Week 9 - Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches

I found this great recipe for slow cooker Italian Beef sandwiches on Pinterest here.      Instead of adding beer as the recipe calls for, I doubled the beef broth.

Sometimes I think I impress Sweetheart when I have Pinterest-inspired, recipe success.   I generally show him a picture of what I am planning to make for our Sunday football grub the day before as I'm planning my grocery list.   He will eat anything that I make so I never fear making something he won't like.  And he's always grateful that I spend time planning and cooking.  But sometimes he sees a meal on the plate and says "wow, that looks good" or "wow, that smells good" as it's cooking in the slow cooker.   Makes me giggle a little.  When he says "this is delicious!" between bites, well let's just say that makes me very happy.   That's Pinterest-inspired, recipe success at it's best!

I am often amazed at how simple it is to create a very tasty meal with very minimal prep and kitchen time.  This one was super easy because I just threw all the ingredients in the slow cooker, set the timer and went about my day.   I cooked it on high for 6 hours.   Prep time afterwards was next to nothing.   I toasted some wheat rolls, piled in the meat and provolone cheese, poured the au jus in a small ramekin and put some chips on a plate.   I topped the sandwich with pepperchini peppers.

This is one I will definitely make again!

Speaking of Pinterest,  l ran across a picture of hash brown cooked in the waffle iron one day.   Sweetheart and I both love a crispy hash brown so I tired it.  It was so simple.  I brushed on some melted butter to both sides of the waffle iron, added some shredded potatoes that I seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic.   I poured the potatoes into the waffle iron and let them cook for 10 minutes.  

This was the end result:

The BEST hash browns I've made and easily clean up!


BTW,  November is my birthday month and Sweetheart let me open one of my gifts.  It's the Kate Spade lenticular eyes iPhone 6 case.     Cute, yes?

TTFN

~Yolanda 

Week 7 - Buffalo Chicken Dip and BBQ Ribs

I let the slow cookers and Sweetheart do ALL the work on Sunday.   I love when you can dump all the ingredients into the slow cooker and just sit and enjoy the games.   This week I made Buffalo Chicken Dip for our snack and BBQ ribs, corn on the cob and a salad for dinner.    Although very simple, it did not disappoint.   

I took the basic recipe and dumped it all into the slow cooker:  cream cheese, cheddar cheese, Frank's red hot wings sauce, shredded chicken and ranch dressing.  Start on high for about 1/2 hour until it all starts to melt so it's easy to blend.  Reduce to low and let it cook for about 45 minutes.    I usually start us with a light snack for lunch since we have breakfast after mass and are not really hungry when lunch time rolls around.  I started this about about an hour and a half before we would be ready to start snacking on it. 

It starts out like this:

And end ups like this: 

The ribs took 7 hours to cook on high.  I followed this recipe:  

As the recipe instructed when the ribs finished cooking, I carefully removed them from the slow cooker, slathered some BBQ sauce on them and then Sweetheart put them on the grill for about 5 minutes, each side (Sweetheart also prepared the corn on the cob and cooked it on the grill).    

They REALLY did come out looking like this:

And they were sooooooo good!!  And I forgot to take a picture of them.  And by "forgot" I really mean I didn't want to get BBQ sauce all over my new iPhone.  True story.   

One of my favorite things about at-home-football Sunday is this:

We all find a spot on the sofa and fall asleep....

p.s.  if you live in Phoenix you get 1/2 off of all drinks and slushes at Sonic the day after the Cardinals win.  And you know that after every win I am there.   At first it was for the 1/2 off, because this girl likes a good deal.  Now it's because I feel as if I don't stop and get our drinks, I'll jinx the team.  Just doing my part.

Go Cardinals!

TTFN

~Yolanda 

Week Two - Twice Baked Potatoes

Happy Sunday!  It was another great day of football watching.  My Cards won, Sweetheart's Cowboys won and the Seahawks lost.  If the Bears could pull it together and beat the 49er's, life would be good.   If I sound bitter, it's because I am.  :)

Sweetheart's menu pick for this week:  Potato Skins and Hamburgers.  And chips and salsa and beer and wine of course.   

