Savory Beef Stew

Savory Beef Stew

I've been making stews for over 30 years now and I always say I wish I'd have written down how I made this. Yesterday I did just that and after tasting the stew I'm glad I did. You see I never make stews the same way twice but this one I will be.

Okay onto the stew recipe.

Recipe will serve 6 people

Ingredients

• 2 pound sirloin roast or large steak cut into bite sized pieces 
• 3 Tbs of canola or vegetable oil
• 6 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 stalks chopped
• 1 large cooking onion chopped
• 5 cups of beef broth
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1 large or 2 small bay leaves
• 3 garlic cloves pressed
• 3 small turnips peeled 
• 2 parsnips peeled 
• 3 carrots peeled
• 1 sweet potato peeled
• 2 or 3 white potatoes peeled
• 3 Tbs of cornstarch
• 1/2 cup of water

Instructions

1. I used a sirloin roast for this dish but you can use any type of stewing beef that you wish.
2. Cut the roast into bite sized pieces
3. Heat oil in a large pot or stock pot
4. Cook the meat until it is medium rare
5. While the meat is cooking prepare your vegetables cutting each into bite size pieces
6. Add 6 dashes of worcestershire  sauce, fresh ground pepper, celery, onion and stir
7. Add the beef broth and bring to a boil
8. Press into the mixture the garlic cloves
9. Add all the vegetables except the white potatoes stirring to mix
10. Bring everything to a boil then turn the heat down to 2 or almost low
11. Let cook for 15 minutes and then add the white potatoes
12. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes 
13. Test to make sure that all the vegetables are cooked
14. To thicken and make a gravy add 3 Tbs of cornstarch to 1/2 a cup of water and whisk really well. 
15. Bring the beef stew to a boil and stir in the cornstarch mixture until the broth has thickened into a gravy
16. Serve with buns and or a side salad
17. ENJOY!

Roast being cut up

Vegetables for Beef Stew

Everything is in the pot ready to cooking

Dinner is served. Let's Eat

Cheesy Parm Linguine with Crab Shrimp and Muscles

Crab, shrimp, and muscles on top of a cheesy parm linguine 

Recently I was in PEI, Canada, and had the most amazing seafood linguine. After the first bite I knew I had to go home and try to replicate the dish. Mine is slightly different than what I had in PEI as that linguine had scallops, lobster, and shrimp. 

The best thing about this pasta dish is that you can add what you have on hand as far as the seafood goes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of cooked crabmeat (I precooked crab in it's shells, and then cracked and removed the meat) The next time I make this dish I will use canned crab meat.
• 1 pound of shrimp cooked and peeled
• 1 pound of muscles of your choice (I used Madagascar muscles)
• 2 pkgs of fresh linguine cooked according to pkg. instructions

For the Cream Sauce

• 1/2 cup of butter 
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• 2 cups of table cream
• 1 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
• Fresh ground pepper
• 2 pinches of fine sea salt

For the Muscles

• 1/4 cup of butter
• 1 clove of garlic chopped
• 1/8th - 1/4 cup of white wine (I didn't measure)

Instructions

Preparing cheesy linguine with crab, shrimp, and
muscles. 

1. Prepare the crab if you're using fresh or frozen shelled, and cook and peel your shrimp.
2. In a large frying pan over medium heat melt your butter and saute the garlic. 
3. Whisk in cream and cook until thickened. This should take about 6 min. 
4. Add the cheese, salt and pepper. Next add the crab meat and shrimp. 
5. In a pasta pot or large pot cook the linguine according to pkg. directions. Once it is cooked, drain, add a bit of olive oil to toss and set aside.
6. While the water is boiling and the linguine is cooking, heat a medium size frying pan and add 1/4 cup of butter to it. To the frying pan add the garlic and saute for about 3 min.
7. Next add the muscles and wine cooking on medium heat for approximately 5 min. or until muscles are cooked to your liking. Add the muscles along with the wine and butter sauce. Stir. 
8. On a large serving platter lay out the linguine. Add the contents of the large frying pan to the top.
9. Serve and ENJOY!

