Crock Pot Monday: Chili Colorado Burritos

My poor, neglected blog! School has been keeping me swamped, exhausted, and Strep-ridden this year :( . Boo! But I'm going to try harder to share some of the delicious recipes we have been cooking at the Farque household! This is one of them. Of course I found it on Pinterest and it is super easy. The meat cooks all day in the crock pot so it's really tender. Then you assemble the burritos when you get home, melt the cheese, and voila! Easy Mexican food at your fingertips. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
- 2 pounds of stew meat or other beef cubed
- 20 ounces of red enchilada sauce
- 2 beef bouillon cubes
- 1/2 can of refried beans
- 5-7 burrito size flour tortillas
- 1 cup or so of shredded cheese
- 1/2 of an onion, chopped
- small handful of chopped cilantro

Directions:
1) Season the beef with garlic powder, a little Greek seasoning, and a little Mexican seasoning (or whatever you have). Go easy on the salt since you'll be adding 2 beef bouillon cubes to the mixture.
2) Add the beef, bouillon, enchilada sauce, onions, and cilantro to the crock pot and cook on low for 7 or 8 hours. Mine cooked for about 8 and the meat was perfect.
3) After the meat is cooked, use a slotted spoon to get it all out of the crock pot. Use two forks to shred the meat and then put it back in the juice.
4) Turn your broiler on. Put some beef, refried beans, a little juice from the crock pot, and cheese in the tortilla and roll it up. Cover the top with more juice and cheese. Put under the broiler unil the cheese is melted.
5) Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

Crock Pot Monday: Hickory Smoked Brisket

School is back in full swing...And so is Crock Pot Monday! I tried this super easy recipe in my slow cooker and it was delish! It's probably my new favorite way to cook a brisket. It was tender and juicy, and it had a slight smokey taste like it was cooked on a grill. Jason loves brisket and he absolutely LOVED this! We will definitely be having this again very soon. You can view the original recipe here, and a short video on how to put the foil in your crock pot.

Ingredients:
3-4 pound brisket, trimmed
1/4 cup of liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon of celery salt
1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
a sprinkle of Tony's

Directions:
1) Line the bottom of your crock pot with foil. I used 2 pieces to make sure none of the juice leaked out.
2) Place the brisket in the crock pot. Pour the liquid smoke on top.
3) Sprinkle all seasonings on top.
4) Cook on low for 8-12 hours.
5) Voila! Seriously, it's that easy.

Try this soon!

  Get Cookin'!

Simple Stuffed Poblano Peppers

I have been so busy lately that I just cannot find the time to blog about all the new recipes we are trying! We are in the "home stretch" when it comes to school-- only 7 more Mondays! I'm really looking forward to taking it easy this summer and cooking! Who wants to come for dinner? 

I found this recipe and I adapted it a little. I didn't add the rice but next time I think I will. Oh, and more cheese!! This was really simple and yummy. We eat lots and lots of Mexican food- LOTS! Chile Rellenos (stuffed poblanos) are one of my favorite things to order! 

Ingredients:
- 4 poblano peppers
- 1 can of black beans
- 1 cup of frozen corn
- 1 cup of salsa
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 1 packet of taco seasoning
- shredded cheese (we actually used queso)
- chopped cilantro

Directions:
1) Prepare the peppers. Slice them in half and remove the seeds and ribs.
2) Place the peppers in a baking dish, skin side up. Broil about 7 minutes, then flip the peppers and broil about 7 more minutes. After about 14 minutes, check the peppers and continue cooking until desired softness. Peppers should be slightly tender but still a little crunchy.
3) While the peppers are broiling, brown the meat and then add then taco seasoning, black beans, corn, and salsa.
4) Mix in some cilantro to the meat mixture and then spoon some on top of the peppers. Top with cheese. Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

Restaurant Style Steaks

I saw this post on a food blog and I thought it was so interesting! I have eaten at many "fancy" steak houses and I have always noticed how different their steaks taste from home cooked steaks. I knew they used a different method-- but I didn't think that cooking them in a cast iron skillet was the trick. But it is! Jason and I decided to try it. We were skeptical at first but oh my! This was delicious. And surprisingly so easy. The steaks came out so tender and full of flavor. They really did taste just like a steakhouse. Sometimes I really want that backyard, grilled taste. But other times I want more of the steakhouse taste and I'm so glad we tried this! We will definitely make this again.

