Pot Roast

This is an easy recipe you can throw together and let cook all day in the crock-pot while you're at work or doing something more fun than slaving in the kitchen! It's so delicious. Pair it with mashed potatoes and peas and it's perfect for a cold fall night.

Pot Roast

2-4 lb. beef chuck roast

1 medium onion

1/2 bag baby carrots

S&P

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup water

Spray crock-pot with cooking spray. Place carrots in bottom and roast on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roughly chop onion and layer on top of roast. In a separate bowl, mix together soup, soy sauce, and water and then pour over onions and roast. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

When you're ready to eat, take everything out of the liquid. To make gravy out of the sauce, pour the liquid into a saucepan and heat on medium-high heat. Mix together 2 Tbs. corn starch with 1/2 cup water and pour into sauce. Stir until mixed well then let simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened.

Hashbrown Casserole

This is a recipe that was introduced to me by my sister-in-law Katie, and it has quickly become one of my favorite things to make. It was originally made for a baby shower brunch and I think it's meant to be a breakfast food, but I have recently been making it as a side for dinner. The best part is that it's so easy to put together and can be made ahead of time. 

I usually halve the recipe for a smaller amount, which still feeds 2 people with lots of leftovers.

Hashbrown Casserole

2 lb. frozen hashbrown potatoes

2 cans cream of potato soup

8 oz. sour cream

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup milk

8 oz. grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

butter

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Mix together all ingredients except parmesan cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Spread in a greased 9x13 baking dish, or 2 1/2 qt. casserole dish. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and dot with pats of butter. Bake, uncovered, for one hour.

**I tend to make this with low-fat or fat free ingredients, because it's just what I have on hand, and it still tastes incredible!

Banana Bread

We had a bunch of bananas that were on the verge of getting brown and we were heading out of town for the weekend, so I decided to make some banana bread so that they wouldn't go to waste. 

This recipe is actually very easy and the end product is beautiful and very good!

Banana Bread

adapted from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook, Bridal Edition

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

2 eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 cups bananas (I used 3 large bananas)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350˚F and grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Make a well in the center of the mixture and set bowl aside. In another bowl, mix together the eggs, bananas, sugar, and oil. Pour egg mixture into well of dry mixture and stir together just until moistened. The batter should be lumpy. Pour into loaf pan and bake for one hour. Allow bread to cool on a wire rack before cutting.

Fettuccine Alfredo

I love homemade alfredo sauce. You should try this recipe - it's delicious. And creamy. And cheesy.

You could easily add chicken or shrimp, or really anything else to this dish to jazz it up, but it's good all by itself and you can see in the picture that I just threw some broccoli in to add some vegetables. 

Fettuccine Alfredo

6 oz. uncooked fettuccine

2 cloves garlic, whole

1 Tbs. butter

1/2 cup whipping cream (or half & half)

3/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup asiago cheese

S&P to taste

**I added one bag of frozen broccoli

Cook fettuccine al dente. A trick I use to get more flavor into the pasta is to cook the pasta with two whole cloves of garlic - it's really good. About one minute prior to the pasta being done, add broccoli and stir until bright green. Drain pasta mixture and return to saucepot. Add butter, whipping cream, and cheese. Mix until cheese and butter are melted. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Chicken Parmigiana

This is probably one of those meals that looks deceptively difficult, but in actuality, it's pretty easy to make. Bobby Flay even said so himself.

Chicken Parmigiana

adapted from Bobby Flay

4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 cups flour

3 large eggs, beaten

2 cups panko bread crumbs

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 pound mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

salt & pepper to season

spaghetti sauce - whatever recipe you normally use

spaghetti noodles

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Season both sides of each chicken breast with salt and pepper. Beat between sheets of wax paper until thin. Place flour, eggs, and bread crumbs in separate bowls. Dredge chicken through flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. Heat oil in a non-stick skillet and cook until lightly brown, approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Place on baking sheet and top with spaghetti sauce, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until cheese has melted and chicken is done. While chicken is baking, prepare spaghetti noodles.

Pork BBQ

It's been forever since I've posted anything new.  This recipe is one of those that's really good, but also really super easy. The best kind.

Pork BBQ

3-4 lb. pork loin

2 cups vinegar

2 Tbs. sugar (white or brown)

Place pork loin with fatty side up in a crock pot. Pour vinegar and sugar over pork and cook on low for 6-7 hours. When done, take out of the vinegar mixture and place in a bowl to pull apart. Cover with your favorite bbq sauce and enjoy!

Guinness Cupcakes

Recently I've been seeing a lot of recipes for beer cupcakes or beer cakes, which I initially thought would be gross. How could beer make cake better? Well, I've figured out if you use a dark stout, like Guinness (one of my favorites...), it actually makes them more moist and cuts back on the intense sweetness that cupcakes normally have. I think this will be my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe from now on...yum.

And, to top it off - delicious vanilla bean cream cheese frosting. 

Guinness Cupcakes

adapted from here and here

2 eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup sour cream

6 Tbs. butter, melted

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

6 oz. Guinness

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

4 Tbs. butter, at room temperature

seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake papers and spray with nonstick baking spray. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs and sour cream together until well combined. Add Guinness and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add about 1/3 of the dry mixture to the wet mixture and beat with a hand mixer until smooth. Continue mixing, adding about 1/3 of the dry mixture at a time. When combined and smooth, add the melted butter and mix well. Fill the cupcake papers approximately 3/4 full and bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a separate bowl if you want to use a hand mixer), add the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla bean seeds. Mix well on medium speed. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until the mixture is completely combined and smooth. Use immediately.