Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Colorado-bound

This week was sort of a rushed mash of dinners, hence the late blog post. My sister is currently visiting us, and we found out recently that we will be moving to Colorado sometime in the next 2 months, so between company and attempting to put together everything for the move and get the house ready we've been a bit busy and preoccupied. Whenever we have company though, I always try to make new recipes and try new meals, so I was still able to fit in a few meals, and both were a hit! The first one was the baked chicken taquitos, the recipe I had for it was originally an appetizer, but paired with some spanish rice it made a great meal and everyone loved it. The second was Chicken Taco Chili, which turned out a bit more soupy than I normally like, but when you serve it over rice the rice soaks all the liquid up and it's really good. The recipe makes a ton though, we've had it for 2 dinners so far and have enough to have it for another dinner, but I love recipes that end up surprising me with how many it will feed. I didn't intend for this post to have a tex-mex sort of feel to it, but it ended up happening anyways! Hope you enjoy the recipes, and I apologize for the lack of photos. :)

Baked Chicken Taquitos

• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup salsa (green or red)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• 12 (6 inch) flour tortillas
• kosher salt
• cooking spray


Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silpat matte or foil lightly coated with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients (except the tortillas.) Working with a few tortillas at a time, heat them in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 20 – 30 seconds). Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can. Place the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone, making sure the taquitos are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt (don’t skip the salt!) Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crisp and golden. Serve with salsa, sour cream or guacamole.




Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

  • 1 onion, chopped 
  • 1 16-oz can black beans 
  • 1 16-oz can kidney beans 
  • 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
  • 10 oz package frozen corn kernels 
  • 2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies 
  • 1 packet taco seasoning 
  • 1 tbsp cumin 
  • 1 tbsp chili powder 
  • 24 0z. (3) boneless skinless chicken breasts 
  • chili peppers, chopped (optional)
  • chopped fresh cilantro 

Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Top with fresh cilantro. Also try it with low fat cheese and sour cream (extra points).

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Visitors!


This week my sister came to visit, and as we were having company I decided to try some fun new recipes I'd been waiting to try. The first was a frozen hot chocolate, which was great as it's just started to warm up here. Sadly we weren't quite patient enough for the ice to freeze and so we just ate them old rather than frozen, but it was still delicious! The other recipe is something that had been hanging around my pinterest account for a while, and fit great because I had to work and didn't want to have to rely on frozen pizzas too many time. So I went the slow cooker route and made honey sesame chicken in my crock pot. It turned out great as well and we'll definitely have to be having it again sometime! As far as the contest goes we didn't have many entries so there isn't really much need for any wait, so I'll be getting those cookbooks sent out today :) Enjoy the recipes and thanks to everyone who shared this blog!

Frozen Hot Chocolate


  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons (1 packet) hot cocoa mix
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk, divided
  • 4½ cups ice cubes
  • whipped cream

Combine sugar, cocoa mix, and butter in top of double boiler that is set over gently boiling water (a bowl set over a pot of boiling water will work just as well, so long as it sits close enough to the water). Stir often until melted and smooth paste forms. Add semi-sweet & white chocolate chips; stir. When chips begin to melt, slowly stir in 1/2 cup evaporated milk. Stir until smooth and velvety. Cool to room temperature. Combine chocolate base mixture, remaining evaporated milk and ice in blender (in batches, if necessary); cover. Blend until smooth. Pour into individual glasses. Top each with whipped cream. Sprinkle with additional chopped chocolate chips & mini marshmallows, if desired. Serve with a straw and spoon.


Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken



  • 6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 4 chicken breasts
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 4 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 2 packets minute rice, optional
  • 1/2 tablespoon (or more) sesame seeds
  • 3 scallions, chopped


Place chicken in Crock Pot and lightly season both sides with salt and pepper. In a medium bowl, combine onion, garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, oil and red pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or high for 2 hours. Remove chicken to a cutting board, leaving sauce. Shred chicken into bite-sized pieces; set aside. Prepare rice according to package instructions. In a small bowl, dissolve 4 teaspoons cornstarch in 1/3 cup water; add to crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Cover and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes, or until slightly thickened. Add cooked rice to 4 plates, top with chicken and spoon sauce over top. Sprinkle evenly with sesame seeds and chopped scallions.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Pampered Chef Recipe (and contest of sorts)

