(Freezer) Ranch Cheddar Burgers

Another item to add to the freezer stash. I froze half and cooked half for dinner. Norris said they're really good, so I'm looking forward to trying them in a month or so! I followed the freezer instructions on these, also. Norris says the only thing to change would be to add more ranch flavoring next time, so I guess there will be a next time! Much better than those frozen burger patties (although those definitely aren't a terrible thing!).

Ranch Cheddar Burgers (links to recipe)

from Once a Month Mom

Chicken Fried Steak

I know it's the time of year to make a bunch of healthy recipes, but I am pretty much using the same ones of those I've posted before. About once a week, I've been making a more-than-weeknight meal based on Norris' request. This week, the dish was chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and white gravy. Mmmmm, comfort food. I told him as we were eating it (and he was looooving it) that I can't remember ever even making it before. I may have before, and I have only eaten it a couple of times, but it's pretty easy to know what it's supposed to taste like and whether it tastes good!
It really wasn't too labor intensive and I had most of the dishes done before we sat down to eat, which I always like, so it could be a weeknight meal, but it's definitely not a super quick one. Great for a meat and potatoes man (or woman!).
I made my favorite mashed potatoes on the side--boil potatoes along with peeled cloves of garlic, then season (butter, milk, salt, pepper, sour cream, whatever you like) according to taste. Love that cooked garlic flavor in them and it helps you not need as much butter in the end. I'm just linking you to the recipe since the only change I made was to make 1/3 of the recipe and use skim instead of whole milk, which worked just fine!

Chicken Fried Steak

from Pioneer Woman

Lightened Up: Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

My meat and potatoes man loved this....and so did I! We just booked a return trip to the resort we went to last summer, which serves as good motivation to watch what's going in more. I know a lot of people are doing that in January, and if you're to the point where you're tired of yogurt and celery sticks (please tell me you're eating more than that anyway!) and looking for some new recipes, I have some great ones to try that we have been re-making lately. (linked at the end of this post)
 This salisbury steak definitely belongs on the list. It's warm, comforting, hearty, delicious, AND decently healthy! Not your traditional salisbury steak, but you would never guess based on the end result! I made mashed potatoes with a tiny amount of butter, skim milk, and roasted garlic and they were perfect with this meal and were also well received!

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Serves 4

1/2 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 tbsp minced dried onions
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 egg whites
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 1/4 cups beef broth
1/8 tsp salt
pinch black pepper, or to taste
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/3 cup water

Combine the meats, dried onions, onion powder, breadcrumbs, and egg whites in a bowl. Form four patties from this mixture.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and brown the patties on both sides. Remove patties and set aside. Drain skillet if necessary.
Add mushrooms to the skillet and cook for about 3 minutes, or until lightly sweated (some of the moisture comes out of them). While mushrooms cook, combine beef broth, salt, pepper, flour, tomato paste, vinegar, W sauce, mustard powder, and water.
Return patties to the skillet and spread mushrooms evenly throughout the skillet.
Pour broth mixture in the skillet over the patties and mushrooms. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and let simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

slightly adapted from Skinny Taste



Other recipes to try if you're looking for some lighter options:

Crockpot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
"The Best" Vegetable Soup
Lowfat Chewy Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Blueberry Banana Breakfast Snack Cake
Smoky Ham and Corn Salad
Shrimp Cobb Salad
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Chopped Apple Salad with toasted walnuts, feta, and pomegranate vinaigrette
Pear and Pomegranate Salad with gorgonzola and champagne vinaigrette
Oven Baked Okra
Macaroni and Cheese with cauliflower
Yogurt Poppyseed Muffins
Greek Chicken Wings with cucumber sauce
Laughing Cow Chicken
Lemon Parmesan Shrimp Pasta
Italian Turkey Burgers with basil garlic mayo
White Whisper Pasta
Steak and Potato Salad with chimichurri sauce



Crockpot Steak and Potato Soup

Woah, I just signed on to post this and it told me my last post was my 500th. That's a lot of rambling and a lot of food! It will be fun to look back on and is a great place to store my recipes for my own reference. Hopefully someone out there is also finding something that works for you!

