{guest post from Sarah of Food in Words and Photos}

From Sarah: This dish takes advance preparation (the mini roasts need to be marinated for several hours) but the flavors are completely worth the prep! I barely used any salt in the recipes, and the flavors and aromas came through beautifully.

Mini French Roasts

• 1 package mini French roasts (3 usually come to a pack
• Dry red wine (I prefer Burgandy)
• 3 cloves garlic (smashed)
• Basil 2 teaspoons
• Black Pepper ( a few shakes of container, not too much)

Combine all of the above in a 2 Gallon Ziplock bag, making sure to put in enough wine to cover the roasts. Place in refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours.

To prepare: Take roasts out of marinade, discard liquid. Preheat oven to 350F Heat a large 4Q saute pan or Dutch oven with a tiny bit of olive oil. Heat oil well, then add roasts, searing on all sides to a rich brown color. (heat should be high) As soon as they are seared, take off fire, leave in pan, cover with tight fitting lid, and place in oven for about 10 mins. You may want a longer cooktime for extra doneness, but take care not to overcook. Roasts are done when a little bit of red appears when poked. Save pan juices to reduce and use as au jus.

Colored Peppers with Mushrooms

• 2 lg Sweet Red Peppers, chopped into matchsticks
• 2 lg Sweet Yellow Pepper chopped into matchsticks
• 1 pk white or Button Mushrooms bottoms removed and sliced thinly (this can be changed for shitake or crimini, either will work as well)
• 1/2 large Spanish or Sweet Onion small dice

To Prepare: Prep all vegetables, keeping onion and mushrooms seperate. In a heated saute pan, add a bit of olive oil. When a piece of onion sizzles when added to pan, add onion to pan, cooking til partially translucent. Add peppers, cooking for a few minutes until they are soft but not mushy. Add mushrooms, cooking for about 2 minutes. Veggies are done when they are cooked al dente. Add a bit of salt and pepper, to taste.

Israeli Coucous

• 1pk (8.5 oz) Israeli (large pearl) coucous
• 2 cloves garlic, fine mince
• Fresh parsley, leaves only, 1 to 2 handfuls, fine mince
• Salt and pepper to taste

To prepare: In a large heated pan add a bit of olive oil, and garlic when oil is hot, Cook for a few minutes, then add parsley and coucous on high. Stirring frequently, allow the coucous to take on a slightly toasted brown color, then add 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Stir together, then out on tight fitting lid and lower flame to low setting for about 8 minutes. Coucous is done when water is absorbed, and the coucous pearls are toothy but not mushy. As soon as its finished, quickly turn out on a baking sheet, making a level layer with a wooden spoon. When its cool enough to handle, use your hands to break any clumps.

Sarah Klinkowitz lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband Hillel aka DH. They have 3 adorable food critics, aged 5 1/2, 3 1/2 and 2 years old. Sarah cooks, writes articles and recipes, and styles plates. DH is chief judge of recipes, as well as food photographer. The food critics are self-explantory. For additional examples of their work, please visit http://foodinwordsandphotos.wordpress.com/  for DH’s pictures and Sarah’s adventures and http://applianceauthority.com  for Sarah’s articles and recipes.

I had some leftover beef and made two beef pot pies.  We had one for dinner and froze one for another meal.  The potpies were so good!  Since the meat and vegetables are cooked either on the stove or in the microwave, it does not take long to make the two potpies.

When you cook for the freezer, label, date, and put the cooking directions on the container.  It saves so much time when you do not have to go looking for the recipe to find out how to cook the meal from the freezer.

Beef Potpie

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup onion diced
1/4 cup celery diced
6 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3-4 cups of beef broth
4 cups cooked beef cut into bite-size pieces
1 can green peas, drained or frozen peas
2 cups carrots, cooked and drained
2 cups potatoes (about 3-5 potatoes, depending on size) cooked and drained
Pie crust for top of 2 pies

Preparation

Peel and cut potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Cover potatoes with water. Put the lid on and boil the potatoes until the potatoes are done and can be cut easily with a fork or steam in the microwave.

When the potatoes are done, remove from the heat, drain the water off, and set aside.

While the potatoes are cooking, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.

Saute onions and celery until onions are translucent.  Remove from butter and set aside.

