Cheeseburger Pie

Cheeseburger Pie Recipe

This recipe is one of my family's favorites! Who doesn't love a good cheeseburger?? Not only does it taste like a cheeseburger from a local drive through, but it's MUCH cheaper--about $1.20 a person. So if the holidays left your wallet a little empty, you might want to try this one out! It's SOO easy. Don't be intimidated by the crust-- I use canned crescent rolls! Serve it with a side salad and you have a quick easy meal your family will love!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 can crescent rolls
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion, OR 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/3 cup chopped dill pickle slices
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons dill pickle juice
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 cups shredded American cheese, divided

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Unroll crescent rolls and press into the bottom and up the sides of an 8 inch pie pan.
3. Cook ground beef in a skillet until browned. Drain well.
4. Stir in onion, chopped pickle, ketchup and mustard.
5. Sprinkle with flour and add pickle juice and milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
6. Remove from heat and add 1 cup of shredded cheese.
7. Pour into the prepared crust and bake for 15 minutes, or until edges of crust are golden brown.
8. Remove from oven and top with remaining cup of cheese. Let stand until cheese melts.
9. Garnish with extra ketchup, mustard and pickle slices.

Easy Red Beans And Rice

Easy Red Beans And Rice

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 lb. Andouille sausage (or any kind of smoked sausage) sliced thinly

4 tomatoes, chopped into chunks

1 jalapeno, chopped and seeded (or keep the seeds if you like it spicy)

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 cups brown whole grain rice, (cooked according to directions on package)

1 15 oz can red kidney beans, drained

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Toss tomatoes in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning. Set aside. 

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add sliced sausage. Cook until slightly browned. Remove and place on a platter, set aside. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add chopped onion and jalapeno pepper. Cook until onion and pepper are tender. Add garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes. 

 Mix in tomatoes chunks, tomato paste, 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, chicken broth, beans, rice and sausage. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to med low, cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!!! 

Cajun Shrimp, Sausage and Rice Casserole

Cajun Shrimp, Sausage and Rice Casserole

Made with savory shrimp and Andouille sausage, fresh jalapeno, tomatoes and topped with fontina cheese....this dish will satisfy your hunger like no other! 

Ingredients:

1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined (not precooked)

1/2 pound Andouille sausage, thinly sliced

4 medium tomatoes, chopped into chunks

1 jalapeno, chopped (seeded if you don't want it too spicy) 

1/2 cup chopped sweet onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups cooked brown rice (you can also you quinoa if you prefer)

1 cup shredded fontina cheese

Instructions :

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss the shrimp and 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning together. Set aside. 

Toss chopped tomatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a cast iron skillet (or any oven safe skillet) Cook the shrimp until opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add sliced sausage to the pan and brown for a couple minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan and add onion, jalapeno. Cook until both are tender, stirring often. Add garlic. Cook for another 2 minutes. Mix in cooked rice, 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning and tomato chunks. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook and stir for about 3 minutes. 

Top with shrimp and sausage. Sprinkle fontina cheese over the top. Place oven proof skillet in a pre-heated oven for 15 minutes. During the last 2 minutes, turn on the broiler to high and broil until cheese is slightly brown and bubbly. 

Deep Fried Lobster Tails

I'm crazy about lobster. Here's a recipe where you dip your lobster tails in a batter and deep fry it, locking all the juicy, sweetness of the lobster inside! This was such a wonderful way to prepare lobster! Since I'm in South Dakota it's hard to find fresh seafood, but we found these beautiful lobster tails at Sam's Club. They were delicious! I served them on a bed of Asian Slaw.

Here's all you need! Just equal parts of all purpose flour, rice flour, a pinch of baking soda and a cup of 7up! Oh, and a couple of lobster tails!

To butterfly the tails, simply take your kitchen shears, and cut down the middle of the shell, starting at the opposite end of the tail....but stop cutting just before you reach the tail.

Gently pull the shell apart and pull the meat up and over the shell, resting the meat on top of the shell.

It should look something like this!

Whisk 1/2 cup each of the rice flour and all purpose flour together, with a pinch of baking soda, and 1 cup of 7UP. Mix well.

Dip the lobster in the batter, making sure to get the batter all over and under the meat.

And now it's all battered up and ready for the hot fryer!

It only takes about 5 minutes! Fry to a nice golden color!

And here is the finished product! SO YUMMY! Serve with clarified butter.

This would be a wonderful dish to prepare for Valentines Day! It's so decadent and special!

Pulled Pork Nachos

I made a big pot of pulled pork not long ago, and I had quite a bit left over and was trying to figure out what I could make with the left overs....so I thought...how about NACHOS??? OMG! They were so good--better than any restaurant.  