Low Carb Cabbage Roll Casserole

Low Carb Cabbage Roll Casserole 

Hubby has been bugging me to make my low carb cabbage rolls lately and I've been a bit lazy. Yesterday I decided since I had 1/2 of a cabbage in the fridge I'd make him a cabbage roll casserole. 

My son and I had a small portion of the dish and hubby finished it off.

For this recipe you will need the following:
Ingredients 
                                          

Ingredients for Cabbage Roll Casserole

• 2 pounds of lean ground beef cooked 
• Garlic Powder
• 7 cups of chopped cabbage
• 1 1/2 cups of chopped sweet onion
• 1 very large clove of chopped garlic
• 1 Tbs. of Worcestershire sauce
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1 Large can of diced tomatoes drained
• 1 Large can of tomato sauce 

Instructions

Cabbage Roll Casserole Prep 

1. Preheat your oven to 280 degrees Fahrenheit           
2. Spray or grease your casserole dish (This makes it easier for clean-up)
3. Brown the ground beef and add garlic powder to taste while it's cooking. Don't over cook the meat
4. While the meat is cooking you can prepare the cabbage, onions, and garlic
5. To the bottom of the casserole dish add 4 cups of the 7 cups of chopped cabbage
6. Drain the fat off the ground beef and add it to a large mixing bowl
7. To the bowl add your chopped onion & garlic, Worcestershire sauce, fresh ground pepper, and the drained diced tomatoes mixing gently as you go
8. Add the ingredients in the bowl to the top of the cabbage in the casserole dish
9. Top this off with the remaining 3 cups of chopped cabbage, then pour the tomato sauce over the top
10. Pop into the oven and cook for 2 hours or until the cabbage is tender
11. Serve and ENJOY!

Carb Count               100 gr

Tomatoes Sauce          7    

Canned Tomatoes       4 

Cabbage                      6                       

Onion                          9

Ground Beef Lean      0 

French Vanilla French Toast

I'm always trying new ways to make old recipes wake up. Don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with the same ole way of making French Toast but I wanted something a little different in taste and grabbed the French Vanilla coffee creamer the other day. 

French Vanilla French Toast

Here is my recipe for French Vanilla French Toast

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbs. of French vanilla coffee creamer
• 2 Tbs. of milk
• Ground cinnamon to taste
• 4 slices of bread

Instructions

1. In a medium size bowl beat together the eggs, coffee creamer, milk and ground cinnamon.
2. Heat a large non stick frying pan (add butter or oil if needed) 
3. Dip the bread slices into the egg mixture and place into the frying pan
4. Flip after a few minutes until cooked the way you like your French toast. 
5. Add maple syrup, powdered sugar or both and ENJoY!

Lentil Bean Salad

Potato Salad Recipe & Lentil Bean Salad Recipe

When it is too hot to cook or BBQ I will make a salad night dinner or meatless dinner. The meal will usually consist of two or three salads along with bread or buns. If there is any cooking preparation to be done for the salads, I will do this early in the morning before the heat of the day sets in. Of course these salads can be eaten anytime of year.

Potato Salad

There are a zillion ways to make a potato salad and everyone has their own way of preparing it. Not very often do I make this salad the same way twice. The spices I use usually stay the same, but the ingredients change as to what I have in the house or what I remember to buy at the grocery store.

