Slow Cooker Beef Tips and Gravy

We all are well versed on how important our slow cooker is on the cool Fall and Winter days.

It's so comforting to come home to a ready cooked meal, that's tender, delicious and well...

Comforting!

So why not use that awesome appliance in the hot months of the Summer as well?

You don't heat up your kitchen, it costs pennies (.12 per hour) to use, and again...

It's comforting. 

And to show you again...

Why on earth wouldn't you want to make these delicious Beef Tips? Especially when it's made using just 4 ingredients, including the beef.

I broke out my slow cooker because the thought of having the stove or oven on for hours was bleh.

Also, the last 3 days we've had some wicked weather, with harrowing winds, rain, thunderstorms and tornados. 

Grilling was out.

Lucky for us, slow cooking is always a winner. 

These Beef Tips are fairly inexpensive, I used a Charcoal steak? They call tough cuts of beef here in Iowa strange names.   

This is generally considered a Top Blade Steak, pretty inexpensive, meaning it's best braised or slow cooked. 

and I was featured:

Perfect for the slow cooker AND this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. beef-top blade, charcoal or other inexpensive cut steak, cut into 1.5" cubes

1 10 oz. can Beef Consommé 

1 pkt. Onion Soup mix

1 10 oz. Cream of Mushroom

DIRECTIONS:

Spray the inside of a slow cooker with non stick spray. Place beef inside. 

In a bowl whisk together consommé, onion soup mix and cream of mushroom. Pour over beef.

Cook on low, 6-8 hrs or on high for 4-6 hours.

Season with pepper if desired.

Enjoy!

This recipe is shared on My Link Parties Also shared on Weekend Potluck and FoodieFriendsFriday

Grilled Asian Honey Lemon Chicken Salad

Just looking at this salad, you know it screams 

SUMMERTIME!

It's crunchy, it's cool, it's tangy, it's hearty and it packs a Umami punch.

Meaning it's not only chock full of chicken, it's full of FLA-VOR.

This chicken can be grilled the night before, chilled and then served the next day. 

Which means the chicken component is actually a two-fer. (You get 2 meals out of one dish-yay!)

I love to make my dressing from a mix of 3-4 great Asian products, 2 kinds of salad dressings and Ponzu Sauce.

If you haven't tried Ponzu, you really should. It's a citrus based soy sauce and it amps up the flavor of anything you would normally use plain soy sauce in-it's bright and a little tangy.

Sansho pepper is another personal favorite. It's a little harder to find, try the Oriental section of a large grocery store or if your lucky enough to have an Asian market, I'm certain they'll have it. It's pepper-like with a citrus taste also. 

This whole dish has a bright, citrusy thing going on and it's soooo good.

Believe it or not the amount of chicken on this salad is only 2 tenderloins!

You're getting lots of lean, protein packed nutrients in this salad!

And we were featured:

Let's get your Umami on!

Marinade for Chicken

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup honey

juice of 1 lemon

1-2 garlic cloves, crushed or micro planed

1 tbs micro planed ginger or 1 tsp dry powder

1tsp black pepper

Place all in a large sealable bag and mix. add in up to 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken, mixing well and marinate in the frig 2-4 hours or even overnight.

Heat a grill or grill pan and cook 10-14 minutes, turning occasionally or until 160F or juices run clear. Enjoy and then refrigerate the leftovers.

Salad Ingredients

2 cups romaine sliced 

1/2 cup fresh spinach

1 carrot julienned

1/4 cup sugar snap peas sliced on the bias

1 green onion sliced

4 oz. of cooked chicken, sliced

1 tbs Ponzu

1 tbs Oriental dressing 

1 tbs Sesame vinaigrette 

Sansho pepper-opt.

Place salad ingredients in a large shallow bowl. 

Whisk Ponzu and dressing together and drizzle over the salad. Season to taste and enjoy.

Enjoy!!  

 Also shared on Weekend Potluck and FoodieFriendsFriday

This recipe is shared on My Link Parties

Savory Breakfast Cupcakes

It's a crazy good fad that's sweeping the Country....

Cupcakes!!! (saying this in a sing-song voice)

This is the breakfast-lunch-dinner option. 

For the savory lovers in life, this is the perfect alternative  to a sweet offering.

Plus, depending what you add, they are chock full of veggies and or protein!

Look at that goodness, you know you want to take a big bite of all that, right?!

I can't believe I didn't start making these a long time ago. 

Everyone loves them and it's so cool how you can make them with whatever you have in the frig. 

Love bacon? Throw it in.

Have lots of veggies?

Add them in. 

Spinach?

Heck yeah!

Leftover rice?

