Roast Beef (Slow Cooker)

1 2-3lb roast (rump, pot or chuck)
1 onion, cut into chunks
salt & pepper
1 can Coke (or Dr. Pepper)
1 6oz can tomato paste
2 c beef broth (I used 1 hefty tablespoon Better than Bouillon and 2 c water, but canned broth is fine)
3 cloves garlic peeled & crushed
¼ c flour
2 T parsley flakes
1 T onion powder
½ tsp of each of the following: Lawry's Seasoned Salt, ground white pepper, ground oregano, celery seed, Italian seasoning, paprika.
2 bay leaves

Set your slow cooker on low and cover the bottom of the crock with the onions. Generously salt and pepper the roast and place on top of the onions.

In a blender, mix the Coke, tomato paste, beef broth, garlic and flour on a low speed (so the carbonation from the soda doesn't blow the top of the blender off), then at a high speed until well blended. Add everything but the bay leaves and blend again until mixed. Pour over the meat and onions in the crock. Toss in the bay leaves and cover.

Stir VERY infrequently (every time you remove the lid, you add 20 mins to the cook time) and cook for the next 6-8 hours on low. It doesn't hurt to leave it in longer, but add an extra ¼ - ½ c of broth for anything over 8 hours. The gravy should thicken as it cooks. If it becomes too thick, add a bit more water or broth to thin it out. Make sure to remove bay leaves before serving.

Best with mashed potatoes. Leftovers are excellent for beef & noodles!

Sugared Broccoli

3 T butter/margarine
2 T brown sugar
1 lb fresh broccoli (or frozen pieces, thawed and drained)
1 c chicken broth

In a skillet, melt butter and add brown sugar, cooking on medium-high heat until sugar has dissolved. Add broccoli and saute for two minutes. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer 8-10 minutes until broccoli is tender. Remove broccoli and keep warm. Cook sauce uncovered until reduced by half. Pour over broccoli and serve.

Beer Cheese Soup

2 lb box Velveeta, cubed
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed & minced
2 T butter/margarine
1½ c milk
½ c beer
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
few dashes Frank's hot sauce

Melt butter over medium-high heat and cook onion & garlic in a saucepan until translucent. Lower heat to medium-low and add cheese, milk, beer, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Stirring frequently, cook until cheese has melted. You can add more beer, if you choose, but it does have a strong beer taste if you do.

Dee's potatoes

A while ago, I worked at a transportation company and the best part of that lousy job was all the food days we had. And the best part of the food days was a slow cooker full of these potatoes. When I left that craphole place, my severance pay was Dee's recipe in my hands. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

1 2lb bag chunk-style hash brown potatoes
1 16oz carton sour cream
2 c shredded cheddar cheese (Colby Jack is good, too)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 T butter
2 T chives
½ medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed & minced
salt & pepper to taste

Mix everything together and put in slow cooker on low for 4-5 hours (6-8 hrs if hash browns are still frozen). You can top with crushed Ritz crackers or corn flakes if you want added texture.

Cake Mix Cookies

I hate baking. No, seriously. I hate it. I can't stand the mess. I don't like the hassle and I tend to burn everything that goes into my oven. These, however, were easy peasy. FIVE ingredients.

1 box cake mix (your choice of flavor - I used Devil's Food Cake)
1 egg
¼ c applesauce (or oil, if you don't have applesauce)
¼ c water
1 c add-in of your choice (I wanted to use the Cherry Cordial M&M's, but SOMEbody ate them all, so I used plain)

Preheat oven to 350°

Mix first four ingredients together until smooth. Stir in add-in's. Using a miniature ice cream scooper (or a teaspoon), drop small balls of dough onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then carefully, using a spatula, place them on a cooling rack. Serve with frosting or ice cream.

And a big glass of milk.

Makes about 3 dozen.

(and yes, I burned the first batch.)

Mexican Lasagna

My nephew requested a Mexican-style version of my lasagna recipe a few weeks ago. This post is for him.

1 box lasagna noodles
*1 qt chili (homemade works best, but you can use canned, if you prefer)
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
½ pkg shredded colby jack cheese (or the cheese blend of your choice)
1 jar nacho cheese sauce (queso is fine, too)
1 large can refried beans

Optional toppings:
shredded lettuce
diced tomatoes
black olives
sour cream
chopped green onions
guacamole


Preheat oven to 350°.

Cook noodles according to package directions. While they're cooking, heat up the chili and the refried beans (separately). Put the peppers and onions and a small amount of olive oil in a skillet and sautée until onions turn transparent. When they're done, add to the chili.

