Game Day Recipe ~ Amish Onion Patties

Amish Onion Patties

Do you need a last-minute game day appetizer but don’t want to run to the store? Here’s a quick and easy recipe that is short on ingredients but HUGE on flavor! You more than likely have everything you need for this in your fridge and pantry. The taste is incredibly hard to describe, but they certainly were not what I expected. Like amped-up onion rings, only better.

I searched high and low on the interwebz for the origin of this recipe, but can only guess it’s from a printed Amish cookbook. I found it initially in my FB feed from a third party advertisement. I followed the recipe except for the amount of salt (I halved the salt, as written below) and the oil called for. When it came to cook the patties, I coated my hot cast iron skillet with a thin layer of oil, then replenished between batches. No need to deep-fry these puppies, they turn out great without all that extra fat!

My husband kept calling them potato patties. No, there are no potatoes in this. Well then they must have eggs in them! No sweetie, no eggs either. Pretty much just flour, milk, and LOTS of sweet onions. Even if you don’t watch the Big Game, you can still enjoy some Amish Onion Patties for any occasion!

Amish Onion Patties
Origins Unknown

3/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 1/2 cups chopped sweet onion (I used Walla Walla)
High heat oil, for cooking (I used grapeseed)

Dry Ingredients ~ I give you a boring flour shot just to prove that I DO cook with flour, on occasion.

Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add milk and stir to combine; the batter will be thick. Add the onions and mix thoroughly.

Onion Patty Batter

Heat a cast iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add just enough oil to coat the bottom. Drop spoonfuls of onion batter into the skillet, then flatten with the back of a spatula.

Patties Ready to Flip

When the bottom is brown and crispy and releases easily from the skillet, flip over and brown the other side. Remove and drain on paper towels. This will take a few batches. Enjoy with your favorite sauce! I thought they were good enough on their own plain. I served these for dinner with my Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenders, which were baked while cooking the patties.

Amish Onion Patties

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Pan-Fried Chicken Parmesan Croquettes

Pan-Fried Chicken Parmesan Croquettes

Finding creative ways to use leftover deli rotisserie chicken (or even home-roasted for that matter) can sometimes be a challenge. I was pretty stoked when this recipe for chicken croquettes showed up in my WP reader board for a unique and delicious way to use up some leftover cooked chicken. (Thank you Fabulous Fare Sisters for making my day!)

My local grocery just started offering rotisserie chicken breasts pieces for sale instead of the whole chicken. OMG what??? I am not a huge fan of dark meat (although I know it is juicier, but I let hubby always take care of that part of the chicken.) But wow, it was so nice to get some deli-roasted chicken *knowing* all the leftovers would be used up before freezing it and turning it into chicken stock. Yes, that is a nice feeling indeed…

These tasty croquettes were not that hard at all to make, and delivered on taste and were not dry at all. We were all very impressed! The adapted recipe version I am giving you made 5 croquettes, so now I have two in the freezer for an easy future meal for just the hubs and I when daughter isn’t home for dinner. Hooray!

Pan-Fried Chicken Parmesan Croquettes
Adapted from Chicken Parmesan Croquettes at Fabulous Fare Sisters

2 1/2 to 3 cups finely chopped cooked chicken (I used my Ninja food processor)
1 large egg
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs (homemade are good!)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chicken stock or broth (low sodium or homemade)
Ground pepper and salt or Mrs. Dash seasoning, to taste
1 tablespoon dried oregano (from our garden!)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup marinara sauce, heated through
Shredded Mozzarella cheese for topping the croquettes
Dried or fresh basil, for garnish

Cooked Chicken in Ninja Processor

Finely chop/mince the cooked chicken, either with a knife or in a food processor.

In a large mixing bowl, add the first 8 ingredients and combine together using your hands until blended well.

Croquette Ingredients

Form mixture into patty size of choice — we ended up with 5.  Add oil to skillet over medium heat, then cook on each side until golden, about 3 minutes each side (remember the chicken is already cooked).  Add more breadcrumbs on top (if you have more) when you flip over for extra flavor.

Frying the Croquettes

Preheat broiler in oven or toaster oven.

Croquettes Ready for Broiling

Top each croquette with a couple of tablespoons of heated marinara sauce of choice, then Mozzarella, and broil until cheese is bubbly, about 5 minutes.

Broiled Croquettes

Garnish with dried or fresh chopped basil. We served this over cooked pasta, but you can serve with any grain or pasta and a salad.

Pan-Fried Chicken Parmesan Croquettes

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

Salisbury Steak Dinner with Mushroom and Onion Gravy

Salisbury Steak

This is the first time I’ve made this dinner. Salisbury Steak had always reminded me of those ubiquitous frozen dinners from my childhood and could never get past the “taste” in my mind of the awful frozen patty in the equally awful gravy and shriveled peas.

