Crockpot Italian Beef Roast with Potatoes & Carrots

One of my all-time favorite meals is a beef roast with veggies cooked in a crockpot. It's a perfect meal for these chilly days we've been experiencing. This past Saturday was a busy day for us with indoor soccer practice, shopping and taking my daughter to a birthday bowling party... so coming home to a cooked dinner was so nice!

I cooked 2 - 2 1/2 lb beef roasts so that I would have enough meat left over to make beef noodle soup this week. Give a big cheer for a great 2 for 1 meal! 

If you think that meat won't brown in a crockpot, just check this out....  MMM! Tender and juicy!

The potatoes and carrots soak up all of the beef juices, rounding out the meal and making it delicious!

Crockpot Italian Beef Roast with Potatoes & Carrots

2 - 2 1/2 lb beef roasts, thawed if frozen
7 Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced into small cubes
5 large carrots, peeled and diced into small cubes
1 pkg. Grill Mates Italian Herb Seasonings & Marinade
1 tbsp. garlic powder
2 c. beef broth

This recipe completely filled my 6 qt. crockpot so I wouldn't recommend using a smaller unit unless you decrease the amounts of this recipe.

Into the crockpot, layer potatoes and top with carrots. Sprinkle half of the Italian herb seasoning pkg. onto the vegetables. Pour 1 c. of beef broth over all.

Lay the beef roasts side by side on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle with the remaining Italian herb seasonings and garlic powder. Pour remaining cup of beef broth over top of the meat and down the sides into the crock.

Cook on high for 5 - 5 1/2 hrs.

To Make Gravy

Remove the beef roast and the vegetables to a large platter. Cover with foil to keep warm.

Leave all of the broth and juices in the crockpot.

Stir 3 tbsp. cornstarch into 1/2 c. beef broth. Whisk this mixture into the broth that's left in the crockpot, stirring constantly until smooth. Cook for 5 minutes until the gravy starts to thicken.

Serve immediately with the roast and vegetables.

***Extra Meals***

Any leftover meat and potatoes can be made into beef noodle soup.

or

The potatoes and carrots can be whipped together for a great topping to shepard's pie or beef pot pie that's made from the left over beef and gravy.

Linking up to:

A Bowl Full of Lemons

Pastitsio

Pastitsio or "Greek lasagna" contains layers of pasta, meat sauce and bechamel sauce. Derived from the Italian word "pasticcio", it means mess or hodgepodge. There are many recipes out there for Pastitsio. Some of the recipes call for literally making everything from scratch. Since I don't usually have that kind of time, I opted to take some shortcuts to make this dish somewhat quicker and easier.

Once again I've used a recipe from Kraft as a base for my recipe. I added some spices and extra cheese into my recipe.  It was also another opportunity for me to use some of my flourishing cinnamon basil.

Pastitsio
adapted from Kraft

1 1/2 lbs  elbow macaroni, cooked al dente & drained well- (measured before cooking - I eyeballed pouring 1/2 a 3 lb box into a large pot of water. I used all but about 1 cup of the cooked mac in this recipe.)

Meat Sauce
1 1/2 lb ground beef
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
24 oz spaghetti sauce (I used jarred sauce)

Bechamel Sauce
4 tbsp butter
2 1/2 c milk
1/2 c. heavy cream
16 oz  Greek nonfat yogurt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 + 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. cinnamon basil, chopped

Directions:

Cook elbow macaroni. Drain well and set aside.

For meat sauce:

Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Drain excess grease. Return ground beef to the skillet and stir in spices and spaghetti sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes on low heat. Stir occasionally. Stir in cinnamon basil. Remove from heat.

For Bechamel Sauce:

In a large frying pan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Stirring constantly, pour in milk and nutmeg, stirring to blend. Bring mixture to a boil and continue cooking over medium heat for 5 - 7 minutes or until mixture starts to thicken. Stir in 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese. Stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.

Add macaroni and stir until it is well coated.

Preheat oven to 350*

To assemble:

Pour ground beef mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish. Spread the macaroni over the beef. Top with 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until warmed through and the top has browned lightly. Cool in pan for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

~*~* My thoughts *~

The dish was very tasty. All of the herbs and spices came shining through, especially the cinnamon basil and the nutmeg. If you don't like a heavy spice taste in your food, I would suggest cutting back on the spices or even leaving out the cinnamon basil.

