CROCK POT BRAISED BEEF

I woke up last Friday morning to the third day of rain here. Very depressing for my days off, so I decided that I needed a great dinner tonight with a lot of leftovers for the weekend. I had a lot to do today because I procrastinated doing errands the past two days because of the rain. So I got my crock pot out and started searching for new beef recipes. Everything I found sounded too complicated for me so I just through a few of my favorite things in the crock pot. This is what I came up with. My version of braised beef ribs. They turned out so awesome! Who would ever think that brown gravy mix tasted better with red wine than water? I am so glad my daughter is older now because I don’t think I will ever mix gravy with water again. The gravy turned out so rich and yummy I am not sure I ate any beef. No, really the beef of course was cooked to perfection. It was fork tender with such a delectable flavor there wasn’t much left over. I paired it with a salad, macaroni and cheese, and some rolls for soppin up the gravy. Everyone was fat and full after dinner that nobody even wanted dessert.  My dinner was a big hit and so easy to cook that I rewarded myself with a glass of wine after the dishes were done. I am now wondering if ranch dressing tastes better with wine, maybe white wine ? I will definitely be doing some experimenting with that one. I’ll let you know how it comes out. P.S. I didn’t take any before pictures just pictures of the finished product. Kind of got in a hurry to get it done. The four ingredients went together in a snap and I just kept moving along with my day. By the end of the day my home and garage smelled so wonderful I am surprised the neighbors didn't come over to see what was cooking!

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs of boneless beef ribs
1  cup of red wine
1 pkg. of Lipton onion soup mix
1 pkg. of brown gravy mix

DIRECTIONS:

Spray the crock pot with Pam. Drop the ribs in to the crock pot. Sprinkle the Lipton soup and gravy mix over the ribs. Then pour on the wine. Cover and cook on low for 8 -10 hours.

 

 

KOREAN BEEF TACOS

This is a really quick and easy recipe to throw together before leaving the house. It’s really a no brainer. I was a little confused at first as to what rice to serve with this dish but fried rice is the way to go I think. The flavor of the beef was out of this world. I was ready to quit my day job and buy a taco truck and make a fortune. Then my daughter told me that her college had a Korean Taco truck. I wondered why I haven’t  had one of these before. They were awesome! The savory flavor of the beef and crispness of the coleslaw made for a delectable meal. Everyone really enjoyed them. They were even better as leftovers the next day. The flavors just fused together. I couldn’t believe it. I can’t wait to make these again. So here is my new favorite recipe for the week.  

 

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 lbs. of beef roast
1/3 cup of soy sauce
½ cup of brown sugar
½ onion chopped
5 tsp. of minced garlic
1 tsp. of grated ginger
2 tbs. of rice wine vinegar
1 tbs. sesame oil
1 seeded chopped jalapeno

COLESLAW:

1 bag of shredded cabbage
1 tbs. of soy sauce
2 tbs. of rice vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

 Directions:

Spray the crock pot with PAM. Put the beef roast on the bottom. Add everything on top of the roast. Cover and cook on low for 8- 10 hours. Before serving remove the beef and shred with forks. Return it to the juice. I served this with flour tortillas, coleslaw, and fried rice. 

 

 

TUSCAN CHICKEN PASTA

This recipe is so easy and delicious. At first I thought it wouldn’t go over big at my house but I was wrong! My family really enjoyed it and my daughter doesn’t even like spaghetti sauce. I guess maybe it was because it was mostly tomatoes instead of sauce and it was chicken instead of beef. After I pulled the chicken out to cut up I got a little worried. There seemed to be a lot of sauce left. Well not to worry, just add your noodles and about 20 -30 minutes later it kind of seems you have more noodles than sauce. I was really amazed how much this made. I think I could’ve feed all my co-workers from one crock pot. It made that much. Next time I will have to half the recipe. The chicken of course was very tender and flavored from the tomatoes, garlic and Italian seasonings. The noodles were tender and best of all I didn’t have to use another pot to boil them! I love one pot cooking! Serve this with a salad and some crusty garlic bread and be the hit of the evening.

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. of boneless skinless chicken
2 15 oz. cans of Italian style tomatoes
1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 cup of water
1 can of mushrooms
1 chopped onion
1 chopped bell pepper
4 cloves of minced garlic
1 tsp. of Italian seasoning
6 oz. of uncooked spaghetti noodles

DIRECTIONS:

Spray the crock pot with PAM. Place the chicken in the bottom of the pot. Next add all the ingredients except the spaghetti noodles. Stir thoroughly, cover and cook on low for 5 hours. 20 -30 minutes before serving remove the chicken and cut up and return it to the pot. Then add the noodles and stir. Cover and cook on high until the noodles are soft.