Ingredients:
- 2, 8 ounce filet mignons
- 4 teaspoons of kosher salt
- 4 teaspoons of freshly ground pepper
- 1 stick of butter
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon of parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon of thyme, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Directions:
1) Take 1/2 stick of butter, softened, and mix with garlic, chopped herbs, and lemon zest. Form into a log and refrigerate.
2) Generously season the filets with the salt and pepper, approx. 1 teaspoon of each per side.
3) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then heat the other 1/2 stick of butter and olive oil in a cast iron skillet to a screaming hot temperature (on the stove).
4) Sear the filets in the pan for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until a nice brown crust has formed. While the steak is searing, continue to spoon the residual butter in the pan on top of the meat while it's cooking.
5) Once both sides are seared, place the entire skillet in center of the over for about 8 minutes, depending on how thick your steaks are. 8 minutes will give you about a medium steak.
6) In the last minute of cooking, take the log of butter and slice a nice thick piece to place on top.
7) Voila! It's that simple. Really. And so, so delish!

  Get Cookin'!

Crock Pot Monday: French Dip Sandwiches

Yay! I'm finally out of the "gross crock pot recipe" slump! This recipe was so easy and really good! I found it on Pinterest (of course). Here is the link for the original post. I thought it was going to be too salty because of all the salty liquids- but actually I think it was seasoned well. I just added a little extra spice. We had a lot left over so tomorrow I'm planning on straining off the liquid and mixing in some BBQ sauce- instant chopped beef sandwiches! Super easy and delish way to reuse the leftovers!

Ingredients:
- 2-3 pounds beef chuck roast
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 can of beef broth
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1/4 cup of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon of Dijon or Creole mustard
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- submarine rolls
-  salt and pepper

Directions:
1) Place the onions in the slow cooker.
2) in a small bowl, whisk together the beef broth, water, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and garlic. Pour over the onions.
3) Season both sides of the beef with salt and pepper and place on top of the onions.
4) Cook on low for 7-9 hours or until beef is falling apart. Remove beef from liquid, shred with two forks, and then return to liquid.
5) Serve on submarine rolls with provolone cheese and jalapenos. Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

Grilled Meatballs

I saw this recipe online and I thought it was a neat idea. Perfect appetizer for a "grill-out." I was a little nervous about how the ground beef would cook without totally burning the bacon- but it was fine and both Jason and I ended up really enjoying these!

Ingredients:
- lean ground beef
- bacon
- 1 red onion, chopped fine
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped fine
- 1/2 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs
- seasoning: Montreal steak seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, Tony's, garlic powder
- You will also need toothpicks

Directions:
1) Soak the wooden toothpicks in water while preparing the meatballs.
2) Spread the ground meat out on a plate and sprinkle the breadcrumbs over it.
3) Add the seasoning, onion, and jalapeno and mix altogether.
4) Roll 2 inch (approximately) meatballs and wrap with bacon- use a toothpick to secure bacon.
5) Grill for about 10 minutes, or until bacon is crisp.
6) Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

Crock Pot Monday: Shredded Beef Tacos with Roasted Poblano Salsa

Not a good picture. But these were the BEST. TACOS. EVER.

I cannot believe how simple this recipe was. The meat was so tender and full of flavor, and the salsa was DELISH!

Ingredients for Meat:
- 2 pounds of boneless chuck roast
- 1/2 small can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 1/2 package of taco seasoning
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1 can of beef broth
- garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper

Directions for Meat:
1) Combine everything in the bottom of the crock pot.
2) Add roast on top.
3) Cook on low 6-8 hours.
4) Remove from juice, shred, and return to juice until ready to eat.
5) Voila!