Turn the stove burner to low or medium heat. Add the flour, salt, and pepper stirring continuously with a whisk while you add the broth or gravy.  The total amount of broth and/or gravy should be 3-4 cups.

Cook over low for 5 minutes.

Add the meat, peas, carrots, and potatoes. Taste for seasoning.

Divide the mixture into 2 baking dishes like the Pyrex Grip Rite Pie Dish .

Spread the dough over the potpies and cut the dough to fit over the top of the mixture. Seal the edges well so the juice does not escape when you are baking the potpie.

Cut three slits in the crust of the pot pie you are going to eat.

To serve immediately, cut 2 or 3 small slits in the pie crust. Bake at 425 for 35 minutes for a large pie and for small potpies cook 25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Freeze the second potpie without additional cooking. When frozen, if you have not used the aluminum pans with a lid, then wrap, seal, and label the potpies. Return the potpies to the freezer until you are ready to use to it.

To serve from the freezer, unwrap the frozen potpie that you are going to use and cut 2 or 3 small slits in the top. Bake in a preheated 375 over for 50 minutes for a large potpie or 40 minutes for a small potpie. Piecrust should be golden brown.  If the crust is getting too brown before the potpie is hot, cover it with aluminum foil.

Tip:
Cover the vegetables with water and cook for about three-four minutes on high until the vegetables have started to soften.  You can also steam the vegetables in the microwave.  Be careful not to over cook the vegetables since they will be placed in the oven to finish cooking.

Enjoy!

Beef Fajitas with Spicy Spanish Rice, refried beans, guacamole, sour cream, and salsa is a dish I fix when I need a yummy meal in a hurry. I have used raw meat or leftover beef or chicken.  The meat cooks very fast. If you are using leftovers, just cook the meat long enough to heat the meat thoroughly.

I have used several Spanish Rice recipes and they are all a little different in flavor. If you do not have a favorite recipe, you might want to give this recipe a try.

Beef Fajitas

Ingredients

2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 cups sliced beef (rump, top round, sirloin, London Broil)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 medium onion quartered
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
1 tomato quartered
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 lime, squeezed

Preparation

In a small bowl add meat cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Mix lightly to coat the meat. Set aside.

In a skillet add a tablespoon of cooking oil.  When oil is hot, add meat and cook until almost done.  Stirring frequently.  This cooks very fast and just takes a couple of minutes on each side.  The time depends on the thickness of the meat.  Remove and set aside.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet.  When oil is hot add garlic, onion, and bell peppers.

When the vegetables are almost tender add the tomatoes and your beef.  Cook over medium heat until heated throughout.

Turn the skillet off and squeeze a quarter of a lime over the fajitas.

Serve with warm flour tortillas, Spanish rice, refried beans, sour cream, guacamole, and salsa.

While the fajitas are cooking wrap 3-4 flour tortillas in a damp paper towel and warm in the microwave for 12-15 seconds.  Be careful when removing the tortillas, they will be hot and steamy.

Wrap the meat and all the trimmings in the warm tortillas and enjoy!

Spicy Spanish Rice

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup long grain rice, uncooked
1 tablespoon jalapeño peppers, finely chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1 14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4  teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Melt butter in a saucepan.

When butter is melted, add onion and garlic to saucepan and cook until tender.

Add rice, jalapeños, broth, tomatoes, cumin, and salt to saucepan and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

Remove from heat and add chopped cilantro.

Serve while hot.

The rump roast with mashed potatoes, gravy, a vegetable, and a small dinner salad is one of my favorite meals. You can dress up the roast with mashed potato piping and if you have room on the serving plate, cut two or three slices of roast and in front of the slices add some carrots.

When selecting a rump roast, plan on 1/2 pound per person. If you want leftovers add a couple of pounds so you can make other meals from the roast. If the roast has a bone, you will need to have more than 1/2 pound per person.

The advantage of cooking this meal is the numerous ways you can use the leftovers for lunches or dinners. A few ways to use the leftover beef is to cut some of the beef in strips for beef fajitas, cut some beef in chunks for beef stroganoff, or make a Caesar salad and add strips of beef, and roast beef sandwiches.

Rump Roast

Ingredients
4 lb rump roast
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper

Preparation
Turn on the over to 325 degrees.

