Taking a vacation...

It's Spring Break time..so it means the kitchen is closed! I'll be back with new food ideas in April! Hope you enjoy the meals that are posted though! Have a nice spring season with your family :)

Asian Shredded Beef

I love Asian inspired meals...the combination of ingredients really sparked my interest while searching for new meals!

Ingredients:

~ 4 lbs. boneless beef or pork roast

~ 1/2 cup soy sauce

~ 1/2 cup hoisin sauce

~ 6 tablespoons ketchup

~ 6 tablespoons honey

~ 2 teaspoons Chinese 5 spice powder (I added a bit more..when I was adding seemed more was needed)

~ 2 teaspoons garlic powder (same comment as above)

Directions:

~ Place the meat into the slow cooker

~ Sprinkle the dried spices directly onto the meat

~ Top with ketchup and honey

~ Pour on the soy sauce and hoisin sauce.

~ Cover and cook for 8-9 hours on low or until the meat begins to shred.

~ You may need to take the beef/pork out after eight hours and cut into cubes. Turn the slow cooker onto high and cook for another hour to get it to shred nicely.

Verdict:

Wow! The flavors were so strong...but in a good way! I was not home and was not able to cut my beef into teh cubes to get it to shred better. as you can tell from my pictures i just had to cut mine into slices, which you coud still get all of the flavors. I am not for sure if i have ever had the five spices before..but it was a really good taste.

Complete menu

~ Asian shredded beef

~ White rice (Brandon and I had it with this)

~Noodles (for Tom)

~ Brocoli

~ salad

Zesty Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken

When I found this receipe, I got really excited. I love BBQ chicken and Italian dressing..hahah! So this sounded like a good meal to try out!

Ingredients:

~ 6 frozen boneless chicken breats

~ 1 (12 oz.) bottle bbq sauce

~ 1/2 cup italian dressing

~ 1/4 cup brown sugar

~ 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

Directions:

~ Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix bbq auce, italian dressing, brown sugar, and worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.

~ Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Verdict:

~ Delicious!! I wish I had more of this to eat! While eating you get a good taste of both the bbq sauce and the italian dressing. Great meal! A different taste...but really an enjoyable one.

Complete menu:

~ Zesty BBQ chicken

~ Baked potatoes with shreeded colby jack cheese

~ corn and green beans

~ salad

Italian Bow Tie Pasta

Another pasta meal...sounded like a good combonation of ingredients so I thought I'd give it a try! I am posting the original receipe..but I made a lot of modifications to it...based on our taste buds.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic cloved, minced

2 (8 oz.) cans pasta sauce (I am pretty sure I used the one from Bertolli that has the name olive oil...just can't think of the total name right now. Also, it was 24 oz. that seemed better to me)

1 (14.5) can stewed tomatoes, cut up (I left this out)

1 teaspoon dried oregano (I shook for a bit, so I'm sure I added more...LOL)

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasonings (same as above's comment)

salt and pepper to taste

1 (16 oz.) bow tie pasta, cooked and drained

1 (1o 0z.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained (I used only half of the package..10 oz. just seemed way too much for my taste)

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzerella cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (both cheese I know I added more..I'm a mouse :)

Directions:

~ In a skillet, cook beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink, drain. Transfer to slow cooker, stir in tomato sauce, tomatoes, and seasonings. Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours (Mine was cooked for 8 hours)

~ Increase heat to high, stir in pasta, spinach, and cheeses. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Verdict:

~ The spinach gave this pasta meal a nice touch. It was a nice complete meal with the pasta, meat, cheese, and some spinach. It didnt take much work to complete the second step when I got home from work. Delicious! Will definately make this meal again!

Compelte menu:

~ italian bow tie pasta

~ salad

~ green beans

~ garlic bread

Tri-tip steaks with texas toast

I found this receipe in better hoes and garden...and thought that it sounded interesting. It sounded fancy for a nice weekday dinner..hahah! I had to make some modifications to it since we live in the apartment and have no grill, I had to make my steak on the stove top with this grilling pan thing my mom got us. However, I am typing out the directions to the meal as seen in the magazine for you all.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup bourbon

1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup molasses

2 Tbsp. cider vinegar

2 tsp. chili powder

1 1/2 to 2 lb. beef trip tip steaks

1/2 cup ketchup

6 Tbsp. butter, softened

6 to 8 slices Texas toast

Directions:

1. for marinade, whisk together bourbon, soy sauce, molasses, vinegar, and chili powder. Remove 1/4 cup for sauce. (prick both sides of steak with fork. Place in self sealing plastic bag set in shallow dish. Pour marinade over. Seal; marinate refrigerated, 2 to 3 hours, turning occasionally).

2. For sauce, in saucepan combine ketchup, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup reserved marinade, 2 Tbsp butter, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Bring to boiling over medium, set aside.

3. Remove steaks from marinade discard marinade. Brush meat with 1 Tbsp. cooking oil.Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

4. For charcoal grill, arrange medium hot coals on one side of grill. Place steaks on rack directly over coals. Cover and lightly sear on both sides for 4 minutes. Move to unheated side of grill. Cover and grill 12 to 15 minutes more to medium rare. Removee, let stand 5 minutes. Butter bread, place on hot grill.

5. Reheat sauce. Thinly slice steak and arrage on toast, pass sauce.

Verdict:

~ The bourbon taste def. comes out in the meat. If you do not like the taste, I would not recommend this meal to you. However, we all enjoyed it over here. The toast was a nice added touch that we usually do not have in our meal.

Menu:

~ tri tip steak in bourbon

~ texas toast

~ macaroni and cheese

~ green beans and corn

~ salad

Pasta Carbonara

Pasta, bacon, and cheese...all of my favs. need I say more why I tried this meal out!

Ingredients:

~ 4-6 bacon slices, diced

3 tbsp. chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 c. heavy cream

8 oz. thin spaghetti or fettuccine

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp. ground pepper

2 tbsp. chopped parsley

Optional additions: sauteed boneless chicken, mushrooms (I did not add any of these)

Directions: IN a large skilled over medium heat, cok bacon about 3 minutes or until limp. Add onion cok 3-5 minutes longer or until bacon is browned, stirring occasionally Add garlic, cook 30 seconds. Drain all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat from skillet. Stir in cream; bring just to boiling point. Reduce heat to slo w and simmer 3 minutes. Keep warm.

Add cooked spaghetti, Parmesan cheese, pepper, and parsley to cream mixture. Toss to coat spaghetti well.

Verdict:

This pasta was super tasty! All of us had a big ol' plate of pasta and enjoyed every bite! Once i get through my rotation of new receipes, I'm going to have to recook this one!

Menu:

~ pasta carbonara

~ shrimp (for the guys)

~ green beans

~ salad

A not so St. Patrick's Day meal

I know I know...you are supposed to have corned beef...but I have my excuses! Tutored, only Brandon and I were home, and I had to get to My Gym with Brandon..so it had to be quick. This is just a menu idea. I love all the food you see pictured above. This is truly the only red sauce I eat and the chicken has a really flavorful taste! I guess this is a product shout out post! LOL! Try it for an easy dinner night!