Crockpot Barbacoa Beef w/ Cilantro Lime Rice & Corn Salsa

David may or may not have professed his love to me all over again after he took a bite of this dinner tonight.

I completely felt the same way.

Have you ever had the shredded beef at Chipotle? I actually never have, but apparently this is a recipe that is modified based off of that one. It's from none other than my new favorite blog - Skinny Taste - and it gave me my Weight Watcher points and everything.

I made the barbacoa beef this morning in my crockpot and it smelled so amazing all day. I used "eye of round beef roast" for my meat and I only used 2 chilis in adobo sauce so that it wasn't overly spicy. It was perfect. I am going to give you the link for the Barbacoa beef recipe, and then she has a link to both the cilantro lime rice and the corn salsa. You HAVE to make these two things with it. The rice was absolutely amazing. I used white Jasmine rice because I thought it would work well and it did. The corn salsa was so yummy on top of it all. As you can see in the pics - I just made it like a burrito bowl. I scooped David's into corn tortillas, but I liked mine all piled on top of each other on my plate.

I can promise you if you like Mexican food - this will make you happy in every way! Please try it and please tell me if you did and what you thought. I love to hear feedback!



I hope your night is a great one! I can't wait to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. :-)

Spicy Beef Tacos

Photo Source

I forgot to take a picture of our awesome dinner last night, but I grabbed the Weight Watchers site picture so you could see what they looked like.

This was my first time trying this recipe and David's words were, "those are the best tacos you've ever made. Please do those again!"

Score!!

You will want to try these - and soon!

Here's the recipe.

Parents Review: We loved it! The cumin was nice. I didn't have any coriander, so I just added a little dry cilantro. So, so good!

Kids Review: I made them chicken nuggets. They don't do spicy. :-)

Beef Stroganoff - in the crockpot

This is a new recipe for me that I found online on one of my searches. This is how I tend to find a lot of the things I cook because I will have a craving and I just start searching until I find a recipe that looks like it will be a good one.

I loved the beef sirloin tip in this dish. So tender and tons of flavor. I bought the thinly sliced ones at my local grocery store. It called for 1 1/2 lbs. of meat, but I could only find packages that were either just a little over a pound, or 3 lbs or more. I opted to have a little less meat and I also skipped out on the mushrooms that this recipe called for. But if you like them, I'm sure it would give a lot more fullness to this dish. It was very rich and a bit tangy. It calls for 2 Tbsp of Mustard that you add at the end along with some flour, water and an 8 oz carton of sour cream (I opted for Light S.C.). So, I think that the Mustard and also the Worcestershire gives it some real zip. I really liked it at first, but couldn't decide if I loved it. It was a different flavor for me. But I think it kept growing on me because I couldn't keep out of it. I am craving the rich flavor and am REALLY looking forward to diving into my leftovers tomorrow.

Here's a link to the recipe. Please let me know if you try this one. I love hearing feedback and if you guys loved or hated the dish and if you are enjoying the food I am posting. Interaction is my favorite part about blogging, so don't be silent out there. :-)



Parents Review: One thumb up. David was working tonight, so he hasn't had any yet, but I LOVE it. I think he will too!

Kids Review: Little Girl gagged and made all this drama when she half licked at it, but then I forced her to chew and swallow a real piece and she changed her tune and said, "MMMM. Now that was really great!" Such a stinker. Baby Boy gobbled it up. They both love red meat. We don't eat it all that often, but when we do, they both tend to be happy campers!

Sesame Beef Stir-Fry minus the picture

Oops! We totally downed this yummy dinner tonight before I flew out the door to church with Little Girl and forgot to take a picture of this meal.

Duh!!

Baby Boy is sick.....again.....still.......continually.....oh my word this season!!! He already had one round of a 6 day fever and then he had a break of about a week and now he is doing it again. I thought he was better as of Tuesday and then, BAM, 104 fever strikes again every day without fail. Heading to the doctor tomorrow.

I blame the fever on the lack of picture.

So, anyway. Let me just tell you how yummy this meal is AND good for you. It gives you the feel that you are eating something naughty and from a Chinese take-out place, minus all the calories. Again, this is one of those recipes where you NEED Sesame Oil to give it all the great asian flavor, so don't substitute!

Well, trust me that it was yummy and also very pretty to look at.

