Cheesesteak Roll Ups

Hey friends!  Hope this finds you all happy, and hungry!  I am so happy spring is here, it just sheds a whole new light on life, doesn't it?

I have been craving cheesesteaks from home.  Yes Midwesterners they are cheesesteaks,  not Phillies.  The Phillies are my favorite baseball team but, cheese steaks are what you eat my friends!  LOL  I had to get that in there.

I decided to work my cheesesteak a different way.  These are so easy, they can be made ahead and they so "fancy Nancy".  Your friends and family will think you about killed yourself making them.  I wanted to find a use for minute/cube steaks other than chicken fried steak, which is literally all I use them for.  I served these with crusty seasoned bread and some Parmesan pasta and it was a hit! 

If you want to half the recipe please just half everything, I was cooking for company so I used 8 steaks.

You will need:
8 minute steaks
olive oil
2 small onions sliced thin
4 bell peppers sliced
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
8 sliced of provolone cheese
8 slices of white American (which is actually an American and Swiss blend)
You can use double of one if you don't want both.

In a separate dish mix together:
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
black pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray, set aside.  In a large skillet add in your drizzle of olive oil.  Now toss in your onions and peppers. 

Let sauté for 3-5 minutes, then add in the Italian seasoning. garlic and salt.  Cook another 2 minutes and remove from heat.  Let cool 10 minutes. 

In the meantime, take your cubed steaks and using a meat mallet, pound them a bit thinner.  Yes, I am serious, just a wee bit.  Now take each steak, add the cheese to the middle, and some of your onion and pepper mixture and roll it up.  You don't need to toothpick it or anything, just repeat with all steaks.  Now sprinkle with your little seasoning blend of Italian seasoning, salt and pepper!

If you end up with leftover filling, put it in a bowl and save it for the top.  Use the same skillet to brown your roll ups for about 2 minutes on each side until browned.  Remove and place into your baking dish.

Place any leftover filling on top and bake for 25-30 minutes!!
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I hope you give them a try!

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Italian Style Stuffed Peppers

Ok so here is the scenario.............

You are invited to your kids house for dinner.  Your daughter in law and son are both good cooks.  But when you walk in the house  you just know THIS time is going to be different.  You sit down to dinner, and literally moan and groan over each bite of deliciousness.  This is what happened to me. 

My daughter in law and I have a great relationship.  Shocked? HA!  Oh we butt heads, we disagree, but, I just adore her strength, her mothering, her sense of humor, she is just a delight.  (sometimes a sick little delight) ROFL  Anyway, she was kind enough to tell me how she made these stuffed peppers and said that her mom-mom (eastie speak for grandma btw) has made these for years, ths way. 

I am not sure I recall my mom ever making stuffed peppers, I only had eaten them as an adult.  And I have a strange relationship with bell peppers.  If they are cooked, I want them to resemble mush.  If they are warm and crisp tender, I might hurl.  Cold and crispy or hot and soft.  Those are their only chance with me!  Kayla had said she left hers in to long, psshhh......not a chance, they were perfection!  My measurements and such may not be the same as hers but I got the whole idea and made them to share with you. 

I like the idea of the Italian style, I served mine with a little pasta and that heavenly sauce that took on the roasted pepper flavor, was nectar from the Gods.  It tasted VERY much like my Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Marinara.  It was like a meatball, in a smooshy pepper, on some pasta, topped with this sauce, and my goodness was it a delight.

Make these, in your SLOW COOKER!!  I swear it is what this kitchen appliance was MADE for!

This recipe makes 6 peppers.  I used a couple of different colors, for interest.  But next time, I am sticking with green on this one, not generally what I would choose but they hold up the best in my opinion!

You will need:

2lbs lean ground beef
3/4 cup regular rice (not minute)
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
6 bell peppers
4-6 cups of your favorite marinara/spaghetti sauce

In a large bowl combine ground beef, rice, Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  Get your hands in there, become one with your food!! Mix until completely combined.  Set aside.

To prepare your peppers, cut the tops off, just beneath the stems.  Use a spoon to scrape out the sides and membranes (the white stuff), rinse and repeat. 

Now start stuffing.  This will depend on size, but I had exactly the right amount of stuffing to exactly fill all 6 peppers.  You can take some, add some, whatever you need to do to fill your peppers. 

