Cuban Shredded Beef

I made this today. It makes a lot, so I froze the left overs for later. This would probably also be good made with a pork roast. I used a red bell pepper instead of green, hickory smoked salt for the regular salt and garlic pepper for the black pepper. It had a nice smoky flavor. This a "Mr. Food" recipe. I served it in tortillas. On the original recipe he just served it on a big roll.

Ingredients
4 to 6 servings
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (2-1/2- to 3-pound) bottom round roast
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
In a slow cooker (3-1/2 quarts or larger), combine bell pepper, onion, and garlic; place roast on top of vegetables.
In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, salt, and black pepper; mix well and pour over roast. Cover and cook on high setting 7 to 8 hours, or until meat pulls apart with a fork.

Turn off slow cooker and shred beef by pulling it apart with 2 forks. Stir beef mixture and allow to sit 5 minutes.

Crispy Fried Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken tenders
Salt/Pepper to taste
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten with 2 Tbsp milk
1 cup dry breadcrumbs, seasoned (I used Italian, plus put some rotisserie chicken seasoning in)
1/4 cup olive oil (I used the light tasting one)

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Salt and pepper both sides. Dip each tender first in the flour,
then the egg wash, then the seasoned breadcrumbs. Shake off excess and place on a cookie sheet. If
time allows, chill 30 minutes in refrigerator to help the coating adhere to the chicken. Heat the oil,
enough to generously cover the bottom of a large skillet, over medium high heat. (I used my electric
skillet). Add the chicken, being certain not to crowd the pan, and brown about 3 minutes on each side. I
did mine in three batches. Place on a cooling rack over paper towels on a cookie sheet to drain. Sprinkle
with a little more salt, if needed. Serve immediately. These are also good warm, room temperature, or
cold.

Chicken Burritos--Crock Pot

These burritos steam in individual foil packets for easy serving and sealed in flavor.

2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 (1.25 ounce) taco seasoning mix (I used chicken taco season mix by McCormick)
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
½ cup minced onion
salsa

Place chicken and seasoning mix in a large zip-loc bag; seal and shake to coat.

Spread beans evenly over tortillas. Top each with chicken, cheese, tomato, and onion; roll up.
Wrap each burrito in foil; place in slow cooker.

Cover and cook on HIGH 2 hours. Serve with salsa.

Applesauce in the Crock Pot

I made this amazing applesauce last night in the crock pot. I peeled, cored, and sliced 12 large granny smith apples. I also did one fuji apple. Put in a big bowl with 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Stir to combine and coat all the apples. Pour all that out into the crock pot. At this point I decided to add some cinnamon. It wasn't in the original recipe, but my girls like cinnamon applesauce. I probably put in 1 - 2 Tablespoons and stirred it around again. Cover the crock pot and because my apples were sliced thin on the apple peeler/corer/slicer I only had to cook it 2 1/2 hours on HIGH. The original recipe called for cutting the apples into 1 1/2 inch chunks and cooking it 4 hours. When the apples were cooked I smoothed them with my immersion blender. Genius! It worked so quickly and the result was a velvety smooth consistency. You could just mash it for a chunkier applesauce, but that is not for me. This applesauce is for the girls' lunch boxes so I spooned it into 4 ounce containers to freeze. Then they can just take one out the night before and it will be ready for their lunches the next day. I was pretty proud of myself for doing this recipe. It's not like it was hard or anything, but it is something I had never made before and I love it when things turn out exactly the way I want and taste delicious. It was simple satisfaction of a job well done. It made 16 4-ounce containers or 8 cups total.

No-Knead Bread

This recipe is from the New York Times. Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery came on the Martha Show to demonstrate making this bread. There is a good video on her website from that episode as well.

I like to make this bread to serve with soup and then make a panini on it the next day. It makes a beautiful round loaf.

Ingredients

Makes one 1 1/2-pound loaf

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for work surface
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Olive oil, as needed
Cornmeal or wheat bran, as needed (optional)

Directions

In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Coat a second large bowl with olive oil. Transfer dough to oiled bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, but preferably up to 18, in a room about 70 degrees in temperature. When surface is dotted with bubbles, dough is ready.

Lightly flour work surface. Place dough on work surface and sprinkle with more flour. Fold the dough over on itself once or twice. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

Sprinkle just enough flour over work surface and your fingers to keep dough from sticking; quickly and gently shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, cornmeal, or wheat bran; place dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, cornmeal, or wheat bran. Cover with a second cotton towel and let rise until it has more than doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours.

After about 1 1/2 hours, preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot, such as cast-iron or Pyrex, in oven as it heats. When dough has fully risen, carefully remove pot from oven. Remove top towel from dough and slide your hand under the bottom towel; turn dough over into pot, seam side up. Shake pan once or twice if dough looks unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking until browned, 15 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Baked Potato Wedges

This recipe is from Barefoot Contessa Family Style (Ina Garten).

I make these potato wedges with chicken or fish. Tonight we had them with crispy catfish filets. You can very the seasonings any way you would like. I like lots of garlic!