Ingredients for Salsa:
- 1 poblano pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1/2 purple onion
- 1 ear of corn
- juice from 1 lime
- handful of chopped fresh cilantro
- a few squirts of zesty italian dressing
- sprinkle of salt and pepper

Directions for Salsa:
1) Cut open the poblano pepper and red bell pepper and take out the seeds. Cut the purple onion into rings. Shuck the ear of corn.
2) Place on grill (or you can use a grill pan) for 3-5 minutes per side.

3) Remove from grill. Dice everything up and add cilantro, lime juice, italian dressing, and seasoning.

4) This was so delish on the tacos! And it was great with chips as a dip, too!

  Get Cookin'!

Crock Pot Monday: Taco Soup

I've eaten taco soup before but it wasn't cooked in a crock pot. This was really good and super simple! Just dump everything in and cook on low for 6-7 hours. It turned out a little thicker than regular taco soup- so next time I think I will add a little more liquid. The beer gave made the soup a little tangy- a great addition!

Ingredients:
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 can of black beans, drained
- 1 can of white beans, drained
- 1 can of fiesta corn, drained
- 1 (8 ounce) can of tomato sauce
- 1 can or bottle of beer (12 ounces)
- 1 can of rotel
- 1 package of taco seasoning
- 1/2 pound of lean ground beef (or 1 pound of boneless chicken breasts)

Top with sour cream, shredded cheese, avocado, tortilla strips, etc. Voila!

   Get Cookin'!

Seared Beef with Snow Peas

I love, love, love Chinese food! Amen.

I saw this recipe on the Pioneer Woman's blog and I had to try it! So far everything I have tried from her blog has been so yummy. Including this beef dish! It was really easy to make and it had so much flavor! If you are a Chinese food junkie like myself- try this! Be sure to cook some roasted garlic edamame as an appetizer, you won't regret it!

Tonight was the first time I have cooked with fresh ginger, flank steak, and Sherry cooking wine. I was a little nervous but everything turned out great. If you would like to see step by step pictures from Ree's blog- click here.

Ingredients:
- 1 pound Flank steak, trimmed and sliced very thin
- 1/3 cup of soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons of Sherry Cooking Wine
- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon of fresh minced ginger
- 8 ounces of fresh snow peas, ends trimmed
- handful of chopped green onions
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- crushed red pepper flakes
- rice, cooked according to package
- 1 package of Sun Bird fried rice seasoning mix

Directions:
1) Cook rice and set aside. While the rice is cooking, I added a package of the fried rice seasoning mix. It turned out sort-of like fried rice. Pretty good!

2) In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, and ginger.

3) Add sliced meat to bowl and toss. Set aside.

4) Heat oil in large skillet/wok over high heat. Add snow peas and stir for about a minute. Remove to a separate plate.

5) Allow pan to get very hot again. With tongs, add pieces of meat (in a single layer) and do not flip or stir for about a minute. 

6) Then turn the meat to the other side for another minute. This will ensure that the meat gets nice and seared. My skillet wasn't big enough so I had to cook the meat in 2 batches. If the same thing happens to you, just remove batch #1 and set aside. Then add batch #2 and cook the same way.

7) Once all of the meat is cooked, add it all back into the pan with the snow peas, green onions, and the rest of the marinade. Stir well and turn fire off. The mixture will thicken as it sits.

8) Serve over rice. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes for some spice.

9) Voila! 

  Get Cookin'!

Crock Pot Monday: Stacked Beef Enchiladas

Yesterday I could not make up my mind about what I wanted to try in my crock pot today. I finally settled on this concoction. I saw this on the "Taste of Home" website and thought it looked interesting. My track record so far has, subconsciously, been this....Fine the strangest slow cooker recipe and try it! I had never heard of cooking enchiladas in the crock pot so I decided to try this out! 

Honestly, a few things went wrong with my recipe. But I know exactly what to do next time so it will turn out delish instead of just so-so. The picture above is from the Taste of Home website- my pictures didn't turn out so great (they are below). This was really hard to photograph!

