Category Archives: Recipes

Fully Loaded Vegetarian Salsa Chili

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Veronica

Though my tastes have changed during pregnancy, mainly from loving sweets, to abhorring them, to loving them again, one thing has remained pretty consistent. My zeal for soup. It started early on, I think before I even announced I was pregnant, and continues now, though not as strong. I enjoyed and made many soups during the heat of summer, which was previously against my food religion (ewwww, hot soup in summer?!), but pregnancy knows no restrictions on seasonal meals. I enjoyed winter meals all summer!

I created this chili during one of the weeks a month or so back when we had to eat mainly out of our cupboards because we were stretching our budget to include things like baby bedding, a 3D sonogram and bigger bras. :D And what a blessing that necessity became, because we had some of our best meals during those weeks, including the Tilapia with Chile Lime Butter (I found like 2 tons of tilapia in our freezer).

It’s hard to believe I actually had all these ingredients on hand (even the peppers – I barely saved them before they went bad), but I’m so glad I did because the flavor was just incredible and I can’t imagine leaving any of them out. I usually enjoy meat in my chili, but I never missed it here because it’s so hearty and flavorful. I ate leftovers for lunch for several days and was sad to eat the last bowl. It is so, so very good, and for the record I never once ate it with the additional toppings pictured. I just didn’t need anything else – it was so good all on its own.

Fully Loaded Vegetarian Salsa Chili

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3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1 green pepper, seeded and diced
1 orange or yellow pepper, seeded and diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, diced
1 ½ cups salsa
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes (roasted, if you have them)
2 (15.5 oz) cans white beans (great Northern or navy) , drained and rinsed
1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15.5 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15.25 oz) can corn, drained
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chiles (such as Rotel)
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 serrano pepper, finely chopped, seeds included (optional for a spicy kick)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons real maple syrup
½ teaspoon rubbed sage
Salt to taste
1 bunch cilantro, leaves only, chopped
Optional garnishments: shredded cheddar, sour cream, limes for squeezing over individual bowls

Add the carrots and garlic to a food processor and process until very fine and wet, about a minute, stopping to scrape down the sides often. Add to a stock pot along with the remaining ingredients, except for the cilantro. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for an hour or until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally. You can simmer as long as you want but I recommend at least an hour. Stir in the cilantro and serve hot with optional garnishments and cornbread (this chili is especially good with some sweet cornbread to contrast the heat if you made it hot like I did). I have several recipes to choose from below, if you’re looking for a new one to try.

Favorite Cornbread (this one is a sweet Northern cornbread and it is the best. ever.)
Lighter Northern Cornbread
Homestead Cornbread (a flourless, sugarless, Southern-style cornbread)
Amish Friendship Creamed Cornbread
Honey Whole Wheat Cornbread
Sweet Corn Muffins (two ingredients!)

A Veronica’s Cornucopia original, with help from Biz’s Beef & Bean Salsa Chili, and Suzie’s award-winning Next Day Chili.

Interested in other delicious meatless meals? You might enjoy…

Chickpea Salad Wraps {Mock Tuna Salad}

Corn, Avocado & Black Bean Tostadas

Bean Curry

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Posted in Lighter Fare, Vegetarian & Vegan and tagged loaded, vegan, vegetarian chili. Bookmark the permalink.

German Baked Beans For a Crowd

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Veronica

~Photo by Jessica Rose~

Last Saturday was our 37th annual Davis Family Pig Roast. (My maiden name is Davis, FYI.) This family reunion was started four years before I was born, and now the responsibilities have been passed on to the next generation and I’m on the planning committee and have been in charge of creating & sending the invitations for the last five years.

The remaining Davis siblings (RIP Jimmy, Doris, and Mary): Margie, Nadene, Donnie (the one who started the pig roast), Ruby, and my Dad, Jon.

~Photo by Jessica Rose~

The younger generation that runs the roast nowadays.

~Photo by Jessica Rose~

The pig roast is an all day affair, starting early in the morning when a few good men get up at the crack of dawn to put the pig (prepped the night before) on our custom roaster, and it doesn’t end until well after dark, with everyone gathering around a bonfire to drink, chat, and roast hot dogs and marshmallows for s’mores.

~Photo by Jessica Rose~

We spend the day mostly talking, though there are things you can entertain yourself with, such as Bingo, swimming in the lake, bike riding, or walking. The main event however, is the afternoon meal, which we eat when the pig is done.

