Main Dishes

Simple Oregano Chicken Burrito [Best]

By Casey February 13, 2024

This recipe is very quick when running low on time.

Numerous days this one has come in handy when we don’t have an entire hour or more to cook. Plus, this simple burrito recipe is great for food prepping!

Whatever we make tends to last us around three days in meals (even though the sour cream doesn’t).

Making the Burrito

I may have overestimated the time it takes to prep this, but we usually take our time cooking.

To start, simply trim all of the chicken breasts of excess fat and cut it into one-inch pieces. Then sprinkle in 1 tsp of oregano, chili powered, and cumin. Finally, some salt and pepper to taste.

These ingredients will add some zest but not too much. Also, make sure the chicken is tossed or stirred to ensure an even coating.

Finally, pan-fry the chicken and prepare some tortillas to wrap them in!

If you struggle to wrap burritos like I used to, here’s a helpful video to teach!

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Simple Chicken Burrito

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings 8

Calories 480

An easy to make burrito recipe that's great for meal prepping!

Ingredients

1 lb Chicken Breast
1 pack Flour Tortillas
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Cumin
Black Pepper (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
Sour Cream ((when putting together))
Shredded Cheese ((when putting together))

Instructions

Trim chicken breast of fat and cut into 1 inch pieces.
Mix oregano, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper with chicken and thoroughly coat .
Pan fry the chicken until fully cooked.
Assemble burritos with sour cream, chicken, and shredded cheese. Fold to desired size.

Calories: 480kcal

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Keyword: homemade chicken burrito, oregano chicken burrito, simple chicken burrito

Check out our other recipes here!

Need help converting measurements in the kitchen? Check out our articles on a Grams to Cups Conversion Table and our Tablespoons to Cups Conversion Chart!

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Main Dishes

Patty Melt with Caramelized Onions

By Casey February 13, 2024

Best Patty Melt EVER

I just recently got into the grand world of artisan sandwiches. Now is this an artisan sandwich? No this is not an artisan sandwich, but it is delicious! It’s simple and while caramelizing onions can take a while (the majority of time for this recipe), it’s entirely worth it for the amazing flavor!

Another plus to this dish, is how many servings you can make! While there are only four servings for this recipe, scaling up is easy and won’t require much more time.

What’s in a Patty Melt?

A patty melt consists of a beef patty with Swiss cheese and caramelized onions on rye bread. This recipe takes a slightly different approach and uses sourdough panini bread as I find it provides a slightly sweeter flavor.

A patty melt is common for a dinner sandwich, but it works just as well for a filling lunchtime treat.

How to Caramelize Onions

Something you should know beforehand is that there are plenty of “cooking tips” out there that say they can speed up the process of caramelizing onions. Be wary of any tip that says it can make the process faster, as good caramelized onions will always take time and patience!

First off, what are caramelized onions? Ironically, they are called that because they go through a caramelization process where the sugars in the onion break down and become something far sweeter and make the onion a soft brown.

This process is achieved by frying the onions in an oil/butter mixture on medium heat for roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour. Occasionally, the onions may heat up too much and brown too fast. If the onions are beginning to burn, simply add water to deglaze and continue the caramelization process while lowering the heat slightly.

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Patty Melt with Caramelized Onions

Servings 4

Calories 710

A delicious lunch with creamy swiss cheese.

Ingredients

Caramelized Onion

1 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Vidalia Onion
1 pinch Brown Sugar

Beef Patty

1 pound Ground Beef
1/4 tbsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tbsp Onion Powder
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Pepper
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

Sourdough Bread

4 tbsp Butter
3 tbsp Mayonnaise
8 slices Swiss Cheese

Instructions

Caramelized Onions

Heat olive oil and butter over medium heat in a non-stick cooking pan or skillet.
Add sliced onions to the pan and saute until golden brown. This process can take between 50 minutes to and 1 hour if done correctly. If the onions are browning to quickly, simply add water to deglaze them and lower the heat a little. Add brown sugar to sweeten and salt to taste.

Patty Melt

In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix ground beef, garlic powder, onion powder, worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper.
Form beef into patties slightly larger than the bread slice you'll be using, they'll shrink when cooked.
Using any pan, cook the patties on medium heat on both sides until there's no pink in the middle.
In a small bowl, mix the butter and mayonnaise until combined.
Spread the mayo/butter mixture on each piece of sourdough on one side.
Using a pan, place a slice of buttered sourdough into the pan, butter side down. Place 1 slice of swiss cheese on the dry side. Add caramelized onions over the cheese. Place the beef patty over the onions and another slice of swiss cheese. Finally, place another piece of sourdough with the buttered side up.
Cook until golden brown and the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Calories: 710kcal

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: lunch sandwich, melt sandwich, patty melt

Need help converting measurements in the kitchen? Check out our articles on a Grams to Cups Conversion Table and our Tablespoons to Cups Conversion Chart!