One thing I didn't like about this recipe, right off the bat, was the fact that the meat needed to be cooked before assembling it in the crock pot. Isn't that the purpose of a crock pot, to just throw everything in raw? Using multiple pots means more dishes to wash = boooooo! But I put my pet peeves aside and proceeded. I will list the ingredients and directions, and then give my suggestions.

Ingredients:

- 1 pound of ground beef

- 1 cup of chopped onion

- 1 can of black beans, drained

- 1 can of Mexican corn, drained

- 1 can of rotel

- 1 handful of fresh chopped cilantro

- 2 cups of shredded cheese

- 1 can of enchilada sauce

- 6-8 flour tortillas

- seasoning ( I used garlic powder, pepper, chili powder, Greek, and Tony's)

Directions:

1) Brown meat with onions.

2) Add in the rotel, corn, and black beans. Simmer for 10 minutes.

3) In the crock pot- make layers: beef mixture, tortilla, enchilada sauce, and cheese. 

4) Repeat steps until everything is all stacked up. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours.

My Suggestions:

• Next time I will throw the raw ground meat and everything into the crock pot (except the tortillas, enchilada sauce, and cheese) and cook on low all day. Cooking before cooking is for the birds!!! Then when I get home I will spoon the mixture into tortillas, roll it up, cover it with enchilada sauce and cheese, and bake for 10-15 minutes.
• Next time I will also add bigger slices of onions and bell peppers to the meat, because I can't live without the Cajun trinity!
• If you decide to follow the recipe exactly and make layers in the crock pot... I would make sure to only cook for 5 hours. Mine cooked for about 7 and the edges were burnt.
• Overall the seasonings and combinations were good. I would't change any of that.
• My mom used to call this sort of thing "Wilderness Stew," meaning just add in whatever you have in your fridge/pantry! You can change up the beans, leave out the corn, or really do whatever to make it your own!
• This whole thing sort-of reminded me of a...casserole!! And if you read my blog frequently you know I despise casseroles! All in all...This really would be delish if the meat was rolled into the tortillas at the end.

Here are my pictures... It doesn't look anything like their picture!! 

  Get Cookin'!

Crock Pot Monday: Peperoncini Beef Brisket

Cooking with a crock pot, for me, is equivalent to opening a present because I never know what's going to come out of it. It could be something I want or something I don't. It's a surprise! I could hardly wait to get home today to peek inside my crock pot. When I pulled in the garage I could already smell my delicious creation! I ran inside like it was Christmas and I was about to open my presents! Just one look inside the crock pot and I knew the brisket was going to be DELISH. And boy what I right! 

Yesterday I searched and searched for just the right recipe for a brisket. After reviewing a few recipes I decided to pull a few ingredients from the recipes and create my own! I was laughing a nervous laugh as I was putting everything together this morning...Just because I was so unsure of the outcome! I must admit, though, that it was a little on the salty side. Just a little. Next time I will just throw in a few potatoes to absorb some of the salt. Other than that, I think this was the best brisket I have ever cooked! 

Ingredients:

- 3 pounds of trimmed beef brisket

- 1 pack of dry Italian dressing seasoning mix

- 1 pack of Lipton dry onion soup mix

- liquid smoke 

- worcestershire sauce

- 16 ounce jar of peperoncini peppers with juice

- 1 small onion, sliced

- 1 tablespoon of Heinz Chili Sauce

- 32 ounces of beef broth (get the no salt added kind)

- seasoning: garlic powder, Montreal Steak Seasoning, Tony's

Directions:

1) Cover each side of the brisket with liquid smoke and worcestershire sauce, sprinkle Italian seasoning mix and Montreal Steak seasoning on both sides, and refrigerate over night.

2) In crock pot mix together jar of peppers, onion, chili sauce, beef broth, onion soup mix, and seasoning.

3) Put brisket on top and make sure it's fully covered with the juice.

4) Cook on high for 6-8 hours.

5) Voila! 

