Week 20 -- French Dip Sandwiches with au Jus

These make everyone in my family happy!


And they are easy. EASY, Easy, easy.

In a crockpot, put in whatever beef you may have in your freezer. I often use round steak, but I have used skirt steaks, flank steaks, rump roasts, you name it. Sometimes I use a crazy combination of those -- like when I have 1 small flank steak and 1 small skirt steak which would not be enough for one meal by themselves, I just throw them in the crock pot. Add 3 cups of water, 3 tsp of beef base (or beef boullion cubes) and add 3 tbs of soy sauce.

Let it cook all day.

Take out the meat and chop / shred it. Strain the broth in the crock pot for your au jus. Serve on a toasted roll.

Sometimes I add cheese, sometimes I sautee mushrooms and add those too. But most of the time it is just bread and meat and dip. (and of course some healthy fruits and veggies on the side!)

Week 19 - BYU Mint Brownies -- kind of

 

I had to take a dessert to an activity and had printed a recipe for BYU mint brownies a while ago -- however the prep time, cook time combo was 90 minutes -- and I did not have 90 minutes -- I had 45 and then I had to run out the door to soccer, then I would have only 5 minutes before leaving for the event. So I mixed and matched favorite recipes to create my own mint brownies.

They were AMAZING. I don't think I have ever gotten more compliments about something I have made as I did with these.

First, make the brownies. This is a very yummy, very easy chocolate brownies recipe. Once I discovered this recipe (in the Katy Third Ward cookbook -- calleed Cindy's Brownies and submitted by Wendy Peterson) I have never bought a brownie mix.

1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Melt butter. Add 2 cups sugar, beat well. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Blend well. Add flour, cocoa, and salt. Mix thoroughly. Add chocolate chips if you want. (Sometimes I put them straight into the batter, sometimes I sprinkle them on top). Spray a 9x13 pan. Pour in batter and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

While the brownies are cooking, you must make 2 frostings. The first one is the green mint frosting (and this is the exact recipe from the "official" BYU mint brownie recipe). The second is for the chocolate frosting (and this one is from a family cookbook -- as the "official" BYU mint brownie recipe ends with the line "Then frost with chocolate frosting" and doesn't even include a recipe.

The Mint Frosting

5 Tbs margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbs milk
1 Tbs light corn syrup
2 1/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp mint extract
2-4 drops of green food coloring

Soften the margarine, Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.


The Chocolate Frosting

4 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup boiling water
1 tsp vanilla

Beat with mixer, beat at medium speed. Let cool.


Once the brownies come out of the oven, let them cool a little -- put on the mint frosting and spread. Put pan into the freezer. The mint frosting must be frozen firm to be able to spread the chocolate frosting on top -- so you have to leave the pan in the freezer for at least an hour or so and then do the chocolate frosting. Cut and Serve. Sit back and graciously recieve the compliments!

Week 18 - Maple Granola

This recipe is from my Aunt Tami. My mom made it and I LOVED it. I am not a big breakfast person or cereal eater, but I love this in a bowl with milk. It is also good with icecream and yogurt and berries!

I have made one change to the original recipe -- which is adding Rice Crispies -- it makes the granola just a tad lighter in texture and feel.

12 cups rolled oats (I used quick rolled oats) -- this is exactly the amount in a #10 can)
8 cups of chopped nuts (in this case I did 2 2/3 cup chopped walnuts, 2 2/3 cup chopped pecans, and 2 2/3 cup slivered almonds)
4 cups Rice Krispies (I used a generic brand of puffed rice cereal)

Mix all of these in a very large bowl.

In a small bowl combine the following

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups maple syrup (I don't use the REAL maple syrup, just maple flavored breakfast syrup)
1 cup vegetable oil
3 tsp salt

Pour the sauce over the dry ingredients until they are all slightly damp from it. Then spread over jelly roll pans (or 9X13 pans) to place in a 250 degree oven for about one hour and 15 minutes. Take out the pans and stir every 20 minutes or so. When they are crunchy and not wet they are done. The picture is of 2 batches of this recipe.

If you would like to start small-- here is the recipe in small amounts
3 cups oats
2 cups nuts
6 Tbs brown sugar
6 Tbs maple syrup
1/4 cup oil
3/4 tsp salt

Week 17 -- Shrimp and Snow Peas

This dinner was delicious. I served it over fried rice but white rice would have been great too.