Cook Time

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 20 min

Ready in: 50 min

Yields: serves 4-6 people

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of new red potatoes, boiled and cut into bite sized pieces
• 4 green onions or scallions, chopped
• 2 ribs of celery, chopped
• 3/4 of a green pepper, chopped
• 3-4 eggs (any size), hard boiled, peeled and chopped (You may want to save 1 or 2 to slice and use as a garnish on top)
• garlic powder
• fresh ground pepper
• celery seed
• paprika
• 1 tbsp. yellow mustard
• 2 tbsp. sweet green relish
• 1/2 cup (or more depending on your taste) mayonnaise

Instructions

1. Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender. Drain and rinse under cold water. Once cooled either set in the fridge to make later in the day or chop into cubed or bite sized pieces and put into a large bowl. I leave the skin on the potatoes but that's just my preference.
2. Chop veggies, hard boiled eggs, and add to the potatoes.
3. Add garlic powder, fresh ground pepper, celery seed and toss. Add relish and mustard and toss again. Since I make this during the day I usually wait until I am just about to serve before adding the mayonnaise. Once the mayonnaise is added I will mix the salad and sprinkle paprika on top. Serve & Enjoy!

Lentil and Bean Salad

Ingredients For Salad

• 1 cup of dried green lentils
• 2 cups of fresh green beans washed and ends snapped off (frozen or canned can be substituted)
• 1 can of black beans rinsed and drained
• 1 can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans rinsed and drained

Ingredients for Salad Dressing

• 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp. of sugar
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. of lemon pepper

Instructions

1. In a medium size pot bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add lentils and cook for 15 - 20 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Put into a large serving bowl and set aside..
2. Boil green beans in water for 5-7 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside to cool. Once they are cool enough to handle cut into bite sized pieces. Add them to the bowl of lentils.
3. Add black beans, chick peas, and gently toss.
4. In a medium sized bowl or measuring cup whisk all salad dressing ingredients together. Pour over the lentil bean salad, gently tossing and making sure everything gets well coated. Cover and refrigerate for one hour. When ready to serve gently toss again. Enjoy!

Cupcakes for Your Dogs Next Birthday

Spoiled by cupcakes, cakes, and cookies? Yes my dogs have me as their own private baker. Why shouldn't dogs have something special on their birthdays like we do. After all they are part of the family. 

Zucchini Dog Cupcakes

Each year for Maggie and Bruce's birthday I either bake them a cake or as I've done this year made them cupcakes. Everything I use in my dog recipes are dog friendly and for dogs with allergies to wheat.

These cupcakes can be decorated if you choose to do so. You can either make a peanut butter carob frosting or perhaps just a carob frosting. 

The following recipe will yield 9 cupcakes or muffins

Ingredients needed for Cupcakes

• 2 ripe bananas 
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup of rice flour
• 1 tsp. of baking soda
• 1/8th of a cup of flax seed
• 1 cup of shredded zucchini 
• 1/4 cup of canola oil
• 1 Tbs.of honey

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium size mixing bowl combine and mix all the ingredients starting with mushing the bananas, and mixing with the egg. Then one by one add and mix each ingredient as I have it listed above. 
3. Place your baking cups into a muffin pan. You will need 9 all together. 
4. With a 1/4 cup measure, measure and add the batter to each baking cup.
5. Place in the oven for approximately 17 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick into the cupcake and have it come out clean.  

Tools to help you.

       

Beef Fried Rice

Never having eaten or made beef fried rice before, I was not too sure how this would end up tasting. I was in a mood to just throw some food together and see what happened. I was pleasantly surprised at the end result.

I had cooked a roast of beef the previous night and had enough left over for this recipe. This was a very quick and easy meal to prepare.

Cook Time

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 15 min

Ready in: 30 min

Yields: Will serve 4 - 5 people

Ingredients

• 8 - 10 Slices of Roast Beef (cooked)
• 2 stalks of celery
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 of a large onion
• 2 cups of brown Minute Rice cooked
• 2 - 3 cups of frozen mixed vegetables
• 2 TBS Vegetable Oil
• 1/4 cup of Soy Sauce

Food Prep

• While your rice is cooking prepare your beef and vegetables.
• Cut the beef into bite size pieces.
• Chop celery.
• Slice garlic cloves thinly.
• Chop onion to the size you prefer.
• Heat vegetable oil in a wok, electric frying pan, or large frying pan.

