Crock Pot Pepper Steak

 I like this recipe a lot for the simple fact that like any good crock pot recipe, you  toss it all in the pot and leave it till it's done. And when it is done, you have a tasty home cooked dinner. 

(This is where the picture would go if I had one, sorry)

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1 Beef Roast, any cut, 3 - 4 lb.

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 beef bouillon cube, crushed

1 c. rice

Combine all the ingredients, except rice, in a crock pot. Cook on high until beef is done, 

usually between 4 1/2 - 6 hours. 

The bottom of the crock pot should have about an inch of liquid in it, if not, add water. 

Add the rice and re-cover crock pot.  Cook an additional 30 minutes. 

Stir to combine the veggies and rice and serve with the beef. 

I usually shred the beef before I add the rice.

Pumpkin Penuche Cinnamon Rolls

 
It's finally starting to cool down where I am. And by cool down I mean finally in the mid 80's. But it's nearing the end of September, so cool or not, out come the pumpkin recipes. Check the end of the post for links to some of my other pumpkin recipes, both sweet and savory.

2 Tbsp. yeast

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 milk, warm

3/4 c. warm water

1 (15 oz.) can pure pumpkin, divided

2 eggs

1 tsp. salt

4 c. flour, Plus more as needed

Combine the warm milk, water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add half the can of pumpkin, eggs, and salt and stir to combine. Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, until mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and forms a dough. Add flour an knead until it is elastic. Return to bowl and let rise about 30 minutes in a warm place (it wont rise very much) Roll out into a large rectangle. Spread with

1 stick butter, softened

Other half of canned pumpkin leftover from the dough

brown sugar to cover

cinnamon

nutmeg

Roll up and slice about an inch thick. Place in a greased baking pan about 1/2 inch apart and let rise again. Bake at 350 for 30 - 40 minutes. Let cool slightly and frost.

This made enough for a 9x13 and a 9x9

Penuche Frosting:

4 Tbsp. butter

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp. milk

1 c. powdered sugar

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and milk, bring to a boil. Cool slightly. Beat into powdered sugar until smooth. Pour into a plastic bag, cut a hole in the side and drizzle over slightly cooled sweet rolls.

The dough is very orange, and the frosting is light enough that with a little food coloring it would also look orange, I thought it would be fun to put something green in to the top to make them look like little pumpkins themselves.

My Pumpkin Collection:

Pumpkin Enchiladas

Pumpkin Chili
 

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

Pumpkin Cream Pasta

Pumpkin Biscuits

Pumpkin and lots of Other Stuff Muffins

Pumpkin Chiffon

HH6 And Taco Soup

So this soup isn't really my recipe at all. I mean I make it all the time, but I didn't come up with it.

But when I got this months HH6 Cooking Club challenge and was thinking about it, this came to mind. The challenge itself I wasn't worried about sticking too, I usually keep a large pantry pretty well stocked, along with a large deep freeze full of meat and other frozen stuff, and a 2 year supply of all the basics, wheat, rice, sugar and such, plus Husband Man had just gotten back from Sams club. I was set. 

But then the next night I found myself needing to make something for dinner. And while I had all the essential, I didn't really feel like making a huge dinner. So I grabbed several things from the pantry and dinner was ready in a flash, using mostly pantry staples.Which really embodies the idea of the challenge. Which is

We all need to be prepared in the event of a disaster.  You have stuff in your pantry and fridge/freezer.  If a disaster should strike today and you have no access to going to a grocery store but your stove/grill is still working, what would you make with what you have on hand?

 

1 lb. ground turkey or hamburger
1 packet taco seasoning (About 2 Tbsp)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney or black beans
1 can chicken broth
1 c. Ketchup

Brown meat.

Add remaining ingredients. Simmer one hour or longer. Can be dumped in a crock pot for the afternoon.

This can also be made without the meat all together, just skip it and add an extra can of beans.

The next day I drained the soup and cooked rice in the liquid. Then I added it back to the mix, added some cheese, and used it as a filling for enchiladas. Just fill tortillas with the mix, roll and place in a casserole dish, top with enchilada sauce and bake until heated through. 

Fresh Blueberry Peach Pie

This is another recipe from my mom.
She used to make it in the summer when the peaches where ripe.

One time I didn't have the lemon jello on hand
(this is also good for people who avoid pre-processed stuff)
just make a lemon curd and toss the fruit with that.

