Frito Pie

 How many times over the years have Robert, Holly, or Trevor texted me, asking for the Frito Pie recipe? (A lot.) Until now, I've had to find a link to an obscure Sunset Magazine page, but that changes today!

SUNSET MAGAZINE FAMOUS FRITO PIE RECIPE

2 lbs. ground beef
1 T. garlic powder
1 t. salt
2 T. flour
15 oz. can of black (or kidney) beans, drained, rinsed
3 T. chile powder
------
Fritos (Chili Cheese, please!)
finely diced onion
shredded cheddar cheese
shredded lettuce
diced tomato
and sour cream!

In a fry pan over medium high heat, stir ground beef, garlic powder, and salt until beef is crumbly and browned, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle flour over cooked meat and stir in well, so the flour absorbs the fat. Add 2 cups of water, beans, and chile powder. Stir and cook until mixture boils and thickens, about another 8 minutes.

Lay out Fritos in a bowl, top with meat mixture and your preferred toppings.

Serves 6-8.

Greg's Meatballs

I could make a sappy post about my old friend Greg West, but instead I'll just post his amazing meatball recipe. He's known for his cooking, and he's had times where he cooks voluminous amounts of food and shares it. I will always love him for taking Debbie and her dad food when John was sick with lung cancer. He doesn't often share recipes though, because he doesn't use them. So when he posted a brief meatball tutorial last year, I jumped at the chance to give them a try.

I cut the recipe in half and quite deliberately used a scale to weigh out 4 oz. meatballs, ending up with about 20 both times. Homemade meatballs deserve a homemade sauce, and I've used Hazan's famous recipe.

Greg's MEATBALL RECIPE

5# ground beef (80/20)
2# hot Italian sausage
2# sweet Italian sausage
1/4 C. garlic paste (in tubes at most grocery stores in produce section) (Kristine--made my own)
1/4 C. Italian herbs paste (in tubes at most grocery stores in produce section) (Kristine--made my own)
2 T. salt
2 T. black pepper
3/4 C. finely diced sweet yellow onion (Vidalia, Wala Wala) to name a few
1/4 C. finely chopped parsley
1/4 C. Heinz ketchup
4 Large eggs
2 C. finely chopped fresh sliced bread(1/8th in. dice) (sourdough, white or buttermilk acceptable. not flavored breads like Rye)
1/4 C. half & half

Pre-heat oven to 400°
In a separate bowl, add finely chopped fresh bread with half and half. Mix and let soak in.
Then, in a larger bowl, add all other ingredients. Top with soaked bread mixture. Put on latex gloves and mix thoroughly by hand. Do not use power mixer. Do not overmix or over-handle meat mixture. This will make the meatballs tough. If you prefer a harder meatball, substitute 1 C. dry bread crumbs for the finely chopped fresh bread. Portion out meatballs to desired size. I use a kitchen scale to make sure each meatball is to exact portion size but this is not necessary. The more uniform they are the more evenly they'll cook. (See figure 1)

Form meatballs by softly rolling them between hands. They should have no cracks on the outside of them when finished. They will crack while cooking if they do. I personally like mine huge (7 or 8 oz.) about the size of a small baby's head, but they can be anywhere between 1 oz or larger.
Place finished meatballs evenly on sheet pan. Bake for 5 min. @ 400 degrees for each meatball ounce. (5 oz. Meatballs will take 25 min.) You can broil on high for a few minutes to add a little color if desired. (See figure 2)

Once cooked, cool to room temperature.
Carefully rinse individual meatballs quickly under warm water to remove any excess grease. Place meatballs on paper towels and air dry. Once dry, they can be frozen in zip-lock freezer bags for later use.

The meatballs should be around medium rare after this cooking process. You finish cooking them completely once in the sauce.
If your meatballs are 2 oz.or smaller, place in large sauce pot and cover with sauce. Heat until hot, approx. 175°
If your meatballs are 3 oz. or larger, get a casserole dish large enough to hold your desired amount and fill half way with sauce. Place meatballs in sauce. The meatballs should be covered at least halfway. (See figure 3)

Bake at 400° until thoroughly hot. Approximately 25 to 45 min. depending on the size you made your meatballs. Once hot, remove from oven and top with generous portions of shredded mozzarella, Provolone and top with Pecorino Romano. Broil on high until Brown and bubbly. (See figure 4) Top with fresh chopped parsley for color contrast. Serve over pasta or in a crusty sweet French roll for an incredible meatball sandwich. Enjoy!!!

https://www.facebook.com/mushroom24/posts/10212626380039284

Because it was a new recipe with several steps, the first time I made them, it was a bit daunting. The second time, even though it was a year later, went much more quickly. It fed the four of us as a main dish (no pasta included!), and I froze half the batch to use later.