Here's the recipe for your enjoyment. It's from a "Body for Life" cookbook that we bought like 7 years ago when Dave lost a bunch of weight with it and we still cook about 10 of their recipes. They are so good!!

Let me know if you try it.

Sesame Beef Stir Fry - from "Body for Life"

Ingredients

2 portions brown rice (About 1/2 cup uncooked)
2 portions lean ground beef (about 1/2 pound)
1 Tbsp toased sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, sliced
1 cup broccoli slaw
1 cup napa cabbage
1 Tbsp lite soy sauce
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Cook your brown rice according to directions. While it's cooking, brown your meat, drain and set aside. In same pan, add Sesame oil and saute green onions and garlic for 2 minutes. Add your broccoli slaw and napa cabbage and saute for 2 more minutes. Add back in your meat and your cooked rice and toss together in your pan. Add Soy sauce and crushed red pepper flakes and serve.

Side note: I use WAY more soy sauce than they say. We like the Soy!

Parents Review: Love it!
Kids Review: I just separate them out some of the meat, the brown rice and some peas. They wouldn't eat it with all the green in there and all of the flavors. They are a simple folk. :-)

Meatball Sub Casserole

COMFORT FOOD ALERT!!!

My friend Carli who is one of my favorite little cooks posted this great recipe on her recipe blog which is called The Dinner Drama. When I saw this recipe on her site - I started drooling and knew I had to try it.

Here's the recipe from The Dinner Drama


Parents Review: I had a love/hate with mine once I made it. I was in LOVE with the flavors and all the comfort of this dish, but I have to admit that I didn't love the frozen meatballs (I used a name brand italian meatball from Walmart I believe). I think next time I will make my own. Secondly, my bread was a little soggy and texture-wise, it didn't set well with me. I talked to Carli and my friend Julie who made it and they said their bread was crispy. I would lessen the water next time and not put all the sauce on it. I have heard tons of great things about this recipe, but I know I'm not the only one who has had the soggy bread issue. I will make again and give it another go, because seriously, flavor-wise - it was perfect!

Kids Review: Little Girl who is picky beyond belief wouldn't eat it. She asked for leftover Salmon and broccoli, and yes my friends, that is what this child ate for dinner. Baby Boy devoured every single bite and loved it!

I would love to hear if any of you girls make this and what your experience is. Your feedback is so fun to get and use to tweak my recipes!

Thanks Carli for this yummy comfort recipe!

Momma's Beef Stew

I have been eating my mom's beef stew since way before I can even remember. When winter time comes, inevitably so does this dish on our kitchen table.

And it MUST be served with home-made biscuits. No question.

I made this for all of us on Christmas Eve and I forgot to get a good picture, so forgive the ones that I am including, they were a last minute remembrance.

It's super thick and a stick to your ribs kind of stew.


Here's the recipe:

2 lbs. lean beef stew meat
Cut into bite size pieces (if they aren't already), dredge with flour and brown well in large pot in a little bit of olive oil.
After meat is browned on all sides - add 4 Cups of Water, a little pepper and 2 tsp. Salt

Bring to a boil - then simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours. Add 1 small chopped onion to pot, along with chopped carrots and cubed potatoes (just enough to make it full of meat and veggies). I think I used 6 yukon gold potatoes and about 1/2 bag of baby carrots - chopped.

Salt again. Cook another 45 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Serve with biscuits. My mom makes them from scratch, but I have to confess and tell you that I love the Bisquick biscuit recipe on the back of the box. They always turn out big and fluffy and they are awesome. We like to throw a biscuit in with our stew to eat, we like to put butter or jelly on a couple on the side and then at the end - NO, I am not kidding - we like to pour syrup over a biscuit or two to polish off this meal. I have no idea how we started eating them like this, but I have done it since I was a kid, and it's so amazing! Can you tell I eat like 15 biscuits with every bowl? Yeah. I was hoping you wouldn't pick up on that.

:-)

You will love this. It takes time, but it is SO SIMPLE and so good.

Parents Review: Yay!
Kids Review: They both love it!

The ROAST that didn't go as planned

You know when you have this reputation set up that you are a good cook and people start thinking that you don't ever make mistakes? First of all - that is laughable since I make mistakes all the time - ask the family! But, anyhoo.........And, then you invite some newer friends over for a nice home-cooked meal for the VERY FIRST time and they are all excited to try it? You know when you start to panic because you are worried it won't taste as good as they hope it will?

