Quick and Easy Crock Pot Roast

The saga  of feeding your family when you're taking night classes and the solutions I've found are getting better, tastier, and easier. I'll write an update on school and such later. For now, I just need to record this AMAZING recipe.

This one was so easy I couldn't believe it. 

Ingredients:
1 bag Trader Joe's potatoes (with some kind of veggies in it makes it the easiest)
2 Cups Beef Broth
Beef Rump Roast
Optional additions: Carrots, Onions, Celery, Green Beans

Put the ingredients in your crock pot and let it go for 4 hours on Hi, 8 hours on low. Serve.

Why have I not known about the wonders of Crock pot meals before now?

Taco Soup

Needed to post this somewhere so it doesn't get lost in my FB messages. This is a recipe for Taco soup from my dear friend Molly which she found somewhere else.. I'm reposting it here for my convenience and yours too!

Crockpot Taco Soup -
prep time 10 min. - serves 8-10
1 (16 oz) can pinto beans
1 (16 oz) can white beans or 1 (16 oz) kidney beans
1 (11 oz) can niblet corn
1 (11oz) can Rotel tomatoes & chilies
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
1 (1-1/4 oz) envelope taco seasoning mix
1 (1 oz) envelope ranch dressing mix
1 lb. shredded chicken, ground beef or 1 lb any meat

Instructions:
1) Cook meat and drain.
2) Shred if needed.
3) Add all ingredients to crock pot.
4) DO NOT DRAIN CANS
5) Stir
6) Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours
7) Keep on low until serving to keep hot.

I'd also like to add celery and carrots the next time I make it.

Meal of the Week 16: Pumpkin and Sausage Soup

More traditional for the fall… but I had to use up my last pumpkin from our pumpkin patch trip in November (which I should have used in November, arguably). Caveat: I was trying really hard to copy the same texture and flavor as my friend Emilie’s soup… but I failed. This one is good, but Emilie’s is better. SO when I get her recipe from her I’ll post the differences and you can decide!
Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb turkey sausage
• 1 onion
• 4 mushrooms
• salt and pepper
• 1 T butter or 2 T EVOO
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 3 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 T Cumin
• 1 tsp Thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 T brown sugar
• 1 cup cream

Directions:
Start by cooking up your sausage. It doesn’t really matter if its cooked and then sliced or just ground cooked. It looks prettier if it cooks as a tube and is afterwards sliced. Remove from heat.
In you favorite soup making pot, melt 1 T butter. Sauté diced onion and mushrooms until soft (3-4 min). Puree in a blender with 1 C stock until very smooth. Return to the pot.
Add all of the rest of the ingredients to the puree in the pot including the sausage that was set aside. Heat on Med until boiling and then lower the heat so it simmers nice and low for about 45 minutes so all your spices can cook in.
Variations:
From what I’ve read online, you can easily make this Vegetarian or Vegan by taking out the sausage, using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and using coconut milk instead of cream and sugar. You can also add in celery to the sauté and puree. I’m tempted to try the coconut milk next time I make this just to see what its like (and because I can never do something the same way twice… which is actually a real problem when something comes out SOOO perfect the first time like this one did.)
Play with the liquid levels until you like how soupy or thick it is. Use 4 cups of broth for a really slurpy soup, 3 for a thicker version. I like it a little thicker than it came out, but my husband thought it was the most perfect soup ever made.
Serve with Rosemary bread, cranberries, granny smith apples, bacon bits, and sour cream for toppings. The recipe makes enough for four-6 bowls, depending on which dish set you have.
Oh yeah and the reason there is no picture is that we ate it so fast because it was SOOO good that we didn’t stop to photograph.

