Crock Pot Beef Roast

We tried this recipe yesterday and loved it. I changed the original version slightly and have posted my take on this classic dish. Great for a cold day!

Ingredients:

3-4 pound roast beef or round steak
1 onion, chopped
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 cup water
1 tbsp mustard (I use spicy brown)
1/2 cup Ketchup (Heinz)
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (Lee and Perrins)
1 tbsp gravy master
garlic powder and pepper to taste
3 tbsp Corn Starch

Place meat in crock pot. Sprinkle with pepper and garlic powder. Add chopped onion. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over meat. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove meat and slice. Add corn starch to a few ounces of cold water and mix, then add to sauce in crock pot and stir until it thickens.

Variations:

Option 1: Add 6 potatoes chopped and once pound of carrots to crock pot with meat and follow same directions for a complete meal.

Option 2: Serve meat and sauce over egg noodles.

Swedish Chef Recipe

This recipe was submitted to our blog by a "phantom" chef. Though I have not tried the recipe myself I encourage all our readers to send in feedback if they do! I have to say I am not certain if this is a recipe for froog's legs or english moofins. Perhaps our chef will write back and clarify for our readers!


Aweenda shmure da froog's legs. Börk, börk, börk!
Ingredients
1 english moofin
1 boom-boom

Directions
See de moofin? Und here mit de boome shooten!

Beef Paprika

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil
3 pounds beef cubes (cut into 1 inch cubes)
2 cups sliced onions
1 1/2 cups of Heinz Ketchup
4 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce (Lee & Perrins)
4 tbsp dark brown sugar
4 tsp sweet paprika
3 1/2 cups water
1 pound of egg noodles
4 tbsp flour
2 cloves fresh garlic

Heat oil in a large dutch oven until hot. Add half of the beef cubes, brown well. Remove from pot, add rest of beef cubes and brown well and remove. Add sliced onion and garlic to pot. In a large bowl mix 3 cups of water, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and paprika. Mix and add to pot. Add browned beef cubes. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cover. Simmer for 2 1/2 hours. After the sauce has simmered mix flour and 1/2 cup of water. Slowly add to beef mixture stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes to thicken sauce.

Serve with cooked egg noodles.

Whole Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:
3 1/2 c cranberries, rinsed and drained
1 c sugar
1 c apple cider

Directions:
Bring the apple cider and sugar to a boil.

Add cranberries for a few minutes, gently stirring occasionally until the berries pop. 

Turn off heat and wait for most of the foam to subside.

Makes 2 half-pint jars.

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe is a variation of the classic oatmeal cookie for the fall season when fresh cranberries are plentiful.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 lb butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups oats
2 cups cranberries chopped

preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Set aside. Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs, beat Stir in dry ingredients and buttermilk alternating. Fold in oats and cranberries. Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 12 minutes until edges brown slightly. Let cool on pan for five minutes then transfer to wire rack.

Cranberry Apple Cookies

This is a favorite recipe I make when fresh cranberries are in season. The original recipe came from "Cranberry Festival Recipes"...a book of winning cranberry recipes from the Chatsworth Cranberry festival.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 cup chopped cranberries
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped apples (tart)

Cream butter and sugars. Beat in egg and milk. Sift together baking powder, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in butter mixture. Stir in apples and cranberries. Drop by teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes. After 1 minute transfer and cool on a wire rack.

Ice Dragon Cake

1 box of cake mix

3 cans (16 oz. size) of white icing

1 can of Wilton blue "color mist" food color spray
3 blue colored fruit roll ups

1 bag of yogurt covered pretzels (round shape)
1 pack of bubble yum cotton candy gum (blue color)

1 marshmallow

4 chocolate chips

2 bamboo skewers

This cake I affectionately call "Flurry" was the cake for my daughter's 11th birthday. She is a dragon collector and she wanted an Ice Dragon birthday theme. The cake is very easy to make and takes approximately two hours to assemble once the cakes are cool. The following instructions will also produce a dinosaur cake as long as you skip the wings!

Cook two nine inch round cakes as per the box directions and allow to completely cool on a wire rack before cutting. Remove cakes from baking pans. Slice one of the nine inch rounds in half. Ice one of the pieces and place the other one on top. Place cake (cut side down) on the center of a quarter sheet size piece of cardboard.

For the second cake cute the round as shown in the above diagram. Assemble the cake following the diagram and ice the entire figure. Use the cap of a magic marker to indent icing to look like scales. Then use the color mist icing and lightly spray the entire cake. Cut yogurt pretzels in half and insert down the center of the cake starting at the head and ending at the tail. Cut marshmallow in half and insert one chocolate chip in each side to create eyes and pupils. Place marshmallows on dragon head. insert two more chocolate chips on the front of the dragon's snout to create a nose. Place one whole yogurt pretzel on the front of the snout to create the mouth.

