Spicy Beef Curry in a Crock Pot

You know you're losing your mind when you're realize that you're begging your 14-week-old son to eat enough formula so that you can BOTH sleep through the night. People keep asking me how I find the time to cook and blog and I say "Well, I don't sleep much.". I really miss sleep.

This recipe is so hot that it's for people with very strong stomachs. If you don't have a strong stomach (I don't!) then skip the habaneros or use the mild ones.


Ingredients:

1 lb of stew meat, cut into strips
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 10 ounce can diced tomatoes and habaneros (hot)
1 tablespoon of curry powder
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 cup of boiling water
1 teaspoon of ground ginger

Preparations:

1. Add the beef bouillon cubes to the boiling water. Let dissolve.
2. Add all of the spices and gravy packet to beef bouillon. Mix well.
3. Pour bouillon/spice mixture into crock pot. Drain both cans of tomatoes. Add to crockpot.
4. Add meat to crock pot. Cook on high for two hours or until meat is tender.

Robbi's M&M Cookies

This recipe is from Allrecipes.com. I decided to make M&M cookies because it put my leftover Easter candy to good use. It's easy, tasty and calls for Crisco instead of butter.


Ingredients:

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups candy-coated milk chocolate pieces

Preparations:

1. In a large bowl, mix sugar, eggs, shortening, and vanilla thoroughly. Add flour, salt, and baking soda to creamed mixture. Blend well. Add 3/4 cup of M&M candies.
2. Drop dough by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet. Slightly push a few candies on top of each dough ball with remaining candies.
3. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Fajitas

The hardest part about this recipe is the pulling the pork apart. Pull pork recipes generally call for pork loin (I think it's easier to pull apart), but I use pork chops when I get a good price on them. For this recipe I was able to purchase the pork chops for $1.78 per pound at WinCo. It was a good deal.

Ingredients:

• 8 tortillas
• 3lbs of pork (chops or loin)
• 1 cup of salsa (pick mild, medium or hot)
• 1 package of fajita seasoning
• 1 cup of water
• 1 sliced green pepper
• 1 medium sized onion sliced (not chopped)
• shredded cheddar cheese
• sour cream

Preparations:

1. Pour contents of fajita packet into 4-6 quart crock pot and add water.
2. Place pork in crock pot. Cover with salsa.
3. Cook on high for approximately 3 hours or until pork falls off the bone.
4. Pull pork apart using two forks. Return pork to crock pot. 
5. Add onion and green peppers. Cook on low for one hour or until vegetables are tender.
6. Place 1/4 cup of mixture into warm tortilla. Top with cheese and sour cream.

Upside Down Pineapple Cake

I've been watching a lot of television since I had KC because it takes him about 30 minutes to drink a bottle so several of my recent choices in recipes have been inspired by t.v. shows. The latest comes from an episode of Desperate Housewives. The "chef" character on the show made a very scrumptious looking upside down pineapple cake. I really want to know what recipe the people behind the scenes used (or it was just fake cake altogether) because mine did not look nearly as appealing. (Why doesn't that show put out a cookbook too?) It did however, get good reviews at the work birthday party. PS: Even though I made two trips to the grocery store in one day, I still forgot the cherries....

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
9 slices pineapple in juice (from 14-oz can), drained
9 maraschino cherries without stems, if desired
1 1/3 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

Preparations:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In 9-inch square pan, melt butter in oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted butter. Arrange pineapple slices over brown sugar. Place cherry in center of each pineapple slice.
2. In medium bowl, beat remaining ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour batter over pineapple and cherries.
3. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately place heatproof serving plate upside down over pan; turn plate and pan over. Leave pan over cake a few minutes so brown sugar mixture can drizzle over cake; remove pan. Serve warm. Store cake loosely covered.

Chocolate Pudding Poke Cake from Betty Crocker

In our department, they assign birthday parties to teams of people and say they're responsible for bringing in treats for that month's birthdays. I got May and since I'm too frugal to shell out $14 for a 13x9 sheet cake, I baked this one. It's easy to make and my co-workers can comment as to whether it was any good.

