Apple Brown Betty aka Apple Crisp

Since the weather has gotten TONS cooler, or cold in my book, we have already started making the nice, warm, unfortunately fattening but mmm-mmm-mmm delicious wintery foods. One of them being this, what we call Apple Brown Betty! We love this and have it a couple times during the cold season. It so quick and sooo easy to make! Enjoy!

Preheat oven to 375*

• 4 C peeled/sliced apples (any cooking apple, we like Gala)
• 1 C bisquick
• 1 C brown sugar
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 stick of butter
• 2-3 tbsp of sugar

Mix all ingredients, minus apples and reg. sugar, until a crumbly mixture. (I have had it turn out crumbly and then more spread like, they both work) Place peeled/sliced apples in bottom of cooking dish and sprinke them with the sugar. ( I use an 8x8 or 9x9) Place mixture on top and bake for about 30 minutes or until apples are done. Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Chicken Parmesean

Ingredients:

-2 Chicken Breasts, Sliced in half (you know, the way that makes 4 really thin chicken breasts)

-2 Cups of Bread Crumbs (I used Panko, but whatever you have is great)

-1 Cup Veggie Oil (ish)

-1/2 Box of Rotini Pasta

-1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce

-8oz of Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Boil Noodle to a to a nice yummy softness, whatever you prefer (I like al dente), strain, and set aside. (While the noodles are cooking I do the chicken)

In large frying pan, heat oil to medium heat. Dredge Chicken in the bread crumbs until completely covered ( I used my hands to press as much on as possible to make it extra crispy). Place chicken in oil and cook 3-5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove chicken from oil and place on a paper towel to drain off extra oil.

In you baking pan (I use corning ware, but an 8 x 8 would work great too) cover the bottom with a small layer of spaghetti sauce. Add in noodles. Cover noodles with 1/2 of the remaining sauce and a bunch of cheese. Next place the 4 pieces of chicken and cover them with the remaining sauce and cheese (i don't use all 8 oz most of the time). Cover with foil or lid and place in the oven for 40 minutes. For the last 10 minutes remove the cover so the cheese gets nice and brown.

Now it's ready to serve and enjoy. This meal is awesome because it seems fancy but costs less than $10 to make for 4 adults!!!

NOTE: My mom thinks that making the chicken is not worth the effort, so she suggests substituting frozen chicken tenders for the home fried chicken. Same meal, much less work.

Stuffed Zucchini

This IS PAULA DEAN'S recipe. Just too yummy not to put up!

Ingredients
5 large yellow squash, halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 cup chicken flavored stuffing mix
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Brush cut side of squash with olive oil; sprinkle with salt, and pepper. Place squash, cut side down, on a lined baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes, or until tender. Scoop out pulp, keeping shells intact; reserve pulp. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F.
In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook 5 minutes or until transparent. To the skillet, add stuffing mix, spinach, sour cream, Cheddar and squash pulp. Mix together and add salt and pepper, to taste. Cook for 3 minutes. Spoon mixture evenly into squash shells. Place on baking sheet, and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until heated through.

This is a great alternative to starchy potatoes with steak, but is still super yummy and filling. The only thing I would add is this makes A TON!!!! of stuff. I reccomend cutting the recipie in half. The whole dinner pictured above cost less than $20 for 4 people (steaks included!!! Hooray for sales!). Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

Filling:

2 Chicken Breasts - Baked and shredded

2 Medium Potatoes Diced (red pictured)

1 Cup Diced Carrots

1 Medium Onion

1 1/2 Cups Broccoli - Cut small - Can be substituted for Peas but I don't like them.

2 Cans Cream of Chicken Soup

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Black Pepper

Crust:

2 Cups Flour

3 TBSP Crisco

1Tsp Salt

1/3 Cup Ice Water

*Pre-made works just fine, I just like it homemade!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.

Boil Potatoes and Carrots for 10 minutes to help soften. While they are boiling you will make the pie crust.

Pie Crust: Cut Crisco into flour and salt with a fork until well blended. Add water and mix only until it is holding together. The less you work with the dough the flakier it will be. Spread a bunch of flour out on the counter and roll out the first 1/2 of your pie dough. Place dough in the pie dish. roll out second half of dough and set aside.

Filling: Strain carrots and Potatoes. They should be softer, but not mushy. Mix all ingredients for the filling together in a bowl. I always start with 1 1/2 cans of cream of chickens soup and then add the rest if needed. It should fully cover all of the veggies and chicken. Place filling in the pie pan over your bottom crust. It will be VERY FULL. You will need to use a spoon or spatula to smash it down. Then place top layer of crust on. I always cut the dough 1 inch from the edge of the pie pan then fold the extra back to make the crust extra thick. you can use a fork to seal the crust or the thumb technique. See picture. Take a fork and poke some holes in the top of your pie to allow the steam out. I also spread just a little butter on the top to make it golden brown.

Bake for 40-55 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly. Allow the pie to rest for 5 minutes before serving!

So I made this when we were first married and it is now one of Nate's favorite's. It is also great because you can make it with pantry items when you don't want to go the store. Nate can practically eat the whole thing by himself. Enjoy!!

A Polish Feast - Kielbasi and Pierogies

As some of you might know, my mom is 100% Polish and this is a staple dinner in our house and now one for Andrew and I. Its easy to make and is pretty inexpensive.

