Mongolian Beef - Crockpot Style

This is one of those reasons to cook at home and not go out to eat. It's easy. It's inexpensive. It tastes great.  We serve it over rice at our house, and everyone is happy.  I pulled this recipe from Stephanie at Crockpot 365 and made some minor adjustments for our family.  Add it to your menu planning for next week and make your house happy too.

Prep time   25 minutes 
Cook time   3-5 hours 

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs. flank steak (I used petite sirloin b/c I had it in the freezer)
3 cloves of garlic, minced 
4 sliced green onions
1 t dried minced onion 
 ½ cup soy sauce
 ¼ cup white wine
 ¼ cup cooking sherry 
½ tablespoon white wine vinegar 
 1 t sesame oil 
1 t molasses 
1 t ginger 
¼ teaspoon black pepper
 1 t red chili pepper flakes (I omitted for my family)
½ tablespoon peanut butter 
 3 T brown sugar

Directions

• Slice your meat in thin strips and toss in a Ziploc bag with 1/4 cup cornstarch. 
• Add all of the liquid and dried spices to your crockpot, and the peanut butter, and mix well. Add the garlic and three of the sliced green onions. 
• Put your meat on top, and toss softly so you don't rub off the cornstarch. 
• Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Thin sliced steak will cook quickly. 
• Check after 3 hours to see if the meat is done. Mine cooked in 3 1/2 hours on low. Turn yours off when meat has reached desired tenderness.
• This feeds 2 adults and 2 small children easily, with a small serving leftover for lunch.
• There's not extra sauce, so you may want to double the sauce if your family like it over rice.
  

Carmel Apples

Yesterday was a blustery day, straight out of The Hundred Acre Woods: leaves blowing, trees bending, wind howling....I was expecting to see Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin appear in my backyard.  The kind of day that calls for something warm and fallish....something like Carmel Apples, Hot Cocoa and a warm kitchen.  So while the Mongolian Beef was simmering in the large crockpot, I tried something new in the smaller crock.

I threw in a bag of carmels, which my helpers excitedly peeled open, added a couple tablespoons of water, turned the crockpot on low for an hour and stirred it a few times. How easy was that!  My kids loved dipping the apples, and I barely managed to get some photos taken because they were dying to eat them immediately. 


I'm trying to broaden my scope of uses for the crockpot...thinking outside the normal "stew" and assuming that most items that can be melted/simmered on the stovetop, can also be done in the crock.

Lasagna in the Crockpot - - for real!

Okay girlfriends, this has to be one of the easiest ways to make Lasagna. And yes, that is spinich in the photo!   I scooped the recipe from Crockpot 365 and adapted it to my family.  You should do the same thing...this could be a family favorite.  The first time I made it, I put it together in the morning, and headed out of town leaving it for my parents and kids to eat. My mom said they all liked it, but I had no photo to post, so I had to wait until now to post it.

I made it this week for my husband and kids, and they all agreed it was great. And I made it with real cheese because I wasn't going to be home to eat it.  The boys had no idea that there were carrots, spinach and mushrooms hiding inside that red sauce and pasta.

Prep time:   about 30 minutes if you are browning meat; 15 otherwise

Cook time:    8 hours on low; 4 hours on high; or 1 hour on high, then 6 on low

Ingredients:

1 box regular lasagna noodles, I use whole wheat
1 jar pasta sauce
1 lb ground beef, pork, turkey
1 small ricotta cheese, or tofutti w/ 1 Tbs lemon juice
1 package shredded Italian cheese
8 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
⅓ cup spinach, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced onions
1 tablespoon ground oregano
¼ cup water

Directions:

--brown meat with spices in large skillet
--pour in entire jar of pasta sauce...STOP...save jar, don't rinse or throw away - this was Stephanies idea, so read on...

--simmer meat and sauce on low for a few minutes

--put a ladle-full of sauce mixture into the bottom of your crockpot.
--top with a layer of dried lasagna noodles. You'll have to break them to fit.
--smear ricotta cheese on top of lasagna noodles
--layer a handful of veggies on top of the ricotta cheese

Yep! Those are carrots, mushrooms and spinach, finely chopped so no one in the family sees them admist all the sauce and cheese. Brilliant idea, don't you think!