These are my completed meatballs. And Greg was right--they are absolutely amazing!

And Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce Recipe

The easiest to make homemade tomato sauce, the perfect accompaniment to Greg's Meatballs. Don't be fooled by the seeming lack of spices or flavorings. This is simple and sumptuous.

Hazan's Tomato Sauce


28 oz. can of plum tomatoes, undrained
5 T. butter
one onion, peeled and cut in half
salt

Combined tomatoes, butter, onion, and a pinch or two of salt in a saucepan.

Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally and mashing any large pieces of tomato with a spoon.

Discard the onion before using sauce. This recipe makes enough for a pound of pasta.

* * *

When making my usual half of the meatball recipe, I double this one, which is enough to go with 10-12 meatballs.

Mexican Day!

Yesterday, our work team of ten had a Mexican Day to celebrate a job promotion within our group. These people go ALL OUT. A couple spent the evening before making giant paper flowers and coming in early to decorate our conference room. Check out this picture--painted chiles on our windows, printed placemats, place setting decorations. The radio hidden in the centerpiece played Mexican music.  The left side of the photo shows just half of the food table, which was laden with beef or shrimp taco and taco salad fixings, homemade chicken enchiladas, rice casserole, 7 layer dip, salsas, cheese sauce, guacamole, and more.  The back table (with the green cloth) is the dessert table--faux fried ice cream (with homemade cinnamon sugar tortilla bowls), and my sopapilla cheesecake. 

It was all pretty amazing and delicious and even fun.

I brought Pioneer Woman's 7 Layer Dip recipe. It received a great response, and Robert and Trevor gave the highest praise for the one I kept for home.  This recipe is definitely a keeper:

7 LAYER DIP

1 can refried beans
hot sauce to taste
1 can diced green chiles, undrained
ground cumin to taste (I used about 1/4 t.)
3/4 c. shredded cheese
1 c. sour cream
1-2 avocados
3/4 c. shredded cheese (yes, in addition to the above cheese)
1/2 can black olives, chopped
 1 c. pico de gallo (recipe below)

Mix beans with green chiles, hot sauce, and cumin.  Spread evenly in bottom of 8" square or similar sized serving dish.  (I used a pretty glass pie plate.)  Sprinkle with first 3/4 c. cheese. This works best if you try to spread everything evenly.  Carefully top cheese with a layer of sour cream.  At this point, you can cover and refrigerate until ready to use or overnight.

Just before serving, cube avocado/s and sprinkle over sour cream.  Sprinkle the second measurement of cheese, then black olives, and then pico de gallo.  I served mine with a big spoon to make it easier for people to serve themselves. (Scooping chips into the dish makes it messy and ugly very quickly.)

----------------------

Despite my heavily bandaged finger (upcoming post), I spent quite a bit of time chopping things to make my own pico de gallo. The secret appears to be in using similar amounts of tomato and onion.

PICO DE GALLO

1 red onion
4 Roma tomatoes (slightly underripe is fine)
1/2 c. fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 small jalapeno (I used jarred)
lime juice
salt

Dice up equal quantities of onion and tomato.  Roughly chop the cilantro. Finely dice the jalapeno--you want a hint of hot, no burning.  Mix all in bowl.  Sprinkle 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of lime juice over all, along with 1/4 t. salt. Stir together until combined.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  You can make this the night before.

Makes about 2 cups.

Original PW recipes can be found here and here.

Peruvian street food

I am so in love.  Holly ate this last year in Peru.  We ate it last month while driving through DC. It was easy enough to replicate, and it was delicious--ultimate comfort food.

SALCHIPAPAS

One bag of frozen fries (regular, smaller than steak fries, larger than McD-style fries)
One package all beef hotdogs, or other high quality dogs
condiments

Prepare fries as directed on bag.

