Slow-Cooker Brisket Sammies

It all started with this recipe for slow-cooker brisket sandwiches. And for the record, I took a picture, but it was ugly and icky and not post-worthy. I digress.

I took the time last night to prep my marinade and sear the brisket for tonight's dinner so I could quickly throw it all together this morning before heading out the door for work. I was excited; things smelled great.

I called Buppy on my way to the gym to ask if he had tried it and find out how the house smelled. Word was that the house smelled fab and the brisket was yummy. It didn't hold together to slice, but heck, I can deal with shredded meat!

Then I arrived home . . . to disappointment. Well, Buppy had just sprayed down and wiped off the dinner table, so I couldn't smell the meat, just a lemony-piney-clean odor. Ok, fine, whatever; I can deal with that, too.

Then I tried a bite. Most of you dear readers would probably like this meat, but for me, it was way too sweet. Anyone who knows me knows I don't care for sweet meat at all, which means we almost never eat BBQ sauce (at least I don't). I should have known - the recipe called for tomato paste (I had to use sauce as I thought I had paste but turns out I was wrong) and brown sugar. Couple that with some Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar and you've got one overly sweet brisket folks!

Buppy liked it, and Tiny Tot #1 devoured his (so I'm told, I wasn't home to witness this). He ate almost all of it before touching his homemade fries! What I'm trying to say is that if you're a regular Joe and enjoy your BBQ, give this a try and you will probably enjoy it. Make sure to get some nice crusty rolls to pair with it - they were the saving grace for me. Thanks for picking up the rolls, Buppy! Also, I topped mine with dill pickle chips for some acidity in hopes of cutting the sweetness. It helped a little.

Now go, enjoy your sweet brisket. Me? I'm off to find a savory dry rub for my next go-round.

Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Gravy

Man, it seems like forever since I posted a new recipe. Well, here's a beefy-mushroomy-noodley dish of goodness that both Buppy and I think is a keeper. I found it on myrecipes.com, and it's originally from Cooking Light. Even better.

Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Gravy
Slightly adapted from myrecipes.com

2 c. uncooked egg noodles
Cooking spray
1 lb. rib steak tips, cut into 3/4" pieces
2 Tbsp. butter
1 lg. onion slice, diced
10 large white button mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. water
1 1/2 tsp. beef soup base (Orrington Farms is my fav, but bouillon will do)
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
Salt and pepper, to taste
Blue cheese crumbles, optional garnish

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat; coat pan with cooking spray. Add steak, season lightly with salt and pepper and saute for 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan.

Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

Melt butter (in the pan used for the meat) over medium-high heat. Add onion and mushrooms; saute 8-10 minutes. Add garlic; saute for 30 seconds. Stir in soy sauce. Sprinkle flour over the mushroom mixture ; cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes or until a paste forms and no white from the flour is visible. Add beef soup base, then water gradually and stir constantly. Add pepper, thyme and salt (if necessary, but be sure to taste to check). Bring to a boil and cook 3-5 minutes or until thickened. Return the beef to the pan; cook 3-5 more minutes to cook beef a bit more and heat through the center. Serve beef mixture over noodles and top with blue cheese crumbles.

Buppy and I were pleasantly surprised by this dish on Monday night. We went for a nice walk around our neighborhood, then I got busy with dinner and Buppy took a nap watched some TV. With his eyes closed. Anyway, he offered to help, but cooking puts me in a relaxed zone, so I declined his offer.

When I tasted the sauce as I was adding the meat back to the pan, I was amazed at how much flavor it had with such little effort and seasoning. Other than the beef soup base, the only real seasoning was thyme, which I generally find overwhelming and unwelcome. Truth be told, I don't care for a lot of spices, but that's a whole other blog topic. Back to dinner . . . I don't generally eat egg noodles either, or noodles of any sort. I'm a mashed potato kinda gal, but I figured, why not? Turns out the beef/mushroom mixture and the noodles combined very nicely, and the sauce wasn't too thin or thick for the noodles, which had originally worried me. The beef was cooked perfectly too, which always makes my day. When Buppy woke up and tasted the sauce, we both knew I'd be making this again. Enjoy!

*This post is linked to Miz Helen’s Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday for 5/19/11.

Homemade Hamburgers + Homemade Buns

As most of you (maybe?) know, I'm not a big hamburger eater. Give me a steak any day and I'll tear it up, but hamburger? Eh. But.......we have over 30 lbs. of the stuff, so I try to make it work for me in a variety of ways. This past week, I decided to make hamburgers that we could grill instead of using it in tacos (like I do 94.68% of the time). Oh yeah, I also felt ambitious enough to make homemade buns, too.

About the buns. I used a recipe from allrecipes.com that had stellar reviews and (I think) 4.5 stars. Lets just say mine didn't come out looking or feeling anything like the reviews or pictures led me to believe they would. They didn't really rise much, which surprised me because the yeast bloomed like crazy. I noticed, though, that when I was rolling them out, they didn't get the "shiny" outside like the recipe said they would. They weren't bad, they were just kind of flat and dense. Not my favorite recipe (and I most likely won't use it again), but they worked for the burgers that night.

