Crock-tober - Pot Roast

I originally got this recipe off of Laurie's Life, but I have also seen it on Pinterest referred to as Mississippi Roast. But either way our family LOVES it. I tried so many roast recipes and this is the winner!   So here is what you need: Beef chuck roast (whatever size will fit in your crockpot) Packet of Hidden Valley Ranch mix Packet of McCormick Aux Jus gravy mix 1 stick of unsalted butter Potatoes Onion Carrots   And here's what you do: Place chopped up potatoes in crockpot. Place beef chuck roast over the potatoes in crockpot. (I use a partially frozen roast and it seems to cook nicely) Sprinkle Hidden Valley Ranch mix over roast and then McCormick Aux Jus gravy mix over that. Place stick of butter on top of all of that. Sprinkle chopped onions (I leave them pretty big) and carrots around. Turn on low and cook all day. (I usually cook mine 10 hours because that's how long I am gone for work).  

And here you go for a delicious meal. It looks gross in the crockpot, but I promise you

it is very, very tasty!

 

Soup's On - Cheddar Ale Soup

Image from William Sonoma

Today on The Larson Lingo, Mel is doing a Soup Blog Hop. I love, love, love soup! Now, my kids don't love it so much, but Scott and I both do. A friend introduced us to this soup at Super Bowl and I really love this one. It is a bit of work, but soooo worth it.

This is taken from William Sonoma

Cheddar-Ale Soup

Ingredients:

• 4 thick-cut bacon slices, cut into 3-inch strips
• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup pale ale
• 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/4 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Toasted croutons for garnish (I used fresh bread*)
• Directions:

In a 4 1/2-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Discard all but 2 Tbs. of the fat in the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and melt the butter. Add the onion, carrots and celery, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 20 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ale and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the Worcestershire, milk and broth, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth.

Set the pot over medium-low heat and add the cheese by the handful, stirring constantly; do not allow the soup to boil. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Garnish with croutons and the bacon and drizzle with olio novello. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Cookie Exchange: Orange Blossoms

Thanks for stopping by The Larson Lingo. These are cookies that my Nana used to make and I would always request them because they were my favorite. They don't look very pretty in the picture, but I promise they are yummy!!!

Orange Blossoms

Ingredients

1 box vanilla wafers (12 oz)

1 box powdered sugar (16 oz)

1 small can frozen orange juice (6 oz., don't dilute)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Crush wafers, add sugar, juice and nuts. Roll into balls in chopped pecans. Store in refrigerator until ready to eat!

Yep, they are that easy!

Summer Salad Swap - Grandma Farlow's Salad

Today I am participating in the Summer Salad Swap at The Larson Lingo. I love to eat salads, but I hate to make them because I hate to wash the lettuce. Anyone have a solution for that because bagged salad always looks nasty! I am excited to try some of these different salads.

I am going to do Grandma Farlow's Salad.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
Lettuce
1 can roma tomatoes
1 can Mexican corn
Catalina dressing (to liking)
1 can Ranch style beans
Yellow onion (to liking)
Shredded cheddar cheese (to liking)
Corn chips (if desired)

Directions: Brown ground beef. Cut up lettuce, roma tomatoes and yellow onion. Mix together cooked meat, lettuce, tomato, onion, Mexican corn and Ranch style beans (all will be cold, but meat). Pour Catalina dressing over this and add shredded cheese. Serve by itself or with corn chips.

That's it! Easy peasy and sooo yummy!

Recipe Sites

I am always in the search for quick and easy recipes. I have several that I go to all the time and then some that I have just found. So to help other people out, here is a list of the recipe blogs that I use:

• The Pioneer Woman Cooks (Duh, doesn't everyone use this one!)
• Wearing Gackey's Apron
• Annie's Eats
• Real Mom Kitchen (I just found this one, but it looks really good with kid friendly stuff!)

Are there any that you use that I should check out?