  Get Cookin'!

Pan Fried Round Steak

I think this is the ultimate comfort food! Pan fried round steak (AKA chicken fried steak) makes me happy. Like, ear to ear grinning with all of my teeth happy! And surprisingly it is really easy to make. Serve it up with some white gravy and mashed potatoes- you will love it! You can easily fry this in a deep fryer. But I actually like to use a skillet with only a small amount of oil.

Ingredients:

- extra tenderized round steak (HEB calls it "cube steak")

- 1 cup of flour

- seasoning (about 1 teaspoon)

- 3 teaspoons of black pepper

- 1/2 cup of canola oil for frying

Directions:

1) Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.

2) Mix together the flour, seasoning, and pepper in a shallow dish.

3) Season both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper. Dip each in the flour mixture, pressing to coat with as much flour as possible.

4) Fry pieces of steak in oil. Flip when sides are deep, golden brown and cook for about 1 minute on the other side.

5) Remove and indulge yourself in this delish creation!

     Get Cookin'!

Slow Cookers- Not Just For Queso!

If you do not own a slow cooker- go buy one! I absolutely love the idea of "set it and forget it." Slow cookers make preparing meals virtually effortless. I usually leave mine on low all day while I'm at school. The seasonings have ample time to set and so the meals are always full of flavor! Many times I have thrown a variety of ingredients in my slow cooker in the morning and that evening I ate something delish!

Some of my favorite things to cook in a slower cooker are: roasts, any type of beans, pulled pork, brisket, potato soup, spaghetti, just to name a few! There are tons and tons of recipes and meals that can be cooked in a slow cooker. A good friend of mine follows this blog for slow cookers- check it out by clicking on the link below:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2007/12/alphabetical-listing-of-recipes.html

This morning I started a beefy vegetable stew. I know what you're thinking- it's 105 degrees outside! But for some reason I was craving something hearty.

Ingredients:
- 1 package of McCormick's beef stew seasoning mix
- 1 package of McCormick's brown gravy mix
- 1 package of Lipton's dry onion soup mix
- 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
- 32 ounces of beef broth
- chopped fresh veggies: garlic, onion, bell pepper, celery, baby carrots, baby red potatoes
- 3/4 pound of extra lean beef tips
- seasoning to taste: garlic powder, black pepper, thyme, greek seasoning, tony's, etc.

Cook on low all day- serve over rice!

     Get Cookin'!

Backyard Bourbon Steaks

I got the idea for this steak marinade from Paula Dean. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical of the ingredients- but it was so good! We used ribeyes, but you can use any cut of beef! I think chicken would be delish in this marinade, too.... I might have to try that!

Marinate steaks in:
- 1 cup of bourbon
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 2/3 cup of soy sauce
- 1/2 cup of lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup of chopped, fresh cilantro

We grilled the ribeyes on a gas grill for about 5 minutes on each side. Super quick and easy!

     Get Cookin'!

Jalapeno Sliders

To celebrate Memorial Day, I wanted to share a new grilling recipe we created that's great for company! I have to give 100% of the credit for this recipe to Jason. It was totally his idea! We call them "sliders" instead of "burgers" because we make 4 or 5 patties out of 1 pound of ground beef. To give them a little extra kick, Jason seeded a fresh jalapeno, diced it up, and mixed it into the beef. We just love spicy food and so we add jalapenos to just about everything! As I'm sure you know, all of the heat of a jalapeno comes from the seeds. So if you remove all of the seeds, the jalapeno tastes similar to a bell pepper. We wanted to have a hint of spice so along with the diced jalapeno, we added a few of the seeds back into the beef.

We marinate the ground beef for about 15-20 minutes in the following:
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Garlic Powder
- Tony's
- Montreal Steak Seasoning (LOVE this stuff!!!!)
- Black Pepper

Then he grilled the burgers until they were fully cooked. Here is a picture of the patties right off the grill:

You can see the pieces of jalapeno and the seeds! These sliders are so good- try them and you will see!

     Get Cookin'!