Pie Filling

1 c. sugar

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 c. water

¼ c. lemon flavored gelatin powder

4 c. sliced peaches, peeled

¾ c. blueberries

Pastry Shell

Sweetened Whipped Cream

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Stir in the water. Bring to a boil over medium heat; stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick and translucent. Remove from heat, and add gelatin, stirring until gelatin dissolves. Cool.

Combine peaches and blueberries in a large bowl. Add gelatin mixture; toss gently.

Spoon into prepared pastry shell.

Cover and chill 1 hour or until set. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Pastry Shell

1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. Salt

½ c. slivered almonds, coarsely chopped

1/3 c. vegetable oil

3 to 4 Tbsp. Water

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Press into a 9-inch pie plate.

Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Pizza Bites

 (They don't look like much, don't let that fool you)

These are simple little pizza bites that are great for a fun kids dinner, a picnic, or as an appetizer. We LOVED them. Feel free to play around with different toppings in the center. Whatever you normally like on your pizza will be good. Next time I am going to try meat lovers, and add sausage and bacon. 

I also want to freeze some and see how they do. I will update later with the results. If it works this would be a great treat to have on hand to pull out for quick snacks. UPDATE: They worked great frozen. I froze them overnight and then I microwaved one from frozen and it got hard as a rock. But I defrosted the rest, and that only took 30 minutes, and then microwaved it for 20 seconds and it was warm and soft. So it takes a little pre planning to eat them from frozen, but not too much.I just put them flat on a tray and froze them until they where solid, about 2hours, and then put them in a freezer safe plastic bag.

You can use whatever dough and sauce recipe you prefer but I have included mine as well, just in case. 

I don't remember the pkg size of the pepperoni, it said it had 90 pepperoni. After the 48 reserved, I think it was about 3/4 c. chopped.

1 batch pizza dough

1 Batch Sauce

1 1/4 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 1/4c. cheddar cheese, shredded

2 pkg pepperoni

1/4lb deli sliced turkey pastrami

 1/2 bell pepper, chopped

Reserve 48 pepperoni's. Chop remaining pepperoni and turkey pastrami. Mix the mozzarella, cheddar, pepperoni, pastrami, and bell pepper. When the sauce is cooled add it to the cheese mix. 

Roll the dough out really thin and cut into 2 inch squares. Spray 4 mini muffin pans with cooking spray. Press one dough square into each muffin cup. Fill with cheese and sauce mixture. Top each cup with one reserved pepperoni. 

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or just until the dough looks cooked. Let cool in pan ten minutes before removing.

Makes 4 dozen.

Souvlaki Kebabs

I love the way the vegetables don't get too soft or soggy in this, they stay very crisp/tender without being to far in either direction. If you grill just the vegetables without the meat they make a great side dish or vegetarian entree. For a side I like to use eggplant, zucchini, onions, and red bell peppers. Mushrooms and cherry tomatoes might be nice as well.

Sauce:
3/4 c. lemon juice

1 1/2 c. soy sauce

3/4 c. red wine vinegar

2 c. olive oil

1 Tbsp oregano

4 - 6 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb pork, cut into cubes
1 medium zucchini, sliced about 1/4" thick
1 red bell pepper, cut into 3/4" cubes
1 onion, cut into chunks

Combine all of the sauce ingredients. Remove 1/2 cup and refrigerate. Add the meat to the remaining marinade, cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. 


1 hour before cooking add the zucchini, pepper, and onion to the reserved marinade. 


Skewer the meat and vegetables. Throw away the meat marinade and reserve the vegetable marinade. Bake at 350 for 12 - 15, flip over and brush the meat with the marinade from the vegetables, bake an additional 10 - 12 minutes.

This is great with a quinoa or rice pilaf. I also like the meat tucked in a pita with lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, and tzatziki sauce.

Spiced Apple Rice Krispies

These where supposed to look like apples. I didn't really get that far cause I didn't have the right decorations and I was feeling a little lazy about it all.  

You can see what they are supposed to look like at "Everday Mom", since thats where I got the idea in the first place

4 Tbsp. Butter

10 oz marshmallows

8 oz. rice krispy cereal

3 packets Alpine Spiced Cider Mix (Or other powdered apple cider mix)

Red food coloring

Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until melted and smooth. Stir in the apple packets and food coloring. Stir in the cereal and mix well.

Butter your hands and shape into balls. Decorate as desired and enjoy!