Crockpot Steak & Potatoes

It’s simple and makes the most delicious gravy.  I used top round steak, but you could make this with any kind of beef roast.  My favorite part about using a crock pot is that it doesn’t heat up the kitchen and you don’t have to worry about the food while it’s cooking.

What’s your favorite Crockpot meal?

Crockpot Steak & Potatoes

4 top round steak medallions, about an inch thick
1 jar (12 oz) medium chucky salsa (use mild if you prefer)
2 cups sliced portabella mushrooms
1 medium onion, sliced
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
12 small potatoes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water

Place steak in Crockpot. Cover with salsa, mushrooms & onion.  Stir in honey and teriyaki sauce.  Cook on high for 2 hours.  Add potatoes.  Cook on high for 2-3 more hours or until ready to serve. Mix cornstarch and cold water until dissolved and add to Crockpot.  Stir until gravy thickens and enjoy.

Corn Beef Hash

Growing up, if times were good, we'd have a beef roast for Sunday Dinner.  Then on Monday, Mom would make Hash.  I ran across this recipe and it brought back memories so I thought I'd share it with you.  This uses corned beef, but you could use any leftover meat.

Corn Beef Hash

Corned Beef
Milk
Potatoes
Salt and Pepper
Lump of Butter

Chop the meat fine, add the same bulk of potatoes or a little more. Put into a saucepan or spider a lump of butter the size of an egg, and a few spoonfuls of milk or water. When bubbling, put in the meat and potatoes, and a little salt and pepper, if you like. Stir for a while, then let it stand ten or fifteen minutes, until a crust is formed at the bottom. Loosen from the pan with a cake-turner. Turn a warm platter over it. Turn pan and hash together quickly and serve. If you have a scant quantity, place it on slices of toasted bread, which have been buttered and wet with hot water.

Baby Showers

Do you ever think about how many baby showers you've attended?  I've been to dozens and I bet many of you have been to several.  I always end up giving the same kinds of gifts so I was searching online the other day for something different.  Who knew that there were scrubs for kids?  And, cute little scrubs for babies too!  What a perfect idea for someone in the medical field!  Well, actually, I think it would be perfect for just about anyone and I have not seen any at showers that I've attended recently.  If you get a chance, check out their site:  http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Men/

Thankfully, I've never planned a shower all by myself, but I've helped out plenty of times.  And, I have to admit that I love the finger foods.  A quick and simple appetizer is to make Ham Roll-ups.  You just take cooked ham slices, dry them off and spread with flavored cream cheese - the savory kind you use for bagels.  Then roll them up and slice into bite-size pieces.  You don't need a toothpick as the cheese will hold it together.  But, they are very pretty with some fancy toothpicks added. 

What's your favorite finger food?

Of Spiders and Wasps

I recently had a run in with a spider and a wasp in the same day.  The spider bit the back of my leg.  And, the wasp got the back of my shoulder.  After the initial pain, my first thought was how soon I'd be sitting in a doctor's office.  Why is it we spend so much time there as we get older?  If I'm not too under the weather, I enjoy 'people watching' while in the waiting room.  Have you noticed how much scrub clothing has changed over the last few years? 

The uniforms out there are so much cuter these days.  I would imagine some of the designs are a comfort when 'little ones' are visiting the doctor.  Who wouldn't find scrubs covered with cuddly animals comforting?  After my last visit, I checked out http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/ and was amazed at the wide selection available.  Scrubs aren't just for nurses anymore. 

My bite and sting?  Thankfully, I didn't have an allergic reaction and I'll definitely be more careful in the future.  Funny thing is, I craved chicken soup!

Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce

Doesn't cheese make everything taste better?  I love this dish - not only because it's simple, but because it tastes so good.

 

CAULIFLOWER WITH CHEESE SAUCE

Select a medium-sized, firm cauliflower. Trim off leaves, cut off stalk, and soak one hour (head down) in cold salt water to cover. Cook (head up) until soft but not broken (about thirty minutes) in boiling salted water. Drain and place carefully in a buttered, shallow baking dish, pour over one and one-half cups of Cheese Sauce, sprinkle with buttered crumbs and place in oven until crumbs are browned. Serve in baking dish.

CHEESE SAUCE

3 tablespoons butter.
2 tablespoons flour.
½ teaspoon salt.
¹/₈ teaspoon pepper.
Few grains cayenne.
1½ cups hot milk.
½ cup cheese cut in small pieces.

