Creamy Italian Chicken

Today’s meal was supposed to be a chicken stroganoff, but this is what happened instead! Surpr

Japanese Sticky Wings

The first time we tried this recipe it was such an amazing hit, we had to have it again a few days l

Barbecued Beans

I tried this recipe from All Recipes with a few personal adjustments. (I always end up missing an in

 
Diana

Creamy Italian Chicken

March 7, 2012 in Chicken, Easy Peasy, Slowcooker / Crockpot

Today’s meal was supposed to be a chicken stroganoff, but this is what happened instead! Surprisingly delicious and ultra satisfying. No one had anything to complain about!



4 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breasts
2 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine
1 Package Dry Italian Salad Dressing Mix
1 Package Cream Cheese
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Tablespoon of Minced Garlic
1 Red Onion

  1. Chopped your onion and dropped it in the slow cooker.
  2. Cubed your chicken and drop it in the slow cooker.
  3. Drop in the butter.
  4. Sprinkle the chicken with the Italian Dressing mix and Garlic.
  5. Cover and let cook for 7 hours on LOW setting.
  6. In the last hour, dump in the Cream of Chicken and Cream Cheese. Stir in until melted.
  7. Enjoy!

I served mine on egg noodles, but it would also be really tasty on top of rice. We cracked some fresh pepper on top and added a little parsley. Next time I want to serve some buttered steam broccoli on the side.

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Diana

Japanese Sticky Wings

March 7, 2012 in Chicken

The first time we tried this recipe it was such an amazing hit, we had to have it again a few days later! It’s so easy to make and tastes SO GOOD. They’re now something we like to make often. What’s great is that you don’t have to do chicken wings with bones. It can be cubed chicken breast, pork, or vegetables with the sauce.

Uncooked Chicken Wings
All Purpose Flour
6 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
6 Tablespoons Water
2 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup White Vinegar
1/2 Cup Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Teaspoon garlic powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Ginger
Sesame Seeds (Optional)

  1. Preheat Oven to 350.
  2. Cut wings in half if you desire. Lightly coat them with flour.
  3. In a bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients (minus Sesame Seeds) until well blended.
  4. Place the wings in a casserole dish and cover with HALF of the sauce.
  5. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
  6. While the wings are cooking, dump the rest of the sauce in to a sauce pan and simmer until it’s a nice thick consistency. This will probably take about 30 minutes.
  7. (OPTIONAL!) When the wings are done, I like to pull the out of the casserole dish and set them on a flat baking sheet then pop them back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. That gets this a nice crispy golden brown.
  8. Sprinkle with Sesame Seeds!
  9. Pour left over sauce on wings, rice or veggies!

I like to serve mine with white rice and a stir fry mix of peppers and onions! Maybe even some egg rolls or potstickers.

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Diana

Barbecued Beans

February 25, 2012 in Slowcooker / Crockpot

I tried this recipe from All Recipes with a few personal adjustments. (I always end up missing an ingredient, getting lazy, or creative!) They turned out surprisingly delicious! Even Gibs enjoyed them, and he usually doesn’t like when we have beans for dinner.

This recipe had a couple extra steps from the usual “toss it in a pot and run away” method I prefer. But I think the end result was definitely worth it.

1 Pound Bag Dry Navy Beans
1/2 Package of Sliced Bacon
4 Cups Bottled Tomato Juice
1 (8 ounce) Can Tomato Sauce
2 Large Chopped Onion
2/3 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons of Minced Garlic OR Two Chopped Cloves of Garlic
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 Teaspoon Ground Mustard
1/4 Cup of Barbecue Sauce

  1. In a large pot, dump in the beans, cover them with water. Bring to a boil and let boil for about 5 – 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let the beans sit in the water for 1 hour. [OR] Just soak your beans over night.
  2. DRAIN the beans and dump them in the slow cooker with all ingredients.
  3. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 Hours.
  4. Turn the heat down to LOW and let cook for 8-10 hours or until the beans are soft.

I am certain you can skip the boil/soaking process if you really wanted to, and just let your beans cook in the pot longer. The soak is mostly just to help soften them and get some of that potent poot power out. ;D Next time I make them, I’ll edit/adjust this recipe if it turns out well.

I served up my beans with Beef Smoked Sausage and Buttered Carrots. The sausage would have been -great- cooked in the beans during the last hour or two.

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Diana

Taco Bake

February 17, 2012 in Easy Peasy

Taco Bake is probably one of everyone’s favorites. The best thing about it, is that you can use left over taco stuff to make it. 8D It’s super cheap and super easy! You can stack it up as high as you like to make as much as you want. So you can make one just for you, for a family, or make a dozen and serve an army.

Leftover Taco Meat [or] 1 lb Taco Meat
Any Sized Torillas
Refried Beans
Salsa
Shredded Cheese
Nacho Cheese Dip
Jalapenos

  1. Layer Torillas, Meat, Beans, Salsa and Cheese in any method you desire! I usually spread down beans on the torilla, sprinkled on some meat, then cheese, and a little salsa in each layer.
  2. Top with nacho cheese dip and drop some jalapenos on top!
  3. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until it’s all nice and bubbly.

We always have ours with a generous helping of sour cream and maybe a few chives or chopped green onion sprinkled over it.

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Diana

Slowcooker Salisbury Steak

February 3, 2012 in Slowcooker / Crockpot

Today’s meal was Salisbury Steak! Those Salisbury Steak TV dinners were always some of my favorites, but they were rarely ever filling. Not to mention, you really have NO idea what’s actually in them. (Blech!) So I hunted down what actually goes in to Salisbury Steak, tried a few recipes and here is my favorite way to put it together.

2 lbs Hamburger
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs
1 Diced Onion or 2 Tablespoons Dried Minced Onion
1 Package Onion Soup Mix
2 Cans Cream of Mushroom
1 Cup/Package Sliced Baby Bella or Button Mushrooms
1 Package Au Jus Sauce Mix
1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic or Two Cloves Minced Garlic
2 Teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
3/4 Cup of Water

  1. In a large bowl, Mix Hamburger, breadcrumbs, egg, onion soup mix, minced garlic and Worcestershire with your hands.
  2. Shape in to 6 – 8 patties depending on what serving size you prefer.
  3. Place the patties in the slowcooker.
  4. In the same bowl, mix cream of mushroom, au jus mix, diced oinion, mushrooms and water. Stir well and pour over the patties.
  5. Cook 5 – 6 hours on Low.

I served mine up with some Garlic Mashed Potatoes and a Spinach Salad. Super tasty!

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Diana

The Start of my Online Cookbook.

January 25, 2012 in Updates

…and thus, Diana finally realizes she can organize her favorite recipes in an easy to access web blog. Both handy for herself AND all of the people that ask for recipes.

Hello, I’m Diana. :D You probably already know me. I’m that person that feed you so much that you’ve gained a few extra pounds. It’s okay, I do it out of love.

This won’t be a daily blog. I can’t even promise a weekly blog! However, I will be throwing in as many of my tried and true “perfected” recipes as I can. All of these recipes have been altered to suit the tastes of my own family and the instructions will probably sound like a garbled mess of crazy. But hey, what’s the fun of cooking if you don’t experiment a little?

Stay tuuuuned!

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