Balsamic Roast

I found this recipe online by random.  We have a ton of various roasts sitting our freezer and I was tired of preparing it the same way.  So I stumbled on this recipe and while my husband and I were both skeptical, it is now one of my favorite roasts recipes.  We’ve now had it twice within 10 days. 

Source

Ingredients

• 1 3-4 pound boneless roast beef (chuck or round roast)
• 1 cup beef broth
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped

Instructions

1. Place roast beef into the insert of your slow cooker. In a 2-cup measuring cup, mix together all remaining ingredients. Pour over roast beef and set the timer for your slow cooker. (4 hours on High or 6-8 hours on Low)
2. Once roast beef has cooked, remove from slow cooker with tongs into a serving dish. Break apart lightly with two forks and then ladle about ¼ – ½ cup of gravy over roast beef.
3. Store remaining gravy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for another use.

Baked Ravioli

I've made a New Years Resolution to spend more time in the kitchen this year and really challenge myself with learning new recipes. I've been off to a good start lately and using my dear friend, Pinterest, for inspiration. This recipe comes from Inspired Dreamer and it is delicious. And easy.


Ingredients:

Bag of frozen ravioli
1 Jar of marinara sauce
2 Cups of mozzarella cheese



Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray bottom and sides of rectangular baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Spread 3/4 cup of the pasta sauce in baking dish. Arrange half of the frozen ravioli in single layer over sauce; top with half of remaining pasta sauce and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers once, starting with the ravioli. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
3. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake uncovered 10 to 15 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot in center. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Seriously, SO easy!

Turkey Chili

This recipe comes courtesy from my mom who has always made the best batch of chili for years. I finally got the recipe from her and have tweaked a few things to mine and Jeremy's taste and I think I have it down perfectly now. It's super easy and really delicious on a cold day.


Ingredients:

1 lb. of ground turkey
1/2 chopped white opinion
1 16. oz can of dized tomatoes, undrained
1 7 oz. can of chopped green chilies (I get two 4 oz. of HOT green chilies to add more spice)
1 large can or bottle of tomato juice (NOT V-8!)
3 15. oz cans of dark red kidney beans, drained
2 tsp. of cumin
2 tbsp. of parsley flakes
2-4 tbsp. of chili powder (depends on your taste)

Directions:

In large pan, brown ground turkey with onion until cooked through.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot and mix well.
Simmer on low in crockpot for 4-6 hours to cook.



Add some cheese and honey cornbread on the side and you're good to go!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 8-10

Roasted Garlic, Chicken & Herb White Pizza

Long time no see!


I posted this picture on Instagram last night after finally getting around to trying this recipe I saw on Pinterest and had a few requests to share it.

Roasted Garlic, Chicken & Herb White Pizza from Dinners and Desserts


Ingredients:

• 1 pound pizza dough
• 1 Tbls butter
• 8 cloves roasted garlic, minced
• 2 Tbls all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ cup skim milk
• ¼ cup half and half
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• 1½ cup boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
• ¼ cup red onion, diced
• ¾ cup Mozzarella cheese
• 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 Tbls fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with a siplat liner, or grease and sprinkle with cornmeal.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Saute roasted garlic for 1 minute.
3. Add flour, and mix until well blended. Cook for 1 minute.
4. Slowly whisk in the milk and half and half. Mix in the pepper. -If you want to go a little healthier, I used skim milk and it still came out amazing
5. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat, and stir in Parmesan cheese.
6. Spread dough into roughly a 12 inch circle on prepared baking sheet. Spread white cause over the dough. Top with chicken, red onions and cheese.
7. Bake for 17 minutes, or until the crust is golden, and the cheese is melted. -Don't forget that the thinner the crust, the quicker it cooks. We only put ours in the oven for about 11 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with herbs. Cut and serve immediately.

I chose not to use the red onions

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes



This pizza seriously tasted just like my favorite restaurant pizza, California Kitchen and it was relatively easy to make. SOOOOOO good!!

