No Empty Chairs

May 8, 2010 · 10:06 pm

Crock Pot Italian Drip Beef

This is a fabulous shredded beef sandwich recipe from Pioneer Woman. She cooked hers in a dutch oven, but I did mine in a crock pot. And I started with a completely frozen roast from my deep freeze. I put everything in the crock pot just before going to bed on a Saturday night, and it was all ready to serve after church on Sunday. It couldn’t have been easier!

A beef roast (any variety), a jar of pepperoncini peppers, Italian seasoning, and beef broth. That is the simple cast of characters.

The vinegar from the peppers gives this beef a fabulous tanginess. And these peppers are not spicy, so the whole family will love it.

Just before serving, toast up some buttered, cheese topped deli rolls.

Top rolls with your shredded beef and peppers.

Serve your sandwiches with a small bowl of juices from the crock pot for a fabulous dunking sandwich.

Just don’t forget the napkins!

RECIPE:

Crock Pot Italian Drip Beef

Servings: 8-10
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1 whole beef chuck roast or sirloin tip roast, about 4 lb
2 cups beef broth
3-4 Tbs Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
1 jar (16 oz) pepperoncini peppers, undrained
Deli rolls
Butter
Provolone or cheddar cheese slices

Combine all ingredients (except rolls, butter and cheese slices) in a crock pot. Do not drain pepperoncini-pour entire jar into the crock pot.

Cook at low heat for 8 to 10 hours. (I started with a completely frozen roast and it took about 10 hours to be fork tender.)

Remove roast from crock pot and place in a large bowl. Discard any large fat pieces. Use two forks to shred the meat. Remove pepperoncini from the crock pot and stir into shredded meat (I like to remove the stems from the peppers at this point, but that is optional). If desired, strain remaining liquid in the crock pot, reserving the strained juices.

Slice rolls almost in half. Open rolls and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Spread with butter. Toast at 400°F for about 5 minutes, or until rolls are slightly crispy but not overly brown. Top with cheese slices and return to oven until cheese melts—watch carefully so that you don’t burn the rolls!

Serve meat and peppers on the toasted rolls with a small bowl of the juices for dipping.

Adapted from Pioneer Woman

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Filed under Main Dishes

Tagged as au jus, beef, beef roast, crock pot, drip beef, Italian beef, pepperoncini, sandwiches

April 30, 2010 · 8:43 pm

Simple Sunday Supper: Roast Beef and Gravy

Just a quick post for an easy to make traditional Sunday meal: roast beef and gravy.

This roast uses an eye-of-round cut, and should be served medium-rare to medium. It will not be nearly as tender if it is overcooked.

I do not use a thermometer to make this, but as all ovens are a little bit different, you could you a probe thermometer to make sure that your roast is cooked to your liking.

This is a probe thermometer. The temperature probe stays in the meat the entire time in the oven, while the temperature gauge stays on your countertop. You can also set an alarm to sound when your roast hits a certain temperature. When you are making this roast, you DO NOT want to open the oven.

This roast starts at a very high heat: 500°F, and after an initial sear in the hot oven, it slow roasts in a cooling oven for another 2 ½ hours.

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Use whatever seasonings you like: this has salt, pepper, garlic, spicy paprika, rosemary and bay leaves. Simply place your roast on a rack in a roasting pan and sprinkle with seasonings.

RECIPE:

Roast Beef

Servings: 8-10, depending on size of roast
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3 lb eye-of-round roast (adjust cooking time for other sized roasts)
Seasonings: (salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, rosemary sprig, bay leaf)

Preheat oven to 500°F.

Season the roast with desired seasonings. Place on a rack in a roasting pan. Do not cover or add water.

Place the roast in the preheated oven. Reduce temperature to 475°F. Roast for 20 minutes (or about 7 minutes per pound).

Turn off the oven and let the roast sit in the hot oven for 2 ½ hours for medium rare. Do not open the door.

Carve into thin slices to serve. Serve with mashed potatoes and Beef Gravy.

Beef Gravy

¼ cup butter
3 Tbs flour (white or fine ground whole wheat)
3 cups beef broth
1 tsp Kitchen Bouquet or Gravy Master
dash white pepper
(Pan Drippings from a roast beef)**

If you are preparing gravy for a roast beef, remove roast from pan and set on a grooved carving/cutting board.

If your roasting pan can be used on the stovetop, drain any liquid in the roasting pan into a small bowl (do not throw away). Add butter to the roasting pan and turn stove onto medium heat. If your pan cannot be used on the stovetop, scrape liquid and browned bits from pan into a small bowl, then melt butter in a skillet.

Stir melted butter until browned bits are removed from bottom of pan. Stir in flour and cook 4-5 minutes, whisking constantly, until roux is a deep brown color. Stir in beef broth while whisking constantly. Stir in Kitchen Bouquet, pepper, and reserved pan drippings. Bring to a boil. Simmer 5-10 minutes, or until ready to serve. Taste; add salt if necessary.