Click here for the recipe for  Slow Cooked Pulled Pork

Pulled Pork Nachos

Ingredients:

Nacho chips

2 cups pork from  Slow cooked Pulled Pork Recipe

1 large tomato, chopped

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

2 thinly sliced jalapenos 

1 (12-oz.) container refrigerated queso, warmed

Instructions:

Layer tortilla chips on a platter. Top with warmed pulled pork, tomatoes, onion, jalapenos. Drizzle warm cheese over the top and enjoy!!! 

Miss Cindy's Chicken Cordon Bleu

"Cordon Bleu" is a French term, meaning "blue ribbon" which originally referred to an award for culinary excellence! This is one of my favorites. I've been making this for years and my family loves it! Ham and Swiss cheese rolled up in a pounded chicken breast, dredged in bread crumbs and baked. So delicious!

Start by placing plastic wrap or waxed paper over the chicken breast and pound them til they are about 1/4 thick.

Dip the breasts in 1/4 cup chicken broth, 2 tablespoons melted butter and 1 garlic clove minced.

Shake off excess and place a slice of swiss cheese on top of chicken.

place a slice of ham on top of cheese and chicken.

roll up the breast jelly-roll fashioned then dredge in bread crumbs.

Place chicken in a greased baking dish, salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle a little paprika on the top and bake for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Serve with a Hollandaise sauce. (I love the Knorr packaged sauces, you'll find them in the packaged gravy section of the grocery store.) I'm not brave enough yet to make a homemade Hollandaise sauce! Someday I'll try when I get a food processor!

It's such a nice presentation!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs

paprika

salt

pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 slices ham (I used black forest ham from the deli)

4 slices Swiss cheese

cooking spray

Instructions:

Place broth in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 15 or 20 seconds, or until warm. Stir in garlic and butter. Pour bread crumbs on a plate or shallow bowl. Set aside.

Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap and pound each to 1/4 inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Dip each breast into butter/broth mixture, then top each breast with 1 slice of cheese then 1 slice of ham. Roll up each breast jelly-roll fashion. Place rolls, seam side down in baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Pour remaining broth/butter over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40-45 minutes or until juices run clear and tops are golden. Serve with Knorr Hollandaise Sauce if desired.

Miss Cindy's Chicken Fried Steak With Gravy

Miss Cindy's Chicken Fried Steak With Gravy Recipe

Oh man, is this ever decadent! So delicious, especially the creamy gravy that you top it with. My husband kept going back for more! He loves this recipe!

First start by getting your assembly line together: you'll need cubed steak, which is usually top sirloin, tenderized.

A bowl of whole milk with 1 beaten egg.

Whisk it together!

Next, you'll need a plate of flour....sprinkled with seasoned salt and paprika.

Add lots and lots of pepper! Mix it all together.

Now for the dipping! Dip steaks, one at a time, into milk/egg mixture. Make sure to coat each side.

Dredge meat into seasoned flour, covering both sides with flour.

Now back into the egg mixture again!

Dredge in the flour once more.Place meat in a dish and bread the other pieces of meat. Heat some vegetable oil, shortening or canola oil in a cast iron skillet or a heavy skillet. Place meat in med-hot skillet.

Cook until both sides are golden brown. About 3-4 minutes on each side.

Remove from pan and drain on a plate that is lined with paper towels. Now, it's gravy-making time! Pour off all the grease in a heat-proof bowl and then add about 1/4 cup of fat back to the skillet. Over medium heat, add flour to the grease. Mixing well.

After the flour has browned a little bit, slowly stir in whole milk, stirring constantly.

Whisk until it is a nice creamy consistency. Add salt and pepper. Serve with mashed potatoes and your favorite vegetable.

Miss Cindy's Chicken Fried Steak and Gravy

Ingredients:

3-4 pieces of cubed steak

1 cup whole milk, Plus up to 2 cups for gravy

1 egg

2 cups flour

Seasoned salt

paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Canola oil, vegetable oil or shortening

Instructions:

Start by making an assembly line of dishes: for the meat, egg mixture, and flour mixture and for meat once it's been breaded. Work with one piece of meat at a time, dip meat into egg/milk mixture, then dredge into seasoned flour. Dip meat once again back into the egg mixture and coat in flour mixture. Repeat this process with remaining meat.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once skillet is hot, fry meat until the edges start to look golden brown, about 3 or 4 minutes on each side. Remove from heat. Drain on a paper towel lined plate.

Gravy:

Pour off all the grease and then add 1/4 cup grease back to the pan. Heat grease back up, sprinkle 1/3 cup of flour over the grease. Whisk flour and grease together, allowing flour to turn a nice golden brown--the browning is what gives it such good flavor. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Cook until it thickens. Add more milk if you need to. I usually just go by feel on the milk part. Just make sure it's at a nice, smooth and creamy consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over steaks with mashed potatoes.