Last weekend I had a pampered chef party, it was great, even though many people didn't show up we had a great time and I got to try a new great recipe which I decided to share with everyone here! I'll get to that in just a minute though, I used to be a pampered chef consultant, and even though I got out of it, I still have a bunch of their old recipe books sitting around the house, and I love them! Each one has a small selection of appetizers, entrees and desserts, and every one I've tried has turned out pretty great. The books are only $2 a piece, and really handy to have, I've even used some in place of cards for some of the cooks in my life before! (if you're interested in the recipes they might have, scroll to the bottom for how you can get a digital copy of some) I have an open pampered chef party going online right now, and if you're interested in taking a look or ordering anything just follow this link.   Now that I've gotten that shameless plug out of the way, on to the recipe! My pampered chef consultant made German Chocolate Lava Cake in the microwave! The recipe calls for one of their products, which is a small covered baker. It's pretty great (but a little pricey, so any microwave safe dish with a lid should work) and looks wonderful, so transfers straight from the microwave to the table to serve. Sorry I don't have any pictures to go with this, I was too busy entertaining :) Hope you enjoy it! I also have a little contest of sorts,

German Chocolate Lava Cake


  • 2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut
  • 2 t canola oil
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 (9 oz) small package devils food cake mix
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate morsels

Microwave coconut in uncovered baker on high for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 30 seconds. Spread it out on a plate to cool. Brush same baker with oil. Mix pecans, half of the coconut and 1 cup of the condensed milk in a small bowl until blended. Mix cake mix, sour cream, remaining condensed milk and egg in a large bowl until blended. Pour batter into baker. Pour coconut mixture evenly over the batter. Microwave uncovered on high 3-5 minutes or until the center of the cake look moist (but not wet). Cover baker and let stand 5 minutes. Microwave chocolate in uncovered bowl on high 45-60 seconds or until almost melted. Stir until smooth. Pour melted chocolate into resealable plastic bag and trim the corner. Sprinkle cake with remaining coconut and drizzle with chocolate. Enjoy!
Note: Remember, not all microwaves cook at the same speeds, so if you're worried yours cooks too high or too low, just stop it a minute or so early and check the top just to be safe.



Contest Time!!!

Lately I've been scanning in a bunch of my pampered chef cookbooks, so I have them all on digital file right now, and I thought I would offer them up as an incentive to share about this blog with your friends. These are cookbooks that you won't be able to buy anywhere, as they're seasonal ones that pampered chef doesn't sell anymore. All you have to do is comment on this post with your email address and name, and share this blog with your friends, family, tweet, facebook, etc. and tell them to comment on any of the blog posts with the name of the person who sent them, and whoever has the most by the next blog post will get an email with all 3 digital cookbooks! The person with the second most comments will get 1 of the digital cookbooks sent to their email. Good luck!

Monday, February 25, 2013

Mash up

This week was just sort of a mash up of a recipe I'd been wanting to do for a little while, and a spur the moment one I saw Paula Deen making on tv and had a sudden craving for. They all turned out great, the soup was delicious and super easy, and the chocolate bread hit the chocolate craving I was having that day. Not much to say really this week, so I'll just jump straight to the recipes, enjoy!


Zuppa Toscana copycat recipe (from olive garden)



  • 1 lb ground Italian sausage
  • 1½ tsp crushed red peppers
  • 1 large diced white onion
  • 4 Tbsp bacon pieces
  • 2 tsp garlic puree
  • 10 cups water
  • 5 cubes of chicken bouillon
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
  • ¼ of a bunch of kale (our grocery store didn't have kale so I threw in some sweet peas instead and it worked fine)
  • Optional: shredded parmesan cheese


Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through, garnish with parmesan cheese and serve. Delicious and super easy!

Chocolate Bread


  • Butter, for pans
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour (2) 9 by 5-inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Beat in the milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla at medium-low speed with an electric mixer until combined. Beat in the chocolate morsels and pecans. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Shield the bread with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Valentines day

