Casa del Rio Copy Cat Salad Recipe

 Tom and I really enjoy the Chef’s Diet Salad at Casa del Rio. It has a bed of lettuce with scoops of machaca (moist, not dried), shredded chicken, cottage cheese, and sliced avocado on top. We like to use their salsa as the salad dressing, too. We like to eat a lot of salads during the summer and I decided to try to replicate that one because chuck roasts were on sale. It came out really good! Here is the recipe. I don’t have measurements for everything yet. I might update as I go along. WARNING: this will feed a whole lot of people!

INGREDIENTS

•        Several bags of Veggie Lover’s salad (each bag will make 3-4 servings)
•        Avocados, sliced
•        Cottage cheese
•        Black olives
•        Cherry tomatoes
•        Your favorite salsa or salad dressing of choice (we bought a quart of Casa del Rio’s salsa for $12)

CHICKEN

•        Rotisserie chicken (I like the ones from Costco), shredded with all skin removed
•        ½ to 1 cup chicken broth

MACHACA

•        6 lbs. chuck roast (boneless)
•        2 Tbsp. chili powder
•        4 tsp. cumin
•        4 tsp garlic powder
•        4 tsp. oregano
•        2 tsp. paprika
•        1 tsp cayenne pepper
•        Salt & pepper to taste
•        ½ to 1 cup beef broth

INSTRUCTIONS

CHICKEN

1.      Shred the entire rotisserie chicken, removing all skin and bones.

2.      Place the meat in chicken broth to keep moist and heat in a crock pot on low for about 2 hours.

MACHACA

1.      Place chuck roast in crock pot.

2.      Add all seasoning and beef broth.

3.      Cook on low for 8 hours.

4.      Remove meat from crock pot and shred with forks, removing and discarding all fat.

5.      Return shredded meat to crock pot for an hour or so to reheat.

ASSEMBLE SALAD

1.      For each portion, place some Veggie Lover’s salad in a large bowl.

2.      Add black olives and cherry tomatoes to the salad.

3.      Place 3-4 slices of avocadoes on top of the salad.

4.      Add a scoop each of cottage cheese, shredded chicken, and machaca to the salad.

5.      Pour on the salsa or your salad dressing of choice.

Enjoy!!!

Masterson Mashed Potato Salad

When Mom and Dad were first married, Dad decided he wanted to know what mashed potato tasted like so he told Mom (who was anxious to please Dad since she was a new bride) that his mother mashed the potatoes in the potato salad. Back in those days, it cost too much to make long distance phone calls (they lived in California and their families lived in Illinois), so Mom and Dad had to figure out the recipe on their own. This is what they came up with. When they went home a couple of years later, Mom asked Grandma Masterson how she made it. She said she had never heard of it! Dad was just curious and lied to her. He liked it so much that he never told her any different. We have made it this way ever since with just a few minor adjustments. 

This is one of those recipes that doesn't really have measurements.

From Sandi: 

I cook 5lbs of potatoes and mash them (with butter, but no milk). Mix miracle whip, mustard, and vinegar (or pickle juice), (to taste) then mix with potatoes. Add onion and dill relish. After everything is mixed in, add chopped boiled eggs and fold gently. After putting it all in your container, garnish the top with sliced boiled eggs. 

How many eggs? 

Almost 12. Depends on how many slices you want on top. I usually put 4 or 5 in the salad. 

Sherri's Notes 

I use the hand masher so that some of it is lumpy. 

Use about ¾ stick of butter. 

Use the same ingredients for deviled eggs (i.e. mayonnaise vs. miracle whip and Dijon mustard vs. yellow mustard) and the same ratio to taste. 

Deviled eggs (increase amounts according to taste for amount of potatoes): 

 • 1/3 cup mayonnaise

 • 1¼ tsp Dijon mustard

 • 3/4 tsp white vinegar

 • 1/4 tsp salt 

 I used 8 large eggs rather than 12. Cut up 5 in the salad plus the ends of the remaining 3. Then sliced the remaining 3 to put on top. Could have used 9 large eggs and put 4 on top for the 5 lbs. of potatoes.

Melt In Your Mouth Chicken

 This is another recipe I got from Soup Lovers (https://soup-lovers.servi.tn/melt-in-your-mouth-chicken/). It is very tasty and easy to make. I made almost no changes, but they are in square brackets as usual.

This is the photo from the original recipe.

They did not make the breasts thin.

I highly recommend making them thin!