This is a traditional Pastitsio by any means. As you can see in the pictures, it did not hold together in layers but it did hold true to the definition of it's name. All the same, it was really good.

If I were to make this recipe again, I would use penne pasta instead of the elbow macaroni. I would also add another layer of pasta to the bottom of the pan, and then add the beef in the middle and top with more pasta.

Crockpot Chuck Wagon Beef Sandwiches

I love using my crock pot on busy days. Last Thursday, I had one of those days where I was lucky to spend 15 minutes at a time at home for the whole day.

I decided to try a new recipe called Chuck Wagon Beef Sandwiches from the cookbook Fix it and Forget It. The meat held up really well for the cooking and even for reheating that evening.

Chuck Wagon Beef Sandwiches

4 lb boneless chuck roast
1 tsp garlic salt ( I used garlic powder)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 tbsp. oil
6 - 8 garlic cloves, minced
1 lg. onion, sliced
1 c. water
1 bouillon cube - (I used 1 c. beef broth for the water and bouillon)
2-3 tsp. instant coffee
1 bay leaf or 1 tbsp. Italian herbs (I used both)
3 tbsp cold water
2 tbsp cornstarch (I didn't use the water or cornstarch to thicken the broth)
sandwich buns
butter flavored non stick spray

Sprinkle roast with garlic powder and pepper. Brown on all sides in oil in pan. Place in slow cooker.

Saute garlic and onion in meat drippings. Add water, bouillon cube (in my case beef broth) and coffee. Cook over low heat for several minutes, stirring until drippings loosen. Pour over meat in cooker.

Add bay leaf or herbs. (I added both)

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. (I cooked it on high for 5 hours).

Remove bay leaf. Remove meat to a serving plate. Shred the meat using two forks. Cover and keep warm.

Lay sandwich buns on a baking sheet. Lightly spray the buns with butter flavored cooking spray. Stick the pan under the broiler until the buns are lightly toasted.

Linked to:

What's Cooking Wednesday

What's on the Menu Wednesday

Johnny Marzetti

Have you heard of Johnny Marzetti before? It's a dish that we ate for school lunches back when I was in school.

Where did the name come from? According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette website, Johnny Marzetti is a casserole created in the 1920s by the owner of the Marzetti Restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. Who was Johnny Marzetti? According to the "American Century Cookbook" by Jean Anderson, Johnny Marzetti was the brother of the owner of the Marzetti Restaurant.

Casseroles steamrolled into the kitchen in the 1940s and have remained popular staples to this day. The Johnny Marzetti casserole was popular in the mid '50s and early '60s. It consists of meat, pasta and either tomato sauce, soup or juice.

My husband and I were talking about school lunches and comparing them to what our kids eat in school now. I decided to look up a recipe for Johnny Marzetti to see if I could duplicate the school's recipe. Did I duplicate it? No, not exactly. But the dish that I created was delicious. Like chili, it tastes even better warmed up as leftovers. The recipe that I remember had more of a spaghetti sauce sort of taste with no onion and peppers showing in it. Some say the original recipe contains cheese but I don't ever remember cheese in what I ate. There's also a controversy over whether or not it was made with egg noodles or elbow macaroni. It was always elbows for us.

This was a nice trip down memory lane.

Johnny Marzetti

1 pound ground chuck
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 teaspoon oil
1 large can tomatoes (29 ounces)
1 large can tomato juice
1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Garlic salt, to taste

Brown meat, onion and green pepper in oil.

Drain, then add tomatoes, tomato juice and spices.

Add cooked macaroni to sauce. Simmer 10 minutes and serve.

Store any leftovers in a sealed container. It's even better the next day!

Santa Fe Lasagna

I was chosen by House Party to host a Philly Dinnertime Dilemma House Party to try the new Philly Cooking Cremes.

There are 4 Cremes to choose from: Italian Cheese & Herb, Savory Garlic, Original and Santa Fe Blend.

From the name of my post, I bet you can figure out which creme I chose to test first. The Santa Fe Blend. Since creating a Mexican lasagna was already on my mind, I decided to run with the ingredients that I had on hand, plus I wanted to incorporate the Santa Fe Creme into the recipe. The result was a delicious, creamy lasagna that my whole family and friends raved about. (Yep, picky kids, too!!)

