We love pumpkin around here!!! But you already know that, since I mentioned it last week. This week we found a new pumpkin recipe - Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread. Moist, delicious...the kids can't get enough of it. It was so good that we actually made it twice in one week! We made it on Saturday, and then we made it again on Tuesday night. Clearly, this was a keeper recipe!
Also, except for during the summer, we like to have soup once a week. We are a soup family. For years my husband kept asking for beef stew, and I tried quite a few out. I can honestly say I did not like a single recipe I tried...until I found the one I am going to share with you this week. Of course, I don't really like red meat, so you are probably wondering how it is that I would ever really love a beef stew. I'll admit it, I was on the hunt for a recipe he would love and that I could tolerate. But once I finally stumbled across the one that is listed here, I found I could love a beef stew! The secret to this one is that you don't cook it all for the same length of time. The carrots and potatoes go in only for the last hour, and the peas only go in once you take the stew out of the oven and let them cook for five minutes while you get everyone to the table! There's the genius in the recipe...cook the meat for a while, and the veggies only as long as they need! If I can find it in my heart to love this beef stew, you just might, too!
And if you do have a soup recipe you want to share with me...send it along! We are always looking for a new recipe to try for soup night!
New Recipe
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
Tried and True
Beef Stew
Friday, September 30, 2011
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
Ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1 cup pumpkin puree
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1/3 cup water
* 2 eggs
* 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 tsp ground cinnamon
* 1 tsp ground nutmeg
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 3/4 teaspoons salt
* 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, vanilla and eggs. Beat until smooth. Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Bake for about 70 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before removing from pan.
Notes
I also like to trace my pan on parchment paper and put it in the bottom of the loaf pan just to guarantee the loaf will pop out without any trouble!
Beef Stew
Ingredients
* 2- 3 lbs boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
* salt and pepper
* 3 tbsp of vegetable oil
* 2 onions, minced
* 1 tbsp tomato paste
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
*3 tbsp AP flour
* 1 cup dry red wine
* 2 cups chicken broth
* 1 tbsp minced fresh thyme (1 tsp of dried)
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 1/2 lbs of potatoes, peeled, and cut into uniform chunks
* 4 carrots peeled and cut into uniform chunks
* 1 cup frozen peas
Directions
1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle, and set oven temp to 300.
2. Dry the beef with a paper towel, then season with salt and pepper. Brown the beef in one tbsp of the oil in two batches over medium high heat, adding another tbsp of oil for the second batch. Use a dutch oven, as you can put this in the oven when it is time to do so. Reserve the browned beef on a plate or in a bowl.
3. Heat the final tbsp of oil and add the onions. Cook about 5 minutes or until softened.
4. Stir in the tomato paste and garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
5. Add the flour and cook for one minute.
6. Slowly stir in the wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
7. Stir in the stock, thyme, bay leaves. Add the beef back to the pot. Bring the stew to a simmer, then cover and transfer to the oven.
8. Cook for 1 hour.
9. Open the open the pot and stir in the potatoes and carrots. Cover again, and cook for an additional hour.
10. Remove the pot from the oven, stir in the peas and cover again. Let the pot stand off the heat for 5 minutes.
11. Remove the bay leaves, and serve!
Notes
I buy a chuck roast and cut my own stew beef - it definitely makes a difference as it ensures the beef pieces are all cut about the same size. Also, remember my tip about tomato paste? If you open a new can for this recipe and only need the one tbsp, mound out tbsp portions on wax paper and freeze. Once frozen, put them in a freezer bag and you'll have recipe ready tomato paste when you need it! And finally, for cooking wine...you should be able to drink the wine you cook with - so here is what I do: I like to keep those little 4 packs of wine in my pantry - the ones that are about 6 oz to the bottle. They are good enough the drink, so they are perfect for cooking! No need to open a whole bottle if you only need a cup or so...though opening a bottle is also a great idea. If you do open a bottle, serve the rest with dinner!
One more tip...don't try to double this recipe for a bigger crowd. I tried to double it for a dinner party, and the stew definitely wasn't as good as it always is when I just follow the recipe listed here!
