Ultimate Savory Pot Roast w/Gravy

Back in February Me, my sister Jessica, my mom Heather, my cousin Kasey and a good friend of ours Barb went to see The  Addams Family play here at our local performing arts hall. We love going to musicals its kind of our "thing" we like to do with just the girls! Here is a picture from the matinée we went to.

The night before the play my mom and sister came and spent the night at my house so they could attend church with me and my husband in the morning before we went to the play. But before my mom and sister were to get here we had planned on "spring cleaning" our downstairs bedroom. I knew that because of this I wasn't going to want to cook a huge meal that night because I would be tired from cleaning so I planned on making a roast in the crockpot. 

I found one I had never used before on the Crockingirls website and thought it was pretty interesting since it included a can of coke in its ingredients!! It was super simple to throw together and super delicious to eat. I served it with rice, green beans and a dinner roll!! 

Ultimate Savory Pot Roast w/Gravy

Ingredients

• 4 Pounds Chuck Roast (any beef roast will do)
• 1 Package Savory pot roast seasoning
• 1 Can Coke
• 1 Cup Water
• 1 Package Au Jus gravy mix

Directions

Step One

Mix the pot roast seasoning with the cup of water in slow cooker.

1. Step Two

   Place roast in mixture, then pour coke over top 
   
   

   Step Three

   Cover with lid and cook on LOW for 8hrs. DO NOT LIFT THE LID!
   
   

   Step Four

   After it's done cooking take the lid off (depending how lean your roast was at this point I skim the fat off) and sprinkle the AuJus packet over the top of roast and replace lid for about 5 mins. Take roast out of slow cooker then just slice, serve, and enjoy. :)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   And of course here is my final plate!! 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Hope you guys try it and like it as much as we all did! I have many more recipes that im gonna try and post soon so check back later for more!! 
   
   

Country Fried Steak with Creamy Mashed Potatoes!

Last night I did not cook dinner, instead Danny and I went with his brother and some friends to check out a new "wing night" spot (new to us, not them.) 

We had a wing place that we frequented almost every week with his parents but it ended up closing down. That place had wings for $.45 a piece every Wednesday and the new place we went to last night was $.55. I of course get plain wings and then dip it in ranch because I have such a sensitive palette to anything spicy that even mild is to much for me sometimes (I know I am a wuss, can't help it!) Danny on the other hand gets Molten Lava Hot Spicy Garlic that smells SO spicy that when it comes to the table its like my nostrils are on fire...true story. 

BUT, the night before I cooked and it was de-li-cious!! The previous week when I was at the supermarket I noticed they had cube steak on sale and I though to myself "we haven't had country fried steak in FOREVER" So I picked us up a couple packages. This is hands down one of my favorite meals and its not hard to make it just makes a HUGE mess in my kitchen. By the time I am done cooking there is flour all over the kitchen from dredging the steaks plus grease splatter that ends up all over my stove after frying them in my cast iron skillet. But in the end taking that perfect bite of fried steak with creamy country gravy is SO worth the mess....

I have made several different recipes through the years but its the Pioneer Woman's recipe for country fried steak that I love. When Ree's show first aired on the food network I wasn't really sure what to make of her (and honestly thought she was kind of annoying) but after making a couple of her recipes, this one being one of the first I came to the conclusion that she is an absolute miracle worker in the kitchen! The following two recipes one for Country Fried Steak and the other for Creamy Mashed Potatoes both came from Ree's cookbook "The Pioneer Woman: Recipes From An Accidental Country Girl"

Lets get to it shall we.....

Country Fried Steak...aka Chicken Fried Steak by Ree

Ingredients:

1. 3 pounds Cube Steak (tenderized Round Steak That's Been Extra Tenderized)
2. 1-1/2 cups Whole Milk
3. 2 whole Large Eggs
4. 2 cups All-purpose Flour
5. 2 teaspoons Seasoned Salt
6. 1 1/2 teaspoons Freshly ground black pepper
7. 3/4 teaspoon paprika
8. 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I honestly used only 1/8 tsp but we already discussed me being a wimp)
9. 1/2 cup Canola Oil, For Frying
10. Salt and Pepper
11. 1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

1. Begin with setting up an assembly line of dishes. Mix the milk with the eggs in one; the flour mixed with the seasoned salt, black pepper, paprika and cayenne in another. Then have one clean plate at the end to receive the breaded meat.
2. Work with one piece of meat at a time. Sprinkle both sides with kosher salt and black pepper, then place it in the flour mixture. Turn to coat. Place the meat into the milk/egg mixture, turning to coat. Finally, place it back in the flour and turn to coat (dry mixture/wet mixture/dry mixture). Place the breaded meat on the clean plate, then repeat with the remaining meat.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter. Drop in a few sprinkles of flour to make sure it's sufficiently hot. Cook the meat, 3 pieces at a time, until the edges start to look golden brown, about 2 minutes each side. Remove the meat to a paper towel-lined plate and keep them warm by covering lightly with another plate or a sheet of foil. Repeat until all the meat is cooked.