Red Velvet Cookies

Today I am participating in a Cookie Exchange with The Larson Lingo. I can't wait to see all the recipes that go up today!

This is my go-to Christmas cookie recipe. I make these every Thanksgiving and Christmas and we started this about 3 years ago with my Nana. This is what we made a few weeks ago in honor of my Nana.

Red Velvet Cookies

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ¼ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 (1 oz) bottle red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp lemon juice
1 container cream cheese frosting

In a bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.In a separate bowl beat butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugars until smooth. Add eggs, food coloring, vanilla and lemon juice. Add flour mixture.Using a tablespoon, scoop out portions of dough and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until edges are set but centers are slightly soft. Cool completely on wire racks.

Frost cooled cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting.

I got this recipe from Country Home Magazine and it is delicious!!! It is not too sweet, but just right with the icing on it

What's for Dinner, Moms?

Make sure you check out the recipe blog for some yummy things to cook. There are about 5 recipes up there now!

Click here to see some Yummy stuff

What's for Dinner, Moms?

I am finally launching the new "What's for Dinner, Moms?" blog. Right now we are cooking through the Taste of Home - The Busy Family Cookbook. Go check it out to see the yummy recipe I wrote about.

*And ladies that are doing it with me, hop to it and post some recipes!

Going by the Book

One of my favorite blogs is working her way through a cookbook with a group of friends. I thought this was a great idea! So was wondering if anyone would be up for it with me? I just picked up the Taste of Home Busy Family Cookbook at the library yesterday and there are so many yummy things in there. Plus a huge bonus is that they take 20-30 minutes to make. We have never tried a bad thing out of a Taste of Home cookbook, so I am anxious to start cooking out of it.

So, is there anyone that would want to go through this cookbook with me? I was thinking we could start a separate blog for posting what recipes we tried. Is anyone up for it?

UPDATE:

Click here to buy the book from Amazon. It is only $10.85! If anyone wants to place their order with me so you don't have to pay shipping just let me know.

Once everyone signs up that wants to, I will email the blogging instructions. Can't wait!

Seafood Recipe Help

This pregnancy I am having major cravings for shrimp. If anyone knows of a good recipe for shrimp/seafood that is pretty easy to make will you either leave me a comment or send me an email to Grocerydeals2@gmail.com.

Thanks and I can't wait to start drooling over them!

Cookie Exchange

Today there is a Cookie Exchange on TheMomCreative.com and tomorrow it is on Kelly's Korner. I found a really great recipe last year that has now become my standard Thanksgiving/Christmas cookie treat. My nephews love these and will eat the whole plate by themselves!!!

Red Velvet Cookies

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ¼ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp salt
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 (1 oz) bottle red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp lemon juice
1 container cream cheese frosting

In a bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
In a separate bowl beat butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugars until smooth. Add eggs, food coloring, vanilla and lemon juice. Add flour mixture.
Using a tablespoon, scoop out portions of dough and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until edges are set but centers are slightly soft. Cool completely on wire racks.
Frost cooled cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting.

I got this recipe from Country Home Magazine and it is delicious!!! It is not too sweet, but just right with the icing on it

(Pictures from November 2008 when we baked them with my Nana on a day that I had to "babysit" her)

Show Us Your Lives: Dessert Recipes

This week on Kelly's Korner she is doing desserts! Yum, yum! This is a cake that my sister, Kicken, makes, so I stole the recipe from her, but it is soooo good! You have to try it.

Snazzy Peach Schnapps Cake
From the Kitchen Of: Aunt Joan and Kicken

1 can (15.25 oz) sliced peaches in light syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Peach Schnapps (or Orange Juice)
1 (4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1 cup chopped pecans (I omitted)
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a glass bowl, combine undrained peaches, sugar, Peach Schnapps (or Orange Juice). Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours (or overnight).

