Sloppy Joes, Oven Steak fries and Fry Sauce

So I didn't put the recipe here for the fries because they are from my cookbook our best bites.  You can go to their website ourbestbites.com and look in the index for Oven Steak Fries.  They turned out so good! Basically you mix spices and olive oil together and spread them over potato wedges (one potato cut in 8 pieces)  So yummy!!! Then, I made Crockpot Sloppy Joes from a recipe on Pinterest and put the meat in a yummy Rhodes roll.  The fry sauce is 1/4 cup mayo (not miracle whip) and 1/4 cup ketchup mixed together. Delicious!!!! Wonderful dinner!

Penne Pasta and Chicken in Alfredo Sauce

I got the Alfredo Sauce from the Cookbook "Our Best Bites" and it is the best Alfredo sauce I have ever tasted!
Alfredo Sauce:
2 cups milk (I used 1 1/2 cups whole milk with 1/2 cup water mixed in because they originally call for low-fat milk)
1/3 cup or 3 oz of low fat cream cheese (I used regular)
2 T flour
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves (I used 2), minced
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a blender (I used my magic bullet!) blend the milk, cream cheese, flour and salt and set aside. In a large saucepan, melt the butter and add garlic. Stir constantly on medium heat so the garlic doesn't burn. Add the milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for 3-4 minutes or until it comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for about 6-7 min. Once the sauce has thickened remove from heat. Whisk the cheese into the sauce and cover immediately. It is important that you buy a triangle of Parmesan cheese and freshly grate it. If you use already grated parmesan, it will be lumpy. In my opinion, I think the freshly grated cheese made such a difference in the taste!! Allow the sauce to thicken for 10 minutes. I had cooked up some penne noodles before I did the sauce and I added already cooked chicken (in a can...Costco chicken is the best!!) Stirred together, noodles, sauce and chicken...let it sit the 10 minutes and you have a fabulous dinner! We had banana poppy seed muffins with our dinner and should have had a vegetable. Next time, I'll make brown sugared carrot coins to go with it!

Shredded Roast Beef Sandwiches

These are so easy to make and so yummy! The rolls are frozen Rhodes rolls that you thaw for 3-5 hours then bake for 20 minutes. Then you split in two to put in the roast beef filling.

Roast Beef:

(from our best bites)

2 T olive oil

1 Roast (mine was small 2 lb but next time I will do bigger)

Kosher salt (you can use traditional salt)

Freshly ground pepper
2 packages (I used one) dry onion soup mix

2 cups water (I used 1 cup)

2 cans beef broth (I used 1 cup)

Heat olive oil in the pan. While heating the oil, sprinkle roast with salt and pepper. when the oil is hot, sear the roast on all sides---you want to quickly brown the roast to add flavor and seal in the juices. Do not skip this step...this is the key to a tender, yummy roast! Transfer the roast to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the soup mix on the roast and add broth and water. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours. When done, the meat should easily shred with a fork. I shred the meat with 2 forks and then put the meat on the roll. Yum!!!!

Banana Poppy Seed Muffins

Banana Poppy Seed Muffins

These are a modification of a Better Homes and Gardens recipe that I have. My family ate these right up...they turned out so well!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 T poppy seeds

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup mashed banana

Directions:

Grease muffin tin, do not use baking cups with this recipe. Combine dry ingredients flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds together in bowl. Set aside. Combine oil, milk and egg together. Make a well in dry ingredients. Pour milk, oil and egg into dry mixture and stir. Add banana. Stir ingredients together until just moistened. Spoon batter into muffin tin. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until golden. Cool on cooling rack for 5 min. Makes 10-12 muffins. Enjoy!

More recipes to come

I have been so awful not posting recipes...my enthusiasm for my cooking blog has fizzed out a little...especially in the last two months when I was recovering from surgery. I have had a loss of appetite and that has contributed to my not really thinking about new recipes. I promise I will do better in the future.

French Toast

4 slices Bread (I used French Bread)
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Slice bread crosswise (i did some both crosswise and down the middle)
In a shallow mixing bowl whisk eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon.
Dip slices into mixture and cook until golden brown. I put them in the oven at 250F to keep the slices warm while I cooked up the rest. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with maple syrup. Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers and Strawberry Limeade

My kids were not very excited about this meal. In fact, we had this Saturday night and on Friday night we told the kids, you have two choices for dinner: Arby's or stuffed peppers. No brainer. We were actually going to Arby's anyway because it was an overdue reward from Spring Break. I told the kids to pick something they wanted to work for the entire week of spring break and they worked really hard. Kael picked to go to cousin's house in Lehi, Aidan picked a bowling trip (that was super fun) and Kalli picked Arby's. It turned out that spring break, she got some kind of flu at the end of the week so we didn't go. But I digress, even though my kids were not impressed with stuffed peppers, my husband and I enjoyed them. I got the original recipe from my Better Homes and Garden recipe book but I changed some ingredients so here is my version:

The recipe called for 2 large green bell peppers. Green Bell Peppers aren't my favorite so I used Yellow, Orange and Red which I love a lot better. I had 2 small red peppers, 2 medium orange and 1 medium yellow. Cut the tops of the peppers and scoop out the seeds. Put in boiling water for 3 minutes and then drain. For the filling you need the following ingredients:

• 1 lb hamburger
• chopped onion
• can of diced tomatoes (I used a 14.5 oz can....recipe called for 7.5 oz)
• 1 cup water (recipe called for 1/2 cup water)
• 2/3 cup rice (recipe called for 1/3 cup rice)
• seasonings basil or oregano (1/2 tsp? I just sprinkled dried basil in the pan)
  
• Worcestershire sauce
• Cheddar cheese, grated (recipe calls for American)

So I changed it to fit my family, you can too! In a large skillet, cook hamburger and onion till meat is brown and onion is tender. Stir in undrained tomatoes, water, uncooked rice, Worcestershire sauce, basil or oregano, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 15-18 minutes or till rice is tender. Stir in 1/4 cup cheese.
Fill peppers with meat mixture. Place in a 2 qt baking dish along with any remaining meat mixture. Bake in a 375F oven about 15 minutes or till heated through. Sprinkle with more cheese and let stand about 2 minutes till cheese is melted. I served cheese covered baguette breads (instead of French bread...it's a little narrower...sunflower market makes the best baguette bread!) I think it tastes great! And we also had Strawberry Limeade for our drink which is so delicious. I got it from Our Best Bites. Basically made with strawberry sauce, fresh limes, ice cubes and Sprite. You cut up 2 cups of strawberries, put in saucepan for a few minutes then put in blender and you have your strawberry sauce. Ice cubes in a glass, squeeze the limes over the ice for juice, pour in Sprite halfway, then add a few tablespoons of strawberry sauce, stir well then add more Sprite and you have a delicious drink! We did it with lemons too and it was tasty for Strawberry Lemonade! We drank it so fast, no chance for pics!!!!