Shake the salt, pepper, and garlic powder on the top, bottom and sides of meat. Place a rack in a shallow roasting pan and add about a cup of water. Place the meat on the rack. If you have a meat thermometer, you can stick it in at the thickest part of the meat. The meat thermometer should read 150-170 degrees or bake for 25-30 minutes per pound.

Meat is easier to carve if you let it set for 5-10 minutes after you remove it from the oven.  The meat continues to cook during that time so if you are going to let the roast rest before slicing take it out of the over 5-10 degrees early on the thermometer method and 10-15 minutes earlier if you are using the per pound method.

Piping Mashed Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes
Pastry bag, parchment paper cone, or plastic sandwich bag

Preparation
Prepare your favorite mashed potatoes. You can use a pastry bag with a decorator tip, make a cone shape pastry bag from a rectangular piece of parchment paper and cut off the end with a sharp scissors, or use a plastic bag and cut a diagonal on the corner of the bag. With the parchment paper you can use a decorator tip or just cut the end off to make a tip.

Hold the bag and carefully place the mashed potatoes in the bag. Hold the bag perpendicular to the serving platter when you squeeze it. Support the bag with one hand and squeeze with the other one as the mashed potatoes come out of the bag.

Gravy

Ingredients
Drippings from the roast
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon of cornstarch

Procedure
Take 1/4 cup of the drippings and put into a saucepan. Pour the remainder of the drippings into a fat separator like OXO Good Grips 4-Cup Fat Separator. Add the drippings to the saucepan.  If you do not have a separator, let the drippings sit for a few minutes and let the fat rise to the top and skim off the top of the drippings with a spoon. You do not have to get all of the fat; you just do not want it too greasy.

Add a couple of cups of water to the saucepan.

Turn the heat to medium stirring occasionally.

Take 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and mix it with a quarter cup of water. Stir until blended.

When the gravy has little bubbles around the edge of the saucepan, add the cornstarch mix slowly stirring constantly.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

When it gets as thick as you want, turn the gravy off and serve. If it is not thick enough for you, add more cornstarch and water.

We grill a lot in the summer, and there is nothing like grilled steak and potatoes to make the guys in our family happy. Meat and baked potatoes gets pretty boring, so I try to find a variety of side dishes to tantalize the taste buds. The scalloped potato recipe is really good with a variety of meat and only takes a few minutes to get the dish into the oven.

When you grill steaks, place the steaks directly over the fire and turn the steaks when the steaks are halfway through the cooking time. The fire should be medium hot so the meat is not charred on the outside and raw on the inside. The USDA recommends that you cook steaks to at least medium rare.

Keep the lid closed as much as possible when you are grilling. The more you open the lid, the longer it will take to cook the steaks because heat escapes each time you open the lid.

Grilled Steak

Ingredients

Olive oil (spray or liquid)
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Garlic Powder (optional) (to taste)

Preparation

Lightly spray, or brush, the steaks with olive oil
Season both sides of the steak with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Place the steaks on the grill directly over the fire and close the lid. For medium, cook the steaks 4-5 minutes. Open the lid and turn the steaks over and close the lid. Cook an additional 4-5 minutes.  Remove the steaks from the grill and set aside for 3-5 minutes to allow the steaks to finish cooking and to rest.

The cooking time for the steaks can vary depending on the thickness of the steaks. The steaks will continue to cook after they are removed from the grill like the Weber 4411001 Spirit E-210 Propane Grill, Black (See all Propane Grills) .

Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients

6 cups peeled and thinly sliced potatoes
3/4 of an onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 1/2-2 cups hot milk

Preparation

Turn on the oven to 375 degrees.

Put a layer of potato and onion in 1 1/2 quart casserole.

Sprinkle potato and onion layer with some of the flour, salt and pepper.

Dot the layer with butter or margarine.

Repeat the layers.

End with a layer of potatoes on top and dot with butter or margarine.

Add enough hot milk to almost cover the potatoes. Do not boil the milk. The milk just needs to get hot.

Cover and bake for 45 minutes.

Remove lid and bake 15 minutes longer.

Tips
Never place cooked food on the same dish, counter, or cutting board that you used for the raw meat.  Place the dish, or cutting board with raw meat in the sink and wash and rinse the dish or cutting board well. Wash your hands with warm, soapy water. This should be done whenever you are cooking meat, fish, or poultry on the grill or cooking in the kitchen.

Keep the children and pets away from the grill because it is very hot.