The burgers were pretty simple to make. I took 1 lb. of ground beef and added ground black pepper (to taste), 1/2 Tbsp. crushed garlic and peppercorn seasoning, 1/2 Tbsp. garlic salt, several shakes of Worcestershire sauce and 1 large slice of raw onion, very finely minced. I formed this into 3 quarter-pound burgers (for Buppy), then the last 1/4 lb. into 2 eighth-pound burgers for me. Again, it all goes back to me not being big into burgers; I like a thinner patty.

I also sauteed some fresh mushrooms and raw onion in some butter, then added in a splash of beef stock and dry sherry for flavor. Excellent combo for a burger. Oh yeah, and a splash of Worcestershire sauce, too.

At the end of the grilling process, Buppy topped our burgers with Swiss cheese so it'd melt and get all ooey-gooey. I love ooey-gooey cheese, but really, who doesn't? We finished our burgers with green leaf lettuce, and I think Buppy added mayo to his. To round out the meal, we had homemade potato chips. I actually made sure to bike extra long that day so I could splurge. Way to think ahead, right?? We found that the chips are best cut 1/24" thick (with the NEW MANDOLINE Buppy got me for my birthday!), then fried at 375F for 7+/- minutes depending on how full the fryer is (don't overcrowd). We seasoned some with Old Bay, some with Cajun seasoning, some with seasoned salt and fresh cracked black pepper.......they were all pretty good. Homemade potato chips just rock my socks. Well, most chips do, but I like that I can season homemade ones with whatever I want.

One last note: I found that forming the hamburger patties is easy if you take the lid to something like a sour cream container, spray with cooking spray and pat the meat into it. It makes them very uniform and the perfect shape. I used the same size lid when doing both my and Buppy's burgers, so they each fit on the bun pefectly, but his was thicker. Give it a try sometime. Enjoy!

Reuben Casserole

I just finished lunch. It was a super tasty Reuben casserole lunch, and I want more. While there is more in the fridge right now, portion control is a girl's best friend. This casserole is easy, satisfying and reheats well. Happy St. Patty's Day to me (again)!

Reuben Casserole

3-4 lb. corned beef brisket
1/2 loaf homemade French bread, cubed
1/2-3/4 c. Thousand Island dressing with bacon (I believe I used Kraft)
1 1/2 c. sauerkraut, well drained
5 oz. Swiss cheese, shredded

Place the brisket in a slow cooker, add the spice packet (if one came with the meat), cover with water and cook on high for 3-4 hours. The general rule for corned beef is 50 minutes per pound. Once tender, remove from the slow cooker and let rest 10 minutes. Cut into 1/2 in. strips across the grain, then cube.

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Place the bread cubes in the bottom of the pan, top with cubed corned beef, then with the sauerkraut. All measurements are approximate, so if you have more or less of something, do what looks right to you. Drizzle the dressing over the pan evenly and top with shredded Swiss. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until the top is lightly golden and eveything is heated through. Broil for 2-3 minutes at the end of the cooking process to really crisp the cheese layer. Remove from the oven, let rest for 5 minutes and serve.

Truth be told, I know you're lookin' at the bread choice and thinking, "Why on Earth......?" Well, it was all I had on hand, it had to be used up, and I wasn't making a special trip to the store (with gas at $3.50/gallon!) for a lousy loaf of bread. If you have rye or pumpernickel on hand, by all means use that!

For some reason, my brisket didn't become as tender as I'd hoped it would, even though I cooked it about an hour longer that I should have had to. I'm thinking it's the cut I used, so next time I might have to go with a step up, which is still reasonably priced this time of year. I didn't think there was any way I'd use the whole 3.75 lb. roast in the casserole, but I did, and it was just the right amount.

Funny story --- the whole reason I went with a casserole instead of traditional Reubens that day was because I had cut the roof of my mouth and eating almost everything was painful. I figured biting into a soft casserole as opposed to a large, toasted sammy was the way to go, and turns out, I was right. Enjoy!

Chicken-Fried Steak & Gravy

I haven't tried a lot of recipes from Eating Well’s website, but I can vouch for the tastiness of their chicken-fried steak and gravy. We've had cube steak in the freezer since we received our quarter cow last Fall, and it's not a piece o' meat I'm very familiar with cooking. I stumbled upon this recipe and decided I would finally bust out a package from the freezer. My only complaint is that the breading didn't want to stick to the meat as well as I'd hoped, but from what I hear, that's a common problem. Not sure how to remedy this for next time, but I'm happy there'll be a 'next time' for this! Buppy was a big fan, too.Chicken-Fried Steak & Gravy
Adapted from Eating Well
1/2 c. all purpose flour, divided
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 c. cornmeal
1/4 c. + 1 Tbsp. cornstarch, divided
1 tsp. paprika
1 lb. cube steak (approximately, I didn't weigh mine but I think that's what they were packaged as; mine was cut into 5 portions)
Salt & pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp. canola oil, divided
14 oz. beef broth (which I made from warm water & beef bouillion granules per package instructions)
1 1/2 Tbsp. water, divided
1/4 c. fat-free half & half
Warm mashed potatoes
Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Place 1/4 c. all purpose flour onto a large place. In a shallow dish or bowl, beat egg with 1/2 Tbps. water. In a separate bowl, stir together remaining 1/4 c. flour, cornmeal, 1/4 c. cornstarch & paprika. Season both sides of steak with salt & pepper. Dredge the steak in the flour, then dip into the egg mixture, then coat with the cornmeal mixture; be sure to shake off excess.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2-3 pieces of steak to the pan and reduce heat to medium. Cook the steaks until brown on both sides, turning once, approximately 5 minutes total. Remove steaks from pan and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining oil and steaks. Once all steaks have been pan-fried, bake for approximately 10 minutes to finish cooking.While they're baking, pour broth into the same pan the steaks were fried in. Boil over medium heat, stirring occassionally, until it reduces to approximately 1 cup (3-5 minutes). Combine 1 Tbsp. cold water with 1 Tbsp. cornstarch until smooth. Remove pan from heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Return the pan to the heat and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture thickens, stirring occassionally. Stir in the half & half, taste the sauce and season accordingly with salt and pepper. Serve the steaks on top of warm mashed potatoes and top with gravy. Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday - Nov. 8, 2010