Meanwhile, slice hotdogs.  Add small bit of oil or PAM to fry pan, and heat to medium high.  When it is hot, add hotdogs, frying on both sides, until just beginning to brown.

When fries are done, evenly distribute among dishes.  Top with dogs. Further top with condiments of choice (ours were mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise).

For future reference, I am noting here that I might consider trying a homemade rosa(?) sauce next time.

This is not something Robert would appreciate, but it was a perfect fun meal when he was out of town.  If you need to feel healthy, make a smoothie to go along with it.

Recipe -- Turkey Burgers with Mushroom and Blue Cheese

While in Pennsylvania, we visited the amazing Allentown Farmers Market. This isn't just a few fruit stands set up in a big parking lot. We're talking more than 60 stands, 90,000 square feet of indoor shopping, produce, deli meats and cheeses, Pennsylvania Dutch and European baked deliciousness, food for now, food for later, an incredible assortment of everything one could possibly want--all at prices comparable to my local grocery store.

Included among the peperoni rolls, the strudels, and the pickled eggs, we saw Blue Cheese Buffalo Burgers. It brought back memories of the many times I used to buy these in Colorado Springs. I was inspired.

Trevor and I also ate veggie burgers that had been prepared earlier by my cousin, a noted vegan chef. The burgers were wonderful, but the literally hours-long preparation was not for me. Still, I was further inspired. When we returned home, I found this recipe.

TURKEY BURGERS WITH MUSHROOM AND BLUE CHEESE

1 lb. lean ground turkey (I used 99%)
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1. T. oil
2 T. soy sauce
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. pepper
4 oz. container crumbled blue cheese

Mix all ingredients together. Form into patties. The recipe calls for 4 patties; I was able to make 6, but we use small buns.

Instead of bbqing, I pan sauteed at just over medium heat for 6 mins. per side.

--

Trevor's friend declared them "awesomely delicious." When he was done, I told him there were mushrooms in the burgers. He was floored; he refuses to eat mushrooms. Trevor loved me more than he ever did before. Robert thought they were really good. Holly. Well, Holly took one look, said she didn't feel well, would eat later, and left. LOL.

I froze the remaining patties, but I think it would be best to cook them before freezing. (Wouldn't the mushrooms get soggy by being frozen?)

Delicious, healthy, feel-good about yourself meal.

And more recipes

When friends came for dinner last month, I had a total of nine people to feed. Four of these were teenaged boys, the smallest of which was Trevor (who is taller than me). I needed something filling, inexpensive and easy--oh, and of course good tasting! I didn't tell Robert I was trying a new recipe. He would not think it was such a good idea, but he turned out to be the biggest fan. He's requested this as our new taco recipe, whether we're feeding a crowd or not.

BETTER TACOS

2 T. oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
3 T. chili powder
2 t. oregano
1 T. cumin
3 lbs. lean ground beef
14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes (undrained)
salt/pepper to taste
1/4 c. cornmeal

Heat oil in large skillet until shimmering. Add onion; saute until soft, about 5 mins. Add garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin; saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add beef and cook, stirring often, until it loses its raw color. Stir in tomatoes; simmer to blend flavors, about 5 mins. Add salt/pepper, and stir in cornmeal. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened (almost immediately).

----------------------------

Although my strategy to try out new recipes is unplanned, it's working. I'm slipping in more and more untried dishes when we have company over. Robert doesn't get as nervous anymore, and things are turning out GOOD!

GREEK TORTELLINI SALAD

2 9-oz. packages refrigerated cheese tortellini (I've been using frozen, which is less than half the cost)
1/2 c. oil
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
1 t. oregano
1/2 t. salt
6 hard boiled eggs
1 lb. baby spinach leaves
1 c. crumbled feta cheese
1/2 c. slivered red onion

Prepare tortellini to al dente; drain.

In large bowl, mix oil, lemon juice, vinegar, parsley, oregano, salt. Add tortellini, tossing to coat. Cover and chill at least two hours.

Prior to serving, gently fold in spinach, feta, egg and onion.

Serves: a lot.