**As you carve your roast, add any drippings from roast to the gravy before serving.

NoEmptyChairs.me

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bundt Cake

OR: How to Make a Chocolate Cake When All You Have Is a Vanilla Cake Mix

This is a quick and easy dessert that looks much more complicated than it really is. With only 5 real ingredients (7 if you frost the cake) that I always have on hand, it makes a great last minute dessert.

This cake actually starts with a vanilla cake mix. You could use a chocolate cake mix for a richer chocolate flavor, but then you would have to make your own peanut butter filling, or use part of a vanilla cake mix for that. I’m all for simplicity, so I transformed my vanilla cake mix into a chocolate one by mixing a chocolate pudding mix into most of the vanilla cake batter. The remaining vanilla batter is mixed with peanut butter for the peanut butter filling layer.

When filling your bundt pan, start by adding about 1/3 of the chocolate batter to the pan. Spoon the peanut butter batter over the chocolate layer, keeping batter away from the edges of the pan (so it won’t show on the outside of the cake). Spoon remaining chocolate batter over the peanut butter layer.

You can eat this cake plain, but it is so much better with a simple chocolate glaze (or ganache if you want to sound fancy!). Just a mixture of cream and bittersweet (you could use semi-sweet) chocolate. Lovingly drizzled over the edges of your cake.

RECIPE:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bundt Cake

Servings: 12-16
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1 box (about 18 oz) yellow or white cake mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
4 eggs
½ cup creamy peanut butter
1 small package (4 servings) chocolate pudding mix
Chocolate Ganache Frosting, optional

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large mixing bowl, use a mixer to beat together the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs. Remove one cup of batter to a small bowl. Beat peanut butter into reserved one cup of batter. Add the chocolate pudding mix to the large bowl of batter. Beat until well combined.

Grease and flour a 10-12 cup bundt pan (or use non-stick baking spray with flour). Spoon about 1/3 of the chocolate batter into the prepared bundt pan. Spoon peanut butter batter over the chocolate layer, keeping batter away from the edges of the pan. Spoon remaining chocolate batter over the peanut butter layer.

Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto serving plate and cool completely. Top with Chocolate Ganache frosting, if desired.

Yield: 12-16 servings

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream
Optional flavorings: vanilla, almond, orange, or peppermint extract (amount varies depending on strength of extract)

Place chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl. In a saucepan, heat cream until it comes to a boil. Pour cream over chocolate in mixing bowl and stir until chocolate is melted and glossy. Stir in flavoring, if using.

For a glaze (this is what I use for the bundt cake):
Cool ganache slightly (until thick enough that it won’t run off of the cake, but warm enough that it will still drizzle). Pour ganache over cake, starting in the center of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.

For a cake frosting, or for piping:
The longer you allow the ganache to cool, the thicker it will set. For piping or for a regular cake frosting, allow the ganache to completely cool and set up at room temperature. Mix with a whisk slightly just before frosting the cake.

For a whipped filling or frosting:
For a thicker, fluffy frosting, or filling for a cake, chill the ganache in the refrigerator until slightly cold, then whip with a mixer until light and fluffy.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as bundt, cake, chocolate, chocolate cake, dessert, ganache, peanut butter, peanut butter cake, quick and easy, tunnel, vanilla cake

April 21, 2010 · 8:46 am

Crock Pot Thai Pork Wraps

As we head into kids’ spring sports seasons, crock-pot meals make a more frequent appearance in our house. I especially like this one in the spring and summer, because it is not a heavy meal like many crock pot meals tend to be.

Cooked and shredded pork in a slightly spicy peanut sauce, topped with crisp, cool cucumber slices and lettuce. Sprinkle with some chopped peanuts and an Asian dressing, and roll the whole thing up in a tortilla (or use whole lettuce leaves for a twist on the traditional lettuce wrap).

You can use either pork tenderloins or a cheaper pork loin. After cooking in the crock pot all day, both will turn out super tender. Simply put the pork in your crock pot. Combine sauce ingredients (except peanut butter) and pour over pork. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until pork is tender enough to shred.

Remove the pork roast from the crock pot and shred with forks. Stir some peanut butter (either creamy or chunky) into the sauce in the crock pot. Return pork to crock pot and mix into sauce. Stir in some Thai basil (cilantro also adds a nice flavor, if you don’t have Thai basil).

I grew Thai basil in our garden last year and loved it! I brought some inside in the fall and have been trying to nurture it along during the winter. I am excited to plant outside again soon!

I serve this in warmed tortillas with lettuce, chopped peanuts, sliced cucumbers and an Asian dressing (which is completely optional; the wraps are flavorful enough that you don’t need additional dressing, but the slightly sour vinegar taste does add a nice flavor).

For the cucumber, I use a seedless cucumber and slice it into wide julienned strips. Peel and slice cucumber in half crosswise (giving you 2 cylinders). Cut in half again lengthwise. Slice each piece lengthwise into very thin strips (they should resemble long rectangles, not half-circles).

This in our favorite Asian dressing. It is found in the supermarket in the produce section by the sushi. You could also use any Asian ginger or sesame/tahini based dressing, as well.