Be creative and learn to cook veggies and other dishes on the grill. Make quick and easy meals on the grill in the summer when it is so hot nobody wants to be in the house.

Enjoy!

The slow cooker is such a time saver and my list of recipes that we like that are cooked in the slow cooker keeps on growing. A friend sent me this recipe a few months ago and I finally got a chance to try it. I was a little skeptical of the dry noodles being tossed in but the noodles turned out great. The recipe only takes 3-4 hours to cook on high.

For dessert try the decadent fruit salad. There are many different versions of this fruit salad, but this one has been a family favorite for years .You can use whipped cream from the store, but there is nothing like the taste and texture of real whipped cream. With a mixer, it is not difficult to make whipped cream and it is really yummy.

Hamburger Noodle Slow Cooker Dish

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 large onion, diced
1 bell pepper green and/or red, diced
8-ounce package egg noodles, uncooked
1 can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 10 3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1-1 1/2  cups water

Preparation

In the slow cooker add noodles.

In a medium skillet add ground beef. Season ground beef with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook until brown and the pink is gone. Drain and put in slow cooker.

Add one large diced onion and one diced bell to the slow cooker like the Hamilton Beach 6-Quart Slow cooker .

Then add one can of tomatoes. Do not drain. Add mushroom soup.

Add Worcestershire sauce.

Add one cup of water. Check the slow cooker after two hours. If the ingredients seem to be too dry, add the other 1/2 cup of water.

Cover.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours.

Fruit Salad Dessert With Homemade Whipped Cream

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon butter or margarine
2 (8 ounce) cans pineapple chunks, drained
1 cup green grapes and/or red grapes
1 cup fresh orange pieces (remove seeds) or mandarin oranges
3/4 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Preparation

Place the whipping cream, bowl, and beaters in the freezer.

In a small saucepan, combine eggs, sugar, lemon juice and butter. Cook five to seven minutes over low heat until the mixture is thickened.Set aside until it is cool.

When the mixture is cool, combine the pineapple, grapes, oranges, and marshmallows in a medium bowl.Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, add the whipping cream and confectioner’s sugar. With a mixer, beat whipping cream and confectioners’ sugar until soft peaks form.

Add the cool fruit sauce and mix.Gently fold the whipped cream into the fruit mixture.

Chill for at least 1 hour.

Tip:
Start beating the whipping cream on low to prevent splattering. Then speed up your mixer until you get to high.

One cup of whipping cream makes about 2 cups of whipped cream.

The whipping cream does not have preservatives, so it will only last a couple of days in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

One of our old favorites is spaghetti with a hamburger meat sauce. The meat sauce is much better than any that I have tried from the store. I have used this recipe many ways like adding meatballs to the recipe, make the meat sauce without hamburger and just use the meatballs and sauce, meatball sandwiches, chicken Parmesan and other dishes.

The sauce freezes well, so I never worry about having leftover sauce. I use my Foodsaver to freeze the sauce and it has lasted six months in the freezer before we ate it all.

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef
1 cup onion finely chopped
10 cups tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons spaghetti sauce seasoning
2 tablespoons oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon tarragon
2 teaspoon basil
2 teaspoon garlic powder
Spaghetti pasta (20 ounces)
Grated Parmesan cheese

Procedure

In large skillet, add ground beef and onions. Cook on medium heat until meat is browned and onions are tender.
Add tomato sauce and herbs.
Simmer uncovered 15 to 30 minutes; stirring occasionally.
Serve over hot spaghetti. Top with grated Parmesan cheese

Tips
The spices in the recipe are dried herbs. Place the dried herbs in your hand and crumble the herb gently with your fingers and thumb to get more flavor from the herb.

You can substitute fresh herbs for dried herbs. Use one tablespoon of fresh herbs for one teaspoon of dried herbs. Dried herbs will lose their flavor as they age. If your dried herbs have been in your pantry for quite awhile, you may want to add a little more herbs.  and if they are new herbs you may want to use a little less. Taste the spaghetti sauce to get the right amount for you and your family.

The spaghetti sauce freezes well using a FoodSaver T000-08004 V3460 SmartSeal Vacuum-Sealing Appliance . However, if you freeze the spaghetti with the sauce over the top, add quite a bit more sauce that you think you need because the spaghetti tends to absorb the sauce and it will be dry. I freeze the spaghetti and sauce separately and put it together after it has been defrosted and warmed up. I also use the spaghetti sauce for other dishes.

