Sunday Dinner

It was cold and snowy on Sunday, and all I felt like doing was staying in, relaxing, doing a little laundry, and cooking.   I made a pretty awesome breakfast (see below), then prepped for dinner so that I wouldn't have to do anything else all day but wait for it to cook. And boy am I glad I got all that work done early so all I had to do the rest of the day was relax!
Anyways, what I prepared was a pot roast that I let cook in the Crock-Pot all day.

Now, Everyone has their own way of doing this (of course), and their own favorite vegetables, but this is what I decided to do.
Beef pot roast, turnip (because I didn't want potatoes today), butternut squash (because we all know how much I hate carrots), celery, baby onions, mushrooms, garlic, beef gravy, and of course- salt & pepper.

First, I seared the beef in my favorite pot with a little olive oil & butter.

Then I took the beef out to rest for a second, and added the onions to the pot to cook a little in the beef goodness.

Once those looked happy, I added some beef gravy to the pot so that could absorb all the flavors too.
*please note: if you have a big enough pot to cook the stew in, skip this step, and just add all the veggies, then the beef, then the gravy. But since my pot is too small, I did this, then transferred everything to the Crock-Pot.

Next, I got everything loaded into the Crock-Pot.

Be sure to put the vegetables that take the longest to cook on the bottom, then layer according to cook time.

Turnip:

 Butternut Squash:

 Celery:

 The Beef:

 Mushrooms and Garlic:

 Then the gravy and onions:

Cover and cook on low for a few hours. I waited until the turnip was soft. That's how I knew it was ready.

Once you are ready to eat, remove the beef, slice it up, then serve.
Amazing.... :)

Enjoy! xoxo

Cinna-YUM waffles

For any of you who Love both cinnamon rolls and waffles, here is a recipe for you!

Step one: put cinnamon rolls into waffle iron.
Step two: cook cinnamon rolls.
Step three: drizzle with maple syrup and cinnamon roll frosting.
Step four: Enjoy!

Yes, it's as simple as that.... :)

Pizza and Tzatziki

I love making pizza, and I haven't done it in so long, so I thought it was about time. Plus, I saw the recipe for this one online recently and decided to recreate it. So here goes.
The line-up: pizza dough, olive oil, chicken (not pictured), cucumber, avocado, feta cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, and home-made Tzatziki sauce (recipe below). Oh, and chopped Roma tomatoes. Don't forget these! I did, and while the pizza was amazing, it would have been even better with the tomatoes. Oh, and please don't judge me for the canned dough. It's actually better than you think.

First up: bake the dough (I'll leave the dough choice up to you. Store bough, home-made, whatever. Your choice). Before baking, rub with olive oil, then sprinkle with oregano. Bake until golden brown. Oh, and here's a tip: poke the dough with a fork before baking so you don't get any air bubbles.

While the dough is baking, you can cook the chicken. I used thighs, but if you prefer white meat you can cook breasts. When the chicken is done, chop it into bite-size pieces.

Now it's time to assemble the pizza!

Just add all the toppings, then drizzle the Tzatziki over it all.

Tzatziki sauce:
Plain Greek yogurt, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, grated cucumber, salt, pepper, garlic. And no, I don't have measurements. It's all just done to taste.

Enjoy!!! xoxo

Pasta and Shellfish!

I love shellfish.
Heck, I love everything that comes out of the ocean!
And I was craving some last week. So, I hit up the seafood counter, grabbed a couple things, and got to cooking.
My inspiration for this dish? I have no idea. It just kind of "came to me". Sorry.
Anyways, here goes: mussels and bay scallops over angel hair with tomato and basil.

Ingredients:

Mussels, bay scallops, an onion, chopped (not pictured), garlic, olive oil, 1 can of chicken broth (not pictured), some white wine (about 2 cups- not pictured), butter, pasta, tomatoes and basil.

Ok, first: boil a pot of water to cook the pasta in.

While that is heating up, saute onion and garlic in a little bit of oil and butter (Yes, I said oil AND butter. The combo is phenomenal. If you haven't done it before, do it going forward. You will be hooked).

And, feel free to chop your garlic however you like. Or use the stuff in the jar. Or grate it on a micro-plane like I do.

Once those are happy, add a little more butter, and the chicken broth. Then, add the mussels. 

Let the mussels cook for a few minutes on their own, then add the scallops.

Once everything is cooked (you'll know the mussels are done when they open), add some fresh chopped basil and some fresh chopped tomatoes to the mix. Then cover and let it all steam for a few minutes.

Also, by now your water should be boiling, so add the pasta to it, set the timer, stir and boil.

Next, drain the pasta, then add this mixture to it.

Now, what I did (which I didn't take a picture of, sorry) was drain the pasta into a strainer in the sink, then put the strainer full of pasta over the empty pasta pot I cooked the pasta in, then I dumped this all over it so that the broth ran through it, and collected into the empty pot below.

Then I scooped some pasta and seafood into a bowl, poured a little of the broth mix over it, grated a little fresh Reggiano on top, and Voila! 

Restaurant quality dinner, made all within the time it took to boil the pasta. Amazing.

And it was Soooooo good! 

:)

American Chop whatey?

Suey. American Chop Suey.
Don't ask me where the name came from, because I can't tell you.
What I can tell you though is that this is one of my favorite "comfort" meals.
It's also Super Easy to make.

Now, normally I wouldn't think to put something like this on here, but for some strange reason a lot of people have never heard of this (shocking, I know), and it made me think: "Who else out there has never heard of American Chop Suey? Oh my goodness, I better educate them all!". So, now I am.

Basically, for those of you who don't know, this dish is traditionally just a mixture of elbow macaroni, ground beef, and tomato sauce. You can also add peppers, onions, and/or mushrooms, and you can switch up the pasta. Basically, its just a mix of pasta, tomato sauce and vegetables (sometimes referred to as American Goulash), but I like to keep it simple and "traditional".

And, to those of you who want to make it as simple as it can possibly be, here's a good trick to remember how to make it: 1-1-1 (1-box elbows, 1-jar sauce, 1-lb. hamburg).

Here goes:
Step 1: boil water for the pasta. I think we all know how to do this.

Step 2: brown the hamburg.
If you have never done this, put it in a hot, preferably non-stick pan (on high) break it up as it cooks so that it is small crumbles of meat. Cook until there is no pink left in the meat (this will take about 7-8 minutes for a pound of meat.
Also, I recommend adding chopped onions and peppers to this mix. Just a handful or so of each, It really adds a lot to the dish. (I just didn't have any this day).

Step 3: Boil the pasta. Again, something we should all know how to do by now.

And don;t forget to set the timer to the correct time as indicated on the package. I have said this before, and I will say it again- this is super important if you ask me! It's so easy to lose track of time and overcook your pasta, so just set the timer.

Step 4: When the pasta is done, drain it, then put it back into the pot. Add the hamburg, then the sauce, and stir.

 

Step 5: Serve.

I love cheese on top, so feel free to give it a little of your favorite. I prefer fresh shaved Reggiano.

Enjoy!