MK's Ranch Stroganoff

2 cups of dry pasta, whatever style you like. Add to 4 cups of boiling water and cook until just soft, do not over cook. Set aside (Drain almost all the liquid, you don't want it becoming sticky)

For Chicken, cube up 2-3 raw chicken breasts (or 4-6 raw chicken tenders)

For Beef, use 2-3 cups of leftover beef roast or 2 lbs of ground beef

Cook the chicken in a large saucepan in 1 cup of chicken broth (I use low sodium broth in the boxes) cook for 3-4 minutes or until they are not pink.

For leftover beef roast, bring 1 cup beef broth to a boil, add roast until heated.

For ground beef, brown beef in pan until fully cooked, add 1 cup beef broth and simmer for 5 min.

For all meat options, remove the meat from the broth it is in and set aside in a covered bowl.

Bring broth to a simmer over medium heat, turn to low and add 1 cup milk, (evaporated works well or whatever milk you have.) stir in ½ cup ranch dressing. Add 2 handfulls of shredded cheddar cheese. Stir briskly until cheese is melted.

Add cooked pasta to meat mixture, stir well and heat thoroughly on low, stir so it does not burn.

MK's Fruit Cobbler

For a square pan 8x8 or 9x9

First Layer:

2 ½ cups cut up fruit – apples, peaches or 2 cups of your favorite berries

Lay fruit evenly in your pan

Second Layer:

Mix in a bowl:

6 Tablespoons sugar

¼ cup butter

1 cup flour

dash of salt

2 Tablespoons baking Powder

¼ cup milk

Spread this mixture over the top of your fruit.

Mix:

½ cup sugar and ½ Tablespoon of Corn starch, Sprinkle on top of second layer.

Bring ½ cup water to a boil and pour over the top and bake 1 hour at 375°

This is perfect with vanilla ice cream! 

 Wow I have not posted anything new for 5 years! 

I will be adding new recipes and revamping the blog very soon! 

MK

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MK’s Parmesan Baked Potato Wedges

6 medium sized Yukon potatoes, washed, sliced and dried

In a gallon baggie add:

1 stick softened butter (1/2 cup)

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

½ tsp paprika

1/8 tsp salt (I use a salt substitute)

1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper

Dash each of garlic powder and onion powder (NOT salt)

Squish all the seasonings into the butter and add the potato wedges. Be sure they are dried off well with a paper towel. Zip it up and shake it around to coat all the potatoes well.

Lay them out in a large baking pan with sides.  The pan must have sides or the butter will run off the pan and burn!

Bake at 350 F for 50 – 60 minutes. Check on them often and turn them over about half way through.

MK’s Pizza Dough

MK’s Pizza Dough

Prep time: 1 ½ hours  -  Bake time: 15 – 18 min  -  Makes 2  14” Pizzas *

I adapted this from several recipe’s I’ve tried over time and this is the final result. It is truly the best crust we’ve made from scratch and can be all white flour or partially wheat.

** The amount of wheat flour depends on how dense and chewy you want your crust. Just substitute equal amounts of wheat flour for the white bread flour to your liking. Be sure it is fresh wheat flour and you do not pack it, either sift once or fluff it with a fork before measuring.  Why bread flour? Using bread flour will give you a crisper crust. All-purpose flour which will give you a chewier crust.

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups white bread flour

½ cup wheat flour

1 teaspoon sugar (I use a stevia sweetner)

2 ¼ tsp (1 envelope) dry yeast

2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups water, 110 degrees F

2 tablespoons olive oil

Use a dough hook on your stand mixer.

Pour into the bowl, the flour(s), sugar, yeast and salt in and mix together with a fork.

With the mixer running on low, add the water and oil and beat on medium until the dough forms into a ball. If the dough is sticky, add 1 T of flour a little at a time, until the dough comes together in a ball. If the dough is too dry, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together in a ball.

Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead into a smooth, firm ball. Do not over knead or it will make the crust tough. *(see below)

Oil a large bowl with 1 T of olive oil, place in the dough, cover with plastic wrap and put it in a warm area to let it double in size, this will take about 1 hour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cover each with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes before forming into pizza crust.

* If you are not wanting to make 2 pizza’s you can put half of the dough in a quart freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month. Just remove from freezer and let thaw in the fridge for 2-3 hours, then take it out of the bag and place into an oiled bowl in a warm place to rise. Proceed as usual once raised.

While it is resting, heat oven to 475 degrees F.

Do NOT use a rolling pin to roll out your crust. Use oil on your hands and gently persuade the crust into your pan. Rolling compresses the dough too much and will not be the best result. 

MK's Baked Mac & Cheese

Prep time: 15 - 20 min  Bake Time: 20-25 min  Serves: 10 

OPTIONAL: 4-6 slices of bacon cut up into bits then fried crisp. Drain and set aside.

Hand grate into a bowl:

1/4 cup of Smokey Gruyere cheese
2 cups of white sharp chedder cheese
1/3 cup of Fontina cheese
1/3 cup of Parmesan-Reggiano cheese

with your hands or a fork, gently mix the cheeses together well and set aside.

Cook the pasta just until tender - set aside

1 box (1 lb) of either rotini or cellentani 

Cheese sauce:

In a saucepan, over medium heat melt a half a stick of butter and add 6 T of flour. Whisk until blended and you have a rue. About 5 min.