Tips

How to Cook Spaghetti

Use a large pan to cook any pasta—spaghetti, macaroni, fine noodles, and lasagna.
Use a minimum of 3 quarts of water for 8 ounces of pasta.
Add 1 teaspoon salt for 8 ounces of pasta. (optional)
Add a teaspoon oil to the water when cooking the pasta so it will no boil over.
Have water boiling vigorously when you add the pasta.
When you are using the long spaghetti, take a handful of spaghetti, dip the end into the water and swirl it around and as it softens curl the spaghetti into the pan. Be careful not to burn yourself.
Keep water boiling while the pasta is cooking. Cook uncovered.
You want the pasta tender, but a little chewy. If you overcook the pasta it can get mushy.
Take a fork and place it in the water. Take a piece of the pasta to the side of the pan. If it cuts with a slight resistance, it is done. You can also take a piece of pasta out of the pan, let it cool, and taste it.
Drain at once.

When you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen and you want something quick, it is great to have dishes that you can prepare with items you already have in the kitchen and that has very little clean up.

I am a huge fan of fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, my husband wants meat and more meat so I am always thrilled when we have an entree that he really likes and it also gives me my veggies.

The Hamburger Steamed Vegetable Dinner is one of my favorite dinners.  The soy sauce mixture is a very delicate flavor and kids like it even with all the veggies.

The Stuffed Bell Peppers freeze well. Let the bell peppers cool and freeze them in air- tight containers or vacuum-pack them in a FoodSaver T000-08004 V3460 SmartSeal Vacuum-Sealing Appliance . Pulse the sealer to remove the air or it will squash the peppers.

Hamburger Steamed Vegetable Dinner

Ingredients

1 lb hamburger
1 Onion, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup water
5 potatoes, peeled and sliced
1/2 large sliced green pepper
1/2 large sliced red pepper
3 celery stalks sliced
1 can diced tomatoes, do not drain
6 cups coarsely chopped cabbage

Preparation

Put hamburger and chopped onion in a skillet.  Brown hamburger until it is no longer pink  Drain the grease from the skillet.

Put the hamburger and onions in the bottom of an eight-quart stockpot or large pan  Set aside.

In a small bowl add soy sauce, pepper, and water. Stir to mix together.  Add mixture to stockpot like the Cuisinart Classic Stockpot .

Add the following vegetables in layers: potatoes, green and red peppers, celery stalks, tomatoes, and cabbage.

Cover and cook over a high heat for 1 minute. Reduce heat and cook slowly for 20-40 minutes more. Length of cooking time will depend on how crispy you like your veggies.

Stuffed Green Peppers

Ingredients

6 large green peppers
5 cups boiling salted water
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup tablespoons chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup cooked rice
1 can corn, drained
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce

Preparation

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut a thin slice from stem end of each pepper. Remove all seeds and membranes. Wash the pepper inside and outside. Set aside.

Put water in a large pan and bring the water to a boil. Carefully add the green peppers to the boiling water. Cook 5 minutes. Drain.

Cook and stir ground beef and onion in medium skillet until onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in salt, garlic powder, cooked rice, corn, and 1 cup of the tomato sauce. Heat thoroughly.

Lightly stuff each pepper with ½ cup meat mixture. Stand peppers upright in an ungreased baking dish, 8x8x2 inches. Pour remaining tomato sauce over peppers. Cover with foil.  Bake 45 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer.

Tip
If you see a good sale on bell peppers, pick up a few and freeze them for later use.  Just wash them and remove the membrane and seeds. Then dice, or slice the bell peppers, and spread them out on a cookie sheet. When frozen place them in freezer bags or vacuum bags and put in the freezer for later use.

The recipe for the minestrone soup only used a half-pound of the hamburger. Instead of just making a couple of hamburgers try turning the hamburger into another meal. The tostados are really yummy and very filling.

Heating Tortillas

Place a tortilla flat on a microwave safe plate. Cover the tortilla with a damp paper towel. Repeat until you have as many tortillas as you need on the place. Microwave for 30 seconds to one minute. The more tortillas you have stacked, the longer it takes to warm them.