 (The top layer of pudding came off with the aluminum foil covering. )

Ingredients:

• 1 chocolate cake mix
• 1 box (serves 4) of chocolate pudding mix
• 2 cups cold mix
• eggs
• vegetable oil

Preparations: 

1. Add eggs and oil to cake mix according to the directions on the box. Bake as directed.
2. Let cake cool.
3. Take plastic mixing spoon or wooden spoon and use handle to poke holes in cake 1/2 inch apart.
4. Mix pudding and milk on high for two minutes.
5. Pour pudding over cake and refrigerate for two hours.
   

Turkey and Cheese Sandwich Quesadilla

When I told my husband I was going to buy a Rival quesadilla maker, he said he didn't think it would get used and I shouldn't bother buying it. But I did anyway! And he has since changed his mind. He now comes home on his lunch breaks and makes the occasional quesadilla. Every now and again, I like to make my quesadilla like a sandwich...

Ingredients:

2 flour tortillas
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 slices of smoked turkey


Preparations: 

1. Place one tortilla in pan or on quesadilla maker.
2. Place turkey on tortilla, sprinkle cheese over evenly. Top with other tortilla.

How long you cook the quesadilla depends on whether you do this in a fry pan (that you've sprayed with cooking spray) or in a quesadilla maker. The great thing about a quesadilla maker is that you don't have to flip the quesadilla. So, if you use a pan make sure to cook evenly on both sides and don't let the tortillas get too crispy.

Baked Salmon

This recipe is very easy and serves four. The consensus was that this was the BEST salmon I've ever made.This recipe comes from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
• 4 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
• 4 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparations:

1. Melt butter. (It took 40 seconds on my microwave. Add mustard and honey. Mix well.
2. Separately, mix bread crumbs, parsley and pecans.
3. Brush honey mixture onto fillets, coating evenly. 
4. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture over the top of each fillet.
5. Bake salmon 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven (400 degrees), or until it flakes easily with a fork. Season with salt and pepper

Eggplant Lasagna

Inspiration sometimes comes from the strangest of places...We were watching Big Bang Theory a couple of weeks ago and one of the characters mentioned eggplant lasagna. I have to admit that prior to see that particular episode, I'd never heard of eggplant lasagna and frankly, it didn't really sound like I was missing anything. Then Ken brought home an eggplant (rather randomly) and it seemed like fate - clearly I was destined to make eggplant lasagna. :)

This recipe comes from Kraft and it got four out of five stars on their website. I always seem to have the same issue with every lasagna recipe - the sauce mixture never makes enough for three layers. It's always two layer city. So if you think I'm doing something wrong here, feel free to leave a comment.

Ingredients:

 

1/4 cup olive oil (I had to use more than this amount because 1/4 of a cup wasn't enough)

1 medium  eggplant, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves  garlic, minced

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce

3 cups Ricotta Cheese

1 lb Mozzarella Cheese, shredded, divided

1/2 cup  Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided

9 lasagna noodles, cooked, drained

Preparations:

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add eggplant, onion and garlic. Cook 15 min. or until eggplant is very tender, stirring occasionally. 
2. Stir in spaghetti sauce; set aside. Mix ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese. 
3. SPRAY 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Layer 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the cheese mixture and 1/3 of the sauce in dish; repeat layers 2 times. Top with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. 
4. BAKE 40 to 45 min. or until heated through. Let stand 10 min. before cutting to serve. 

 

Beef Curry and Rice

If you like spicy curry, this is not the recipe for you. Ken likes spicy curry and this turned out rather bland so I'll be looking for a spicy beef recipe and posting it later on.

Ingredients:

• 2lbs of cubed roast beef
• 1/2 cup of onions
• 1/2 cup sliced green peppers
• 2 tablespoons of Olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of Curry powder
• 1 packet of instant brown gravy (should make 2 cups)
• Rice
  

Preparations:

1. Cube meat into 1/2 inch cubes. Using heavy skillet, saute 1/2 cup onions and 1/2 cup green pepper in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Toss cubed beef in bowl with 2 tablespoons curry powder. 
2. Make gravy according to directions on the package. Heat to low boil.
3. Cook rice, using box recipe for 6 servings.
4. Combine cubed into cooked onion, green pepper mix. Fold until heated through. Add heated gravy. Stir and remove from heat. Serve rice and pour curry beef mixture on top.