After I sat down to eat this, I finally realized it was basically beef stew in the crockpot. DUH. I jazzed up a version I found on Betty Crocker and came out with a good, comforting product. Norris loves this Campbell's steak and potato soup and I made this in an effort for him to eat the real stuff instead of the canned stuff. I served it with blueberry muffins and it made a great, filling, hot meal, even for my meat and potatoes guy!

Crockpot Steak and Potato Soup

8 cups beef broth
3 carrots, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 lb beef steak (whatever cut you would like to use...the only good looking and good priced ones at my store were petite sirloins, so I used those)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb small red potatoes, diced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup flour

**fresh spinach

Combine everything except water and flour in 5 qt crockpot and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours.
Whisk flour into 1/2 cup water until well blended. Pour into crockpot and cook on high for thirty minutes, then serve. While you wait for that, bake up a batch of fresh bread to serve with the soup!

**I had some extra fresh spinach in the fridge that needed to be used, so I tossed a large handful in my bowl on top of the soup then stirred it in to wilt. I really liked the addition!

Makes 8 large bowls

adapted from Betty Crocker



Tastes like Lasagna Soup

Norris' school had a soup luncheon as their staff Christmas celebration and at the last minute he realized he needed to bring soup. I was not in the store going mood and looked through the cabinets for something I could put together and realized I had most of the ingredients for the lasagna soup idea I've seen floating around the web. I really liked this, but not so much as leftovers because the noodles were soggy. This would be a great soup for a get together when it will all be eaten OR leave the cooked noodles out until you are ready to reheat and add them then. The flavor really reminded me of lasagna and I can imagine that if you follow the instructions about topping with cheese and broiling it, you would have pretty much a lasagna replica, but done in much less time than lasagna! Check out the recipe link for her broiling and garlic crostini suggestions!

This is how I sent it: soup in crockpot, cooked noodles in bag to add just before serving, and shredded mozzarella on the side for topping.

Tastes like Lasagna Soup

from Paula Deen

• 1 pound ground chuck
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
• 32 oz chicken broth
• 2 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes (I left these out)
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups broken lasagna noodles
• 1 (5-ounce) package grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 
  

Cook meat, onion, bell pepper, and garlic over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until cooked. Drain well.

Stir in thyme, brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add noodles, and simmer until noodles are tender. Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Slow Cooker Mexican Pot Roast

When we walked into the house for FCA last week, we were greeted with the smell of dinner cooking. Our host was proud of what his wife was making and showed us into the kitchen where he lifted the crockpot lid (don't tell his wife!! I think it was pretty close to done though) and revealed a Mexican pot roast topped with Monterey jack cheese, jalapenos, and tomato sauce. That sounded so good to me, but I knew my husband wouldn't go for thos toppings and I'd have to top it on my own. I searched for a recipe (hers was from a church cookbook) and found one I could adapt..I wanted to be sure the meat still tasted like the Mexican dish I was going for and knew I could just top it with the good stuff myself. This meat was really good, but I accidentally poured too much water over it so I know it would be better without so much water. You could make burritos or tacos out of it, but I served it with sour cream rice and kind of mixed them together and it was excellent that way! Especially considering I don't normally care for roast, I really enjoyed this!

Charley's Slow Cooker Mexican Style Meat

from All Recipes

1 (4 lb) rump or chuck roast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/4 cups diced green chile pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
5 oz bottle hot pepper sauce
1 tsp garlic powder

Trim meat of excess fat, then rub with spices. Place in crockpot and sprinkle onion over meat. Pour pepper sauce over the meat, then add enough water to cover 1/3 of the meat.

Cook on low for ~8-9 hours, then shred meat and cook on low another hour.

Ranch Burgers

Simple and delicious. One pound of ground beef + one packet of Hidden Valley Ranch seasonings = quick and wonderful dinner approved by both members of the family. Assemble the burgers the night before and it's even quicker!

Have you heard of Little People, Big World? This is a case of Little Burger, Big Bun.

Ranch Burgers

1 lb ground beef
1 packet ranch seasonings
buns
condiments of choice (I used ketchup, mustard, and a whole bunch of sauteed onions)

Mix meat and seasonings well. Cook how you like them. I didn't feel like getting the grill out and sweating, so I broiled them on a rack in the oven.