It looked a lot like this recipe from genaw.com: (But you should really follow my recipe because the one from the link has no spice!)
  
~~~~~~~~UPDATE~~~~~~~~~
Here's Emilie's recipe: IT IS WAY BETTER than the one I wrote above, therefore I admonish you to use it. And if anyone knows where I can find Old Bay in the NW, please let me know!!

Em's Pumpkin Soup

1 TBS olive oil
2 TBS butter
2 dried bay leaves
1 onion chopped
Salt and Pepper
3 TBS flour
1 TBS Old Bay
1 TBS Tabasco
4 cups chicken stock
29 oz can pumpkin (about 3 cups. Add more for thicker consistency)
2 cups Heavy Cream (give or take 1/2 to 3/4 cup)
1 tsp nutmeg

One or two granny smith apples chopped
a handful or two of dried cranberries

In a dutch oven: Heat oil and butter and add the chopped onion, bay leaves, salt and pepper (about 2 tsp), sautee about 6 minutes till onions are tender
Add the flour, Tabasco sauce, and old bay, stir for a minute
Whisk in 4 cups chicken stock and bring to a simmer
Whisk in the pumpkin
Add sausage
simmer for 10 minutes
lower heat and add cream and nutmeg.
Garnish with apples and cranberries

 

Meal of the Week 15: P.F. Changs Knock off Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Sauces

We found a great recipe a couple of weeks ago on theculinarylife.com for knock off P.F. Changs Chicken Lettuce wraps. The sauces have a lot of sugar in them but they were well worth the extra time and effort because they were SOOoooo scrumptious! This is my favorite thing to order when we go to P.F. Changs so it makes me super excited that we can make it at home now… And did I mention that my Mr. is a super sauce fan? Oh yes. This one saturates you with sauce, leaves your belly happy and tantalizes your tongue with that fabulous eat out taste right at home. Enjoy!

Meal of the Week 12: I Wish it Were Summer Salad

I must be late in discovering this, but did you know that bags of triple washed organic spinach leaves at Trader Joe’s are the same price or cheaper than regular spinach at other grocery stores??? OMG. How can I be so late to find this out?
Anyways, This is my all time favorite salad for the summer.. and since I wish it were summer, well… you know what I’m saying.
Ingredients: fresh spinach leaves, cut strawberries, chopped walnuts.
I like to top it with a balsamic vinaigrette, but you can dress it however you like!

Simple, Easy, Yummy. Enjoy!

Meal of the Week 11: The best potato soup ever

Um. Yes. I like this soup. That is all.
I have been in search of the perfect potato soup recipe for what seems like years. I read literally a dozen different recipes before combining them all into this one. It has been christened by husband as “the best soup ever”
Ingredients:
1 bunch leeks (or green onions, or scallions) – I use green onions because I like them best.
4 pieces of bacon – or more…
1 tbsp. butter
10-12 potatoes, peeled and diced
48oz. chicken broth
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
Salt & pepper
Minced parsley
Variations:
Substitute regular bacon for turkey bacon (but I used like 6 pieces of turkey bacon)
Use only 32oz of chicken broth for a thicker soup.
Cooking Instructions:
Cook bacon, cut off extra fat, and pat dry with paper towels. Chop into bacon bits.
In a large pot, add precooked bacon, and green onions. Cook in butter until soft. Add diced potatoes and chicken broth. Simmer for 40 minutes. Add cream, salt and pepper to taste (approx 1 1/2tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper). Sprinkle with minced parsley. (This soup may be whirled in a blender or smashed with a potato masher to make a puree). If it becomes too thick, add milk or broth.
I made this for the first time two weeks ago when I wanted to take a dear friend dinner. It was really good then. Then I made it again today a using the variations. 
Yes, please. I would eat the whole pot right now if I could.

Meal of the Week 10: General’s Chicken!

It didn’t turn out exactly like the website said… but that’s my fault. I didn’t have rice wine and I didn’t have dried red chilis. But it was dinner and it was yummy!!

Meal of the Week 9: French Onion Soup

I’ve never been a huge fan of French Onion Soup – but I’m beginning to think its just because I haven’t been exposed to it. We mixed a couple of really fabulous recipes together last night to make this A-MAZ-ING soup. Here’s what we ended up putting in it:
Ingredients:
2 Yellow Onions, peeled and sliced
2 T Butter
3 Cups Beef Broth
3 Cups Chicken Broth
1/2 C dry white wine
Splash of Red wine
1 T Worcestershire sauce
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Dash of Pepper
1 Bay leaf
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Parsley
2 lb loaf of French bread
1/4 lb of swiss cheese, shredded
Directions:
In a large sauce pan on Medium Heat, brown two sliced onions covered in butter.  Once onions are golden brown, stir in Beef broth and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Stir in White and red wine, Worcestershire sauce, and balsamic vinegar. Add bay leaf, thyme, and parsley. Allow the broth to simmer for 10-20 minutes.

15 minutes before serving: slice French bread.
Toast on one side for 5 minutes. Spoon broth/onion mixture into a broiler safe bowl. Place toast on top and cover in shredded Swiss cheese. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is just brown. Serve immediately.

Serve as a main dish with a side salad. Or serve as a side dish with Roast Turkey, Ham, or Beef garnished with asparagas.
Happy Eats!

Meal of the Week 7: Pasta Salad

A summery Pasta Salad
Ingredients:

• 1 bag multi-colored spiral pasta
• 1 cucumber
• 1 green pepper
• 1/2 red onion
• 1/2 bag shredded mozarella cheese
• 1 cup Italian dressing
• 2 T Italian seasoning
• pepperoni or proscuitto
• salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: black olives and/or cherry tomatoes

I’ve never been a fan of cold pasta dishes, but my husband grew up with them as a staple summer time food so last night when he told me he was making dinner (never say no when your husband says he’s making dinner!) I asked him what he was going to make. “Pasta Salad” he replied. I was skeptical, but it was so yummy I’m sure I’ll let him make it again. You could also heat up leftovers for a quick and yummy hot lunch the day after.
Just boil the pasta as usual, chop up all the veggies, and toss with the dressing and spices. A perfect summer dinner or side.
Linked up to these parties

Meal of the Week 6: Chicken Tikka Masala (from the Pioneer Woman)

Chicken Tikka Masala
I haven’t been this excited about a recipe in months. You MUST try this if you like Indian food, Thai food, spicy food, or interesting food, or if you just want to try something new. SOOOooooo yummy!! (click the image for the link)
 
Happy Eats!

Meal of the Week 5: Rachel Ray's Chili Recipe

This week’s meal of the week is brought to us by my stand out favorite quick meals chef, Rachael Ray. Now I’m not really into talk shows, but if I wanted to watch one I would probably watch hers. It’s wholesome, focuses of food, occasionally shows fuzzy animals, and otherwise makes me chuckle. Really, I just think I like that she comes out of an elevator at the beginning. All that to say, this week’s recipe comes from yet another cook book that I have never made anything out of, Guy Food, One of RR’s Top 30 30 minute Meals books. So here goes:
Manly Manny’s Chili:
For this recipe you will need:
2 T vegetable oil
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin 90% lean
Montreal Steak seasoning (or salt and pepper to taste)
1/2 bottle of beer (what are YOU going to do with the other half?)
14 oz Beef Broth
6 oz Tomato paste
1 1/2 T dark chili powder
1 T ground Cumin (yes! I have it this time!)
2 oz smoky BBQ sauce
2 oz hot sauce (about 3 T)
6 oz shredded smoked cheddar cheese
chopped raw onions optional
Start by heating the oil in a big pot over Med-Hi heat.
Sauté the onions and garlic for 3-5 min. 
Add Beef and brown it. (3-5 min)
Season with salt/pepper or Montreal steak seasoning. Add beer and let it reduce by half.
Stir in broth, paste, chili powder, cumin, BBQ sauce, and hot sauce. Reduce heat to Med-low and simmer for 10 min. Top with cheddar and onions. Serve with or over corn chips. (Although we really like corn bread and a pack of jiffy corn muffin mix is like $0.50 versus the $2 for a bag of cheap chips – pick your fave or what ever your budget can afford.)
