Crockpot Eye of the Round Pepper Mushroom Steak

Friday, March 30, 2012

Fork tender round steak smothered with peppers and mushrooms over rice. Slow cooked to perfection!



Crockpot Eye of the Round Pepper Mushroom Steak

6-8 small eye of the round steaks ( a tougher inexpensive steak that will work great with this recipe and fall apart after cooking in the crockpot)
2 bell peppers sliced
8 oz fresh or canned mushroom
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup Cabernet Wine or any good Red
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper
1 clove minced fresh garlic

Place the sauce, wine and spices in a bowl and mix together. Pour into greased or use crockpot liners. Place the steaks on top, add mushrooms, garlic and peppers on top of the steak. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high 4 to 6 hours. Serve with cooked pasta or rice.



Serving suggestions:

Broccoli and Cheese Casserole
Upstate Utica New York Greens Baked, Fried
Eggplant and Cheesy Casserole
Lemon Pepper Bowties
Vermicelli Peas
Herb Orzo
9

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

I decided to see how we would like Whole Wheat crusted Pizza.. Italian pizza dough, is in my blood but a healthy version is a great change of pace!  I have been pretty dedicated to eating just healthy grains lately, this will take a bit of getting use too after all these years of white flour but I really do like the fact that this really did turn out very crunchy and delicious as pizza should be with a nutty flavor instead.
3 cups lukewarm water should feel like warm to your wrist, not hot
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated fast acting yeast (2 packets)
1 1/2 tablespoons regular salt, kosher or sea salt
1 tablespoon sugar
6 1/2 cups sifted Whole Wheat Flour Extra flour for your hands while molding the dough


Make sure the water is luke warm to the touch, this is very important to the rising method.
Add yeast, salt and sugar to the water in a 5 quart bowl or a plastic container with a lid.
Mix in the flour there is no kneading necessary but I like to use the mixer since it's so much easier!  I put all ingredients in my Kitchen Aid mixer  for 10 to 20 seconds  then put the plastic wrap on the bowl and cover it. If your doing this by hand, using a large 5 quart bowl and spoon just mix till everything is uniformly combined well. The dough will be pretty stiff with using whole wheat but  that's normal.

Allow to rise. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and add a lid ( it's ok if not airtight). Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse (or at least flattens on top), about two hours.

When it's ready shape into whatever you like,  try  stretching out some of the pizza on a pizza pan or see recipes below, let rise around a half hour before baking. If your like bread shape into a loaf pan and bake a loaf of bread, let it rise around a half hour then bake in a hot preheated oven of 420 degrees until browned. Cool at least 5 minutes before eating the bread on a wire rack. For pizza bake until browned and crisp edges on the same oven temperature. Use your favorite sauce and cheese or see links below for more suggestions.

I refrigerate the unused dough and it will keep up to a week in the refrigerator. Take out as needed until it rises slightly and bake.

Idea's that can be used for making this Whole Wheat Dough: ( click on each first word below highlighted for more suggestions.

Pizza
Deep Dish Grilled Pizza
Rolls
19

Avocado Mozzarella Insalata Caprese Appetizer With Creamy Blue Cheese Balsamic Dressing

Sunday, March 25, 2012


An addictive easy appetizer you and your guests will love !







2 large roma or vine ripe tomatoes (rinsed) cleaned and diced
2 avocados (rinsed) cleaned and diced
2 cloves of garlic minced fine
Optional: calamata olives sliced or wrinkled black Italian olives
8 oz fresh mozzarella ball or already sliced mozzarella cheese rounds
Sauce:
1 cup blue cheese dressing or light sour cream (see below for recipe)
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar
Sprigs of fresh Italian Parsley or Basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Mix the blue cheese with honey and vinegar set aside.
In the meantime:
Dice tomatoes . Clean avocado and dice, plus remove seed and peel. Cut mozzarella in rounds or you can buy it already sliced, mine wasn't pre sliced. Arrange slices on serving platter, mix the diced tomatoes, avocado, garlic and olives and place on top of the cheese slices. Sprinkle with pepper.  Drizzle with sauce. Garnish with  fresh basil or parsley.





Fabulous Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing
1 cup (8 ounces) Hellmann's mayonnaise
1/2 cup (4 ounces) sour cream
2 tablespoons cold water
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
7 ounces best quality blue cheese, crumbled 

Mix all together and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving.
12

Easy Barbecued Salmon Recipe

Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Barbecued Salmon with Kentucky Bourbon is a quick way to get a sweet and spicy glaze on salmon in a hurry because it starts out with store-bought barbecue sauce with some additions to kick it up.


I usually make this sauce ahead of time and use it on salmon, chicken and it's even tasty on burgers, just brush it on whatever you're making on the grill.


It's simple to make and really gives the salmon a barbecued authentic flavor without all the fuss and not an Asian style this is totally country cowboy styled glaze.


We love salmon and are huge fans of grilling but this one can be baked, pan-fried or even air fried because the sauce is made separately.


This fish can also be made in a smoker all you have to do is set it to 265 degrees using peach, or pecan wood chips and add the glaze on top, it's super tasty.