I know it's already Tuesday and I'm just now posting our week's menu plan, but better late than never, right? Besides, then I can refer back to this post instead of my ugly scratched up list when I totally forget what I'm supposed to be making. Good times.

Monday: Garden salads (lettuce, tomato, cremini mushrooms, celery, scallions & shredded cheddar cheese) topped with blackened chicken

Tuesday: Chicken-fried steak & gravy

Wednesday: A spin on grilled ham & cheese pull-apart sandwich loaf. If the turkey in the fridge is still good, we plan to use that instead of ham. Also, I have to see what type of cheese I have in the fridge; I think we have several, so I might mix 2 together. And since it's just the 2 of us eating, I might use buns instead of a whole loaf of bread. No need to waste food, right? Lastly, I keep seeing this butter/worcestershire mix that other foodies are brushing on top of sammys before warming in the oven. I might try to find that recipe and brush it on our sammys, too. Who knows where this dinner will eventually end up!

Thursday: I'm usually by myself because Thursdays are Buppy's overnight, but I think my sister is coming into town on Thursday (to stay for the weekend, yay!), so I think I'll try Alfredo pizza. My sister loves Alfredo sauce, and since the pizza has lots of spinach on it, I'm not sure how Buppy will like it. If it's good, I can always make some for him another night.

Friday: Onion beef stroganoff

Saturday: We'll be at a friend's surprise birthday party, to which we're bringing a hot pizza dip (unless I change my mind before then). My sister will be at a show she came to town to see, so no need to worry about her either. I'm sure lunch will be sandwiches and/or leftovers.

Sunday: This is my free day. By the time it rolls around, I hope to have something in mind. As of right now, I'm completely blank. I guess we'll see if my sister has any ideas for something she'd like me to make. We'll see.

Beef + Mushrooms = Excellent Stew

I'm a complete slackasaurus. Life has been busy lately with job hunting, social outings, motorcycle rides, cooking and basic household chores. Last week . . . at least I think it was last week, possibly the week before . . . I made something I've been dying to try. I love beef stew and mushrooms, so The Pioneer Woman’s beef stew with mushrooms looked perfect for moi. It was fairly easy to make, tasted great (the beef consumme & wine really added a nice touch) and made excellent leftovers the next day as well. I didn't have cremini mushrooms on hand, so I had to sub in white button ones instead. Probably not as good as the creminis would have been, but still yummy. Check out The Pioneer Woman’s blog for the recipe and much, much better pics. Enjoy!

A Quickie Nacho Creation

I'll admit that sometimes I'm not the most creative cook. I use recipes more often than not, but everyone has their own style. Sometimes though, especially when Buppy's not home for dinner, I'll just look around, assess the ingredients I can possibly use, and toss 'em all together. This was one of my favorites. I wanted more after it was gone, which is really sayin' something 'cause it made quite a bit!I tossed some Cool Ranch Doritos into a baking dish, topped 'em with some leftover slow cooker Italian beef, shredded cheese, chopped green olives & diced onions. I heated it in the oven until the cheese melted [probably at 350F or so, but I don't actually remember], then topped it with chopped lettuce and tomato. It was a fabulous low-maintenance meal, which is often the best kind!

Menu Plan Monday - September 20, 2010

I'm at home today, off from work because I twisted wrong yesterday and seriously messed up my back. Luckily, menu planning doesn't require much work. On the down side, having a messed up back makes working in the kitchen extremely difficult. Over the weekend, I wanted to make crab bisque with corn, avocado & tomato relish, but that didn't happen since the back issue started yesterday morning after my lovely walk. Bummer.

Last week was kinda hit & miss as far as staying on track. I picked up some take out on Thursday night because it was a long, horrible day at work and I wasn't up for cooking after spending an hour and 45 minutes driving home, which usually takes 45 minutes or so. Friday was a take out night as well; I intended to eat at work, but none of my events were running on time and I never got around to placing an order for dinner. I left at 8pm, and knew that by the time I got home, I'd be in no cooking mood. We made a few of the meals I'd planned, so at least it wasn't a complete waste.