Let's Get Woking

Once the oil is heated add celery, onions and stir fry for three minutes. Add the frozen vegetables, stir and continue cooking for approximately five minutes. Add garlic slices, beef and cooked rice. Stir and add 1/4 cup of Soy Sauce. Cook until everything is heated to your liking.

This rice can be used as a main dish meal or you may want to add it to other dishes as a side dish.

Serve and ENJOY!

Helpful Tools

Baby Kale Salad with Fruity Vinaigrette

Your taste buds will smile with all the different flavors in this baby kale salad.

While at the Orillia market a few Saturday's ago, I discovered Yummies in a Jar. Tropical Summer is the vinaigrette I used for this particular salad. The ingredients that go into this include; peaches, cherries, kiwi, papaya, grapefruit, and lemon. It is oil free and tastes delicious.

If you live in the Orillia area you can find the Yummies in a Jar products at Apple Annies, or visit their store in Baysville.

Ingredients

• Baby Kale salad mix
• Thinly sliced red onion
• Grape tomatoes
• Dried cranberries 
• Walnut pieces 
• Tropical Summer Vinaigrette

Instructions

1. Start with your baby kale mix in the bottom of a salad bowl.
2.  Next add the thinly sliced red onion and grape tomatoes.
3.  Add about one - two tablespoons of the Tropical Summer vinaigrette tossing gently.
4. Add the cranberries and walnuts.
5. Serve and ENJOY!

Delicioso Burritos

Hubby and I discovered a fast food chain called Mucho Burrito. Quite often while traveling in and around the Barrie, Ontario area we will stop at Mucho for lunch or dinner. Wanting to create the same taste sensation at home it took hubby two tries to get an even better tasting burrito.

Ingredients

• Spanish rice cooked and ready to use
• chopped tomato
• re-fried beans
• 1 - 2 pounds of lean ground beef fried, and drained
• burrito seasoning
• cumin
• chili spice
• shredded cheddar cheese
• sour cream
• side pan of stir fry green peppers, onions, and mushrooms
• jalapeno peppers
• large to extra large tortillas

Instructions on how to make delicioso burritos

1. Start by cooking your Spanish rice to have it ready when you need it to build and roll your burritos. Stir in a chopped tomato.
2. In a small pan stir fry the green peppers, onions and mushrooms and set aside.
3. Cook the ground beef and add the burrito mix, cumin, and chili spice mixing well.
4. Spread the tortillas with re-fried beans and then add some of the Spanish rice, hamburger mix, shredded cheese, stir fry veggies, jalapeno peppers and sour cream.
5. Close one end of the burrito by tucking and rolling.
6. In a George Foreman or Pannini Press Sandwich maker press and cook the burrito until cheese is melted and tortilla is browned.
7. Serve with extra sour cream, salsa and guacamole. ENJOY!

BBQ or grill indoors all year round with an indoor grill. Healthier eating is easy with these as the grease is removed as you are cooking. Great for sandwiches, burgers, steaks, seafood and grilled vegetables.  

   

Easy Broccoli Slaw

If you don't have time to grate all the broccoli to make a broccoli slaw salad you can buy the broccoli already grated and ready to go. This is one of the easiest recipes I've ever followed. 

Broccoli |Slaw

Ingredients for Broccoli Slaw

• 1 bag of grated broccoli 
• 3-4 green onions chopped (optional)
• 1/4 cup of Hellmann's Mayo (or your favorite kind)
• 1 1/2 tsp. of cider vinegar 
• 1 tsp. of Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. of sugar
• garlic powder
• fresh ground pepper (as little or as much as you like)
• 2 or 3 shakes of fine sea salt

Instructions 

1. In a medium size bowl add the grated broccoli and the chopped onions.
2. In a small bowl combine all of the other ingredients and whisk really well to make the salad dressing.
3. Pour the dressing over the broccoli and toss really well. 
4. Either cover and refrigerate until ready to use, or serve and ENJOY!