Finishing touches:

-Take one fruit roll up and pinch the end. Using a pair of scissors, slice the other end into strips. Insert pinched end into dragons' mouth and curl the strips to resemble flames or swirls of ice.

-To make wing take a bamboo skewer and wrap one corner of a fruit roll up onto it. Use scissors to cut a wing shape on remaining fruit roll up. Insert skewer into back of dragon...repeat process for second wing.

-To create the ears slice a piece of bubblegum in half and sculpt an ear shape out of each piece. Insert ears behind eyes.

-Create claws by cutting up four more pieces of gum into narrow triangles and insert three slices into each of the dragon's feet.

-Glitter icing can be used to create a snow or glistening effect on claws, spikes, and fire.

Fire Dragon Cake

1 box of yellow cake mix
3 cans (16oz. size) of white frosting
2 dozen cupcake liners
10 chocolate covered graham crackers
3 marshmallows
12 pieces of candy corn
2 chocolate chips
2 junior mints or milk duds
red shoelace licorice
Wilton orange and red icing dye
Quart size Ziploc bags
Orange and yellow sprinkles


The Fire Dragon cake (I call "Sparky") was for my daughter's 5th grade class for her 11th birthday. She was very excited to bring "Sparky" into class and her friends were wowed! No cutting and easy cleanup make this the perfect cake to take to school for Chinese New Year or a special birthday!

Follow directions on cake mix to make two dozen cupcakes. Cool cupcakes completely on a wire rack before assembling. Take cupcakes and arrange on a 1/4 sheet cake cardboard bottom to desired shape as shown above. Take one can of icing and add orange dye to desired color is achieved. Ice cupcakes together to form a base layer to add more icing later. Place marshmallow sideways on the first double row of cupcakes to create the eyes. Next take remaining two cans of icing and add red dye until desired color is achieved (I used half the container of dye). Ice the top, front, and back sides of the marshmallows (leaving the outer walls white) Spoon half of remaining icing into a quart size ziploc bag. Snip one end of the bag approx 1/8 of an inch from the tip. Use the bag to frost the cake in a back and forth S shape to create a scale effect. Continue this process until the entire top of the cake is covered in scales (this will require at least two quart bags of icing).

For finishing touches:

-Place a junior mint on each white side of marshmallow to create eye pupils.
-Use candy corn on legs to create a claw effect.
-Cut graham crackers in half diagonally and place each in middle of dragons' back to create a row of spikes. Continue to tip of tail.
-Use red shoe lace around eyes and snout to create eyebrows and whiskers.
-Place chocolate chips on last snout cupcake to create nose.
-Cut remaining marshmallow into points and place one on either side of snout cupcake for teeth.
-Sprinkle entire cake with color sprinkles.

Pierogies

1 Large egg
2 Tablespoons sour cream
1 Cup milk
1 Cup Water
4 1/2-5 Cups flour
2 1/2 Pounds of baking potatoes, peeled and quartered
16 oz. Large curd cottage cheese, drained
2 Large onions
3-4 sticks of butter melted




Dough:
In a medium bowl, whisk egg. Add sour cream, and whisk until smooth. Add milk and 1 cup water, whisk until combined. Slowly add 3 cups flour, and stir with a wooden spoon or mixer until combined.
Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and work in another cup of flour and you knead. Use a plastic scraper to lift dough as it will stick to the counter before flour is worked in. Continue kneading for 8-10 minutes. The dough should be elastic in texture and no longer sticky. Do not add too much flour or the dough will toughen. Place dough ball in a lightly floured bowl and seal with plastic wrap while you make filling.

Filling:
Boil potatoes until soft. Beat in a mixer until large lumps are gone. With a wooden spoon add cottage cheese to potatoes. Chop up one onion and brown with a tablespoon of butter in a small pan. Add onion to filling mixture. Salt and pepper to taste.

Create the pierogi:
On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick (for this step I use a pasta roller on setting #2 for the Kitchen Aid). Use a round cookie cutter measuring 2 1/2 inches in diameter, cut out as many circles as possible. Gather dough scraps together and roll again until all dough is gone.
Spoon filling into middle of circle. Hold the circle in your hand and fold dough over filling, and pinch the edges to form a well sealed cresent shape. Transfer to a clean linen towel and cover to prevent drying out. Repeat process with remaining dough and filling.

Cook the pierogi:
Place pierogies in boiling water in batches (I cook 6 at a time). They will sink at first then rise to the top of the water. Once they rise, cook for approximately one minute. Meanwhile melt butter and drizzle on serving platter. Remove from pot and transfer to platter, then drizzle top with butter.

Frying variation:
After boiling pierogies place in a pan with melted butter and cook for 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving platter when done. Chop one large onion and fry in butter until brown. Serve on top of pierogies.

Applesauce and sour cream are traditional sides to this classic dish.