Hungarian Goulash

This amazing recipe has graced the pages of this good ol' blog before. But it is so stinkin' good, that I decided it deserved to be resurected. This time with better photos and more specific directions. It is fan freakin' fantastic. By now, you know that all of my mother-in-law's recipes are fantastic. My all time ultimate favorite recipe that she has graced my belly with, has to be her Hungarian Goulash. Its more flavorful than a stew, and more crave worthy than any thing I've ever tasted. You will go back for seconds, and thirds, and not be sorry. Make this today, seriously, like now. Go.  

Ingredients: 

2 pounds round steak, cubed

2 Tbs oil

2 onions, diced

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 beef bouillon cubes

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon paprika 

1 tsp vinegar

Dollop of sour cream 

1 pkg egg noodles

Directions: 

In a LARGE cast iron pot, warm your oil in a hot pan. Season your steak with salt and pepper. Sear your steak cubes on all sides. Two pounds of steak is quite a lot, so if you need to do it in batches, that is best. You don't want to crowd your meat because it will steam instead of sear and make the meat tough. So a good brown sear on all sides is important, even if you have to do it in batches. Once your steak is seared, set it aside. Add some oil into your pan again and reduce the heat to medium, add your onions and salt and pepper. Cook until golden brown, then add back in your meat, tomato sauce, bouillon cubes, water, paprika, & vinegar. Simmer for 2 hours until meat is fall apart tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then temper and add a dollop of sour cream. Boil your noodles as directed and serve the goulash over the top of them. 

It may not look or sound fancy, but this is a dish you will want to eat every night of the week. I am craving this just thinking about it. Enjoy!

Peggy's Thai Chicken Pasta Salad

For a recipe to make it into The Nelson Family cook book, you know it's going be good. The Nelsons love food, and they love good food. This is Peggy's famous Thai Chicken Pasta Salad. It's a wonderful cook ahead meal that refrigerates well and makes delicious left overs. Its full of healthy vegetables and proteins and has a subtle asian flavor to it. 

Ingredients: 

Marinade: 

1 tbs seasame seed oil

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 clove garlic

1 tbs grated ginger root

1 tbs lime juice

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Dressing: 

1/2 cup oil 

2 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs sesame oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

 1 tbs fresh grated ginger

1 tbs peanut butter

2 tsp fresh lime juice

10 drops hot sauce (optional)

Salad: 

8 ounces vermicelli

1 bunch green onions (sliced) 

1 ted pepper (thinly sliced) 

1 cup carrots (shredded)

1/4 cup roasted peanuts

Directions: 

Combine marinade ingredients. Marinate chicken for 1 hour. Cook chicken until juices run clear or until white inside. Chop into small pieces and chill. Make dressing and mix well. Refrigerate and allow flavors to blend. Cook pasta, drain, and run cold water over the pasta to cool. Combine noodles, veggies, chicken. Just before serving, mix in the dressing and peanuts. Makes 6 servings. 

Goat Cheese Arugula Salad with Butternut Squash Mushrooms & Bacon

So I made up a salad today with some left over ingredients I had laying around, and it was SO DANG GOOD.  The pantry gods were smiling down upon me, and everything in this dish comes together so beautifully. Its got a lovely savory and satisfying flavor due to the mushrooms and bacon, and its got great for you buttery vegetables and a peppery bite from the arugula. I love eating meat free or very little meat meals. It just feels like a healthy idea. This was a great way to eat vegetables for dinner and not feel sad about it. 

Ingredients: 

1 butternut squash peeled and cubed into 1 inch squares

3 cups bag fresh arugula 

3 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces

1 pkg baby portobello mushrooms, sliced

6 ounces crumbled goat cheese

salt and pepper 

Directions: 

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until it begins to crisp up and renders some of its fat. Add your mushrooms, salt, and pepper, and cook until the mushrooms are tender. Remove the mushrooms and bacon from the pan and set aside. Stir your squash into the remaining bacon grease and cook until the squash is cooked through and crispy on the outside. Pour your arugula into a bowl, top it with the squash, then the bacon/mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Roasted walnuts would be a wonderful add on as well if available. 

This salad was supremely delicious and came together quickly. A quick, healthy, tasty, low meat meal. Winner winner (not a chicken dinner) in my book!

Enjoy!

Creamy Polenta with Sautéed Mushrooms

I discovered a new dish that I cannot wait to make again. It's a creamy and satisfying polenta. It tastes buttery and rich, but is surprisingly low fat. And then you send this dish over the moon balsamic glazed mushrooms. It's seriously so so good. And the best part? It's super simple! The whole dish comes together in about 10 minutes. 