 This Valentine's Day was something I had been scheming together for quite a while now. In the 4 years since my husband and I started dating we have only spent one Valentine's day together, and that was only a week or two after we got married and was not very largely celebrated as we had just come back from our honeymoon. Between long distance dating, basic training and field exercises, we've never really gotten to go all out for a valentine's day, but this year I decided to change that. Starting weeks in advance, I started planning up a menu, thinking up decorations and the lead up to it. The 13 days leading up to it I surprised him with a little treat each day with a cheesy quote on it "I'm nuts about you" "Beer my valentine?" and they only got worse as the days went on. Then I made up our living room like an elementary schoolroom, we're talking pink, red, and purple hearts all over the place. Since my husband had to work most of the day, I didn't plan too much (and he told me after dinner he something planned) so after all of that, I just focused on an awesome meal. Chocolate covered strawberries as an appetizer of sorts, rib eye steaks cooked to perfection (for us, that means rare!) paired with roasted cauliflower with parmesan and finished off with mini strawberry pies. It all turned out delicious! If you haven't cooked steaks very often and are particular, a few little hints to remember, first of it will continue to cook a little even after you take it off the pan, so if you don't like your steaks super dead remember, you can always cook it a lil longer, so take it out a bit early! There are three different ways to check how done your steak is, the worst way is cutting into it, a decent way is to use a thermometer, but if you don't have one, another good way is the finger test, which is explained here: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/the_finger_test_to_check_the_doneness_of_meat/ and last but not least, two of the most important (but often forgotten) things are to let it come to room temperature before cooking, and to let it rest when it is done the full time. Steaks are something I'm always worried that I will mess up as it can be such an expensive cut of meat, but you'll only get better with practice :) Hopefully my tips help, and I hope you all had a great valentine's day! (I didn't get many pictures of the actual meal because we were so hungry and just dug in)

Chocolate Covered Strawberries




  • 16 ounces milk chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons shortening
  • 1 pound fresh strawberries with leaves
  • Optional: White or dark chocolate chips

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and shortening, stirring occasionally until smooth. Holding them by the toothpicks, dip the strawberries into the chocolate mixture. Turn the strawberries upside down and insert the toothpick into styrofoam for the chocolate to cool, or lay on a sheet of parchment paper. You can drizzle with white or dark chocolate if you desire but they'll taste fine how they are!



Pan-Seared Rib-Eye


  • 1 boneless rib eye steak, 1 1/2 inches thick
  • Canola oil, to coat
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Place a 10-to-12-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven and heat the oven to 500 degrees F. Bring the steak to room temperature. When the oven reaches temperature, remove the skillet and place on the range over high heat. Coat the steak lightly with oil and sprinkle both sides with a generous pinch of salt. Grind on black pepper. Immediately place the steak in the middle of the hot, dry skillet. Cook 30 seconds without moving. Turn with tongs and cook another 30 seconds, then put the pan straight into the oven for 2 minutes. Flip the steak and cook for another 2 minutes. (This time is for medium-rare steak, for our steaks I shortened the time a bit. If you prefer medium, add a minute to both of the oven turns.) Remove the steak from the skillet, cover loosely with foil and rest for 2 minutes. Serve whole or slice thin and fan onto plate.

Roasted Parmesan Cauliflower


  • 6 ounces cauliflower florets (1.5 cups)
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • salt
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the cauliflour, boiling for about 5 minutes or until it starts to get tender. Drain and add the rest of the ingredients except olive oil. Toss. Drizzle on the oil. Toss. Put mixture into a small nonstick dish. Place into a 425°F preheated oven. Bake for 15 - 17 minutes; stir once. You want it to be lightly browned and tender. Serve.


Mini Strawberry Pies



  • 1 roll Pre-made refrigerated pie dough (Or you can use homemade)
  • 2 oz cream cheese
  • sprinkle of sugar
  • 1 cup diced strawberries
  • Optional: Hot fudge sauce, whipped cream.
Preheat the oven to 225 F Using a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out as many pieces as you can, after rerolling a few times I got enough to make 4 mini pies. Top one with strawberry, sprinkled sugar and cream cheese and then another one of the hearts, sealing the edges with a fork. Prick the middle of each one once with a fork. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Garnish with hot fudge sauce and whipped cream and serve.





Sunday, February 10, 2013

Mini Cheesecakes

Last week slipped by me and I barely realized it until a while later, and I was determined not to let this week do the same thing. This week was pretty busy as well with all of the things we needed to do to get ready for the military ball we had this weekend (which was amazing), but about halfway through the week I got this crazy strong urge to do some baking, and this recipe was something I'd been wanting to try for a while. My husband is a huge fan of pumpkin pie, and I like to mess around with it just a bit and put that flavor into other fun things, so I decided to make Mini Pumpkin Pie Frosted Cinnamon Cheesecakes. They were amazing, they didn't look the greatest so I did not get a good picture to share, (note, when you frost them either do it with a knife or a star tip, not a round tip!) but everyone loved them, I even brought some to work to share with my coworkers and they liked them too. Here's the recipe and I hope you enjoy them too :)