If you'd like to make this same salad from a head of broccoli with an olive oil and red wine dressing please follow my link.

Broccoli Slaw Salad

Make your Life Easier

How to Make French Toast

Remembering back to when my sons were younger, they'd always love French toast for breakfast. It's one of the easiest breakfasts to make. I started craving this and thought why not have it for lunch. The following recipe will make 3 pieces. If you want to make more simply add more eggs and milk.

Sorry but I forgot to measure the milk. It would be about as much as if you were making an omelette.

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 2-3 TBS. of milk 
• 1/4 tsp. of vanilla (optional)
• 3 slices of bread
• maple syrup, jam, or icing sugar
• Fresh fruit (optional)

Instructions

1. In a medium size bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla.
2. Dip each piece of bread into the egg mixture. Flip the bread over to get the mixture on the other side.
3. Place each piece in a large frying pan over medium high heat.
4. Cook for approx 3 min and flip over to do the other side.
5. Remove from frying pan and serve on a plate.
6. I used maple syrup and served with fresh strawberries.
7. Serve and ENJOY!

Do you like French toast?

Dogs Love Cake Too

Each year for my dogs Maggie Magz and Bruce's birthday I bake them their very own cakes. All of the ingredients that I use are safe for dogs. Let me warn you that I'm not the greatest when it comes to decorating the cakes but the dogs don't seem to mind at all. They just love when their birthdays roll around and they know what's coming.

Bruce's 7th Birthday Cake

Ingredients You Will Need to Make This Cake

• 1 1/2 cups of rice flour (brown or white)
• 1 Tsp. of baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin (I used canned)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter
• 2 Tbs. of honey
• 3 Tbs. of E.V.O. (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Ingredients for the Frosting

• 1/4 cup of carob chips melted
• 1/4 cup of peanut butter
• I decorated the cake with peanut dog cookies I picked up at the bulk food store

Instructions for the Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit 
2. Grease and flour a square 9" x 5" pound cake pan
3. In a medium size mixing bowl combine the rice flour and baking powder
4. Stir in the pumpkin and then beat in the eggs
5. Next add and stir in the peanut butter, honey, and the oil
6. Make sure to stir everything really well and then add the mixture to your baking pan
7. Pop into the oven for 40 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick into the cake and have it come out clean
8. Remove from the oven and let it cool for about 15 minutes
9. Carefully remove the cake from the pan and cool it on a rack completely before frosting
10. Please note that you don't have to frost this cake
11. Once cooled frost and decorate

Instructions for the Frosting

1. Melt the carob chips in the microwave
2. Stir in the peanut butter and apply to the cake
3. Decorate with small biscuits or any other way you'd like to.
4. Cut into small pieces and serve to your dog or dogs and see how much they enjoy their cake

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cake ready to slice and serve

For more of my Dog Cakes or Cookie Recipes that you might like to see I've added pictures and where you can find all the recipes.

Wheat Free Healthy Birthday Cake for Dogs

Carrot Apple Peanut Butter Cake

Banana Oatmeal Dog Biscuits 

Peanut Butter Dog Cookies

As you can see I do enjoy baking for my two Newfoundland dogs that can be found waiting in the kitchen by the stove when they know that I'm making them a special treat. 

Maggie Magz & Bruce

Easy Pork Shoulder Crock Pot Recipe

Inexpensive, easy, delicious pork roast meal, complete with veggies and a side dish of mashed potatoes. 