Now, back to the directions continue as follows:
--add a handful of the shredded cheese
--ladle on some more of the meat sauce
--top with more dry noodles and repeat layers until crock is to desired capacity (always make sure your crockpot is at least 2/3 full or it won't cook properly).

--put the 1/4 cup of water into your empty pasta jar and shake. Pour tomatoey juice over the whole pile of food. (See this is why you saved your jar!)

--cover and cook on low for 8 hours, high for 4. I cooked on high for 1 hour, then low for 5-6 hours.

--Check noodles an hour before serving, and push the top ones down into the liquid if they are getting too hard or are curling up. Mine had no problem at all.

Garlic Monkey Bread (in bread machine)

I make 99% of all the bread we eat in our house, and this has to be our favorite bread recipe.  My boys would eat the whole thing if I didn't serve it to adults and guests first.  One of the things I love about it, is it already has all the spices and butter on it, so you don't have to pass the butter dish around with the rolls.  Just pull off pieces of this warm, delicious bread and pop them into your mouth.

Prep time:  about 10 minutes to put it in the bread machine

Cook time:  about 3 1/2 hours from bread machine to dinner table

Ingredients:

½ cup water warm, plus 2 tablespoons
½ cup dairy free sour cream
1 ½ tablespoons butter
1 ½ tsp salt
3 cups flour
3 tablespoons raw sugar
2 tsp dry yeast, Red Star

*** Topping ***

4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp thyme
¼ tsp oregano

 Directions:

Place first 7 ingredients, in order, in bread machine, starting with water.

Turn on dough cycle. This should take about 1 1/2 hours. 

About 10 minutes before dough finishes, take a small dish and melt the butter, then mix in the spices. Set aside.

When dough cycle is finished, place dough on lightly floured surface and roll into a 24-inch rope.

Divided into 40 pieces (hint: cut in half, then each half into 20 pieces).

Dip each small piece into the melted butter mixture. Place the 40 pieces into a ring mold. (I use Demarle so there is no butter, greasing or such of the pan. It's fabulous!)

Cover and let rise about 45 minutes in a warm oven (or until doubled).

Preheat oven to 350 convection; 375 standard. 
Bake 12-20 minutes depending on heat of oven and your altitude. I live above 4,500 ft and I cook everything in a convection oven.

Turn onto a plate and serve immediately.

Crockpot Tuscan Chicken and Artichokes

I can't get the picture to download for some reason, so I'll post the recipe and then hopefully get the picture up at some point.

I got this recipe from Parents Magazine (March '08). It has fast become one of our family's favorite. I've tried it with both fresh and frozen artichokes, fresh and frozen chicken, chicken thighs, chicken breast, and even sausage (our favorite is Aidell's chicken and apple sausage from Costco or Trader Joes.) I've forgotten the tomatoes and subbed broccoli for zucchini. The best is the way the couscous turns out by being cooked in the broth. After it cooks I throw the ingredients back in the crock and serve it out of there (less clean up). My kids love it, but they are also weird and love most all veggies, so can't say if it is kid friendly meal. Of course you can always serve it over egg noodles rather than couscous.

It took me awhile before I was able to find the seasoning. I finally found Greek seasoning and use that, but the first several times I made this recipe I just made my own Mediterranean seasoning by mixing: 2 Tbs dried basil, 4 tsp marjoram, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp dried lemon peel (I think I actually used lemon pepper), and 1/8 tsp ground bay leaves.


Crockpot Tuscan Chicken and Artichokes

2 pkgs (9 oz each) frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted and divided
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14 oz.) chicken broth
2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 tsp. Mediterranean or Greek seasoning
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 pkg (11 oz) dry whole-wheat couscous
Chopped parsley, optional

1) In a 3 1/2 or 4-quart slow cooker, combine one package of artichoke hearts, the onion, garlic, and broth. Add chicken and sprinkle it with Mediterranean seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours. Then place zucchini, tomatoes, and second package of artichokes in the cooker; re-cover and heat for another 15 minutes, or until veggies and cooked.

2) Remove chicken and vegetables with a slotted spoon; cover them with foil to keep warm. Stir the couscous into the remaining liquid. Cover and cook 5 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed. Serve chicken and vegetables over couscous. Top with parsley, if desired.

