Meatloaf

Ingredient:s

2 slices bread

3/4 cup milk or water

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3 teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons ketchup

2 lbs. ground chuck

1 small yellow onion diced ( or ½ large onion diced)

Directions:

In a frying pan, stir fry the diced onion then let cool to room temp. Remove from pan to cool faster. Do not add immediately to cold meat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, soak the bread slices in the milk and mush around until broken up . Then add the eggs, garlic powder, pepper, salt, mustard, pepper, and ketchup and mix well. Gently stir in the ground chuck and mix just until combined.

Line a pyrex baking dish with aluminum foil. Form the meat into a loaf shape and place on foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until internal temperature registers 160 degrees.

Hamburger Stroganoff

Super easy ... and super satisfying. This entree takes only 15min from start to finish. Serve over rice or boiled egg noodles.

Ingredients:
2lbs ground beef
1 yellow onion (diced)
3 cloves garlic (crushed) OR 1 tsp dried garlic powder
2 cans of Campbells Cream of Mushroom Soup
3/4 cup sour cream (optional)
1/2 of a can of water
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:
Dice onions and crush your fresh garlic if you are using whole cloves vs. dried garlic. Stir fry your ground beef, onions and garlic in a hot skillet for 5-7 minutes or until fully cooked. Add the 2 cans of soup and 1/2 of a can of water to the skillet and mix well. After the soup is mixed in, add the sour cream and salt /pepper.

Serve over rice or boiled egg noodles. If you don't have the sour cream you can omit it, but it does make the sauce taste richer. The recipe can be doubled easily as leftovers freeze well.

Green Onions 365 days out of the year !!!

Mrs. Smong buys green onions a few times a month, but is always bummed to find that they have wilted and turned all slimey after only a few days. Check out this cool tip from lunchinabox.net.

Cut the green onions and place the cuttings on a tray or plate in the freezer. Once the cut pieces are somewhat hard (10 min), transfer them to a water bottle and store the bottle in the freezer. As the pieces are all pretty much individually quick frozen you will be able to "shake out" the amount you need and still have more for later.

I'm soooo pleased with this tip. Saimin is not the same when it's missing the green onions : )

Tomato Beef Gravy

My Popo always poured this sauce over pork chops or noodles so I'm not sure why it's called tomato "beef" gravy but here is the recipe. It's super easy and makes any plain meat taste yummy. My friend Terrina's family only makes the sauce to pour over noodles so they call it "ketchup noodle" sauce. Call it what you like ... it's easy to make and a great way to get veggies into your kids.

Ingredients:
1 large red bell pepper
2 stalks of celery (optional)
1 large yellow onion
1/4 cup ketchup
2 packets Splenda
3-4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 or 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chicken base / beef boullion base (can use 1-2 cubes)

Directions:
Slice onions, celery and red bell peppers into thin slices, as if you were going to make fajitas. Heat a frying pan on high, add oil when the pan is hot, then add sliced onions. Cook the onions for a minute or so ... until they are translucent, then add celery and red bell peppers. Cook veggies for an additional minute.

Mix the remaining "sauce" ingredients in a bowl, then add mixture to veggies in the hot frying pan. Let the sauce bubble/boil, then taste for seasonings. You may have to add more ketchup, soy or pepper (all depends on your tastes).

Thicken the sauce with a little cornstarch (mixed with water to form a slurry) if the sauce is too "thin" and not the consistency that you like. The Smongs like our sauces thick, like a gravy, so we always use cornstarch in ours.

Optional = Cut a tomato into wedges and add it to the finished sauce at the end its cooking process. As a kid, I always avoided the tomato wedges as they got to be kinda soft after sitting in the hot gravy but again ... it's another way to try and get veggies into your kids : )

Enjoy!!

Mexican Chicken Stew

8-10 chicken thighs (skinless & deboned)
1/3 cup corn starch
1 egg
2-3 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1 tablespoon soy sauce (optional - but it helps the chicken to "brown")
1 can enchilada sauce (8 oz)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup white wine (substitute extra water if none)
2 tablespoons olive oil (use less if using a non-stick wok/dutch oven)

Remove bone and skin from chicken and chop into large 2 inch cubes/pieces. Place chicken, 2 tsp salt, pepper, garlic powder, egg, soy sauce and corn starch in a bowl and mix well.

Heat a large wok or non-stick soup pot on high and add olive oil. When pan is heated, add the bowl of chicken (including the marinade). Spread the chicken out evenly across the bottom of your hot pan and leave it to "fry" or form a brown coating. Yes the chicken will look like it's sticking together in one mass.

Once the chicken "mass" has browned on one side, divide it in half or large pieces with a spatula and flip the "mass" over to brown on the other side. Once the chicken has "somewhat" browned on both sides, add the white wine to deglaze the pan. Mix the chicken and wine, and break apart the mass. Not all of the chicken will be fully browned or cooked through, this is OK ... you just want most of it browned to make the sauce taste good.

Add the water and can of enchilada sauce to the pan and mix well.

Cover the pan (but leave it slightly ajar to vent) and turn the stew on med or low and allow it to simmer for 30 - 45 min (stir occasionally). Taste the sauce and add the remaining teaspoon of salt if necessary.

The stew will thicken and look like chile colorado (except it's made with chicken and a less spicy red sauce).

Serve with spanish rice or in tortillas.

Broccoli Casserole

Homey creations made with Campbells Cream of Mushroom soup are a big hit with guests at the Smong house. Per request from my friend Renee here is the recipe.
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3-4 bunches fresh broccoli tops
1 can of Campbells Cream of Mushroom soup
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cream cheese (or approx. 1/2 block)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Microwave the cream cheese until it's soft. Mix with mushroom soup and mayonnaise. Cut the broccoli into 2 inch florets. Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and lay out the broccoli florets in the pan. Spread the soup/cheese/mayo mixture over the broccoli then cover with breadcrumbs and salt. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 400 degrees.

5 Min Cous Cous

1 tomato (seeded and diced)
2 carrots (grated)
1 cup cous cous
1 + 3/4 cups water
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter

Microwave 1 + 3/4 cups water in a large bowl for 2-3 min / until the water is boiling hot. Pour dried cous cous into the hot water, stir to coat each grain, then cover the bowl with a plate or cutting board. Let sit for 3 min then mix (fluff) with a fork.

Cut tomato in half, dig out the seeds, then dice. Peel then grate 2 carrots. Add veggies, salt, pepper, olive oil and butter to the fluffed cous cous and serve.