Friday, September 23, 2011
September 23, 2011
Fall is officially here! Now I can pull out my pumpkin recipes without fear of raising eyebrows. I can buy pumpkins from the patch and process them to freeze for use all winter. I can make pumpkin waffles, cookies, bread, muffins, cakes! Bring on the pumpkins! Of course...I don't have any pumpkin recipes this week...but suffice it say, I will have at least one for you next week! Can you tell - I love pumpkin!
This week we had again one of my favorite recipes I've tried for this blog - Buffalo Chicken Lasagna. If this one even remotely catches your eye, I think you absolutely should try it. First, it is a slow cooker recipe. That alone wins it points because the crock pot is doing all the heavy lifting when it comes to getting dinner on the table the night you serve a meal from it. Second...who doesn't love pasta? And third...I've always said that if I were stranded on a desert island, I would bring peppers - all kinds, all colors. This recipe has sweet peppers, hot sauce made from hot peppers, and we threw in a few jalapenos for good measure.
But, the new recipes that we tried this week that made it to keeper status - another crock pot recipe and a peanut butter frosting recipe. Very different, I know, I know. I had to try the Balsamic Chicken recipe that I came across on Facebook from Crock Pot Girls. And as for the frosting...well, let's just say that one of my best friends introduced me to frosted brownies not too long ago. And this summer one of my sisters-in-law made chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. So, of course, why not marry brownies with peanut butter frosting? You be the judge!!!
New Recipes
Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken
Peanut Butter Frosting
This week we had again one of my favorite recipes I've tried for this blog - Buffalo Chicken Lasagna. If this one even remotely catches your eye, I think you absolutely should try it. First, it is a slow cooker recipe. That alone wins it points because the crock pot is doing all the heavy lifting when it comes to getting dinner on the table the night you serve a meal from it. Second...who doesn't love pasta? And third...I've always said that if I were stranded on a desert island, I would bring peppers - all kinds, all colors. This recipe has sweet peppers, hot sauce made from hot peppers, and we threw in a few jalapenos for good measure.
But, the new recipes that we tried this week that made it to keeper status - another crock pot recipe and a peanut butter frosting recipe. Very different, I know, I know. I had to try the Balsamic Chicken recipe that I came across on Facebook from Crock Pot Girls. And as for the frosting...well, let's just say that one of my best friends introduced me to frosted brownies not too long ago. And this summer one of my sisters-in-law made chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. So, of course, why not marry brownies with peanut butter frosting? You be the judge!!!
New Recipes
Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken
Peanut Butter Frosting
Balsamic Chicken
Ingredients
* 2 T olive oil
* 4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
* 1 thinly sliced onion
* ground black pepper and salt to taste
* 1 tsp each: dried oregano, basil, and rosemary
* 1/2 tsp thyme
* 4 garlic cloves
* 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
* 2 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
Directions
1. Pour the olive oil on bottom of crock pot
2. Place the chicken breasts in the crock, salt and pepper each breast
3. Put sliced onion on top of chicken
4. Mix the dried herbs and sprinkle them over the onions and chicken; toss in the garlic cloves
5. Pour the vinegar over the herbs, and finally top with tomatoes
6. Cook on low for 8 hours or high 4 hours; serve over angel hair pasta
Notes
This does smell like vinegar when it first begins to cook, so if you don't like that aroma, perhaps put the dish together and head out for a little while. I love balsamic vinegar and didn't mind the smell, but just thought it fair to warn you. Also, I sprayed my crock pot as I always do, even though the first ingredient into the pot is olive oil.
The chicken is delicious, and it makes a wonderful sauce for over the chicken and pasta. I shredded the chicken and mixed it into the spaghetti and it was great; you can use whatever pasta you have on hand. It is so nice to come across a great and easy recipe that doesn't call for a cream soup, or for an extra step at the end to thicken the sauce before serving. Just follow the directions, and in 4 hours you'll be serving a great meal! I had it for leftovers for lunch a few days later, and it was still fantastic! This recipe has definitely found its way into my keeper file!
Even the kids loved this one!!!
My sister made this on low, and it still turned out great!
Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
* 1 sticks unsalted butter, softened
* 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 10 oz confectioners’ sugar, sifted
* 2-3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
* Pinch of salt
Directions
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, cream butter and peanut butter on medium speed until fluffy. Turn your mixer down to low speed and slowly add in the confectioner’s sugar; continue mixing until well blended.