Recipe - Meatball Subs

I found a package of meatballs in my freezer and decided to use them in a dinner. I found this recipe and was thrilled by its high rating. Of course, I used my already-made meatballs instead and tweaked the recipe a little more. Everyone liked it (which is saying "even Holly," when I don't expect her to). It was sooooo easy, good, and inexpensive. I can't wait to make this for a crowd!

MEATBALL SUBS

1-2 onions, sliced
1-2 green peppers, sliced
meatballs, homemade or prepackaged; I used 6 frozen meatballs per person, which equaled one serving
jar of spaghetti sauce
sandwich rolls
provolone cheese

Pour ~1T. oil in skillet and preheat to med/med-high. Saute onion and green pepper to desired doneness; set aside.

Put meatballs in saucepan; pour in enough sauce to almost cover, but not quite. Heat meatballs thoroughly, stirring occasionally. My frozen meatballs took about 20 mins.

Cut open sandwich rolls. Pull extra bread out of the middle of rolls, so the meatballs will have a nice place to lay inside. Spray rolls with cooking spray, and place in 350 oven for 5 mins. to toast. Remove rolls from oven, fill one side with meatballs, and cover with one slice of cheese. Fill other side of rolls with cooked green pepper and onion. Return to oven, turn off heat, and let sit in residual heat for 5 mins.

Remove from oven, close sandwiches, smooshing slightly.

Holly's birthday recipes

A wonderful friend made this for us a few weeks ago. Our mutual soccer teams were supposed to be playing each other, and they were going to come for dinner after the game. The game was rained out, just giving us more time to enjoy our company. It's worth noting that our team color is blue; their team color is green.



Holly requested this same cake for her birthday.

JELLO POKE CAKE

2 (8 or 9 inch) white cake layers, baked and cooled
1 small box green jello
1 small box blue jello
2 cups boiling water*

Place cake layers, top side up, in two clean round cake pans. Poke each cake with a fork at 1/2 inch intervals, being sure to go all the way down to the bottom of the pan.

Open each box of jello and put into its own bowl. Dissolve in boiling water (1 cup per bowl), stirring well.

Carefully spoon one bowl over each cake. The jello will overflow and run down the edges of the cake (inside the pan). That's okay, just go slowly, and cover the entire cake with the jello.

Chill in fridge for 3 or more hours. (I didn't have this much time, one hour was sufficient.)

Dip one cake pan in water for 10 seconds, then unmold onto a serving plate. Top with frosting. Dip other cake pan in warm water for 10 seconds, unmold and place carefully on top of frosted cake; frost over all.

*I used a can of Diet 7-Up that we had on hand for 12 oz. of the water.

This is a fun recipe to play with. Pair up different jello flavors, and different pop flavors for variety, or to suit your purpose: red and green for Christmas; pink and red for Valentine's Day; orange and grape for Halloween, etc.


WHIPPED CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened (I always use the reduced calorie)
1 c. sugar
1/8 t. salt
1 t. vanilla extract
1-1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

In a small bowl, beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth; fold in whipping cream. After frosting cake, chill in fridge to set frosting.

------------------------------------------------

We've had my long loved fajita recipe for many years. This one beats my old one hands down. This was fabulous tasting and easy, easy to make.

BETTER STEAK FAJITAS

1/4 c. lime juice
1/3 c. water
2 T. oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 t. soy sauce
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. liquid smoke flavoring (I don't have, so I skipped)
1/2 t. cayenne pepper (gives a small kick and won't harm even small children!)
1/2 t. black pepper
2 lbs. your choice of fajita meat (I used flat iron steak)

Mix marinade ingredients together in large heavy duty plastic bag. Add meat, press out air to seal, place bag in fridge for several hours or overnight.

Bbq meat to desired doneness; let rest 5 mins., and slice thinly to serve.

April Fools' Day!

We've had a memorable one or two April Fools' Days in the past, but it's not a regular thing. This year, I baked meatloaf in a pie crust, and topped it with beet juice-dyed mashed potatoes. (Recipe below.) Trevor had come through the kitchen and was clued in on what was going on. He's always interested in what's for dinner.

I'd already announced that I was making a chocolate strawberry pie. I set a piece on each plate, turned the lights down, and called everyone to to the table. Holly was surprised to see pie, and I told her that, in honor of April Fools' Day, we were eating our dessert first. She thought this was a great idea! She took a bite, expecting sweetness--and was so shocked that she had to spit out her food!

