Salisbury Steak Perfection!

I love Salisbury steaks smothered in brown gravy...oh my but my old recipe had a little to be desired so I've been playing with it. Let me tell you, I think I've found the secret! Melt in your mouth tender with just the right amount of kick! Try it yourself and come back to tell me what you think!

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 packs of crackers, crushed fine (you know, 4 to a box...use two of them)
2 eggs
1 package onion soup mix
1/4 cup steak sauce (like A-1 but use your favorite brand)
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Mix that all together well and make into patties (mine made about 10 patties) and grill them. I use my indoor grill. Now make up your favorite brown gravy recipe....I cheat and use the packages.....you'll need about 3 cups of gravy. Right before serving, pour your gravy over the top of them.

Oh Yummy! My mouth is still watering!

Chocolate Granola

A friend (thanks Vail!) gave us a bunch of rolled oats that she couldn't use fast enough so I thought I'd whip up some chocolate granola. It turned out great so I thought I'd share the recipe.

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (your favorite)
1 cup chocolate chips
1 can sweeten condensed milk

You can also add some cranberries if you like....I don't like them in my granola so I never add them. :)

Mix all this up and put it into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour...depending on how dry you like yours. You'll need to stir about half way through which will mix the chocolate in a little more....don't worry, it's supposed to do that.

Let it cool for awhile in your pan. Then you can break it apart. Store in a covered container in the fridge.

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Tonight I tried a new dish on my family...actually, it was more like an experiment. :) I had read a few different recipes for "Chicken enchiladas" but had never tried any of them. So....with a rough idea I jumped in feet first and it was a HUGE hit. It probably does fit up there with the least expensive meal we've had because of the cheese but it was really good and we'll be adding it to our regular menu. So....here it is:

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

2 pounds of chicken (cooked and deboned and cut into small sized pieces, I shredded mine)
2 cups jack cheese, grated
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg taco season mix
Corn tortilla rounds

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put your chicken, soup, sour cream and half the taco seasoning into a mixing bowl and mix well. Then add a little over half of each of your cheeses (basically you'll reserve enough to put on top) Mix it well. Using a medium to large sized spoon put the mixture in the middle of a tortilla and roll it up. Place them into a 9x13 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Keep rolling until the mixture is gone or you pan is full....you know, which ever one happens first. Spread the remaining cheese on top and bake for about 30 minutes until everything is hot and bubbly. Serve with refried beans and a salad if you like.

This made a lot of enchiladas for our family so if you have a small family you might want to half the recipe. Another option would be to make two of them and freeze one for later.

They were simply yummy and almost knocked their favorite casserole off it's thrown!

Have a great day!
Mavis D.

Great Giveaway on The Untrained Housewife!

There is a great giveaway at The Untrained Housewife.....if you haven't registered, do so quickly, it's about to close!

If you haven't checked out her site....go there and register for the giveaway and browse around!

Later,
Mavis D.

Tipster Tuesday - Top 10

A friend of mine sent an email with a few household tips....I thought they were pretty interesting and decided to pass them along. If you know who originally thought of these, let me know in the comments.

1. When you buy bananas, take them apart from each other. They will ripen more slowly. 
2.  Bell Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for fresh eating while peppers with 4 bumps are better for cooking because they are firmer.
3. Make scrambled eggs rich and fluffy by adding a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese or heavy cream before beating them.
4. For light garlic flavor, add at the beginning of your recipe. For stronger flavor, add near the end . 
5. Reheat pizza in a cast iron skillet on top of the stove....it keeps the crust crisp!
6. Easy "Angel" Eggs - put the cooked egg yolks in a ziplock bag, mash them up, add remaining ingredients and mix well. Then snip off the corner with scissors and squeeze the mixture out...much cleaner!
7. Use newspaper for "mulch" in your garden, you can usually get it free and it works better than some of the "gardening plastic" not to mention it's bio-degradable so makes your garden greener!
8. Pick up tiny broken glass shards with a wet cotton-ball. It gets caught in the fibers. 
9. Clean the lint filter on your dryer every month using a brush and warm soap and water. Not only will it make your dryer run more efficiently but you'll cut down on fire hazards and extend the life of your dryer. 
10. When measuring "liquid" items for baking....measure oily items first, it helps the other things like honey come out easier.

Today I climbed Mt. Everest!

You'll never believe what I did today! I climbed Mt Everest. My dear sweet husband helped me...I guess you could say he was my guide by helping to get me started.

Ok...ok...so it wasn't exactly Mt Everest...it was more like Mt. Never-rest. I tackled our mountain of laundry. It's amazing the amount of laundry a family of 7 can provide...the hours of enjoyment I get with moving it from washer to dryer. Then the real fun starts...sorting and trying to get them to fold their basketful and put it away. You know...before someone dumps it out to find something and before the dog decides it makes a great bed.

I've heard...and I'm sure it's just someone's idea of a sick joke, that there are actually people out there who enjoy doing the laundry. I'm wondering what planet they are from or maybe how I can move to that attitude. When I'm faced with a mountain like that, I try to remind myself of two things: first, "All things are possible with Christ" and second, that God has truly blessed our family with plenty of clothing! Both trains of thought help me climb the mountain. Hey, maybe it's the Faith that moves mountains! :)

Anyway...I'm always trying to find ways to help with the mountain and if you've got any tips, send them to me and I'll post them for others.

Have a great day!

Waffle Experiment update and Homemade syrup!

Back in October I posted a great waffle mix recipe and told of our experiment to freeze waffles. I'm sometimes a little skeptical of how some things will work out...especially when I've read them online. You know, you can't always believe what you read.

However, in this case, I'd like to report that it turned out great! My first freezer batch of waffles were fabulous. I made a quaduple batch of mix and spent some time making them. Of course, this would have been much faster had I purchased a larger waffle iron but I wanted to experiment so I bought one of the smaller ones for less than $10 but only makes two at a time. You can see how this was a little time consuming since each batch makes about 16 waffles!

Anyway....they turned out great and I prefer the waffles that are a little crispy so when we take them out to heat, we use a toaster.

Now...on to the syrup recipe.

You'll find that most pancake recipes contain high fructose corn syrup....and ingredient avoided in our house. So, I've made up our own pancake syrup recipe which is really easy.

2 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon maple flavor

Put everything in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Allow it to boil for 5 minutes and then turn it off and let it cool. When cool, pour into syrup bottle or container.

Have a great day and enjoy the waffles!

Mavis D.