Beef Tostadas

As promised, here is my final meal using the SAME chuck roast we started with over a week ago.
Remember, we have now had chili, roast, stroganoff and now tostadas. That is 4 different meals using one chuck roast!
You're. Welcome. :)


Beef Tostadas

Ingredients:

remaining chuck roast(1/2-1cup)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp chili powder
2 hefty tbs refried beans
2,  8 in tortillas(flour or corn)
About 1/2 cup monterray jack cheese(divided)
sour cream
lettuce: chopped

Preheat oven to 350.
Reheat chopped beef in small skillet. Season with pinch of cumin and chili powder.
Heat refried beans in microwave. In small skillet toast tortillas on both sides over medium heat in a smidge of EVOO.
Evenly distribute beans on each tortilla coating it like sauce on a pizza. Top with beef and cheese.
Place in over and bake about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Remove, cut into "pizza" pieces and sprinkle with chopped lettuce and a dollop of sour cream!
Yum-o and easy!

Chuck Roast Stroganoff

If you haven't noticed, this is yet ANOTHER meal using the same chuck roast we used both in the chili and on its own!
This meal is probably one of my all time favorite meals and it's a leftover meal.
Serve with a fresh green veggie( I enjoy broccoli or green beans) and over egg noodles or rice.

"Leftover" Chuck Roast Stroganoff

Ingredients:

8oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup leftover roast chopped
1/2 cup leftover beef broth (this is the yummy beef juices I told you to save from the roast)
1/2 cup sour cream

Heat 2-3 Tbs EVOO in large skillet to medium heat. Add mushrooms and allow to brown 5-10 minutes. (Do Not Add Salt!)
Once mushrooms have cooked down some, add chopped beef and heat through maybe 5 minutes.
Pour in beef broth and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. (your liquid should cook down a little)
Finally stir in sour cream. Done!
Believe it or not: 4 servings!

To me, this is comfort food at it's best. :)

I am still pondering what to do with the remaining beef I have leftover, so stay tuned!

Crock Pot Chuck Roast

As promised, here is my super easy recipe for a beef crock pot roast using the same roast I used in the chili. The roast in total was about 2.75 lb and I used 3/4lb for the chili and the remaining 2lb went in the crock pot. 
This meal is proof that you can eat on a budget AND not get bored with meals. From this one roast I will have chili, roast, and beef stroganoff. I might even be able to make beef fried rice! That's 4 meals from 1 roast! 

Crock Pot Chuck Roast

Ingredients: 

2lb chuck roast
1 box beef broth
1 medium/large onion sliced
2-3 garlic cloves smashed
salt/pepper 
EVOO

Heat 2-3tbs EVOO in large skillet to medium/high heat. Thoroughly season roast with salt and pepper. Sear roast in skillet on all sides. 

• Searing is super important: it seals in all the juices in the roast and provides a lot of yummy flavor! 

Place roast in crock pot and cover with onion, garlic, and beef broth. You want the roast completely covered in liquid, so you can add water(after box of broth) if needed. 
Cook on desired amount of time. I let mine cook on the 10 hour setting. Come hour 8, your meat will be pull apart tender. 
Serve with rice and a green veggie. 
4 servings if you just want roast OR
1 roast serving, 1-2 stroganoff servings, 1-2 fried rice servings. Hot damn that's awesome! :) 

• Roasted broccoli: Toss fresh broccoli with EVOO and season with salt. Roast in oven on foil lined cookie sheet at 400 degrees about 10 minutes. 
• Jasmine Rice: Boil 2 cups water add 1-2tsp salt. Add 1 cup rice to boiling water. Cover with lid, reduce heat to low and cook for 30 min. Don't check it! Leave the lid on the entire 30 minutes. 

Forgot to take a finished product pic! Oops! 

• Save your leftover roast AND it's yummy juice. You will use both for your stroganoff the next night. 
• Shopping ahead, you will need sour cream and mushrooms to finish off your stroganoff. 
• Save your leftover rice and you are one step ahead in making fried rice! 
• If you choose to make the fried rice, you will need an egg and any veggies you like!

Stay tuned for stroganoff and fried rice posts! :) 

Em's Chipotle Beef Chili

Weather finally got a smidge cooler this weekend which inspired me to play around with a chili recipe. This recipe was inspired by one I saw made on tv that had turkey as the protein. Being a lover of a good roast I decided to incorporate a beef roast into my chili. 
Keep in mind this recipe steers away from "mini meals" and makes a good amount of chili BUT there is so much plan ahead in this recipe it is insane. Below I will make a few notes/tips that go alongside this recipe. 

• Buy a 2-3 lb chuck roast: use part for this recipe, freeze the rest for a delicious pot roast  and stroganoff
• See stroganoff recipe in older post
• Stay tuned for crock pot roast recipe(an all time favorite!)
• Buy 1 lb ground beef: freeze 2/3 for a hamburger, taco meat, or protein for another soup
• Buy ziploc twist and seal round storage containers: these provide a perfect way to save/freeze leftover chili. One container is a perfect serving size- A GREAT go-to lunch or dinner any day of the week! 
• Use a crock pot! If making for a work night, prep all of it the night before, place crock pot pot in fridge, then simply turn on in the morning. Get home to a yum-o chili ready to eat! 
• Food process all of your chipotle in adobo at one time. Freeze leftovers and you have chipotle puree anytime you need it! 