Santa Fe Lasagna

1 lb lasagna noodles, cooked, drained and set aside.
1 lb ground beef
1 medium-sized onion
2 small cans sliced mushrooms, drained
3 C. shredded cheese with taco flavors or plain cheddar cheese
1-10 oz - tub Philly Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme
24 oz. mild salsa

Directions

Boil Lasagna noodles. Rinse and set aside.

In a frying pan, saute onions and mushrooms until the onions turn opaque. Set aside

In the same pan, brown ground beef. Drain off any grease. Stir in the tub of Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme.

The creme sauce melts right into the beef creating a nice sauce.

Layer lasagna in this order: 

Spread a thin layer of salsa across the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish.

Lay 5 noodles across the salsa. Top the noodles with a layer of cheese.

Top cheese with half of the mushroom and onion mixture.

Top with 1/3 of the meat and Philly Santa Fe Blend. Be careful not to overload the noodles. These are thin layers of all of the fillings.

.

Layer with 5 more lasagna noodles, this time topping with first with salsa, the remaining mushroom & onion mixture, 1/3 of the meat and sauce. End with a layer of cheese.

For the top layer, add 5 lasagna noodles, the rest of the meat and sauce mixture and any remaining salsa. Finish off with a layer of cheese.

Bake at 350* for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

Delicious!!  Two thumbs up for the Philly Santa Fe Blend Creme. I will note that the Santa Fe Creme has a little spice to it. Not much, but if you are tempted to buy medium or hot salsa, taste the creme first. It might be spicy enough.

**The opinions expressed in this post are my honest opinions. I was not compensated for posting this. My participation with House Party is not related to my blog.**

Adding this recipe to Tasty Tuesday!

Beef Barley Vegetable Soup

We've had some unusual spring weather here in NC lately. For the last two days, the temps have reached over 75*. That's about to change, though. With warm winds meeting the cold winds from up north, our whole area in under a tornado watch. Six years ago this would've freaked me out. Moving from PA, I never had to deal with tornadoes much at all. In fact, I can remember 2 tornadoes touching down in my lifetime while living there. From the first day of moving to this area of NC, we've had tornado watches and warnings all around us in the spring. The very first day that we moved in I asked a lady how often they have tornadoes. She said "Don't worry hun, we haven't had a tornado in our area in more than 8 yrs." HHHmmm... we must have brought that cold Yankee weather with us to mix with the warm southern winds because we've had at least one tornado touch down in our area each of the last six years!! There's been destruction but luckily no one has been injured or worse and we've faired just fine from it. Bottom line, buy a good weather radio and get on with life.

Bet you didn't think that you were going to get a weather report from me today, did you? Keep reading....  there really is a recipe today.

Cool, rainy weather puts me in the mood for soup. Beef Barley Vegetable soup is on the menu today. Take a look. MMMM!!

Beef Barley Vegetable Soup

1 1/2 lbs. beef stew meat
1/2 c. flour for coating meat and vegs
2 stalks of celery, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 large carrots, chopped into bite-sized pieces
8 oz. mushroom, chopped into bite-sized pieces
12 oz of canned or frozen corn, drained if canned
12 oz of canned or frozen green beans, drained if canned
1 can stewed tomatoes, chopped
3/4 of a large can of tomato juice
64 oz beef broth
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp black pepper
2 bay leaves 
1 1/2 c. quick cooking barley

In a large soup pot, brown meat in 3 tbsp. oil. While meat is browning, add celery and carrots. Finish browning meat and then stir in flour. Stir to coat the meat and veggies.Cook for 5 minutes

Pour in tomato juice, beef broth, stewed tomatoes and seasonings. Cook for 15 minutes.

Add corn, green beans and mushrooms. Stir well. Cover with a lid and cook on low for 2 - 2 1/2 hrs or until the meat and carrots are tender. Stir in 1 1/2 c. of quick cooking barley. Continue cooking barley using the instructions on the back of the box. (about 15 minutes).

Serve with warm, crusty bread. Freeze any leftovers.

Chipotle Shredded Beef Tacos

This was an AFC Championship winning dinner! I cooked this all day on Sunday before my Steelers won the game! It was delicious! Definitely made for a quick, easy meal and easy clean up.