The following recipe cooks all day  in your crock pot or slow cooker while you are doing other things. That is one of the many reasons I like this way of cooking as well as:

• It frees up my time
• The house smells wonderful while it is cooking
• It uses less energy, so therefore saves money
• Keeps the kitchen cool during the summer months
• I've never had a bad result come out of a crock-pot

Pork shoulder roast meal

Ingredients

• 1 3-4 pound pork shoulder roast
• 2-3 large carrots peeled and cut into large pieces
• 1 large cooking onion cut into 1/8's  
• 2 cans of cream of chicken soup
• 1/4 cup of water

---------------------------------

Side dishes: 

• Steamed broccoli 
• Mashed Potatoes

Instructions

1. When cooking in my crock pot I usually start by spraying it with cooking oil to make clean up easier.
2. In the bottom of the crock add one of the carrots, and then place on top of them the pork shoulder. 
3. Add the rest of the carrots along with the onion placing them around the pork.
4. In a measuring cup or bowl mix and whisk the cream of chicken soup together with the water, and pour over the pork.
5. Place the cover on the crock pot, set the temperature on low, and cook for 6-8 hours.
6. When you are ready to eat remove the pork roast that will more than like fall into several pieces. Remove the carrots and onions placing them either in a bowl on onto serving plates.
7. Before the pork was ready I made mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. 
8. On each plate I spooned out the mashed potatoes making a well. I then spooned a bit of the soup mixture onto the potatoes. Normally I wouldn't do this but the pork shoulder I used had very little fat on it. The soup mixture made the perfect gravy.
9. Serve and ENJOY!

Do you use your crock-pot or slow cooker very often?

I've had a crock-pot since I was 18 and still have my original one that I'm saving for one of my sons. I have since bought a new one because the crock was not removable making it a little more difficult to clean.

The features I like on my new crock pot include : 

• Several temperature options 
• Removable crock 
• Larger capacity 
• Stainless exterior

Penne Pasta With Meatballs

Please note that the pasta used in this is Rigatoni but is best with Penne

This pasta and meatball dish is easy to make and is great if you are feeding a large crowd. The following recipe fed my husband twin sons, all three have big appetites, and my myself. Leftovers can always be easily re-heated for lunch or dinner the following day.

Ingredients

• 1 box or bag of frozen meatballs of your choice. I used a pork and beef kind, or you can always make your own.
• Cooking, Canola, or olive oil
• 2 medium cooking onions peeled and chopped
• 3 ribs of celery chopped
• 2-3 large cloves of garlic minced
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 2 yellow, red, orange, or green bell peppers (I used one red and one yellow)
• 1 tsp. of dried thyme
• 1 tsp. of dried oregano
• 1 tsp. of dried basil
• 1 Tbs. of dried hot red peppers
• 5 shakes of Tabasco sauce
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 3/4 of a large bag of penne pasta
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to serve on the side

Notes:
Usually I make my own meatballs but we happened onto a huge sale at Christmastime and I bought a few bags to have on hand. This came in handy and saved me quite a bit of time while preparing dinner. 
Mushrooms can be added to this if you happen to have them on hand.

Instructions

1. Follow the directions on the meatballs and cook while preparing all the ingredients for your pasta meal.
2. Prepare all your veggies.
3. In the bottom of a large pot (I used a 6 quart pot) or a Dutch oven add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pot, and heat on medium.
4. Once meatballs are cooked remove from oven, drain and set aside.
5. Add the onions and celery to the pot on the stove and cook for 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir.
6. Add and stir in the diced tomatoes, and add the bell peppers.
7. Next add all your spices and Tabasco or hot sauce of your choice. 
8. Stir in the tomato sauce along with the cooked meatballs.
9. Bring everything to a boil, then turn the heat down to simmer, cover and let everything mingle for at least 45 minutes.
10. Before you're ready to eat cook your pasta according the package directions.
11. Drain and place the pasta back into the pot. Toss with a bit of olive oil (This keeps the pasta from clumping together)
12. Now you can either mix the sauce with the pasta or serve the meatball sauce over the pasta.
13. Serve and ENJOY!
14. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, or serve the cheese on the side.

Thanks for stopping by today and please say hi to let me know that you were here. Have a great day!