Sour Cream Noodle Bake

I tried this recipe the other night and it was DELISH! I happen to love sour cream so this was right up my alley. I know some people don't like cottage cheese and so if you don't care for it I would use only sour cream instead of the cottage cheese. I got this recipe from here.

Ingredients

• 1-¼ pound Ground Chuck
• 1 can 15-ounces Tomato Sauce
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 8 ounces, weight Egg Noodles
• ½ cups Sour Cream
• 1-¼ cup Small Curd Cottage Cheese
• ½ cups Sliced Green Onions (less To Taste)
• 1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown ground chuck in a large skillet. Drain fat, then add tomato sauce. 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir, then simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.
Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add to noodles and stir. Add green onions and stir.
To assemble, add half of the noodles to a baking dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the grated cheddar. Repeat with noodles, meat, then a final layer of cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until all cheese is melted.
Serve with crusty French bread.

Irish Soda Bread

I could eat an entire Irish Soda Bread on my own, it is that good! Mine happens to be moist and I really like it that way but I know some people prefer it to be dry.

3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
pinch of baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter (softened; I put mine in the microwave for about 15 seconds to get it soft)
1 cup raisins
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
caraway seeds (about a tablespoon)

Mix dry ingredients and work in soft butter to a crumb mix, add in the raisins. Beat eggs in a small bowl until light and add the eggs and buttermilk to the flour. Once all the ingredients are well mixed add in caraway seeds and mix in. Grease a cast iron skillet and bake at 375 for about 40-45 minutes until nicely brown.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

I LOVE corned beef and cabbage, but I only make it for St. Patrick's Day. Same with my Irish Soda Bread, which I will share my recipe for. I make my corned beef and cabbage in a slow cooker but I am sure on the stovetop with a dutch oven will work as well.

6- 8 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into thick slices
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 corned beef brisket, about 3 pounds
1 cabbage, about 2 pounds
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 cups water

Lightly spray 5-6 quart crockpot; layer potato slices over bottom of pot with carrots. Place corned beef on vegetables. Slice cabbage into 8 wedges and arrange the cabbage around the meat. Sprinkle with the pepper and add water. Cook on low for 6 hours, or high for about 3. When done remove meat and let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Rigatoni with Mushrooms, Chicken and Wine Sauce

I found this recipe and it looked really good so last night I decided to finally make it. Unfortunately my daughter, Leah, was being extremely cranky and whiny so I was cooking while holding her and listening to her whine and cry, which made me read the recipe wrong and instead of 1/4 cup of wine, I used 2 cups. I thought I had made a disaster but decided to just let the wine reduce a while longer and it turned out FANTASTIC! So my mistake ended up being a success. My husband even said he would prefer this dish to ordering in Italian, which is a BIG thing cause he would order from our favorite Italian restaurant pretty much every night if he had the option!
8 oz. rigatoni
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ cup chopped onion
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced ( I buy them already sliced so I don't have to do it)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream (I used half and half, but heavy cream would be better)
1 tsp corn starch
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. butter
Directions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, cook pasta and drain well.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts to the pan and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside. When cool enough to handle, cut into bite-size pieces.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan with the heat on medium-high. Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add the mushrooms to the pan and continue to cook about 5 minutes more. Mix in the garlic, then add the wine, scraping with a spoon to deglaze the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the chicken broth and bring to a simmer, lower the heat to medium and continue to simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half. This may take about 15- 20 minutes. Stir in the cream and cook until heated through. (if the sauce is very liquidy and you prefer it thicker add in the corn starch to thicken) Add in the herbs, Parmesan and butter; mix until well blended and the butter is completely melted. Add the chicken back to the pan and then add the rigatoni and toss with the sauce. Top with a bit more parmesan cheese. It may seem that the sauce is a bit liquidy but the more it sits the thicker it will become.

Sweet potato with apples and maple syrup

I was going to make my butternut squash and apple side dish the other night but my squash was pretty sorry looking so I had to think quick and realized I had a sweet potato sitting on the counter and I improvised. I also thought that maple syrup might be nice to use instead of the brown sugar I use with the squash, and I am so glad I tried it this was delish and the kids really loved it!

1-2 apples skinned and chopped
1-2 sweet potatoes skinned and chopped
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp butter

In a baking dish mix together all ingredients and bake at 400 degrees until tender.

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

So I usually plan my meals in advance. My husband and I sit down on Saturday or Sunday and plan for the week what we will eat and then one of us goes to the supermarket. Tonight was going to be chicken wings with butternut squash and apples as a side dish. But when I opened the package of chicken they did not smell good, so in the garbage they went. Then when I opened the pre-cut squash they felt all slimy, so that also went in the garbage. This left me without a plan for dinner. Luckily earlier in the week I bought chopped meat because we were planning on having bacon cheeseburgers but went to dinner at my sister-in-law's house instead. That's where the bacon cheeseburger meatloaf came to be.

I have made bacon cheeseburger meatloaf once before when I was pregnant with my son, so about 4 years ago and it was a Paula Deen recipe and it was really good but also VERY fattening! This recipe is still not healthy but not as bad as the Paula Deen recipe.

1 lb ground beef (or you can use turkey or chicken if you prefer)
1 cup grated cheese (I used cheddar but you can use whatever you like)
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
worcestershire sauce
2 strips of bacon

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the meat, egg, bread crumbs, and worcestershire sauce. Take 1/3 of the mixture and form into the base of the meatloaf, so kind of a rectangle. Make a well in the middle and put cheese in the well. Take the rest of the meat and cover the cheese, making sure that the sides are sealed together, you don't want your cheese to ooze out while cooking. Take bacon and cut it in half and lay it on top of the meatloaf. Bake in oven for about 20-30 min. The bacon will be nice and crispy and the cheese in the center will be oozy and melty. YUM!