I found this recipe on Pinterest.  Sweetheart didn't want me to discard the inside of the potato so I figured this would be a good one to try.  I was surprised at how easy they were to make and just how good they were.  We both enjoyed them!

*I always modify the recipe just a little because I'm generally watching TV while I'm making the meal and I don't have time to follow a recipe to the tee.   

Twice Baked Potatoes

• 6 red potatoes
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup fresh green onions
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

1. preheat oven to 360
2. rub potato skins with olive oil and salt
3. place in oven and bake for 1 hour
4. after potatoes are done and out of the oven, I cooked the bacon in the oven
5. once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice each in half lengthwise.
6. scoop out the flesh, leaving a thin rim around the potato skin. 
7. mash the potatoes with a fork, stir in bacon bits, 1 cup cheddar cheese, sour cream, onions and pepper.  
8. spoon potato mixture back into the potato skins and return to the baking ray. 
9. sprinkled with reserved cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese.
10. return to over and bake until potatoes are lightly browned and heated through (about 10 minutes).

Sweetheart handled the hamburgers:  Lipton onion soup mix, salt & pepper, garlic and ground beef.  Wheat buns, lettuce, tomato, cheese, mustard, pickles and of course, green chiles. 

Go CARDS!

Wishes for a happy work week!

TTFN
~Yolanda

Week One - Chicken BLT Lettuce Wraps

I am sure this will come as no surprise to anyone, but we LOVE football season!   We love the games, the sports bars, the Fantasy Football and of course, the food!   I am sure it will also come as no surprise that I love to be organized and I live by my calendar -- which contains my numerous "to do" lists, house cleaning lists, grocery lists, meal lists, etc.  You get the picture, yes?

Every year, I prepare a list (way in advance) of what meals we will have for days we watch the games at home and what we will have when we tailgate.   Everything, and I do mean everything, is planned out.   This year I thought I would post my at home meals.   We also decided we would eat at home more and make healthier choices for our football grub. 

After mass this morning Sweetheart and I had breakfast at one of our favorite spots, made a quick stop at the Home Depot to get some propane for the grill and then headed home just in time to kick off the first week of the regular season by watching the Red Zone pretty much all day.  

For dinner, I made some Chicken BLT Lettuce Wraps: 

click to enlarge

I found the recipe here as I was browsing one day.   I thought this would be a relatively great alternative to the typical greasy, carb-filled foods that we tend to gravitate to when we watch football.

I made slight modifications.  I had Sweetheart roast some green chile on the grill when he grilled the chicken for me.   It added so much flavor and just the right amount of heat:

Chicken BLT Lettuce Wrap

• head of butter lettuce
• 3 chicken breasts, grilled and sliced into strips
• 6 slices of bacon -- I cook my bacon in the oven so that so there is no splatter mess and perfect bacon each time.   To cook the bacon in the oven, line a baking sheet with foil, line bacon side by side but not touching.   Set the oven to 400 and place the bacon in the oven (do not preheat). Cook for 20 minutes.  Transfer the bacon from the baking sheet to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the grease. 
• handful of grape tomatoes
• 2 roasted hatch green chile -- seeded and cut into strips  

Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise - I use Best Foods Olive Oil mayonnaise 
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup honey 
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• pepper

I made the Honey Mustard Dressing in advance, placed it in a glass jar and put it in the fridge.   The more I can prep ahead of time works best so I can spend more time in front the TV and less time in the kitchen.  

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For lunch, at Sweetheart's request, I made some Nachos.  Pretty basic:  tortilla chips, nacho cheese, turkey meat with taco seasonings, green onions, salsa and sour cream.  I don't like sour cream so my plate below doesn't have any on it.  :)

Quick and easy but oh so tasty:

Wishes for a happy work week!

TTFN

~Yolanda