Mini Pumpkin Pie Frosted Cinnamon Cheesecakes


  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup evaporated milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 12 baking cups with paper liners. In a separate bowl, whisk together the first three ingredients until well blended. Scoop 1 packed tablespoon of crust into each baking cup, and press down to pack firm. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, then remove and set aside.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Begin to boil a large kettle or pot of water for the water bath (if you have a pan large enough for the cupcake tin to sit in follow this step, it will help the cheesecakes cook more evenly and not dry out, if not though, don't worry about it. I didn't have one and they still turned out great).
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or you could use a hand mixer) combine the cream cheese and 1/2 cup plus 2 T. sugar, then mix on medium-speed until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla and cinnamon, and mix until smooth. Pour batter into each crust-prepared baking cup until 3/4 full.
Once your kettle or pot of water is boiling, carefully place a large baking dish on the lower rack of your oven and pull the rack out a few inches towards you, and then pour the water into it. This will create a water bath that will give off lots of steam while the cheesecake bakes.
Then place the cheesecake pan in the oven, and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the edges appear to be set and the center still has a slight jiggle to it. Turn off the oven and open the oven door slightly for 5 minutes. Then remove the pan and place on a cooling rack until completely cooled. Top with pumpkin pie frosting.

For the pumpkin pie frosting: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients until well blended. Pour into a greased 9-inch pie pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean. Remove and let cool, then refrigerate.
When ready to "frost" the cheesecakes, remove the pumpkin pie and spoon the filling into a piping bag. Use as you would regular frosting.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Anniversary Dinner

Last week my husband and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary, and rather than going out somewhere and spending tons of money we decided to continue a tradition we started the year before trading off on who cooks the meal. Last year, my husband surprised me when I came home from work on our anniversary with a meal I had been planning on cooking already made. This year I decided to try a recipe we had in a restaurant in disney world that we both greatly enjoyed, braised lamb shanks. Along with that I made a red wine reduction and parmesan polenta (which actually turned out great this time, no lumps!). For dessert I did red velvet cheesecake brownies from a previous post, which ended up being blue cause I was out of red food coloring! The polenta and brownies were already posted so I'll just be sharing the lamb shanks and red wine reduction recipes tonight. It may sound difficult and while it's not exactly a beginners recipe, it's still rather simple and it tastes great. Lamb is a bit more expensive and difficult to find, but it is one of my husbands favorite foods, so it's definitely worth it for special occasions. Enjoy :)


Braised Lamb Shanks



  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 lamb shanks (each about 1 1/4 pounds; 1 shank is a portion)
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 large Spanish onion or 2 small yellow onions, cut into 1-inch dice
  • 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
  • 3 celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch dice
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 (12-ounce) can tomato paste
  • 2 cups hearty red wine
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary leaves
  • 10 to 12 thyme branches tied together in a bundle
  • 3 to 4 cups water
  • 4 bay leaves

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a large oven safe pot generously with olive oil and bring to a medium heat. Season the shanks generously with salt and add them to the pan. Brown well on all sides, it might go quickly so keep an eye on it while you puree the veggies. Meanwhile, puree the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in a food processor until it becomes a coarse paste. Remove and set aside.

Remove the shanks from the pan to a sheet tray. Discard the excess fat from the pan. Add a little more oil to coat the bottom of the pan and add the pureed veggies. Season with salt, to taste. Saute the veggies until they are very brown and aromatic, about 10-15 minutes. Take care not to let it get too brown. Add the tomato paste and brown for 5 minutes. Stir in the wine, chopped rosemary and thyme bundle. Stir frequently and cook until the wine has reduced by about half.

Add the shanks back to the pot and pour in 3 to 4 cups of water. The shanks should be submersed, if they are not, add more water (I needed closer to 8-10 but it'll change depending on the size of your shanks)  Add the bay leaves to the pan, cover and put in the preheated oven. The cooking time will be about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Turn the shanks over about halfway through the cooking time. Check the shanks every 45 minutes or so. If the liquid has reduced too much add more water. 

Remove the cover during the least 30 minutes for some extra browning. When the shanks are done the meat should be incredibly tender and flavorful. Serve on top of Parmesan Polenta and drizzle with the red wine reduction. Enjoy!