~Photo by Jessica Rose~

Dennis leads us in a prayer before the meal, and then it’s on. Well, after you stand in a really long line, then it’s on. :)

~Photo by Jessica Rose~

First we go inside where all the sides that family have brought are lined up on tables…

Then we go outside to the table where the meat has been cut up and laid out, along with garlic bread.

Then we go back inside (or take a chair outside) to chow down.

Some people bring the same thing every year, and I love that because it gives you something to look forward to. Like Aunt Ruby’s Garlic Salad. It just wouldn’t be the Pig Roast without her garlic salad (which she actually doesn’t even make herself any more, her son Tyson does it for her!). Then there’s people like me, who make something different every year. This year I decided to bring a big crockpot full of German Baked Beans, which I found the recipe for on The Better Baker’s blog. I knew when she posted it that it’d be perfect for our reunion, and I was right. It was devoured!

Dennis said he could taste the saurkraut (and liked it), but if I hadn’t made it and couldn’t see it in there, I would have had no clue. These beans are sweet and so good with the onion and sausage in them, but if you’d like more sass to them, you can try skipping the rinsing on the saurkraut and that might give them a bit of a zip. This is how I made them in the crockpot for a crowd. If you’d like the oven-baked, regular-sized recipe, you can click the link to Marsha’s blog at the end.

German Baked Beans For a Crowd

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2 (15 oz) cans pork and beans
2 (15 oz) cans baked beans
2 (14 oz) cans sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 small or 1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 (14 oz) package kielbasa sausage, sliced & quartered

Combine all ingredients in a 6 quart crockpot and cook on low for 4-5 hours, removing the cover during the last hour to let some of the liquid evaporate if desired.

Alternately, you can halve this recipe for a smaller crowd and bake it in the oven. To do this, preheat oven to 400F and combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer to a 2-qt. baking dish, coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake uncovered for 1 – 1-1/2 hours.

Recipe source: The Better Baker

I just love my family!

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Posted in Side Dishes, Slow-Cooker/Crockpot and tagged barbecue, crockpot, crowd, German baked beans, potluck, saurkraut, slow cooker. Bookmark the permalink.

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Veronica

Wow, that title is a mouthful! Sometimes it’s hard to stick to a two or three-word recipe name when there’s so much goodness going on with it. I had to tell you this was creamy, because that’s one of the best features of this dish. I had to tell you it features green chiles, both straight up and in salsa verde, because the flavor profile this creates with the creamy & cheesy ingredients is rockin’. And it’s a chicken enchilada casserole so I couldn’t exclude those words. For your sake, I didn’t mention the beans in the title, though I was tempted to call this “Creamy Green Chile Chicken & White Bean Enchilada Casserole.” You gotta draw the line somewhere, am I right?

Pretty much everything I eat right now seems like the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life. So maybe it’s not true that this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life, but it sure felt that way while I was eating it. It’s filling (yay for protein, fat and fiber! hehe), which made me so sad because I wanted to eat the whole casserole, in one sitting, all by myself. It seriously rocked my world. I was so excited to serve it to my husband (we hardly ever eat dinner together, and on this occasion I actually ate before him, which is unusual since he usually gets off work before me) and I tried not to lean over his shoulder to gauge his reaction. But I kinda did. He never gets excited about food like I do, but he said it was “really good” and ate a huge plateful rather quickly, then went back for more. I’d say that’s a big two thumbs up from the Den man!

There’s pepper in this dish, but the black flecks come mainly from the roasted salsa verde, linked to in the recipe.

I based the recipe off of my favorite Creamy Chicken Enchiladas, and maybe it’s just that I haven’t had them in over a year (so many recipes, so little time), but I do believe this green casserole version is even better than the original enchiladas. All I know is it’s good, and I would definitely make it for company!

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole

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1 ½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 medium onion
2 tablespoons butter
1 (7 oz) can chopped green chiles
½ cup salsa verde (I used Walmart’s World Table Roasted Salsa Verde, which I highly recommend)
1 (15.5 oz) can white beans (such as navy or Great Northern), drained and rinsed
1 cup light sour cream
1 (10.5 oz) can light cream of chicken soup
1 ½ cups Monterrey Jack, divided
1 ½ cups Cheddar, divided
*OR 3 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend substituted for both cheeses
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
8-10 white corn tortillas, quartered
Butter for pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13×9 pan with butter and set aside.

