Chicken Fried Steak

Yum. Yum. Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum. This is PW's recipe. Did I mention it is good?

3 pounds Cube Steak
1-1/2 cup Whole Milk (plus 2 more for the gravy)
2 Eggs
3 cups All purpose Flour (plus 1/3 cup for gravy)
Seasoning Salt
1/4 tsp Cayenne
Black Pepper (and plenty of it!)
Canola Oil
Salt

In one boil mix the eggs and milk together. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, seasoning salt, cayenne and lots of black pepper. Place the meat on a dish then have a clean dish to place it on once you get it all coated. Dip it in the milk mixture then the flour mixture then back in the milk mixture and back in the flour mixture and place on the clean plate. Continue with each piece of meat. Heat oil in a skillet. Drop in a a bit of flour to test if it's ready. Once it's ready place the meat (a few batches at a time) into the oil. Cook until crispy and brown on both sides. Repeat with all the meat, adding a little more oil if needed.

If there is lots of grease remaining then remove all but 1/4 of a cup from the skillet then whisk in 1/3 cup of flour. Cook until a golden brown color. Add milk and cook until thick, if it gets too thick add a little more milk. Season with salt and lots of pepper.

Top the steak with the gravy and serve right away!

Mini Garlic Monkey Breads

Real Mom Kitchen, at this point, need I say more?

2 (7.5 oz) cans Grands Biscuits
6 tbsp butter (melted)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tbsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400. Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Mix together the remaining ingredients. Dip each biscuit into the mixture and place into muffin tin. Place 3 pieces into each tin. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes.

Fireside Coffee

My BFF Bekah passed this recipe along and said I HAD to try it right away! It took me a few weeks to get around to but I finally did! In fact I forwarded the recipe to my mom and told her to grab the ingredients and we would mix it up together and split it! It makes a good amount and we ended up making several rounds for gifts after we heated up a cup! Oh it's so so so good! The recipe is from The Dudley's blog.

1 cup instant coffee
2 cups Swiss Miss cocoa (try to find the large container, makes it easier)
2 cups Cremora (you can only get this at Wal-Mart, hints getting mom involved, I DO NOT GO to Wal-Mart. Ever. Period. Except once and that's a long story)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups sugar

Mix everything together in a bowl. Mix 3 to 4 tablespoons with one mug of boiling hot water. Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Pockets

Gray loves buffalo anything! I am not always a huge fan but these were good! I knew he would love them and I always try to make a meal or two a week that I know he will really really enjoy so I am glad I tried these. The recipes came from The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch.

1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
5 oz. Cream Cheese (softened)
1-2 tbsps Frank's Red Hot sauce
2-3 dashes Worcestershire sauce

Heat the oven to 350. Mix together the cream cheese, hot sauce and worcestershire sauce. Add the chicken and stir well. Separate the crescent rolls into four rectangles. Spoon the chicken mixture on the crescent dough and seal the edges well. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes. Serve hot.

Easy Crock Pot Potato Soup

Who doesn't love potato soup? Who doesn't love their crock pot? Easiest dinner ever created and perfect for a cold winter night! The recipe is from Pearls, Handcuffs and Happy Hour.

42oz of chicken broth

1 30z bag of shredded hashbrowns

1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 pkg cream cheese

Place everything in the crock pot but the cream cheese. Stir together and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours. 1 hour before cooking cut the cream cheese into pieces and stir into the soup. top with cheddar, chives, bacon, sour cream, ect. Serve hot.

Savory Chicken and Broccoli

Oh Yum. This was a great dish. I really wasn't sure about it while I was making it but it ended up being warm and gooey and absolutely wonderful, I adapted it a bit and made it to fit our taste. The recipe is from Confabulation in the Kitchen.

1/2 cup butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 can chicken broth
Black pepper and salt to taste
1 baguette

2 tbsp olive oil
1 package frozen broccoli (steamed until bright green)
2 large chicken breasts (cooked and sliced)
1/2 cup grated cheddar

Heat oven to 375. Cut the baguette into crouton pieces. Heat olive oil over medium high heat and saute the bread, cook bread until toasted. Season with salt and pepper. In a pan melt the butter, add the flour and cook for a minute. Season with pepper. Add the chicken broth and turn off the heat. Stir until thick. Layer the baguette, broccoli and chicken. Pour sauce over. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve hot.