Pumpkin-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

The original recipe called for 2 cups of flour but if you're at high altitude, it really should be 2 1/2 cups.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margaine, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup of canned Libby's easy Pumpkin mix
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preparations:

1. Combine egg, sugars, vanilla, butter and pumpkin mix.
2. Separately, combine salt, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and oatmeal. Add chocolate chips and walnuts.
3. Mix both sets of ingredients together.
4. Drop batter into balls on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for approximately 10 minutes.

Easy Lemon Bars from Allrecipes.com

I've never made lemon bars before. I actually had fresh lemons on hand so I thought why not make some lemon bars? It also gave me a chance to use my brand new measuring cups that I ordered off Amazon.com. The general complaint around my house is that our measuring cups have been through the dishwasher so many times that you can't tell anymore which measuring cup is a half or a third. Our new ones not only have the label embedded on the handle but they also come in ALL sizes. So instead of having to measure 2/3 rds of a cup and get it to a line, you just fill the 2/3 cup. (So cool!) I totally love them and yes, I need to get a life. :)

Ingredients:

The Crust:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour

The Filling:

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 lemons, juiced


Preparations:

1. Combine 1 cup of butter, 1/2 of white sugar and 2 cups of flour. Beat well.
2. Press flour mixture into 9x13 pan and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
3. Beat eggs, 1 1/2 cups white sugar, 1/4 cup of flour and lemon juice. (I didn't have anything to juice the lemons so I just squeezed really hard.)
4. Pour lemon mixture over baked crust. Bake for 20 minutes. 
5. The bars set as they cool. I sifted powder sugar over the top.

Penne Pasta Skillet

This recipe is really similar to the one I posted yesterday. It's listed as one of Kraft's 17 ways to use a pound of meat. I like it because it's easy, fast and you can add to it. What's the point in cooking if you can't have some fun and be creative with it?



Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 jar  (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups water
• 3 cups  Penne pasta, uncooked
• 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese

Preparations:

1. BROWN meat in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain.
2. ADD spaghetti sauce and water; mix well. Stir in pasta. Bring to boil; cover. Simmer on medium heat 16 to 18 min. or until pasta is tender; stir.
3. TOP with cheese; cover. Cook 1 min. or until cheese is melted.

Pillsbury's Easy Pudding Cookies

Last night it occurred to me that I was hogging all the "quality" time with K.C. So, I decided I would bake these cookies and no matter how much he fussed, I would leave him in the care of his father. It wasn't easy though. I could hear him fussing and squirming and at one point, I even went down stairs and reached out to pick him up when I had to force myself to stop. Ken really did have it all under control so I went back upstairs and baked these very yummy cookies. I highly recommend using chocolate chips instead of the white chocolate and eating one while they're still warm. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup  packed brown sugar
• 1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
• 2   eggs
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 cups  flour
• 1 pkg. (6 squares) BAKER'S White Chocolate, chopped

Preparations:

1. Combine eggs, butter and brown sugar. Mix well.
2. Separately, mix baking soda and flour. 
3. Add dry pudding mix to egg mixture. Beat well.
4. Combine both sets of ingredients. Mix well.
5. Add white chocolate.
6. Bake at 375 for ten minutes.

Easy baked Ziti

This dish is a huge hit with the girls. It's super easy to make, makes a lot and the girls almost always polish off the whole thing. You can make this with whatever kind of sauce you like so it can be red, white, meat or vegetarian. I generally make it with red sauce because the girls prefer that over white. This is also a very cheap dish to make if you buy the pasta boxes when they're on sale for a dollar and the spaghetti sauce when it's on sale as well.

Ingredients:

1 Jar spaghetti sauce
1 box of Ziti pasta
1 1/2 cups of Mozzarella cheese

Preparations:

1. Cook pasta as directed on the box. (usually 12-15 minutes at a boil)
2. Combine cooked pasta in casserole dish or 9x13 pan. Mix well. 
3. Top with cheese. Bake at 375 until cheese is melted.
   

Naan

Indian food is the partial theme for this week. This is a good recipe and makes a lot of Naan. It's quite tasty too! (This recipe comes from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Preparations:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
4. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

Chicken Curry

For Mother's day, I only asked for two things - a good night's sleep and for my husband to make me dinner. I told him that he could choose whatever recipes he wanted in the hopes that it would spark some enthusiasm. (Turns out he saves all his enthusiasm for his St. Patrick's day dinners.)