The next day...
Preheat oven to 350. Grease & flour a 10-cup fluted Bundt pan. Set aside. Drain peaches, reserving the liquid. Chop peaches.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, pecans, oil, pudding mix, chopped pecans, and 1/3 cup reserved liquid. Stir together until well combined. Pour in pan and bake 40-45 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing. Meanwhile, in bowl, combine powdered sugar & 1/4 cup reserved liquid. Drizzle over warm cake. Cool completely.

BooMama's DipTacular

When I saw that BooMama was doing a blog carnival on dips today I knew that I had to join in. I can not wait for the fall season to start and though I don't love actually watching football, I do love the whole thought of it and sitting at the game. I love eating dips at SuperBowl and chatting with everyone.

I posted the recipe for Bethany's Famous Cheese Queso a few weeks ago and it is delicous!

Another favorite is onion dip. My family loves this and we can devour a bowl in maybe 20 minutes. There is nothing quite like it!

But here is another one of my favorites that you just have to try. My mother-in-law makes it and it is spicy, but it is so yummy. I could seriously just sit and eat this whole ball!

Jalapeno Pecan Cheese Ball

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained

1/4 chopped jalapeno

2 T finely chopped onion

1 T seasoned salt

2 cups chopped pecans

Combine first 5 ingredients; stir in 1 cup pecans. Cover and chill until firm. Shape mixture into a 5-inch ball; roll in remaining 1 cup pecans. Place cheese ball on a serving platter. Serve with crackers.

Now, stop on over at BooMama's and check out the other dips! I really shouldn't be reading this at 8:30am because it is making this pregnant girl very, very hungry!!!

Butterscotch Sticky Buns

At our old church, one of the ladies would bring Butterscotch Sticky Buns every time it was her turn for breakfast. They are soooo yummy and she would always have to double the recipe because everyone loves them so much.

1. Melt 2 T of butter. Pour into 9 x 13 baking dish

2.Unroll 2 packs of crescent rolls and separate into 16 triangles

3. Get 1 1/2 cups butterscotch morsels

4. Sprinkle butterscotch morsels onto the 16 triangles

5. Starting at the shortest end, roll triangles

6. Arrange in prepared pan

7. Bake in 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes

8. In the meantime, melt 3 T butter and remaining butterscotch morsels

9. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, water, cinnamon and sugar

9. Take rolls out of oven after the 15-20 minutes. This is what they should look like (a little brown, but not really, really brown

10. Pour the melted mixture over the rolls

11. Return to oven for about 5 minutes or until bubbly

12. Take out and enjoy!

This is what your face will look like after you eat one of these delicious things!

Butterscotch Sticky Buns

5 T butter

2 packs crescent roll (8 oz each)

12 oz butterscotch morsels

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp water

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. Melt 2 T butter in 9x13 pan. Unroll each pack of crescent rolls and separate into 16 triangles. Sprinkle triangles with 1 1/2 cup morsels. Starting at shortest end, roll triangles and arrange in prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

In small saucepan, over low heat, melt remaining butter and morsels, stirring till smooth. Remove from heat and add sugar, lemon juice, water and cinnamon. Pour over hot rolls and return to oven. Bake 5 minutes or until bubbly.

Brown Sugar Oatmeal Pancakes

S found this recipe a few months ago in the Taste of Home Cookbook and we love them. I eat them without syrup because they are so sweet. Plus they are really filling!

Brown Sugar Oatmeal Pancakes

1/2 cup plus 2 T quick-cooking oats
1 cup flour (it calls for 1/2 cup wheat and 1/2 cup all-purpose, but we never buy wheat flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 T vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (If you don't have it you can take 1 cup milk and mix 1 T lemon juice or vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes. It turns into buttermilk. After sitting for 5 minutes, then pour into mixture)

In a small bowl, combine the oats, flours, baking soda, salt and sugar. In another small bowl, beat the egg, oil and buttermilk. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour batter by 1/3 cupful onto a greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until the second side is golden brown.