 

 

 

CROCK POT RANCH CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

I decided to try this recipe just because it sounded really good. The combination of ranch dressing and taco seasoning was too good to pass up. My first thought was why would I want to finish the enchiladas in an oven? I had originally planned to finish the enchiladas up in the crock pot but everyone got hungry and my margaritas were ready so I opted out for the oven. These enchiladas could have been easily placed in the crock pot, covered and cooked on high for another 1- ½ hours. An alternative would have been to layer the chicken, tortillas, and cheese. These enchiladas were really tasty. The chicken smelled wonderful while cooking. The taco seasoning gave it enough of a kick and the ranch dressing cooled it off a bit and gave it that tangy flavor I love. I served it with cilantro and lime rice, a little sour cream, and chips and queso. Everyone was full and happy especially me! This recipe is by far the best shredded chicken I have tried. This will definitely be going in my rotation of favorites.  

 

INGREDIENTS:

4-6 boneless chicken breasts
1 package of Ranch dressing
1 package of taco seasoning
1 small can of green chilies
1 cup of chicken broth
2 cups of grated cheese (Cheddar, Colby Jack, or Monterey Jack)
1 package of tortillas (corn or flour)
1 small bottle of ranch dressing  

DIRECTIONS:

Spray the crock pot with PAM. Place the chicken in the bottom. Mix together in a small bowl the chicken broth, ranch dressing, taco seasonings and the green chilies. Pour over the chicken, cover and cook on low for 3- 4 hours until the chicken is done. Remove the chicken from the crock pot and place in bowl. Shred the chicken with a fork. Pour some of the juice from the crock pot onto the shredded chicken and reserve the rest to use later. Next preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x12” pan. Pour a little of the reserved juice in the bottom of the pan. Take a tortilla and spread some of the chicken on it, then add a line of ranch dressing, followed by some grated cheese. Roll up and place the seam side down in the pan. Repeat until you run out of chicken or tortillas. Take the rest of the juice and pour over the top, then add some more grated cheese. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for about 30 - 45 minutes.  
P.S. Sorry we got in a hurry to eat and I didn't get pictures.

KING CAKE IN THE CROCK POT

Alright I just had to try this! Here it is ready to go just before Fat Tuesday. One of my co- workers and I were talking about Mardi Gras one day and she commented that she had never eaten a King Cake. Well then I commented that I had never made one before. So I decided we needed to correct those wrongs. After googling and finding what I thought would be an easy recipe I decided to vamp it some more and put it in the crock pot. It turned out pretty amazing if I say so myself. The pictures do not do it justice. The cake was very light and sweet, the filling was lemony and cheesy, and the icing with the sprinkles just made it all the sweeter. I decided I would make it at work so at 6:00 in the morning I took the bread dough out of my freezer. It thawed by 9:00, so after breakfast I was able to roll it out, make the lemon cream cheese filling, roll it up, and add the little plastic baby. It sat and rose until after lunch when I put it in the crock pot and let it cook for 2 hours. I took it out and let it cool off, iced it and it was ready for tea time. I think everyone really enjoyed it. It was gone within 15 minutes. The Rhodes bread dough came in a bag of 3 loaves so I can actually make 2 more flavors of king cake if I don’t just eat the bread the way it comes. I can change the flavor by just changing the lemon for strawberry, blueberry, cinnamon, or even adding some chocolate to the cream cheese would be awesome. Some people might even try Nutella if they like the hazelnut flavor. I think I’ll stick with the berries or chocolate myself. Like I said the pictures don't do it justice. I think it kind of deflated a little. I texted the picture of the finished product to a friend of mine who texted back that it looked like an internal organ. We ate it anyway. So give it a try. I don't think you'll be sorry. It was really good! Drop me a line and let me know how it comes out.

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 Rhodes frozen bread loaf
1 8oz. block of cream cheese
1 cup of powdered sugar
1 tsp. of lemon
1 egg, beaten
1 ½ cups of powdered sugar
¼ - ½ cup of water
Purple, green, and yellow sugar sprinkles

DIRECTIONS:

First let the bread dough thaw to room temperature. It will rise in a couple of hours. Then flour a cookie sheet and roll the dough out to a 10 x 18 inch rectangle and let rest. In a bowl combine the cream cheese, 1 cup of powdered sugar, and lemon extract. Then spread the filling over the dough. Brush one of the lengthwise edges of the dough with the beaten egg. Start rolling up the dough lengthwise by the other side. Pinch the seam together and form it into a ring. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise one more time for about an hour. Now place a piece of parchment paper in the crock pot and spray it with PAM. This will keep the dough from sticking and burning. Place the cake into the crock pot and cover. Cook on high for 1 ½ - 2 hours until the dough springs back and is done. It won’t be brown but you’re icing it anyway. After its done remove it from the crock pot and let it cool off. Then mix together the 1 ½ cup of powdered sugar and water to make the glaze. Spoon over the cake, then sprinkle with the colored sugar sprinkles.