Ingredients: 

• 3 cans of beans(I used black, chili, and kidney)
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes(I used one with chipotle and one with garlic/onion- I don't recommend an italian spiced tomato for this recipe)
• 1 can chipotle and adobo(this is fire roasted jalepeno peppers- you can find them on the Hispanic food isle)
• 3/4-1lb chuck roast cut into bite size pieces
• 1 bottle beer of your choice.....remember you should like how it tastes as it only concentrates when cooking! 
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1/3 lb ground beef
• 2 cloves garlic
• cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips for serving

Heat large skillet to medium heat. Add 2-3 tbs EVOO. Season chuck roast with salt and pepper then sear in skillet on both sides. 

Add 2-3 peppers(or 2-3Tbs puree) to pan while meat sears. Deglaze pan with 1/2 bottle beer. Remove meat and place in crock pot. In same skillet cook ground beef. Add onion and garlic to pan as meat cooks. Place beef, onions and garlic in crock pot. Top with beans and tomatoes and remaining beer.  Cook in crock pot for however long you need.(I cooked mine for 10 hours.)

• Keep an eye on the amount of liquid in your chili. If it appears to be getting too think, add a little water. 
• The amount of chipotle you add will determine the heat/spice of the chili. I added 3 and my chili had a good "kick" to it. 
• I used whole peppers and whole garlic cloves then pulled them out of the finished product in the end. If you desire you can puree your peppers and dice your garlic. 

Serve topped with cheese and sour cream!  

Makes 4 hearty servings.

Pumpkin Truffles!!

Happy Fall Ya'll! 
The past few months have been a whirlwind, hence the lack of posts. I have changed jobs AND moved into an apartment in Savannah. I am an official Savannah resident. :) This weeks was my first real weekend "home" and I was able to play in the kitchen again. 
Last year I did some experimenting on making a pumpkin truffle and while I had many fans, I wasn't quite satisfied. Today I think I perfected it, I mean it is candy store quality. This would be a great party treat, gift, or alternative Thanksgiving dessert. 


Perfect Pumpkin Truffles 

Ingredients:

3 Tbs pumpkin puree

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice- divided(I like to make my own- cinnamon, all spice, and ginger)

1 tsp vanilla

1 bag Ghirardelli white chocolate chips

2 graham crackers crushed OR crushed ginger snap cookies!

1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 200 degrees(I use my toaster oven). Place graham cracker crumbs on cookie sheet and toss with 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice. Bake 5-10 minutes or until "toasted". In small bowl combine pumpkin puree, vanilla, and 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice. 

In microwave safe bowl, microwave white chocolate chips in 30 sec increments, stirring every 30 sec until melted. (takes about 2 minutes total)

This step is KEY or else chips won't melt properly. Stir in pumpkin mixture and graham cracker crumbs. 

Place in refrigerator until firm to touch. 

Remove from fridge and roll into tablespoon size balls. Place truffles on cookie sheet and return to fridge. 

While truffles are in fridge, work on your coating. 

In microwave safe bowl combine semi sweet and bittersweet chocolate. Microwave in 30 sec increments until melted. 

Remove truffles from fridge and roll one by one in chocolate. 

Place back on cookie sheet and sprinkle with remaining graham cracker crumbs. 

Return to fridge for chocolate to harden. 

Makes 28-30 truffles. 

Super Simple "Caprese" pasta

Quick and easy go to meal for a busy week night! You can make this meal in under 30 minutes start to finish! :)


Ingredients: 

handful of grape tomatoes sliced in half
3-4 Tbs basil pesto(I used store bought, feel free to make your own)
FRESH mozzarella diced(Yes, fresh makes a difference)
1/4 box vermicelli pasta
salt
EVOO


Fill medium sized pot half way with water and bring to a boil. Salt water!! Add pasta and cook to al dente. 
Drain pasta. 
In same pot, add EVOO over medium heat. Saute tomatoes 2-3 minutes. Add pasta and basil pesto. Stir to combine. 
Remove from heat and toss in diced mozzarella. 
Serve! 

Come on, how EASY is that?! 

Roasted Vegetable Israeli Cous Cous

Hey friends! Long time no blog! 
Since my last post, I have worked in Maine(had good ol' camp food all summer) and moved to Savannah! Wooo!! I haven't made anything extravagant yet, but I have made a few quick and delicious meals my first work week. :) While I don't enjoy the texture of regular cous cous, I love israeli cous cous. It is much larger and more of a texture like pasta. Make sure you look at this recipe as a guide, feel free to roast whatever veggies you like/are in season. 

Ingredients: 

(veggies of your choice, the following are what I used)

1/2 regular eggplant or 1 japanese eggplant, rough chop
2-3 small sweet peppers(Publix sells a bag of red, yellow, and orange peppers that are yummy)
1 ear of corn, corn removed
1 zucchini, rough chop
handful of grape tomatoes
1 log goat cheese of your choice(feta would be good too, or you could omit cheese)
EVOO
4 Tbs cumin
salt/pepper
1 box Near East israeli cous cous


Preheat oven to 425. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil. Pour yourself a glass of wine. :) 
Follow box directions to prepare cous cous. I added 2 Tbs cumin to water when boiling. 
In bowl toss all veggies with EVOO to coat, along with cumin, salt and pepper. Place on aluminum foil lined baking sheet. 
Bake 20-30 minutes or until appear roasted. 
Cut goat cheese into small chunks. (I used Publix garlic and herb goat cheese)
In large bowl toss veggies with cous cous and goat cheese. 
Enjoy! 

Just as good reheated for leftovers. I think it would be great with any protein too! Grilled chicken, steak, salmon, white fish, pork, etc.