Lemon Pasta

This recipe is not for the faint of heart. You have to REALLY love lemon to make this dish. Luckily I do, so when this was made for me by some friends on my trip out to Seattle, I immediately asked for the recipe so I could the lemony goodness whenever I wanted to.

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
3 Lemons
Pasta (we used Penne)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
3/4 Cup heavy cream
1/5 cup Parmesan (shredded)
Pepper
Italian Seasoning
Salt

Directions

Juice and zest the lemons
Boil water for pasta, put a fair amount of salt in (you will use some of this water later)

Use a large skillet, heat on low.
Add olive oil (3 tablespoons) and garlic.
Add lemon juice, ladle of salted water from the pasta, and the cream.
Raise heat and bring to a bubble.
Once this bubbles, add 1 cup of the cheese and lemon zest
Add salt, pepper and Italian seasoning to taste.
Drain pasta and add it into the sauce.
Stir/toss for about 5 minutes (the longer you wait, the more flavor the pasta will have but less sauce)

Enjoy!


You can also refrigerate this and eat it cold as a pasta salad



Prep Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Homemade Chicken and Dumplings

When I think back to my childhood and my all time favorite comfort foods, my mom's Chicken and Dumplings definitely was and is at the top of the list. It's SO yummy and perfect for a cool Fall or Winter day. My favorite part was always watching the dumplings cook right in the boiling broth-I thought that was SO cool! :)

It's a mix between a soup and a chicken stew so I put it under both categories.

Don't be intimidated by the number of ingredients or the length of time to make this. You're not actually slaving over the stove the whole time, so it's not as bad as it looks and it's SO worth it!

Here's The recipe:

Chicken Soup/ Stew Ingredients:
3-4 Lb. Stewing Chicken (Or I use 1-2 Chicken Breasts on the bone)
1/2 Tbsp. Salt (You can use less or more depending on your tastebuds. I like a little less.)
1/2 Onion, Diced
2 Stalks Celery, sliced
2 Carrots (Or 8-10 mini carrots), sliced
1/4 tsp. Pepper
1-2 Potatos, cut up into bite size pieces
1/2 Cup Rice (Optional-I leave this out completely. I think the recipe is filling enough with the potatos and dumplings.)
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
3-4 Cups of Water (I try to mix some water with some chicken broth if I have it. If not, water works just fine.)
1/4 Cup Flour

Dumpling Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1 Tbsp. Parsley
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Baking Powder
2/3 Cup Milk
2 Tbsp. Oil
1 Egg, slightly beaten

Place the chicken in a large pot. Add the onion, salt, and pepper. Add the cream of chicken soup and cover all with water and/or chicken broth. Cook until chicken is done, anywhere from 1-2 hours.

Remove chicken from pot and add sliced celery and carrots. Remove chicken from bones; cut into pieces.

Combine 1/4 Cup flour with 1/2 Cup water and stir into broth. Heat until it boils and thickens.

Add chicken pieces, potato(s) and rice if you are using rice (1/2 Cup)

Boil gently, until potato and rice is cooked (it's usually cooked by the time I'm finished preparing the dumplings).

Prepare dumplings and drop into broth. Cover and boil gently 12-15 minutes until dumplings are fluffy.

YUMMY-Enjoy!

Serves:4-6

Prep Time: 2-2.5 Hours

BEST Steak Marinade

I had to jump on here really quick and share an amazing marinade we found for our steaks last night. I did a little research before thawing the meat and wanted to find a good marinade to soak them in for the day before we grilled them


I found this recipe from All Recipes and it was VERY good. There was a lot of ingredients to it but so worth it in the end.



Ingredients:




1/3   cup Soy Sauce
1/2   cup Olive Oil
1/3   cup fresh lemon juice
1/4   cup Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2  tbsp. garlic powder
3      tbsp. dried basil
1 1/2 tbsp. parsley flakes
1       tsp. ground white pepper



Directions:


1. Place the soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, basil, parsley, and pepper in a blender. Blend on high speed for 30 seconds until thoroughly mixed.


2. Pour marinade over desired type of meat. Cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours. Cook meat as desired.




Amount per serving: 6 




And then you end up with these delicious slabs of meat and eat every single, delicious meat.

Give it a try!