Mini Toffee Rolls

I posted the recipe for Mini Cinnies a few weeks ago and these are similar but with TOFFEE! Real Mom Kitchen hit another home run. Gray devoured these and I had to fight to get some. Oh my goodness. They are chewy, sticky, messy goodness! They would be so fun and easy to make for the holidays. I cut the recipe in half since it was just two of us eating them but I am posting the full recipe.

6 tbsp butter (softened)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup toffee bits
2 80z cans refrigerated crescent rolls
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
4 1/2 tsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Cream together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir in the toffee bits. Separate the crescent roll dough into 4 rectangles. Spread the toffee mixture on the dough and roll up. Cut into 1 inch pieces and place in a greased glass dish. Bake at 375 for 14 to 16 minutes.

In a bowl combine the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth and drizzle over the toffee rolls. Serve warm.

Pretzel M&M Cookies

My brother LOVES pretzel M&Ms so when he came home from college one weekend I made these for him. They were really good!!!! My brother called me once he was back at school and said he had to hide them from his roommate :) The recipe is from Two Peas & Their Pod.

2 1/2 cups AP flour
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups pretzel M&M's
Sea salt (for sprinkling on cookies)

Heat oven to 375. Combine flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. In a separate bowl cream together the sugars and butter until smooth. Add eggs then vanilla extract. Slowly add the flour mixture on a low speed until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and M&Ms. Drop spoonfuls of the batter on to a parchment lined baking pan two inches apart. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

This is the BEST chicken for tacos. So flavorful and so easy!!!! This recipe is from Stephanie Cooks!

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup salsa
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 tsp cumin

Combine all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Remove from crock pot and shred. Serve with taco shells and all the fixings.

Creamy Orzo with Chicken, Mushrooms and Red Peppers

Oh yes, this was good stuff. What I love about orzo is it always makes a ton! We eat leftovers for lunch every day so I try to make a meal or two that I know is going to give us lots. This was a great dish that we will be making again. The recipe is from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 Chicken Breasts (cooked and shredded)
1-2 red bell peppers (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
8 ounces white button mushrooms, quartered
1 tsp dried thyme
3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
1 lb orzo pasta
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
1 cup reserved pasta water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1-2 tbsp dried parsley
Squeeze of lemon juice

Boil pasta and when it is done reserve a cup of water. While pasta is boiling heat a pan with olive oil and saute peppers, mushrooms and thyme. Add chicken and garlic and cook for about a minute. Add cream cheese and melt then add the cup of pasta water and bring to a boil. Stir in salt and pepper. Add the orzo, Parmesan, parsley and lemon juice. Stir and let heat for a few minutes. Serve hot.

Spinach Dip

I love a good spinach dip but never made one before the other night. I found a particular recipe online and told Gray about it, his first question was if the spinach was fresh or frozen, it was frozen. He asked me to find one with fresh spinach. I found this one that I had pinned on pinterest from The Comfort of Cooking. Oh.My.Goodness. There were 4 of us and we ate the entire thing. It was amazing. I think this is my new favorite dip recipe!

2 tbsp olive oil
6 oz. baby spinach
8 oz. cream cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese (shredded, plus some extra for the top)
1 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
1 cup sour cream
5-6 cloves garlic (minced)
Salt and pepper to taste

Blend together cream cheese, mozzarella, parmesan and sour cream. In a pan heat the olive oil then saute the spinach and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Add the spinach to the cream cheese mixture and blend together. Pour into an 8x8 pan. Top with more mozzarella. Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes.

Apple Toffee Blondies

After we went apple picking I knew these were one of the first things I wanted to bake with them! These are sweet, like REALLY sweet, but delicious and crumbly, crumbly in a good way. This recipe is from Cookies and Cups.

Bars:
2/3 cup Butter (room temperature)
2 cups Light Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
2 cups Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Apple (peeled and chopped)
1/2 cup Toffee Bits

Heat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 baking pan. Beat together butter and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla until fully blended. On low add flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in apple and toffee bits. Pour and spread into baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. Do not ice until completely cooled.

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter in saucepan. Add milk and brown sugar then bring to a boil. Whisk in powdered sugar. Let the frosting cool until it is thick enough to spread. Spread on to the bars and let cool before slicing.