The key to the amazing pictures is always keeping the baby busy while the food is cooking. I find I have better luck with great pictures when the whole house is about to erupt in chaos. So like right now: the baby is screaming and the dog needs to go out.. oh and my husband is calling on the phone. Time to take a quick snapshot of the boiling chili mmmmmm.

Ok, so really folks, the only Chili I’ve ever seen that has no beans in it is Wendy’s chili. (Although a pot of it did win the chili cook-off at a church picnic I was at years ago.) However, because my husband got really excited about the fact that there were no beans since he doesn’t care for beans, We had salad on the side, but if you’re more inclined to eat your veggies hot you can always chop a green pepper and put it into the chili. Which brings us to the rest of my substitutions. I didn’t feel like paying an arm and a leg for “smoked” cheddar cheese, so I bought what was on sale, sharp cheddar cheese. I know it won’t taste the same but it should be ok. I also used “honey BBq sauce” instead of “Smoky BBQ sauce” because that’s what we had. No substitutes for cumin this time because… drum roll please… I actually bought some!! Go ahead, send up a cheer. And that’s it! It was Oooooh so Yummy!
Happy Eats!

Meal of the Week 3: Salmon Steaks

Strawberry Salsa and Salmon Steaks!
This week’s meal is brought to us by none other than the handy-dandy Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. Imagine that? The big old cook book that’s just been sitting collecting dust on your shelf while you scour the internet for another tasty recipe actually has some good eats in it!
For this recipe you will need:
2 Salmon steaks
2 avocados, pitted and peeled (about 1 cup)
2 C of strawberries (preferably overripe) chopped
1/2 C chopped seeded cucumber
2 T honey
1 tsp finely shredded lime peel and
2 T juice of a lime
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, finely chopped (be careful! they’re nasty in the eyes!)
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

Combine all the salsa ingredients. Make sure they’re chopped to your preference consistency. Chill in the fridge for up to 24 hrs.
For a plain salmon (and to experience the salsa most exquisitely) try this baking option:
On a large sheet of tinfoil, dress your salmon steaks (or in my case, fillets) with the salsa. Roll up the foil around the steak. and bake in the oven at 450 for about 20 minutes. Salmon doesn’t have to be cooked through, so use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. I like mine medium well.
For a more luxurious salmon (which is also a little less healthy) Try this pan frying option:
Mix 1/4 C honey, 1 T chili powder, 1 clove of pressed garlic, and 1 T olive oil in a small bowl.

With the heat set to Med/High, pour a little olive oil in a skillet and place salmon steaks/fillets on the skillet skin side up. After about a minute, flip the fillets. Once they are almost cooked through, spoon the honey/chili powder mix over top of the fillets. Lower the heat to Low and continue spooning the mixture as it boils from the pan over the fillets as it becomes a glaze like syrup. Serve immediately.

My Substitutions: First off, I’m just not ready to handle a fresh jalapeno. So instead we just put some Texas Pete’s in the salsa mix. For extra bulk and spice and because I felt like it, I added a small onion. After tasting the mix with the salmon, I’m actually going to recommend that you stick with the base recipe. the onion added too much bulk and the lack of jalapeno made the salsa a little too sweet. It was still good! … it just would have been better if I’d stuck to the recipe.
For chopping convenience I used my Vidalia chop wizard – I love it!! It makes chopping fast, clean, AND!!! it will measure the amount you have chopped for you!!! No more estimating!!

For sides try a nice fresh salad, a side of orzo with lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, or some tortilla chips so you can finish off the rest of your salsa.
Next week we’ll try a butterscotch apple cake. Happy Eats!
And we're linking up to these fabulous parties!

Meal of the Week 2: Ramsay's Ratatouille

Ratatouille?