Essence Crusted Beef Tenderloin

Check out the grill marks on that steak! My student was SOOO proud of himself and I was very proud of him, too! We can only use two butane burners (no electrical equipment or anything else) so we have to cook the steaks on a cast iron skillet. He did an awesome job and cooked them to perfectly medium-rare. 

Essence Crusted Beef Tenderloin

Serves 2 (plus extra Essence seasoning)
2 (6 oz) tenderloins
Paprika 1 tbsp
Salt 2 ½ tsp
Garlic powder 1 tbsp
Black pepper 1 ¼ tsp
Onion powder 1 ½ tsp
Cayenne pepper 1 tsp
Vegetable oil as needed
Medium yellow onion 1/2, julienned
Worcestershire sauce 1/2 tsp




Combine all spices thoroughly.


Rub steaks with approximately ½ tsp (each) of spice mixture.


Preheat grill pan over medium high heat. Lightly oil grill pan.


Once grill pan is heated, sear steaks and cook for about 4 minutes on each side or until medium.


In a separate pan, heat 1 tsp vegetable oil. Saute onions until translucent and tender. Stir in Worcestershire sauce. Keep warm until service.

French Dip Sandwiches

I never thought I was a fan of French dip sandwiches...I mean, who would purposely eat a soggy sandwich? My opinion has forever changed because I absolutely loved these sandwiches. Everything about them was great, from the ease of preparation to the taste and satisfaction factor. Try these out soon!French Dip Sandwiches

from Allrecipes via Macaroni and Cheesecake

Meat is enough to make about 6 sandwiches

2 lb beef chuck roast
1/2 tbsp minced garlic (used 2 cloves)
1/2 tbsp dried rosemary
1/2 tbsp chopped bay leaves
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 cups water

rolls (I agonzied for-ev-er in the bread aisle..mostly because I like to look at bread...and decided on a white braided roll that I crisped up a bit under the broiler with the cheese melting on top of one half..yum!)
provolone cheese slices
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried thyme

Place meat in crockpot and sprinkle with garlic, rosemary, and bay leaves. Pour soy sauce and water over the meat. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours (I cooked for close to 10, then left on "keep warm" setting and it was great two hours later). Meat should be fork tender.

Combine mayonnaise, parsley, and thyme.
Broil bread with cheese slice on top. Spread one half with mayonnaise, top with meat (I'm sure you know how to assemble a sandwich, right???). Serve with a small bowl of au jus (the juice left in the crockpot) for dipping--that is key to this being SO great!

Barbecue Cups

Every week, when I make the grocery list, I ask Norris what he wants on it, and I pretty much always get the same answer. This time, he had a some dinner requests, including chipped beef on toast, spaghetti with clam sauce, and barbecue cups. I decided I'd do one a week for the next few weeks, so I'm starting with barbecue cups from Michelle's Meals on a Budget. I went all out and used refrigerated biscuit dough for the full effect :) (hey, nothing wrong with the already made stuff, I just think it's fun to make my own normally!)
They're nice and sloppy, quick, cheap, and easy! I'm certain this would please any kid, and most grown men, too:) It did bring back a little taste of childhood!

Barbecue Cups

makes 12 servings
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained (I used lean ground turkey)
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (took more like 2/3 cup for me; used Sweet Baby Ray's)
1 T dried minced onion, optional (used it!! the only time I can get away with onion is when it's dried:)
1 T brown sugar
1 can refrigerator biscuits (used Pillsbury buttermilk flaky--10 in a can; should have used 12 though)
3/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Mix cooked ground beef with barbecue sauce, onions, and brown sugar.
Grease muffin tins. Flatten biscuits, then press in to cup shape in the tins. Spoon beef mixture into the cups. Top with grated cheese (save some for topping after they bake).
Bake at 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes.

Mushroom Swiss Sliders with Spicy Fry Sauce

I have probably mentioned this lots of times, but Norris loves mushrooms! They are something I don't really remember eating growing up, and have never gravitated toward, but cook a lot with now that I found my man :)

The Pioneer Woman is forever posting butter-laden dishes that will make you drool, and I don't normally try out many of them even though I love looking at them, but when I saw these, I immediately printed the recipe because I knew I'd have to give them a try in our house! Lauren and Zac also ate with us, and we all liked the flavor combination. I had just a touch of heavy cream left from making s'mores ice cream, so I was glad to use that up. I just bought some rolls and toasted them under the broiler. The "fry sauce" was really great, too!!

