Crock Pot Beef – A – Roni

My husband makes the best homemade spaghetti sauce ever, I thought I would give it a try and see how well I learned from the master. I don’t think I did too bad, I still says his is better but I am a very close second. When he makes his sauce he does it in a pot on the stove, I took an easier route and used my trusty, handy dandy crock pot. Having it simmer all day just made the house smell like an Italian restaurant and also made our mouths water all day too. The end result was well worth the torture we endured all day waiting for dinner to be ready.

1 Lb. - Stew Meat
1/2 C. - Flour
1/3 C. - Corn Starch
2 Tbs. - EVOO
3 Tbs. - Chopped Garlic
1 - Diced Onion
10 oz. - Can Rotel Mexican Lime & Cilantro
12 oz. - Tomato Paste
15 oz. - Tomato Sauce
22 oz. - Beef Broth
3 Tbs. - Italian Seasonings
3 Tbs. - Johnny's Garlic Seasonings
2 oz. - Chocolate Bars (any plain chocolate will do)
3 C. - Cooked Elbow Macaroni
Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper

In a large zippy bag place the flour, corn starch and meat, shake until fully coated. In a frying pan heat the oil and sauté the meat and onion just until the onion is soft and the meat is lightly browned. Transfer into the crock pot and stir in all of the other ingredients, cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5. When you are at the last couple hours drop in the chocolate and stir until well combined, when you have 30 minutes left stir in the pasta and cover so all of the flavors combine. Dish up and sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese and enjoy.

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Chocolate Mint Cake

I hope everyone had a safe and fun 4th of July.... So today I had this massive craving for chocolate that simply could not be ignored, you know the kind I speak of. I had all of the fixings to make a standard chocolate cake, but OH NO.... we did not stop there. I also had a few other items that I knew would take this simple cake to a whole new level of YUM!!! A big piece of cake along with a glass of cold milk and I was good to go.

Cake:

1 - Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
Water, Oil & Eggs

Filling:

1 - 4oz. - Serving White Chocolate Instant Pudding
2 C. - Milk
1/2 Tsp. - Peppermint Extract

Frosting:

1 - Betty Crocker Whipped Chocolate Frosting
1/2 C. - Andes Mint Baking Bits

Make according to box directions and bake at 350 degrees in a well sprayed glass cake pan or at 325 degrees if using a dark or non stick pan. After the cake is done baking remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes. In a medium sized bowl beat together the pudding mix, milk and extract for about 2 minutes, when ready pour over the top of the cake and cover loosely with foil or plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. When cool and the pudding is set frost carefully with the frosting and sprinkle on the candy bits. Keep loosely covered in the fridge.

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Lava Flow

The weather in Beaverton lately has been very hot, last Friday I was really feeling like a cool summer drink to just wash away the busy work week. The first thing that came to mind was a fabulous drink we had in Vegas on our honeymoon; we had everything at home to make it other than the alcohol. When my husband came home we ran to our local liquor store for Rum and Tequila, these drinks only take moments to make and the flavor combination is over the top delish!

Pina Colada:

2 oz. - Pina Colada Mix
2 oz. - Rum
7 oz. - Ice

Strawberry Margarita:

5 oz. - Strawberry Margarita Mix
2 oz. - Tequila
8 - Frozen Strawberries
7 oz. - Ice

Place into a blender the Pina Colada ingredients and blend until smooth and frothy, pour into a glass and fill about half way. Rinse out the blender and place in the margarita ingredients and blend until smooth and frothy, pour on top of the Pina Colada and fill the glass. Insert a straw and site back with a cool and refreshing drink.

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** Our Blogoversary Winner Results**

This has been a very fun and fast year in the blogging community; it really is hard to believe that we have been sharing recipes and ideas with all of you for a year now. We had a great response to our contest and were very happy to see the wide variety of responses on what your favorite recipes were. We used a random number generator to pick our winners and here is what it gave us, our second place winner was number 9, congratulations to Katherine. Our Grand Prize Winner was number 25, congratulations to Kerry Please send me an e-mail to mdaniels1986@yahoo.com with your full name and address so we can get your prizes in the mail. Thanks again to everyone who has been following us this past year and to everyone who entered our contest, we can't wait to see where the next year will take us.

I want a number between 1 and…25
Result:
9

Kathrine A.

