catching you up on recipes I've tried

Whew, it's been really difficult to catch the blog up lately! I've been keeping up with my goal of trying 5 new recipes a week, just have had no time to post them! So, I'm catching you up from this past week of recipes. I've tried some great new recipes, and one that was kind of a flop. I'd say those are good numbers! :) So far everyone's liked what I've made which is a great encouragement to me! I'm so sick of the same old menu that it's really exciting me to try all these new things! So read on my readers! And hopefully you will be inspired to try something new too!

Recipe – Best Ever Lasagna (5 stars)
From - Goose Berry Patch, Harvest Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
1t. Italian Seasoning
8-12 lasagna noodles, uncooked and broken into thirds
28 oz jar spaghetti sauce
1/3 c. water
15 oz container ricotta cheese
8 oz package of shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions:
Combine ground beef and Italian seasoning. Arrange half the lasagna noodles in a greased slow cooker. Spread half the ground beef mixture over noodles. Top with half each of remaining ingredients. Repeat layering process. Cover and cook for 5 hours on low setting. Serves 10.

My Notes – I also added about ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese, ¼ cup per layer, and then sprinkled some on top as well. This is fantastic! Word of caution, don’t forget to spray. I did and my noodles tried to stick to my crock pot. Add a salad and some garlic bread and wah-lah! You have a great meal that didn’t take much effort!
 
Recipe – Chicken and Dressing Casserole (3 stars)
From – Goose Berry Patch, Harvest Kitchen

Ingredients:
½ c. margarine
1 c. celery, chopped
1 c. onion, chopped
2 c. cornbread crumbs
2 c. bread crumbs
Dried sage to taste
10 ¾ oz. can cream of chicken soup
5 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
10 ½ oz. jar chicken gravy

Instructions:
Heat margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Add celery and onion; cook until tender. Combine celery mixture, cornbread crumbs, bread crumbs, sage, and soup. If desires, add water to reach desired consistency. Transfer to a lightly greased 13x9 baking pan. Arrange chicken over top; spread gravy over chicken. Bake, covered, at 375 for one hour. Serves 12.

My Notes – This was okay, but not something we’ll try again. The flavor was a bit “off” for us. You can substitute chicken broth for the water if you want. Also, this took longer than an hour for me.

 
Recipe – Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake
From – Goose Berry Patch, Church Suppers

Ingredients:
6 T. butter, melted
1c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 ½ t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
8 oz container sour cream
6 oz pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:
Blend together butter and sugar in a medium bowl; add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition and set aside. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream; mix well. Pour into a greased and floured 13x9 baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until golden and toothpick tests clean. Serves 12.

My Notes – This is terrific!!! I used mini chocolate chips and a Bundt pan and it still came out fabulous. You have to add about 5-7 min to the cooking time if you use a Bundt, but it still turns out the same.

 
Recipe – Shredded Baby Back Ribs Sandwiches
From – Jen Rector

Ingredients:
1 rack Baby Back Ribs
1 bottle Cattleman’s Original BBQ Sauce
8 hamburger buns

Instructions:
Place the ribs in a 13x9 baking dish and lather on ¾ of the bottle of BBQ sauce. Bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until done. Remove the rib meat from the bones and place in food processor. Add remaining BBQ sauce and pan drippings, and shred meat on low. Serve on buns; serves 8.

My Notes – You may want to use a larger size bottle of BBQ sauce. I found that reserving only ¼ of the bottle didn’t leave much sauce to shred the meat with. This is a fantastic recipe that I will be using again for sure! It is super easy!

 
Recipe – Cashew Beef Stir-fry
From – Best of Taste of Home

Ingredients:
2 T. Cornstarch
2 c. cold water
4 T. soy sauce, divided
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
2 T. canola oil
3 medium carrots, julienned
1 lb. beef top sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ t. pepper
2 medium green peppers, cut into strips
2 medium sweet red peppers, cut into strips
2 medium onions, halved and sliced
1 yellow summer squash, sliced
1 ½ c. salted cashews
Hot cooked rice

Instructions:
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch, water, and 2 tablespoons soy sauce until smooth; set aside. In a very large skillet or wok, stir-fry broccoli and carrots in 1 tablespoon oil until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Add the beef, garlic, pepper, and remaining soy sauce; stir-fry until meat is no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.

In the same pan, stir-fry the green and red peppers, onions, and squash with the remaining oil until crisp-tender. Return beef to the pan.

Stir cornstarch mixture and gradually add to pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cashews. Serve with rice.

My Notes – This is great! I didn’t add in the cashews but it was still wonderful.

 
Recipe – Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake
From – Best of Taste of Home

Ingredients:
1 c. all purpose flour
½ c. sugar
¾ t. baking powder
½ t. salt
¼ t. baking soda
1 egg
2/3 c. buttermilk
2 T. butter, melted
1 t. vanilla extract
¼ t. almond extract
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries, divided
½ c. sliced almonds
1 T. brown sugar
¼ t. ground cinnamon

Instructions:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk, butter, and extracts until blended. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in 2/3 cup of blueberries.

Pour into a greased 8 inch square baking dish. Top with remaining blueberries. Combine the almonds, brown sugar, and cinnamon; sprinkle over the top. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

My Notes – This is very tasty! I used frozen blueberries and it came out just fine. If you used stoneware to bake this be sure to add about 10 baking time.