Sheilah's Kitchen

"Mom, what's for dinner?"

...is the first thing I hear as soon as my son comes home from school.  

 

Delicious and EZ Stamped Short Bread Cookies Fresh from the Oven

Makes about 18 Shortbread Cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation:

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Cream the butter and sugar in another bowl. Add vanilla extract. Mix the flour into the butter to form a dough. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle (about 1/4-in thick). Cut into 3 strips, and then each strip into 6 shortbreads. Or cut out into any shapes that you want. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F. oven until lightly brown, about 8-10 minutes.

You can use this recipe or the two that came with the Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps kit from Stampin' Up!. See details below. Click here to order the cookie stamps or go to http://stampwithus.stampinup.net , click SHOP, enter Item No. 125152.

Watch the video.

 

 

 

 

 

Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese

The first time I had this salad was at a fancy 5-star restaurant during our date night.   Then I found out later-on that they serve a similar one at Coco's Restaurant.

It's quite easy to make and always a favorite.  Great served with a good steak during the summer.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 head iceberg lettuce, cut into quarters
• Blue cheese dressing
• 1 fresh minced tomato
• 2 chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1 cup cooked crumbled/chopped bacon

Directions

1. Place salad wedges on the plate.
2. Pour blue cheese dressing on top.
3. Sprinkle the rest of the ingredients.

Sheilah's Tip:

Best when the bacon is still warm and crispy.  

Do not use tomatoes in the can.  Fresh ripe tomatoes are best.

Enjoy! :-) Sheilah

 

 

 

 

Stuffed Bell Peppers

This is what we had for dinner last night.  Everyone liked it except for Sam.   He didn't like the taste of red peppers.  Don't take his word for it since he is only 10 and his tastebuds is still adjusting.  He said he likes the filling and ate all of them.  Niner (our pup) likes the filling too (minus the cheese).

This recipe makes 12.  I served 2 stuffed bell pepper halves per person.   Enjoy!  :-) S

 

-6 large bell peppers
-1 lb lean ground beef
-1 medium chopped onion
-1 cup cooked rice
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 clove garlic finely chopped
-1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
-1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven at 375 degrees F
2. Cut-off the stem of the peppers.
   Cut the pepper in half.
   Remove seeds and membranes; rinse peppers.
    In 4-quart Dutch oven, add enough water to cover peppers. Heat to boiling; add peppers. Cook about 5 minutes
   Spinkle salt inside the peppers.
   Turn-over cooked peppers on paper towels to drain.
3.  In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain fat. Stir in rice, salt, garlic and 1 cup of the tomato sauce and boil. Reduce heat cover, and simmer until rice is soft.
4. Stuff peppers with beef mixture. Stand peppers upright in ungreased rectangular glass baking dish. Pour remaining tomato sauce over peppers.
5. Cover tightly with foil. Bake 15 minutes. Uncover and bake about 15 minutes longer or until peppers are tender. Sprinkle with cheese on top before serving.

 

Slow Cooker Chili

I love to make this because it only takes me 15 minutes to prepare.  When I have a busy day, I prepare it in the crockpot the night before and refrigerate.   In the morning, before I go to work, I set my crockpot to slow and cook for 8 hours.  When we get home, we have a nice warm meal to enjoy. :-) S

 

• 1 lb beef boneless round steak cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped ( 1 cup)
• 2 medium stalks celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 cans (14 1/2 oz each) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
• 3 tsp chili powder *
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 dried oregano leaves
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 medium bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces ( 1 cup)
• 1 can (about 16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed, and drained

Topping:

• Shredded Cheddar cheese
• Chopped red onions
• Sour Cream

1. Mix all ingredients except bell pepper and kidney beans in a crock-pot slower cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 8 hours until beef and vegetables are tender.
3. Add bell pepper and beans.  Set setting to high for about 15 minutes. 
4. Serve with cheese and sour cream.  **

Makes 8 servings.

Enjoy!

SHEILAH'S TIPS:

* For more kick, add 1/2 more tsp of red chili pepper.

** Add some zip to the serving bowls by burshing the edges of the bowls with margarine or melted butter.  Then, sprinkle with chili powder.

 

Nutty Cinnamon Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

I baked this coffee cake for our tea party.   The ladies enjoyed eating it with Tazo tea and Starbucks coffee.   They gave me an A+.  My boy Sam said, it could use more powdered sugar in the cream cheese filling.  I agree!  If you want to make this sweeter, double the powdered/confectioner's sugar recipe. Enjoy! :-) S

 

 Ingredients:

• 2 (3 oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
• 4 tbsp confectioners sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice from concentrate
• 2 cups unsifted flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup margarine or butter, softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 (8oz) container sour cream
• Cinnamon-Nut Topping *

  Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a small bowl, beat cheese, confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Set aside,
3. In a large mixer bowl, beat granulated sugar and margarine until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.  Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream, mix well.
4. Pour half of batter into greased and floured 10-inch tube pan.
5. Spoon cheese mixture on top of batter to within ½ in of pan edge.
6. Spoon remaining batter over filling.  Spread to pan edge.
7. Sprinkle with Cinnamon-Nut Topping
8. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until set **
9. Cool 10 minutes.  Remove from the pan. Serve warm.