You bet!

So let's get to making these!

INGREDIENTS

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1-2 tsp hot sauce

2 green onions sliced

1/2 red bell pepper diced

1 cup cooked rice-opt.

1 cup shredded cheese

2 cups spinach, coarsely chopped

*Know that you can add in or sub any ingredient you love or have on hand.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350F, spray or line a cupcake pan with 6 openings.

In a bowl whisk eggs, milk and hot sauce and season with salt and pepper.

Add in onions bell pepper, rice and cheese and stir to combine. 

Line the bottom of cups with equal amounts of spinach and then pour equal amounts of the egg mixture into each cup.

Bake for 20-24 minutes or until eggs are set and lightly browned.

Enjoy!!  

This recipe is shared on My Link Parties

Also shared on Weekend Potluck 

and FoodieFriendsFriday

Taco Chip Salad

It's a throwback recipe here.

But how cool, fun and easy now that we're in the midst of hot weather (wheeeee, finally!)?!

I kinda remember having this salad-that was 30-40 years ago-yeah, don't even try and count the years. Cause I'm thinking I was really young when those taco seasoned tortilla chips became all the rage.

Even though they were sold Nationally in the late 60's, this salad was an enduring recipe years later. I don't think my own mother ever purchased those taco flavored chips, so I must have tasted this at a potluck or friends house. But it was a tasty memory never the less.

This salad hits all the right notes; Crunchy, Spicy, Tangy, Cool, Crisp and Sweet.

Below is the cast of characters that is only limited by your pantry or imagination. Feel free to add in picante sauce, jalapeños, olives and so on. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 large head iceberg lettuce, washed and chopped
2-3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 purple onion, chopped
1 can Black or Pinto beans, drained and rinsed
12 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
1 large (12 oz.) Bag Doritos Corn Chips, broken into pieces
2-3 cups French or Catalina Salad Dressing, chilled

Directions:
In a large bowl, add lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and beans, toss. 

Add cheese, chips, and dressing.
Toss well together, and serve immediately. Best when chilled.

Cooked beef or chicken taco meat can be added and almost any substitutions can be made.

Enjoy!!

This recipe is shared on My Link Parties

Also shared on Weekend Potluck 

and FoodieFriendsFriday

Confetti Rice Pilaf

Yay! It's finally here in North Iowa...

SUNSHINE!

And so along with that comes graduations, Memorial Day, Fathers Day and then it's SUMMERTIME.

We just celebrated our third child's High School Graduation. It just amazes me how that smiley, happy, bright little red headed girl grew up so quickly into the beautiful, intelligent, TALL and soon to be Pre-Med College student.

She had a gorgeous day for her Graduation Open House and lots of friends came to wish her congrats and acknowledge her accomplishments. One of the items we served were the Veggie cups I had on an earlier post...

They're so pretty and refreshing.

We had a lot of vegetables leftover and what did I make with them?

                                Confetti Rice Pilaf

Pork and Green Chile Lasagna

 When most people think of comfort food, lasagna is right up there with macaroni and cheese, potato soup and mashed potatoes and gravy. 

Those layers of meaty sauce, cheese and pasta are just so good!

My family loves lasagna and they also love Hispanic food. My mother was born in New Mexico and it's a big part of our heritage to make and enjoy Mexican dishes. 

So it really was a no brainer that when I had leftover cooked pork (ribs actually), that I would choose to turn them into a mexican lasagna rather than a babecuey pulled pork. 

Layers of delicious slow cooked pork with tortillas, cheese and a green chile verde salsa spiked sour cream sauce. 

Yeah, you know you want a bite of this deliciousness...

Adapted from: by Melissa No. 2 Pencil

4 cups diced or shredded precooked pork
3 cups jack cheese/cheddar
12 corn tortillas
1 cup of Frozen corn, thawed
small can of roasted diced green chilies
8oz. sour cream
Jar of green chili verde salsa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9 by 13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
In medium size bowl, stir together sour cream, chilies and corn.
Spread small amount of salsa on the bottom of the casserole dish. 
Then lay 6 of the tortillas on top.
Spread half of the shredded pork on top of the tortilla layer.
Cover with half of the remaining salsa.
Spread half of the sour cream mixture over the meat.
Sprinkle one cup of the cheese over this.
Repeat the layer one more time, ending with the sour cream mixture. 
Cover with the remaining cheese.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until cheese is melty and has started to turn golden brown. The salsa should be bubbly on the sides of the casserole.

Easy and yummy. Even better reheated the next day!

Enjoy!!  

This recipe is shared on My Link Parties

Also shared on Weekend Potluck 

and FoodieFriendsFriday