Roast Beast in the crock pot

Another really simple one...

Chuck Roast

Canned French Onion Soup

Dry Onion Soup Mix

Potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, any veggies you like

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If you want to get fancy, brown your roast in a hot pan before adding it to the crock pot. I never do. Mix together the two onion soups. Pour over meat and veggies in the crock pot.

Cook on low for 8-12 hours.

Makes GREAT gravy!!! 

One can of French Onion Soup

Chuck Roast. Yes, it's frozen. I forgot to take it out last night. :)

One packet of dry onion soup.

Mix the wet and dry soups. Do not add water. 

Put veggies into the bottom of the crock, meat on top. Veggies dry out if they are above the meat.

Pour soup over the top and spread around evenly.

Ten hours later....

On the platter, ready to serve, with gravy on the side. Add a loaf of crusty French bread and you're ready to roll! :)

Flat Iron Steak

With sweet cooked onions.

Flat Iron Steak is a relatively new cut of beef. It comes from the shoulder of the beef steer. It looks a lot like a brisket, and like a brisket has a good amount of marbling. I have heard that it can be a tough cut of meat. But honestly, I've never found that to be the case. I don't think I do anything particularly special to it. I'll show you...

Flat Iron Steak, enough for your family
A couple good sized onions.
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When choosing your steak, the packaging generally only allows viewing on one side. Look for nice even marbling, but no wide swaths of grizzly looking filament. That will be tough and chewy, just thin stripes of fat nothing else. I have not found that thinner or thicker steaks are not any more tender than the other. Feel free to choose the weight that would feed your family. I usually buy two. I have two hungry teenage boys. We have leftovers, but that's okay. :) It's great tossed on a salad the next day, or sliced up for steak and eggs.

Sprinkle the steak with your choice of spices. I prefer nice coarse grind black pepper, rosemary and thyme. Feel free to use what you like. McCormick also makes a very nice Western Steak seasoning that is quite tasty. It has dehydrated onion and garlic though, and that upsets my hubby's tummy. Allow to sit with spices while you prepare your onions and other dishes.

Slice onions and get them into a saucepan with about 1/2 cup water and a few pats of butter. Bring to simmer, cover, and let it cook while you work on everything else.

I'm also making some Ramen noodles with Bonito soup base flavoring. Ramen only take a moment to cook, so they are just at the ready, not in the pot.

You can grill outside on your grill or cook indoors with a convenient grill pan to get those nifty grill lines. :)

Add oil to the pan, heat the pan and lay the meat in. Cook on a high heat until the internal temperature registers 130 -140F degrees on an instant read thermometer. Stick the thermometer down the end, like you were sticking a bookmark into a book. You need to give beef a little rest before slicing. 130 internal temperature will yield more rare, 140, medium rare, after a few minutes rest. Don't overcook this steak.

If you want nice criss-cross marks on your steaks flip them over front to back, like rolling over in bed, but then flip them over head to foot, like you'd sleep with your head at the foot of the bed. :)

Remove meat to cutting board and slice diagonally. I cut about 1/2 inch thick. Pour any juices that accumulate during slicing onto the serving dish. :)

Serve with cooked onions, horseradish and A1 Sauce. Noodles and crusty bread as well. A lovely meal!

Two Flat Iron Steaks

Season with spices before grilling.

Raw onions in a saucepan to cook.

Ramen Noodles and Bonito soup base concentrate. My kids LOVE it. You'll need to find this in an Asian grocery. There are a few brands. The taste difference is slight. Boil the noodles like normal, but do NOT use the dry broth mix. Save it for another use. Just add 1 tablespoon soup base liquid per package of noodles. Adjust per taste.

Onions cooking nicely.

Steaks on the stove. The lid helps keep the splattering down. High heat and oil always make for a fun clean-up after dinner. It's a small price to pay for a scrumptious meal. :)

Cooking well. Getting those grill marks. Almost done... start the noodles and bread.