Chipotle Shredded Beef Tacos
original recipe from All You

Ingredients

1 - 7-oz. can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 -  15-oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoon  lime juice
1 onion, chopped
3  cloves garlic, minced
1  2-lb. beef chuck pot roast, fat trimmed
Salt and pepper
Corn tortillas - we prefer flour tortillas
shredded lettuce & cheese, sour cream, all optional
cooked white rice, optional

Directions

In a blender or food processor, puree chipotle chiles with adobo sauce until smooth.

Spoon 5 Tbsp. into slow cooker; reserve remainder for other uses. Add tomatoes, lime juice, onion and garlic; stir to combine. Season beef with salt and pepper and add to slow cooker.
 

Cover and cook on high until beef is tender enough to shred easily with a fork, about 6 hours. Using two forks, shred meat; spoon into a serving bowl with sauce.

I served the beef with warmed flour tortillas, shredded lettuce, cheese, and sour cream.

I also served white rice alongside. My husband and son love to add rice to their tacos. :)


**Note** This is a spicy dish. If you don't like it really spicy, cut back on the chiles. The original recipe calls for 2 1/2 tbsp and that would probably be more than enough to give this dish just a hint of spice without it being hot.

Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

Nothing screams comfort food like these two items. Everyone seems to have their favorite recipe for each of them. I'm sharing mine tonight.

Meatloaf #2

I made a variant of this recipe.

2 lbs ground meat
1 c. plain bread crumbs
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1/3 c. ketchup
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Bake at 375* for 45 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.

Mashed Potatoes

3 lbs. Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes

Place potatoes in a large pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a rolling boil. Cook over medium high heat for 8-12 minutes or until fork tender. Drain well. Return potatoes to pot. Add 2 tbsp. butter and 1/2 c. chicken broth. I like to use my hand-held mixer to "mash" the potatoes. Cover to keep warm until ready to eat.

Serve with brown gravy and green beans!

Vegetable Beef Soup with Cheese Crisps - Low Carb, Too!

I cooked a big beef roast in my crockpot last week. The leftovers from that roast went into Monday's soup.

I changed the ingredients from my family's soup so that I could eat it without loading up on too many carbs. This soup turned out to be some of the best soup that I've ever eaten. 

This is certainly not just a low carb dish. Just double or triple this recipe to feed a family. 

Low Carb Vegetable Beef Soup
makes 2 hearty servings

2 C. beef broth
1/3 C shredded, cooked beef roast
1 small zucchini, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 turnip, peeled and cut into small cubes
1/4 C. cooked carrots ( I used leftovers)
1 - 1 1/2 C. coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage)
1 pinch each of: lemon-pepper seasoning, basil,
garlic powder & red pepper flakes

Pour beef broth into a med-sized pot. Turn heat to high to heat up the broth. Turn the heat down to medium.

Add the remaining ingredients. Cook the soup until the turnips and zucchini are tender - about 10 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, make the cheese crisps: 

Cheese Crisps

I make my cheese crisps a little differently than a lot of people... I like to use shredded cheese instead of cubed cheese. I also microwave them instead of baking them or cooking them on a stove top. Any way you choose to make them, they are so good!

There are great examples of how to make cheese crisps on Linda's Low Carb Recipes & Menus. She posts instructions, along with many pictures. I have had much success in the past using the microwave to make them.

Another Yummy Meatball Recipe

This Italian meatball recipe comes from a member named Catwoman on FamilyCorner.com. The meatballs have a really good flavor to them, plus they held up well when I cooked them in the spaghetti sauce after baking them.

Italian Meatballs
2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
2 eggs, scrambled
saltine crackers, crushed small, half tube +
(I ran the crackers through the food processor to make fine crumbs)
1/2 onion, minced
3 Tbsp. parmesan cheese, grated finely
garlic cloves, minced
dried parsley to taste
dried sage (my secret ingredient!)
salt to taste
black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cooking spray onto a cookie sheet.

Mix all ingredients together well. Use as many cracker bits as needed- meatballs should be moist but not slimy. Form into half-dollar sized balls and place on cookie sheet so sides are not touching. Cook in oven for 15-18 minutes, watching so they don't burn, until brown. (Make sure to not over cook them if you are going to add them to spaghetti sauce to finish cooking.) If desired, roll meatballs on paper towels to get rid of extra grease.