Red Wine Reduction

  • olive oil, for coating the pan
  • 1/4 cup shallots, minced
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1/2 cup beef stock
  • 2 tablespoons butter

In a saute pan, over medium high heat, add enough olive oil to coat the pan. Add the shallots and cook until translucent. Add the red wine and the stock and reduce by half.* Add the butter.

*if you would like a smoother sauce you can strain the shallots out at this point then return to the pan and add the butter.

(no pictures of the wine reduction on it's own, so here's a picture of dessert! I used a cookie cutter in the pan and dusted it with powdered sugar)

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Pot Roast and leftovers

I thought I had already given my pot roast recipe, but try as I might as I look back over the posts I can't find it, so it'll be more like a bonus! This week I had a few things I wanted to talk about that aren't even related to cooking (I know, I'll keep it short) Lately on Pinterest I've been getting into a lot of home improvement things, finding out some things I wanted to share, first off being a cure for those nasty yellow armpit stains! Go here to see the recipe, but I can vouch for it as being awesome! Now I don't have to pass up those white shirts at goodwill cause of the stains, or throw out old shirts cause of it! The other thing I found out is that you're supposed to wash pillows, and apparently 3 times a year at that. I had no idea, I though you just tossed them when they got old enough :/ but now I have clean pillows! You can find a good way to do that here. And now, for the recipes. I love my pot roast recipe and my husband thinks it's amazing, it's always moist, flavorful and even the leftovers continue tasting great. It's super easy too, and if you make enough of it you can make what I made with our leftovers, which were Pot Roast Sliders. Also very easy and a fun way to redo the leftovers :) Enjoy!


Amazing Pot Roast (Sorry if it's a repeat!)


  • 1 packet gravy mix (any brand or type, I've used beef and turkey before)
  • 1 packet ranch dip mix
  • 1 packet dry onion soup mix
  • 2-3 pound roast
  • 1/2 cup water
Mix all of the dry mixes together and sprinkle on top of the roast in the crock pot. Pour the water along the side, not over the roast and cook on low for 4 hours or high for 6-8. The longer the more tender and more flavor will soak into it. 


Pot Roast Sliders
  • Pot Roast
  • Hawaiian rolls
  • Horseradish sauce
  • Swiss Cheese
Bake the rolls until they're golden brown, and layer the ingredients on the rolls. Enjoy! Be careful though, the horseradish can be quite hot if you're not used to it. Ranch dressing or mayonnaise would be good substitutes as well :)

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Eating out or eating in?

This week I decided to try a recipe my husband had pointed out as being interested in, Korean Bbq Beef Skewers, and at the last minute I paired them with some bacon wrapped asparagus on the grill, a recipe I already shared a while ago here. The skewers were surprisingly tasty, and if you've done some of the recipes before from the blog you might already have most of the ingredients around the house! After I had made these I took the time to think through all of the ingredients I had bought and how much it was as opposed to how much it would cost us if we had eaten out, and the results made me very happy. I got pretty much everything on sale: my steak, bacon and asparagus, and with drinks and such it was about $20 to make this meal that feeds 4. It is a little on the high side for the meals I usually make at home, but it was a great meal, and after figuring in the tip and drinks, if we would have eaten out something like this it would have cost somewhere around $60. It's not quite the same experience as going out to eat of course, but when money is tight and you want to still have a date night, a nice meal paired with a bottle of wine and some candles can do in a jiffy and save you money :) That's enough on that though, time for the recipe!



Korean BBQ Beef Kebabs


(yay! My photos are uploading normally again)

  • 1 1/2 lb. sirloin steak, cut against the grain into thin (about 1/4″) slices
  • 1/2 c. rice wine or pear juice (1 4 oz. bottle of pear juice from the baby food aisle is perfect and cheap)
  • 1/2 c. low-sodium soy sauce (I used regular soy sauce and thought the taste was fine)
  • 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. minced garlic
  • 1 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce
  • 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Combine wine or pear juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, chili sauce, and sesame oil in a large bowl. Add sliced steak. Marinate at room temperature for 1 hour or up to 8 hours in the refrigerator. Preheat the grill (or grill pan, in my case). While the grill is heating, thread the steak pieces onto (pre-soaked) bamboo skewers. Cook over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes per side, being careful not to let the meat get too cooked. If you like your meat more rare lean towards closer to 1-2 minutes, mine cooked very quickly. Serve immediately; serves 4-6.

(recipe from Our Best Bites )