Salt your chicken breasts and cook them in a skillet or grill (I use my George Foreman). Allow to cool enough that they won’t burn your hands, then chop them up; set aside.

While the chicken is cooking, heat a skillet over medium-high heat and chop up your onion. Melt the butter in the heated skillet and add the onions, sautéing until softened. Stir in the green chiles and salsa verde and cook for 3-5 more minutes to cook off some of the liquid. Add the chicken, white beans, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, 2 cups of the cheese (reserve the rest for the top), garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir together until well blended and cheese is melted.

Spread a small amount of the chicken mixture over the bottom of your prepared pan, then put a layer of the quartered tortillas over it, slightly overlapping. Spread half of the remaining chicken mixture over the tortillas, then another layer of tortillas, and finish with the remaining chicken mixture. Sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top, then cover with foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray to keep the cheese from sticking (or use the nonstick foil). Bake for 15 minutes, remove foil, and bake another 5 minutes or until bubbling around the edges. Let sit 10 minutes before cutting.

Veronica’s notes: I highly recommend shredding your own cheese, as the preshredded kind doesn’t melt as well and IMHO, does not taste as good. You will need ¾ of an 8 ounce block of both cheddar and Monterrey Jack for this recipe (every 8 oz block makes 2 cups of shredded cheese). The tortillas are super simple to cut into quarters if you layer five tortillas and use a pizza cutter on them, or a chef’s knife. Also, this would make an excellent meatless meal if you just replace the chicken with another 2-3 cans of white beans.

A Veronica’s Cornucopia original, with help for transforming it into a casserole from 4 Little Fergusons

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Posted in Main Dishes, Mexican, My Favorites and tagged chicken enchilada casserole, creamy, green chile, Mexican, southwest, white. Bookmark the permalink.

Fluffy Whole Wheat Pancakes

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Veronica

I like pancakes. But for some reason, I can let years go by without making them. I’m even worse with waffles. It’s been probably four years since I made waffles. I don’t know why! They are so good and so simple.

Last week I woke up with a hankering for pancakes. I consider buttermilk pancakes made with white flour the best, but I had no buttermilk and I wanted them to be a little more on the healthy side, so I whipped up a whole wheat batch instead, using coconut sugar (a Christmas gift from Emma H., a sweet reader) in place of regular and raw coconut nectar instead of maple syrup. I didn’t plan to blog them, figuring they’d be nothing all that special, so I took a bite without taking any pictures first. And then I died. Or at least I thought I did, because as soon as I dug in, I was transported to heaven. Pictures ensued.

The pancakes are surprisingly fluffy and light for being whole wheat. The whole wheat aspect gives them more substance, but doesn’t seem to weigh them down. I definitely love the flavor whole wheat adds to pancakes. Slathered with butter and syrup, they are a delicious and wholesome breakfast treat!

Warning: tangent ahead. If you have no interest in coconut sweeteners, just skip to the recipe and use whatever kind of sweetener in and out of the pancakes you like. :)

If you’ve never tried coconut sweeteners and are curious about them, here’s the deal. They are low-glycemic sweeteners (35 on the glycemic index, which is comparable to most fruits and veggies) that won’t spike your blood sugar like regular sugar, or even good-for-you honey and maple syrup. This is good news not only for diabetics, but for everyone, since eating sugary foods can cause a crash that makes you crave more sugar – the vicious sugar cycle. Coconut sweeteners are unrefined as well, meaning a lot healthier for you than regular sugar! They both are an abundant source of minerals, amino acids, vitamin-C, broad spectrum B vitamins, and have a nearly neutral PH.

As for the taste, you might be surprised to know that neither come from the coconut fruit itself, or taste anything like coconut! The sugar is produced from the flower buds of the coconut tree, and the syrup/nectar comes from the tree sap, just like maple syrup is taken from the sap of maple trees. I think the sugar is similar to brown sugar, and looks like it too, except it doesn’t stick/clump together. The syrup is similar to molasses, especially when tasted straight, but much milder in flavor. I didn’t think I’d like it on pancakes because I’m not a huge fan of molasses, but the flavor changed when added to them. Not molasses at all, just a nice mildly sweet flavor that compliments the pancakes – absolutely fantastic!