Ingredients:

• 3 thin sliced boneless skinless chicken breast halves [about 2 ½ lbs]
• 1 cup mayonnaise (or Greek yogurt for a lighter option)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese [I used fresh Parmesan]
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• Fresh parsley (for garnish)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking dish with parchment paper or lightly grease it with oil. [I used a 11x15 glass pan.]

Prepare the chicken:

In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.

[Pat chicken pieces dry.] Coat each chicken breast generously with the mixture, ensuring it’s well-covered on all sides.

Bake the chicken:

Place the coated chicken breasts in the prepared baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature of 165°F/74°C) and golden brown on top.

Garnish with freshly chopped parsley before serving. [I never do this.]

Enjoy this tender and juicy chicken that truly melts in your mouth!

[Serve with a veggie of your choice.]

Chicken Spinach and Mushroom Low Carb Oven Dish

 I got this recipe from Soup Lovers (https://soup-lovers.servi.tn/chicken-spinach-and-mushroom-low-carb-oven-dish). It was really easy and good! Of course, I had to make just a couple of little changes which are denoted in square brackets. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small bag fresh baby spinach [about 5 oz]
• 1 dash pepper
• 1 dash Herb and Garlic Seasoning
• 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
• [3] thin sliced chicken breast halves [about 2 ½ lbs.]
• 1 container green onion cream cheese*
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 Large package sliced mushrooms

INSTRUCTION

[Try browning the chicken first to look/taste better?]

1) In a 9×13 pan, lay out chicken in single layer, top with spinach and mushrooms. Then sprinkle the seasonings over the top. [I used my largest glass pan: 11x15]

2) Soften cream cheese and whisk in olive oil and chicken broth. Pour over mixture. Lay piece of foil over the top but do not seal.

3) Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes, remove foil and bake uncovered for another 20-25 minutes.

4) Sprinkle Mozzarella Cheese on top and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes or until starting to brown.

5) Let cool for 10 minutes and serve.

 

* [Green onion cream cheese doesn’t exist. Chive & onion cream cheese seems to be a reasonable substitute.]

[Generates a lot of liquid. Maybe serve with mashed cauliflower, potatoes, rice, or pasta?]

Perfect Deviled Eggs

 

I’ve always guessed at how much of each ingredient to use for deviled eggs. I recently found this recipe that uses the same ingredients I use and it gives measurements! My deviled egg container holds 8 eggs so I added the measurements in parentheses for 8 eggs. I’ve tried it a few times and they came out really good every time. Tom raves about how good they are.

Ingredients:

•       6 hard-boiled eggs (8 eggs)

•       1/4 cup Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip (1/3 cup)

•       1 tsp. Dijon mustard (1 1/4 tsp)

•       1/2 tsp. white vinegar (3/4 tsp)

•       1/4 tsp. salt

•       Paprika or smoked paprika to taste

Directions:

1.      Slice eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks to a medium bowl.

2.      Mash yolks with a fork.

3.      Add mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip, if using), mustard, vinegar, and salt; mix well.

4.      Spoon a heaping spoonful of yolk mix on each egg white half.

5.      Sprinkle with paprika or smoked paprika.

Notes:

·        We usually use very little, or no, salt so I didn’t increase that measurement. But the eggs did need salt so don’t skip it.

·        Be sure to use fresh eggs. To test the freshness, fill a glass or bowl with cold water and submerge the egg:  (https://www.southernliving.com/food/dairy/eggs/how-to-tell-if-an-egg-has-gone-bad)

o   If the egg sinks to the bottom and lays flat on its side, it’s still fresh.

o   If it sinks, but stand on one end at the bottom, it is not as fresh but still edible.

o   An egg that floats to the top is not fresh and could be spoiled.

·        I usually boil 1 or 2 extra eggs to make up for wrecking the white of as couple of them.

·        I discovered the trick to peeling hard-boiled eggs without wrecking the white.

o   Crack just the large end of the egg, not the sides, and peel from the end. It’s not 100% perfect, but almost.

o   Also, make sure they are cold before cracking them. I drain the hot water out of the pan, put a lot of ice cubes in, and fill with cold water. Then let it sit until the ice is melted and the eggs are cool.

BEEF STROGANOFF

 

 

4QT                            6-8QT                         INGREDIENTS

1 lb                              2 lbs                            Beef stew meat – 1in. pieces

1 tbsp                         2 tbsp                            flour

1 tbsp                         2 tbsp                           Shortening

1 4-oz can                 2 4-oz cans                    Mushrooms, drained (reserve liquid)

1                                  2                                  Onions, medium, sliced

1 tsp                            2tsp                              Salt

¼ tsp                          ½ tsp                             Pepper

Dash                          ¼ tsp                             Ground Marjoram

2 tsp                            4 tsp                            Dry Mustard

3 tbsp                         6 tbsp                           Catsup

½ cup                         1 cup                           Dairy Sour Cream

 

1.  Roll beef in flour, brown in hot shortening in pressure cooker.

 

2.  Add enough water to reserved mushroom liquid to measure ¾ cup.  (Use 1 ½ cups for 6-8qt recipe).  Add mushrooms, mushroom-water mixture and remaining ingredients except sour cream to cooker.