Makes 6 servings.

Kahlua Cake

Kahlua Cake is soooo yummy!!!

Cake:
1 yellow cake mix
1 small instant chocolate pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup vodka
1/4 cup kahlua

Combine and beat all ingredients for 10 minutes. Bake in a greased bundt pan at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes then pour half of the icing on while cake is still in the pan. Soak in icing for 10 minutes more then turn it out on cake plate. Brush with remaining icing and cool completely.

Icing:
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 cup water
1/8 cup vodka
1/8 cup kahlua

combine sugar, butter and water in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Cool. Before icing cake add the vodka and kahlua using a whisk. Enjoy

Kalua Pig

(This post is by my good friend Candy, who is a fabulous cook. She has also gone gluten-free and dairy-free over the past year.  When cooking gluten-free, be sure to ALWAYS check the label on your ingredients. Gluten varies from brand-to-brand on every product.  I asked Candy to share one of her favorite recipes with us, and I'm taking editorially liberty and inserting photos into her recipe since she didn't have any to post.  ~ Laurie)

Kalua Pig
 
This is a much requested recipe I received from a really good friend who grew up in Hawaii. It is one of the most authentic and easy recipes in my recipe box!

Prep time:   20 minutes, plus at least 1 hour to marinate 
Cook time:   3-5 hours

• 2 teaspoons powdered ginger
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
• 1/4 cup Aloha Shoyu (Hawaiian Soy Sauce, available at Asian markets and wal-mart)
• 1 Tablespoon Rock Salt (available at Asian markets, may be labeled as Hawaiian Rock Salt) or use 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt or ice cream rock salt
  
• 1 Tablespoon Liquid smoke
• 2-4 pound pork butt
• 1 medium sized cabbage

How To:

• Spray aluminum foil and roasting pan with Pam. Make a cross with your foil (be very generous with your cross over or all the juice will run out into your pan and not marinate your meat while cooking!!) and place the pork butt in the middle of it.

• Mix together all the above ingredients EXCEPT cabbage to make your marinade. Pour over the meat and wrap the foil as tightly as possible. Let sit marinating at least 1 hour (I sometimes let it marinate overnight).

• Heat oven to 325. Place in oven for 3-4 hours. Do not open the oven...just let it go and check it at the 4 hour mark (for bigger piece of pork). The longer the better really!! The meat should just fall off the bone.

• Remove from oven and let sit about 10 minutes. Open up and start shredding with 2 dinner forks. (if the meat if hard to shred with the forks then it is not ready yet!!) Shred pork and place in a big stock pot.

• Chop up cabbage in skinny strips and throw into the pot with the pork. Using a baster suck up some of the pork juice from the pan and squeeze it over the pork. I use at least 1/2 of the juices. Heat the pot over medium low heat for 30 minutes to an hour. Stirring every 10-15 minutes.

• Sprinkle a few pinches of the rock salt into the pot and pour another 2-3 tablespoons of Shoyu over it as well. Once the cabbage is cooked thru and the pork is hot it is ready!!

Serve with sticky white rice. We use Shoyu to pour over it again once I've served it up. Enjoy!!

Tex-Mex Chicken Club

I was watching Rachael Ray the other day and she made this club sandwich recipe. I thought it looked good, knew my husband would love it (his fav Red Robin burger is the one that comes with an egg...Royal Burger) so had to try it myself. I didn't add the jalapeno, cuz I was serving it to the kids and needed to take the spice out. I also didn't add the chili powder to their chicken. I loved the guacamole with the bacon in it (what is it Rachael says..yum-o).

The verdict was good from all, though it took me awhile to convince my 5 year old that there was just guacamole in it (which she ate) and no avocados (shhh, don't tell.) And please, please, don't even tell me how many calories are in this...I can only imagine a zillion trillion...but it sure was tasty!!

Tex-Mex Chicken Club

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 4 slices smoky bacon, chopped
• 2 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 large ripe avocado
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, grated or pasted
• 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 large eggs
• 4 deli slices Pepper jack cheese or cheddar cheese
• 8 slices white or wheat Pullman bread, toasted
• 4 slices ripe tomato
• 4 leaves leaf lettuce

Preparation

Heat a drizzle of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon to the skillet and cook until crisp, 3-4 minutes. Drain the bacon and reserve. Wipe out all but 1 tablespoon of the drippings. Halve the chicken breasts crosswise, producing four cutlets. Add the cutlets to the skillet and season with salt, pepper, cumin, oregano and chili powder. Cook the chicken for 3 minutes one each side, until golden and firm.