I want a number between 1 and…25
Result:
25

Kerry

Confetti Chicken

As I have mentioned before I really love using my crock pot, one of the great things about using it is you can just go pick random items from the cabinet, fridge or freezer, place them inside, turn it on and just walk away. I really love to use it on Sunday's when we are so busy with household chores, it’s great to finish a full day of chores and to just be able to sit down to a dinner that really took no effort. This particular dish was really fun to collaborate with my husband on, we just started grabbing cans our of the cabinet and asking each other...How do you think this will taste together? The end creation was out of this world good, I really hope you give this one a try.

4 - Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (cubed)
1/4 C. - Chopped Green Chilies
1 – 10 3/4 oz. - Can Cream of Broccoli Soup
1 – 14.5 oz. - Contadina Roma Style Tomatoes w/ Roasted Red Peppers
1 Tbs. - Emeril's Bam Original Essence
1/2 Tbs. - Adobo Seasonings
1/3 C. - Sour Cream
1/4 C. - Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 C. - Elbow Macaroni (cooked)
1/2 C. - Orzo (cooked)
1/2 C. - Acini Di Pepe #44 (cooked)
Parsley

In the bottom of a crock pot place the chicken. In a medium bowl stir together the soup, chilies, tomatoes and seasonings. Pour this mixture over the chicken then cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7 hours. Just before serving stir in the sour cream, in a serving dish place the pasta and garnish with some parsley, then ladle some of the chicken next to it and garnish with the grated cheese.

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** Our Blogoversary **

** GRAND PRIZE WINNER **







** SECOND PRIZE WINNER **







WOW....

It is so hard to believe that it has been 1 year since we have started our blog, as they say...Time Flies When You Are Having Fun. I really think fun is an understatement, we have very much enjoyed sharing some our old favorites and of course the new ones as well. It is always an adventure to walk into the kitchen and decide what we are going to make and share for the week, the best part is reading all of the comments left by our blog friends. This truly has been a great experience and we can't wait to see what the next year of blogging will bring. To celebrate we are having a contest, it will run from today to next Sunday 6pm (6-28-09). Answer this question by leaving a comment to get into the running... “Of the posting we did this past year what has been your most favorite?” We will pick a winner using a random number generator, 2nd place will receive a Sandra Lee Semi- Homemade Magazine along with an 18oz bottle of Johnny's Garlic Seasonings, and the Grand Prize winner will receive a Sandra Lee Semi- Homemade Cook Book along with an 18oz bottle of Johnny's Garlic Seasonings. We really can't wait to see what posting was the year’s most favorite.

The Double Grilled Cheese Burger

We had a new restaurant here in Portland Oregon, open in April of this year called ‘The Grilled Cheese Grill”, I looked them up on-line and was able to see the menu, now how can you go wrong at a place that the entire menu of sammies that are some type of grilled cheese. My husband and I were very intrigued by this place; it was like being a kid all over again. That is until you read further down the menu; I was finding what I would consider to be very sophisticated grilled cheese sammies, along with some very creative dessert sammies. I knew that we had to go give this place a try for sure, again how could you not.... I read further down the menu to see something I knew immediately that I had to try. The Cheesus Burger, this monster of a burger has no bun; nope instead it has 2 grilled cheese sammies with each one having their own fillings and kind of cheese. After I regained my composure my husband and I made a date to go check this place out and experience the Cheesus Burger for ourselves. Last Friday night we headed out to the restaurant and when we arrived we were shocked to see that it was not a restaurant but a school bus and travel trailer. The trailer was the kitchen where all of the masterpieces are made and the school bus is the dining room, this place was so much fun. The bus has a mural painted on the ceiling and the tables have what look to be junior high school pictures covering the top of them, each table has a cup of trivia game cards for you to play while you wait for your order to be called out that its ready. This hip trendy place does not even give you a number, instead they give you basketball trading cards and the players name is what the cook will call out when your order is up. My husband took some great pictures of this place and of course The Cheesus Burger, so last night for dinner we made our own version that we lovingly called …

8 - Slices of White Bread
4 - Slices Bacon (cooked)
2 - 1/2 Lb. Burgers (cooked)
1 - Sliced Onion (caramelized)
10 - Sweet Chip Pickles (pat dry)
4 - Slices Pepper Jack Cheese
4 - Slices Colby Jack Cheese
Mayo
Butter

Butter all 8 pieces of bread on one side; lay 4 of them buttered side down on a hot (350 degree) electric grill. Top 2 of them with 1 piece each of pepper jack, onions and 1 piece of bacon broken into 2 pieces. Then another slice of pepper jack on top with another piece of bread, buttered side up. On the other 2 pieces of bread place 1 piece each of the Colby jack cheese, 5 pickles, 1 piece of bacon broken into 2 pieces then another slice of Colby jack and top with another piece of bread, buttered side up. Cook on each side until golden, crisp and the cheese is melted. On a plate set down one sammie and spread on some mayo then top it with the burger, on the other sammie spread on some mayo and place it on top of the burger mayo side down. Cut your burger in half and grab a pile of napkins.

