Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Beef

Busy Saturday or any day, just take a few minutes early in the day to get this meal started and walk away. Come dinner time sit down to this juicy pulled beef.

1  1/2 lb boneless blade roast
1 tbsp olive oil
3 onions, sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves, minced
1  1/2 cups beef broth
1 cup BBQ sauce
2 tbsps brown sugar
2 tbsps balsamic vinegar
chili flakes (optional)
Soft buns

Heat oil in a skillet then brown beef on all sides. This step is not necessarily needed but is worth the extra effort to give the finished product a richer flavour.

Combine the remaining ingredients in the crock pot and nestle the browned beef in. Then spoon some sauce over the top.

Cover and cook on the low setting for 6-8 hours. No peeking!

Finally, remove the meat to a plate and pull with two forks, then return the meat to the pot.

Heat through and serve on soft buns.

Serves 4

Adapted from:
http://www.dinnerwithjulie.com/2010/09/28/pulledbraised-beef-and-onions/

Braised Pork Roast with Guinness

Incredibly flavourful cooked in stout, beef broth and a little smoke...

I used a small 1 lb boneless porkloin roast but this recipe would work just as well with a nice pork tenderloin.

1 lb boneless porkloin roast
2 tbsps flour
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsps olive oil, divided
1 small onion, sliced
2 or 3 carrots, sliced
2 or 3 mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup Guinness stout
1 tbsp tomato paste
Pinch of sugar
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tsp liquid smoke 
1 tsp dry rosemary
1 tsp dry thyme

Dredge the meat in flour, salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet and brown the meat on all sides. Remove to a plate

Add another 1 tbsp olive oil to the skillet along with the onion, carrots, mushrooms and garlic. Cook 3-4  minutes. Stir in  the remainder of the ingredients and snuggle the roast down in it. Spoon some of the liquid over the roast and sprinkle with rosemary and thyme.

Place uncovered in a 375 F oven for 45 minutes to an hour.
Rest 5-10 minutes before slicing.

I served it with mashed celeriac and potatoes. Just add some cubed celeriac to the pot when boiling potatoes, about 1 part celeriac to 3 parts potatoes and mash as usual.

Pimped-Up Store Bought Spaghetti Sauce

Who doesn't like a good, rich bolognese! Oh, and easy to make with lots of veggies!

2 lbs beef/veal/pork mix (or any combination)
2 tbsps olive oil
2 tbsps olive oil (again)
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/2 cup diced celeriac
1 cup mushrooms, quartered
3 garlic cloves, minced
1  1/4 cups onion soup (or beef broth) 
1/4 cup Guinness stout (or red wine)
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 1/2 - 3 cups store bought tomato sauce (650 ml jar)

Heat 2 tbsps oil in a large skillet and brown the beef well then remove to a plate.

In the same skillet heat the second 2 tbsps of oil and add the onion, red pepper, celeriac and mushrooms. Cook for 3-4 minutes then add the garlic for another minute.

See all those brown bits on the bottom of the pan? Add the soup and stout and scrape them up into the mix. Cook on medium high heat for 6-8 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by about half. Add chili flakes, salt and pepper.

Now return the beef to the pan and pour in the prepared tomato sauce.  I used Classico Four Cheese here.

Simmer 1-2 hours over low heat until you've got this thick and chunky sauce.

Serves 4-6

Here's a link to my Spanish Rice Casserole (and my introduction to celeriac)
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2018/03/spanish-rice-casserole.html

Spanish Rice Casserole

A hearty healthy skillet meal using celeriac (for the first time!)

Celeriac !?! What the heck is this weird looking vegetable? I have seen it before but just now decided to try it after reading an interesting Instagram post by @chefbenkelly about how it can be used. 

It has the taste of celery, being celery root, with a texture similar to potato. I think I like it!

1 lb lean ground beef
1 cup diced celeriac
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced red pepper
15 oz tomato sauce
14 oz diced canned tomatoes
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of cayenne
3 cups cooked rice

Start by browning the beef, onion, red pepper and celeriac in a large skillet until there is no pink left to the beef.

