Slow Cooker Beef Stew

adapted from allrecipes.com, submitted by BUCHKO

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 clove garlic, minced 1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 c red wine 1 onion, chopped 1 1/2 cups beef broth 3 potatoes, diced 4 carrots, sliced 1 stalk celery, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.
2.	Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours. I made some Bisquick biscuits to go with the stew. Husband rating:  3.5 stars Boys say:  thumbs up

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

from allrecipes.com, submitted by Gina

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Frosting: 2 cups confectioners' sugar 3 tablespoons milk 1 tablespoon melted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on ungreased cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.

3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. While cookies are baking make glaze/frosting by combining confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve preferred consistency. Cool cookies on baking sheet for about five minutes, move to cooling rack, then ice with frosting. 

Here's a tip: to easily scoop your cookie dough into perfect mounds on your cookie sheet use a small ice cream scoop. This is a new family favorite!!!  We love these cookies.  The boys asked for them every day in their lunches until they were gone.  Make them.  Share them (if you can stop yourself from eating them).  Happy fall! Husband rating:  5 stars Boys say:  thumbs up

Steak and Mango Stir-Fry

adapted from ourbestbites.com

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce (if this needs to be gluten-free, check the soy sauce label)
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
12 ounces flank steak, thinly sliced (if it’s semi-frozen, it’s easier to slice)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cooking oil (olive, coconut, or canola), divided
1 small red onion, sliced
1 medium red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 cup cubed, ripe (but not too ripe) mango
1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped or torn
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Instructions:

Whisk together the water, lime juice, sugar, soy sauce, and corn starch. Set aside.

Toss together the basil, cilantro, and mint and set aside.

Sprinkle the steak with crushed red pepper and black pepper and toss to combine. Heat half of the oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. When hot, add the steak and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until almost cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside. Heat the remaining oil in the skillet and add the onion, pepper, and ginger. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until tender-crisp. Add the garlic, steak, mango and stir-fry until the steak is cooked through. Add the sauce and cook until thickened slightly. Serve immediately over rice and sprinkle with herb mixture. Serves 4.

I served this over Seeds of Change quinoa and brown rice mix as was recommended on ourbestbites.  This was better than I expected.  There is a nice depth to the flavors.  

I had a mango for this dinner but when I cut in to it it was a bad mango.  I've never picked a bad/brown/gross one before!  So I improvised by thinly slicing dried mangoes and adding them to the mix when I added the red peppers.  It would have been better with a fresh mango but it was still good.

Husband rating:  4 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up (which is shocking since there was quinoa and brown rice on the plate!)

Thamnak Thai

The great thing about moving to a new city is trying all the restaurants!  Especially here in Austin!  We had a night out with friends at a thai restaurant called Thamnak Thai.  I chose the pineapple curry and it was delicious.  The Pad Thai also got rave reviews.

Lonestar Cafe

On a recent trip to San Antonio with friends we took the boys to the Tower of the Americas.  They loved the 4D video you watch before you take the long elevator ride to the top of the tower.  After enjoying the view of the city we walked to the Riverwalk.  We had lunch at the Lonestar Cafe.  This was my lunch.  Don't you love the Texas flag?!  The pulled pork and sweet potato fries were great.  In a group of 12 people we all enjoyed our lunch picks.  Thank you Lonestar Cafe!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 pre-made pizza crust (or make your own!)
your favorite BBQ sauce
1 chicken breast cooked and chopped
1/4 c red onion, chopped
mozzarella cheese, shredded
fresh cilantro, chopped
pineapple tidbits

Place crust on a cookie sheet.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spread BBQ sauce on pizza crust.  Top with chicken, onions, pineapple, cheese and cilantro.  Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

I'm the only one who ate this so I give it 4 stars.

Meat Sauce for Pasta

adapted from foodnetwork.com, submitted by Ree Drummond

1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound Italian sausage
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onions, diced
1 green bell peppers, seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine or stock (your choice)
One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
One 24-ounce jar good store-bought marinara sauce (you can use another jar if you like the sauce to be more saucy than meaty)
One 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper, optional
2 bay leaves
1/8 cup finely minced fresh parsley or 1.5 tablespoons parsley flakes, plus more for serving
grated parmesan for serving
2 pounds spaghetti, cooked al dente and tossed with olive oil, for serving
Garlic-cheese bread, for serving

In a large pot over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and sausage until totally browned. Remove the meat from the pot with a slotted spoon and put it into a bowl. Set aside.