I’ve been told that without Eggplant its not really Ratatouille. Well, this week’s meal of the week features A Gordon Ramsay version of Ratatouille that lacked eggplant. Why? Well, something happened with the weather and the eggplants didn’t make it to the stores this week. Literally there was exactly ONE eggplant in the whole store and they wanted to charge me 6 bucks for it.
Really? $6 for an eggplant? Mmmm, I think I can do without. So here goes:
Baked Eggs with Ratatouille
Step 1: Make sure the Baby is entertained by the puppy:

 

Step 2: Make Dinner!
For this recipe you will need:
1 Sweet Green Pepper
1 Sweet Red Pepper
1 Red Onion
1 small eggplant
1 zuccini
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes (10oz)
4 eggs
1 tsp ground Cumin
1 tsp ground sweet paprika
4-5 Tbsp of Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Ground Pepper
4 oven safe dishes
(This is my approximation of what the actual recipe book says:)
Chop the veggies and place in separate bowls.

Add the olive oil and the onion to a pan and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the peppers and garlic. Sauté for one to two minutes. Add the zucchini and eggplant continue to allow the vegetables to simmer in the pan for another 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, paprika, and cumin. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.Divide the Ratatouille between the four dishes and place on a cookie pan. Make an indention with a spoon and crack an egg into each of the four dishes. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over each egg. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until the whites of the egg are hard. The yolks will still be a little runny.

My substitutions:
So we didn’t use an eggplant, because we didn’t have one and we didn’t have cumin either… so I used a little taragon and a little ground coriander as a substitute. I’m sure it would taste a little different with the eggplant and cumin and maybe next time I’ll use them. On the other hand, it was pretty good for dinner and we saved the extra two servings for lunch and it was still good reheated for lunch too.

 Next week we'll try a strawberry salsa on salmon fillets MMmmmmm.
Enjoy!

Meal of the Week 1: Ramsay's Skewers with Mint Marinade

This week’s adventure in cooking comes from the Gordon Ramsay Healthy Appetite book. While I always make some substitutions, I always include the original recipe with my substitutions in parentheses.
Lamb (Steak) Kabobs!

For this recipe you’ll need:
Skewers:
1 lb Lamb leg steaks
8 Cherry Tomatoes
1 Yellow Pepper
1 Red Pepper
8 Crimini Mushrooms
4 bamboo skewers

Herb Paste:
Finely grated rind and juice of one lemon.
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried mint
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried ground rosemary
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1 Tbsp olive oil
Sea Salt, Black Pepper
Cut the steaks into 1 inch cubes, stir together the herb paste ingredients and pour over the lamb. Coat evenly and then let marinate for several hours or overnight. Soak your bamboo skewers in cold water for at least 20 minutes.
Prepare the veggies as you like them. Then thread the meat, peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes on to the bamboo skewers alternately.
Drip your barbecue with a little olive oil and fire it up! Shake some salt and pepper over the skewers and let them grill for about 2-4 minutes. Let them rest for a minute or two and then serve with a side salad. Serves 4.
And now for my substitutions:
Rump Roast was BOGO at Safeway last weak, so we did this recipe with 1/2 a roast. The Roast was quite lean, so I feel like it made for a good substitutions since Ramsay uses lamb as a low fat alternative to beef.

We used Baby Bella Mushrooms instead of crimini because that’s what my husband decided to pick up at the store when I realized last minute that we needed mushrooms and didn’t have any. If it had been any other meal I probably would have just skipped the mushrooms.
And I didn’t have tarragon, so I used a little marjoram. Now, I know they’re completely different, but marjoram goes well on beef so I didn’t think it would hurt. And the meal turned out FANTASTIC so there’s your proof that it didn’t hurt at all.
A side salad is perfect, and we added a glass of our favorite Pinot Noir. Mmmm!
Next week: My first Ratatouille, also courtesy of Ramsay’s fabulous cookbook.
Happy Eats!