Ingredients
4 large baking potatoes, unpeeled
4 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Scrub the potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise, then cut each half in thirds lengthwise. You'll have 6 long wedges from each potato. (I find it easier to make 8 wedges out of one potato). Place the potatoes on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary. With clean hands, toss all the ingredients together, making sure the potatoes are covered with oil. Spread the potatoes in a single layer with 1 cut-side down.

Bake the potatoes for 30 to 35 minutes, turn and bake 20 minutes more. Bake until they are lightly browned, crisp outside, and tender inside. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Apple Surprise

This recipe is from epicurious and was included in the Taste of the NFL recipes contributed by Ernest Wilford of the Jacksonville Jaguars. It is a yummy Fall treat! Sorry no pictures got taken of any recipes this weekend! Camera battery died!

Ingredients
1 package Pillsbury yellow cake mix
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs, divided
1 (20 ounce) can apple pie filling
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup almonds or walnuts, chopped (I used sliced almonds)
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large bowl, using electric mixer on low, beat together cake mix, butter, and 1 of the eggs until crumbly. Press into ungreased 13 x 9-inch pan. Spread apple pie filling evenly on top.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts, then sprinkle over the apple layer.

In another small bowl, blend sour cream, remaining egg, and vanilla. Pour over brown sugar layer. Bake until top is golden brown, 40-60 minutes.

Creole Sausage with Rice and Red Beans

This was an easy slow cooker recipe from Southern Living. It was not too spicy so I sprinkled more creole seasoning on mine.

1 (16-ounce) package smoked sausage, sliced
2 (10-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
3 1/2 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning (I used Tony Chachere's Original)
1 1/2 cups uncooked converted long-grain rice
2 (15-ounce) cans red beans, rinsed and drained

* Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat 5 minutes or until browned. Place sausage in crock pot.
Stir in tomatoes, chciken broth, creole seasoning and rice.

*Cover and cook on LOW 3 1/2 hours. Stir in beans. Cover and cook 30 more minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Makes 8 servings

The recipe also says that it works just as well without beans if you'd rather leave them out.

Turkey Lettuce Wraps

While we are talking turkey, here is another recipe I use a lot that uses ground turkey. It is Easy Weeknight Turkey Lettuce Wraps from the beautiful blog called "Picky Palate". We love it with some mini eggrolls. Sometimes I also make some basmati rice to go with them. These are very low in fat and quick to prepare.


2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Cup finely chopped onion
1 lb ground turkey breast
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic salt (I use Lawry’s)
1 12 oz bag of Broccoli Slaw (In the produce section by regular cole slaw and bagged salads)
1 small can drained water chestnuts
½ Cup Yoshida’s Teriyaki Sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Approximately 15 Butter Lettuce leaves (you can also use iceberg lettuce leaves or hearts of romaine)

1. Place oil into a large 5 qt skillet or other large pan over medium heat. When hot, add onion and cook for 5 minutes to soften. Add ground turkey, salt, pepper and garlic salt. Brown and crumble until cooked through.

2. When turkey is cooked, stir in broccoli slaw, water chestnuts, teriyaki sauce and sesame oil. Cook for another 10-15 minutes or until heated through. Reduce heat to low until ready to serve. Serve spoonfuls inside lettuce leaves. Enjoy!

Mini Turkey Burgers

We love these little babies! This is a Martha Stewart recipe. I make the patties ahead of time so they are quick to the grill. I keep them made up in the freezer and just pull them out to thaw in the fridge the day we are having them. I have also varied the cheeses, using white cheddar as well as colby jack. Lately, I have been serving them with baked chips and a peach smoothie for a light refreshing meal.


Ingredients:
2 slices white sandwich bread (about 1 ounce each)
1 pound (93 percent lean) ground turkey
2 ounces cheddar cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 small onion, grated
Course salt and ground pepper
1 tsp olive oil
12 party size rolls
Lettuce, sliced tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, for serving (optional)

Directions:
1. In a food processor, pulse bread until fine crumbs form. (This can also be done in the blender). Transfer to a medium bowl; add turkey, cheese, and onion. Season with salt and pepper, and mix gently just until combined. Form twelve 2-inch patties (about 3 Tbsp each).--I weigh mine to make them even, or use a big cookie scoop.
2. In a large non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium. Cook patties until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. --(I just grill them). Serve on rolls with lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup and mustard, if desired.

Serves 4, 3 mini burgers each (We don't eat this many each! The girls eat one each and Jared and I will eat 2 each, so I can get two meals out of one batch of patties making 12).

"Baked" Potato Soup

I got this recipe from a book I checked out of the library, "Southern Living Slow-Cooker Cookbook". I am trying to do more with my Crock Pot than just the standard roasts. This soup is aptly named as it tastes just like a loaded baked potato. I served it as a meal with crusty bread.

6 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch cubes (about 3 3/4 pounds)
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 (14-oz) cans chicken broth with roasted garlic
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup whipping cream or half and half
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 8-oz container sour cream (optional)
4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
More shredded cheddar cheese

Combine first 6 ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on High for 4 hours or Low for 8 hours, or until potato is tender.
Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is thickened slightly; stir in cream, shredded cheese and chives. Top individual bowls with sour cream, bacon or more cheese as desired.

Next time I think I will use white pepper and not quite as much. Otherwise it was very yummy. It makes a big batch, too! It is going to be my lunch all week, I think!