Slowly add

4 cups heated whole milk or half and half and whisk constantly until thickens, about 5 minutes.

Turn heat on low and add:

1 teaspoon paprika
dash of salt and pepper
Half of the cheese, whisking gently until melted

Add to the pasta and stir to coat it well. If adding bacon bits, do so now.

Lightly oil a 9x13 glass baking dish with olive oil. Add half the pasta mixture, sprinkle half of the remaining cheese on first layer. Repeat.

Bake in 350 oven for 20 - 25 minutes.

MK's Parmesan Chicken

Prep time: 20 min  Bake Time: 30 min

Cook your favorite pasta to just about done while you prepare the other items. Bows, rotini or cellentani work well. 

3 boneless chicken breasts, cubed in 1" or so cubes - Set aside

      TIP: Freeze them for about 20 min to make them more firm and they will cut easier! 

In a bowl, combine:

1/2 cup Organic mayonnaise - Organic is important so that it does not separate while baking and be oily. 

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese -  Fresh shredded from a block of cheese is best but Kraft or other brand works fine. 

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/8 tsp garlic powder (Not garlic salt!)

Dash of salt (salt substitute works fine)

Place the cooked and drained pasta into a lightly greased glass baking pan (8x8)

Lay the cubed chicken on top evenly. Spread the mayo mixture evenly and cover with foil.

Bake at 350 for 20 min. Uncover and sprinkle more parmesan cheese in a thin layer and let bake 10 more minutes or until the top is lightly browned. 

Enjoy!!

Instant Pot Craze!

Do you have an Instant Pot? If not, you should get one! Saves time, money and you can make almost anything in them!

Anytime is Burger Time! Perfect Grilled Burgers



 

 

You cannot have a perfect burger without taking into consideration the ground beef! The fat content and coarseness of the grind are key. You want a course grind if you are grilling. Finely ground will tend to be mushy and not hold together as well. Also do not ‘work’ the meat too much in your hand as you form your patty’s, this is like ‘working’ clay and softens it and you do not want that! If you are going to work some spices into the meat first do it in a cold bowl with a cold fork. Cool your hands with cold water and make the patty’s quickly.

When choosing your ground beef, there are some important things to keep in mind. First of all, the fat percentage depends on if you are pan frying or grilling your burgers.

If you plan to pan fry, I suggest using leaner ground beef as the burger will cook in the fat that it contains and escapes the beef patty and will keep the burger moist.

When pan frying, to achieve a fire grilled taste, a cast iron skillet is a good choice. Like when grilling start off with a very hot pan to sear each side, then turn it down to finish cooking it. Since cast iron holds heat for a long time, I suggest even turning the stove burner OFF after searing each side to finish cooking them. Using a bacon press that is heated in the pan prior to cooking helps cook both sides at the same time, however you will still want to flip the burgers.

If you are grilling, use a 85% lea help your burger retain moisture better and the fat will drip into your grill fire and cause flareups and you want to reduce that as much as possible.  Keep a spray bottle of water handy to reduce the flareup from burning your burgers and you.

 

A trick to keeping leaner meats on the grill from drying out and falling apart is to make your beef patty’s ahead of time and partially freeze them. Also be sure your grill grates are clean and treated with a non stick spray.

When grilling be sure to start with a very hot grill, 450 – 500 degrees is good. When you have everything ready gently place the patties on the grill. When raw meat hits the hot grate it will stick which is fine! Do not try to turn it too early the burger will fall apart. You can check if its released yet with the corner of your spatula, if its still stuck, let it cook a bit longer. If it seems to be burning, spritz the flame with water to slow it down a bit.  The secret is to flip the burger the second it releases. It should take only a minute or so for each side to release. Once each side is seared turn the heat down to 350 and continue to grill 2-3 minutes per side.

Remove the hamburger patty let them sit for a minute or two before serving.

 

Now comes the personalization! Burgers can be topped with whatever you desire!

 

What are some of your favorite burger toppings?  

 

 

 

 

 





Crème de Cacao Espresso

 

 

 

 

Crème de Cacao Espresso

 

1 cup Cold water

2 T Ground espresso coffee or make double strength brewed coffee
½ Cinnamon stick (3" long)
4 tsp Crème de Cacao
2 tsp Brandy

2 T Whipping cream, chilled

Grated semisweet chocolate to garnish

 

Use your espresso machine for this one or just make really strong coffee with a small amount of water. Break cinnamon stick into small pieces and add to hot espresso. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Add crème de cacao and brandy, and stir gently. Pour into cute demitasse cups. Whip the cream, and float some cream on top of each cup. For looks, you can garnish with grated chocolate or fancy chocolate curls. Serves 2

Feta-Topped Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lb)

2 tablespoons reduced-fat balsamic vinaigrette dressing

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon seasoned pepper blend

1 large plum (Roma) tomato, cut into 8 slices

1/4 cup crumbled fat-free feta cheese

Set oven to broil. Brush both sides of chicken breasts with the dressing. Sprinkle both sides with Italian seasoning and pepper. Place in broiler pan and put in oven 4 inches from the broiling element.

Broil about 5 minutes each side, until chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Top with tomato and cheese and broil 2 to 3 minutes longer or until cheese is lightly browned.

Makes 4 servings