cups

Enjoy!

Mushroom Casserole and Rocco’s Penne with White Pesto

I’ve liked mustard from the very beginning, when I watched my grandfather slather a hunk of bread with mustard at most meals.  I’m a full-fledged mustard addict now and understand perfectly his love for it.  

My refrigerator has one whole shelf devoted to various mustards, and proudly taking up space there are the 3 bottles I won recently from Debbi, @DebbiDoes Dinner… Healthy and Low Calorie.  If you haven’t visited Debbi’s blog, you’re in for some great recipes!  The majority of them are low calorie, packed with good flavors, and easy to make. 

Debbi participated in the “Skinny Mama Mustard Contest” with her Spaghetti Squash Vegetable Gratin with Tarragon Lemon Mustard Sauce.  The kind folks at Saucy Mama gave Debbi 3 bottles of mustard for her own giveaway and I was the lucky recipient!  

I knew Saucy Mama’s Garlic Mustard would be perfect in a mushroom casserole I make and have posted.   This is a delicious mushroom recipe for anyone who is wild about mushrooms.  It is a saucy baked dish that combines mushrooms with sour cream and mustard.  It’s a simple side dish that will have your family and guests taking a second helping. It’s just as good (better?) left over!

This is way at the top, on my list of favorite side dishes!!!

Blurry but GOOD!

You can see the 3 varieties of mustard in this photo:

Here’s the recipe:

Tangy Mushroom Casserole

Ingredients:

2 pounds fresh button mushrooms, sliced

¼ cup butter, softened

4 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons Saucy Mama’s Garlic Mustard

¼ teaspoon McCormick’s Seasoned Pepper

1 (8 ounce) carton sour cream

¼ cup chopped parsley

¼ cup chopped onion

Method:

Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel and slice.   Cream butter, flour, salt, pepper, and mustard.  Add sour cream, parsley and onion. Stir well.

Place half the mushrooms in greased 2 qt. dish.  Top with half of the sour cream mixture, spread evenly.  Repeat layers.

Bake 325 degrees for 1 hour or till well heated and golden.

Allow it to set for 5-10 minutes before serving.

6-8 servings

And…

Not only did I win the mustard; Debbi also gave away a copy of Rocco’s Italian American cookbook.  I’ve always like Rocco Dipirito’s recipes.  He is an American chef in New York City, a cookbook author, celebrity chef and owns a couple of restaurants there.  His mother, Nicolina, is with him along the way, cooking and advising.  I follow Rocco’s recipes weekly in the Chicago Tribune.

Rocco & Mama

Rocco’s Italian American cookbook is packed with recipes there were passed on through the generations in his family, in versions specially adapted for today’s home kitchen.  All the recipes in the cookbook have fewer than 10 ingredients and the first one I made was Penne with White Pesto.  I love penne pasta and the white pesto intrigued me because it is packed with walnuts.  It’s delicious and easy too!

Penne with White Pesto

Ingredients:

½ cup walnuts

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound penne pasta

¼ cup ricotta cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Put a big pot of water over high flame.

Add a handful of salt when it begins to simmer.

Toss the walnuts in a bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt.

Spread them out on a baking sheet and toast in oven for about 10 minutes.

Remove pan and set walnuts aside to cool.

Cook the penne till al dente.

Drain well, retaining ½ cup or so of the cooking water.

Chop the nuts and mix them with the ricotta, remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and a pinch of salt.

Toss the pasta with the pesto, adding a splash of water if it seems too thick.

It should be thick and creamy.

It is thick and creamy and delicious!

Thanks so much Debbi ~ I’ll enjoy it all!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog, @My Kind of Cooking for great tips and delicious easy recipes.

A Healthier Beef Stroganoff

It was during the “ultimate comfort food era,” the 1950’s, when Beef Stroganoff migrated from its origin in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to the United States.  Sautéed pieces of beef were served in a sauce with “smetana” or sour cream, and mushrooms.  

The story goes that a culinary competition was held in the 1890’s, during Czarist times, when a daring chef concocted this savory dish.  The chef was employed by a high-ranking noble family, the Stroganov’s.  They were wealthy beyond belief with, at one time, having 155,000 serfs on the 6.5 million acres the family owned. 