2. Add vanilla and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream/milk. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add an additional cream/milk until you reach the desired consistency.
3. Beat at high speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy.
Notes
This will make enough to frost a large pan of brownies, 18-24 cupcakes, or whatever else "needs" peanut butter frosting. I actually only had just under 7 tbsp of butter on hand and used milk, and the recipe worked well!
What else to put this on besides brownies? Perhaps use it as a sandwich filling between two chocolate cookies? Chocolate bundt cake? Spread it on graham crackers? Hmmm....
Friday, September 16, 2011
September 16, 2011
We have a food budget each week, and I am pretty good at sticking to it. We pay for groceries in cash so that we don't go over, and we know how much is left after shopping. If there is money remaining at the end of the week (doubtful), it is added to the next week (those are the weeks that shrimp dishes make it on the menu plan!). This week, I had some left over which was a surprise. I decided to see if I could just use that to cover the groceries. I have stand up freezer in the garage so I knew we'd have plenty of options for protein in the dishes, and the pantry was decently stocked. So, I picked up bread, lunch meat, apples, milk and so forth, and then have been cooking with everything else that was on hand.
My biggest concern that I had was that I might not be able to try out any new dishes this week! But, I had some leftover sour cream and a handful of blueberries in the fridge (left from the blueberry muffin experiment of last week), so I started to research waffle recipes. My kids love blueberry Eggo waffles, so I thought maybe I could create something similar. I didn't find one that exactly fit the ingredients I had on hand, so I combined a few recipes I came across and I must say, the waffles were quite delicious! After making the batter I split it up so that I could mix in the small amount of blueberries I had in the fridge. Once the blueberry waffles batter was used, I took another small amount of the batter and mixed in handful of chocolate chips (Hannah will love these!). In the end I made 2 blueberry waffles, 2 chocolate chip waffles and 4 regular waffles. Waffles reheat beautifully in the toaster oven, so I just threw them in the fridge. If you make a bigger batch, they also freeze wonderfully well!
Because of the limited budget, we had some staple dinners this week - tacos, spaghetti with some of my meat sauce from the freezer, a slow cooker meal we simply call "http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifcrock beef". It got so chilly this week that it seemed completely appropriate to cook what is traditionally an autumn or winter meal. Originally from my mother, she called this meal crock pot beef, but I wrote it down quickly when she gave it to me over the phone, and ever since then (for years and years - we've had this recipe since I was first married), we've called it crock beef. My kids think it is delicious, and you could even serve it to guests for Sunday dinner. It doubles well, and reheats for great leftovers!
New Recipes
Waffles
Tried and True
Crock Beef
My biggest concern that I had was that I might not be able to try out any new dishes this week! But, I had some leftover sour cream and a handful of blueberries in the fridge (left from the blueberry muffin experiment of last week), so I started to research waffle recipes. My kids love blueberry Eggo waffles, so I thought maybe I could create something similar. I didn't find one that exactly fit the ingredients I had on hand, so I combined a few recipes I came across and I must say, the waffles were quite delicious! After making the batter I split it up so that I could mix in the small amount of blueberries I had in the fridge. Once the blueberry waffles batter was used, I took another small amount of the batter and mixed in handful of chocolate chips (Hannah will love these!). In the end I made 2 blueberry waffles, 2 chocolate chip waffles and 4 regular waffles. Waffles reheat beautifully in the toaster oven, so I just threw them in the fridge. If you make a bigger batch, they also freeze wonderfully well!
Because of the limited budget, we had some staple dinners this week - tacos, spaghetti with some of my meat sauce from the freezer, a slow cooker meal we simply call "http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifcrock beef". It got so chilly this week that it seemed completely appropriate to cook what is traditionally an autumn or winter meal. Originally from my mother, she called this meal crock pot beef, but I wrote it down quickly when she gave it to me over the phone, and ever since then (for years and years - we've had this recipe since I was first married), we've called it crock beef. My kids think it is delicious, and you could even serve it to guests for Sunday dinner. It doubles well, and reheats for great leftovers!
New Recipes
Waffles
Tried and True
Crock Beef
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