Poor Man's Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Now I am all about making the poor man's version of recipes. One because its cheaper and we all like to make great tasting meals that are cheap especially with the price of food. So here is the latest to my poor man's recipes.....

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

1 pound lean ground beef....yep ground meat not cube steaks which can be expensive
1 (10-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup, divided
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup onions

chopped garlic
1 teaspoon steak seasoning (recommended: Montreal) if your on a budget I got the packet of Montreal Steak marinate and used it instead of having to buy a bottle of the seasoning
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons butter

1 package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 (1.2-ounce) packet brown gravy mix or mushroom gravy

2 cups water
Cooked rice, for serving

Directions

In a large bowl, combine beef, 1/4 can mushroom soup, bread crumbs, egg, and montreal steak seasoning. Mix thoroughly and shape into 4 oval patties. You can also add some garlic salt and seasoning salt too to the mix. And dont forget the pepper.

Heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown patties on both sides and transfer to a plate.

Add some olive oil and saute the onions and garlic too if you want. Then add mushrooms to the saute for 7 to 8 minutes. Add two cup water and whisk in gravy mix until smooth. Stir in remaining mushroom soup also.

Return patties to skillet and spoon gravy over top. Cover pan and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve Salisbury Steaks and Mushroom Gravy over hot cooked rice. 

I found this on the Food Network then revised it to my way of cooking.

Chicken Parmesan Recipe

I made this the other night and it was GREAT !!! Even the left overs were awesome to take for lunches.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin....I took a normal chicken breast and cut them in half and then pounded them with my meat tenderizer mallet
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups all-purpose flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
4 large eggs, beaten with 2 tablespoons water and seasoned with salt and pepper
2-4 cups panko bread crumbs
1 cup vegetable oil or pure olive oil
Tomato Sauce, recipe follows
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly slice...i got the cheap stuff at Walmart
1/4 cup grated Parmesan....cheap stuff at Walmart works
Fresh basil or parsley leaves, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge each breast in the flour and tap off excess, then dip in the egg and let excess drip off, then dredge on both sides in the bread crumbs.

Divide the oil between 2 large saute pans and heat over high heat until almost smoking. Add 2 chicken breasts to each pan and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking sheet and top each breast with some tomato sauce, a few slices of the mozzarella, salt and pepper, and a tablespoon of Parmesan. Bake in the oven until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is melted, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish with basil or parsley leaves.

Tomato Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 (28-ounce) cans plum tomatoes and their juices, pureed in a blender or mashed with a masher
1 (16-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 small bunch Italian parsley....i would use half of what you cut up and add to taste
Italian seasoning to your tastes
Basil seasoning to your taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add pureed tomatoes with their juices, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley and bring to a medium temp. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes or less.

I found this recipe on Food Network and then revised it to how I cooked the meal. I recommend NOT having it with pasta because its pretty filling. Maybe a light salad would be nice.

My Facebook Page

Here is the link to my Facebook page. Sometimes I post other ideas on this page and not here. So check out both !!!

https://www.facebook.com/WendysCookingPage

Deer/Elk meat loaf....or other ground meat.

Wow, has it been this long since I worked on my cooking blog? Jeez, what a terrible blogger I am. Well, here I am trying to play catch up with a few things.

In the past I have NOT been a fan of meatloaf. One because most people put onions in it and I can only eat sauteed onions. If onions stay somewhat uncooked in something then it gives me the gut ache from hell and makes me want to puke when I eat whatever it is. I dont know why. They just have to be cooked down. Second I have always thought of meatloaf as meat and bread for some strange reason. Ick.

So I take a package of my deer or elk ground meat and place it in a large bowl.
I add some Worcestershire
cracked pepper
garlic salt
seasoning salt
garlic and herb seasoning
sea salt
onion powder
ground sage
italian season mix spice
one or two eggs depending on how big your package of ground meat is
italian seasoned bread crumbs in the can...finely chopped kind

My secret ingredient is a hand made/canned chili sauce we got from some friends which you want to use one not sweet and not too warm. When that ran out I used some homemade canned salsa. No KETCHUP here.

I hand mix all that together with my hands. Mix in some of the bread crumbs till it absorbs the wetness. I cant say how much cause each time its different depending on how much chili/salsa sauce you use. I then let the meat sit for a bit in the bowl or on a rack before cooking.

AND as always you can experiment with how much spices and so forth you want to use as you make this each time.

I use a roast rack that is in the "V" formation for roasts to cook on. I place my loaf in that so its not cooking in its own juices. Then I sprinkle more bread crumbs on top and some seasoning and garlic salt so it makes crusties on top of your loaf.

I cook my loaf on about 300' to 325' for about 45minutes. Make sure you cut into it to see if its done cooking or not. It usually doesnt take long with elk or deer. Then serve with gravy or having the salsa chili sauce on the side to dip in is good too. Dont serve the salsa cold though :)

Meatloaf with gravy and chili/salsa.

Meat loaf with crusty top !

Meatloaf with gravy.

Russian Piroshki

I went to a small Russian truck in town that makes these and tried them. They were so good I had to go home and figure out how to make them myself. I used pork for meat and shredded cabbage, and the shredded broccoli mix you can get, and some mushrooms and onions to the mix.

Rolling the dough is a bit of an intermediate skill but not too hard. There is so many possibilities with this recipe and what ingredients you can use.

You may need to watch this several times and watch it as you work too. I sure did on my tablet.

Cold Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad

This is my favorite pasta for one because I LOVE pesto and spinach. Its really easy to make and a great dish to take to a dinner at someone's place when you need to bring something.

Ingredients:

One box of bow tie pasta
One bag of spinach
One jar of pesto
Parmesan cheese fresh in a bag...not the shaker kind
Garlic Salt
Olive oil

Start off with cooking your bow tie pasta. Dont overcook them. When they are cooked dump into strainer and then immediately rinse with cold water. Let pasta sit in strainer until it is cool.

Cut up your spinach into small chunks or strips.

Once pasta is cooled add to a large bowl.

Drizzle some olive oil over the top. Dont get too carried away and drizzle too much oil.

Add your spinach and the whole jar of pesto.

Stir all together and add a dash of garlic salt.

Sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese and mix in. Probably about a cup of it.

With this salad you can experiment and add more or less depending on your tastes. I find after it sits a bit you may want to add a bit more garlic salt or the cheese for that salty flavor.

Keep in the fridge and eat fresh or later. I like to eat on it all day. 

Quick Asian Marinate

There are some nights I just want to have something Asian-ish. You can use this for any meat. I usually cut up my meat into small bite size chunks. Chicken, pork or steak or any other game like elk or deer.

Marinate:
Now I dont measure my marinate. I just throw some of this stuff together.

Hoisin sauce
Seasoned rice vinegar
Soy sauce
minced garlic
chopped ginger
sesame oil
oyster flavored sauce

mix it all together and let it marinate for awhile

cook up some rice in your rice cooker

cook your meat up with marinate in a saute pan

when meat is cooked and rice is done add meat over rice and sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.

This is the greatest Asian style quick meal.