Slow Cooker Pot Roast

I love Sunday dinners. Growing up, my mom would always prepare a huge dinner for us to eat after church. Usually there was so much food, we would have leftovers for Monday.  I've started to incorporate traditional Sunday dinners with my family when I can. I break out the China and we eat at the table instead of in front of the TV.  I love having leftovers on Mondays because that is the busiest day of the week and it is much simpler to just reheat a meal rather an prepare a whole new one. This past Mother's Day we were able to have members of our extended family over Sunday dinner and I prepared a pot roast in the slow cooker. Actually I prepared two pot roasts so we would have leftovers for Monday dinner.  It turned out to be a lovely dinner with good food, good wine and good conversation.

Ingredients
1 3-4 lb Beef Roast
Carrots
4 Potatoes
Beef Stock or Gravy
2 Bay Leaves

Seasonings to Taste
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder




This time around I decided to make my own gravy. I like making my own gravy because I can make it thicker than usual and it will thin out in the slow cooker.

Combine equal parts flour and butter. I used three tablespoons of each.
Mix together over medium heat to form a roux.



Add about a  cup and half of the beef stock.



Add salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until it thickens.



Now to prepare the roast.


Generously rub all sides of the roast with salt, pepper and garlic powder.





Heat oil in a pan and brown each side of the roast.



Add roast to the slow cooker and cover with sliced potatoes and carrots.



Cover with gravy.



Cook on low heat for at least 6 to 8 hours.



Somehow I missed taking a picture of the roast after it was on the serving dish, but you can kind of see it on the table. Sorry.






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Oven Roasted Potatoes

I'm sitting here with my husband watching an episode of Sister Wives. It's funny before I started watching this show I never understood how women could share their husbands, but I now have a better understanding on how it could work for some people. Not for me, but I can respect their choices. Sometimes I think it would be nice to  have the extra helping hands. On the other hand Michael was completely turned off by the idea. Something about not wanting to have more than one woman telling him what to do.

Anyway, sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I have been super busy. In a perfect world I would be able to quit my job and spend the day cooking, baking and posting, but I haven't won the lottery yet. Maybe one day, if I ever start buying the tickets.

This is a very simple recipe, another dish my mom would prepare.  Most of my favorite recipes are my mom's recipes. I love this recipe because it is versatile. You can use any type of potato you like, you can peel or leave the skin on.  I like to make this dish with a pot roast or meatloaf.

Ingredients
Potatoes
Butter

Seasonings to Taste
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Italian Seasonings*

Drizzle melted butter on potatoes and add seasonings.



Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until tender and golden.



Hmm, I wish I had a virtual fork so I can have a bite right now.  Enjoy!

*Depending on your mood you can substitute Cajun seasonings instead of the Italian or whatever inspires you.

White Russian Cupcakes

When I was in my early twenties my girlfriends and I would go out dancing every weekend at a club called South Street.  It was always such a good time. It was our favorite way to unwind after a stressful week of dealing with brokers. Some of my favorite memories are of dancing until the wee hours of the morning. My drink of choice back then was a White Russian. Now that I am older, wiser, married and a stepmom, dancing into the wee hours of the morning is no longer an option. Fortunately these cupcakes are a happy substitution.

For the Cupcakes
1 package yellow cake mix
Vanilla instant pudding mix
1/2cup vegetable oil
¾ cup vanilla almond milk*
4 large eggs
¼ cup Kahlua
¼ cup vodka
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Glaze
1/4 cup butter
1/8 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
¼ cup Kahlua

For frosting
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup butter
3 teaspoon Kahlua
Pinch salt
1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream



Preheat oven to 350 F.
Line cupcake cups with liners.
Add cake mix, pudding mix, vegetable oil, milk eggs, Kahlua, vodka and vanilla extract to a large bowl.



Mix on low speed for 30 seconds.
Mix on med for 2 minutes, scraping sides occasionally.**



Bake for about 17 to 20 minutes, or until golden. If you stick a toothpick in the center it should out clean.



While the cupcakes are baking work on the glaze.

Combine butter, sugar, water, and Kahlua in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and continue to boil for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.





While cupcakes are still warm, use a toothpick to poke holes in each of the cupcakes.  Depending on how strong of a Kahlua taste you prefer, you can either brush the glase on lightly or you can drizzle the glaze on to each cupcake.



Let cupcakes cool completely.

Now lets work on the frosting.
I don't have a standing mixer (yet), so I just used a hand mixer with a whisk attachment.
Add sugar and butter to a bowl. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.



Add Kahlua and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream or Kahlua if needed for spreading consistency





This is what happened when I turned back for a minute.



Frost the cupcakes.



* I drink vanilla almond milk, but you can use any milk you have on hand.
**I think the secret to a good cake is to not under or over mix. I actually set the timer when I mix the batter.