Add the remaining ingredients (except the rice) and bring to a boil. Cook until veggies are tender then stir in the cooked rice and heat through. 

Love these one pot meals!

I used my No Fail Rice Pilaf recipe for the cooked rice.
Here's the link:
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2017/04/no-fail-rice-pilaf.html

And another use of celeriac...Pimped-Up Store Bought Spaghetti Sauce
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2018/03/pimped-up-store-bought-spaghetti-sauce.html

Spanish Rice adapted from https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/mom-s-spanish-rice

Giant Cookies 'n Cream Cookies

You're going to love these giant cookies!

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups (200 g bag) cookies 'n cream chips

No need to run out and buy oat flour, just whirl oats in the food processor.

Combine flour, oat flour, baking soda and salt.
In a large mixer bowl mix melted butter, brown and white sugar, vanilla and egg. Add the dry ingredients and combine well.

Fold in the cookies 'n cream chipits.

Using a 1/4 cup scoop place cookie dough balls on lined baking sheet, 5 to a sheet. Do not press down.

Bake at 325F for 15-18 minutes.

Cool on a rack if you can wait...but warm cookies are the best right?

Makes 15 giant cookies.

Recipe adapted from CosettesKitchen

Tonic Water Waffles

Whether for Easter brunch, Mother's Day or just a regular Sunday breakfast, these Tonic Water Waffles are going to be our new family favourite waffle! Crispy outside and soft and fluffy inside!

2 cups flour
2 tbsps sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
pinch or 2 of nutmeg
4 tbsps butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 - 355 ml (12 oz) can tonic water
oil for waffle iron

Note: Don't use leftovers from last night's gin and tonic, the tonic water should be freshly opened because you want the bubbles not a flat tonic.

Whisk the dry ingredients together...flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add butter, eggs, tonic water and whisk to combine.

Lightly oil the waffle iron and pour batter in, enough to fill but not overflow when closed.  It might be a trial and error thing until you find out what amount is right for your iron.

Cook as per your waffle iron's instructions, usually until the light goes out. 

Serve with syrup and fruit

You can see here just how light and airy they are!

Is it Sunday yet?

Tuscan Chicken Bake

An easy prepare ahead type of meal...as in prepare ahead for your taste buds to be taken to another level!

2  1/2 lbs boneless chicken breast (4-5 breasts cut in thirds)
1 tsp oregano
4 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
3-4 oz fresh spinach (2 big handfuls)
1 - 14 oz can artichokes, drained and quartered
1/4 cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes
2 tsps capers
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (or mozzarella)

Prepare a 13 X 9" baking dish with cooking spray and lay the cut chicken breasts on the bottom not overlapping. Sprinkle oregano, salt, pepper and the minced garlic on top. 

Layer with spinach, artichokes, sundried tomatoes and capers. I find snipping the sundried tomatoes with scissors is easier than cutting them with a knife.

Drizzle a teaspoon or two of oil from the sundried tomatoes, or plain olive oil, over everything then finally add the cheese.

Bake at 375F for 45-50 minutes...start uncovered then halfway through loosely cover the dish with aluminum foil.

Serve with mashed potatoes, rice or noodles.

Serves 4-6

I have it here with Colcannon potatoes and here's the link to that recipe if you are interested.

http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2016/03/colcannon.html

Chicken recipe adapted from:
https://easyfamilyrecipes.com/tuscan-garlic-chicken/

Irish Chicken, Cabbage and Potatoes

Potatoes, bacon and cabbage... the holy trinity of Irish food. You wouldn't expect to see chicken with it, maybe corned beef? But it works surprisingly well together.

3 chicken legs, split
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small head of cabbage (about 3 cups) chopped
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 potatoes, cut in rounds
4 slices of bacon
1 medium carrot, shredded
1/4 cup water

Rub:
1/2 tsp onion powder
1  1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp peper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika

Parsley to garnish

Mix the rub ingredients together and coat the chicken pieces. Set aside.