Fluffy Whole Wheat Pancakes

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1 cup (4 oz) whole wheat flour
1 ½ tablespoons sugar (I used coconut sugar)
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup (8 oz) milk
2 tablespoons butter or oil, plus more for skillet (I used coconut oil)

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk egg and then mix in milk and oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until mixed, but not smooth. Let batter rest for five minutes while you preheat the skillet or griddle to 350F. Test if it’s ready by scattering drops of water over it. If they sizzle and dance, it’s ready.

Grease the skillet with a tablespoon of butter or coconut oil, then pour batter onto skillet to make pancakes the size of your choice. Once bubbles are over the surface and the edges are turning dry, flip over and cook until done. Serve warm with butter and syrup (I use raw coconut nectar).

Makes two giant pancakes, or four regular-sized ones.

Recipe source: adapted from Alton Brown’s recipe

Chocolatey Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Veronica

Back when I made the super-fantastic Double Chocolate Banana Bread, I also made a loaf of chocolate zucchini bread, hoping it would turn out as good as the banana bread. It was a huge, miserable disappointment. Dry, and hardly any chocolate flavor. I didn’t mention this on that post, but out of the blue, reader Caren K. mentioned she had a chocolate zucchini bread recipe that was to die for. Of course I had to ask her for it, and she thankfully obliged.

This bread totally met my expectations! As you can see in the pictures, I barely had half a loaf to photograph the next day because we couldn’t help but dig in, and dig in some more, while it was cooling the night before. It is so incredibly moist, to the point of being fudgy, and I love the hint of cinnamon – it really adds some warmth and mystery to the bread. You don’t taste the instant coffee, and I suspect it is there to enhance the chocolate flavor. If so, I think it does its job well, as this bread is perfectly chocolatey!

Chocolatey Chocolate Zucchini Bread

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2 cups grated zucchini, measured after draining
1 ¼ cups (5 ¼ oz) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (3/4 oz) unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¾ cup (5.25 oz) sugar
1 large egg
6 tablespoons melted butter
¼ heaping teaspoon instant coffee granules
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Mini semisweet chocolate chips for top, if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray the bottom of an 8×4 loaf pan with oil; set aside. (I have an excellent nonstick pan, so you might want to spray the sides too, or use Miracle Pan Release if your baked goods tend to stick to yours.)

Grate zucchini and place in a colander in the sink to drain while you continue with the recipe. After it has drained, squeeze it to get out the extra liquid before measuring. Don’t pack the cups too much or your bread might be a little soggy the second day.

Whisk together the flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whisk until well combined. In a separate larger bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg until smooth. Add the melted butter, instant coffee granules, and vanilla extract and whisk until well combined. Add the shredded zucchini into the sugar mixture, then add the flour mixture in small sections, stirring to combine after each addition.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely on a rack. If desired, sprinkle some mini chocolate chips over the top while it cools. The heat from the loaf will make them soften and melt a little and stick well to it.

Recipe source: Caren K.

Tilapia with Chile Lime Butter

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Veronica

I have been enjoying a lot of flavorful & healthy meals lately, this being perhaps my favorite of them all. This fish is just bursting with flavor and while I enjoy fish normally, I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed it to this degree, except for with my favorite salmon. But I like this fish even more than the salmon!

I don’t think it’s just my pregnancy hormones tricking me into thinking this is one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever eaten. I got the recipe from Suzie, who proclaimed it a restaurant-worthy meal (I so agree!). Her husband is super picky and usually will only eat things like pizza and burgers, but even he ate this and enjoyed it. I knew it must be good if he was willing to even taste it, let alone eat a whole serving. My hubs couldn’t stop at one piece, he had to have two. :)

The chile-lime butter is the key here – it’s your secret weapon to make tilapia, which isn’t that exciting by itself, seem like the most incredible edible thing ever. It has so much flavor that you don’t need much to make your filet absolutely craveable, so it only adds 50 (healthy!) calories to your meal. Light, fresh, totally amazing. Do it.

Tilapia with Chile-Lime Butter

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For the butter:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped shallot (I used green onion)
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh Thai or Serrano chile, including seeds (this adds almost no heat – use more if you like it hot!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cilantro for garnish

For the fish:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tilapia fillets

Stir together butter, shallot, zest, lime juice, chile and salt in a bowl. Pat dry the fillets and sprinkle with salt. Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over moderately high heat until just smoking, then saute the fillets, turning over once with a spatula until golden brown and just cooked through (4-5 minutes). Transfer to a plate.

