Marinated Mushrooms

Confession:  I haven't always liked mushrooms.  There is just something about their texture that I am not absolutely crazy about.  However, my husband LOVES mushrooms, so in the past seven years I have tried to develop a liking for them, and for the most part I have succeeded!  Now, I still refuse to eat them raw and I don't particularly love having them on my pizza, but I do eat mushrooms on pasta, hibachi, or some other yummy dishes where the mushrooms are cooked down and really soft. 

One of my favorite dishes as of late is a homemade Mushroom Swiss Burger.  UMMMMM.  I wish I had one right now.  Jonathan is burger king in our home.  Seriously, I cannot tell you the last time I mixed up hamburger patties!  So, we basically take his outstanding hamburger, melt some swiss cheese on top, and serve them with some marinated mushrooms.  They are dynamite!

Here is my Marinated Mushroom recipe which is perfect for our Mushroom Swiss Burger, but these would also be great served along a delicious steak!  These are so incredibly easy to make, so give them a try, even if you only like mushrooms a little bit.

Marinated Mushrooms

Ingredients:

Fresh mushrooms, washed and sliced any way you like
Butter, unsalted
Dale's low-sodium seasoning

Directions:  In a shallow baking dish, place prepped mushrooms.  I usually purchase two square packages of mushrooms that you find in the refrigerated produce section.  They are usually already cleaned, but sometimes I do have to cut them up to be the size that I would like them to be. 

Pour enough Dale's seasoning over the mushrooms so that they are all coated.  I think I typically use about 1/3-1/2 of the bottle for one batch of mushrooms.  As they cook, the mushrooms will release a lot of their water and the sauce with become much thinner and increase in volume. 

Finally, cut a few pats of butter and set on top of the mushrooms.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.  Pour over hot hamburgers, a grilled steak, or a steaming spoonful of mashed potatoes! 

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Fingers

I saw this recipe on the back of a Bisquick box, and I thought I would love to try it and see if the kids love it.  My children love chicken fingers, and this was a yummy recipe that was baked instead of fried AND it included cheese!  I mean, HELLO!? I whipped these up last night for supper and it was a huge hit.  The kids enjoyed chicken fingers along with macaroni and cheese and green beans, while JB and I cut our tenders up and served them on top of a delicious Caesar salad! Two wins!

I adapted the original recipe just a little bit, but it's basically the recipe on the box.  Give it a try! Chances are you have a box of Bisquick in your pantry.

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken Fingers

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2/3 cup Original Bisquick mix
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

Heat oven to 450 degrees F.  Line cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper; spray with cooking spray.  In a medium bowl (or in a gallon-sized ziploc bag) combine Bisquick mix, cheese, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.  In another small bowl, beat egg and add milk.  Stir till combined.  Dip half of the chicken strips into egg mixture, then place in the Bisquick mixture to thoroughly coat each strip.  Place chicken on cookie sheet.  Repeat with other half of chicken.  Drizzle melted butter over chicken.

Bake 12-14 minutes, turning halfway through baketime, until no longer pink in center.  (My strips were pretty thick, so I ended up cooking mine about 20 minutes total).

Servings: 4

Honey Curry Chicken

This is an oldie, but a goodie!

I first saw this recipe on the GirlTalk Blog several years ago, but I never had it until a friend from church brought us this delicious chicken dinner shortly after we had Nora.  To be honest, this was my first experience with curry.  We instantly fell in love with this yummy chicken, and when I got the recipe in my hands and saw how simple it was to throw together, I knew it would be an instant family favorite.  I'm sure several of you have come across this recipe before, but if not, give it a try!  So yummy!

Honey Curry Chicken

Ingredients:

1-2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a shallow baking dish, arrange chicken pieces.  In a separate bowl, combine butter, honey, mustard, salt and curry powder.  Pour over chicken pieces and bake 30 minutes, or until chicken is done.  Baste several times during cooking. 

Serve over hot white rice. 

***The sauce on this chicken is SO delicious.  You could even double the sauce to make sure you have plenty for pouring over your rice or broccoli or bread or just to slurp with a spoon.  Seriously good.