First steak slicing.

Both steaks on the serving platter. Pour juices from slicing onto platter.

The onions are perfectly sweet and tender. The Ramen noodles are a nice departure from the ordinary. Just drain them and add the soup base liquid, roughly one tablespoon per package of noodles. Enjoy!

Beef & Broccoli

Not spicy, but a great "make at home" version of a restaurant favorite. If you like spicy, you can add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the pan.

2 cloves garlic, smashed
Tablespoon grated fresh ginger
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
3 Tablespoons dry sherry
3 Tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon sugar
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1.5 - 2 lbs. Flank steak or other favorite beef cut, sliced thin

1.5 lbs. broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
Optional: Celery, Red Pepper, Mushrooms, Onions, all sliced.

1.5 Tablespoon cornstarch mixed into
1.5 Tablespoon cold water

Hot rice to serve
Optional: Sesame Seeds as garnish

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Mix together the first set of ingredients. Add sliced beef and allow to marinade while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Prepare your rice, if it isn't already cooking.

As I've said before, the key to Asian cooking is having your ingredients ready to put into the pan. You cut everything and have it all ready to go, ahead of starting the heat under the pan.

Trim your broccoli and set aside. Today, I also used red peppers and one rib of celery, sliced on the bias.

When everything is ready, and rice is done, or nearly done, heat your pan or wok on high heat.

When pan is hot, add beef and marinade. Cook until nearly done. Add vegetables and allow them to steam with a lid on for 5 minutes or so. When veggies are cooked to your liking, add the cornstarch/water mix and stir up until it thickens a bit. Serve over rice, sprinkling with sesame seeds as a garnish, if you like.

Beef, sliced thin.

Beef into the marinade.

3 heads of broccoli to cut up.

I cut up my broccoli so it has plenty of stem. If I cut the stems and flowers separately, no one eats the stems. Long stems get eaten!

A little celery.

A little red bell pepper.

Pan is hot, In goes the meat, marinade and all.

Beef is almost done, add veggies.

Steam for a few minutes to soften fresh broccoli.

Broccoli is tender-crisp. Make a well to add cornstarch to liquid.

Cornstarch and water mixture. Stir in well.

Serve over hot rice.

Add some sesame seeds over the top.

Doesn't that look fresh and tasty? Delicious!! And quick too!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Stuffed Peppers has been a favorite of our family for ages. This is a new way to enjoy that flavor. 

3-4 Green Peppers, cut into spoon sized pieces.
Beef broth to fill pot
1-2 Onions, cut up
White rice, about a cup or so
Ground beef 1 lb.
Ground pork 1 lb.
Paprika 1 Heaping Tablespoon
Black Pepper 1 teaspoon
Cayenne pepper, optional
Canned tomatoes, including juice
Vegeta, if you can find it, 1 Heaping Tablespoon














Brown your meats, breaking apart as it cooks. Drain away the fat. Add in vegetables, spices and broth. Simmer together about 90 minutes. Add rice the last 20 minutes. Enjoy with some nice crusty bread! 

Gather your ingredients.

Brown your meats, breaking them as they cook. 

While the meat cooks, prepare your vegetables. 

  

Add your vegetables.

Don't skimp on the green peppers, they are the star of the show! 

 Add in the canned tomatoes, broken into small pieces, but not liquefied.

Rinse the tomato juice into the soup.

Don't forget to rinse the tomato can juices in, too.

 Add water (or broth) to cover veggies.

 Add enough bouillon to make your broth. 

I'm using mostly beef with a little vegetable to account for the lack of Vegeta.

When I get to Croatia, I'll bring back a large bag!

 Spices go in now. 

 Stir it all up and bring up to boil, lower heat to simmer.

 Cover and allow to simmer for 90 minutes.

 I used a combination long and short grained rice. Use what you have. 

Sprinkle rice into the soup the last half hour of cooking time. Stir in well. 

YUM! It turned out just like I imagined!