It was hilarious! I couldn't believe I'd gotten her!!! She went on to eat the meatloaf anyway, even going back for seconds.


We had a giant bowl of broccoli with it, and continued celebrating with banana splits for dessert, with Holly making real whipped cream.

We also told Trevor that we'd decided to send him to this camp during the summer. His first question was if he'd get a bigger allowance, but he clued in soon enough.

A fun and funny day; the best compliment was when both Holly and Trevor said they'd do similar food pranks on their own kids.

Fauxberry Pie!

1. CHOCOLATE (MEAT LOAF) FILLING
   1/3 cup barbecue sauce
   1/4 cup milk
   1 tablespoon dark molasses
   1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
   1/2 teaspoon chili powder
   1 small onion, finely chopped
   1 tablespoon oil
   1/2 teaspoon salt
   1/2 teaspoon celery salt
   1/4 teaspoon pepper
   2/3 cup bread crumbs
   1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef
   1 egg, lightly beaten
2. 
   STRAWBERRY (POTATO) TOPPING
   2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
   Salt
   1/2 cup canned sliced beets (not pickled)
   1/4 cup (or more) warm milk
   4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3. Heat the oven to 350º. Sauce onion in T. of oil until transparent, about 7 mins. Combine the barbecue sauce, milk, molasses, cocoa, and chili powder. Mix well. Mix in onion, salt, celery salt, pepper, and bread crumbs. Then add the beef, egg, sauce mixture, and onion. Thoroughly mix the ingredients using your hands or a wooden spoon. It's helpful to make the beef as smooshed as possible so it imitates pudding texture instead of meatloaf. 
4. Place ingredients in a pie pan, spreading evenly with a spoon. Baked until cooked through, about 60 minutes.
5. While the pie is baking, prepare the mashed potato topping. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough water to completely submerge them. Salt the water lightly, cover the pot, and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and cook the potatoes at a low boil until they are tender, about 15 minutes.
6. While the potatoes cook, puree the beets and 1/4 cup warm milk in a blender until only small bits of beet are left in the mixture. Set aside.
7. Drain the potatoes and transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and pureed beets and, using an electric mixer, whip the mixture until it's smooth and fluffy. Add more milk if needed and salt to taste.
8. Spread the whipped potatoes over the top of the cooked meat pie with a spatula, as you would whipped cream, mounding it slightly in the center. Slice and serve the pie while the potatoes are still hot. Makes 8 servings.
9. It worked best for us to keep the lights down low, haha!

Sunday and the Cheap Gourmet

Rainy Sunday. We found out yesterday that we can listen to our church's teaching live via the internet. It's easier said than done, however, and we really need to practice self-discipline to listen attentively with all the distractions at home. That's how we ended up at Calvary Chapel six or seven years ago, listening at home on the radio when Trevor was too young to stay with us in the sanctuary.

Robert continued working with re-securing our wifi connections, finally winning the battle he's been waging all week. Between IP and MAC addresses, WEP, WPA, and a zillion other abbreviations that I don't recall, plus adding in the printer, Wii, Holly's Kindle, and what-else-have-we-forgotten, it's been nuts.

I unexpectedly found myself doing gourmet on the cheap, after buying ground veal on sale for $3.29/lb. I had no idea what to do with it, found a recipe online, roasted a few potatoes, and sauteed cauliflower. Everyone loved it, and Holly had seconds on the meat. (I almost fell off my chair.) This dinner couldn't have cost more than $6 total, not including the usual things I have on hand. We'll be having this again soon.

VEAL PATTIES

1 lb. ground veal
2 T. melted butter
1/2 t. lemon juice
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. ground nutmeg
dash ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten with 2 T. water
1/2 c. fine dry unseasoned bread crumbs (I used a little more)
2 T. oil

Combine veal, butter, lemon juice, salt, nutmeg, and pepper. Shape into four veal patties. Dip patties in egg mixture, then into bread crumbs. Heat oil in large skillet. Brown coated patties on both sides, reduce and cook until done.

Yes, ground veal might not really be "gourmet," but it's exotic in these parts.

LOL.

