Dulce De Leche

Oh. My. Gawd. This was so easy, and so good. Make it. Now.

Dulce De Leche

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
water

Remove label from milk can. Place can on side into a 3 quart slow cooker. Fill with water until it is 3-4 inches above can. Cover and cook on low heat 8-10 hours. Turn off slow cooker and allow can to cool 40 minutes inside slow cooker. Chill caramel in unopened can in refrigerator until ready to serve. Use as a dip for apple slices or serve over ice cream. From 365 of Slow Cooking Blog.

The only concern I had was that in her recipe she says to cover the can with 3 to 4 inches of water.....I used a 6 qt crock pot and I did not have 3 to 4 inches of room. So, I covered it as much as I could. I went home at lunch to check on it and it was just fine.

We have been eating the carmel with sliced apples, oreos, and I think Chris & Tate had some on a banana split last night. Yum!

Salisbury Steak with mushroom gravy

I made Salisbury Steak with mushroom gravy last night. I did follow the recipe...except...I bought canned gravy. Um, I will not do that again. I did like this, and I will make it again, but, I will try different gravy or attempt to make my own.

*********************************

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, cut in half, then sliced
1 jar (4.5 oz) Green Giant® sliced mushrooms, drained
1 jar (12 oz) beef gravy

1. In large bowl, mix beef, egg, 1/4 cup of the Bisquick mix and the pepper. With wet hands, shape beef mixture into 6 oval patties, about 1/2 inch thick. Lightly coat patties with remaining 1/4 cup Bisquick mix.

2. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Arrange patties in single layer in skillet. Add onion slices around and on top of patties. Cook 12 to 16 minutes, turning patties once and stirring onions occasionally, until meat thermometer inserted in center of patties reads 160°F.

3. If necessary, spoon fat from skillet and discard. Add mushrooms and gravy to skillet. Turn patties to coat with gravy. Heat to boiling.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

I made Sweet & Sour Chicken from the blog My Kitchen Cafe. It was more work then I normally like to spend on dinner. But, oh my, it was so worth it. I did make the extra sauce as she suggested and used it for the egg rolls. No, I did not make the egg rolls. I bought frozen ones. :)

Try this. It is good.

September 2009 Meal Plan

Sept 1 ~ Ham & Cheese Omelets, hashbrowns
Sept 2 ~ Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, greenbeans
Sept 3 ~ Mexican Chicken, white rice, mandarin oragnes & pineapple (Sunshine Salad)
Sept 4 ~ Hamburgers, roast potatoes
Sept 5 ~ Steaks, baked potatoes
sept 6 ~ Potato Slabs
Sept 7 ~ Lentil & brown rice casserole
Sept 8 ~ Breakfast burritos, fruit salad
Sept 9 ~ BLT with avacodo, chips
Sept 10 ~ Salisbury Steak, mashed potatoes, broccoli
Sept 11 ~ Crockpot 3 packet pot roast
Sept 12 ~ Kielbasa bean soup
Sept 13 ~ Navajo tacos
Sept 14 ~ Spinach & cheese quiche (modified from the recipe)
Sept 15 ~ Biscuits & gravy, srambled eggs, fruit
Sept 16 ~ Jambalaya
Sept 17 ~ Crockpot sour cream and salsa chicken, white rice
Sept 18 ~ homemade pizza
Sept 19~ Grandma Mack's breakfast casserole
Sept 20 ~ Sloppy Joes, chips
Sept 21 ~ Cheese ravioli with pasta sauce
Sept 22 ~ French toast, eggs, bacon
Sept 23 ~ crockpot mac & cheese
Sept 24 ~ Sweet & sour chicken, egg rolls
Sept 25 ~ Beef pot pie
Sept 26 ~ Swill
Sept 27 ~ Spaghetti
Sept 28 ~ Broccoli cheese soup in bread bowls
Sept 29 ~ S.O.S.
Sept 30 ~ hmmm, missed one day...oh well....

Spinach-Stuffed Pasta Shells

1. I can not remember which cook book I got this from, which is a bummer because I really like this recipe. I checked it out from the library awhile ago.

2. I should have taken a picture...but my camera is being dumb so I put it away. I am mad at it.

Spinach-Stuffed Pasta Shells

12 dried jumbo shell macaroni
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend (8 oz)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 26-32 oz pasta sauce

1. Cook jumbo shells according to package directions; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain again. Set shells aside. Meanwhile, drain thawed spinach well.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For filling, in a medium bowl stir together spinach, eggs 1 1/2 cups of the Italian cheese blend and the ricotta cheese. Spoon a generous 2 rounded tablespoons of the filling into each jumbo shell. Arrange shells in a 2 quart square baking dish. Pour pasta sauce over shells.

3. Bake, covered, in the preheated oven about 40 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining 1.2 cup Italian cheese blend. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Makes 4 main dish servings.

Make ahead directions: Prepare as above through step 2. Cover with plastic wrap, then foil. Chill for up to 24 hours. To bake, remove plastic wrap and replace foil. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until heated through. Continue as directed.

Adrienne's notes: I did not have Italian Cheese Blend. I used 1 cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup mild cheddar for the filling and 1/2 cup mozzarella for the top and sprinkled Parmesan on as well. I cooked 20 shells and had enough filling for 18.