For the most part, I followed her instructions, except I cooked the mushrooms and onions separately, then put them in separate bowls on the table so we could each top our own. I cooked the burgers most of the way in the pan, then topped them with cheese and finished them off in the oven, also so they would stay warm. These would also be great in full-size burgers!

Link to Recipe (and you can see her step by step photo instructions!)

Beef Enchiladas

I know, how many different enchilada recipes can one person post?


We were having a "fiesta" on Sunday night in honor of Anika's first night in town, and I wanted to make some things I could have done ahead of time, so I put together some simple enchiladas. Norris had bought a couple of cans of cream of mushroom soup (don't ask why because I don't know either!) so I decided to put that in the sauce since I remember seeing that in some recipes before. I thought these were really great and had wonderful flavor, and I think our dinner guests agreed!!

No picture--I took one and posted it here, but then I realized it would definitely beat out any former contenders for worst picture ever, and you can hardly even tell what the picture was of. You'll just have to picture an enchilada in your head.

One of the best parts about this recipe is that you can assemble the whole thing the day (or month!) before and store it in the fridge (or freezer please if you are saving them for a month:) until you are ready to bake! Bake straight from the fridge or from frozen--place them in the oven BEFORE you turn it on if you are baking them in a cold glass pan.

Beef Enchiladas

1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb lean ground turkey
~1/4 to 1/3 cup taco seasoning
1/2 onion, small diced (optional..of course I left that out so the boys would eat it!)
3 cups shredded cheese

flour or corn tortillas (I made 10 large flour tortillas plus 6 small corn tortillas' worth)

16 oz enchilada sauce
16 oz cream of mushroom soup

Cook meat with onion; drain fat. Stir in taco seasoning and 2/3 cup water. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes.
Warm tortillas so they are easy to roll, then fill each tortilla with meat and a sprinkle of cheese. Place seam side down in greased baking dish. Continue process until all tortillas are filled or the pan is full! Combine enchilada sauce and mushroom soup in bowl, then pour over the top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for another 15. The sauce should look baked into the tortillas and the cheese slightly golden brown.

Beef Marinade

If you're ever looking for a marinade for anything, Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations is a great resource. I have liked everything I have tried from her, and her and her husband come up with all sorts of great marinades.

I tried this Balsamic Garlic beef marinade, and it was wonderful! Best part is that you don't even have to remember to do it ahead of time--a short marinating time and then grill or oven for a short time and you have some great flavor added to your beef while still tasting the beef.

I used close to her amounts of the ingredients. The original recipe comes from Food and Wine.

Balsamic Garlic Beef Marinade

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp thyme leaves

1.5 lb skirt steak (she used flank, but it also gave great flavor to skirt)

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients (suggested to use a blender, but I just minced my garlic and whisked it together). Pour over meat and marinate for 5-10 minutes. Cook meat, allow 5-10 minutes rest time, and serve!

New York Strip Steaks with Crushed Garlic and Tennessee Barbecue Sauce

We received the book Weber's Real Grilling as part of a cute barbecue gift basket for our wedding, and it has some great recipes in it. It seemed fitting that for our anniversary, I would use something out of the book.


We celebrated our second anniversary with dinner at home, then driving around in the country with our dogs in the back and found our country dream home!! Something to strive for, anyway :) Pretty low key and wonderful! Norris got me all my faves--Sabra hummus with Stacy's pita chips (even my favorite brands!!), peanut butter M&M's (let's not talk about how fast those were gone..), pretty flowers, and made me a nice homemade card!






The flavor of the meat was very good with this garlicky rub on the outside. I served it with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, and sauteed green beans (a little blackened for the perfect flavor and texture!). If you're a steak purist, you can just make the sauce for others! The simple rub is a good flavor boost, though. As you can see, I had to cook our steaks stovetop and finish them in the oven because we were out of propane for our grill. Oops!!