Recipe - Mushroom and Provolone Patty Melts

Unbelievable that I found this recipe in a recent issue of Cooking Light magazine. There's nothing "light" about it. It was quick to fix. Trevor was concerned about the beer, but after tasting the mushrooms, didn't think it tasted funny at all. Holly wanted the sauce, but there wasn't any sauce by itself, so she picked out the mushrooms.

Mushroom & Provolone Patty Melts

1 lb. ground sirloin (you could use any kind of hamburger)
1 T. oil *
1/4 c. thinly sliced onion *
salt and pepper
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced *
1-1/2 t. flour *
1/4 c. dark beer *
8 slices rye bread
4 - 6 slices provolone cheese

*These are original measurements; next time, I'm doubling these.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, salt and pepper to taste, and mushrooms, stirring until coated. Saute a few minutes until done; sprinkle flour over mushroom mixture. Cook one minute, stirring. Stir in beer; cook a few minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and keep warm.

Shape meat into 4 patties--make sure they're the right size to fit the bread, and allow for shrinkage of the meat. They'll be pretty thin. Wipe pan with paper towel and place back on medium-high heat. Add patties and cook about 4 mins. on each side or until done.

Toast bread. While still hot from toaster, place on plate and top with cheese. Top with meat patty, and top with 1/4 c. mushroom filling (I quickly reheated filling in microwave before putting on sandwich). Top with second piece of toast, smoosh down a little bit and cut in half.

I varied this a bit from the original recipe. We ate it with sweet potato fries and sliced mango.

My version of Marlboro Man Sandwiches

I've "known" Pioneer Woman way back when she was just another homeschool mom on a message board. I remember her early venture into blogging, and I read her little blog long before she bought her own domain name. But I don't remember her being famous for her recipes. She is now. Marlboro Man Sandwiches have been a long time favorite, but I've deviated much from PW's original recipe. My version:

MARLBORO MAN SANDWICHES

3-4 onions, sliced
~6 T. butter
2-3 lbs. cube steak, or other tenderized steak
seasoned salt
1/2 c. Worcestershire sauce
tabasco/hot sauce
sandwich rolls

Saute onions in a little butter until soft and light brown. Remove and set aside.

Slice cube steak against the grain and liberally season with the seasoned salt. Heat 2 T. butter over high heat (in same skillet) until melted and beginning to brown. Add meat in single layer. Cook one side until brown, then flip and cook until brown, a few minutes on each side. (This never seems to work for me, I might need to try a higher heat to get a brown crust. I usually put all of the meat in at once, and it turns that grayish color, not as bad as that sounds.)

Add 1/2 cup (at least) Worcestershire sauce, 5 to 6 shakes Tabasco, and the last 2 T. butter to finish the sauce. Add cooked onions. Stir to combine.

Sometimes we toast the rolls, but usually not. Everyone else in my family pours on a bunch of barbecue sauce. Sometimes we add sauteed mushrooms too.

Recipe - 90 Minute Perfect Pot Roast

We've been here for six months, and I've been unable to find one of our favorite, and easiest meals. (Sniff, sniff.)



I've made pot roast before. Several times. But I've only found one recipe that turns out great.



90 MINUTE PERFECT POT ROAST
(from start to finish, this is really more like a 2 hour roast)

2 T. oil
1 flat, boneless chuck roast, 2-2.5 lbs., with as few muscles as possible, a generous amount of fat separating those muscles, and as much marbling as possible, patted dry with a paper towel
Salt and pepper
2 medium-large onions, halved and thinly sliced (about 2 c.)
1-1/4 to 1-1/2 c. dry red wine
1 T. cornstarch
2 c. chicken broth

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450.

Set a heavy bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat on the stove while preparing the meat and onions. Pour oil into medium bowl (or the styrofoam roast tray), add roast and turn to coat. Generously sprinkle both sides of roast with salt and pepper. A few minutes before you plan to brown roast, turn heat to high. Add roast to dutch oven, cook on one side until a solid brown crust forms, 5 mins. Turn roast over, and cook until other side also forms a crust, 5 mins. Remove roast from pot. Tilt pot. If meat has not rendered 1 T. fat, add enough oil to the pot to equal 1 T.

Add onions and saute until soft and golden brown around edges, 5 mins. Add wine (the smaller amount if dutch oven is 9.5" in diameter or less), simmer for 1 min. to burn off alcohol. Return pot roast to pot and turn off heat.