Monday - Shepard’s pie & green salad

Tuesday - BBQ chicken sandwiches & potato wedges

Wednesday - Breakfast for dinner (sausage, eggs & pancakes for Buppy & the kids - I don't eat pancakes)

Thursday - I'm home alone, so leftovers or something easy like a tuna sandwich

Friday - Chicken wings with celery & carrots

Saturday lunch - We're heading to VA for a birthday party, so no lunch needed
Saturday dinner - Pizza braid (similar to our chicken broccoli braid, but with pizza filling instead)

Sunday lunch - I might have to work, and John's planning to take the kids to see an aunt
Sunday dinner - Sloppy Joes along with some creative side I dream up

There we have it. Nothing spectacular, but it'll tide us over for another week. I'm happy to say that we've actually made a huge dent in our not-so-great steaks, which is awesome, because I think we're getting another 1/4 cow this Fall. How is it Fall already!?!? Hamburger, on the other hand, is a different story. Buppy just pulled out 2 to thaw, one for dinner tonight and one for me to make jerky with, and we still have 15 left. I know I should be thankful, but man, I just don't eat that much burger!

So now I'm stuck here, chillin' on the couch for the afternoon because frankly, I can't do much else. I hope there's something good on Food Network . . .

Menu Plan Monday - July 26, 2010

Menu planning. Hmmm. Have had a hard time following through with things these past few weeks. We'll see if this week is any better.

Monday: Parmigiano & herb chicken tenders, baked sweet potato chips & honeydew melon

Tuesday: cheesy chicken zucchini casserole & green salad

Wednesday: BLTs, baked potato rounds with cheese & raw carrots

Thursday: home alone, so probably leftovers

Friday: Pampered chef party

Saturday lunch: grilled Boca burgers, fresh fruits/veggies on hand
Saturday dinner: grilled chicken breasts & healthified crunchy Asian slaw

Sunday lunch: sloppy Joes & fresh fruit/veggies on hand
Sunday dinner: pizzas & green salad

Those darn chicken tenders have been on our menu plan for 3-4 weeks now, and I'm making them tonight if it kills me [although I must be honest, I'm hoping it doesn't!] The cheesy chicken zucchini casserole is going to be a spin-off of a recipe I found on allrecipes.com, so if it's good, I'll share. If not, you'll never hear about it again! I tried to do things that require minimal effort this week to perhaps help keep me on track better. Here goes nothin' . . .

Menu Plan Monday - July 19, 2010

Menu plan, menu plan, menu plan. Sometimes I feel like that’s all I do. I know it’s not, and it’s funny how much I struggle some weeks since I have a zillion recipes I want to try . . . it’s just a matter of thinking about them, and sometimes I’m forgetful.

This week Buppy is working overtime on Friday, so I’ll be alone 2 nights. We’re not really sure what we’re doing on Saturday either, so I figure I won’t plan past lunch on that day since we’ll probably be out with friends or spending the night somewhere else. Perhaps not, but we’re trying to figure out something fun to do this weekend.

Monday: chicken tortilla casserole [recipe I’ve had for a long time and used to make in college but have yet to blog about] & fresh pineapple

Tuesday: beef fajitas & refried bean [we have a lot of fajita meat leftover from the party that needs to be cooked & eaten]

Wednesday: Parmigiano & herb chicken tenders & green salad [yes, these tenders have been on the menu for 3 weeks now and we still haven’t gotten around to making them!]

Thursday: I’m home alone, so I’ll probably do tuna, hot dogs, a ham sammy, leftovers or breakfast for dinner

Friday: a repeat performance of Thursday night

Saturday breakfast & lunch: simple stuff around the house [eggs, bacon & toast, tuna sammys, hot dogs, etc.]
Saturday dinner: most likely out somewhere, so I’m not making any plans as of yet. If things change towards the end of the week, I’ll worry about it then.

Sunday breakfast & lunch: again, simple things we have around the house since that’s easy and what we pretty much always do. Oooo, BLTs sound great [we had those for lunch on Sunday and they were so tasty!]
Sunday’s dinner: I think I might try out a new recipe I’ve been eyeing: chicken & artichokes with a wine sauce, probably served over angel hair pasta.

Menu Plan Monday - July 12, 2010

Last week's menu plan was totally a bust. Ok, mostly a bust. Why? Because Buppy's back is whack, which meant I spent Tuesday-Thursday at home helping to take care of him, take him to appointments, watching the kids, etc. Needless to say, without his help in running the household, there were times I turned to much easier things than what I'd planned to make. Oh well. Again, we survived as usual.

This week is going to be a busy one because we're getting ready for our annual crab feast and slip 'n slide party on Saturday. We invite all friends and most of the families [who rarely show up] for a day of crabs, tons of other food, drinks, games, a 75' slip 'n slide and a fire in the fire pit after it gets dark. Such a lovely excuse to host a party and get everyone together! Anywho, this week we're in the process of getting the house ready for company [some overnight guests], trying to finish all grocery shopping, mow the law . . . well, you get the idea. It's all worth it in the end, but since we couldn't do much of anything last week to begin the prep work, it's a little more rushed now. With that said, I'm hoping to stick closely to our menu plan so it's one less thing to think and debate about at night when I get home from work.

Monday:Jalapeno popper dogs [yeah, didn't get around to this one last week] & leftover baked potato wedges

Tuesday: I'm home alone as it's Buppy's overnight at work, so I'll probably eat a leftover Italian turkey sausage we grilled up a few days ago and have some raw veggies

Wednesday: Saucy mushroom chicken with mashed spuds

Thursday: Grilled steak Caesar salads

Friday:Parmigiano & herb chicken breast tenders [didn't get to these last week either, and Buppy was sad because they're super tasty!] & Swiss scalloped potatoes [a new Light & Tasty recipe]

Saturday breakfast: A breakfast casserole I can make the night before so whoever wakes up first can pop it into the oven and be done with it. Not sure if I'm going to make this bagel & cheese bake I already know and enjoy, or branch out and try something new. Guess we'll see.
Saturday lunch & dinner: PARTY TIME! PLENTY OF FOOD EVERYWHERE!