Serve each warm fillet with a dollop of chili lime butter spread over the top. Garnish with cilantro.

Recipe Source: Two Dogs in the Kitchen

18 Comments

Posted in Lighter Fare, Meats, Seafood and tagged best, chile lime butter, easy, fish, healthy, tilapia. Bookmark the permalink.

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti Casserole

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Veronica

I went through a comfort food phase last month where, despite the heat, all I wanted were piping hot casseroles and soups. Plain Chicken to the rescue, yet again! This is one of the things which satisfied my craving for comfort food. I resisted every temptation to change the recipe, except for using reduced fat cream cheese in place of regular, and while I will say there are some things I’d do different next time (as noted below), this was just so stinkin’ good. Creamy pasta, topped with an easy meat sauce and Parmesan cheese. Just. so. good.

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti Casserole

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12 oz spaghetti
1 (28 oz) jar prepared spaghetti sauce
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

In a skillet, brown the ground beef until cooked through; drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce. Set aside.

Cook spaghetti according to directions on packet. Drain and place cooked spaghetti in bowl. Add cream cheese, Italian Seasoning and minced garlic. Stir until cream cheese is melted and the spaghetti is thoroughly coated.

Lightly grease a 9×13″ pan. Spread a small amount of meat sauce in the bottom of the dish. Put spaghetti on top of sauce and top with remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

*Veronica’s note: I would suggest covering your dish with foil while baking to prevent the cheese and spaghetti drying out like mine did. Also, you might reserve some pasta water to add in when you mix in the cream cheese – it is quite thick and dry and I think some extra moisture would make it creamier. I also plan to use more sauce next time – maybe up to even two jars. What can I say, I like the sauce. :)

Recipe source: Plain Chicken

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Posted in Italian, My Favorites, Pasta and tagged cream cheese, creamy, easy, spaghetti casserole. Bookmark the permalink.

Sticky Sesame Chicken Legs or Wings

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Veronica

Last month I defrosted a ginormous tray of frozen chicken legs and then had no idea what to do with it. Usually I’m really independent when it comes to choosing the recipes I make (Pinterest is usually my favorite way to decide), but this time I sought help on Facebook, asking for ideas. Being connected to many fabulous cooks, I got many, and I chose this one because I had every ingredient and making them wouldn’t require an extra trip to the store. Score!

The recipe is actually meant for chicken wings but it works great on legs (and would also work great on any other part of the chicken, for that matter). I mean what part of chicken doesn’t taste great with some sticky-smoky-salty-sweet glaze on it, right? So good! And for those not firing up their ovens in the heat of summer, I really think these could be done on the grill, but I think you’d have to grill them naked and then brush the sauce on near the end of the cooking time so that it wouldn’t burn up. If you try it with success, please let me know!

Sticky Sesame Chicken Legs or Wings

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1 large garlic clove
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I use reduced sodium)
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons mild honey
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
Pinch of cayenne
3 lb chicken legs, wingettes or chicken wings*
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds, lightly toasted
1 scallion (green part only), finely chopped

Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large shallow baking pan (17 by 12 inches) with foil and lightly oil foil.

Mince garlic and mash to a paste with salt using a large heavy knife. Transfer garlic paste to a large bowl and stir in soy sauce, hoisin, honey, oil, and cayenne. Add wingettes to sauce, stirring to coat.

Arrange legs or wingettes in 1 layer in baking pan and roast, turning over once, until cooked through, about 35 minutes (the time is for wingettes but I really don’t remember cooking my drumsticks any longer! Maybe 10 minutes more? Just start checking at 35 minutes). Transfer legs or wingettes to a large serving bowl and toss with sesame seeds and scallion.

*If using chicken wings instead of wingettes, cut off and discard tips from chicken wings with kitchen shears or a large heavy knife, then halve wings at joint.

Recipe source: Epicurious

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Posted in Asian, Meats, Snacks & Appetizers and tagged Asian, chicken legs, chicken wings, easy, sticky sesame. Bookmark the permalink.