Discard any grease in the pot, but do not clean the pot. Drizzle in the olive oil. When it is heated, throw in the onions and bell peppers. Stir it around for 1 1/2 minutes, and then add the garlic. Stir and cook for an additional minute.

Pour in the wine and allow it to bubble up and reduce for about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, marinara sauce and tomato paste. Stir to combine, and then add the sugar, salt, oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper if using and bay leaves. Stir, and then add the cooked ground beef and sausage and stir to combine. Place the lid on the pot and allow to simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add a little water or some low-sodium broth if it needs more liquid.

After an hour, add the minced parsley.  Allow sauce to simmer for another 30 minutes or so. Discard the bay leaves before serving.

Serve a big bowl of oiled noodles and the meat sauce so guests can serve themselves. Top each serving with minced parsley and grated Parmesan (or Parmesan shavings) and serve with a big piece of garlic-cheese bread.

I really like this sauce.  It's something you can always double and freeze the extra for another night.  I didn't even double it and we had extra sauce.

Husband rating:  4 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Lemon-Herb Zucchini Fettuccine

from ourbestbites.com

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 lemons
2 T Red Wine Vinegar
Olive Oil
1/2 lb Fettuccine (that’s just 1/2 of a normal box like in the picture)
2 medium zucchini
1 C shredded parmesan cheese 

5-6 cloves garlic
Fresh Basil (about 1/2 C)
Fresh Oregano (about 1/4 C) If you don’t have fresh oregano, just add a little dried.
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Prepare grill. You could also do this on the stove top in a skillet, or a grill pan.

Place chicken in a zip-lock bag with the juice of one lemon, a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and a couple tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Smoosh around and set bag aside while you get your other things ready. (If you’ve got time to spare, let the chicken marinade for 30 minutes, if you don’t, just take what you can get. I did mine for 15 min and it was great.)

Put the pot on the stove to boil water for the pasta. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, slice the zucchini in half length-wise. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Press, or finely mince garlic cloves. In a small sauce pan on the stove, place 1/4 C olive oil and add garlic. Turn burner onto low-med heat. It shouldn’t be popping and frying, it should just slowly warm, infusing the oil with the garlic and removing that zing fresh garlic has. 

When water boils, add pasta and a spoonfull of salt

Remove chicken from bag and salt and pepper both sides. Place chicken, and zucchini on grill. 

While chicky and zuchs are grilling and pasta is boiling, chop herbs and get out cheese. Zest both lemons and juice the one that hasn’t been juiced. 

See, now you’re all ready. When everything is done cookin’ you can throw it together! Keep an eye on that garlic. You DON’T want it to get brown and crispy. It should still look nice and white. Give it a stir. If it starts really cooking, just take it off the heat and set aside. 

When zucchini and chicken are done take them off the grill and chop ‘em up. 

Reserve about 1/2 C pasta water. Drain pasta and immediately place in a big bowl. Place chopped zuch and chicken on top. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese, herbs, and garlic-olive oil mixture. Just pile it all in there. Then stick your face up real close and inhale. Ahhhh, heaven.

Now take some tongs and give everything a big toss. If you feel it needs more moisture, add a little of the pasta water, or a little more olive oil. 

This will make 4 generous servings.

I liked this dish but my family wasn't as crazy about it.  You'll have to give it try and see what you think!

Husband rating:  3 stars

Boys say:  mixed reviews

Rita's

It's hard to believe I haven't blogged about Rita's yet.  We discovered Rita's early this last summer.  All summer we enjoyed cool treats on hot days.  And now that it's getting colder and we've moved to another state where we don't live so close to a Rita's we still go regularly to satisfy our Rita's cravings!  

What is Rita's?  It's Italian ice (think very finely shaved ice) and custard together.  How can you go wrong?!  Our favorite flavor is Swedish Fish with vanilla custard.  They usually have about a dozen flavors on hand and they change daily.  The pumpkin ice with vanilla custard is perfect for this time of year.  

About half the states in the union have a Rita's so hopefully you can find one near you!

Husband Rating:  5 stars 

Boys say:  thumbs up