In a large pan fry the bacon then drain on a paper towel. You don't want to over cook it (my youngest called it "wooden" bacon if it was too crispy!) because it will be going in the oven to cook some more. Break it into pieces. Set aside.

In the same pan, and in the bacon fat, brown the chicken on all sides, then add the minced garlic. Remove to a plate and add the cabbage and 1/4 cup water to the pan scaping off the brown bits.

Layer onion slices, potato rounds and shredded carrot on top of the cabbage.

Add the bacon pieces and finally top with the chicken pieces.

Bake at 375F for 50-60 minutes.

And only one pan to wash after dinner!

Adapted from:
https://recipesfoodandcooking.com/2015/02/20/irish-chicken/

Guinness Cheesecake Brownie Parfait

Guinness and cocoa...who knew this was a match made in heaven, or maybe made in Ireland?
The brown sugar takes care of any potential bitterness there might have been from the stout leaving just a rich creamy cocoa mousse.

Ingredients:
8 oz (227 g) cream cheese
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsps cocoa powder
1/2 cup Guinness stout beer
237 ml cold whipping cream

An 8 X 8" pan of brownies  (Ideally made with Guinness or use the equivalent of an 8 X 8" in cutoffs from a previous recipe, say from Valentine's day) See at the end of this post for both a Guinness Brownie recipe and the Fudgy Valentine Brownies that I kept the cutoffs from (frozen since February of course.)

Cool Whip to top
And green sprinkles!

_______________

Before starting make sure to chill the bowl and whisk that you will use.

Cream the cream cheese, brown sugar and cocoa powder together. Once combined drizzle in the Guinness on medium speed then stream in the whipping cream. Turn up the speed and whip until peaks form and hold.

This is seriously tasty, and not beer tasting at all!.

Using pilsner glasses, you know because they're beer glasses, start layering the cheesecake mousse and cake.

Top with cool whip, like the froth on your Guinness, and some green sprinkles.....

"My goodness, My Guinness!"

Happy St Patrick's Day! 

Adapted from this mousse recipe:
https://bakingamoment.com/no-bake-guinness-chocolate-cheesecake-mousse/



Here's the Fudgy Valentine's Brownie that I kept the cutoffs from for this recipe:
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2018/02/fudgy-valentines-brownies.html

And if you want double the Guinness in your Parfaits go for this Guinness Brownie recipe!

https://www.jocooks.com/baking/squares/mile-high-guinness-brownies-guinness-buttercream-frosting/

Potato Fish Cakes

When the fam doesn't really like fish and you need to try different ways of making it to get them on board.  This worked!

400 g white fish (I used basa)
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
1 small onion sliced
1 cup milk

3/4 cup mashed potato (plain, no milk or butter)
1 tsp dry parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 tbsps flour (if needed)

1/4 cup flour
1 egg
few drops of hot sauce like tabasco
1/2 cup panko crumbs

3 tbsps mayo
1 tsp relish
1/8 tsp paprika

In a saucepan simmer milk, pepper and onion together for about 5 minutes, then add the fish and simmer for another 7-10 minutes to poach the fish. 

Remove the pan from heat and allow the fish to cool in the milk.  Once cooled remove the fish and reserve the milk.

Flake fish in a large bowl. Add the potatoes which I "riced" through a colander with the back of a spoon, since I don't own a ricer.

Stir in the parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and egg.

Combine to form patties. If your mixture is too wet add a tablespoon or so of flour. If it is too dry add a little of the reserved poaching milk. You can make a bechamel sauce with the balance but my gang wouldn't have liked that. 

Now to bread them...have the flour in one bowl, the egg and tabasco in another and the panko in a third.  Dip each pattie in flour, then egg, then panko to coat.  

When ready to fry heat a few tablespoons of oil in a frying pan on medium heat and fry the patties 3-4 minutes each side.

Mix the mayo, relish and paprika together to serve as a quick tartar sauce. With a side of fries please!