Easy Salisbury Steaks with Onion Gravy

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Veronica

This is how you know that food might be way too important to you. You make a bucket list. Which entirely consists of recipes you want to make before you die. Or in my case, before I turn 40. Lots of young food bloggers have a 30 Before 30 list, but since I’m older I made a 40 Before 40. I don’t turn 40 for another 8 years (OK, 7 years and 2 months if you want to get all technical and make me feel even older) so I should totally be able to do it, right?

Check out my 40 Before 40 list here.

Salisbury steak just so happens to be one of the recipes on my bucket list. Number 13 to be exact. I don’t know what it is about the number thirteen this year but it, and three (I just realized while talking about my age that I’ll be 33 when Joshua is born-more three’s!), just keep showing up! Anyway, I made the list several months ago and am happy to finally be able to cross off one of the recipes on it.

And what a delicious one it was! This is another goodie from The Better Baker, who makes a lot of “my kind” of foods (comfort food) but usually they are healthier options. My ultimate comfort food is meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy and Salisbury steak is sort of like little individual meatloaves with gravy so this was just a big plate of comfort for me. These were so good! So good. Like so good, guys. And unlike some more complicated recipes (which I’m sure are even more delish, however), they come together really quick and easy. I had my Salisbury steaks and mashed potatoes from scratch ready in half an hour. Dinner time!

Easy Salisbury Steaks with Onion Gravy

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1 egg
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers (about 15 crackers)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 (1 oz) envelope beefy onion soup mix*
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups cold water

In large bowl, combine egg, onion, saltines and pepper. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 5 oblong patties.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the patties and sear each side until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Remove patties to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.

In small bowl whisk together soup mix, flour and water; stir into skillet. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Return patties to skillet. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 – 7 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.

Serve with mashed potatoes and a veggie. I served mine with sour cream and chive mashed potatoes.

*The original recipe calls for regular onion soup mix, but I found a beefy version available for a limited time at Aldi. If you can’t find the beefy kind, I’m sure it’s just as good with regular! The color of your gravy will just be lighter.

Recipe source: adapted from The Better Baker

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Posted in Meats, My Favorites and tagged comfort food, easy, fast, Salisbury steak, sour cream and chive mashed potatoes. Bookmark the permalink.

Bread Machine Rye Bread

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Veronica

Last week I mentioned my favorite food in the whole world is a cheddar cheese sandwich with tomatoes, lettuce & onion. Unlike other sandwiches, which I like on any bread, this one has to have a particular kind: either Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Bread or rye bread. We made this sandwich a lot growing up, and we only had Ezekiel bread at home, despite my yearning for white bread. But now Ezekiel is my all-time favorite bread (go figure) and I love this sandwich on it! But I have to say, the flavor of rye goes so nicely with cheddar cheese that I choose it over Ezekiel bread most times.

I got this recipe from my friend, Erin, in 2009 and it’s the only rye bread recipe I’ve ever made because I just love it so much I have no reason to try another. I’ve been making it for several years now so I thought it was about time I shared the recipe!

This loaf was baked in the bread machine and lighter in color, probably because I made my coffee a little too strong in the latest loaf.

A note regarding the molasses: if you use unsulfured/unsulphured blackstrap molasses, it adds a good dose of iron, calcium, and potassium to your bread! (1 tablespoon contains 20% of your daily calcium and iron, and 17% of your potassium.) It has a little bit of a different flavor from regular molasses, but I used it in my most recent loaf and it tastes just as good as ever so you may as well boost your nutrition with the good stuff! I got mine at a health food store but they might even have it at the regular supermarket.

Bread Machine Rye Bread

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1 1/3 cups strong coffee
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 1/3 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons caraway seeds
1 cup rye flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour (I usually use all-purpose)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons rapid-acting bread machine yeast

Fill 2-lb bread machine pan with ingredients in the order listed, and bake according to bread machine manufacturer’s directions. If you wish to bake your bread in the oven, run the dough cycle. Once complete, dump onto a floured surface and shape into a loaf with floured hands, kneading in a bit more flour if the dough is too soft. Place in a 9×5 loaf pan (or two 8×4 1-lb bread pans for small loaves), covering with a towel and allowing to rise again until doubled in size. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when removed from the pan and tapped on the bottom. Remove to cooling rack and rub all over with a cold stick of butter. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Veronica’s note: I’ve always made this bread with the three different flours, but it is probably OK to use another cup of rye in place of the whole wheat.

Recipe source: Erin N.