Hot Toddy

For Mother's Day last weekend we decided to save time and money by having both of our families come over for dinner. It was my mom and brother and Michael's parents.  I love entertaining so it was nice having everyone over even if I didn't get much relaxation that day.  My brother did give me the sweetest Mother's Day card though, it made me cry.  I prepared a pot roast in the crock pot, I mean slow cooker and I also shared my newest creation, White Russian cupcakes. I will be posting the recipes soon.  Anyway, the point to this story is that my mother-in law (MIL) brought Michael a miniature bottle of fireball cinnamon whisky.  It really does taste like a fireball, but we weren't sure what to drink it with.

Last night I was struck by inspiration.  Every night before we go to bed I make Michael and me tea.  We each have our own tea that we enjoy drinking. Last night I was all out of Michael's tea but I did have some cinnamon tea. While I was boiling the water I saw the whiskey and I just new it would be a marriage made in heaven.  I made the tea for Michael and I didn't tell him what I was doing, but when he took his first sip I knew I did a good job.  He said to me I should write about it my blog so here I am, the simplest recipe I will ever post.

Ingredients

Cinnamon Whisky
Cinnamon Spice tea
Sugar (optional)



Prepare a cup of hot tea and and add as much or as little whisky and sugar as you like.
Sit back, relax and enjoy.

Magical Meatloaf

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and that is certainly true of my husband. I do believe that I never have to worry about Michael leaving because he enjoys my cooking so much.  Fortunately I enjoy cooking for him. He is my favorite taste tester. Now Michael is definitely a meat and potato man. He is happiest when there is a a slab of meat and some type of potato on his dinner plate.  One of his favorite meals is meatloaf and he has a very high standard for what he considers delicious meatloaf. Luckily I was able to win him over with my recipe for meatloaf and it is all thanks to my secret ingredient. Would like to know what the secret ingredient is? OK, I'll tell you but come close so no one else hears. It is sour cream.  Shh, don't tell any one, OK?

Now this recipe is for only one loaf, but I always double the recipe, it is great for sandwiches the next day or two days later.

Ingredients
1 lb Ground Sirloin
1 packet Onion Soup Mix
1 egg
½ cup Bread Crumbs
¼ cup Sour Cream
¼ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 - 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce


Seasonings to Taste
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder

The Parmesan was feeling camera shy today.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Add all ingredients to a bowl.




Mix together.



Shape into a loaf.




Cover with aluminum foil.



Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes.

I like to serve with potatoes



Sit back  and enjoy! I bet you will have volunteers for the after dinner clean up, just like magic!

Nutritional Information: Calories: 280.2 Total Fat: 13.5 Cholesterol: 94.8 Sodium: 883.5 Total Carbohydrates: 12.6 Dietary Fiber: .6 Sugars: 1.3 Protein: 24.4
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Viola's Queso

In honor of Cinco De Mayo tomorrow, I thought I would share my recipe for Queso. Actually, it isn't my recipe it is my cousin's Viola's recipe.  I could always count on Viola making this dip whenever my family would go over to her house on the weekend.  This is a great recipe that I like to make for pot lucks, movie nights and sometimes even for dinner. When we have nachos for dinner I usually add black beans and call it "gourmet nachos". It makes me feel better about snack food for dinner.  I hope you enjoy this quick and easy recipe.


 Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 jar queso
1 can black beans (optional)
1 bag tortilla chips

Seasonings to Taste
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Chili Powder
Ground Cumin
Salt
Pepper


Brown ground beef with seasonings.





After draining ground beef, add queso. Keep warm on stove or in slow cooker.



Serve with tortilla chips

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How To: Cook Spaghetti Squash

I love pasta, actually, I love a lot of food which is probably why I love cooking so much. But pasta has to be one of my favorite types of food. Unfortunately, as I get older my metabolism is slowing down and I can't eat pasta as much as I used to.  I read somewhere that spaghetti squash could be used as a substitution, so I was eager to try it out. But when I asked around no one could tell me the best way to cook it. So I had to figure it out for myself by trying out all the different methods I found on the web.

There are four basic ways to cook spaghetti squash. You can bake it on the oven, cook it in the microwave, simmer it on the crock pot or boil it on the stove My favorite method is to use the microwave.

Place the spaghetti squash in a microwave safe container. I usually add water for it to cook in.



Poke holes in squash like you would a potato.



Cook for about 10 to 12 minutes. The squash will be done when you can stick a fork into it easily.
Cut the squash in half.




The squash will be very hot, so be very careful as you scoop the seeds out.



Using a fork scrape the inside of the squash to to separate the strands.





Now you can eat the squash with a little bit of butter and Parmesan cheese or serve it with the sauce of your choice. 

Nutritional Information:  Serving Size: 1 cup (155g each), Calories: 42, Fat: 0.4g, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 1g