Now, if you have Ree's cookbook you will see she also has a recipe for country gravy. I will hang my head in shame and say that my gravy actually came from a packet...I know, I know but it was STILL delicious! :) 

We had creamy mashed potatoes that I kind of adapted from another recipe by The Pioneer Woman. In her recipe you make the mashed potatoes and then put them in a baking dish and finish them off in the oven. I skipped the last step and just served them after mashing them.

Ingredients:

1. 2 1/2 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
2. 1/2 stick Butter, Softened
3. 1/2 package (4 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened
4. 1/2 cup (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half (i just used whole milk cause that's what I had)
5. 1/2 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
6. 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
7. 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

Directions:

1. Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Drain the potatoes in a large colander. Place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape before adding in all the other ingredients.
3. Turn off the heat and add butter, the cream cheese, half-and-half (or milk), seasoned salt, kosher salt and pepper. Mash to combine.

**I served them at this point but if you want to go ahead with the original recipe you can find it here. 

And here is my final plate! I served them with buttered green beans and a side salad...

P.S....im still trying to decide/learn how to use my new camera. Im not 100% sure if I am gonna keep it yet or get a new one. We shall see.

Let's Try This One More Time!! Easy Crock Pot Meal...

Well hello. Shall we try this blog thing again?? Every time I (think) am home for good and ready to start cooking again....BAM! Just like that something else happens and I am back in the hospital.

 Last year was AMAZING and I was hardly ever sick and so far this year I have lost count with the amount of times I was admitted to the hospital. If I wasn't admitted I was sick as a dog at home not wanting to cook anything and BARELY wanting to eat anything! Not a good combo I can assure you! 

So I get home on Sunday night with stuff that I have already planned on making once I got home I just needed to go food shopping (I was in the hospital 3 weeks I had A LOT of time to look up recipes!) 

I was REALLY craving some Shepards Pie that my one good friend Amanda was telling me she makes for her son but unfortunately when I went to cook dinner Monday night my feet where the size of watermelons and there was no way I was gonna be able to stand in the kitchen and make dinner so I called the hubby and told him my dilemma. When he got home from work he quickly showered while I made him a list (a very short list he isn't the best grocery shopper when I am not with him!) of things to grab from the store. On that list was Publix Fried Chicken that we could just eat that night without having to cook anything since it was already so late (and Publix fried chicken is to DIE for!) plus I had decided that since my feet swelling was a problem that was worse in the afternoons I planned to do a crock pot meal that I could throw in the pot in the morning while the feet where relatively "normal" size and not very painful and by dinner time when they were gi-normus (yes that is a word) all I had to do was some last minute touches so I wasn't on my feet very long! Am I genius or what? 

Well, let me just say that the meal I picked which I found on the Crockin' Girls Facebook page (it was one of their Crockin' Monday Videos) was I think the easiest crock pot meal I have ever made. You know how sometimes with crock pot meats they make you sear the meat or cook the chicken first or whatever, well you don't have to do that with this recipe which saves a step and another pot you don't have to clean! Also, everything just gets mixed right in the crock pot I seriously had no clean up except what I was throwing away in the trash. Amazing I tell ya..

So here is the recipe for what I put in the Crock and then I will tell you what I made to go along with it! 

Little Meats and Gravy

Ingredients

• 2 Pounds of chuck or stew beef, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 Package of onion soup mix
• 2 Cans of low sodium cream of chicken soup
• 2 soup Cans of water
• 1 Package of cooked noodles, rice or potatoes for serving

**I served ours over rice cause thats what we had!!**

Directions

1. Step One

   Combine all ingredients into 6 quart slow cooker; stir.

2. Step Two

   Cover and cook on LOW for 8–12 hours or on HIGH for 5–6 hours. If you've frozen this recipe you can cook it for 10-12 hours on LOW.

3. Step Three

   Thicken, if desired, and serve over noodles, rice, or potatoes.
   **I think all said and done mine was in the crock for about 9 hours on low and it was perfect!**

(This was when I was just putting it in and stirring all the ingredients together)

Then as I said before I chose to serve this over rice cause that's what we had available in the pantry and then for the veggie part of the plate I decided on fresh green beans (cause quite frankly I LOVE green beans and could eat them every night) but have kind of gotten in a rut with just throwing them in the oven with some garlic, olive oil, some S&P and roasting them so I wanted to try something new that I made once before when I was in NY on vaca but haven't made here at home yet. So I gave it a whirl tonight to see what the Dear Hubby would think...and luckily he approved! :) 

Green Beans w/ Mushroom and Shallots

Ingredients

• Fresh green beans, ends trimmed
• 2 tsp olive oil
• Button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 a small shallot, sliced into thin rings
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Directions

Add the green beans to a pot of boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes. 

Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking and to retain the bright green color. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and let them cook (without stirring) for 3-4 minutes; stir and add the shallots to the skillet. 

Cook the shallots and mushrooms for 2 minutes before adding the minced garlic and green beans. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute or until the green beans are nice and hot. Season with sea salt and pepper, to taste.

(YUMMY....these where very tasty!)

Then, of course you know me I had to take a picture of my final plate along with my (don't judge) Pillsbury Grand Buttermilk Biscuits from a can which I slathered in honey before eating! :) 

Quick, easy, delicious, and everyone was happy when dinner was finished and the best part is I have lunch for tomorrow that I am VERY excited about! WIn, WIn! 

  

That is all I got for you tonight. I hope you try this meal and if you do try it let me know what you think! I haven't decided if I am going to use the crock pot again tomorrow or if I am going to make that Shepards Pie finally. Either way I am sure to take some pictures and hopefully I can crank out another blog to you guys so you can see what I am cooking up! Good Night!! :) 

Knock, Knock Anyone Still Out There??

Well, I know it been awhile but I have been dealing with some health issues that had me either not cooking at all OR I was cooking but not having the energy to document, then blog and heck even eat by the time I was finished! It was horrible but hopefully we got everything straightened out and I can get back to what I love, cooking for my hubby and sharing it all with YOU! :)  Now im not gonna promise to crank out recipes everyday but I think I can handle at least a couple a week.

So without further ado, I give you the recipe from last night which I got from my July/August 2012 Food Network Magazine. Let me just tell you we all thought the marinade on the kebobs was fantastic. Very easy with things you probably already have in your pantry! Unlike the recipe that tells you to just mix up the meat with the peppers in the marinade right before putting them on the skewer. I put them all in a ziploc bag first thing in the morning so it sat together all day. I also added onions to my kebobs just cause I like cooked onions! :)

I thought the Orzo was pretty good but tried ALL through dinner to explain to not only my husband but my brother-in-law and my brother that Orzo was in fact a PASTA and not a RICE they were eating. Ugh...boys! Other than the work of actually making the skewers the whole meal once that part is done takes only about 12 min to make start to finish so its not bad for those who want a nice meal but not a whole bunch of fuss when they get home form work (especially if you already chopped everything up before work and its been marinating all day...its good to go!)

Hope you try it and like it as much as we did!

Sizzling Sirloin Kabobs on a Bed of Orzo

Ingredients

1. 1 pound beef top sirloin steak, cut 1 inch thick
2. 2 green, red and/or yellow bell peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces
3. 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
4. 1 tablespoon prepared Italian dressing
5. 2 large cloves garlic, minced
6. Salt and pepper

Orzo:
1. 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta, cooked according to package directions
2. 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or parsley
3. 2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
4. 2 teaspoons olive oil

Instructions

1. Soak eight 8-inch bamboo skewers in water 10 minutes; drain.
2. Cut beef steak into 1-1/4-inch pieces. Toss beef and bell peppers with 1 tablespoon basil, dressing and garlic in large bowl. Alternately thread beef and peppers onto skewers.
3. Toss Orzo ingredients in medium bowl; keep warm.
4. Place kabobs on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, covered, about 8 to 10 minutes (over medium heat on preheated gas grill, 9 to 11 minutes) for medium rare (145°F) to medium (160°F) doneness, turning occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, as desired. Serve with orzo.

**The only things I changed (which trust me isn't anything drastic!) was I added an onion to the kabobs, marinated the steak and veggies all day PLUS I soaked the bamboo skewers way longer than they said cause 

my good friend Amanda told me the longer the better!

Also, I was hoping to get this in yesterday (8-15-2012) to wish the Amazingly talented Julia Child her would be 100th birthday!! I love her shows, I love her cooking and I love the way she goes about cooking in the kitchen where nothing is a mistake! My kinda gal....

Julia Child (8/15/1912-8/15/2012)

HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY!! 

Cowboy Casserole!

This casserole is as delicious as it is easy!

My husband is from Minnesota. Home of the "hot dish" so I have had my share of tater tot casseroles and to be honest I have never really been a fan. But this one is REALLY good! The only thing I think I will change and try next time is when I am browning the meat I think I will throw in some chopped onion and a few cloves of minced garlic. Just because lets be honest garlic makes everything taste better! :)

Well, here is the recipe! If you try it leave me a comment I would love to hear what you think!!

Cowboy Casserole

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
• 1 can (8-3/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
• 2/3 cup condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/3 cup 2% milk
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups frozen Tater Tots

Directions

• In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Stir in the corn, soup, 1/4 cup cheese, milk, sour cream, onion powder and pepper.
• Place 1 cup Tater Tots in a greased 3-cup baking dish. Layer with beef mixture and remaining Tater Tots; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

**Just a quick side note: This recipe is for 2 servings so if you are a family of four you will want to double the ingredients!!