THE KITCHEN



THE DINING ROOM



THE TABLES IN THE BUS



THE CEILING IN THE BUS



THE BAR IN THE BUS



THE CHEESUS BURGER...



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Crock Pot Boneless Beef Ribs

I had mentioned to my husband that I really wanted to make some boneless beef ribs for dinner and he thought that it sounded great. However we wanted something a little different other than just cooking them on the BBQ. I looked on line and found some really wonderful sounding recipes but the one that really caught my eye was using a crock pot. We all know how much I love to use mine, this recipe has so many items in it that I have either never used or would have never thought to put together in the same dish. I must say though these were by far the best boneless beef ribs I have ever had, I bet they would be just as awesome if I used pork ribs too.

2/3 C. - Flour
2 Tsp. - Salt
1/2 Tsp. - Pepper
4 Lbs. - Boneless Beef Ribs
1/4 C. - Butter
1 Large - Chopped Onion
1 ½ C. - Beef Broth
3/4 C. - Garlic Red Wine Vinegar
3/4 C. - Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 C. - Sweet Chili Sauce
1/3 C. - Ketchup
3 Tbs. - Chopped Garlic
1 ½ Tsp. - Chili Powder

In a large zippy bag place the flour, salt & pepper, mix to combine. Add the ribs in batches and shake to coat. In a large frying pan melt the butter and brown the ribs on all sides, transfer the browned ribs to the bottom of a 5 qt crock pot. In the same frying pan combine the remaining items and bring to a boil, pour over the ribs. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or until meat is tender and falling apart. Serve hot over mashed taters then ladle some of the sauce over top.

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Ultimate Bacon Chili Cheese Brats

On the way home today I had this HUGE desire for BBQ brats, not just plain old simple brats..oh no. I had visions of bacon, chili and cheese sauce. This was such a strong desire that I had to stop at the store on the way home so I could feed this craving. I love brats of any kind but OMG... having them all dressed up this way was out of this world GOOD!!!

2 - Stadium Rolls
2 - Cheddar Brats
4 - Slices of Bacon
1 Can - Chili with no beans
1 Can - Cheddar Cheese Soup

Cook the bacon and brats on the BBQ until the bacon is crispy and the brats are well heated, about 15 minutes on high. Warm the soup and chili in sauce pans over medium low heat while the bacon and brats are cooking. When everything is ready to assemble open a bun and place a brat inside, place 1 piece of bacon along each side of the brat. Ladle some chili over top and cover in the cheese sauce, grab a few napkins and enjoy!!

Tilapia Soft Tacos

My sister in law Cheryl was so kind to get me a subscription to the Food Network magazine for my birthday, I was looking through it the other day and I saw a great fish taco recipe. The taco looks so good, light and refreshing, perfect for one of these hot June nights we have been getting. I used the concept of the recipe but my husband and I changed the way the fish was done. This was my first time to ever eat a fish taco; I loved it a great deal. The flavor was simply incredible and it was extremely easy to prepare.

3 - Eggs (beaten)
1 C. - Flour
2 C. - Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese
4 - Tilapia Fillets
2 Tbs. - Johnny's Garlic Season
Soft Tortilla Wraps
Lettuce Shreds
Pica De Gallo
Pace Pineapple Mango Chipotle Salsa

Place 3 shallow dishes on the counter, in one place the eggs, in another the flour and Johnny's in the last is the Parmesan cheese. Dip one piece of fish into the egg then into the flour, shake off the excess and dip into the egg again then into the cheese pressing firmly to get a good coating. Do the same with the remaining fish. Cook on a preheated electric skillet at 325 degrees for 5-8 minutes on each side or until the cheese is golden brown and crispy. Lay out one tortilla wrap and on one side lay down some lettuce shreds, place 2 pieces of fish on top then spoon on some salsa and pica de gallo.

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