 

3.  Cover, set pressure cooker for 30 minutes.

 

4.  Cool cooker normally for 5 minutes, then release pressure slowly by opening the valve.

 

5. Stir in sour cream; heat through.  Serve with egg noodles.

King Ranch Chicken

Spray 9x13 pan with Pam and preheat oven 350

10-15 tortillas

1 fryer or 4-6 breasts

½ cup chopped onion

1 can chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 10oz can Rotel

¼ c chopped green chiles (1 can) I use 2 cans

1 c grated sharp cheddar cheese

Boil, debone and chop chicken.  Dip tortillas in chicken broth. Line pan with tortillas, cutting some in half to fit sides of pan. Mix ½ the cheese and all other ingredients. Bake 350 for 45min. Cover top with remaining cheese and return to oven to melt cheese.

Mom’s Chili

1 lg can of crushed tomatoes (prefer Hunts because they don’t use chemicals to peel them)

1 lg can of tomato sauce

1 can tomato paste

3 cans of dark red kidney beans

2 Cubanelle peppers (or Anaheim if you can’t find cubanelle)

1 onion diced

2lbs ground beef (at least 20% fat)

Chili powder and Cayenne to taste

 Brown ground beef. When done, remove meat from frying pan (leaving grease behind) and place in slow cooker. Brown onions and peppers in frying pan with grease from meat. When done, put them in the slow cooker. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste.  Add beans (including liquid) and some chili powder and cayenne.  Cook for an hour or so and taste.  If needed, add more of the spices.  Cook for about 6 hrs.

I usually cook the meat, onions and peppers the night before and put them all in a bowl and refrigerate.  Saves time the next day.

Chili-Chicken

Ingredients

16 ounces uncooked medium noodles

½ cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

3 cans (10 ½ ounces each) condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 can (4 ounces) pimiento, chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped pickled hot green chili pepper (remove stems and seeds)

3 to 4 cups cut-up cooked chicken or turkey

Salt and pepper

2 to 3 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (8 to 12 ounces)

Directions

Heat oven to 350°. Cook noodles as directed on package; drain. In large skillet, cook and stir onion in butter until tender; stir in soup, pimiento and chili pepper.

In greased 4-quart casserole, layer half the noodles and half the chicken; season with salt and pepper. Top with half the soup mixture and half the cheese. Repeat layers. Bake uncovered about 45 minutes. 8 to 12 servings.

NOTES:

I usually use 12 ounces of noodles; 16 ounces seems to be too much noodles.

I also use more onion than it calls for and a little more cheese.

Chile-Rice

This is an oldie but a goodie. I like to serve it with pork chops or chicken.

Ingredients:
1 bag SUCCESS rice per layer*
12 oz. Monterrey Jack Cheese
8 oz. Sour Cream**
7 oz. Diced green chiles

Directions:
Cook rice per directions. Place a layer of rice (one bag) in bottom of square baking dish. Top with a half the sour cream, half the cheese, and half the green chiles. Repeat with a second layer using the rest of the ingredients. Bake in 350° oven for 20 minutes.

* Each bag makes four 1/2 cup servings.
**Stir the sour cream with a fork to loosen it before spreading on the rice.

Sausage and Kale Mock Lasagna Casserole

This one was absolutely delicious! I'm on a roll-three tasty low-carb meals in a row. At this rate, I'm going to want the cold weather to last forever. Unfortunately, this has the most carbs than the others so far, so maybe I won't be making it very often. Drat! Why do all the really tasty dishes have more carbs and more calories?

I changed the original recipe just a little—I added my changes and comments in red font below. If you want to see the original recipe complete with pictures, head on over to Kalyn's Kitchen.

This dish makes 6-8 servings and took 2-2 1/2 hours from start to finish.