This was Monday night. Our new friends, Meredith and Jason, came over for dinner expecting culinary goodness (poor guys).

I know BETTER than to try out a new recipe when guests come to visit, but I was craving ROAST and I thought it sounded not only delicious but fairly easy. Plus - I had found a recipe that called for red wine in it and, well, you usually can't go wrong with that ingredient in my book. I went to the grocery store and asked the butcher to verify that the cut of meat I was getting was the kind that would fall apart - not the kind that you end up having to slice. I told him how I was cooking it (on 225 degrees for 4 hours in the oven) and what I was expecting. He confirmed my choices and I was on my way. Many dollars later, but I wanted a good roast.

I seared my meat. I added my seasonings. I poured in the red wine, and I added my carrots and potatoes (my favorite part of a roast meal actually). I popped it in the oven and enjoyed the beautiful smells all day long.

I held great anticipation waiting to taste and see what had been cooking all afternoon. I started to sweat when I opened the lid at 6:30 with guests looking onward and I stuck my fork in it.

It didn't budge much when I did this. There certainly was NO falling apart. I started to use my knife and it didn't cut real well either. I tasted a piece and it was tough and flavorless.

I was MORTIFIED!!

Now, listen, if it had been a family member or a friend that I had cooked for many other times, than I wouldn't have been all that bothered, but seriously - they had never been here before!

Plus she knows I have this recipe blog thing! Not that I know what that is supposed to mean! :-)

Again, MORTIFIED!

After I pulled out this slab of meat and couldn't determine if it was undercooked or way overcooked or I don't know what.


We ultimately ordered one of these.


And I know that our friends were super impressed with how Rosati's made their gourmet pizza.

My only redeeming factor was that I had made up some dough earlier that day for chocolate peanut butter cookies and I baked them up fresh and warm and scooped some "Moose Tracks" ice cream over the top for dessert.

The other thing that was good was that my MIL told me that some stores will actually refund your money if you have a bad experience with their meat and I called Price Cutter and told them my sob story of how I followed the directions and I really do know how to cook and I have no idea what happened and blah, blah, blah, and guess what?

I took my receipt in the next day and they gave me my money back! Can you believe it?

So, see there? It looks like it wasn't me after all. It was just a really bad piece of meat.

:-)

Yeah.

Here's the recipe I used. Anybody have a clue what I might have done wrong? I'm officially scared to ever make a roast again.

I won't even bother with Parents Review/Kids Review: We didn't eat it.

The pizza was 2 thumbs up though!!

Check back tomorrow and I will be posting a recipe for cake balls that you may want to whip up for your holiday goodies this year!

Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup

Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed (mild or spicy depending on your preference) - I actually use the ground sausage in the tube. My favorite is the "Sage" flavor.
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups beef stock
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
28 oz. can peeled tomatoes, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
8 oz. can tomato sauce
3 zucchini, chopped
8 ounces cheese tortellini (I use whole wheat)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tbs. chopped fresh parsley
Grated parmesan cheese for topping

Brown the sausage in a large pot. Drain all the grease except for 1 tablespoon, then add the onions and garlic and saute for 5 more minutes.

Add the beef stock, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the zucchini, tortellini, green bell pepper and parsley. Simmer until tortellini is cooked (about 8-10 minutes). Serve in bowls topped with grated parmesan cheese.
Here's the pasta I use -




Parents Review: This soup is just perfect in the comfort food/full of veggies, grains and protein so you can feel good about it, kind of way. We LOVE it.
Kids Review: Sometimes they like it, and sometimes they snub. Tonight, Baby Boy ate a few bites and Little Girl ate the tortellini, the sausage and the carrots. No zuchinni for her.

Check back next week for more fun recipes!

Pepperoncini Roast

I love a meal that requires minimal work, as in, you only have to throw like 3 things in your crock pot and let it cook all day and BAM, you're done.

The smell alone from this dish as it bubbles on your counter top will make you want to cook it every week.

I like to serve this roast shredded up on a kaiser roll with a slice of cheese -cheddar or provolone. Tonight I was running late and literally just ate that as my meal and for the kids they had that plus some applesauce. No veggie. I am a bad chef.

Oh and if you don't know what these peppers are. They are those little peppers in your salad at Olive Garden.