New York Strip Steaks

with Crushed Garlic and Tennessee Barbecue Sauce

from Weber's Real Grilling

Sauce:
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp Jack Daniel's whiskey
1 tbsp steak sauce
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 New York strip steaks, about 8 oz each and 1 inch thick
3 medium garlic cloves
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
To make the sauce, combine sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and whisk together with 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Trim most of the extra fat fromt he steaks and allow to stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before grilling/cooking (to prevent that curled steak thing you sometimes see).
Chop the garlic, then sprinkle the salt on top. Using your knife to smash the garlic and salt together to form a paste. Combine garlic with oil, rosemary, and pepper. Rub this mixture over all the steaks.
Grill over direct high heat until cooked to desired doneness. (or sear in hot pan and finish in hot oven for a few minutes). Let meat rest for 5 minutes after cooking, then serve with sauce on the side.

Spicy Oven Baked Ribs

I am calling these "spicy" since I already have another oven baked ribs recipe. These were really good and a cinch to put together. I should have taken an "after" picture--a bunch of teenagers with sauce all over their chins!!

Spicy Oven Baked Ribs

4 lbs meaty ribs (used bone in)
1 onion, sliced (2 if you prefer)
4 tsp apple cider vinegar
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground red pepper (this was enough for me; if you want them "spicy", you can amp this up)
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1 1/2 cups water

Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper. Place in roaster and cover with onions. Combine remaining ingredients and pour half of the sauce over the meat.
Cover and bake at 350 for about 1 hour, basting two times during the cooking process. Turn the ribs twice during cooking process as well. Remove cover for the last few minutes to brown ribs, if desired.

adapted from a recipe seen on cooks.com

Steak with Chimichurri and chili pilaf

sooooo yummy! I will post the Asadero cheese sauce next--it's the white stuff in the middle. We were supposed to garnish with brunoise red peppers for a pop of color, but oh well! Their steak was cooked perfectly!!

Chili Pilaf with Steak and Chimichurri

Serves 2

1 tbsp butter

2 tablespoons orzo pasta

1 cup chicken stock

½ cup rice

2 tablespoons pimientos, drained well and finely chopped

1 ½ teaspoons chili powder

¾ tsp sweet smoked paprika

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

½ large shallot, minced

½ large clove garlic, grated or minced

½ cup packed flat leaf parsley

Grated peel of ½ lemon

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

2 6-oz strip steaks, at room temperature

½ red pepper, julienne

½ yellow pepper, julienne

¼ red pepper, brunoise

Preheat a grill pan or large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the orzo and cook, stirring, until toasted and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in the chicken stock, rice, pimientos, chili powder, and paprika and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 16 minutes. Remove from the heat, let stand for 10 minutes without uncovering, then uncover and fluff with a fork.

While the pilaf is working, combine the vinegars, shallot, garlic, parsley, thyme, marjoram, and lemon peel. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the olive oil; season with salt and pepper.

To prepare the peppers, heat a small amount of oil over medium heat and sauté without adding much color.

Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Cook on the grill pan, turning once, for 8 minutes for rare. Let the meat rest for a few minutes, then slice thinly on the bias.

Place a bed of rice and a drizzle of chimichurri on the plate. Alternate steak and pepper slices, drizzle chimichurri and cheese sauce over the top, and garnish with brunoise red pepper.

Adapted from Rachael Ray Magazine

Chili Pilaf with Steak and Chimichurri

While looking for stovetop only meals to make for our culinary competition, some students picked this recipe out of the Rachel Ray magaine. It was SO good. I loved it and they loved it. This picture is from RR, but ours looked pretty much just like this, and hungry teenagers ate it all before I took any photos. The rice was really great, and the chimichurri was good mixed in with the rice. If you don't have a food processor, just mince all of your ingredients into oblivion and you'll be fine :) This is fresh with the chimichurri, but still warm and comforting. We hope you love it as much as we did!

Chili Pilaf with Steak and Chimichurri

source: Rachel Ray magazine

Serves 4 (but really, could serve many more if they won't each eat 8 oz of steak!)

