Comfort Food : Salisbury Steak

My experiences with Salisbury Steak as a child were only in the school lunch room. I can't remember ever having it at home. But when Taste of Home featured it in it's "Cooking for One or Two" section, they made it look so nice, I just had to give it a try. This is a scaled down recipe and only makes enough for two people. It can easily be doubled (tripled, etc.) for more people. It's fast, easy, and comfortingly meaty.

Salisbury Steak for Two*

1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1 envelope brown gravy mix (divided)
1 tsp dried minced onion
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon prepared mustard

In a bowl, whisk egg and milk. Stir in bread crumbs, 1 tbsp gravy mix, and onion. Crumble meat over mixture and mix well. Shape into two patties about 3/4 inch thick. Broil 3-4 inches from heat for 6-7 minutes on each side until meat is no longer pink and temp is 160.

Add water and mustard to remaining gravy mix, mix well and bring to a boil; cook until thickened, server over patties.

(I like using panko, which are Japanese style bread crumbs in this recipe. They give the patties a little crispyness. I buy Sunluck Panko, it's in the same section as regular bread crumbs at my grocery store.)

*Taste of Home, Reiman Publishing, December/January 2006, pg. 56.

August 26 - September 15

We’ll be out of town for the first week of September, so this plan covers the next three weeks (omitting the days we’ll be out of town).

26 S – Cheesy Kielbasa Bake/Salad
27 U – Frozen Pizza/Salad
28 M – Cantonese Beef/Rice/Carrot Sticks
29 T – Egg Noodle Lasagna/Salad
30 W – church dinner
TRIP
7 R – Frozen Pizza
8 F – Spicy BBQ Chicken/Tater Tots/Lima Beans
9 S – Spaghetti/Garlic Bread/Peas
10 U – L.O. Spaghetti
11 M – Skillet Grilled Catfish/Cole Slaw/Tater Tots
12 T – Kentucky Grilled Chicken/Broccoli/Carrots
13 W – church dinner
14 R – Salisbury Steak/Mashed Potatoes/Broccoli
15 F – Baked Taco Chicken/Black Beans/Rice

I noticed another “plus” of the meal plan this week. Since I had to think about when I would buy ingredients, I had to take into consideration I might not be interested in cooking and doing dishes the night we get back from our trip! So instead of looking forward to a dinner of cheerios with milk, we’re having a nice hot pizza!

We do sometimes go to the trouble making our own pizza, but to tell the truth, it’s not cost effective. Our store brand pizzas are very good and cost less than $4.

p.s. Some of these links are to "Subscribers Only" recipes on www.tasteofhome.com, if you want the recipe, email me and I will send it to you.

Tastes Like Chicken : Chicken Broccoli Casserole

This is my mom's recipe and it's the only chicken recipe that I've ever had that is rich and creamy enough to resemble dessert.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

4 whole chicken breasts
2 tsps salt (divided)
16 oz cream cheese
2 cups milk
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (divided)
20 oz frozen broccoli
1 small can of french fried onion rings

Cover chicken and 1 tsp salt with water and simmer until tender. Bone chicken and cut into bite sized pieces. Combine cream cheese, milk, 1 tsp salt, garlic powder, and 1 cup parmesan cheese in a saucepan and cook over medium heat to make a sauce. Cook broccoli as package directs and cut into bite sized pieces.

In a 9x13 glass dish, place all broccoli on the bottom, top with chicken and onion rings. Pour sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.

Want to save money on this meal? Compare the price between fresh and frozen broccoli. Depending on the time of the year, fresh may be more economical. Also you can use 2 whole chickens instead of the breasts, but cutting it up will be more labor intensive. Breasts really work better here, but buy them on the bone since boiling them will make the meat fall off on its own. This makes a big bunch of casserole, consider cutting the recipe in half if there will be 4 or less people at your dinner table.

August 12-25, 2006

12 S - Chipotle Cashew Chicken/Rice/Broccoli
13 U – Corn Dogs/Broccoli/Carrot Sticks
14 M – Maple Baked Apple Chicken (KR Fall ‘05, 25)/ Green Beans/ Biscuits
15 T – Chunky Vegetable Lasagna (BC 372)/Garlic Bread
16 W – Church Dinner
17 R – Out with Family
18 F – Steak/Baked Potatoes/Carrot Sticks
19 S – Spicy Bean Soup/Cornbread
20 U - 40 Cloves and a Chicken/Baked Potatoes/Green Beans
21 M – Perfect Potstickers/Carrots and Celery Amandine
22 T – Beef Stew/Salad
23 W – Church Dinner
24 R – Citrus Crunch Chicken (KR Winter ’06, 39)/Salad
25 F – Teriyaki Noodles/Spicy Hot Wings

Are you prepared for hurricane season? I like to buy something special for my hurricane kit - some fancy cookies I'd never normally buy for example. Being out of power and running water is bad enough - at least be prepared to have something to eat that you know you'll like. Let's just say we found out the hard way we don't like southwestern corn chowder.

In the Cookie Jar : Raspberry Swirls

Not only are these cookies delicious, but they also have the benefit of being beautiful. They take a little more work than drop cookies, but they are not difficult to make - so don't let that stop you! It's not a part of the recipe, but I drizzled them with melted chocolate.

Raspberry Swirls

1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon extract
3 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 12 ounce jar seedless raspberry jam
1 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and extracts, mix well. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Divide dough in half - roll each half into a 12 in. x 9 in. rectangle. Combine jam, coconut, and pecans; spread over rectangles. Carefully roll up starting with the long end, into a jelly roll. Wrap in plastic wrap and refridgerate overnight or freeze 3 hours. Cut into 1/4 in. slices, bake on greased cookie sheets for 10-12 minutes at 375 - dough should be very light brown. Cool before eating (or the filling with melt your tongue!).

If you want to drizzle on chocolate, do that after they're cool.