Well, I didn't get the good night's sleep. Instead, my son woke up every two a half hours that night and if that wasn't enough to make me absolutely thrilled to be his mother - he decided top it off with prying open his diaper and peeing all over everything. What is it with little boys and their need to constantly do that?

On that note, here's the dinner Ken made for me.  (He never could get the sauce to thicken but it was still pretty good. :)

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• salt to taste
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparations:

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until lightly browned. Stir in garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and salt. Continue stirring for 2 minutes. 
2. Add chicken pieces, tomato paste, yogurt, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Remove bay leaf, and stir in lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Simmer 5 more minutes.

Baked Banana-Stuffed French Toast - Mother's day ideas

If you're out of ideas for what to do to celebrate the mother in your life, consider cooking for them! That's what I asked my husband for and he's currently preparing a menu as I type. If you want to surprise your wife, mother, aunt (or whoever means something special to you on Sunday) - here's an easy recipe for making them breakfast in bed.

This comes from Epicurious.com:

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe bananas, peeled, each cut into 4 pieces
• 8 thin slices light (reduced-fat) mixed-grain bread
• 1/2 cup nonfat milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of ground cinnamon

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• Powdered sugar
• 8 large strawberries
• Pure maple syrup (optional)

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
2. Place 4 pieces of banana on each of 4 bread slices; mash banana on bread. Top with remaining 4 bread slices. 
3. Whisk milk, eggs, vanilla extract and cinnamon in glass pie dish. 
4. Working in batches, dip bread in egg mixture; let soak 45 seconds on each side.
5. Spray large nonstick skillet with vegetable oil spray. Heat over medium heat. 
6. Working in batches, add French toast to skillet and cook until golden, about 2 minutes per side. 
7. Transfer to baking sheet; bake 8 minutes. 
8. Transfer to plates. Dust with powdered sugar. Garnish with strawberries. Serve with maple syrup, if desired.
   
   

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I hit my friends up for Cinco de Mayo recipes on Facebook and really didn't get much of a response. If you're not headed to the nearest Mexican restaurant for some good food and a margarita, here are some recipes for dinner tonight.

• Pork Carnitas Tacos
• Chilaquiles
• Chile Relleno
• Sopapillas

Meatless Nachos

We're big fans of eating nachos while watching a movie. Nachos are easy, tasty and generally a big hit. Here's how I make mine....

Ingredients:

• 1 15 oz can of re-fried beans
• 1 cup of Monterrey Jack cheese
• 1 cup of Cheddar cheese
• 3 tablespoons of Rotel diced tomatoes with chiles 
• 2 tablespoons of sour cream
• 3 cups of tortilla chips

Preparations:

1. Heat re-fried beans over medium heat and add 1/4 of a can of water. Stir well. 
2. Layer 2 cups of tortilla chips in oven safe dish.
3. Pour beans over tortilla chips. Cover with Monterrey Jack cheese.
4. Top with remaining chips. Cover with cheddar cheese.
5. Bake at 375 for 7 minutes. (Don't let them over cook or the cheese becomes part of the chip!)
6. Top with diced tomatoes and sour cream. Add guacamole if you have it!

5 Easy Recipes for Cinco de Mayo

With Cinco de Mayo just a few days away, I thought it would be a great time to offer up five very easy recipes for your celebration.

1. Chicken, Spinach and Artichoke Quesadillas
2. Chicken and Green Chilies Enchiladas
3. Tamale Pie
4. Spanish Rice
5. Cafe Rio Rice

Mexican-style breakfast casserole

This recipe is in honor of both Cinco de Mayo and Mother's day. It's an original recipe too. I was sitting on the couch thinking of how hash browns sounded really good when I realized that I didn't have hash browns but I did have tater tots! You can serve this with sour cream and salsa if you want to add even more flavor.

Ingredients:

2 cups of frozen tater tots
2 tablespoons of green chilies
4 eggs
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup cheddar cheese

Preparations:

1. Place tater tots in casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. 
2. While tater tots are baking, beat eggs and whipping cream together on high speed for one minute.
3. Add green chilies to egg mixture. 
4. Pour egg mixture over tater tots. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Top with cheese. Bake five minutes.

Serves: 4