** My Notes **  I cooked the meatballs for 15 minutes and then dropped them into spaghetti sauce to cook for another 1/2 hr. They held their shape in the sauce. I froze the leftover sauce and meatballs and then had no problem reheating them for the next meal.

Stuffed Burgers - Low Carb, too!

My son's favorite meal is a cheeseburger. He was so happy when I told him that I would be adding it to our menu this week because I can eat them, too. My husband and daughter are ok with eating cheeseburgers as long as it's only once in a while.

I decided to stuff all of the toppings into the burgers so we didn't have a mess with everything falling off of them when we were eating. I find it to be a pain when toppings fall all over the place and you don't get to eat them with the burger.

I pan fried these because it's been raining and very windy here for the last two days - not good for grilling.

Stuffed Burgers
makes 6 - 8 burgers

2 lbs 80% ground beef
3/4 C. chopped mushrooms
3/4 C. shredded cheddar cheese
2 TBSP Montreal steak seasoning
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder

I divided the 2 lbs of meat into 6 burger. If you like smaller burgers, you can easily divide it into 8.

Mix the steak seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder into the meat. Be careful not to over mix or it will make the meat tough. 

Divide each burger into 2 pieces.

Divide the mushrooms and cheese evenly among the burgers, laying the toppings on one of the two pieces of each burger.

 

Place the second half of the burger on top of the cheese. Pinch the edges together all the way around the burger to seal. Pan fry until cooked to your liking.

The family had fries with their burgers. I had a side of sauteed kale with mine. (above photo)

Marinated Flank Steak with Peppers & Onions - It's Low Carb, too!

Yesteraday, while shopping at Bloom, I found a really nice flank steak that had been reduced to a great price. Now, I'm not one to buy reduced priced beef unless it looks absolutely perfect with no brown spots on it - even if the expiration date is ok. This flank steak looked fresh, plus the expiration date was still 4 days away. I knew that I was going to marinate it and cook it today so I went ahead and bought it. I'm glad that I did. It was delicious.

I searched for a low carb marinade that both my family & I would like. I didn't find anything right away but I did find this recipe and I knew that it would be easy enough for me to make some changes so that it would be low carb.

I enjoyed the steak and peppers with a side salad and 4 small pieces of avocado.  My family enjoyed it in soft tacos, along with some cheese. I served rice and green beans on the side for them.

My version of the recipe is posted below. If you would like to see the original version, click on the link above.

Marinated Flank Steak 

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce - I omitted it. You won't miss it.
1 tablespoon grainy brown mustard
2 TBSP minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning
1 TBSP cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 pounds flank steak

In a medium bowl, mix the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, Montreal steak seasoning, cumin and red pepper flakes. Place meat in gallon size Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over the steak, turning meat to coat thoroughly. Cover, and refrigerate for 6 hours. << Marinate this long to really allow the marinade to sink in.

Slice peppers & onions into thin strips.

Preheat a wok on medium - high heat. Add peppers & onions to the wok. Pour in 1/4 C. water. Cover with a lid and allow the peppers to cook until fork tender but remove them while they still have some crunch. Remove to a warm plate. Cover and set aside.

Remove the steak from the marinade. Slice steak, against the grain, into thin slices. (using an electric knife makes this job really easy.)  Discard marinade.

Cook 5 - 8 pieces of steak at one time. Do not crowd the meat. It will take only 20 -30 seconds to cook one side of this meat. Flip the meat over and cook for another 20 -30 seconds. Remove it to a warm plate. Cover. Finish cooking the rest of the meat.

Fill soft tortillas with the steak, peppers & onions, along with your favorite toppings.

or

Serve with a side salad and some fresh avocado to keep the carbs low.

Low Carb Sloppy Joe Stuffed Peppers

Today was the first day of my dive back into low carbing. I've written my menu for the week in my previous post.