Spray the inside of your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray, it just makes clean up easier.  Place the peppers in the crock pot, and pour over your spaghetti sauce.  Make sure each is topped with sauce and there is some standing in the bottom.  Put the lid on and cook for 4 hours on high or 6-8 on low.  Now by all means, don't cook these quite as long if you want a more crisp pepper.

Serve with some crusty bread, or pasta, or both!  These are a delicious version of stuffed peppers and I do hope you give it a try!

Thanks Kay for your recipe!  Love you toots!

ENJOY!

Homestyle Creamed Corn



Hello friends!  How are your gardens?  Anyone have amazing farm markets?  Actually any farmers market is amazing, isn't it?  I told you I was on a farmer's market kick!  If we go to the work to grow all of this produce, we must have great recipes to use them on, right?

 I must admit, (hanging my head) I kind of dig creamed corn in a can.  Don't judge.   However, I had never tried to make it homemade.  Oh for heaven's sake, homemade creamed corn is an entirely different bird people!  I don't do fancy and hard, you all know that.  I am a real woman with a real family, and I blog, what we eat, we eat what I blog.  Plain and simple.  I knew if I could make some amazing creamed corn, I would be a rock star.   This was so thick, and so delicious and such a huge beginners luck dish!  I usually have to test a recipe a few times, to get it just how I want it.  I got the "do NOT mess with this one" vibe after eating it the first time.    So you are getting this one straight off of my stove! 

I am notorious for taking veggies and making them as unhealthy as possible.  Corn isn't so great for us anyway, so I don't feel bad with this one.  I can tell this is a new staple side for big meals for us from now one!  I hope you enjoy it, it is so easy, and very worth the 10 minutes of time it takes!

1 T butter
1/4 cup FINELY chopped red bell pepper
2 tbsp. flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 cups corn (use it off the cob, or thawed out frozen corn, takes about 6-8 ears)
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper

In a cast iron (or any skillet you choose), melt your butter.  When it is melted add in your bell pepper and sauté for a couple of minutes.  Add in the corn, and stir.  Sprinkle in the flour and stir and let it cook for a minute.  When the flour is incorporated, add in milk, cream, salt and pepper.  Stir to combine.  IF you are using fresh corn off the cob, let simmer on LOW, for 15-20 minutes and then let sit, for 10 minutes.  If you are using frozen corn that you have thawed out, simmer for 10 minutes and let sit for 10 minutes.  It will thicken GORGEOUSLY and the taste is..........perfection.

ACK!  Even my husband LOVED it!

Enjoy!

Turkey Stuffed Mini Pepper Poppers

Peppers, peppers, peppers.  I seem to have an overabundance.  Let me explain why that is an issue.  I have a love/hate relationship with peppers.  I love them raw.  I love the flavor, the crunch, and the freshness of them.  However, once they hit the heat, they get soft, maybe even a tiny bit slimy, and I just am in a weird place with them, once that has happened.  Stuffed peppers, YUM, except I only eat the middle out of the pepper.  Now, if they are chopped up, we have a whole new situation.  I mean, who is really THAT picky?!  Isn't it like being a person who only like corn ON the cob and not off?  Ridiculousness. 

 

That all being said, and explained, I love these.  I had intended to use jalapeno's with these, however, when the little sweet bells presented themselves, I knew for the crowd I was cooking for, they would be the best choice.  I wanted a hearty filling, one that could be used for a side dish, a light lunch with a salad, or even an appetizer.  A few of them were so small, I admittedly just popped them down the hatch, full throttle.   I am positive these would do great on your bbq grill too!

You will need:

1lbs sweet mini bell peppers (14-16)
1/2 lb.. ground turkey
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
4 oz. cream cheese
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.  Cut the very tops off of your peppers and using an ice tea spoon or small dessert spoon, clean out the seeds and veins as best you can.  Set on a baking sheet.  Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and spoon into a piping bag, or Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off or use the ice tea spoon to get these filled.  I used a piping bag, it was so quick, clean and easy.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the turkey is cooked all the way through.  Let these sit about 5 minutes before eating. 

MMMMMM....mmmmmmmmmmmmm........GOOD!

Peppersteak Kabobs

Good evening! 

How is your summer going?  Summer grillin', and chillin', I hope!  It has been so humid, so stormy and so hot here!  I say that as if it is any different from any other Midwestern summer!  The humidity will sometimes just about take your breath away. 