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons olive oil

16 oz mushrooms (I had white which was great, but baby bella or cremini would be wonderful)

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon butter

18 ounces instant polenta (we LOVE the organic trader joes brand) 

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf italian parsley

salt and pepper

Directions: 

De-stem and cut your mushrooms in half or quarters depending on the size of the mushroom. You want them to be small bite sized pieces. Remember they will shrink down during cooking. Heat your olive oil in a skillet, add your mushrooms, balsamic vinegar, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until the mushrooms are golden brown and cooked through (about 10 minutes). Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, melt your butter and cut open your polenta. Spread the polenta evenly across the pan and warm until cooked through. Top with half of the cheese. Once your mushrooms are done, add them to the top of the polenta. Top with your parsley and the other half of your cheese. Season again with salt and pepper and serve immediately. 

For a 10 minute, meat free, inexpensive and healthy meal, this is one that you will want to make over and over. In fact, I'm going to go make some more right now. 

Curry Chicken Leek & Potato Soup

I have been obsessed with making soups lately. I guess that is just an inherent to-do that comes with the changing of the seasons. Even though I live somewhere where it's still relatively warm, I want to get in my cozy sweater and slippers and slurp something to heat up my insides. This soup does just that. Its got just a tiny mild amount of spice. The warm flavors, the creaminess from the potatoes, and just a hint of richness from the protein in the chicken. It was so simple to make, and so simple to devour. I hope you enjoy! 

Ingredients: 
1 tablespoon olive oil 
2 leeks, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 onion, diced
salt and pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp curry
1 tsp turmeric
4 cans stock 
2 carrots, diced
3 pound bag red potatoes
1 chicken breast, grilled or baked, then cut into 1/4 inch cubes

Directions: 
Warm your oil in a large dutch oven pot, leek, onion, celery, salt and pepper and saute until softened. Add your garlic and cook for 30-60 more seconds. Then add your curry, turmeric, lavender, and stir until fragrant. Add in your stock, then your carrots and potatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce to medium heat and simmer until your potatoes are fork tender. Use an imersion blender until you have reached your desired smoothness. Add your chicken to the soup and stir until warmed through. Season again with salt and pepper as needed. Serve with bread or pita chips for dipping. 

This soup has a warm creamy vibe with just a slight hint of spices. And the best part is, its virtually fat free and almost meat free. It is the perfect way to cozy up this fall. 

Peggy's Glazed Carrot Cake

One of my mother-in-law's recipes that my husband drools over is her glazed carrot cake. He would rather spend a night with this cake than with me. Even if you're not a fan of carrot cake, this cake will win you over. It's has the perfect moist crumble due to its delicious glaze and one secret ingredient: crushed pineapple! Maybe we should rename this Peggy's glazed pineapple carrot cake? Regardless of what we call it, we will always call it delicious. 

Cake Ingredients: 
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups grated carrots (4-5 medium carrots) 
3 1/2 oz flaked coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Glaze Ingredients: 
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla

Frosting Ingredients: 
4 oz cream cheese, softened
4 oz butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar 

Grease and flour two round cake pans. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix together your  cake ingredients. Divide into two and pour into your cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Then prepare your glaze by mixing together all your ingredients (minus the vanilla) in a saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes. Then add your vanilla to the glaze and pour it over each of the cake rounds. Let cakes cool. Mix together your frosting ingredients in an electric mixer until smooth. Add extra powdered sugar if you prefer your frosting thicker. Frost the top of one cake round, stack the other on top of it, frost that as well. Serve and enjoy! 

Christie's Lettuce Wraps

I recently went back through and deleted a bunch of old recipes on this blog that I no longer enjoy, or that I have replaced with better ones. I realized an important recipe I use was missing from this blog! I have only ever tried one recipe for lettuce wraps. It is so delicious that I've never even been tempted to branch out and try a new one. I'm guessing if you make this for dinner tonight, you'll never want to try another recipe for lettuce wraps either. It has the perfect caramelized crunch and is surprisingly fresh and satisfying. 

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, diced

2 heads of bib lettuce

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 onions, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons soy suace

1/2 cup cashews, chopped

6 basil leaves, julienned

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup asian crunchy noodles

hot sauce (optional)

Ingredients for sauce:

4 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

Heat your oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add your chicken and cook until golden on all sides (about 5-6 minutes). Remove your chicken from the oil, and set aside. To your oiled pan add your onions and soy sauce. When your onions are brown and tender, add your garlic and cook for an additional minute. In a seperate bowl mix together all of your sauce ingredients and stir until the brown sugar is dissolved. Add the sauce and chicken back to your onions in the pan. Saute everything together until fragrant and warm. Fill your lettuce leaves with the chicken mixture and top with asian crunchy noodles, hot sauce, and fresh basil.

Super simple, super delicious. Just the kind of recipe we love around here. Hope you enjoy it!