Kielbasi
1 Package of Hillshire Farms (or off brand, it doesn't matter) Polish or Smoked Kielbasi - there are lower fat and sodium versions out there too! It is normally in the section of the grocery store where you find the hot dogs and sausage.

-Simply remove the Kielbasi from the package and place into a deep skillet and cover about 1/2 way with water, simmer on low heat until it is warmed through. I like to turn it over every few minutes so both sides get good and warmed.
- Once cooked cut into serving sized pieces (I like to dip in ketchup, you could also garnish with sauerkraut but I don't really like that stuff)

Pierogies
You can get these in a box at the grocery store in the freezer section - the name brand is Mrs. T's and if any of you shop at Aldi they have Pierogies too! If you cannot find these, then I am sorry that I stink at this....you could always serve the Kielbasi with fried potatoes or hash browns, I do that every now and again.

- The box will say to boil them, but really please don't do that because it tastes icky. Instead try this:

- Slice up about 1/4 to 1/2 of a white onion (all depends on the size) and cook in a few tablespoons of butter until soft.
- Add in the frozen pierogies and cook until slightly browned and de-thawed.
- Garnish with the onions, you can also serve these with sour cream or applesauce, but that is all a preference type of thing.

What to look for at the store - the Bremer Pierogies are from Aldi.

The meal cooked!

Upside Down Pizza

1 1/2 # ground beef
1 cup green peppers, chopped
big handful of pepperoni, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 envelope of spaghetti sauce mix
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. oil, I use Canola
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400. In a large skillet cook ground beef. I drain & rinse the meat. Add green pepper, pepperoni, (any of your other favorite pizza toppings), garlic, dry spaghetti sauce mix, and oregano to the meat. Stir in tomato sauce & a little bit of water to thin out the mixture to desired thickness. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover & simmer approx. 10 min. In a medium bowl beat milk, eggs & oil. Add flour & salt. Beat until well mixed. Transfer hot beef mixture into an ungreased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Pour egg mixture of the top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 25-30 min or until puffed & golden.

My dough bubbles up with air but it still tastes yummy!

Pot Stickers/Dumplings

These are extremely variable. I'll list what I use, but you can do pretty much whatever you want. Traditional pot stickers/dumplings are made with pork, but I don't like pork, so I use chicken or beef.

Ingredients (Beef Filling)

1 lb ground beef
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup shredded cabbage

(to taste)
fresh garlic/garlic powder
ginger
soy sauce (less is more)
Worcestershire sauce

Put all ingredients together in large frying pan and cook until hamburger is browned and all vegetables are tender. Drain grease as best you can.

Chicken Filling

1 lb ground chicken OR shredded cooked chicken breast (about 2 breasts)
1/3 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped baby spinach wilted over heat

(to taste)
poultry seasoning (parsley/sage/rosemary/thyme)
garlic/garlic powder
ginger
soy sauce

Cook chicken with whatever spices you prefer, then shred. If using ground chicken, cook. I usually don't cook the celery, but put it in with the chicken if you want to. Put aside. In same pan, wilt spinach over heat until you have a cup or so (it takes a lot). Mix celery and spinach in with chicken.

OTHER OPTIONS FOR BOTH FILLINGS:
1/4 cup water chestnuts
1/4 cup chopped peanuts or cashews
whatever else you can think of

Or you can do a bunch of vegetables and no meat for a vegetarian option. I'd suggest cabbage for the main ingredient.

Shells or skins or whatever they're called
Buy 2 packages wonton skins from the grocery store.

If you feel like it, you can make them. It will most likely push you over the hour time limit, but here's the recipe. Warning: these are A LOT of work, but it's what's pictured, so I thought I should include it.

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
boiling water (a cup or so, you probably won't use all of it)

Mix salt and flour, make a well in the center and add the oil and 5 tablespoons boiling water. Mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. You may have to add more water. Be careful not to add too much. Knead until elastic, 3-5 minutes.
Pull off a bouncy-ball sized piece of dough and roll out on wax paper until as thin as you can get it. Should be about 5-6 inches in diameter and almost so thin it's almost transparent. Set aside (still on wax paper, or it'll be hard to pick up) and roll out the rest of the dough this way. You'll probably get between 12 and 20 circles of dough, depending on how big/thick they are.


Cooking Directions

Use a small table spoon (a real one, not the measuring spoon) to scoop filling onto shells. Brush water along half of the outside edge and fold dough over. Use fingers or a fork to crimp and seal open side (like a pie crust). Repeat until all dough is gone. There may be extra filling.
Cover the bottom of a large frying pan with oil and heat until a drop of water skitters off the surface. Put in as many dumplings as will fit. Fry for 2 minutes. VERY CAREFULLY add 1/2 cup water and cover IMMEDIATELY. Let steam for 7 minutes. Put on plate w/ paper towels to drain. Repeat until all pot stickers are cooked, or freeze the rest and cook them later.


FOR DUMPLINGS:

Drop them in already boiling water until the dough is cooked and transparent, probably about 7-10 minutes. I can't remember for sure, I never make them that way.


Dipping Sauce

1/4 c soy sauce
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
ginger

(Sorry there's no picture. I ate it all. It looks like soy sauce.)

Beef Pot Stickers