Leigh's Garlic Butter Asparagus

 

Fresh Vegetables - nothing like them, and we are entering that time of the year in Western New York (mid to late Spring) when asparagus is at its prime!

Leigh likes to cook this recipe in the oven, on a cooking tray. This lets the asparagus cook in the combined butter and garlic juices, and tenderizes the vegetable.

Preparing the asparagus is essential. Asparagus has woody ends which are tough to chew - Leigh cuts these back about an inch to an inch and a half. Wash the asparagus thoroughly!

Lay the asparagus out on a cooking tray.

Liberally add butter and ground garlic. 

Cover completely.

Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes or until the asparagus is done!

The asparagus goes well with chicken or pork. Bon appetit!

Chicken Onion Garlic Teriyaki

 This is a quick and easy recipe for a chicken breast dinner. At the end of the day we appreciate a simple, easy to prepare dinner. This recipe is for two, so adjust accordingly.

Let's begin by dicing two medium onions, and sauteing in three tablespoons of butter along with two tablespoons of minced garlic.

While the onions are sauteing, butterfly a chicken breast, and tenderize until the chicken is about 1/4" to 3/8" thick. Add the chicken to the pan.

Next add 1 tbsp teriyaki sauce and 1 tbsp soy sauce. Cook until done.

Serve with sauce.

Creamy French Chicken Broccoli

 

We had this for dinner on May 4, 2021. It turned out very well! Comments on your variation to this recipe are always appreciated!

Sweet Vidalia Onion Chicken Bites

 Sometimes you buy too much salad dressing, especially the ones you like! These bottles sit on the pantry shelf, buried, half-forgotten, and then when looking for something else - oops! This dressing is nearly expired! Such was the case with this Ken's Steak House Sweet Vidalia Onion dressing. It should not be wasted! So, what to do?

Here's the recipe:

1. Cube two medium size or one very large chicken breast
2. Dice one medium onion
3. Dice 3 stalks of celery
4. Pour 2 tablespoons oil into a non-stick frying pan over medium low heat.
5. Pour in 4 tablespoons of the Ken's dressing.
6. Cook the onion and celery until soft.
7. Add the cubed chicken, cover and cook until done.

We served this with a salad (not with the Ken's dressing however - you can have too much Vidalia onion dressing!).

Sweet Vidalia Onion Pork Chop Bites

 

Sometimes you buy too much salad dressing, especially the ones you like! These bottles sit on the pantry shelf, buried, half-forgotten, and then when looking for something else - oops! This dressing is nearly expired! Such was the case with this Ken's Steak House Sweet Vidalia Onion dressing. It should not be wasted! So, what to do?

Here's the recipe:

1. Cube two medium size pork chops
2. Dice one medium onion
3. Dice 3 stalks of celery
4. Pour 2 tablespoons oil into a non-stick frying pan over medium low heat.
5. Pour in 4 tablespoons of the Ken's dressing.
6. Cook the onion and celery until soft.
7. Add the cubed pork chops, cover and cook until done.

We served this with a salad (not with the Ken's dressing however - you can have too much Vidalia onion dressing!).

Enjoy!

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

 A simple recipe - no pasta.

Ingredients: 

1 - 12.5 oz canned chicken

1 - 16 oz bag frozen broccoli

1 - 16 oz package chicken broth

4 tbsp corn starch

4 tbsp grated parmesan

1 - 14 oz can white beans

Mix the canned chicken, 1/2 of the chicken broth, and the broccoli in a large frying pan. 

Take the other 1/2 of the chicken broth and add 4 tbsp corn starch - mix well.

Bring to a simmer, and then add the corn starch, and 4 tbsp Parmesan. Cook until thickened.

Serve by itself, or additional cannelloni or great northern beans.

Alternate Beef Stroganoff

One of the most common meats in our freezer is hamburger. Our local Wegman's has some of the best hamburger, at a reasonable price, this is typically 80/20.

We had made chicken soup from some chicken quarters - I will post this recipe as well - and during dinner I casually mentioned to Leigh it would be a nice change of pace to have a beef stroganoff for the next evening dinner. She agreed.

We made this in a slow cooker, and would serve four to six people.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 quart beef stock
• 1/3 pound penne
• 1 small onion
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• celery - to taste - we used 1/2 cup
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup cornstarch rue - cornstarch and water thickener. 2 tsp cornstarch to 1/2 cup hot water

Start off with the slow cooker on high, add the beef stock the hamburger, and the garlic powder, and break up the hamburger as it cooks. When the beef is done, add the onions and celery, 3 cups of water, penne, heavy cream, and rue. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir it up and turn the slow cooker down to a low setting. Check it every so often and stir frequently until the penne is done.

Garlic bread and Parmesan cheese would compliment this stroganoff nicely!

Enjoy!