Melt butter in a sauce-pan, add flour, mixed with seasonings, stir to a smooth paste; let cook one minute, stirring constantly. Pour on gradually hot milk and beat until smooth and glossy. Add cheese and when melted pour over cauliflower.

Big, Long Vacation

Content by Sol Rosales

It’s been really nice this year looking forward to such a big vacation so long and I can’t believe we’re getting close and about to leave in a few weeks! My husband and I are going to Hawaii for the very first time and I couldn’t be more pumped. We’ve got a really full itinerary full of everything from hiking volcanoes to eating at some pretty amazing restaurants and I’m going to have to figure out how in the world to pack for all the things we’ve got on the docket! I went to Http://HOME-alarm-systems.com/the other day since we’re going to be gone for close to two weeks and I’ve still got to finish up some stuff before I leave for work. I can’t believe it’s closing in and I’m going to be in Hawaii just a couple of weeks from now. That sounds so exotic and far away and I guess all it takes to get there is a short little plane ride! I’m not going to forget to take lots of sunscreen, either!

Summer Blackberry & Apple Crumble

Here’s a delicious guest recipe from one of my friends ‘across the pond’.

Summer Blackberry and Apple Crumble Recipe

It’s the beginning of August and it’s a lovely coincidence that both dessert apples and wild blackberries are ripening at the same time, as they make a perfect seasonal crumble recipe. Homemade Blackberry and Apple Crumble Recipe is the perfect comfort food this summer! Read on if you are interested to know how easy it is to make.

The ingredients you will need for the recipe, include 1 tablespoon of butter, 4 table spoons of sugar, 750g of Discovery or any other dessert apples, peeled, cored and sliced and 750g blackberries rinsed in cold water and drained.

For the crumble you’ll need 120g caster sugar, 60g medium oatmeal, 180g plain white flour and 120g unsalted butter.

Firstly, preheat the oven to gas 6/200C. Then start by putting the sugar, fruit, butter and two tablespoons of water in a pan and heat over a medium heat. Cook until the apples soften up and become stained with the blackberry juice. Remove from the heat and put into an ovenproof dish. They will cook further under the crumble, so it doesn’t matter if they aren’t fully cooked yet.

To make the crumble, rub in the butter, flour and oatmeal together until you have breadcrumbs and then stir in the sugar. Sprinkle the mixture all over the fruit in the dish and bake for about 30 minutes until the crumble is crisp and golden.

Serve the meal hot with ice-cream, double cream or custard.
 You don't have to be a top pastry chef with a restaurant insurance quote to make this recipe. It’s the perfect comfort food that’s easy to make and satisfying for everyone.

Other seasonal variations of the crumble include pear and blackcurrant for the summer, apple and quince in the autumn, forced rhubarb and ginger in the winter and ‘green’ rhubarb and Bramley apple in the spring.

Tomato Soup

In a world full of microwaves and pre-packaged foods, it's hard to remember sometimes that slower is better.  When was the last time you warmed up leftovers in an oven rather than a microwave?  It's how we used to do it.  Yes, it heats up the kitchen, but there is something delicious about leftover pizza warmed in an oven.  Have you ever made tomato soup?  I don't mean opening a can, adding milk and heating it on the stove.  I mean real home-made tomato soup.  The mere thought of it makes me think of fancy uniforms and decorated tables.  It takes a little time, but it is definitely worth the effort.

TOMATO SOUP

1 can tomatoes- 32 ounce, or 1 quart tomatoes peeled and cut in pieces
2 slices onion
2 sprays parsley
Bit of bay leaf
4 cloves
½ teaspoon peppercorns
Few gratings nutmeg

3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper to taste

Cook the first six ingredients together twenty minutes in pot over medium heat. Rub through a purée strainer, keep hot. Melt butter in a sauce-pan, add flour and stir to a smooth paste, let cook one minute; dilute with tomato mixture to the consistency to pour. Combine mixtures and season with salt, a few grains cayenne and a grating of nutmeg. Reheat and serve with buttered toast, set the table, find the right outfit and you're ready for a gourmet meal!

And the winner is....

Thanks to everyone who entered the Kroger Gift Card Giveaway. And the winner is.....

Susan B said...

I would buy diapers for my grandson (economy has hit his Momma hard) and a pie

to give a friend who is going through a rough divorce. Thank you for the

opportunity.

susan23cherub@yahoo.com

Congratulations Susan B!

"Disclosure: The Kroger gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by Kroger and General Mills through MyBlogSpark."