Chicken & Creamy Chive Sauce

This is sooooooo one of my favorite meals!   It is absolutely delicious, and I am going to put this under the "fancy" category because it calls for white wine in the sauce which totally knocks it up from everyday to "fancy" (in my opinion, anyway).  This is a crockpot meal, which makes even better for busy mommas like me!  I love to cook this on a busy day, and I have also been known to put it together before church on a Sunday morning so that it is ready and waiting for us when we get home.  It's a great meal to serve to guests as well!

Chicken & Creamy Chive Sauce

Ingredients:

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts  (approximately 1.5 lbs.)
1/4 cup butter
1- 0.7 oz. package of dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 can condensed golden mushroom soup (very important to use GOLDEN mushroom)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2  of an 8 oz. tub chive/onion flavored cream cheese

Directions:

Place chicken in slow cooker.
In a small saucepan, melt butter.  Add dressing mix, soup, wine, and cream cheese.  Stir and heat on low-medium heat until cream cheese is melted and all ingredients are combined well.  Pour over chicken. Cook 4-5 hours on low in slow cooker.  Serve over pasta.

***You can easily substitute chicken broth in place of the white wine, BUT I think the wine adds a great kick to the flavor!
***For an even fancier touch, snip fresh chives over the chicken and pasta before serving.

Sloppy Joes. Slop, slop, slop, Sloppy Joes!

YUM!

Sloppy Joes are a childhood favorite of Jonathan's, so if I am ever needing to throw dinner together in a hurry, I grab my ever-present can of Manwich out of the pantry, brown my ground meat, and TA-DAH! Dinner is served.

Sooooo, when The Pioneer Woman posted her homemade recipe for Sloppy Joes sometime within the past two weeks, I looked at the ingredient list, saw that I had everything in my refrigerator or pantry, and decided to give them a whirl.

They were phenomenal and probably one of the quickest meals to make.  Enjoy!


Sloppy Joes
Serves 2-4

Ingredients:
1 lb. of ground beef or turkey
1 Tablespoon of butter (optional)
1/2 onion, chopped finely
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped finely
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I was out and probably wouldn't have used them anyway because Nora was eating, too.  But, if you like heat, add these in!)
Worcestirshire sauce, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Hamburger buns, buttered and toasted if desired

Directions:


1.  Add butter to a large skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until brown, then drain.
2.  Add onions, green pepper, and garlic. Cook for a few minutes, or until vegetables begin to get soft.
3.  Add ketchup, brown sugar, chili pepper, dry mustard, and water. Stir to combine and simmer for 15 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. Also add tomato paste, Worcestershire, and Tabasco if desired. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
4.  Spoon meat mixture over the buns.

Serving suggestions:  Jonathan likes his bun with mayo (YUCK)!  However, I skip the mayo and add a slice of cheese, melted just enough to make it gooey!  Delicious!  We had these with French fries and corn.

Oh, and check your face in the mirror before heading out of the door to Home Depot or Target, because chances are you'll have Sloppy Joes stains on the corners of your mouth from devouring such a delicious supper.  Your welcome!

Strawberry Cake

This is a landmark recipe in the Bradshaw family. I was first introduced to it just weeks after meeting Jonathan and his family. His mom is known for this cake recipe, and it will definitely haunt you once you serve it to your loved ones, so if you are not prepared to make this cake often or pass on the recipe to your dearly beloved, stay away.

Ingredients:

1 box of Strawberry cake mix, baked as directed (so you'll need the eggs, oil, water, etc. that the cake mix requires)
1 box of Strawberry jello
Water

Directions:
Bake strawberry cake as directed. Let cool. While cake is cooling, mix up jello and water as directed on package. Take a knife and poke holes all over the top of the strawberry cake, making sure you poke through to the bottom. Pour strawberry jello mixture into the holes. Ice cake with Homemade Cream Cheese Icing, then refrigerate until jello sets up in cake, about 2 hours. Serve!

This cake is just PERFECT for summertime! You can also change things up by doing a yellow cake with orange or lemon flavored jello. The options are endless!

Grocery List for Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Icing:

• Strawberry Cake Mix
• Strawberry Jello
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
• 1 box of powdered sugar
• Eggs, oil, water, etc. that cake mix calls for