Mash the avocado with the onion, garlic, jalapeño and the the zest and juice of 1 lime. Stir in the bacon bits. Taste the guacamole and season with a pinch or two of salt, to taste.

Remove the chicken from the skillet, then wipe clean and reduce the heat to medium. Add the butter and melt it. Fry the eggs to medium or well-done, 4-5 minutes, turning after 3 minutes. Melt the cheese over each egg under loose foil – tent in last minute or so of cooking time.

Place each fried eggs on a piece of toast, then top with the thin chicken cutlet, lettuce, tomato and bacon guacamole. Set the toast tops in place and cut corner to corner to serve.

Autumn Sausage Casserole

This is an easy, yummy dish that is like eating a bowl full of Fall. It was originally from the Taste of Home magazine website, but I found it on my favorite crockpot website. The only raisins left in the house was one small box, so I also added a small box of craisins to equal 1/2 cup, which I think just intensified the fall flavor. I was also out of brown sugar, but you couldn't tell. It seemed sweet enough for me with the apples and cinnamon. I doubled the spices and put it in my crockpot all day.



Autumn Sausage Casserole

• 4-6 Servings
• Prep: 20 min. Bake: 25 min.

Ingredients

• 1 pound bulk pork sausage
• 1 medium apple, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
  
• 3 cups cooked long grain rice
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup minced parsley
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions

• In a large skillet, cook the sausage, apple, onion and carrots over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
• Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Tomato Sauce for Pasta

I'm fairly certain everyone has a favorite tomato sauce recipe, but on the chance you don't, here's a super easy one that will have your family impressed and satisfied.  The great thing about this recipe is you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry and fridge.  The second great thing is this makes enough to feed 8 adults, have some for lunch the next day, and have at least a jar to freeze.

Prep time:   maybe 30 minutes at most depending on interruptions

Cook time:   8-10 hours on low, or 4-5 on high.  Low is better.

Ingredients:

52 ounces canned diced tomatoes
30 ounces plain, canned tomato sauce
1 can store bought spaghetti sauce, Trader Joes has great ones
16 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 lb mild italian sausage, or your favorite meat
½ to 1 cup chianti
1 or 2 tablespoon splenda
⅔ cup chopped bell pepper
2 garlic clove, minced
1 small can tomato paste

  

Directions:
Add the ground meat to the crockpot (no need to brown it). Dump in all the cans of tomatoes, and break the ground meat up with a large spoon. Stir in all the other ingredients.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.  Serve over your favorite pasta.

Tip:  Freeze leftovers in canning jars; they defrost in the microwave really easily .

Mom's Old Fashioned Soft Rolled Sugar Cookies

Okay...this recipe does not fall into the healthy category ANYWHERE and goes against everything we are trying to accomplish, but I guarantee you that this is the BEST sugar cookie recipe ever! I get a lot of requests for it, so I'm posting it to this site. I haven't made it in awhile so I don't have a picture. I might soon though as I usually make them every Halloween. I used to make them and invite all the neighbor kids over to help decorate. It was a fun neighborhood thing to do. Now I have my own kids help decorate.



Mom's Old Fashioned Soft Rolled Cookies


Cream together:
1/2 cup margarine (see I told you)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla or 1 tsp nutmeg

Then add:
1/2 cup thick sour cream

Then add flour mixture:
3 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 salt

Roll out on lightly floured surface to 1/4" thickness. Cut with favorite cookie cutters. Bake 400 degree. 7-10 minutes. Decorate with frosting.


This is my mom's frosting recipe that we've always used, but this here is a link to the ultimate frosting. I think it should work well with decorating sugar cookies, too.

Frosting

1 1/2# powdered sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup crisco
5 T milk
3-6 squirts white vanilla concentrated (I found this at Michael's in the cake decorating section of the store)
Food coloring

Beat trans-fat, uh, I mean, margarine and crisco, the add sugar. Add milk one tablespoon at a time until slightly runny but still thick enough to decorate. Add vanilla then food coloring. We usually put a small amount in cereal bowls and added the various food coloring to it so we would have all the colors we needed.

