January 27, 2012: Buttermilk Chicken With Mushroom Sauce Recipe

I bought some low fat buttermilk recently because I swore I’d seen a main dish entrée I wanted to try. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the recipe so I was on the hunt for a dish I could make to use the buttermilk sitting in my fridge. I found this one online and it wasn’t loaded with calories – at least after I put my own twists on the recipe.

Buttermilk Chicken with Mushroom Sauce served with Skinny Mashed Potatoes and Sugar Snap Peas

Buttermilk Chicken With Mushroom Sauce

1 T. olive oil

8 white mushrooms, thickly sliced

4 pieces bone-in, skinless chicken pieces (breasts and thighs)

2 cups buttermilk, divided

Salt and Freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup flour

½ t. dried sage

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Place chicken pieces in one cup of buttermilk. Let sit in refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Add olive oil and place in oven to heat. When heated through (about 5 minutes), add sliced mushrooms to bottom of pan.

Remove chicken from buttermilk. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and dredge with flour.

Place chicken pieces on top of mushrooms. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, turn chicken over and bake 10 more minutes.

Mix together remaining cup of buttermilk, sage and cream of mushroom soup. Pour over chicken. Bake another 10 – 20 minutes, until juices from chicken run clear.

To serve, place a piece of chicken on each plate. Whisk sauce in pan and spoon over the top of each piece of chicken.

Serves 4

November 30, 2011: Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce Recipe

Here’s a favorite winter dish in my family – Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce. It’s hearty, filling and quite delicious. I usually serve it over plain, buttered white rice because that’s what my husband prefers, but feel free to spoon it over the top of buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes. The leftovers are even better!

Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce

1 recipe Meatballs

4 ounces fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/3 cup diced onions

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

¼ cup milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Prepare meatballs as directed in my Baked Meatballs recipe but instead of baking, fry them in a large or electric skillet. When cooked through, remove to a paper towel lined plate. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of drippings. Add mushrooms and onions and sauté over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add remaining ingredients. Cook just until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Serve over hot rice, noodles or mashed potatoes.

Serves 4

October 30, 2011: Dinner in a Pumpkin Recipe

I’m in Mesa visiting my grandson and his family this weekend while they host a Halloween party. As their occasional “resident chef” I wanted to make something that would be truly memorable. I found this recipe online and with a few little Candy tweaks, found it to be the perfect dish for a potluck party. It would also be a great presentation for a Thanksgiving dinner. Try it and let me know what you think!

Dinner in a Pumpkin

1 large pumpkin (measure your oven if you want to double this recipe and use a really big pumpkin), top cut straight off and seeds scooped out

2 T. brown sugar

1 t. pumpkin pie spice

1 ½ lb. ground beef

1 lb. bulk pork sausage

1 yellow onion, finely minced (optional)

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 cans beef stock

1 package long grain and wild rice (such as Uncle Ben’s)

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 small cans mushrooms stems and pieces (optional)

2 cans French cut green beans

Mix together brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice; rub on inside of pumpkin.

Cook meat over medium heat in large skillet, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Mix in chicken stock and rice. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until rice is done.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix remaining ingredients with meat/rice mixture. Spoon into prepared pumpkin, replace top. Place pumpkin on a baking sheet and bake at least 2 hours, until pumpkin is tender. To serve, scoop out filling along with pieces of pumpkin.

October 27, 2011: Quick and Easy Mushroom Wild Rice Soup Recipe

This recipe is one I concocted to use a can of soup I’d gotten for mere pennies via extreme couponing and leftovers from a chicken dinner. When put all together, they made a delicious, hearty soup perfect for a cold weekday night. It’s a snap to throw together and doesn’t take long at all to cook.

“Semi-Homemade” Mushroom Wild Rice Soup

2 t. olive oil

¼ cup finely minced onion

1 small carrot, peeled and shredded

1 clove garlic, minced

1 t. dried parsley flakes

1 can cream of mushroom soup (not condensed; I used Progresso)

1 cup cooked, shredded chicken

1 cup cooked long grain and wild rice

1/3 cup chicken broth

Heat olive oil over medium heat in saucepan. Add onions, carrot and garlic. Saute until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and heat through on low, about 15 additional minutes.

Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as a side dish.

October 5, 2011: Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole Recipe

I guess I missed out when I was growing up in Wisconsin. According to several friends from the Midwest, this recipe is quite common there (where cheese RULES) – but my mom never made it. I had to wait until I was an adult to taste this dish for the first time; I’ve been hooked ever since. Yes, it’s full of fat and calories, but if you’re looking for a comfort food side dish, this one fits the bill.

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

1 package (32 ounces) frozen hash browns, thawed

½ cup finely minced white or yellow onion

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of celery soup

½ cup butter, melted

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or Colby Jack work well)

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

Dash of Tabasco sauce

1 t. garlic salt

½ t. black pepper

This is a really simple recipe – combine all ingredients and put in a greased casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 – 60 minutes, until bubbly hot.

Tip: You can make this dish in the crock pot; just let it cook for about 2 – 3 hours so that it heats all the way through.

Note: Some people top this casserole with a mixture of crushed cornflakes and melted butter.