Cover the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with a couple scoops of chili. Then add a layer of cooked noodles so they cover the chili. Add another layer of noodles, then add a thick layer of beans and cover with a light layer of cheese sauce. Add another layer of noodles. Add a layer of chili. Repeat these layers until you get close to the top. On the top layer, put the rest of the nacho cheese sauce. You want to leave a little bit of room so you can put the shredded cheese on top later.

Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 30 mins. Remove foil, cover with shredded cheese and bake an additional 10 mins. Let sit for 10 minutes. Cover with optional toppings if you choose and serve.

* If you don't have chili, you can substitute 3lbs browned ground beef, 1 - 15oz can tomato sauce, and 1 - 28oz can enchilada sauce.

Lasagna

This recipe can be as extravagant or as easy as you want to make it. I enjoy cooking, so I make my sauce from scratch and combine three cheeses for part of the filling, but you can do this with three ingredients, if you so choose. The main things you need are: noodles, sauce and cheese. How much you do from there is entirely up to you.

Preheat oven to 350°.

1 16oz box lasagna noodles, uncooked (You don't need to buy the No-Boil noodles)
1 qt spaghetti sauce (your choice of homemade or store-bought)
1 pint Ricotta cheese
2 c shredded Mozzarella cheese (reserve ½ c)
1 c Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
2 T parsley
1 tsp garlic powder

1. Whip the eggs together with the garlic powder and parsley. In a separate bowl mix together the cheeses, then carefully add the egg mixture. Combine until everything is mixed well.

2. In a rectangular baking dish, spread a layer of spaghetti sauce over the bottom. Cover the sauce with three uncooked noodles, laid side-by-side. On top of the noodles, spread a layer of the cheese mixture. It doesn't need to cover every inch of pasta, but you do want a good layer of cheese. Top the cheese with sauce and flatten out with a wooden spoon if there are lumps. Repeat this process until you reach just below the rim of the baking dish. (You may not use all the cheese mix, sauce or noodles. If you choose, you can make a second pan with the remaining ingredients.)

3. Cover the dish with foil, set it on a foil-lined cookie sheet to catch any boil-overs and bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle the rest of the Mozzarella cheese on top and return to the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese turns a golden brown.

4. When it comes out of the oven, let it sit for a full fifteen minutes before you serve it. This will allow the liquids to soak back into the noodles and you won't have runny sauce all over your plate.

Apple Crisp

Preheat oven to 350°.

6 c sliced apples
¾ c white sugar
¼ c brown sugar
1 T flour
pinch salt
¼ tsp cinnamon

Mix together these ingredients and spread in a lightly greased 9x13 pan.

½ c butter (or margarine), softened or melted
1 c flour
1 c oatmeal
1 c brown sugar
¼ tsp baking powder

Combine these ingredients and spread evenly over the top of the apples. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Let cool completely before serving. Best with cinnamon ice cream and caramel topping.

Crockpot Steak & Gravy (Beef Stew)

This recipe can be made one of two ways: just the meat and gravy or cook all your vegetables at once and make it into a stew-like concoction. I was trying to do a hundred things today, so you get the latter.

3-4 lbs chuck steak (or a chuck roast), largely cubed (I marinated it last night.)

1 c flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 can Coke (Dr. Pepper works well, too)
1½ c beef broth (I used 1 hefty tablespoon Better than Bouillon and 1½ c water, but canned broth will work, too)
1 onion, cut into chunks
2lbs small yellow potatoes, cleaned & halved (don't peel)
4-5 carrots, peeled & cut into chunks
1 stalk celery, cut into chunks

If you make it like stew, put the vegetables on the bottom of the Crock-Pot. Toss the steak in the flour just enough to coat it evenly. Discard remaining flour and add meat to the pot. Pour in the Coke and the beef broth and generously sprinkle in salt and pepper. Put on low for 6-7 hours. Stir only once or twice (every time the crock pot is opened, you add 20 mins to the cook time). The gravy will thicken as it cooks and you'll end up with the perfect consistency.

If you choose not to add the vegetables to the Crock Pot, you can serve this with mashed potatoes, rice or egg noodles for an excellent, filling meal.

Beef marinade

1 c beef broth
½ c red wine (I used some leftover sweet red)
¼ c Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
¼ tsp Lawry's seasoned salt
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp celery seed
¼ tsp onion powder
1 bay leaf
pinch thyme
pinch rosemary

Mix together and pour over trimmed beef steaks, roasts and stew meats. Marinate for at least one hour. Perfect marinade for the grill because there are no oils to cause flare-ups.

