Beef Stew in the Crock Pot

Tasty new recipe!

Stew Meat (2lbs)

beef stock

Stew seasoning packet (I was lazy)

Carrots

Onion

Celery

Potato

Cut it up and put it in the crock pot with seasoning, broth, and meat.  Low for 7-8 hours!

Worms n Dirt

I went to a Halloween party on Saturday, and brought Worms n Dirt as a festive dessert.

 

 

 

Yum!

 

This makes a big batch:

 

2 packages oreos, ground in food processor

2 packages instant vanilla pudding

1 package gummy worms

 

Layer the oreos and pudding, with worms on top of the oreos layer

Roasted Broccoli

I finally made some roasted broccoli and cauliflower.  Delish!  Much better than steaming it, I think.  Drizzle it with olive oil, toss with minced garlic, salt and pepper, and put it on a foil lined baking sheet.  Oven at 425 degrees for 10 mins, and its done.

 

 

 

 



Skirt Steak and Parmesan Polenta

I made a new recipe for skirt steak - steak, polenta, and roasted tomatoes and broccoli.

 

Recipe:

1/2 cup cornmeal

1.5 cups water

1/4 cup parmesan

2 steaks

I head broccoli crowns

1 pint grape tomatoes

2 tbsp. olive oil

salt

pepper

 

Preheat the oven to 425 for the broccoli and tomatoes.  While preheating, add 1.5 cups water to a pot to boil.  Once boiling, add the cornmeal and simmer until smooth and creamy.  Add in parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste.  While polenta is cooking, season the steaks and sear them in a hot pan.  .Season the broccoli and tomatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and minced garlic if you like.  Roast in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.  Serve while hot.  If needed, add extra water to the polenta before serving to ensure creaminess.   

 





Mrs. Field's Cookies

I was very much in the Christmas spirit this holiday, and we had some friends over on Christmas Eve.  Since there were going to be 6 adults and one cute little girl, I wanted to make some sweet treats for dessert.  I decided to make the Mrs. Fields chocolate/walnut/oatmeal cookie recipe, since we always had it growing up. 

 

 

I quartered my original recipe, since it ends up with about 4 dozen cookies if you use the whole one. 

 

The secret to my recipe?  I use both chocolate chips and chopped up chocolate in the dough.  Delicious!

 

 

This recipe is available online, and so I've included that version below.  Mine is a little different, with some grated chocolate and walnuts added in. 

 

Ingredients:

2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
5 cups oatmeal

2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. soda
24 ounces. milk chocolate chips

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix in flour, oatmeal, baking powder and soda. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake 10-15 minutes.

 

 

 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Tonight, we had a very successful crockpot chicken tortilla soup.  I've been on the prowl for a good tortilla soup recently, and living in Texas means I am picky!  We have so many great Mexican and Tex-Mex places with tortilla soup that I can compare recipes to.  I wanted a crock pot friendly recipe as well, so I gave it my own spin. 

 

 

 I wanted one without corn or beans, and right down to the home-y taste of just the chicken without the bells and whistles.  I ended up combining a few different recipes to yield this one.  Even my husband, self-proclaimed soup hater, enjoyed this and asked for more. 

 

Recipe follows:

Ingredients:

1 packet fajita seasoning

1.5 boxes chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 chopped onion

3/4 can crushed tomatoes (15 oz can)

1.5 pounds chicken

cilantro

avocado

cheddar or Monterey Jack

tortilla chips

 

Add the first 6 ingredients to the crock pot.  Cook on high 4 hours, or until chicken shreds easily.  Shred the chicken, and top with cilantro, avocado, cheese, and tortilla chips.

 

 

 

Also, to be completely honest, I didn't really measure any ingredients.  I just added approximately what I have listed in the recipe, but I could have guesstimated incorrectly.  So, just add things until it looks and tastes good to you! 



Red Velvet Cupcakes

Today I made some Red Velvet Cupcakes, with cream cheese icing.  I am going to bring them into work for people to eat tomorrow.

All finished, garnished with a chocolate chip.

I can't stand using box mixes for things, and anyway, I never have a box mix in the house to even use if I wanted to (our pantry is pretty lean as far as stocking up items goes).  I like making things from scratch, because then you aren't eating preservatives that are usually put into foods like that.  Here is my Red Velvet Cupcake recipe, along with the cream cheese icing.  It makes about 20 cupcakes.

Red Velvet Cake:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup greek yogurt

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

Red food coloring

Cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the eggs, beating after each addition.  Add the yogurt, milk, vanilla and food coloring; mix until blended.  Add the dry ingredients, and mix until wet.  Add additional milk if batter is too dry.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

Icing:

1 package cream cheese (softened)

10 oz powdered sugar (or to taste)
1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp greek yogurt

Beat until fluffy, ice cooled cupcakes.

I use an ice cream scooper to easily add the batter to the cupcake liners.



Making the icing while the batter cooks.

Ready for icing

All done!

I must say, they are delicious.