The night I made these babies, I wanted them done on the grill.  Hard to do in like, 60 mile an hour winds and ping pong ball sized hail, ya know?  I did these in the oven, but as per usual, please feel free to do them on your grill, where they were intended to be!

These kabobs are so easy.  I have made them for so long, and just thought maybe they were to easy and run of the mill to share but you know what, sharing is caring, right?  Can a "to easy" recipe really be all that bad?  There is only one thing about this recipe.  It insists on being made ahead for maximum flavor.  They are just always a crowd please, always a success and so easy.  If you ever have any leftover, chop the peppers and onions, slice the beef, and toss in a wok with a little soy sauce, cornstarch and beef stock, and serve as a stir fry over rice! 

Heeeeeeere we go!  This will yield about 10 skewers.  Or, it does for me anyway!

2 lbs beef cut into cubes.  Use steak or roast beast, whatever is better for you
3 large bell peppers
1 large onion
1/2 cup soy sauce (I use low sodium)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp minced or crushed garlic
2 tsp onion powder
10 skewers (if wooden, soak in water as long as possible to avoid burning)

In a large Ziploc bag, add in soy sauce, pepper, garlic, oil, and onion powder.  Squish vigorously to combine ingredients.  Add in beef cubes and seal it up.  Smoosh to coat all meat with the soy sauce mixture.  Set in a bowl or on a plate and let sit at LEAST 6 hours, overnight, or 2 days is even better!  Before skewering chop onion into large chunks and separate layers and cut bell peppers  into about 1 inch chunks.  The only left is to skewer!  Skewer on kids, in whichever order or fashion you prefer.  If done in the oven bake at 425, 10 minutes, then flip and do another 10.    On the grill, use your judgment, I would say about 15 minutes on one side and 5 on the other!

Skewer on dudes!

Roasted Red Pepper Marinara

Hello beautiful friends!  I am in a good mood, can you tell?  If I tell you why, you won't believe it.  I have just made the most amazing marinara, EVER.  Yes, I said EVER.  Just look at this beautiful goodness!

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This may look like your everyday, run of the mill sauce, but trust me, it isn't!  I was watching a blogger friend who also has a YouTube channel.  Her name is Heather, of "Mishmawshandotherthings", and you can find her at her blog, or here at her youtube channel.  I was inspired by her homemade marinara.  I took her method, and some of her ingredients and added a few things of my own.  This recipe looked fantastic and roasting the veggies before cooking them is fantastic.  What flavor!!!!  I have to thank her for being an inspiration for this recipe.  I hope you go join up with her, she is a good lady, a real mom, with real kids, and she cooks real food.  GOOD food.

I am planning on making a large batch or multiple batches of this sauce to can or freeze.  I am adding no meat, (as Heather did), and can see using this for a soup base, lasagna, for stuffed peppers, cabbage rolls, gravy, I mean the list goes on and on!  Oh it was ROCK over meatloaf!  When you want to add meat, you treat it as you would any other sauce, dare I say "jarred".  Add your browned meat, meatballs, sausages, whatever you want.  This is a versatile baby and I think you will love it!

10-15 tomatoes (cut out the core and cut in half)
4 cloves of garlic (peeled)
1/2 onion (cut into chunks)
1/2 red bell pepper
olive oil
salt
sugar
5-7 leaves of basil (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350.  Prepare all of your ingredients.  When you have them ready to roast, put them on your sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and salt liberally. 

Roast for 1 hour.  Remove and let cool for 5 minutes.

Put all roasted goodness into your blender.  Blend on high until smooth.  If you do not have a powerful blender you can strain it through a fine mesh strainer, mine left a FEW pieces of skin but I left them.  If I had blended longer they likely would have been completely pulverized!  I added about 5 large basil leaves to mine before I blended as well!

Add back into your saucepan and add sugar to taste.  I added 2 tbsp.  I also added salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. 

This is absolutely the most delicious marinara I have ever made or tasted I think.  As you can see I simply added it to some plain spaghetti and just enjoyed the goodness!  Crisp, clean, fresh and homemade goodness.  You may never by jarred sauce again, I know I won't, not even in an emergency!

Your "garden goodness and homemade happiness"Chefwannabe