Sunday breakfast: Buppy has to make chocolate chip pancakes for my friend's daughter, who had them last year and loves 'em. I think secretly that's the only reason she's coming back.[Kidding!]
Sunday lunch: Leftovers from the party, as there's generally plenty of food left.
Sunday dinner: Homemade pizzas, so we can make a variety to suite all tastes.

A friend mine from 8th grade and her family are coming up to stay with us Friday-Monday morning, which we're really looking forward to. Now to get the house clean in time . . .

Pop on over to orgjunkie.com for more great menu planning ideas!

But where did the leftovers come from?

My most recent post, as you may well know, is about that gosh-darn super-tasty reuben pizza I made last week. It was made with leftover corned beef I'd cooked a night or 2 prior, so today we'll talk about that recipe. I was hunting around on allrecipes to see if one could successfully cook a corned beef brisket in the slow cooker. Now that Buppy went to day work, I wanted something I could come home to, not something I'd have to boil for hours after I got home.

What did I find? A highly reviewed and rated recipe for slow cooked corned beef for sandwiches, which sounded easy enough to throw together in the morning. The flavors added to the brisket are all things we like, so I decided to give it a go. Lucky me, I'm the kinda girl who stocks up on corned beef the day after St. Patty's Day, so I got a slammin' deal on them. Yay for cheap [but tasty] meat! I'm pretty sure the briskets I purchased where somewhere between 50%-75% off the original price. Niiiiiice.

The original recipe can be found here, so I won't bore you with the details. Pop on over and take a look if you have some corned beef in your freezer waiting to be made. I halved the recipe because I only wanted to cook one brisket, although by the time it was cooked and the fat trimmed off, I almost wished I'd have cooked 2. The cooking and fat removal seemed to steal half my brisket away! Boo. Oh well, we got one meal out of it the first night and the pizza out of the leftovers.

Speaking of the first night's meal, we pulled the roast out of the slow cooker and poured the liquid it had cooked in into a pot. We brought that to a boil and added cubed potatoes first, then cabbage after the potatoes had cooked for approximately 10 minutes. Buppy did all this work. Whatever. I put the brisket in the slow cooker, I did my part! All in all, this turned out to be a nice dinner, although next time we'll have to strain out the peppercorns before we add the potatoes and cabbage; they were a little overwhelming.

The recipe here basically adds some beer, bay leaves, the normal spice packet that comes with the brisket, peppercorns and garlic. All things that sound like they'd only enhance corned beef, right?

The verdict? It was good, and cooking it in the slow cooker was a fantastically easy way to make it in the morning and forget about it. Buppy and I both felt that the addition of beer was unnecessary as we couldn't really taste it all that much. Maybe we should chalk that up to using Michelob Ultra Amber [instead of Guinness or something darker], but I think next time I'll keep the spices the same but cook in water [and maybe add a little beef broth]. Very tender, and great for leftover sammys or pizza! Enjoy!

A Twist on the Reuben

I'm a corned beef lover. There, I said it. Don't be jealous Buppy! To be honest, I'm a total carnivore and love most meats, but corned beef holds a special place in my itty-bitty heart. The seasoning, the tenderness . . . oh how love it all! Corned beef & cabbage? Yes please! Reubens? You betcha! A big hunk o' corned beef on my plate with nothing else? Sure!

My big hang up at restaurants though is Thousand Island dressing on reubens. Ick. Blecky. That stuff is almost always down-right horrible. Ruins my sammy in my humble opinion. And the worst part? Every now and then I forget to ask them to 86 it. And then I'm stuck with it. In all it's gross glory. Usually I cope and chalk it up to my own forgetfulness [no one else to blame, damn] and it's still a decent sandwich. The exception to this that really sticks out in my mind happened in the Inner Harbor in Bmore at the M&S Grill. Beautiful little restaurant, outside seating next to the water, plenty of people watching to be done . . . and the worst Thousand Island dressing ever. Even Buppy agreed, and he likes the stuff! We actually switched meals and he choked down my sandwich [I don't even remember what he ordered and I ended up eating, but it sure was better than that nastiness!]

I don't generally like Kraft salad dressings either; not that they're bad, I just have other brands I prefer. Except for Kraft's Thousand Island with bacon. I wouldn't eat the stuff on a salad, but it actually adds some nice pizazz to reubens. Good job Kraft, well done!