1 pound of shrimp (raw, peeled, deveined)
1 small package of snow peas (with the ends chopped off, any strings removed, and slice into bite sized pieces)

1/3 cup chicken stock
1 TBS Seasoned rice vinegar
2 tsp Soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

2 TBS garlic
2 tsp freshly grated ginger (which I did not have so I used 1/2 tsp powdered ginger)

In a bowl mix together the chicken stock, vinegar, soy sauce, & cornstarch. Set aside.

In a skillet with a TBS of vegetable oil start by sauteeing the shrimp. As they start to turn opaque (in 1-2 minutes) add the snow peas, garlic, and ginger. After another minute or 2 (when the shrimp is fully cooked and the snow peas are the tenderness you desire), add the bowl of sauce and stir until thickened.

Serve immediately over rice!

Week 16 - Ground Turkey meatballs

These were delicious.  Sorry but no pictures.

1 pound ground turkey
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan
1 egg
some salt and pepper
some fresh basil (cuz I happened to have it)

Mix together, shape into balls.  Place onto a broiler pan. 

Broil on the lower rack for 12-15 minutes, pull out and then turn and do a few more minutes till it is crispy everywhere on the outside.  (My low rack is pretty far from the boiler, if yours is not then watch them more closely -- broilers are great, but I do burn things quite often using them because I turn my back for 2 seconds!!!)

I served with mashed potatoes, white gravy and lingonberry sauce -- just like IKEA or Sweden -- only much yummier and with far fewer calories!!!

Week 15 - Goat Cheese and Asparagus pasta

This photo was taken with my iphone. Just as we were about to eat. It was a yummy dinner!!!!!

I had never had goat cheese. I have a friend (Amy G.) who makes a goat cheese and caramelized onion pizza (but since I don't LOVE onions) I never bothered to try it out.

So when I was flipping through the everyday food cookbook and saw this recipe I figured I ought to give it a try. To me it looked a lot like mac'n'cheese and since my kids love mac'n'cheese I assumed they would at least try it. And they did (and 2 of them liked it!)

I made several adaptations (based on my inability to read a recipe, but I would keep them)

First, rinse asparagus and place on a rimmed baking sheet dotted with 2 tbs of butter. Salt and pepper them. Put in a 350 oven for 15 minutes.

In the meantime,cook the pasta.

Save 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water. Pour the hot pasta water into a saucepan with 5 oz of crumbled goat cheese and 3 TBS of butter. Stir until all the cheese and butter are melted. Then take a couple tablespoons of the sauce and a small bowl and add 2 tbs of cornstarch. Stir until smooth and then add back into the saucepan. Stir over medium heat until it is thickened.

Take the roasted asparagus and the pasta and the sauce and combine. Then I added 2-3 tbs of balsamic vinagraitte.

Serve warm!!!!!

(the original recipe only uses 1/2 cup of pasta water and then does not require any thickening -- also the original does not use the balsamic -- I suspect that the original way has much more of the "goat cheese" tanginess. But for us -- this watered down more flavorful way worked better. I even had a friend try it and she liked it, when I told her it was goat cheese she was shocked because she hates goat cheese and can usually pick it out of anydish!!!!)

Week 14 - Marshmallow Fondant

Never liked fondant!

Never liked cakes made with fondant!

Until I tried this recipe for marshmallow fondant.  Now I am a believer.  I always figured why go to the effort to make a cake that tastes gross . . .  but not anymore!

1 regular bag of marshmallows (small or large -- it doesn't matter)
a 2 pound bag of powdered sugar
food coloring
a little water

Decide what colors you want a head of time and how much you might need of them. 

Put the marshmallows in a microwaveable bowl.  Melt them (30 second intervals for about 2 minutes). 

Once melted, you can easily add the food coloring to the marshmallows (but you can always color it later if you want to)

Put the powdered sugar onto a clean counter and make a mound out of it and then depress the center to make a bowl (like mashed potatoes waiting for gravy or like how you make homemade pasta).

Start mixing the 2 together.  (Yes, it will be messy)  As it starts to come together you can add a tiny bit of water to help it all congeal.  Keep kneading.  And then keep kneading! 

When you have a nice ball of fondant dough, use immediatly OR spread some shortening around the outside and put it in a ziplock bag.  Store (I put mine in the fridge, but I don't think you have to)  It will keep a LONG time.  (Unless you let your kids have a taste -- then it will start to disappear!!!)