The creative chef named the dish in honor of his patron, Count Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov and took away first prize.  A spin on the Beef Storganoff story is that it was created specifically for the Count because he had lost his teeth and was unable to chew a steak.

This version is a delicious dish that really took us by surprise.  The recipe is from The New American Heart Association Cookbook.  It is packed with delectable flavors and I will be making this Beef Stroganoff again!!!

Here's the recipe:

Lighter Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

1 pound beef tenderloin, boneless round steak, or boneless sirloin

½ teaspoon pepper, or to taste

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 pound button mushrooms, sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups fat-free, no-salt-added beef broth

2 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1 teaspoon dry mustard

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon dried dillweed

1/3 cup fat-free or light sour cream

Method:

Discard all visible fat from meat and slice into thin strips about 2-inches long; sprinkle with pepper.

Pour oil into a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Cook mushrooms for 2-3 minutes, or until tender; transfer to a plate.

Cook onion in same skillet for 3-4 minutes, or until brown; add to the mushrooms.

Put meat in skillet and brown on all sides until rare, about 3 minutes; add to mushrooms.

Put flour in skillet; gradually pour in broth, whisking constantly.

Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until thickened, whisking constantly.

Reduce heat to low.

Whisk in remaining ingredients except the sour cream.

Stir in the mushroom mixture.

Cook for 15 minutes.

Put sour cream in a small bowl.

Stir in a small amount of meat mixture and add to the skillet.

Cook for 5 minutes, or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Serve over noodles or rice.

It’s DELICIOUS!!!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog, @My Kind of Cooking for great tips and delicious easy recipes! 

The Best Lemon Pound Cake ~ I’m Telling You the Truth!

On my September 27^th post, I told you I would be baking the Lemon Pound Cake recipe from the Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook that Bill had been yearning for.  I finally got around to baking it and now I’m trying to figure out what took me so long…

You know how foodies say, “I swear, it’s the best I’ve ever eaten?”  Sometimes I try the recipe, sometimes I don’t.  Everyone’s taste is different and you just never know; however, I can honestly say, “this Lemon Pound Cake is the best pound cake I have ever eaten in my life.”  And Bill echoes the same.  NO LIE!!!  It is outstanding!!!

Here’s what Kathleen King, the owner and founder of Tate’s Bake Shop, says about her cake, “The lemon flavor really comes through in my lemon pound cake.  It keeps well and freezes well, and is exceptional on its own or with fresh berries and cream.”

Here’s what I say about it:  Enjoy it on its own!   If you love lemon and love pound cake, you will fall hard for this one!  It’s so good that after having a slice of it, I gave samples to family and neighbors, and had to lock the rest away to keep it out of my hands.  

It has a tantalizing tart/sweet thing going on ~ an amazing tangy lemon favor with just a little bit of sweetness!  It is the absolute perfect combo of ingredients and 4 days later, it was still as fresh as the first day and then it was gone…  

Lemon Pound Cake                             

Printable recipe

Ingredients:

2¾ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

2½ cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

5 large eggs at room temperature

1 cup sour cream

½ cup fresh lemon juice, from about 4 lemons

                        ~ ~ ~               ~ ~ ~               ~ ~ ~

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare a 10-inch Bundt pan with lots of pan spray and sprinkle it with granulated sugar.  (Flour will leave an unattractive residue on the cake.)

To make the cake:

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy.

Add vanilla and lemon zest, mix them together.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Mix sour cream and lemon juice together.

Add flour and sour cream mixture alternately, finishing with the flour.

Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.

Lemon Glaze:

½ cup fresh lemon juice, from about 4 lemons

½ cup sugar

¼ cup water

To make the glaze:

Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan and stir.

Cook over low heat without stirring till the sugar dissolves.

Turn heat up to medium and cook mixture until it becomes syrupy.

Don’t overcook it or the syrup will start to turn brown.

When the cake is baked, cool it for 10 minutes in the baking pan and invert it onto a plate.  (Place the plate against the bottom of the pan and turn it over.)

Slowly pour the glaze over the cake and let it cool.

It is the best pound cake EVER and will be on my holiday dinner table!!!

Enjoy!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips and recipes. 

Note:  I received no compensation for posting this.  It’s just my opinion; it’s a wonderful cookbook with the best pound cake recipe ever.