Exceedingly Mundane

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Aug
14
Posted by Stace

Skillet Dishes

I blogged recently about what topics you’d like to see some posts about, and several of you said that you’d like to see some new recipes. I glean recipes from other blogs and cooking sites. So, some of you lurking or visiting here might see your own recipes or some you’ve seen at other blogs. I don’t claim any of them to be original, just recipes I’ve found online that sounded good, we tried and liked! I do try to give credit where credit is due 🙂 Anyway, I’m trying to use my crockpot and stovetop more in the summers. I really hate turning on the oven when it’s so hot, and so I either use my toaster oven or try to cook things on the stovetop. I’ve tried a couple of new skillet dishes lately that we’ve liked. They are not fancy or gourmet by any means, just good old fashioned comfort food!

The first one I tried came from Shawna, who said it was originally a Pampered Chef recipe. It’s for Skillet Lasagna. I don’t have a photo of the lasagna, but it was good. I’ll definitely make it again. It makes a lot for the two of us though. We had leftovers for lunch several days afterwards!

The next one came from Amy, and is a homemade version of Cheeseburger Macaroni. Tim loves Hamburger Helper cheeseburger macaroni, but I try to stay away from too much processed stuff. They’re great time savers, but I have a lot of time to cook and most of the time, I enjoy it. I do take shortcuts though, like everyone else. I do a lot of stuff from the freezer, like frozen eggrolls and never make my own!

Anyway, here’s the Cheeseburger Macaroni:

cheeseburger macaroni

The second time I made it, I tried to make it even healthier and instead of using the canned soups, I made my own. For the beef broth, I used the Better Than Bouillon paste and made broth that way. Instead of using a can of Campbell’s Cheddar Cheese soup, I found a substitute online and tried that. I think it was probably healthier, but it did mess up a lot more dishes. I’m not sure either of us could tell a difference, so that was good. I just had a lot more pots and pans to wash after making the soup and broth!

Lastly, for good measure, I’ll repost a couple of links of other skillet dishes I’ve made lately. These are not new to me, many of them I’ve been making several years. But they are tried and true in our house and something I make periodically. The first is for Sloppy Joe’s – I don’t like Manwich and I never have. So, I’ve been making this recipe for years. I usually use ground turkey these days, and I just sort of wing the sauce. I’ve found that one 8 oz can of tomato sauce is not enough for us with two pounds of meat. I usually use one 8 oz can for 1 pound of meat, because we like our joe’s very sloppy!

Another winner around here is my skillet Hamburger Stroganoff. I’ve also been making this many years and we like it. I think it’s the sour cream!

Hope you find something that you want to try. Again, these are nothing special, just easy dishes to do in a big skillet on the stovetop. We’re big on comfort food around here, there’s no gourmet chefs or eaters in this house!

Have a great day!

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  1. Susanne Said,

    I love skillet dishes. So easy and quick. I’ll take a peek at all of these!

  2. sherry Said,

    I’ve been making the hamburger stroganoff for years! We really love it!

    Sherry

  3. annie Said,

    I’ll have to give those a try!

  4. Christy Said,

    oooh, those look good! Clay loves skillet recipes!

  5. dianne Said,

    mmmm, these are right up our alley – i am going to bookmark. i am just in the process of planning my sept-oct menu so yippee!

  6. JEN Said,

    The hamburger Stroganoff sounds interesting. I may try this one. I’m with you though on the cooking I try to do only one in the oven a meal a week with the heat…..

  7. mamichelle Said,

    Yum. I can’t usually have skillet dinners because they almost always have pasta or potatoes. I have a Mexican one that I love. I use the whole grain tortillas so it’s not really bad.

  8. Amy Said,

    Oh, I am glad you liked that! I agree- it is a super naughty recipe and I only think we have had that twice ever because of that reason.

    I love skillet recipes though! They are so much easier and nice for the summer!

    Here is one that I think you will like- I got it from my America’s Test Kitchen cookbook and it is my husband’s favorite. A little more low-cal too!

    Easy Skillet Penne and Sausage Supper
    Serves Six

    1 tablespoon olive oil
    1 onion – chopped fine
    3 cloves garlic – minced or pressed through garlic
    -press
    1 pound turkey sausage – Italian
    1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes – (oil-packed) , rinsed
    -and chopped fine
    1/2 pound penne
    2 cups chicken broth – low-sodium
    1 cup milk
    1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
    6 ounces baby spinach

    1. Heat the oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and sausage and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

    2. Sprinkle the penne evenly over the sausage. Pour the broth and milk over the pasta. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes (it took mine around 15 minutes).

    3. Stir in the spinach a handful at a time, and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan and sun dried tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

    Note: Italian pork sausage can be used here, however, you may need to spoon off some of the fat before adding the pasta. When you are adding the spinach, it may seem like a lot at first, but it wilts down substantially. Be sure to at least have a 12-inch wide skillet here– this recipe fills it nearly to the rim.

    Nutritional facts per serving (daily value):
    Calories 391kcal
    Protein 26g (51%)
    Total Fat 14g (22%)
    Sat. 5g (23%)
    Chol. 72mg (24%)
    Carb. 40g (13%)
    Fiber 2g (9%)
    Sugars 5g
    Calcium 197mg (20%)
    Iron 3mg (17%)

  9. Shawna Said,

    Mmm! Hubby would love if I made Cheeseburger Macaroni.

  10. Becca Said,

    Hi,

    We made the skillet lasagna tonight and it was soooo good! Next up is the hamburger stroganoff! Love these kind of recipes on cool, wet nights like we had today!

    Thank you,
    Becca

  11. Becca Said,

    Hi we made the hamburger stroganoff! Oh my goodness it was so good! Definitely a keeper! Even the hubs loved it! And we made it with better than bullioun and it was delicious. We did use fresh mushrooms and diced onions, but it was great!

    Why am I liking comfort food all of a sudden?

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