No Knead Bread

The other day I was reading on someone's blog about No Knead Bread. My mouth always starts watering when I read about homemade bread on a website because bread is my weakness. I can remember going grocey shopping with my mom when I was little and we would sometimes get a loaf of French bread to have with dinner and then one to eat while we were in the store. The 4 of us girls would snack on the hot bread while we were getting the groceries for the week. There is just nothing like fresh bread. So I decided that I would try out this receipe and it was really pretty good, if I might say so myself! This may become a monthly thing I make.

No Knead Bread from the New York Times

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting

¼ teaspoon instant yeast (yes the ¼ is correct!!!)

1¼ teaspoons salt

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal.

4. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

5. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven.

*I did not get pictures of any of it in the oven, but please note that you should be careful with the enamel or ceramic dish you use. I used 1 and it broke in half while it was heating up. I switched to cast iron after that.

Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned.

6. Enjoy. It was good plain and S ate it with some cheese melted on it the next day and he said that it was really good!

Tuesday Soup Day

Beer Cheese Soup

2 T butter

1 small onion

2 T all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1 can (10 1/2 oz) condensed chicken broth

1 cup milk

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (8 oz)

Melt butter in saucepan and cook onion until tender. Stir in flour, pepper and mustard (you have to stir pretty fast or the flour starts to clump and makes the soup gritty). Stir in chicken broth and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in cheese. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, just until cheese is melted.

This is probably my favorite soup and it is so easy to make. We had it last night, which was perfect because it was rainy and yucky outside (a good bowl of soup is always good on a rainy night). It is super easy to make and only takes about 30 mins from start to finish. I put lots of onion in ours because we love onion so much. It is called Beer Cheese Soup because you should use beer, but I substitute chicken broth.

Recipe came from Betty Crocker cookbook

Kraft Tasting Group

A few months ago I joined the Kraft First Taste group, which is a tasting group for Kraft. It is really neat because you get to try new products and then comment on them. I am about to try the new Jello Singles, which I am excited about because I have been wanting to try them any ways and I just didn't want to spend the unnecessary money on them. This group is free to sign up for and you get free stuff out of it, so it is a win-win situation!!! If you want to get into the group, just go to their website. As far as I can tell, they are still taking new members.

Just click here

Tuesday Soup Day

Pizza Soup

1 jar (14 oz) of pizza sauce

3 empty jars full of water

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

2 already-cooked Italian sausage (I didn't use this because I didn't have any)

1 cup sliced pepperoni, sliced in quarters

1/2 T dried basil

1 T oregano

1/2 to 1/3 cup of dried pasta

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Wash and prepare veggies. Dump them into the crockpot. Cut up sausage and pepperoni and add to crockpot. Add basil and oregano. Pour in the pizza sauce and follow with 3 jars of water

Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours. You are just really heating through because everything is already cooked.

Thirty minutes before serving, add the dry pasta, and turn to high.

Garnish/top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Recipe taken from Crockpot 365. We are trying it for the first time this week, I hope it is good. It smelled good this morning.

Nuts and Bolts Party Mix

Here is my Grandma's recipe. She got it from her brother-in-law many years ago. I use the same recipe when I make it, but it never turns out quite like hers!

1 lb oleo
1 cup wesson oil
1 small box of Accent
1 T allspice
1 T garlic salt
1 T celery salt
1 T cayenne pepper
1 T Tabasco
3 T wochestershire sauce

Boil this and pour over: Cheerios, Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Wheat Chex, Crispix, Bugels, pretzels, spanish peanuts, cocktail nuts and cashews. Mix all together in a large pan (she used 2 lg pans-16 5/8 x 11 7/8 x 2 5/8). Sometimes if she fills all 2 pans up, she will make half the amount of spices, oil, oleo mixture again. She uses a large spoon or cup to evenly distribute the liquid over the cereal mixture. Then stir in well. Bake at 250 degrees for 3 hours. Stir ever 1 hour. She rotates which pans each time she stirs as to which pan is sitting on the top shelf and which is on the bottom shelf.

Hope you enjoy!!!