Broccoli & Rice Bake …

So tonight I knew I had to cook these pork steaks I had already thawed out, right?  I also had a fresh head of broccoli but virtually no cheese.  I know, you’re shocked.  THIS house is RARELY without cheese!  I had a little Swiss cheese but that’s it.  So what do I do with the broccoli?  I found this DELICIOUS recipe!  I had all the ingredients so why not give it a try?  I can tell you that it’s going to be a regular here 🙂

Broccoli and Rice Bake

Ingredients:

1 head of broccoli, chopped (you can use frozen)

1 10.75 can cream of mushroom soup

1 1/4 cups milk

1 8 oz container sour cream

1 tsp dried crushed basil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cups white rice (long grain)

1 cup Swiss cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F

1.  Cook rice according to package directions.

2.  While rice is cooking, cook fresh broccoli in salted water.  Cook until still bright green.  Drain.

3.  In a large bowl, combine soup, milk, sour cream, salt pepper and basil.  Stir in cooked broccoli and cooked rice.  Spoon mixture into a greased 2 quart casserole dish.

4.  Cover and bake for about 30 minutes or until heated through.  Uncover and sprinkle cheese on top of rice dish.  Bake for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

There it is!  Simple as that and everyone LOVED it!  The pork steaks were SO good too and fell apart in my mouth 😉  They’re so easy that I’m almost ashamed to tell you how I do them… but I WILL.  All I do is season them any way I want to and throw them in the oven, covered at 350F.  I cook them until they’re for tender (about 2-3 hours), uncover, drain grease and smother with bar-b-q sauce.  Throw them back into the oven for another half hour until the sauce kind of cooks in 🙂  It’s better than the grill!

Beef and Guinness Stew (Casserole)

The ONLY thing good about winter, in my humble opinion, is the excuse to load up on all the comfort food my little heart desires 🙂  Today is SO cold and gloomy in my little corner of the world.  I COULD get out of my bed comfort zone and drive around looking for something lovely to photograph but that would just require me to have to learn how to actually USE my expensive new camera.  I wouldn’t want to hurt my brain so I think I’ll just stay home and cook:-)  Besides, I’m pretty hungry.

This is a recipe I use often because it’s absolutely DELISH!  I didn’t even have to alter the recipe.  It comes from a cookbook I bought in a little Irish town in Kentucky (Too bad I can’t remember the name of the town!  lol).  Ireland’s Comfort Food, Pidgeon’s Press

Beef and Guinness Casserole (*but it’s more like a stew!)

Ingredients:

2 TBSP oil

2 lbs beef, trimmed and cubed (*I use stew meat from chuck roast)

2 TBSP tomato puree (*I use tomato paste)

1- 14 oz can tomatoes, chopped

2 tsp mustard (*I use Dijon)

1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup Guinness beer (*I use any dark beer we happen to have)

3 3/4 cups chicken stock

pepper to taste

3 carrots, peeled and diced (*ok, I never dice my carrots)

2 large onions, peeled and sliced

4 mushrooms, sliced (*I don’t usually have mushrooms so it’s ok without)

1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water

2 TBSP parsley

boiled potatoes or rice for serving

Heat oil in a large pot, add the meat (be sure and don’t over crowd or the meat won’t brown) and cook until brown on all sides.  Add the tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Guinness, chicken stock and pepper; cover with lid and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add the vegetables, cover and cook an additional 40-50 minutes or until the meat is tender; add the cornstarch mixture to thicken if needed.  Sprinkle with parsley and serve over potatoes or rice.

Enjoy!

Penne and Smoked Sausage

Every now and then I come across something on Pinterest that works.  This is one of those times.  For dinner last night, I had some polish sausage that I needed to use.  I found this recipe on Pinterest that was taken from http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Penne-and-Smoked-Sausage.  I’ll have to admit it didn’t look as amazing as it tasted.  I doubled the recipe and between the 3 of us, more than half of it was eaten.  VERY tasty!  Of course, I added more cheese (cheddar) but other than that, I didn’t have to make any modifications.  This one’s a winner:-)  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Penne and Smoked Sausage

Penne and Smoked Sausage

• Prep: 15 min. Bake: 30 min.
• Yield: 6 Servings

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Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked penne pasta
• 1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1-1/2 cups 2% milk
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
• 1-1/2 cups cheddar french-fried onions, divided (*I used French’s French Fried Onions – regualr flavor cause that’s what I had)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided (*I added about a cup of cheddar cheese to the mozzarella cause that’s what I like!)
• 1 cup frozen peas

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown sausage over medium heat for 5 minutes; drain. In a large bowl, combine milk and soup. Stir in 1/2 cup onions, 1/2 cup cheese, peas and sausage. Drain pasta; stir into sausage mixture.
• Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Cover and bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with remaining onions and cheese. Bake, uncovered, 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 6 servings.