Once the tortillas are warm, remove from the microwave and place in a Tortilla Warmer or wrap the plate of tortillas with a warm damp dishtowel. If it is going to be quite some time before you are ready to serve the tortillas, you can wrap them in a warm damp dishtowel and put in the over at 250 degrees.

Tostados

Ingredients
4 corn tortillas
1/2 pound hamburger
1/4 onion, diced
1 small can enchilada sauce
1 can refried beans
1 tomato diced
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups lettuce, cut up
1/2 cup black olives (optional)
4 teaspoons sour cream (optional)
Guacamole (optional)
salsa (optional)

Preparation
Take one can of refried beans and add a cup of cheddar cheese. Stir well. Put in microwave safe covered dish and heat through. Turn the dish a couple of times while the beans are getting hot. Depending on the container it will take about 5-8 minutes to heat through. When hot remove from the microwave.

In a small skillet, add hamburger, half of the diced onion, salt and pepper. When the pink is gone, drain the hamburger. Put back on the stove and add 1/4-1/2 cup of enchilada sauce. The more enchilada sauce you add the hotter the hamburger will become. Let the sauce get bubbly and turn the skillet off.

Place the warm tostado on a plate. Spread a layer of the beans onto the tostado. Place 1/4 of the hamburger on the top of beams. Continue the layers by adding the lettuce and then add a sprinkling of tomatoes, onions, olives and cheese. Place a dollop of sour cream and guacamole on top. Serve salsa on the side.

Avocado Tostadas

Ingredients
4 whole wheat tortillas
1 avocado, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
1 can black beans, warmed
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup Mexican blend cheese
picante sauce or salsa
lettuce cut up
½ cup onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
jalapenos (optional)

Preparation
Warm the tortillas as shown above.
In a saucepan, add the black beans and chili powder. When heated through remove from heat.
Layer each tortilla with picante sauce, black beans, lettuce, avocado, cheese, tomatoes, and jalapenos.
Serve salsa on the side.

This Chuck roast dinner is a simple dinner made with simple ingredients, but it is very flavorful and satisfying. I like to make this recipe and then transform it into additional lunches, dinners, and even a side dish.

For the first day, you will start off with a chuck roast. Chuck roast is a tougher piece of meat, but it is less expensive that some other cuts of beef. You will braise the meat by cooking it in a liquid and it will become very tender and delicious.

For another dinner, you will need around 1 1/2 pounds of the leftover chuck roast. You can adjust the size of the roast you need to buy to feed your family the first night and have enough leftover for the next recipe.

Ingredients

3 pounds boneless chuck roast  (or the amount you have purchased)
3/4 onion thinly sliced
1 celery stick coarse chopped
5 potatoes, peeled, quartered, and cut into 1” chunks
5 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2” chunks
Garlic powder
1/2  teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Water
Ketchup if desired

Preparation

Salt, pepper, and garlic powder all sides and edges of the chuck roast and sit it in the
bottom of  a slow cooker like Hamilton Beach 33967 Set ‘n Forget 6-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker.

Add all of the vegetables. Cover with water leaving about an inch from the rim. Bring to a boil and then turn the slow cooker down to low.  Cook 8-9 hours.

To serve remove the meat to a platter and the put vegetables into a bowl. Serve the juice in a gravy boat because the kids (and adults too) will probably want to mash the potatoes with a fork in their plates and add some of the juice. Serve the ketchup on the side to dip the meat in if you want.

After dinner, set aside 1 1/2 pounds of the chuck roast and separate the potatoes and carrots.  Save all of the juice for the next main dish. Store it all in airtight containers or cover containers tightly with plastic wrap.

For dinner the next night, if you have leftover potatoes from the braised beef roast, turn them into regular or garlic mashed potatoes, potato salad, or mashed potato cakes. The cheese in the potatoes really sets off this side dish.

Potato Cakes

Ingredients

Leftover Mashed potatoes
3/4 Cheddar or Swiss cheese shredded
2 eggs beaten
1 green onion thinly sliced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Oil

Preparation

Prepare the potatoes as you normally do for mashed potatoes.  Add the cheese and onion.  Stir together until blended. Take your hands and make the potatoes into patties. Whisk the eggs until well blended. Dip the patty into the egg then roll it in the breadcrumbs.
Fry on both sides until golden brown.  Serve hot.

For the next day, we are going to take the leftover chuck roast and turn into a completely different meal that is so good you will not want to miss it. Coming next!

Enjoy!