But then I ran across the recipe for it from Libby at her Lemony Thyme foodie blog, and her beautiful photos and descriptions compelled me to overcome my distaste of the meal. I adapted the recipe a bit based on her encouragement to take the meal where it “makes you and yours complete and comfortable.” So I added lots of thin-sliced sweet onions to the gravy, because in my mind onions can make most anything complete! I typically don’t have any fresh thyme on hand, and I have found the brand of dried thyme I have is very overpowering even in small amounts. I have some beautifully fragrant sweet dried oregano, and decided it would complement the gravy quite nicely and used that instead of thyme.

The other thing that made this dish complete and comfortable was a wonderfully rich, homemade beef broth, fresh-made that day! Homemade broth/stock is unparalleled to the store-bought variety.

Simmering Beef Broth

And it makes your house smell so cozy all day! Yes, it takes a lot of time to make, but not much hands on time at all. I upped the ante on flavor for this batch by basting the beef bones with tomato paste halfway through the roasting time, and deglazing the roasting pan with a 1/4 cup of red wine and adding it to the stock pot. I also let it simmer for a full 6 hours. Yowza, what a tasty batch of beef broth! You can read my original method here: How to Make Homemade Beef Broth. I also used the rest of my frozen pearl onions I used in the Coq Au Vin recipe instead of regular onions. I wasn’t sure when I’d use pearl onions again, so this seemed a good time to finish off that bag.

I highly encourage you to use the tomato paste and red wine method. If you use that method, don’t use a roasting bag as instructed but place the bones directly in a roasting pan and then deglaze with wine or broth/water. You can refrigerate the broth overnight and discard any fat grease that solidifies at the top, and then freeze in portions in zip-top baggies. I didn’t get any photos in the process of making it this time (except for the final photo), as I was working and had to get it all prepared and on the stove during my lunch break.

Salisbury Steak Dinner

Do you want the recipe already? OK, here it is:

Salisbury Steak Dinner with Mushroom and Onion Gravy
Adapted from this recipe at Lemony Thyme

For the Salisbury Steak:
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup finely diced sweet onion
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs, unseasoned
1 egg, whisked
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Lots of ground black pepper, to taste
Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb, or salt, to taste
1 tablespoon butter

Salisbury Steak Patty Ingredients

For the Mushroom and Onion Gravy:
2 tablespoons butter
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
3/4 cup sweet onion, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon dried, crushed oregano
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups homemade or low sodium beef broth
Ground black pepper to taste
Mrs. Dash Table Blend, or salt, to taste

First off, (no ingredient list for this part) get your potatoes peeled and boiling. Make your mashed potatoes as you usually do when the potatoes are cooked through like right in the middle of gravy stirring time. OR, have your partner do all that for you because you shout out out “that you are too busy stirring gravy to finish the potatoes!” – ‘K?

Combine the Salisbury Steak ingredients (except the butter) in a bowl and form into 4 patties. Hey did you notice my glass of fresh parsley in the background in the photo below? I can keep fresh parsley and cilantro in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks that way. Genius! Untie your bunch, add to a glass, add water, then cover in the thin vegetable bag you put it in when you bought it. That parsley you see is seriously almost three weeks old. (Refresh water as needed.) Go do it!

Salisbury Steak Patties and Parsley

I digress. Now melt the 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook the patties about 5 minutes on each side until browned. Remove from the skillet to a plate and set aside.

Fried Salisbury Steak Patties

In the same skillet over medium heat, add the other 2 tablespoons of butter, mushrooms, and cook, stirring often, until they start to release their liquid, at least 7 to 10 minutes. Add the oregano (or other herb to taste, fresh or dried).

Mushrooms and Onions

Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables, stirring and mashing the flour to incorporate. Gradually stir in the beef broth, whisking constantly. You might want to up the heat a tad at this point. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until the gravy is fairly thickened, then nestle the beef patties into the gravy. Simmer the patties for about 10 more minutes until cooked through, flipping them over halfway through the simmering process.

Sailsbury Steak Patties in Gravy

Serve each “steak” over mashed potatoes slathered with a generous serving of the mushroom and onion gravy and sprinkled with fresh parsley, and a side vegetable of choice. I used cooked frozen peas, and would have loved to used fresh spring peas but they are not available yet in my area. Just don’t overcook the peas, mind you!

My entire family devoured every morsel of this meal off their plate. I will never pooh-pooh Salisbury Steak dinner again! And please, don’t forget I have a handy-dandy printable recipe below if you click on the PDF image!

Salisbury Steak Meal

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!