Crock-pot Beef and Broccoli

Like many working mothers, I love my crock-pot. I have been trying to get ahead of the dinner time-crunch and organize my week with the help of freezer bags and an hour or two on Sunday afternoon, during Freddy's nap-time. Suffice it to say my "cook for the week" journey is a lot like the Mexican - American war, some wins, some loses, and some disasters. Thankfully there is Mexican dictator involved, although my husband might disagree. Nonetheless, this recipe I am happy to report is a definite winner, the trick is to leave out the broccoli and put it in frozen or fresh about 20 minutes or so before you eat.  I do it just as I put on the rice to cook. 

What you need

• 1 pound of all natural grass-fed beef stir-fry 

• 1 cup of dark beef consume

• 1/2 cup of soy sauce

• 1/3 cup of brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil 

• 1 tablespoon of Worcester sauce

• 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar 

• 3 large garlic cloves minced

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1 16 oz bag of frozen organic broccoli florets (or fresh chopped) 

• cooked rice

• chili flake (optional)

What you do

1. Add all of the ingredients save the broccoli and rice into the crock-pot. Cook on high for 2 and a half hours or 4 hours on low. 
2. Add the broccoli about 20 minutes before you want to eat. 
3. Make the rice
4. Enjoy! 

Make-ahead and freezing instructions

• You can mix all of the ingredients except for broccoli and rice and store in a Ziploc freezer bag. You can either freeze the bag  as it is, or place in your fridge. The ingredients will keep in your freezer for up to 3 days. 

• Remember to label the bag with the dish 

• If you freeze the ingredients, you can either thaw and then cook as instructed or you can put the frozen ingredients directly in the crock-pot. If cooking from frozen increase the time to 3 1/2 hours on high or 6 hours on low. 

As always, much love, many blessings, and happy cooking!

Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

My little one calls blueberries, b-berries. He is a great fan of them, and he loves oatmeal as well. I know... strange kid, but my husband also like the combination so I thought these would make a fit and easy breakfast treat. Here is the recipe adapted from day dream kitchen.

What you need:
2 cups of rolled oats
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon of orange zest
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of cold cubed butter

3 cups of fresh blueberries
1/2 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of fresh orange juice
4 teaspoons of cornstarch

What you do:

1. Zest a large orange, and juice save the juice and zest separately. 
2. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan add the blueberries, sugar. Mix the cornstarch and orange juice to form a slurry, whisk any lumps, add to the blueberries and sugar, cook for 5 minutes or so until thick. Set aside to cool. 
3. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 
4. In your food processor pulse together the oats, flour, brown sugar, orange zest, salt, and cubed butter. 
5. Place parchment paper in a 8 inch square pan. 
6. Pour half of the oat mixture into the pan and press down with your hands. Pour over the cooled blueberry sauce. Then cover with the oat crumbles. 
7. Bake for about 45 minutes. 
8. Let cool completely, refrigerate and cut into squares. Enjoy for breakfast, snack, or dessert with whipped cream. 

They also freeze beautifully so you can keep them in the chiller and take one out when you want a semi healthy dessert, just pop it in the microwave for a minute. 

As always, much love, many blessings, happy baking. 

Broccoli Cheddar Crescent Braid

This is a nice easy winter dish, that takes only about 10 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to bake.  My one year old loved it, which made Mommy very happy. Not so much because of the broccoli  he loves veggies. But I can't seem to get him to eat meat unless it covered in cheese, which he does like. He even loved shaking the bag to mix the filling, which was super cute. I always wanted to cook with my kids, but I feel super blessed that I get to start when he is only 1.

For the adults I served this with a heady and fruity Beaujolais.

Here is what you need:
1 cup of left over chicken
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mayo
1 cup of broccoli
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg for egg wash

Here is what I did:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Mix together the chicken, cheese, mayo, broccoli, salt and pepper to taste, set aside. I did this in the large zip lock baggie that was holding the chicken... less dishes, and Freddy did the mixing.
3. Pop the cans of the crescent rolls (this is the hardest part for me) and roll out the dough on broken. Use a rolling pin to keep the dough together.
4. With a pair of kitchen scissors cut 3 inch long slices, 1 inch border of dough on each side of the dough. You will have a fridge effect that you will then braid over the filling.
5. Spread the filling in the middle of the dough leaving at least an inch on each side. You might want to use your hands to shape the mound, I did.
6. Fold a fringe end over the filling and alternate sided to create a braid effect. Pinch the ends together on the ends to seal in the filling.
7. Crack and whip an egg together and brush the top of the dough. Top the egg wash with a little bit of crunchy sea salt, Maldon is my favorite.
8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes depending on your oven... let sit for atleast 5 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy, happy wintering.

Lots of love, many blessings, and happy baking!

Meaty Lasagna

It is something of a joke in my house regarding the vast amount of vegetable lasagnas I make during the summer months to use all of our garden's veggies. But when it is cold outside, there is nothing more comforting than a delicious, cheesy, meat-filled masterpiece we call the American version of a lasagna. 

Before we begin a few rules to keep your lasagna together. 1. Make your own hearty bolgnese, thick and rich... don't let the liquid jar stuff fool you 2. Use no boil lasagna noodles, and thinner layers is better. 3. Let your lasagna rest so that it comes together before you cut, you don't want eat your lasagna with a spoon. 

What you need: 

4 cups of Bolognese Sauce (Meat Tomato Sauce) 

1 box of no boil lasagna noodles (24 6x3 inch noodle sheets) or fresh noodles if you are so inclined

1 pint of ricotta cheese

1 egg

oregano (1 teaspoon dried, sprig fresh) 

basil  (1 Tablespoon dried, 6 large leaves fresh) 

16 oz of shredded mozzarella ( the fresh stuff has too much moisture) 

1/4 cup of shaved parmigiano reggiano

salt and pepper 

casserole dish approximately 9x13 inches

What you do: 

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F

2. Spread one even layer of meat sauce on the bottom of your casserole dish 

3. Layer noodles to cover your dish 

4. Chop your basil and oregano if fresh. Mix your ricotta, basil, oregano, and egg. Spread evenly on your noodle layer. 

5. Layer noodles to cover your dish

6. Spoon an even layer of meat sauce

7. Layer noodles to cover your dish

8. Spread an even layer of shredded mozzarella (about half the bag) 

9. Layer noodles to cover your dish

10. Spoon an even layer of meat sauce. Cover with an even layer of shredded mozzarella (the other half the bag.) Sprinkle the parmigiano reggiano. 

11. Cover with foil and cook in the oven for 45 minutes

12. Take the foil off and cook in the oven for another 15 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbly. 

Enjoy with a Cesar salad, and a nice Chianti. Remember to let it cool before your cut and serve. 

Lots of love, many blessings, and happy baking!