So where is all this talk of corned beef and reubens going? To reuben pizza, of course! I saw a recipe card once upon a time in a Taste of Home magazine and always thought, "Man, I wish I could make that, but what would I use for sauce because Thousand Island dressing is baaaaaaaaaad stuff?" But now that I've found I like Kraft's, I did it. I made the pizza. And it was everything I dreamed it would be. Can I get a woo-hoo?There's no real recipe. We used an $.88 dry packet of pizza dough that you just add water to and let sit for 5 minutes. Note: Buppy has the hardest time spreading the dough out in the pan, so he is no longer allowed to attempt this step. Trust me, it wasn't pretty. The dough was spread out onto a rectangular baking sheet until it was as thin as I wanted. I'm a thin crust kinda gal, but not cracker thin. We then spread some Kraft thousand island dressing onto the crust; enough to where it doesn't look like the pizza will be dry in the end. I didn't use as much as I'd have used were it a normal pizza with red sauce, if that helps any. We toss on some well-drained sauerkraut; important to drain well so the pizza doesn't get soggy. Trust me, I once made a Hawaiian pizza with crushed pineapple --- you can imagine how that turned out. Won't do that again!Back to the reuben pizza: we topped the sauerkraut with chopped leftover corned beef from the night before. On top of that? Oh yeah, shredded Swiss cheese. We baked it per our pizza dough package instructions, and about 10 minutes later had a thing of beauty sitting before us. That pizza was good. Like real good. Like hide-the-leftovers-for-yourself good. Try it; you can thank me later. Enjoy!


*This is linked to Life as Mom’s Ultimate Recipe Swap for 3/17/11 for St. Patrick's Day recipes. Love it!

They're a zippy kind of thing, a zippy thing!

I wasn't really sure what to expect from the title: zippy burgers. One of their half-dozen ingredients was chili powder, and I'm generally not that big a fan. I feel like it overwhelms most dishes, but I could be changing my mind.

I made Buppy stop and get good hamburger buns for these. He's more of a cut-corners-cheap-white-hamburger bun kind o' guy than I am. For things like burgers, which I so rarely eat, and brats, which I love-love-love, a good bun is a necessity. For real. Why go out of your way to make this awesome little [or giant, whatever tickles your peanuts] burger when you have a generic, tasteless bun to put it on? Nope. I'm tired of it. So I put my foot down. Buppy spent a whole $2.69 on bakery buns last night. I buttered them, and he tossed 'em on the grill when he tossed the cheese on the burgers . . . or sometime around then. So worth it!

This recipe calls for beer or beef broth. Well I'm no silly fool who uses beef broth when given the option to throw in some booze, so we used an Ultra Amber we had in the fridge. The recipe list is short, but I really thought more of the flavors would come through. To be honest, all I really tasted was the beer. I'm not complaining about that, don't get me wrong, I just want to be up front about the fact that the rest of the ingredients get kind of lost in the mixture. I could almost detect a little zip from the red pepper flakes, but nothing serious. They were really moist [Buppy does a great job on the grill!], the cheese was ooey-gooey, the lettuce added some good crunch and the tomato completed it. Yes, I'll be making these again. Perhaps I'll tweak 'em so more of the other flavors are discernible, perhaps I'll be too lazy that day.

Zippy Burgers
Adapted from Taste of Home's Light & Tasty Annual Recipes 2005
Test kitchen created

1/4 c. beer or beef broth
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 lb. lean ground beef
5 hamburger buns, split
Butter or margarine [for the buns before they go on the grill]
Cheese slices of your choice [I used Kraft 2% Swiss since it was in my fridge and open]
Lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard, ketchup [any toppings you'll want for your burger]

In a bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 5 patties [Buppy did 1 bigger one for himself, then 1 medium one for me and 3 smaller ones for leftovers and/or the kids].

Coat grill rack with non-stick spray before starting the grill. Butter insides of split rolls. Grill hamburgers, covered, over medium heat 6-8 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160F. You can also broil 4 inches from the heat for the same amount of time if you're not grilling. About a minute or so before you suspect your burgers are done, toss the cheese on the burgers to melt and place the buns on the grill, split/buttered side down. Remove the burgers when the cheese is nice and melty; remove the buns once they're warmed and starting to brown.
Top the burgers with whatever usual burger stuff you use --- lettuce, tomato, pickles, mustard, mayo, ketchup, etc. Be creative!

Tiny Tot #1 at all of his half-burger [we split 1 between the 2]. He had cheese, ketchup and mustard on his, I think. Tiny Tot #2, after several bites, decided he didn't like his burger and ate his bun only. Buppy made him eat 4 bites of the actual meat to get dessert [or "bussert", as he calls it]. When Buppy asked if he liked it after eating those 4 bites, he said he did. Little stinker just said he didn't in the beginning to get to "bussert" faster!

Funny side note: when trying to correct Tiny Tot #2 and teach him to say "dessert" instead of "bussert", I wound up with "debussert". I give up. For now.

Enjoy some light & tasty burgers!

Stoppin' at Nonnie's

On my way home from Atlantic City last weekend, I was determined to stop at a cafe for a delicous breakfast of eggs benedict. On the way there on Saturday afternoon, I passed countless places to stop and envisioned the yumminess I'd find at one of them the following morning. My plans all changed though as the GPS took me home a different way than it had taken me there on Saturday; I ended up coming home on the Atlantic City Expressway, which led me to the New Jersey Turnpike. What did this mean for me? All highway miles, with no cute cafes along the way. The travel plazas could only offer Starbucks, Burger King, McDonalds and the like. This was not gonna do.