Sheilah’s Notes:

*To make the Cinnamon-Nut Topping, Combine ¼ cup finely chopped nuts with 2 tsp granulated sugar and 2 tsp ground cinnamon

** To check if the cake is set, Insert wooden pick near center of the cake. When the pick comes out clean, it’s ready.

Make 10 inch Cake

 Enjoy!  :-)  Sheilah

 

Turkey Casserole

My family loves turkey.   Since I have no time to defrost and bake a turkey and make all the fixins, I thought, why not make a turkey casserole with stuffing combined? It took me 5 minutes to prep and bake for 25 minutes.

 Sam said he is giving me B grade for this dish because I included dark meat.   Although I didn't get an A rating for this casserole, it's still a big accomplishment for this mom since my son ate all his vegetables and turkey that were on his plate.  Whoo-hoo for me!  :-) S

 

• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup milk
• 1 bag (16 oz) frozen vegetables.  I like the one with broccoli, cauliflower, and
  carrots.  Thaw and drain.
• 2 cups cooked and cubed turkey
• 1 box (about 6 0z or 4 cups) seasoned turkey stuffing
• 1 cup shredded cheese (about 4 oz)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Pour most ingredients (except cheese) in a casserole dish. Stir.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and sprinkle cheese on top.  Bake for 5 more minutes.

SHEILAH'S TIP:

* I doubled the recipe and prepared 2 trays.  I baked one tray for dinner tonight.  I covered the other caseserole with aluminum foil.  This way, when I'm too tired to cook, I can just pop the other tray in the oven.

** This dish is great for leftover turkey.  I used 1 can (about 10 oz) of turkey in the can.  You can also use a can of chicken breast.

Enjoy!  :-) S

Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignonne

It took me 10 minutes to prepare this meal the night before and 8 to 10 hours to cook in the slow cooker (crock pot) while I'm at work.    Delicious warm meal when we get home.  

Scott liked it and gave this meal an A, "Add horseradish sauce to kick it up a notch."   Sam gave me a C because I added lots of mushrooms, "I saw in How It's Made where they came from".  lol!     :-) S    

 

• 1 can (10 oz) condensed golden mushroom soup
• 1 c Burgundy or dry red wine
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 2 c small button mushrooms
• 2 c frozen  baby carrots
• 6 small red potatoes
• 1 c small pearl whole onions
• 1 lb beef round steaks. Cut 1 inch cube

1.  Stir all the ingredients in the slow cooker
2. Cover and cook on LOW heat for 8 to 10 hours.

Enjoy!  :-) S

How do I remove the acid taste in my coffee?

For a good cup of coffee, add one pinch of salt in the basket to remove the acid taste.

For a clear coffee, put egg shells in after perking.

Remember to always use cold water for better tasting coffee.

:-)S

Beef & Vegetables Casserole Topped with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This is our dinner tonight. Here is your answer to a delicious and easy one dish recipe.  It took me 5 minutes to prepare and a total cooking time of 30 minutes.  This is a simple version of the traditional Shepherd's Pie. Serves 4.  Enjoy!  :-) S

 

Beef Mixture

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 can (10 oz) Condensed Cream of Mushroom with Roasted Garlic
• 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 bag (16 oz) frozen vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)

Mashed Potatoes topping

• 2 c water
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 c milk
• 3 c instant mashed potato flakes or buds

 

1. Preheat the oven at 400 degrees.
2. Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet in high heat until meat is brown. Pour off excess fat.
3. Stir the beef, ½ can soup, Worcestershire, and vegetables in a shallow baking dish (12x8x2).
4. In a sauce pan, heat water, butter and the remaining soup.  Remove from heat.  Stir in milk. Stir instant potato flakes.
5. Spoon the cooked mashed potatoes over the beef mixture.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!  :-) S

Asparagus and Chicken Au Gratin

Another easy casserole dish that my family loves.  This recipe makes 6 servings.  So, for a family of 3, we have enough left-over for one more meal.

 

• 1 can (10 oz) condensed asparagus soup
• ½ c milk
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• 2 c asaparagus (1 bundle). 1 inch - cut and cooked (boiled or steamed)
• 2 c chicken.  Cooked and cubed
• 3 c (1 pkg) rotini pasta (corkscrew shaped). Cooked and drained
• ½ c bread crumbs
• 1 c shredded cheddar cheese

 

1. Preheat oven at 400 degrees.
2. Stir the soup, milk, onion powder, black pepper, asparagus, chicken, pasta, and ½ cup of the cheese in a 12x8x2 shallow baking dish.
3. Sprinkle with ½ cup bread crumbs on top.
4. Bake for 25 minutes.
5. Sprinkle the remaining cheese until it melts.

 

Enjoy! :-) S