If you love barbecued foods you may also like to try our Easy Baked Barbecued Pork Chops and for my seafood lovers Seafood and Crab Lemon Scampi recipes.


Scroll down and print off the recipe.




barbecued salmon



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Eggplant Parmesan with Penne Pasta

Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Calling all eggplant and pasta lovers, this is the best of both worlds with eggplant parmesan and penne pasta.


This is total comfort food and anyone that adores eggplant meals like I do will love this tasty delicious dish.


It is full of freshly grated cheese, tender eggplant, and homemade tomato sauce.


The flavors are perfect together!






this is eggplant with pasta and tomato sauce with cheese on top





15

Low Carb No Guilt Tortilla Pizza

Sunday, March 11, 2012
I haven’t ordered pizza for myself in years because tortillas are my go-to recipe and stand by for a quick meal.


These are inexpensive to make, anything can go on them and so much healthier!


The concept of the tortilla pizza itself is so simple, but there are a few tricks to getting a perfectly crispy, flaky crust and bubbly cheese,






16

Cake Mix Irish Cream Bundt Cake

Friday, March 9, 2012
If you love easy recipes and doctored cake mixes, then this doctored Irish Cream Bundt cake will be your favorite addition to your recipe collection.

This is a moist bundt cake made with pudding in the mix and has a sweet boiled glaze over the top similar to the classic Rum Butter Cake except this one uses Irish Cream Liqueur.

Everything about this cake is yummy, we added some chocolate chips to our batter to give this a nice addition of milk chocolate in every bite.

If you're a fan of Irish cream this cake is the perfect choice for St. Patrick's Day celebrations or even bringing to any potluck for dessert.

You don't even need to be a baker or like to bake it's that simple to make with just a few extra ingredients added to the cake mix you'll have a delicious semi-homemade Irish liqueur cake.

Sometimes we even tint the batter green for St. Paddy's Day!

Although any kind of pan can be used to bake this wonderful flavored cake, we usually use a bundt pan, but no worries use whatever you have.

For the complete recipe scroll to the recipe card below and click "PRINT".


swirly pan Irish cream doctored cake mix


16

Zuppa Di Mussels (Italian Fish Soup)

Wednesday, March 7, 2012
The first time I had Zuppa Di Mussels was in a little Italian restaurant in Central Utica, NY. the flavors of this had me hooked after the first mussel was extracted gently from the shell swimming in this tomato wine sauce.


Each mussel was a plump, meaty mollusk filled with this delicious soup-filled shell, and crusty Tuscan style garlic bread was served on the plate to dunk in the juices.


This dish was beyond delicious, and when possible we always try to use all fresh ingredients, however fresh or frozen mussels can be used for this dish along with fresh or canned tomatoes.


Either way the taste of this fish soup is fabulous and made in minutes, some of the tips are below to experience this Italian Zuppa Di Mussels in the most authentic way possible.


We even put this on our menu to celebrate Christmas Eve as this became part of the 7 Fishes as a starter to our traditional seafood meal.


For this easy recipe for mussels scroll down to the recipe card below and print this off, if you love seafood this is a great recipe to try for mussels.






14

Cacio e Pepper Pasta with Seafood

Saturday, March 3, 2012
Cacio e Pepper Pasta with Seafood is a simple pasta dish with a lot of cheese and black pepper however if you're in Italy no cheese ever goes onto the seafood only the pasta.

This cheesy and creamy Seafood Cacio e Pepe with scallops and shrimp is the perfect weeknight dish that every seafood fan loves here in America just remember if you want an authentic Italian version the seafood is made and added as a side dish not to ruin the flavor of the fish and never any cheese on seafood.

Pecorino Romano cheese, black pepper, and a little cream with any pasta you prefer is the star of this plate and with the addition of any seafood, this can be a new variation every time you make it!

This seafood creamy sauce can top just about anything from spinach to rice, and even mashed potatoes, you just need a little creativity and make whatever your family enjoys and you can create a wonderful meal made in minutes.

If you love easy meals, you found the right one and it's even delicious enough and elegant for hosting a dinner party.

Our simple step-by-step ingredients will have this on your tables in no time and with ease just scroll to the bottom of the page to print it out.


this is linguine pasta with scallops and shrimp in a cream sauce


10

Crockpot Bosc Pears in Tropical Orange Coconut Sauce Recipe with Video

Thursday, March 1, 2012


An elegant dessert for family, friends anytime that will wow them!


6 bosc pears with stems attached
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup tangerine or orange juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Grated coconut

 Slice off the bottom of each pear so they stand up straight. Peel the entire pear and  use a core remover for the center of the pears from the bottom up leaving the stems in place.


 Place pears upright in a lightly oil sprayed  4 to 5 quart slow cooker.  Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl except orange juice and cornstarch.  Pour over pears and cook for 3 to 4 1/2 hours on low or 2 to 3 1/2 hours on high (depending on the crockpot)cook until soft when pierced with a fork. If your in a hurry bake at 400 degree hot oven, until soft when pierce around an hour. Mix cornstarch and orange juice and add to the pot or pan if baking, cook till thickened around 10 minutes.
Place pear in a dish, spoon sauce over the top. Sprinkle with coconut. Add a dollop of whipped cream. Serve warm.




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