A member from FamilyCorner.com posted the low carb sloppy joe stuffed peppers that I made for my dinner tonight. This dish was full of flavor and very good. I didn't eat a lot for breakfast and lunch today so I decided to eat one whole green pepper and the filling. The original serving size is 1/2 of a green pepper with filling for 4 carbs. I didn't use quite one pound of ground beef so I probably have enough filling left over to stuff another whole pepper. I'm going to cook the pepper tomorrow, then stuff it and stick it into the freezer for when I need a quick lunch or dinner. This recipe is a keeper!

Low Carb Sloppy Joe Stuffed Peppers
1 pound ground beef
1 ounce onion, chopped, about 2 TBSP
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup tomato sauce  - I used Hunts
1 teaspoon granular Splenda - I skipped this
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinergar
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt -I skipped this
1/8 teaspoon pepper

8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded - I just
sprinkled a little bit on top of my peppers

3 green peppers, halved lengthwise

Brown the ground beef, onion, celery and garlic; drain fat.

Stir in all remaining ingredients except the cheese and green peppers.

Simmer 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, parboil the peppers in a little boiling water 3 minutes; drain. To shorten baking time, I cooked mine for almost 8 minutes.

Place peppers in a baking dish. Stir half the cheese into the hamburger mixture; fill peppers with meat. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350º 15-20 minutes (5 -10 for me) until hot and bubbly and peppers are tender.

Makes 6 servings

Can be frozen

Per Serving: 306 Calories; 21g Fat; 23g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs

Click here to see the original recipe.

Mushroom Barley Soup

Soups are great to fall back on when you have little time to cook a big meal. Add leftovers from the frig to some broth...voila! A delicious, filling soup for dinner.

Here's another one to add to the files.



Mushroom Barley Soup

8 C. beef broth
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
3/4 lb stew beef, cubed into small pieces
3/4 C. quick cooking barley - more or less to taste
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
12 oz. egg noodles

Pour beef broth into a large pot. Heat over medium high heat.

In the meantime, add stew beef  and mushroom to a large frying pan. Cook until the stew beef has been browned and the mushrooms are starting to get soft.

Stir beef and mushrooms into the broth. Add garlic powder and red pepper flakes. Stir in barley and cook according to the directions on the box. With 5 minutes of cooking time remaining for the barley, add the egg noodles to the soup. Cook until the noodles are almost done - the noodles will continue to cook as they sit in the hot broth.

Crockpot Beef Stew

Lately I've been trying to use my crockpot at least once a week. Trying to find "different-to-us" recipes are proving to be more of a challenge.When I found a crockpot stew recipe on Cheat Day Cafe, I knew that I had to try it. I didn't disappoint. It really is as good as it looks.

I made a few tweaks to the original recipe. My version is below. I served it with a loaf of crusty bread and the rest of the family had the stew over rice. Even my kids liked it! (minus the potatoes!)  You can view the original recipe here.

Crockpot Beef Stew

2 packages of stew meat, cut up
2 package of pre-cut carrots
6 potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 C. mushroom, sliced

Mix Together:
1 can cream of celery
1 can cream of mushroom
8oz. tomato sauce
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix

Layer in Crock Pot:

1. 1/2 meat
2. 1/2 veggies
3. 1/2 sauce
4. remaining meat
5. remaining veggies
6. remaining sauce

Cover and let cook in crock pot for 5 hours on high.

 Very Good!

I'm linking this to

Tasty Tuesday

Crock Pot Wednesday @ Dining with Debbie

Tuesdays at the Table

Happy Birthday Baked Mac 'n' Cheese & Meatloaf

Today is my son's 12th's birthday so we celebrated with all of his favorites. On the menu was a new recipe for baked macaroni and cheese and family favorite recipes for meatloaf and sauteed green beans.

Both of the kids helped with cooking dinner and dessert. It's fun to get them involved to see how they are growing up and what they are able to do to help. Andy did a lot of chopping and stirring today. Alexis helped out a lot by being the "gofer".

I found a new recipe for baked macaroni and cheese today. This dish turned out creamy and cheesey and really good. I followed the recipe as per the directions with the only changes being that I cooked 2 lbs of small shell pasta and multiplied the rest of the ingredients by 3 to make sure that I had plenty of leftovers. This made enough for a full 9 x13 dish + a full 9 x9 dish.


Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 large egg
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
Topping:
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Cooking Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.
3. While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it’s free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes.
4. Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
5. Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

You can see the original recipe here.


Such a great dinner!