Cover pot with heavy foil, pressing down snugly to form a *concave* lid that touches the roast inside the pan. AND place pot lid on pot. Return pot to burner and cook over med.-high heat until you hear juices bubbling.

Set pot in oven and cook 1 hour and 20 mins. until roast is dark brown and tender and onions and pan juices are nicely brown and caramelized. Remove from oven and let stand, covered, for 10-15 mins. Carefully remove lid and foil from pot and remove roast to a plate.

Skim fat from surface, if you like, and heat onions and drippings over med. high heat. Mix cornstarch with chicken broth and add to drippings. Simmer, scraping pot sides and bottom to loosen brown bits, until thickened slightly, 2 to 3 mins. Return toast to pot to simmer for a minute or two. Remove roast from juices.

Cut meat into thin slices, making sure that you are cutting against grain. Transfer meat to a platter and spoon juice over.

* * *

You can see the appeal of Laura's, which took a grand total of 5 minutes to nuke in the microwave lovingly prepare.

But while we don't have Laura's Pot Roast here, we do have Chow Chow in a jar. Don't laugh. Robert's mom used to make the real deal, but she hasn't done that in about 15 years. Beggars can't be choosers, and although we found out this is made with cabbage instead of green tomatoes, it was an AWESOME addition to our pot roast.




Lose Laura's. Gain Chow Chow. Fair trade.

Recipe - Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I don't know what possessed me to make this. I bought frozen meatballs on sale last week and planned this for dinner, even though we've never had it before. It was easy to make and everyone liked it. We'll definitely have it again! I served it with white rice, and frozen egg rolls and cream cheese wontons.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

1 lb. frozen meatballs, thawed (I thawed mine in the microwave)
20 oz. can pineapple tidbits, drained with juice reserved
1/3 c. water
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
3 T. cornstarch
3 T. vinegar
1 T. soy sauce (I substituted Worcestershire sauce and it was fine)
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. seasoned salt
1 carrot, cut into thin rounds
1 green pepper, cut into chunks

To make sauce, add enough extra water to the reserved pineapple juice to make 1 cup. In a large pot, combine juice mixture, 1/3 c. water, brown sugar, cornstarch, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger and seasoning salt until smooth.

Heat on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened.

Stir in pineapple tidbits, carrot, green pepper, and meatballs into sauce. Cook on low until heated through, stirring occasionally.


**Sliced water chestnuts optional. Add with carrots and green pepper.
**Can also make ahead in crockpot on low.

Shredded Beef Tacos

This is one of those fluke recipes from the newspaper eight years ago--I tried it, and it instantly became a family favorite. I like it because it goes in the crockpot and I don't have to do much to it. Everyone else likes it because they can add their own choice of toppings.

Shredded Beef Tacos

5 lb. chuck roast
2 t. pepper
2 t. salt
2 t. cumin
5 cloves of garlic, minced

Put meat and spices in the crockpot. Fill halfway with water. Turn on low heat and cook at least 8 hours.

When done, strain 1-2 c. of the cooking liquid and reserve. Shred or dice the beef; return it to the crockpot, along with the reserved liquid.

Serve with homemade tortillas and salsa.

Trevor likes his with cheese and sour cream.

I usually use the smallest piece of meat, about half the size, and halve the recipe accordingly. It fills 12-15 small tortillas.

Taco Seasoning

***UPDATE*** Choose this BETTER TACOS recipe instead!

We had taco salad last night, but I didn't have any taco seasoning mix. I found this online, and it was great--so great that we'll be using this instead of a pre-packaged mix from now on!

TACO SEASONING

1 T. chili powder
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. onion powder
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1/4 t. oregano
1/2 t. paprika
1-1/2 t. cumin
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper


Add to meat, along with 3/4 to 1 c. water; simmer until liquid is halved, or whenever you think it's ready.

I found the recipe to be flexible; I used garlic salt instead of garlic powder, omitted the paprika entirely (couldn't find mine!), used dried onion instead of onion powder, and cut the salt by more than half.

Quick review on Marlboro Man Sandwich

I made these tonight for dinner using Pioneer Woman's recipe.