2 tbsp butter
¼ cup orzo pasta (did without, and it was great)
1 ¾ cups chicken stock
1 cup rice
¼ cup pimientos, drained well and finely chopped
1 tbsp chili powder
1 ½ tsp sweet smoked paprika
¼ cup sherry vinegar
1 large shallot, coarsely chopped
1 large clove garlic, grated or minced
1 cup packed flat leaf parsley
7 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped
6 sprigs fresh marjoram, leaves stripped
Grated peel of 1 lemon
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
4 8-oz strip steaks, at room temperature

Preheat a grill pan or large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the orzo and cook, stirring, until toasted and golden brown, about 3 minutes (since we didn't use orzo, we did this with the rice instead). Stir in the chicken stock, rice, pimientos, chili powder, and paprika and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 18 minutes. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork.
While the pilaf is working, using a food processor, pulse the vinegar, shallot, garlic, parsley, thyme, marjoram, and lemon peel until finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the EVOO; season with salt and pepper.
Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Cook on the grill pan, turning once, for 8 minutes for rare. Let the meat rest for a few minutes, then serve with the pilaf and chimichurri.

Toasties

These are from a little Holiday Appetizer cookbook I have. I was looking for a savory finger food for our holiday "party" for my Professional Cooking class and wanted to try something different. They are basically a meatball delivered on a cracker toast. The kids really enjoyed them!
Another perfect appetizer for a holiday party--no forks required (don't even need a toothpick!). Very simple to put together. We made the filling and cut the bread circles a couple days ahead of time, then assembled them and baked them the day of.

Toasties

1 ¼ lb lean ground beef
½ cup grated cheese
½ cup green pepper, chopped
6 mushrooms, sliced and cooked
1 can cream of mushroom soup
¾ cup bread crumbs
½ cup onion, chopped
1 egg
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
about one loaf of sandwich bread
Butter

Mix well all except for last two ingredients.

Using a cup or round cookie cutter, cut bread into rounds. (we got three rounds per slice of bread)Butter one side of rounds and put buttered side down in muffin tins. Add about 1.5 tablespoons of the meat mixture and bake at 375 F for approximately 25 minutes.

Makes 42 toasties.

Round Steak with Gravy

The cow that haunts us cloned itself...
Not only did we get our own 1/8 of a cow (I know, how many times can I remind you of it...?), but some friends' parents unloaded some of theirs on them and us. We're so thankful for free food, so we would never complain--I just don't know what to do with it sometimes!
I have no idea where this recipe came from. I just had it printed out and no name on it at all, so if it's yours, please claim it!!
When I picture down home country cooking for your man that just got done working, this is totally one of those things I pictured. It was pretty good! The gravy had really awesome flavor. It calls for using a dutch oven. I don't have one so I used one of my larger skillets with its lid (they're oven safe).

Round Steak with Gravy

Round steak (mine was about 3 lbs.)
2 T dehydrated onion
2 cubes beef bouillon
water
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups sliced mushrooms

In a large dutch oven, brown steak on boths ides in a hot pan with a tiny bit of oil, until you have lots of dark brown bits on the bottom of the pan. The browning adds so much flavor to the gravy, so be sure and brown the meat well.
Add water (be careful because it may spit at you)--at least enough to cover the meat. Stir in 2 beef bouillon cubes and 2 T dehydrated onions.
Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and cook in the oven for at least 2 to 3 hours (I did 2) in a 350 F oven, until the meat is fork tender. (It was super tender!!)
Remove from the oven, place the meat on a platter, and cut 2/3 of the steak into individual serving portions. Cube the remaining 1/3 of the steak. (I cut it really small). Cover meat and set aside to keep warm.
To make the gravy, mix about 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 cup water and gradually stir into the pan on the stove over medium heat until it thickens. You may need to add more of the flour mixture or more water to get the desired consistency. Continuously whisk. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add in the mushrooms and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. (You may have to add in a little more water if it starts getting too thick.)

**At this point, the original author suggests to put 1/3 of the gravy and steak into a serving dish and serve with mashed potatoes. Stir the cubed steak into the gravy. After dinner, freeze in freezer baggies in 2 cup portions. (she started with a 6 lb. steak)

Crockpot Hickory Smoked Brisket

I made this the other day since we STILL have more roasts than we can handle. At least it lasts a long time in the freezer.
This was really good-- I made the changes she suggested (2T of liquid smoke and 1/2T of celery salt) and it made for a great dinner to come home from conferences to. I was too tired to take a picture--look at hers:) Just wanted to share in case you're also looking for crockpot ideas. Enjoy!