Mandy and Jace

This recipe was beyond easy and was very good. I threw everything in the crock pot before I went to work one day and it was ready to eat by dinner time. It can’t get much easier than this! I got the recipe from my faithful Pioneer Woman. If you haven’t looked through her blog yet, please do. She has amazing recipes that are right up our alley here in West Texas. She uses simple ingredients, that I usually have on hand, so when I need a recipe fast I always run straight to her.

Here’s what you will need: chuck roast, beef broth, italian seasoning, a jar of pepperoncini peppers and salt.

Put the roast in the crock pot with a liner. I love the crock pot liners. You just throw them away when you are done and put the crock pot up. No cleaning necessary.

Pour in about half of the carton of beef broth. You may use the rest at the end depending on how big your roast is.

pour in 3 tablespoons of Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of water

and half the jar of pepperoncini peppers with the juice

If the liquid isn’t just over the roast add more beef broth. This is what it should look like. Cook for 6-7 hours

Pull the meat out of the crock pot. Don’t get rid of the juice. You will need it.

With two forks shred the beef

Put it on the bread of your choice

Top with the cheese of your choice. I really like the colby jack

Ladle some of the liquid in the crock pot into small bowls…

and serve.

Slow cooker drip beef sandwiches
1 beef chuck roast. Around 2-4 pounds
1/2 carton beef broth
3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 jar pepperoncini peppers with juice
Bread
Cheese

Put the chuck roast into the crock pot. All all other ingredients on top of it. If needed top it off with beef broth. Cook for 6-7 hours depending on the size of your roast.
Pull the meat out of the crock pot and shred it with two forks. Put the beef on your bread and top with cheese.
Ladle cooking liquid into small bowls and serve with the sandwiches.

I had to double this recipe to cover all of the cupcakes that the recipe from yesterday makes. I got the recipe from a website called Joy the Baker. I have used tons of her recipes and they have all been amazing. She has a killer pancake recipe that I used and I will never go back to store bought mix. Here’s the icing recipe.

Sift 2 cups of powdered sugar and place in your mixing bowl.

Put 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter in the mixer too and mix with the paddle attackment on medium speed until the butter and sugar mixes.

In another bowl combine 2 tablespoons of whole milk

and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Stream the milk mixture into the butter and sugar mixture. Once it is all in turn the mixer up to high and beat for about five minutes.

Spread or pipe the frosting onto your cupcakes.

Vanilla buttercream frosting
adapted from Joy the Baker
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sift 2 cups of powdered sugar and place in your mixing bowl. Put 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter in the mixer too and mix with the paddle attackment on medium speed until the butter and sugar mixes.

In another bowl combine 2 tablespoons of whole milk and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Stream the milk mixture into the butter and sugar mixture.

Once it is all in turn the mixer up to high and beat for about five minutes.

Remove icing and spread or pipe the frosting onto your cupcakes.

These turned out really well. They are very chocolaty with just a hint of root beer and the butter cream icing is nice and sweet. I got the recipe from this book. The recipe was for a bundt cake and I thought cupcakes would be better. I have to say I like the cupcakes much better than the whole cake. Here’s how I made them.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and put liners in your muffin tins.

In a small pot pour in 2 cups of root beer

and 1 cup of dark unsweetened cocoa powder

and 1 stick of unsalted butter.

Cook over medium heat until the butter is melted.

It will come together quite nicely. Resist the urge to lick the spoon, since it still doesn’t have any sugar. Again, I learn things the hard way.

Move the chocolate mixture into a mixing bowl and add 1 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar. Stir until the sugars dissolve and let it cool a bit.

While that is cooling use another bowl to whisk together 2 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

and 1 teaspoon salt and set aside.

In a small bowl crack two large eggs

Pour the eggs into the cooled chocolate and root beer mixture and stir until combined.

Combine the chocolate mixture with the flour mixture and gently fold. The batter will be lumpy so be sure you don’t over mix because your cupcakes will come out tough.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake tins. I use a small ice cream scoop to ensure even filling.

Bake for about 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from tins and set out to cool.

Tomorrow, I will post the recipe for the butter cream icing.

Root beer float cupcakes
adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

2 cups root beer (not diet)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and put liners in your muffin tins.

In a small pot or sauce pan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until the butter melts. Move the mixture to a bowl and add the sugars. Whisk until dissolved. Let the mixture cool.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs together then add them to the chocolate mixture. Stir until combined. Combine it with the flour mixture and gently fold being careful of over-beating.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins and bake for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from tins and let cool.

This recipe that I got from Food Network exceeded all of my expectations. I made it thinking that there is no way it can live up to our normal chili with meat in it, but we were very pleasantly surprised when we ate it. It was great over a baked potato but there are so many other ways to use it. Sorry, I didn’t get a photo. It’s a quick moving recipe and I was also very hungry by the time I was done. If you don’t like your chili too hot you may want to use only one Serrano because they pack a lot of heat. Also, remember to wash you hands after you handle them because they will burn whatever they come in contact with. I leaned that lesson the hard way!

Vegetarian chili
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped red bell peppers
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 to 3 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and minced
1 medium zucchini, stem ends trimmed and cut into small dice
2 cups corn kernels
5 large portobello mushrooms, stemmed, wiped clean and cubed
2 tablespoons chili powder (here’s the link to make your own)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
4 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
3 cups cooked or canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup vegetable stock or water
optional for garnish
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
cooked brown rice
sour cream
diced avocado
green onions

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, and serrano peppers and cook for about 3 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally. Add the zucchini, corn and mushrooms and cook for about 6 minutes or until the veggies soften. Add the chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and stir well. Add the beans, tomato sauce, and vegetable stock, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. Garnish and serve.

I am a sucker for pizza. I love everything about it so I had to find a way to have it even when I am on the Daniel fast. This dough has no sugar or white flour but is still very tasty. I came accross this recipe on a food blog called bread and honey.

First, whisk the flour, wheat gluten and salt in a bowl.

Wheat gluten gives it the doughy texture you want in pizza dough.

In another bowl, combine a cup of warm water, honey, yeast and olive oil.

Let it sit for about 10 minutes until it gets foamy.

Dump the yeast mixture into the dry mixture and stir until it is easy to handle.

Knead for 5-10 minutes.

Spray a bowl with nonstick spray

Put the dough in the greased bowl, cover with a damp towel and let it sit for 1 hour.

The dough will have doubled in size. Punch down the dough.

Knead into a ball, let it sit for 10 minutes and roll out to the desired pizza size.

Whole wheat pizza dough
adapted from bread & honey
1 cup water
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbs. vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 tbs honey
1 tsp salt
1 packet instant yeast
2 tbs olive oil

Whisk together the flour, wheat gluten and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1 cup of warm water, honey, yeast and olive oil. Let it sit for about 10 minutes until it gets foamy. Dump the yeast mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. When it comes together to form a ball dump the dough onto a floured surface. Knead for 5-10 minutes. Spray a bowl with nonstick spray and put the dough in it. Cover it with a damp towel and let it sit for 1 hour. After an hour (it should have doubled in size) punch the dough down and knead it back into a ball. Let it sit for 10 minutes and roll out into your desired pizza thickness.