The recipe for this fabulous meatloaf is here on my blog.

The sauteed green beans are super easy:

1 bag of frozen thin string beans
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp onion powder
drizzle of olive oil

Saute all in a frying pan over medium heat until heated through.

There's leftover meatloaf for sandwiches and plenty of mac n cheese for another meal.

Be on the lookout for birthday cake in the next posting!

Meatloaf

How many different types of meatloaf recipes do you think there are out there? Way too many for me to even begin counting. I like trying different meatloaf recipes to see which flavors my family will like.

I used ingredients from my pantry in tonight's meatloaf. It's baking now and sure does smell good. Here it is just out of the oven....


Here's the recipe:

Meatloaf

2 lbs. 85% ground beef
1-6 oz. package of dried stuffing mix, crushed
1 egg
1/4 C. ketchup
2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup water
1 med. onion, diced small
thyme
garlic powder
salt
pepper

Mix altogether until combined. Do not over mix.

Shape into a loaf and place into a 9 x 13 pan for 1 hr. or until no longer pink in the middle.

Remove from oven and wait 10 minutes before cutting it into slices.


It's important to note that we like brown gravy on our meatloaf so I do not use any type of red sauce topping on the loaf when I'm baking it. If you prefer a red sauce on it, you could spread one on top of this loaf before baking.

Thoughts after eating:

Everyone liked it. My son was crazy about it. He said that it's the best meatloaf that we've had in a long time. My daughter hated the onions in it so the next time I will reduce it to a small onion and make sure to chop it up really fine. I would eliminate it but I like the onions in it for the flavor and texture.


I used fresh just a little fresh Thyme in this recipe. The flavor really stands out in it. If you don't like the taste of Thyme, you can easily sub. it for something else or leave it out. The meatloaf would still be just as good.

This recipe is a keeper!

BBQ Beef Sandwiches

I'm trying to come up with simpler meals for our busy summer schedules. Tonight's dinner worked out great because I cooked beef for the sandwiches in the crockpot during last night's beef stir fry dinner. The homemade bbq sauce took just a few minutes to put together and cook.


BBQ Beef Sandwiches

2 lbs beef, cooked and shredded
12 oz. ketchup
1/4 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. sugar
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 TBSP liquid smoke

Cook beef and set aside.

In a medium pot, over medium-high heat, stir together remaining ingredients. Once mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in shredded beef and heat thoroughly.

I served these bbq sandwiches on store bought Ciabatta rolls.


I had planned on corn-on-the-cob and microwaved potatoes to go along with the sandwiches but there wasn't a decent ear of corn to be found around our area. So...on to plan B....BBQ sandwiches, potatoes and canned corn.

Meatballs Sandwiches

What says comfort food more than homemade meatballs sandwiches blanketed in gooey Mozzarella cheese!

I finally came up with a meatball mixture that I like. I'm not a snob about most foods but when it comes to meatballs, I am. It seems that most are either too soft or I just don't like the taste of them.

There's nothing fancy in these meatballs but the combination of flavors make them taste really good.

Meatballs
1 1/2 lbs lean hamburger - next time I will try a
hamburger/pork/veal mix for even more flavor
1 C. plain bread crumbs
2 eggs
3 tsp. Italian seasonings
2/3 C. shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese (don't use the stuff in the can!)
2 tsp. onion powder
1 - 2 tsp. hot pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Shape into meatballs a little larger than a golf ball.

Add meatballs to a large frying pan to which you've added a little 0live oil. Brown meatballs on all sides. Remove from pan once meatballs are browned all over - they will not be cooked in the middle at this time.

Drain any remaining grease from the pan. Add sauce (either your own recipe or jarred) to fill pan 1/2 full. Carefully drop the meatballs into the sauce and stir to cover with the sauce. Cook sauce and meatballs for 20 - 30 minutes on medium/low heat until the meatballs have finished cooking.


For sandwiches you will need:
meatballs and sauce
1/2 lb. Mozzarella cheese slices
semi hard rolls

Halfway split open hard rolls, making sure to not cut through the bottoms.

Fill rolls with 2-3 meatballs and a little sauce. Cover with cheese.

Lay rolls on a baking sheet. Put tray under broiler to melt cheese.


The end result is so delicious!