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

(shown here with ranch dressing and shredded lettuce on a Hoagie roll)

This recipe is SO versatile! I stumbled upon it on Pinterest. Since my grocery store was out of the Frank's Buffalo Wing sauce, I substituted. We put it on hoagie rolls tonight, but it can be put in tortilla shells with lettuce and cheese for a chicken wrap. You can use it as a pizza topping, put it over pasta, mix with cream cheese for a buffalo chicken dip, combine with bleu cheese and put over a greens salad or serve with tortilla chips with melted cheese, chopped green onions and sour cream as buffalo chicken nachos. You can even combine it with onions, green peppers and Provolone on a hoagie as a Buffalo Philly. For those concerned about the spice, I'd give it a 5 on a scale of 1-10 for heat. It's got a little bite, but it's not totally intolerable, unless you think ketchup is spicy.

1 3lb bag thawed chicken breasts, skinless & boneless (Don't use frozen! Thaw them out first.)
½ bottle Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce (I used Cookies Wings & Things)
1 envelope dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix

Combine all three ingredients in a Crock Pot on low. Cook for 6-7 hours. Remove chicken breasts, shred them and return them to the sauce. Simmer for an additional hour. Serve as mentioned above.

***There's a LOT of sauce when this chicken is ready to serve. Make sure to use a slotted spoon to scoop it out of the pot so you don't get a watered down sandwich. I'd also suggest draining it before using it in other recipes, such as buffalo chicken dip or on nachos.

Mom's Macaroni Salad

2 c uncooked macaroni (or small shells)
3 ribs celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
½ onion, diced
2 T sweet pickle relish
2 tsp pimento, diced
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 T mustard (yellow or Honey Dijon)
¾ c Miracle Whip (If you use mayonnaise, add ¼ tsp paprika)
¼ tsp white pepper
¼ tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt
¼ tsp garlic powder

Optional ingredients:
½ c petite sweet peas
½ c chopped chicken or tuna
¼ c chopped black olives
2 T Parmesan cheese

Cook the macaroni until right before it becomes al dente. If you cook it completely, when it absorbs the liquid, the pasta will become mushy.

Mix all the remaining ingredients and let sit while the pasta cooks.

Drain the pasta and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. When the macaroni is cool, combine with the salad mix. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. If you decide to add the Parmesan cheese, add it right before serving.

Minestrone

I looked at at least a dozen recipes for minestrone before I finally gave up and decided to create my own. I took ingredients from a bunch of the recipes and combined them with ones from other recipes and came up with a mix of them all. Normally, I'm one who uses a lot of spice to get flavors into my food, but this soup doesn't need it. I'm very happy with the results.

2 cans diced tomatoes, smashed up (14.5 oz)
1 can tomato sauce (14.5 oz)
1 can beef broth (14.5 oz)
3 c water
1 can kidney beans (14.5 oz)
4 stalks celery, sliced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 onions, diced
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp ground oregano
½ tsp ground marjoram
¼ tsp thyme
1 T parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1½ T sugar
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1½ C uncooked pasta (gemelli, conchigliette or even tortelli are great choices)
1lb italian sausage, cooked and drained

In a large pot, combine all the ingredients except the pasta. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, simmering for 40-45 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add pasta and cook an additional 10 minutes on a low boil. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and garlic bread.

Parmesan-crusted Dijon Chicken

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 c bread crumbs
½ c Parmesan Cheese
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
1 tsp lemon pepper
3 T mayonnaise
¼ c Dijon mustard
¼ c heavy cream
2 T honey

Preheat oven to 375°

Combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion powder and lemon pepper together in a shallow dish. In a separate dish, mix together the mayo, mustard, cream and honey. Cover the chicken breasts with the mustard mix, then coat with the bread crumbs. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and place each chicken breast on the pan.

Bake at 375° for 10 minutes each side until it develops a crusty coating.

(If you choose to have a crispier crust, fry lightly in ¼ c vegetable oil 7-8 minutes on each side until the juice from a cut to the center of the meat runs clear.)

Taco Soup

Stumbled onto this recipe on Pinterest, but it seemed a little blah. I exchanged a few ingredients and added a few spices and came up with this. Hope you enjoy!

2 lbs lean ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 8oz block cream cheese
2 cans beef broth
2 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes with chiles
½ c heavy cream
2 T cumin
1 T chili powder
½ tsp coriander
2 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp black pepper
½ tsp paprika
1 T cayenne pepper
2 c shredded cheddar or Colby cheese
1 can pinto beans, drained

Optional toppings: sour cream, hot sauce, green onions, black olives, crushed tortilla chips

Brown the ground beef over med-high heat with onion and garlic. Drain and return to pan with the spices. Drop cream cheese, small bits at a time, into the pot and with the back of a spoon smash it into the meat until the white disappears. Mix well and add the remaining ingredients, leaving the cheese and cream for last. Heat thoroughly and serve with optional toppings.

***If you don't have all the spices on hand, you can substitute them for 1 pkg of taco seasoning. I know not everyone has spices like coriander and cumin in the cupboard.