I have been married to a wonderful Christian man since 1976. The Lord has blessed us with two daughters and two sons. I consider each day the Lord gives me on the earth yet another chance to serve Him.

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Beef Tips and Noodles

You can put this over noodles, rice, mashed potatoes or just eat as is.  Easy to make.  I like making it in my instant pot, because it quicker.




BEEF TIPS AND NOODLES

(serves 4)

Ingredients:
*2 pounds sirloin steak (roast or stew meat)
*1 cup all-purpose flour
*1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
*1 1/2  tablespoons olive oil
*1 1/2 tablespoon butter
*1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
*2 garlic cloves, minced
*1 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped (optional)
*1 teaspoon ground black pepper
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1/2 teaspoon rosemary
*1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
*1/4 teaspoon ground sage
*1 bay leaf
*2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
*1 tablespoon soy sauce.
*4 cups beef stock (can use water with 1 tablespoon beef better than bullion)
*1 bag of egg noodles, cooked and drained just before beef tips are done

Directions:
~Cut Steak into bite size pieces.
~In a gallon size bag, add flour, paprika and 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper.
~Place steak into bag and shake until evenly coated.
~In a dutch oven, heat olive oil and butter over high heat.
~Remove steak from bag and shake excess flour off.
~Place steak into hot pan, stirring often to brown meat on all sides (3-5 minutes).
~Add onions, and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
~Add garlic and mushroom, cook for another 1-2 minutes (don't let garlic burn).
~Add 1/2 cup beef stock to deglaze pan, by scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
~Add pepper, salt, rosemary, thyme and sage.  Stir until mixed in.
~Add Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, remaining beef stock and bay leaf
~Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.
~Cover and simmer for 2-3 hours.
~If mixture is not thick enough, add about 1 tablespoon cornstarch to 1/2 cup cold water.  Mix into gravy and stir until thick.
~Cook noodles in hot water until done (I do this about 15 minutes before the meat is done cooking).
~Plate noodles and spoon beef tips and gravy over noodles.

***If making in instant pot: Do everything the same using the sauté mode up until the recipe calls you to simmer.  Then you pressure cook for 16 minutes.  Allow a slow release for 10 minutes.  Sauté once again to add corn starch mixture. 

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Key Lime Pie

Super easy to make.   I make the graham cracker crust from scratch, but you can buy one to make it easier.   The key the best flavor is to make this several hours ahead of time.  If you make it and eat it right away, it can tend to be to tart.
                 
                             (Please excuse how the crust looks.  The babies were helping me)


KEY LIME PIE
(serves 8)

Ingredients:
*1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 1 sleeve of graham crackers)
*1/3 cup granulated sugar
*6 tablespoons butter, melted
*5 egg yolks
*2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
*1 cup fresh squeezed key limes (about 30) or use store bought key lime juice
*zest from one lime (or use zest from a couple of the key limes)

Directions:
~Preheat oven to 375 degrees
~In a large bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter until well blended.
~Press into the bottom (I also like to bring it up the sides) of a 8 or 9 inch pie plate.
~Set aside.
~In a large mixing bowl, mix egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and key lime juice until well blended.
~Pour into graham cracker crust.
~Bake 30 minutes.
~Cool for 20-30 minutes.
~Sprinkle lime zest over pie.
~Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 5 hours.


`Can top with dollops of whip cream if desired.




Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Fried Potato-Bacon Cheeseburger Roll Up

I love the crispness of the potatoes and the gooey cheesy melted through out the meat.   A little time consuming, but very easy to make.  As you can see from the photo below, sometimes it breaks apart.  That's okay, it's still very good.




FRIED POTATO-BACON CHEESEBURGER ROLL UP
(serves 6)

Ingredients:
*1 pound bacon, cooked & crumbled
*6 medium-large potatoes, peeled
*2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
*2 teaspoons salt
*4 tablespoons olive oil
*1 sweet onion, chopped
*1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
*1 pound ground beef
*2 large tomatoes, diced
*1 tablespoon dried parsley
*1 teaspoon dried oregano
*1/2 teaspoon dried basil
*1/2 teaspoon paprika
*1 teaspoon ground black pepper
*1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
*6 cups fresh spinach
*3 cloves garlic, minced
*1 cup ricotta cheese
*1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:
~Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
~Cut peeled potatoes into 1/8 inch thick slices.
~Place parchment paper on a baking sheet.
~Sprinkle 1 cup of parmesan cheese evenly over parchment paper.
~Place potatoes over top of the parmesan cheese so each potto is overlapping the previous potato. Do this both vertically and horizontally, filling entire pan.
~Sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese over top of the potatoes.
~Sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt over potatoes.
~Bake for 45-55 minutes, until potatoes are a golden brown and are flexible and a little crispy.
~In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.
~Cook onions, stirring often until onions have caramelized.
~Remove onions into a small bowl.
~ Add chopped green peppers  cook for 2-3 minutes.
~Put caramelized onions back in pan, garlic and the ground beef.
~Break up ground beef as it cooks.
~Cook until ground beef is browned.
~Add chopped tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, parsley, oregano, basil, paprika and pepper.
~Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
~Remove pan from heat.
~In another skillet, heat up remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil
~Add spinach to pan and cook until wilted.
~Remove from heat.
~In a bowl, combine the spinach and ricotta cheese together.
~Set aside.
~Spread spinach mixture evenly over the cooked potatoes.
~Spread beef mixture evenly over top of the spinach mixture.
~Sprinkle crumbled bacon evenly over beef mixture.
~Sprinkle mozzarella over bacon.
~Take the long end of the potato sheet holding at the parchment paper and begin rolling, making sure the mixture is not falling out of the ends.
~Bake for another 20 minutes.
~Slice and serve while hot.