Hot Beef Sandwiches

3 lbs. beef chuck roast
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1-1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4-1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbs Lemon Juice
1 tbs Ketsup
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce


This is a crock pot meal. So warm her up! It takes about 8-10 hrs of slow cooking so start it early and relax, dinner will be ready later!

Place meat in crock pot and cover with the chopped onions.

Combine vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper, lemon juice, ketsup and worcestershire sauce.

Pour over meat. It won't seem like much liquid at first but once it gets cooking the juices from the meat will add to it. I repositioned the meat a few hours into the cooking process so most of it was submerged.

After about 8 hrs shred the meat (I had my DH do it cause I find shredding meat to be very annoying) and then place it back into the broth for another half hour or so.

Drain broth but save for dipping.

Serve on hamburger buns with broth on side. I added a little bit of parmesan cheese to the broth for a garnish and it melted in nicely...tasted great!

I got this recipe from a friend and added a few things. My DH thought it was amazing and so did I! It was relatively easy which was a bonus.

Enjoy!

Jamie Willow

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

This is a recipe given to me by my aunt. She has made it for years, and I have no clue where she got the recipe. It's a favorite of mine, but for obvious reasons, I don't make it too often. My kids love it, then again, what kid doesn't love mac and cheese?

Ingredients

1lb box of large pasta shells

1/2 cube of butter

1/4 cup of flour

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 cups of warm milk

8 oz block of Tilamok medium cheddar cheese (I do 4 oz medium 4 oz sharp - up to you)

1/4 teaspoon tabasco sauce

Pepper to taste

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350*. Grate cheese. Cook noodles according to package. Warm milk in microwave for about 2 minutes or until warm. Drain noodles when done.

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter, add flour when frothy. Stir. Add milk and stir. Add cream, stir for a couple minutes. Add desired amount of pepper, tabasco and grated cheese. Stir until everything is well combined, thick and hot, but not bubbly.

Put noodles in a shallow casserole type dish, pour cheese sauce over noodles and mix well. Cover with foil and bake at 350* for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Stir and enjoy.

Chef's notes: This is one of those recipes you can easily play with. I add more then 8 ounces of cheese. I probably do more like 9 oz, I love cheese and think the cheesier the better! I also add closer to 1/2 tsp of tabasco. My kids don't mind spicy, but its easy to over spice this with the tabasco, so just be careful. You can taste it to see how the spice is and add as you like.

Bon Appétit

-Katie

Jello Cake

This cake has probably shown up at cookouts long before I was born, so I apologize if everyone already has the recipe tucked away somewhere. The cake is new to me though and I think it's the perfect summer cake.

Ingredients:

Package of white cake mix (2 layer style)

4 oz. package of Jello Gelatin- I think Strawberry is the best

1 cup of boiling water

1/2 cup of cold water

Frosting:

4 oz. Jello Vanilla Pudding Mix

Tub of Cool Whip (thawed)

1. Make cake mix as directed, in a 13 x 9 pan. Let cake cool, completely.

2. Mix the gelatin package with boiling water until dissolved. Pour in cold water.

3. Using a fork, poke holes all over the cake- I usually poke every half inch. Pour the gelatin mixture all over the cake.

4. Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours.

5. Prepare the Vanilla Pudding mix as directed and mix it into the entire tub of cool whip. Frost the cake with the mixture.

Make sure to serve the cake chilled. Sliced fruit also makes a great topping!

Citrus Chicken Fajitas

I was at a loss on what to make (happens to most of us, right? Right?) with chicken. We eat a lot of chicken. It's a staple here. I go to Sam's and buy the chicken breasts in the huge bag. Multiple bags, actually. ;)

Anyway, here's the recipe for an easy, fast, Mexican dinner. It's not a perfect recipe as I just threw it together one night.

Chicken Breasts, sliced into thin strips
Orange Juice
Lemon Juice
Minced Garlic
Cumin
Salt
Pepper
Red and Green pepper sliced into thin strips

Put the chicken breasts in a container covered with orange juice, lemon juice, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigate. Overnight is best, but you can also do it for a few hours, at least 3.

Heat a large skillet pan over medium to high heat. Spray with nonstick whatever you use. Stir fry garlic, then add chicken. Cook chicken, then add peppers. Add the rest of the marinade, until it's almost gone.

It goes great with rice, beans, and fresh pico de gallo.

delicioso!

Patty

Taco Pizza: Shocking Toddler Favorite

The grown ups liked it too :)



I used a pillsbury pizza crust...just rolled it out.
Cooked the dough at 400* partially (like 8 minutes) before layering it with:

1st layer: Refried Beans
2nd layer: Diced tomatoes
3rd layer: Taco Meat (ground beef and a taco seasoning packet)
4th layer: Shredded Cheese
5th layer: Diced Olives

(I added a 5th layer of pizza sauce but honestly I did not like it, I would rather have left it off...do what you want...if you do add it then put more cheese on top!)

Cooked it for 10 minutes until the cheese was melted

While it was still warm I dropped dollops of sour cream on top, once they sort of melted with the warmth of the pizza I spread it around lightly (so as to not mess up how pretty it all was)
Then I added a layer of shredded lettuce.

Options: add salsa, a dollop on each slice. add broken up frito's to the top.

Here's a picture of my 14mo old son devouring it. I expected him to turn up his nose but he ate two slices!




Enjoy!

Jamie (and Judah)

Baking with Blueberries

I've been baking a lot. With blueberries.
Without further ado...the recipes:

Blueberry Scones:

2 cups all-purpose flour1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt2 tablespoons sugar

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks

1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones

1 cup fresh blueberries

Lemon Glaze:

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 lemon, zest finely grated

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough.Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream.Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.Technically you should make this simple lemon glaze in a double boiler (i.e. over a pot of simmering water with a heatproof bowl set on top) but it's even simpler to zap it in the microwave. Mix the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon zest and butter. Nuke it for 30 seconds on high. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving.

Blueberry Pie

3/4 cup white sugar - or less depending on the sweetness of your berries

4-5 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a dash of lemon juice

5 cups fresh blueberries

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon, and sprinkle over blueberries.

Line pie dish with one pie crust. Pour berry mixture into the crust, and dot with butter. Cut remaining pastry into 1/2 - 3/4 inch wide strips, and make lattice top. Crimp and flute edges.
Put tin foil around edges of crust.Bake pie on lower shelf of oven for about 50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

SadlyTheBlueberriesDontCancelOutTheButter,

Mrs. B.

Crockpot Mexican Chicken

I'm almost ashamed to post this for my first post on this blog because it's so easy, but it's really that good. When I was telling Katie about this, I told her that it's so easy that Audrey could pretty much make it - aside from the can opener... I really don't know what this is called, but I got it from a friend and it's amazing! We'll call it Crockpot Mexican Chicken for now...

Ingredients:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (4-6)
1 Can of Black Beans
1 Can of Corn
1 Jar of Salsa (I used Pace Picante in Medium, but for kids you may want to use Mild)
(see, it's that easy!)

Directions
Throw all the ingredients in the Crockpot.
Turn on High for 3 hours.
When done, chicken is easy to shred or cut with a fork.

I usually serve it as a soft taco, so I get cheese, tortillas, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, etc.

We also had Spanish Rice on the side and chips and guacamole.

Indulge!