I decided to veer off my route near Havre de Grace with no real destination in mind; I just knew I was hungry. I ended up going about 10 miles off the Turnpike and just scanning the restaurants I passed. Hmmm, what looks good today? I decided on a small little Italian pizza/pasta/panini joint called Nonnie's. From their rather extensive menu, I chose their Bugsy panini. They threw steak, shrimp, American cheese, raw onions and Old Bay together for a tasty filling sandwiched between 2 seasoned piecies of heavy-duty bread. Smashed it all up in a panini pressed and BAM --- lunch was served. I could only eat about half the sandwich, so the other half came home and was dinner later that night. It reheated pretty well in the toaster oven, and I was a satisfied customer of Nonnie's.

Onion Beef Stroganoff

It's been awhile since I've posted a new recipe, so here's a tasty one. I purchased a copy of Taste of Home's Light & Tasty Annual Recipes 2005 from eBay for some ridiculously low price and this is the first recipe Buppy and I tried from it. I'm happy to say it's definitely a winner in our opinion. The light & tasty part of it --- what a perk!

Onion Beef Stroganoff
Adapted from the Taste of Home's Light & Tasty Annual Recipes 2005 Cookbook
Courtesy of Beth Bries, Farley, IA

1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 envelope onion soup mix [they recommend onion mushroom, plain onion was what we had on hand]
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 c. fat free evaporated milk [I meant to use fat free, but Buppy accidentally bought the regular full fat kind; next time it'll be fat free]
1 lb. boneless beef chuck steak, cut into thin strips [original recipe called for sirloin, we chose to use chuck]
2 tsp. canola oil
1/2 medium onion, sliced and separated into rings
1/2 tsp. minced garlic [we use from the jar, so that's equivalent to 1 garlic clove]
1 1/2 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
Hot cooked noodles
[Have a few tablespoons of milk on hand to thin this out if it becomes too thick.]

In a saucepan, combine the first 4 ingredients. Gradually stir in the milk until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; keep warm.

In a nonstick skillet, brown beef in oil. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook a few minutes longer until mushrooms are tender. Reduce heat to low; stir in reserved sauce. Cook and stir for 3-5 minutes on low until heated through. If the sauce appears too thick, add some of the milk on hand 1 Tbsp. at a time until it reaches the desired consistency. Serve over noodles.

In reality, the kids and Buppy had it over noodles. I opted for an English muffin as my base. I'm a freak like that. It just sounded like a good combo and I was right ---- I enjoyed my way and the rest of the family enjoy theirs. Buppy took the leftovers to work with him and said they reheated well too. Enjoy!

Buppy Cooks Comfort Food

First though, we shall start with a movie review. One of my new coworkers and I get along rather well and seem to have a similar taste in movies. We decided to trade a few that we were shocked the other hadn't seen; I lent him Team America and he borrowed me House of 1,000 Corpses (we'll call this one HC) as well as Fierce Creatures (FC). HC was awful. Horrible. As in, almost 2 hours of my life that I'll never get back. FC was better, although still not something I'd watch again. He assumed I'd enjoy HC since it came out (and supposedly explains) The Devil's Rejects, which I love. I didn't. It doesn't. Don't do it. Period.

Now, onto better topics . . .

Because my hours at my new job are quite different from what I'd been working almost since I moved to MD, meals are different now as well. I don't get home until 7:10pm or so on weeknights, later if I get caught up with something at work. Because of this, Buppy usually feeds the kids before I get home, then he and I eat together after they've gone to bed. I've told him he can make the meal and I'll just reheat it when I get home (so that all 3 of them can have dinner together) but he chooses to wait for me. How sweet! This past week he and the kids were all pretty sick, so Wed. night I picked up some hot & sour soup for Buppy and I (as well as a few egg rolls). It was the first time I'd had that kind of soup and it was good; I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but I did. And man, they make some bangin' egg rolls at that Chinese place too!
Thursday night Buppy made Shepard's Pie, which is something I've never made but he's really good at. Granted it's a pretty simple recipe to throw together, but he makes it just right. Friday night was a chicken-broccoli braid, but that will be blogged about at another time. Super tasty too!

Buppy's Shepard's Pie

1 lb. ground beef or turkey (we use turkey now as it's healthier)
1 packet Lipton Beefy Mushroom soup mix
1 jar Heinz mushroom gravy
Corn (as much as you'd like)
Potatoes (enough to make as thick a layer on top as you'd like)
Shredded cheese (whatever kind you like)

So here's what Buppy tells me he does: He peels and chops up some spuds, then boils them to make mashed potatoes. While they're cooking, he browns (or whatever color ground turkey turns when it cooks) the ground meat with the soup mix in a large skillet on the stovetop. If using beef, he then drains off the fat; this step is not necessary if using ground turkey as there is nothing to drain off. From here he mixes in the gravy. He pours the meat/soup/gravy into a large casserole dish, then layers on the corn (as well as any other veggies I might let him add.) I think it'd be swell with some sauteed mushrooms and onions, but that's not how Buppy does it. I think he'd put green beans in, but I vetoed them on Thursday. I wasn't feeling bean-y enough that day. Anyway, at this point the potatoes should be tender, so he drains them and mashes 'em up with some butter (margarine, actually) and whatever other stuff he wants to add. This week he made them garlic mashers; yum! He heaps the potatoes on top of the corn layer in the casserole dish, then throws on some shredded cheese and pops it into the oven. I'm guessing he bakes it at about 350F for half an hour. After all, he's really just making sure everything is nice and hot and the cheese melts. We like to broil it for a few minutes after the half hour is up to get the cheese a nice golden color. I'm so glad he can (and likes to) cook!

