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!

Homemade Pizza Crust with Heart Pepperoni

This is one of my favorite Valentine's meals I have ever made. For many years our tradition was to make spaghetti and meatballs and watch the Lady and the Tramp... aka the most romantical movie of all time. But this year I decided to change it up, and I must say, I met with great results. Now, a homemade crust is important, but it does take time to rise, so be patient, or make it the night before and put it in the fridge. This is a mixture/adaption from both Mario Batali's recipe and Bobby Flay's recipe. For the toppings, we made three, a pepperoni pizza pictured above, a margarita with tomatoes, fresh moz, and basil, and a Mexican pizza with taco meat, salsa, guac, sour cream and other toppings. 

What you need: 

1 cup of warm water

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 Tablespoon of yeast (1 package)

4 cups of flour

3 Tablespoons of olive oil 

Pizza Sauce and Toppings 

What you do:

1. Mix the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let sit and get bubbly to make sure that your yeast is still alive. 
2. Add to your standing mixer fitted with the paddle. Add flour one cup at a time until incorporated.  Add the oil until achieve a dough that pulls away from the sides. Switch your paddle to the dough hook and let the dough be kneaded for 5 minutes. Cover with olive oil and plastic wrap to rest until doubled in size about an hour. 
3. Preheat your oven to 500. If you have a pizza stone let it heat up as well inside the oven. 
4. Divide the dough and roll out to the desired size. This dough will make 3 medium size pizzas or 2 large pizzas. You can also store half in the freezer if you like. 
5. Roll to your desired thickness, my family likes a thin crust. 
6. Top, and cook in your oven for 10 minutes or until the bottom is cooked and toppings are warmed through and the cheese is melted. 

Enjoy. 

All the best, Happy Valentine's Day, many blessings, much love, and Happy Pizza Making!

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!