Slowcooker roast beef.

Let's ignore the fact that I've been gone forever, mmkay? I'm back, and that's what matters.

Do you want a fix it and forget it recipe? Good, because I have one.

1 frozen roast beef (whatever cut/size suits your fancy).

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 packet of ranch seasoning

water.

Put roast in slow cooker (putting it in frozen means you really can leave it all.day.long and it won't get dry)

Top with taco seasoning and ranch seasoning packets.

Pour in water. I like to have at least 5 inches or so of water in the bottom.

Turn it on low, put the lid on. Forget about it until you pull into your garage after work and smell the lovely smell of dinner and profess your love for your slow cooker. And me.

Trust me, the seasoning packets are a good combo. So good. I steam veggies to go with it.

The end.

Shepard's Pie

This is a really easy meal that you can prep the day (or two) before and pop it in the oven when you get home. I usually defrost about a pound and a half of ground beef and make something like tacos with part of it and Shepard's Pie with the other part. I've even gotten away with 1/2 pound of ground beef in this recipe. Or, you could make a double batch of the meat mixture and freeze for later but do not freeze mashed potato, it doesn't fare well.

Adapted from Simply Recipes

• 1 lb of ground beef, or a little less if you do what I do above.
  
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas, green beans... whatever you have.
  
• 2 tablespoons butter
  
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 - 3 cups or so of mashed potatoes, I cheat and use instant (ssshhh). You could make it from scratch and you'll need about 4 potatoes depending on their size.
  
• Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Cook the ground beef and drain the fat off, set aside. In the same pan melt your butter and saute your onions until tender. Add back the ground beef and stir in the vegetables. If you are using carrots add them when you start the onions, any other veggies are added after the onions are cooked. Add salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, longer if carrots need to cook more.

Transfer meat mixture to a baking dish and top with mashed potatoes. Cook in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes and then turn the broiler on for 3-5 minutes to brown the potatoes.

Serves 4 - 6 generous portions.

Steak Marinade

A quote from my husband after eating a cheap steak I put in this marinade before grilling "You can put the A-1 away".

It is that good, and surprisingly simple too.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

Mix and pour into a bag with steaks. Marinade 12 to 24 hours. Bring steaks to room temperature before grilling and then cook as you normally would.

Put the steak sauce away.

Enjoy!

P.S. My picky 2 year old enjoyed this as well. In fact, after tasting it he put his milk down and finished his steak before taking another drink. If you knew my milk hog you'd know that was HUGE.

Slow Cooker Beef, Barley and Vegetable Stew

Perfect meal for a cold day and makes plenty so you can freeze a few batches too!

• 1 (3 pound) beef chuck roast - or any other cut of beef you'd like to use
  
• 1 cup barley
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cans corn
  
• 4 cups water
• 4 cubes beef bouillon cubes
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
  
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

If you want you can add a few diced potatoes to this too, or some cabbage. You can also use up whatever veggies you have on hand if you need to. Just think about what you'd like in your stew!

Put everything but the barley in your slow cooker and put on low for about 8 hours. Then, stir everything up and cut the meat into bite sized pieces if you need to. Add the barley and cook an additional hour on low. Serve with some warm crusty bread and enjoy!

Makes about 8 hearty servings.

Biscuits and Gravy

My last few posts seem to be an homage to my childhood, lol. This was one of my Dad's favorite meals of all time and he made it for us quite frequently growing up. His parent's used to make it as well and they grew up eating it during the great depression. So here we are full circle. And, in a recession no less, so it's quite fitting. My husband was just laid off for the second time this year. Wonderful huh? You'll probably see that I'm going to stray from my menu plan a bit, or at least alter some recipes, because I didn't make it to the grocery store before he was laid off. So... we're eating from our pantry for a bit.

First up... Biscuits and Gravy! I had some cooked ground hamburger left over from spaghetti and nothing to make Tacos so this is what I came up with. Oh, and I threw in some leftover breakfast sausage I had too. Cheap and easy.

1 or 2 packages of white gravy mix depending on how much you like (or you can make your own, it's pretty easy).
1/2 pound of ground meat (sausage, beef or a mix of both )
Biscuits (refrigerated, make your own or use Bisquick mix)
Pepper

It's pretty easy... Pop the biscuits in the oven, then prepare the gravy and add your cooked ground beef. I add plenty of pepper to my gravy mix too. Then, open your biscuits up on your plate and serve lots of warm gravy on top! Voila, a very filling yummy meal!

