March 30, 2011

Menu-ish: March 29-April 4

Tuesday: we were out of town
Wednesday: Hamburgers, peas, and fries
Thursday: Ground Beef Stroganoff
Friday: I'm out of town/DH is on his own
Saturday: same
Sunday: beef noodle bowl
Monday: cheesy tuna noodle casserole

Yeah, totally an unimpressive menu. I'll get more creative than Kraft Foods next week. ;)

March 21, 2011

Bill's Steak Bites

One of DH's favorite dishes ever. Recipe courtesy of my father-in-law.

1lb Steak of your choice
1 cup red wine
2-6 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
20 drops of Tabasco

Marinate meat for at least two hours in wine and crushed garlic. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinate and broil or grill meat as desired.
For the sauce, melt butter over low heat. Add the remaining ingredients and the reserved marinate. Cook for 5 minutes.
Cut meat into bite sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Pour sauce over the meat.

This recipe is really good with mashed potatoes. Perfect with the extra sauce poured on top!

Menu: March 22-28

Tuesday: Sour cream enchiladas
Wednesday: Spaghetti
Thursday: Quiche
Friday: Szechwan Shrimp with stir fry vegetables and steamed rice
Saturday-Monday: TBD

March 15, 2011

Menu: March 15-21

Tuesday: mini meatloaves, pasta, and steamed broccoli
Wednesday: Pasta with turkey, spinach, and white wine (Found this to be very delicious! Note that recipe as written is a meal for 2.)
Friday: Fish tacos and Spanish rice
Saturday: Blueberry oat waffles; brown sugar glazed pork over sweet potato hash
Sunday: steak bites, corn, and smashed potatoes

Bake Snickerdoodle muffins!

**Note to self: Take more food pictures!!! I keep posting new recipes, but forget to take pictures. Augh!!

March 14, 2011

Make an MRE?! Me?!

I recently joined a group of military food bloggers called HouseHold6 Cooking Club. Each month the members take on a new cooking challenge. This month? Create a concept MRE. The conversation deciding on my concept went something like this:

Me: Okay, I know MRE stands for Meals Ready to Eat but what are they really?
Husband: Really bad food. Like 2,000 plus calories of bad.
Me: Care to explain more?
Husband: *pulls up this website* See this meal was awful. Now this meal wasn't all that bad. I remember only trying to trade certain parts of that meal.
Me: So you've had these?
Husband: Yep. 4 years ago in training. Oh, and once since then because my old squadron commander thought it was a good idea to invite us all to an event and make us eat MREs instead of real food.
Me: So what would your ideal MRE have in it?
Husband: Something very simple. As soon as the government attempts one beyond the basics it goes downhill.
Me: Like? Oh, and I don't have to worry about how it would be dried or vacuum packed.
Husband: Meatloaf. That last kind you made. *pause* They sell them at the commissary. Want to try one tomorrow? It's amazing what all the government can do to what was probably once a descent meal.
Me: Uhhhh....no.

So my concept MRE will be mini meatloaves because my husband recommended it. I think it's the perfect size and shape to work well. I like this particular recipe myself because it has the basic ideal meatloaf taste without all the grease others I've tried have. As a side I'm going with smash potatoes, though my husband says they already do mashed potatoes. I think smashed is a bit better since keeps the good for you skins. I'd pair it with bread and butter to follow their format (though I'm pretty sure butter wouldn't keep lol). In trying to think of a dessert, I ran across a yummy snickerdoodle muffin recipe. I've made it and found it to be fantastic! Plenty sweet without being over the top sweet. And I have no doubt that it would be much more popular than their pound cake.

Main course - mini meatloaves
Side dish - smashed potatoes
Cracker/bread - bread slice
Spread - herbed butter
Dessert - Snickerdoodle muffins

Mini Meatloaves - original recipe by Tonya Swope
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the egg, milk, cheese, oats and salt. Add the ground beef, mixing well. Divide the mixture into muffin tins - makes about 8.
  3. In a separate small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Stir thoroughly and spread over each meatloaf.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.


Snickerdoodle Muffins - original recipe by Heather Christo
1 cup Butter, Softened
1 cup Sugar
2 whole Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2-¼ cups Flour
¾ teaspoons Baking Powder
¾ teaspoons Baking Soda
¾ teaspoons Cream Of Tartar
½ teaspoons Salt
1 cup Sour Cream
¼ cups Buttermilk
FOR THE TOPPING:
⅔ cups Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cinnamon



In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the sour cream and buttermilk and mix to combine. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until you have a smooth batter.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping.
Use scooper and plop a scoop of batter into the bowl with the sugar and cinnamon. Gently roll the batter in the sugar and cinnamon. Place the ball into the muffin liner.
When you have completed all of the muffins, sprinkle the leftover cinnamon sugar onto the tops of all of the muffins.
Bake the muffins at 350ºF for about 15-18 minutes or until they are golden on top and just baked through.


Smashed Potatoes (for 2)
2 medium to large baking potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1/4-1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper



Cut potatoes into chunks. Add to a saucepan. Cover with water. Bring to a boil and boil for 20 minutes. Drain. Add butter, milk, and salt and pepper to taste. Smash with a potato masher or a fork. 

March 11, 2011

Menu: March 8-14

A bit late. Got a new computer and still haven't moved everything over. :)

Tuesday: grilled hamburgers, steamed broccoli, and sweet potato fries
Wednesday: Mac and cheese
Thursday: Mongolian BBQ at the base
Friday: Easy baked tilapia
Saturday: Steaks with grilled veggies
Sunday: Italian baked chicken and pastina, green beans
Monday: Baked chicken nuggets, corn, tater tots

Scrambled Egg Stromboli

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens March 2011 magazine.

8 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
olive oil
head of broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
1-2 cups of baby spinach
1/4 Parmesan cheese
Cooked ground Italian sausage or other meat (optional)
pizza dough

Preheat oven to 400* and whisk together the eggs, salt, and pepper.
In a large skillet cook onion and broccoli in olive oil for 3-4 minutes. Add egg mixture. Cook, stirring as little as possible just until the egg is cooked but still glossy.
Grease a 14"x9" (or so) cookie sheet. Roll out pizza dough and cover with baby spinach. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Spoon egg mixture on it next. Add cooked meat if desired at this time.
Carefully roll dough by the long side around the filling. Pinch ends to seal. Brush top of roll with olive oil. Use a sharp knife to cut diagonal slashes every 1-2 inches across the top.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with salsa or tomato sauce.



Ground Beef Stroganoff (without mushrooms)

I'm not the biggest fan of mushrooms and DH can't stand them. So if you're like us here's a version you might enjoy for a quick weeknight meal!

1 lb lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can cream of chicken soup (go for the healthy version)
1/4 cup water
1 cup sour cream

In a large skillet start cooking ground beef. When it's halfway cooked, add in the onion and spices. Once browned add in the can of soup and water. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the sour cream and heat until hot.

Serve over rice or noodles. Our personal favorite is egg noodles.