Here's the type of jar you are looking for at the store - over by the pickles.


Here's the difficult recipe.

Pepperoncini Roast.

2 1/2 - 3 lb. Bottom Round Roast
1 jar pepporoncini's - juice and all
1 can beef broth

Throw all these things in your crockpot. Put the lid on. Turn it on low. Let it cook alllllll day long, 7-8 hours. Take the roast out and shred it. It will be falling apart. Serve it up on a kaiser roll, with cheese if you desire and serve it with veggies or a salad or whatever. David and I like to serve it up with some of the juice from the peppers on the side and dip our sandwich in it. It definitely gives it a kick and a little extra spice, but we love it.



Parents Review: Easy, tastes awesome, yummy
Kids Review: Little Girl always grumbles, but she eats it. Baby Boy seems to really like it.

Barbecue Meatballs

Yes, I am posting another meatball recipe. Apparently, I have some cravings this week. This dinner is one of my husband's favorites. If I tell him to pick a meal he wants for the weekend or something special, he usually says "barbecue meatballs". The home-made sauce is very sweet and yummy and it actually reminds both of us of this Chinese dish we used to eat in California called "cherry chicken" and we ate that anytime we could. I guess that's why I started serving these meatballs over rice because it reminded us of that food so much.

I didn't get a picture of our meal, but we served the meatballs over brown rice (cooked in half water and half chicken broth) and with some steamed broccoli (salt and squeezed lemon over the top. Yummy). We had a new babysitter over to the house that we wanted to get to know, so we served her this.

We also served her some crustless pumpkin pie, but you will soon learn that I have a tiny obsession with these low-calorie treats all through this holiday season. Be fore-warned. :-)

Here's the recipe:

Barbecue Meatballs

Meatballs:
3 lbs. hamburger meat (I mix half ground round and half lean ground beef)
1 can evaporated milk (I use 2%)
2 eggs
2 Cups Oatmeal (old fashioned or quick cooking oats)
1 Cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Combine these ingredients and shape into walnut-sized meatballs. Line pan with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour (or less depending on your oven).

Sauce:
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
3 cups Ketchup
1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. Liquid Smoke
1 tsp. chili powder
a little bit of chopped onion (a few Tbsp or so)

Let the sauce simmer and add the meatballs when done baking. Serve over rice and add a veggie for an awesome meal!


Here's the pot with our leftovers. We gobbled a ton of them up!


Parents Review: One of our favorites!
Kids Review: Baby Boy devoured 2 of them and Little Girl ate 5! Hear that? 5!!

My "Amish" Beef & Noodles

If you read my main blog over at Me-Moddy, you might remember that I just got back from a trip to Amish Country with my mom and the girls on our annual road trip a couple of weeks ago.

I also mentioned that I had these most incredible Beef & Noodles while I was there and I asked one of the young amish girls if I could get their recipe. The first girl wasn't sure, but the girl next door at the bakery was eager to go find someone to tell me how to make it.

Well, I made it this weekend. I followed everything this woman said and it didn't quite taste like it did in Jamesport. It was missing something. So, I added a little brown gravy (straight from the 'ol McCormick red packet) and mixed it in. I definitely think they left something out in the disclosure of this recipe, but I'm not sure if it was gravy or something else.

Anyway, we did actually enjoy our meal this evening and thought the gravy did add something nice to the texture and flavor. I am still going to tweak it a little, but here's the recipe for you to do some of your own tweaking with maybe.

Beef & Noodles.

3-4 lb. bottom round roast
Sprinkle all over with Lawry's seasoning and black pepper.
Fill a roasting pan half full of water.
Cover with foil and put in the oven at 225 degrees ALL NIGHT LONG.
(I put mine in around 10 p.m and ended up letting it cook until 11:00 the next morning. I put mine at 200 degrees since I didn't want it to burn, but I think I should've done what they said at 225.) I don't think you can really do this wrong. I just took a fork and tried to start pulling it apart to see if it was ready.

Use the broth made in your roasting pan and fill up a pot. Add some canned beef broth (I used 2 cans). Boil some large flat noodles according to package directions.

Mix beef and noodles together when done. At this point, I decided to make some McCormick's "brown gravy" and mix it in and serve. I cooked some green peas to throw on the side and I liked the combo.

It really is a very good meal, it's just not what I remember it tasting like there. It could be the cut of meat I purchased, how long I cooked it, how I seasoned it.....who knows.

