Homemade Pot Roast/Beef Stew with Veggies (Crock Pot)

Just popping in real quick to share another delicious, crock pot recipe. You just throw everything into your crock pot and let it cook away :-). I paired my dish with some homemade, hand whipped garlic mashed potatoes with Hawaiian Rolls on the side. Enjoy!

Homemade Pot Roast/Beef Stew with Veggies

·         2 lb Chuck Roast (with a little fat for flavor)

·         1-2 Whole Onion peeled and cut in half

·         7-8 Organic Carrots peeled and chopped into 2 inch chunks

·         5 medium to small Yellow Idaho Potatoes washed peeled sliced into medium chunks

·         1 pkg McCormick Brown Gravy

·         3 cups of low sodium beef broth

·         2 sprigs of Thyme

·         2 sprigs of Rosemary

·         Salt, Pepper, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder

·         Olive Oil

Cover the bottom of your skillet with olive oil or vegetable oil; Heat it (make sure it’s good and hot), Wash-Peel-Chop onions, organic carrots and potatoes, season them with a little salt/pepper; Place them into your hot pan to cook for 5 minutes (or until brown); Remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside; Rinse your Chuck Roast and pat it dry; Season it with a good amount of salt & pepper on both sides; Sear it on both sides in the hot skillet for 5-7 minutes on each side (until brown); Place the Chuck Roast into the crock pot; In that same hot skillet pour in 1 ½ cups of Beef Broth; Add 1 pkg of brown gravy mix; Whisk the liquids and scrape the access browned bits from the bottom of the pan; Sprinkle a little onion powder & garlic powder over your chuck roast; Pour the liquid from the skillet into your crock pot; Add the veggies (onions, carrots, potatoes) thyme & rosemary; Pour the remaining 1 ½ to 2 cups of beef broth over the meat and veggies until they are covered; Turn the crock pot temperature on high for the first 3 hours and on low for the remaining 2 ½-3 hours until meat is falling apart and ready to serve. Remove the meat from the pot onto a plate and shred the beef (discard fat) and return it to the pot; Remove the sprigs of rosemary & thyme and use it for garnish J

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 5 ½ to 6 hours

Crock Pot Shredded Chicken Taco Chili w/ Homemade Cheesy Mexican Cornbread... YUM!

So it's a cold, rainy 68 degree weather day here in the Carolinas. I wanted to come up with a nice, savory-comforting type of meal for my family and this is what I came up with... My Crock Pot Shredded Chicken Taco Chili :-). I looked in my freezer and grabbed 4 boneless skinless chicken breast, frozen corn and other ingredients and created this finger licking recipe! Give it a try!

Crock Pot Shredded Chicken Taco Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 16-oz can black beans
• 1 16-oz can of chili beans
• ½ to 3/4 cup of Green/ Red/ Yellow Peppers, chopped
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 1 ½ cups of frozen corn kernels
• 1 or 2 cans diced tomatoes w/chilies (depending on the size of the can)
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• Dash of salt, black pepper or cayenne pepper
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• ¼ cup of water

Directions:

Combine beans, onion, green/red/yellow peppers, corn, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, water and taco seasoning in a crockpot and stir. Slice chicken breasts in half, season with salt & pepper and brown them with olive oil in a skillet. Place chicken on top of mixture in the crock pot and cover. Cook on high for 4-6 hours. One hour before serving, remove chicken and shred with a fork. Place the shredded chicken back into the crockpot, stir and allow it to cook for the final hour. Serve it plain or over rice, topped with sour cream, shredded cheese, fresh cilantro or crunchy tortilla chips. ENJOY! 

You can find a similar recipe on Skinny Taste (click on the word skinny taste to find that recipe)... I assure you, mine will taste much better :-)

Cheesy Mexican Cornbread
This recipe can be as simple or as complex as you'd like it to be... If you'd like to make the quick & simple version, use the recipe below:

• 1 package of corn muffin mix (Jiffy or whatever you'd like)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup of milk or Mexican Crema
• 1 can of diced tomatoes with green chili's
• 1/2 cup of Mexican cheese blend
• Jalapeno Peppers for some "kick"(optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, grease/butter your dish (I use a glass pie dish), blend all of your ingredients, poor into pan, top it with a little more Mexican cheese blend, bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

For the more time consuming version, I use the made from scratch recipe that can be found on the outside of your yellow cornmeal packaging. Prepare it per the directions and add in your tomatoes, chili's, jalapeno's and cheese.... ENJOY!

Just catching up through pictures... words are not enough

Oh my goodness! I hadn't realized the entire summer came and went since the last time I updated on this blog. To say that life has been hectic is an understatement. I've been on the go, go GO!!!! I can't even begin to share everything through words, however, I have taken a tone of pix throughout the past several months of life events so I will post them for your viewing. The include school achievements, the last day of school, soccer camps, family outings, outdoor movies by the lake, soccer tournaments, hair pix and etc... Agggggggh.... enjoy!

My son received the "Head Of School" award for maintaining a 4.0 GPA for the entire school year (6th grade). We were beyond proud of him and his accomplishments!

3v3 Soccer Tournaments throughout the summer 2014

 Summer OVERNIGHT Soccer Camps at Davidson College

 Leaving for a 4 day soccer camp

 Soccer Champs!

 Outdoor Movies By the Lake

 Family Outing at the Ball Park

 Soccer Sisters

 

Teaching the kids how to make stuffed peppers

 Back To School

This concludes pix of our previous months in a nutshell...