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Desserts

Easy Homemade M&M Cookies

By Casey February 13, 2024

Yes, I love the classic chocolate chip cookies, but I’m also in love with M&Ms! So, why not take the normal chocolate chip cookie recipe and simply replace the chocolate chips with some M&Ms?

This recipe is the basic cookie recipe from scratch but with added-in M&M’s. It might be slightly different proportions than others, but this recipe is by far my favorite for the perfect textured cookie.

Delicious M&M Cookie Ingredients

The ingredient list probably won’t be surprising for those who have made cookies before. It’s fairly straightforward and these cookies follow similar guidelines as most.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, soft
1 large egg
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup M&M’s (more or less based on preference)
(optional) 1/4 cup chocolate chips

How To Make M&M Cookies

Making M&M cookies is surprisingly easy and as long as the ingredients are measured correctly, you’ll have some amazing and gooey-tasting cookies in no time!

First, preheat your oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with baking spray.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Using an electric mixer, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a separate bowl until fully combined. The consistency is important here and should be slightly fluffy and cohesive. Add in the egg and pure vanilla extract, fully mixing until combined.

On low mixing speed, begin slowly adding in the flour mixture until combined.

Now the best part, begin stirring the M&Ms into the batter. I don’t put all of them in, only 3/4’s of the total amount, and put the rest on the top of the cookie scoop before baking.

Create small balls of dough, just over 1 inch in size. Place the dough balls on the baking sheets, leaving around 1 1/2 inches between each cookie for them to expand. I lightly press the dough on the pan to slightly flatten it. To me, this causes them to cook fairly even but get a nice and not crunchy under part. Then place the remaining M&Ms on the tops of the dough balls evenly.

Bake the cookies for roughly 8-12 minutes. I would recommend starting at 8 and checking, as it will vary by your oven. For example, my oven takes exactly 10 minutes for my cookies to reach the perfect texture.

Homemade Cookie-Making Tips

While this M&M cookie recipe isn’t very complicated, there are plenty of aspects that can be messed up. Too much of one ingredient, improper cooking time, and under/over mixing are all things that could go wrong in baking cookies. I recommend keeping an eye on those things as well as reading some of these helpful cookie-baking tips!

Ensure your butter is at room temperature

You may find yourself impatient using hard butter or stuck with liquid-like butter. Regardless, those two will lead to less-than-welcome cookies as the temperature of the butter being mixed will affect how it combines. A room-temperature gooey butter will mix great with the rest of the ingredients, leading to perfect cookie dough.

Set your timer before the recommended baking time

The recommended baking time for this cookie recipe is 8-12 minutes. I did state earlier it’s best to go with 8 minutes and check on the cookies, as every oven is different. So make sure to keep an eye on your cookies and don’t rely too heavily on a recipe being what’s right for your oven.

Chill your cookie dough

This isn’t technically needed as you can have great cookies without chilling your cookie dough. However, chilled cookie dough is easier to work with and allows the sugar to fully dissolve into the dough. Most people prefer cookies made from chilled dough as it tastes better to them.

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Easy Homemade M&M Cookies

Servings 18 cookies

Calories 190

M&M cookies from scratch that are easy to make!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
1 large Egg
3 tsps Pure Vanilla Extract
1 cup M&Ms
1/4 cup (optional) chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with baking spray.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Using an electric mixer, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a separate bowl until fully combined. The consistency is important here and should be slightly fluffy and cohesive. Add in the egg and pure vanilla extract, fully mixing until combined.
On low mixing speed, begin slowly adding in the flour mixture to the sugar/butter mixture until combined.
Begin stirring in the M&Ms into the batter. Only 3/4's of the total amount and put the rest on the top of the cookie scoop before baking.
Create small balls of dough, just over 1 inch in size. Place the dough balls on the baking sheets, leaving around 1 1/2 inches between each cookie for them to expand.
Bake the cookies for roughly 8-12 minutes.
Allow the cookies to cool for 5-10 minutes outside of the oven.

Calories: 190kcal

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: homemade M&M cookies, M&M cookies

Need help converting measurements in the kitchen? Check out our articles on a Grams to Cups Conversion Table and our Tablespoons to Cups Conversion Chart!

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Breakfast

Balsamic Onion Scrambled Eggs – Easy Recipe

By Casey February 12, 2024

I’m surprised every day by the new ways you can cook simple meals or the small additions that make them much more delicious.

Most people already add onions to eggs to spice them up a bit, but have you ever considered balsamic vinegar? I hadn’t but I was happy I did. Less than a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar for four eggs adds an enormous amount of taste!

There are other healthy options as well for your morning breakfast. A great example is Marcellina’s Egg White Frittatas! While such a simple ingredient the egg is, there are never-ending options on how to cook it!

Balsamic Onion Scrambled Eggs

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Balsamic Onion Scrambled Eggs

Servings 2

Calories 450

A simple scrambled egg recipe with a twist!