They were GOOD! I bought 2-1/2 pounds of tenderized boneless beef round steak instead of the little cube steaks that I use for Chicken Fried Steak. My onions were small and I could have used more than two. The 1/2 c. Worcestershire sauce was perfect (I worried that it might be too much), and my hot sauce isn't that hot, since I used a couple of good shakes, and I don't think anyone even noticed. I couldn't get my bread to brown up quite as nicely, but it got covered up by the meat anyway.

Holly, my pickiest eater, liked it. A lot. Trevor . . . well, Trevor isn't too picky. Robert will eat food that he doesn't think too much of, but he said he was already liking it just by the smell of it cooking. Before he even tasted it though, he poured on a bunch of bbq sauce and topped it with lettuce.

It was definitely a hit, something we'll make again. Soon.

Around the house

Great way to start the day with the announcement from Tom Tancredo, tossing his hat into the Presidential election. Tom's been my only choice for several months. Read more here. Notice the oh-so-liberal Denver Post's deliberate misuse of the word "Mexican." Tom stands head and shoulders above a field of otherwise-mediocre-at-best candidates. (I think "mediocre" is optimistic and generous and way too PC.)

* * * * *

Blogs come in all shapes and sizes. Here's one I came across by Thoroughly Modern Millie. Millie began blogging at the age of 77. I've been browsing through some of it tonight, and I just wish she posted more than once a week! I also like seeing how her blog has evolved from the early posts to the more current ones.

* * * * *

After school, Trevor went on the search for a crafts book. I was trying to do a dozen other things, and my only plea was that he find something that he could do on his own and didn't require paint.

He made a boat, using black and white stickers to make the word "Wave" on the side. He floated it in the sink for a while and took it in the bathtub tonight. He later told me that he learned to NOT let the boat float around while the water was still running (grin).


Pumpkin had fun floating the boat in the sink too.


He made a caterpillar. (Trevor likes tape; I think I need to introduce colored duct tape into our house.)
While he made several things (some of which I didn't see) for Easter presents, he also made a turkey.

* * * * *

I made our yummiest and easiest dinner tonight, French dip with Caesar salad.


FRENCH DIP
1 lb. thinly sliced roast beef from the deli (buy the best, it's worth it for this)
package of 6 sub-type rolls
2 cans of beef broth (not condensed; choose low sodium if you can)
butter

Slice rolls, spread with butter. Layer with meat. Heat broth over the stove and serve hot in bowls.

CAESAR SALAD
romaine lettuce, prepared
Paul Newman's Creamy Caesar Dressing

Backing up to Sunday

The rain was gone and it was beautiful outside!


New recipe for dinner that turned out pretty good. I adapted something I found on Food Network.

BEEF STROGANOFF

1 lb. top sirloin (cut into 2 inch long and 1/4 inch wide)
3 T. butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 c. beef broth
1 t. Dijon or brown mustard
1/2 c. cream or half and half
1/2 c. sour cream
2 T. flour
Salt and pepper
8 ounces medium egg noodles, cooked1 T. butter
2 T. dried parsley
Heat a large non-stick pan over medium high heat and cook meat on all sides. Remove to a bowl. Wipe the pan clean and heat the 3 T. butter. Cook onions and mushrooms together until soft, about 10 minutes.
Lower heat, add flour and cook stirring for a minute. Blend broth, mustard, cream (or half and half) and sour cream together.  Whisk in broth mixture along with any meat juice in the bowl and simmer, without boiling, until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Return meat to sauce and heat, without boiling until meat is warmed through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Toss cooked noodles with 1 T. butter and parsley; top with stroganoff sauce. Serves 4.

* * * *

Robert thought it was pretty good but likes his pieces of meat smaller. I prefer rice instead of noodles. The kids ate it up nicely too.

Holly and I watched The Amazing Race last night. AAARRRRGGGGHHHH. I am SO mad at myself. I "peeked" at an AR spoiler website a few weeks ago, and I KNEW that Rob and Amber would go tonight. WHY do I look at these things??? Of course, I know who wins it too, and I am NOT happy. (Because AR is a popular show, tourists snap photos of the teams, and it's pretty easy to figure out who's left and the general path their traveling takes around the world.) I do this sometimes with book endings, spoiling it for myself. I don't think I'll ever learn . . .