Crock Pot Pasta Fagioli - SOOOOOOO easy and yummy.

I got this from crockpot365.blogspot.com It is SOOO freaking good. Great with some crusty bread and salad and wonderful for a cold day.

--1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained
--1/2 large red onion, chopped
--1 cup carrots, chopped
--2 celery stalks, sliced
--2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (and juice)
--1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
--1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
--4 cups beef broth (check label for gluten!)
--1 jar (16.5 oz) pasta sauce
--2 tsp oregano
--1 T Tabasco sauce
--1/2 tsp salt
--1/4 tsp black pepper
--1/2 cup dry pasta, to add at end of cooking time

The Directions.

Use a 6 quart or larger crock pot, or cut the recipe in half. This makes a lot.

Brown the meat on the stove top, and drain well. Let it cool a bit.

Chop up the carrots, onion, and celery. Add it to the empty crock pot.
Drain and rinse the beans, and add them. Add the whole cans of tomatoes, and the pasta sauce. Add the beef broth. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, and Tabasco sauce. Stir in your meat.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. When the vegetables are tender, stir in the 1/2 cup of dry pasta.

Cover and cook for another hour on low, or until the pasta is tender. It will swell quite a bit.

Serve with a bit of Parmesan cheese if you have it.

Betty's Fajitas

From you guessed it... Betty Crocker herself. This is a great fajita recipe, one I plan on passing off as "Grandma's secret recipe" when I'm old. lol.

12 ounces beef flank steak
1 T fajita seasoning
4 to 6 8inich flour tortillas
1 cup thin strips of red or green sweet peppers
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion, separated into rings
3/4 cup chopped tomato
1 T lime juice
Guacamole
Bottled Salsa
Dairy Sour Cream
Lime Wedges


Trim fat from meat and thinly slice steak across the grain into bite-size strips. Place meat strips in a deep bowl. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of the fajita seasoning. Cover and chill 30 minutes.

Wrap tortillas in foil. Heat in a 350 degree oven about 10 minutes or until heated. Meanwhile, in a 12 inch skillet heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Add sweet peppers, onion, and remaining 1 teaspoon seasoning. Cook an stir about 3 minutes or until crisp tender. Remove mixture from skillet.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the meat to the skillet. Cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes until desired doneness for steak. Drain well. Return onion mixture to skillet. Stir in tomato. Cook and stir one minute or until heated through. Remove skillet from heat; stir in lime juice.

To serve, fill warm tortillas with meat mixture. If desired, top with guac, salsa and sour cream. Roll up tortillas. Serve with lime wedges.

Best-Ever Meat Loaf

2 lbs ground beef (make sure you don't use beef that's too lean)
1 onion, diced
2 slices bread crumbled
1 egg
1 1/2 c catchup, divided
1 T vinegar
1 T brown sugar.

In a large mixing bowl, combine first 4 ingredients. Then add 1 cup catchup. Once all is moistened, form a loaf shape and place into a 9x9 baking dish coated with non0stick spray. In a small mixing bowl combine remaining catchup, vinegar and brown sugar. Pour catchup mixture over meatloaf and bake uncovered at 375 for 30 minutes.

Quick and Easy Stroganoff

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound lean thin steak, cut in strips
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 can (4 ounces) mushrooms, undrained
• 6 ounces egg noodles, cooked and drained

PREPARATION:

In a skillet in a small amount of oil, brown meat. Add onion and garlic and cook just until tender. Combine soup, sour cream, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and mushrooms with liquid; stir to blend. Pour over the meat and heat through. Serve over noodles.

Crock Pot Roast

We had this for dinner tonight and it was super yummy! I paired it with garlic mashed potatoes and glazed carrots. I HATE veggies cooked with the roast so this recipe was perfect for me.

1 beef roast, any kind
1 (1 1/4 oz) package dried brown gravy mix
1 (1 1/4 oz) package dried Italian salad dressing mix
1 (1 1/4 oz) package dried ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup water.

Place beef in crock pot.

Mix dried mixes together in a bowl and sprinkle over the roas.

Pour water around roast.

Cook on low for 7 to 9 hours.