BEEF STROGANOFF

This dish is probably in my list of top 5 all-time favorite dishes. I'm pretty sure the LOADS of butter I use may play a small part in that rating ;).

Beef Stroganoff
Butter and/or olive oil for frying
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 medium onions, sliced thin
1 (20-oz) sirloin steak, cut into 1” strips
1/2 flour, for dredging
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 garlic powder
½ cup red wine, plus more for deglazing pan
16 oz beef consomme, or beef stock
1 pint sour cream
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
Egg noodles or rice as an accompaniment
Parsley, for garnish (optional)

In a hot sauté pan melt butter and sauté the mushrooms first and then add the onions. The mushrooms take a little longer. Season the flour with salt, pepper and garlic powder and dredge the meat in the flour. In another sauté pan or skillet, melt butter and brown strips of sirloin that have been dredged in flour, and set aside. When the onions, mushrooms and meat are done, deglaze both of the pans with a little red wine and combine all ingredients into one pan. Add 2 cups beef stock, wine, ½ of the pint of sour cream, and the Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. During the cooking the sour cream will separate and some of the butterfat will become visible. This is normal, just stir the pot. Just before serving add the balance of the sour cream, stir to combine. Serve over noodles or brown rice and garnish with parsley.
Difficulty: Easy Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour Yield: 4 to 6 Servings
This recipe was found on FoodNetwork.com. I made a few changes to it. It had been submitted by one of their viewers.

Chicken Piccata

For tonight's dinner I made Chicken Piccata. YUMMY!! I think I love Chicken Piccata because of the capers. I like capers...no, wait, I LOVE capers. I have a love affair with capers. I can't get enough capers. I love their salty goodness when they pop in my mouth. They add such a great flavor to so many dishes. I truly feel this little flower bud is under-utilized in cooking.

Chicken Piccata
8 boneless chicken breasts halves
6 TBSP butter, room temperature
2 TBSP all-purpose flour, plus additional flour for dredging
1 TBSP olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup chicken broth
¼ cup drained capers
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley


Mix 2 TBSP butter and 2 TBSP flour in small bowl until smooth. Set aside. Lightly pound chicken between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap to ¼” thickness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place additional flour in shallow baking dish. Dredge chicken in flour to coat; shake off excess. Heat 1 TBSP oil in large heavy skillet. Add 2 chicken breasts and cook until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a platter; tent with foil to keep warm. Cook remaining chicken breasts, two or three at a time. Bring wine, lemon juice and broth to boil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in butter-flour mixture and boil until sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in capers, parsley and remaining 4 TBSP butter. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

Toffee Bars

I received this recipe from a former co-worker many years ago. This is SO yummy and SO easy to make! People can't get enough of this tasty treat. You are guaranteed to the hit of any party where you show up with a plate of these delicacies. Thank you, Pat L., for introducing me to this wonderful treat.

TOFFEE BARS

1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup butter
Graham crackers - enough to cover bottom of pan
Hershey bars
Sliced almonds - as much as you’d like

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a baking pan with a single layer of graham crackers. Set aside. Combine butter and brown sugar in a pan and let melt together, then allow t boil for 2 minutes (stir occasionally). Pour mixture onto graham crackers and spread to cover crackers equally. Sprinkle sliced almonds on top. Place on Hershey bar over each graham cracker (you may have to shorten the length of the Hershey bar so that it fits squarely on the cracker. Place baking pan in oven and bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool in the refrigerator.

Three-step Country French Chicken - CROCKPOT

Today is a nice, cool day - perfect for cooking something in the Crock Pot. This dish has SO much flavor. You can brown the chicken the night before to save time when assembling this in the morning.

Three-step Country French Chicken for the Crock Pot

2 TBSP butter
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup water
1 pkg Knorr's Spring Vegetable Soup Recipe Mix
2 TBSP flour
1/2 cup sour cream

Brown chicken breasts in butter over medium-high heat. Transfer to a slow cooker. In a bowl, stir together water and vegetable soup mix. Pour over chicken. Cook on low heat for 8 hours. Remove chicken to a platter. Stir together flour and sour ccream and add to mixture in slow cooker, heating for 15 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serves 4.

I use a cube of butter to brown the chicken and I add about 1 TBSP of the browned butter to the crock pot when I add the chicken. Serve this with steamed rice and your favorite veggie.

Italian Chicken with Cream Sauce for the CROCKPOT

Hey there bloggers!Tonight I'm making my creamy Italian chicken and the smell is making me crazy. This is a super-simple easy-breezy recipe that I'm sure will become a quick family favorite!

This chicken dish is rich, creamy and very tasty. It is delicisou served over fettucine with a garden salad on the side...but tonight I'm cooking artichokes.



ITALIAN CHICKEN WITH CREAM SAUCE FOR THE CROCKPOT

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
1 cube butter
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
1/2 cup water
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 can (10 1/2 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (4 oz) can mushrooms, drained (optional - I never use these)
16 oz fettuccine, coooked and drained

Season chicken with salt, pepper & garlic powder. Melt butter in saute pan (don't use non-stick for this) and brown chicken breasts over medium to medium high heat...just a few minutes per side - only long enough to make it a nice, golden brown. Place the chicken in the crock pot. Drain the butter but leave all the beautiful browned bits in the bottom of the saute pan. Making sure the saute pan is still on the heat and pour in the 1/2 cup of water and scrape up all the browned bits. Turn off heat and add the package of Italian salad dressing mix. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours. In a glass bowl, beat the cream cheeese and soup until well blended. Stir in the mushrooms and pour mixture over the chicken. I will stir this into the liquid already in the pot as good as I can. Cook about 1 hour longer. Serve over the cook fettuccine.