Ingredients

4 Eggs
1/4 Onion ((diced))
1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
Shredded Cheese ((optional))
Salt and Pepper ((to taste))

Instructions

Coat frying pan with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and begin heating on medium heat.
Add in diced onion and begin cooking until caramelized.
While onions begin to caramelize, whisk eggs in separate bowl until evenly mixed, adding in shredded cheese, salt, and pepper to taste.
Once onions are caramelized, pour in egg mixture.
Continue cooking and scrambling over medium heat to desired consistency.
Serve with toast or biscuits.

Calories: 450kcal

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: balsamic onion scrambled eggs, balsamic vinegar eggs, breakfast egg recipes

What else for breakfast?

While I like to eat my balsamic onion eggs with buttered toast, there are other options to add to your plate as well like pancakes! I prefer the healthy option of almond milk pancakes, but to each their own.

Regardless of your extra add-ons to breakfast, I hope the balsamic onion scrambled eggs are what you wanted out of a meal to start your day!

Need help converting measurements in the kitchen? Check out our articles on a Grams to Cups Conversion Table and our Tablespoons to Cups Conversion Chart!

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Recipes

Delicious Salisbury Steak Recipe

By Casey February 12, 2024

Having a go-to Salisbury steak recipe is a must for any home cookbook. I usually make mine in a slow cooker but sometimes I want them right away!

This recipe is for a classic Salisbury steak, but even that comes with some solid flavor. The nice sauce, mushrooms, and onion make this classic dish delightful.

All that being said, feel free to spice up the recipe yourself. I’m a big fan of finding a good recipe and doing my own thing with it.

Preparing the Salisbury Steak

Start off making the meat patties by mixing beef, egg, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce, and optionally the French Onion Soup. Mash together using your hands to form 6 solid patties. I notice sometimes I have to add more breadcrumbs to get them to stick together better, so add a little at a time if you’re having trouble getting the patties to hold.

Cook the patties! Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. It usually takes about 5 minutes per patty, so cook in batches if possible and remove when done.

Gravy time! Add in the onions and cook until they’re soft. Then add mushrooms until they’re golden brown. Add in beef broth, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce and stir. In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch and a tsp of water to add to the skillet. Stir well and cook until thick.

Finally, add the patties back to the skillet and spoon gravy over them. This is just to heat the patties through and once done, garnish with parsley.

What Can I Make With Salisbury Steak?

While you can choose any side dish, Salisbury steak goes great with mashed potatoes, especially with the gravy.

If you’re not a fan though, green beans are a great alternative and healthy!

FAQ About Salisbury Steak

Salisbury steak is a relatively simple recipe but does take some practice to perfect. There are also a few common questions about this recipe that I think people should have answers to. The next few paragraphs are to discuss some of the frequently asked questions about Salisbury steak!

Is Salisbury Steak Healthy?

Overall, Salisbury steak is not considered healthy as it’s high in fats, carbs, and sodium.

This isn’t a big surprise considering the ingredients require breadcrumbs, butter, and oil. You can always limit the amount of these ingredients in your recipe to ease any worries.

Is Salisbury Steak Keto Friendly?

Most recipes you’ll find, including this one, aren’t keto-friendly. A lot of the ingredients used are higher in carbs but there are recipes out there that substitute the high carb ingredients for less carb intensive ones.

Thankfully, beef can be low carb depending on the kind you get, so you won’t have to substitute beef.

Is Salisbury Steak Gluten Free?

Most Salisbury steak recipes will not be gluten-free. There are a few ingredients that may be dangerous, especially from cross-contamination, but the obvious example of a non-gluten ingredient is the breadcrumbs used. There are gluten-free breadcrumbs on the market though, so if you want to make a gluten-free Salisbury steak, there are options!

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Simple Salisbury Steak Recipe

Servings 6

Calories 750

A simple and easy to make Salisbury Steak recipe.

Ingredients

Salisbury Steak

2 lb Lean Ground Beef
3/4 cup Breadcrumbs
1 Large Egg
1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Butter
2 tbsp French Onion Soup

Onion Mushroom Gravy

1 Onion (sliced thinly)
8 oz Cremini mushrooms ((optional))
2 cups Beef Broth
1 tbsp Tomato Paste
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp Cornstarch
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the beef, breadcrumbs, egg, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, using your clean hands. Divide into 6 equal pieces and form each one into oval patties.
In a large skillet add the olive oil and butter and heat until melted over medium-high heat. Add the meat patties and fry on both sides until no longer pink in the middle, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the patties to a plate.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the sliced onions and cook until softened. Add the mushrooms, if using, and cook for a few more minutes until the onions are golden brown.
Add the beef broth, tomato paste, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and stir. In a small bowl whisk the cornstarch with a bit of water or beef broth and add to the skillet. Whisk until the sauce thickens, for about 2 minutes.
Add the meat back to the pan and spoon gravy over the top. Cook for another minute until the meat patties warm through.
Garnish with parsley and serve.

Calories: 750kcal

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: simple salisbury steak recipe, ways to cook salisbury steak

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