I was too busy eating to remember to take a picture. I'm such a bad dog.

I got the idea to try and make this as a vegetarian dish too, using a variety of mushrooms instead of meat and adding in some chopped onion (I love onion!) too. When I make it happen, I'll post how it goes. Doesn't that sounds like a delish vegetarian dish!?!

Note: I'm linking this up to Life as Mom’s Ultimate Recipe Swap for January 13th, 2011; it's about how we make it easier for our families to swallow veggies. Not hard, 'cause I love veggies, but check out her website for more great ideas.

But I don't even like meatloaf.....

Yes folks, I admit it. I'm that person who says I don't like meatloaf. The person who would never, ever order it in a restaurant. Never eat it on a buffet. Generally I wouldn't eat it at another person's house either. I don't want taco meatloaf or Reuben meatloaf or BBQ meatloaf. I'm just not into meatloaf. Except my mom's.

I'm not sure what it is about her meatloaf that I love so dearly. I made it myself for the first time sometime this past Spring when Buppy said he wanted a "classic" meatloaf. No fuss, no frills, no bells, no whistles. Just classic, traditional meatloaf. I thought of my mom's recipe immediately since that's really the only meatloaf I'd ever put in my mouth. I'm not saying that everyone out there makes terrible meatloaf, please don't misunderstand me! I just think it has something to do with the meat . . . being in a loaf. It sounds so unappetizing to me. Anyway, maybe it's that the grew up on my mom's and therefore that's all I trust. I don't know; I like to think of myself as a pretty experimental cook who makes lots of different dishes with different flavors and inspirations.

Well, whatever the case, my mom's recipe is the bestest of the best for a classic. It's pretty gosh darn simple (which surprised me, kind of, when she told me over the phone what went in it.) But I gave it a go and it was all Buppy and I'd hoped it would be. Yum!

Please keep in mind that, as with most of my recipes, measurements are approximate and half the time don't actually get measured out in my kitchen. Dump, sprinkle, shake---whatever. I realize that amount of ground beef in the recipe is a bit odd, but that's because it was the size of the package I happened to have on hand and therefore I approximated everything else around that particular size.

Mom’s Meatloaf

1.35 lbs. ground beef
2 slices bread, cut into small cubes
1 Tbsp. milk
2 ½ Tbsp. ketchup, plus some for the top
½ of a (medium) raw onion, finely chopped
Salt & pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix together with hands until well blended. Form into a loaf and place in loaf pan or roaster. Spread ketchup (as much as you wish) on top. Bake at 350F for approximately 50 minutes or until meat thermometer reads done. Yield: 3 servings. Does it get any simpler people? No. Any better tasting? Nuh-uh.

This recipe will be linked up to the URS (Ultimate Recipe Swap) on Life as Mom where beef is the menu item this week. I love her URSs!

Slow Cooker Italian Beef

I first tried this recipe for Italian Beef when planning Tiny Tot #2's birthday party for incoming family. Our plan was to do a sandwich extravaganza with cold cuts, different spreads, cheeses, veggies, breads --- we wanted everyone to build their ideal sandwich. There is a restaurant in Stevens Point, WI (where I went to school) called Bill's Pizza; they have the most amazing Italian Beef sandwich ever. I miss it a lot and haven't eaten there in a few years now (I moved away from Point in 2006). I was, however, determined to recreate their masterpiece so I could have a little piece of Wisco here in my new home in MD. This recipe didn't disappoint; I didn't think it would though as it has over 700 reviews and 4.5 stars on allrecipes.com! I only made one change to it as it appeared originally, and that was to add 2 packets of Italian dressing seasoning instead of just 1. Well, that and my roast was slightly smaller than 5 lbs.

Slow Cooker Italian Beef
From allrecipes.com

3 c. water
1 tsp. of each of the following: salt, ground black pepper, dried oregano, dried basil, onion salt, dried parsley and garlic powder
1 bay leaf
2 packets dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 (5 lb.) rump roast

Combine water with everything but the meat in a saucepan. Stir well and bring to a boil. Place roast in slow cooker and pour spice mixture over the meat. Cook on low for 10-12 hours or high for 4-5 (mine actually took a little longer on high than this but eventually did get super tender and fork-shredable). Remove bay leaf and shred meat with forks. Place meat back into slow cooker and let it cook for another hour (or more) on low setting to allow meat to absorb flavors. Great served the next day also. I've found that I like this best on crusty bread, and if you top it with crinkle-cut dill pickles, it's just like Bill's! Enjoy!

The spread for the party --- see the slow cooker waaaay at the end? That's the beef!

*I'm sharing this on Life as Mom’s URS (Ultimate Recipe Swap). I'm late, as slow cooking was the theme last week but hey, this recipe is still worth the mention! Her URS's are awesome for great new ideas to try in the kitchen, so stop over and check 'em out if you've got some time.

Here's a quick pic of Buppy with the 2 kiddos getting ready to blow out the candles. I'll have to blog at a later date about that fabulous cake I created....

Here's a picture using the same recipes on a pork roast instead. While it doesn't absorb quite as much flavor as the beef, it's still really, really tasty.