Ingredients:
2 medium-sized bunches of kale (I don't know how big a medium-sized bunch of kale is. I bought my kale at Walmart. The bunches looked pretty small so I used 3 of them.)
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. olive oil
1 pkg (20 oz) hot turkey Italian Sausage (Turkey sausage is too expensive and hot Italian is too hot. I used mild Tarantino Italian sausage from Costco, our favorite brand.)
3 cups low-sugar pasta sauce (I used 1 jar (24 oz.) Classico Spicy Tomato and Basil sauce and added 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce to make the 3 cups. Spicy sauce to help make up for using mild instead of hot sausage.)
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. ground fennel (I have never seen ground fennel. I used regular fennel seeds and smashed them with the smooth side of my meat tenderizer.)
4 Tbs finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups grated reduced-fat mozzarella cheese (I got carried away and used a 4 cup bag because we love cheese and because the pan was just too big.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Spray a 9" x 12" lasagna-type glass or crockery casserole dish with olive oil or non-stick spray. I used a 3 qt, 9 x 12 baking dish. The next time I make this, I will use a slightly smaller baking dish (2 qt, 8 x 11). The kale and the meat sauce didn't quite cover the whole dish.

Add the salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Trim stems from the kale, then cut the kale into ribbons about 1/2 inch wide. ( I think next time I will just buy a big bag of the already cut kale.) When the water starts to boil add the kale, lower heat so the water is gently boiling, and cook kale 5-6 minutes. Drain kale into a colander in the sink and let it continue to drain while you prepare other ingredients.

While the kale is cooking, heat the oil in a large heavy frying pan, squeeze sausage out of the casings, and saute until the sausage is cooked through and nicely browned, breaking it apart with the turner as it cooks. When the sausage is done, add the pasta and tomato sauce, dried basil, and ground fennel. Stir to combine and let the sauce simmer 20-25 minutes, or until it's thickened and the liquid is reduced.

In the casserole dish, layer 1/2 the drained kale, sprinkle 1/2 the Parmesan, 1/2 the sauce, and 1/2 the mozzarella. Repeat with another layer of kale, Parmesan, sauce, and mozzarella. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 15-20 minutes, or until the casserole is bubbling and cheese is starting to brown.

Let the mock lasagna sit for about 5 minutes before you cut it. Serve hot.

Low-Carb Chicken Divan Casserole

This is another keeper! Tom and I really liked this dish and are looking forward to eating the leftovers (one of the big reasons I love casseroles so much). One of the good things about this casserole is that it has so much vegetable in it that you don't need to serve one with the meal. But it has about twice the number of carbs as the Beefy and Cheesy Low-Carb Green Chile Bake from the other day so we won't be having it as often.

This recipe comes from Wicked Stuff and is found at http://www.wickedstuffed.com/keto-dinner-ideas/low-carb-chicken-divan-casserole-recipe/ complete with pictures from each stage of the preparation.

I made a couple of changes to the original recipe—those changes are reflected below. One thing I want to try next time I make this dish is to substitute fresh spinach for the broccoli and to add mushrooms.

This dish theoretically serves 6 and takes about 1.5 hour prep and cook time.

Ingredients:

3 boneless chicken breasts (I used 6 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken*)

3 Tbsp butter

1 small yellow onion

1/2 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp garlic salt

2 cups chicken stock

A pinch of parsley

10 cranks of fresh pepper

1 lb bag of frozen cauliflower florets

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 lb bag of frozen broccoli florets, steamed

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (8 oz bag)

*If using rotissierie chicken, skip steps 2, 3 and 9 below.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Fill a pot about halfway with water. Add both breasts of chicken.
3. Cook on high and bring to a boil until the chicken is cooked through (180 degrees)
4. Meanwhile, cook up the garlic and onions in a medium frying pan on a low heat with the ghee.
5. While that's cooking, blend up your cauliflower using a food processor or a good blender like a Ninja (or better). Do it for a couple seconds just until it looks like rice.
6. After about two minutes of the onions cooking, begin adding in the spices one at a time, mixing them into the onions as you go.
7. When the onions are soft, add the cauliflower.
8. When the cauliflower is soft, add the chicken broth. Cook, covered for about 10 minutes.
9. Check on your boiling chicken. Take it out and set it aside if it's reached 180 degrees.
10. Add the cream and lemon juice and let simmer uncovered on low for about 10 minutes while it reduces. Mix it a few times throughout so it doesn't burn to the bottom.
11. Add mayo, mix, and turn off burner.
12. Begin pulling apart your chicken with a fork.
13. Add half your pulled chicken into the cauliflower cream mixture.
14. Use the other half to line the bottom of an 8x11 oval, 3" deep casserole dish.
15. On top of the chicken, layer in the steamed, chopped broccoli.
16. Top with the cauliflower cream mixture.
17. Top with cheddar cheese.
18. Put in the oven for 30 minutes, covered with tinfoil.
19. Remove tinfoil and cook 10 more minutes.