Jack-o-Lantern Soup

Welcome October! In light of the season, here is a festive, fun recipe that I added some of my own tweaks to make it kid and family friendly. I saw the base of this recipe in a coffee table type book at a friend's house. I scribbled it down on a scrap paper and brought it home.

I didn't call it pumpkin soup because I didn't want to have any confusion because there isn't any pumpkin in it. It sounded like something that would be a good starter course, so I also cooked a roast beef in the crockpot all day that went along nicely with it.

Adding the decorative ranch dressing face in it was an idea I stole from another magazine. The kids loved it! Might be the only reason they tried it. I did have one child that claimed that she didn't like it. This is the same one that had a very empty bowl of soup at her plate, so I don't think she knew what she was talking about. If you add the dressing to the individual soup bowls, you can make it dairy free. Oh, and before adding the peanut butter, I took out a bowl full and fed it to the baby. He didn't like it, but he was also overtired and only wanted mommy's milk and sleep. He'll get it tomorrow and hopefully like it, too.



Jack-a-Lantern Soup
aka Carrot Peanut Soup

Makes 8 half-cup servings

1 # carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
3 cups chicken broth
2 Tb smooth peanut butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Ranch dressing

Place carrots, apples, and chicken broth in a saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover pan and simmer until carrots and apples are soft, about 10 minutes. Place soup in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade (a blender would work, too). Process until smooth. Pour soup back into the saucepan and stir in peanut butter until texture is smooth. Season to taste and gently reheat. Take ranch dressing and carefully pour out in soup bowls making jack-o-lantern face on top of soup. If your dressing doesn't have a spout, pour dressing into zip lock baggie, snip bottom corner and decorate soup with a jack-o-lantern face!

Casserole-Roasted Chicken or Trying to cook like Julia Childs

One afternoon this week I found myself with a defrosted whole chicken, Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”...and our afternoon nannie. Yes! I finally get to try out a recipe without interruption. With much anticipation I chose Poulet Poele a L’estragon a L' Face Duxelles which is translated:  Casserole Roasted Chicken with Tarragon and Mushroom Stuffing. Apparently this happens to be Meryl Streep’s favorite Julia recipe. Who knew!

I will not be posting the recipe, here’s link. It’s on page 250 - 252 of the book. 

First, I began to make the mushroom stuffing. But I’m quickly stopped by “saute the gizzard”...that is after peeling and mincing it.  Peel and mince a gizzard???  Ok, so I’m totally unclear exactly what part the gizzard actually is.

I look on the wrapper of my chicken (while being quite certain that Julia’s chicken NEVER came in a wrapper) and it says “some of the gibblets may be missing”.  What?!?!  What’s the difference between a gizzard and a gibblet??? Someone please enlighten me!

There are some parts inside my chicken, and altho I’m quite certain that Foster Farms hasn’t placed anything inside the chicken that would kill a person and ignite a law suit, I move on, deciding to omit the gizzard.  I do know what the chicken liver looks like, and being that fried liver & onions is one of my MOST favorite foods ever, I chop the liver and saute it. Knowing that by the time it reaches my husband and kids they’ll never know what went into it.

After prepping and sauteing and browning,  I have to mention that I am utterly, unabashedly, overwhelmingly impressed that Julia translated this whole blasted cookbook from French to English, and even moreso, I'm astounded that Julie (the blogger in the movie) undertook cooking all these recipes after working all day and cooking them in a 900 sq ft apartment. Did you see the size of her kitchen!?! My laundry room is bigger than that.  Let me say, after this one recipe, my kitchen is a Mess.

Oh, by the way, there are only 11 Tbsp of butter and about 3 Tbsp of oil in this recipe. No wonder this is without a doubt the most incredible roasted chicken I have ever made. Wonderfully moist, tender and flavorful.

Four hours later, my kitchen smells incredibly homey, and my family loves the chicken. My hubby and lil guy love the stuffing - and still have no idea what’s in it - , while the other son won’t touch it. Oh well, can’t please everyone.