I'm gonna keep trying. I think it could totally be perfected. Give it a whirl and see what you can come up with!



I also made some Crustless Pumpkin Pie for our dessert. I'll post that recipe in the next couple of days!

Taco Soup

I'm starting the soup obsession in my house.

Who doesn't love a meal that has every food group in one pan and you can make fairly quickly and it practically screams COMFORT FOOD when you eat it? Or drink it as it were? Not sure. :-)

This taco soup recipe was another find from the internet and it is so easy and so, so tasty. We love bread in this house, but we try not to serve in addition to our meals very often, because, HELLO, the belly fat that I am already fighting in my mid-30's.

SO, we tend to serve this alone and I usually add some sour cream, a little cheese and sometimes some soup crackers (yes- I know this is a bread, but whatever)

Here's the recipe:

Cook Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef ( I use 1 lb. lean beef and 1 lb. ground turkey)
1 large onion, chopped
1 can pinto beans
1 can whole kernel corn ,drained
1 can stewed tomatoes - mexican style (I just used petite diced)
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 pkg. original hidden valley ranch dressing (dry)
2 1/2 cups water or more, to make soup broth
Preparation:

Brown ground beef and onions in a large pan, drain off fat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for an hour or so. When ready, serve in big soup bowls, and have a skillet of hot cornbread to eat, too.


Parent Reviews: Love it!
Kid Reviews: They love it too as long as there are crackers involved.

Lip-Smackin' Chili

It's that time of year.

The Chili & Cornbread time of year.

One of my favorites.

Here's a recipe that is nothing short of SIMPLE and DEE-licious.

1 1/2 lbs of lean ground beef or ground turkey
2 cans of beans, rinsed and drained (I use dark red kidney beans)
1 pkg. McCormick's Mild Chili seasoning
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced green chilis
a little sugar (a couple teaspoons or so)

I cook up my meat and then add in everything else. Let it simmer for about an hour. I sometimes add a little water to thin it out, but I just do it by how it looks.

I like to serve my chili with cornbread. I used Trader Joe's box mix this time, but you could use Jiffy Cornbread or even make your own.

I got a little creative and made little chili bites. How cute are these? I was just playing around, but it was kind of fun.



Something that we learned to do when we lived in California was to squeeze a lime wedge over our chili right before we eat it. It just adds this awesome punch and gives it the best flavor! I always put a little cheese, light sour cream and a few oyster crackers or Fritos on top of my chili bowl too - and that is just the perfect dinner for me.

**Forgot to post reviews.

Parents review: We love it. Could eat more than 2 bowls at a time. :-)
Kids review: They both love it as long as I add the oyster crackers or tortilla chips on top.

I hope your Mondays are great. Go to the store and get stuff to make Chili!

Pepper Steak over Rice

It was so fun doing the GIVEAWAY last week. I can't wait to hear what Lynn thinks of her cookie tin she received from Carol's Cookies. I hope they are a yummy treat for her (and her family if she should share!).

Sorry the recipes have been slow this past week, I mentioned the hubs is doing The Daniel's Fast with our church and therefore he eats very little, which means the cooking has been minimal. I did, however, whip up something last week while he was gone one night because I love it and he does not.

My mother-in-law gave me this recipe back when I was a newlywed and I love it because it is so easy and so flavorful! Plus - It's a crockpot dish and you know how I love my crockpot!!




Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 lbs. Cube Steak
2 Tbsp. Oil (I use Canola)
1/4 C Soy sauce (I use low-sodium)
1 tsp. Sugar
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
2 Large Green Bell Pepper (or whatever kind you like)

Pour oil in the bottom of the crock pot and add your cube steak. Just throw it in. Then add all the rest of your ingredients. Let cook on low all day (my big crock pot can cook it in about 4 hours though - it's fast).

**Add 1/2 Cup cold water and 1 Tbsp. cornstarch to thicken. I only do this half of the time. It's a little runnier if you don't, but I actually don't mind because the rice soaks it up. Chop up the meat mixture with a spoon and serve it over some brown rice.

Easy-Peezy. My kinda meal.

Parents Review: I LOVE it. David hates it and always has. He has issues with it not being thick enough. Whatev-ah
Kids Review: Little Girl tolerates it and Baby Boy loves it.

Give it a try and enjoy!