The flavorful, tender pork topped by the crunchy peanuts and cool, crisp cucumbers and lettuce make for a great texture combination. And the convenience of preparing it early in the day is definitely a plus on hectic weeknights.

RECIPE:

Crock Pot Thai Pork Wraps

Servings: 6-8
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2-3 lb pork loin roast (or pork tenderloins)
¼ cup soy sauce
2 Tbs lemon juice
3 Tbs brown sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ cup peanut butter
2-3 Tbs chopped fresh Thai basil or cilantro

Tortillas (or use iceberg/Bibb lettuce for lettuce wraps)
Chopped lettuce
Julienned cucumbers
Finely chopped peanuts
Asian dressing (we like the Miso flavored dressing, found in the produce section by the sushi in our grocery store, but any ginger or sesame/tahini based dressing would be good)

Place pork roast in crock pot. Combine soy sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Pour over roast. Cook on low for about 6-8 hours (about half that on high). Remove pork and skim excess fat. Stir in peanut butter. Shred pork and return to crock pot. Turn crock pot to high and cook for 5-10 minutes uncovered (longer if pork is too liquidy). Stir in Thai basil or cilantro just before serving.

Chop lettuce. Finely chop peanuts. Julienne cucumbers: Peel and slice cucumber in half crosswise (giving you 2 cylinders). Cut in half again lengthwise. Slice each piece lengthwise into very thin strips (they should resemble long rectangles, not half-circles).

To serve: Place pork in tortillas. Top with lettuce, cucumbers, peanuts and dressing.

**These are also good eaten as lettuce wraps; just use iceberg or Bibb lettuce instead of tortillas.

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Tagged as Asian, crock pot, lettuce wraps, peanut sauce, pork, pork wraps, shredded pork, Thai pork, tortillas

April 13, 2010 · 9:25 pm

How To . . . Make Butterfly Cupcakes (and a totally delicious frosting!)

These are the cupcakes we made for Little J’s 6th Birthday Party. The butterflies were easy to make, and look so cute sitting on top of a brightly frosted cupcake!

I first saw these butterflies on the blog Annie’s Eats. They are also shown in the book Hello Cupcake!

I used a boxed mix (as I had 6 party-going 6 year olds helping bake and decorate) for the cupcakes, but made a homemade frosting for the girls to tint and ice their cupcakes with. The frosting was absolutely decadent! I normally dislike most frostings: buttercream, royal icing, fondant—they all get scraped off onto the side of my plate. But this frosting is amazing; it tastes like a rich buttery whipped cream. Maybe I like it because it doesn’t use powdered sugar. That and the butter!

The frosting recipe is below, at the end of the post. It is different from many frostings in that it is thickened with a cooked milk and flour concoction (that looks like glue!), and uses granulated sugar instead of powdered. This will be my go-to cake frosting from now on!

What really makes the cupcakes, of course, are the butterflies. They were surprisingly easy to make.

—

Making Chocolate Butterflies

— Assemble ingredients: Melting chocolate (both chocolate and colored), waxed paper, toothpicks, writing tip, Ziploc bags or pastry bags, butterfly stencil, “sprinkles”

—

Trace wing and antennae pattern onto a piece of white paper.

Place a small amount of colored and chocolate melting disks into separate Ziploc bags (or small bowls). Melt in microwave—Start with 30 seconds, squish bags, then add an additional 10 seconds if not completely melted.

I used a writing tip to pipe the chocolate, but I just cut off a small end of the bag to squeeze out the melted colored vanilla candy. I used Ziploc bags simply because I did not want to clean out pastry bags. I don’t recommend store-brand bags for this; I have had the seam rip while squeezing out the chocolate. Huge mess!

Place a small square of waxed paper over your stencil paper.

Pipe chocolate around the edge of one wing at a time. Squeeze a small amount of colored chocolate into the center of each wing section. Use a toothpick to spread colored candy to fill the wing. Use a toothpick to gently swirl chocolate and colored candy. Sprinkle edges of wings with sprinkles, if desired.

Work with just one wing at a time. The chocolate hardens quickly!

Place your bag of chocolate back in the microwave for a few seconds if it becomes too stiff (don’t forget to take off the metal writing tip!).

Trace the antennae. Let wings harden completely.

There are two ways to assemble the butterflies: create self-standing butterflies, or assemble the butterflies on the cupcakes.

I was making these for Little J’s party, where the girls were making and decorating their own cupcakes. I thought assembling them on the cupcakes would be too time consuming for the party, so I made mine self-standing. The down side of trying to make self-standing butterflies is that the cute little segmented bodies (see picture below) don’t stay quite so cute when you are trying to balance the wings in the still-wet chocolate.

For a great tutorial on how to assemble the butterflies on the cupcakes, visit Annie’s Eats.

For self-standing cupcakes: using the melted chocolate, pipe a body onto a separate piece of waxed paper. Make little dollops of chocolate, being sure that they touch.

Now for the tricky part: find some odds and ends in your kitchen drawers to use to prop up your butterfly wings and antennae while the chocolate body hardens (I used plastic mason jar lids and medicine cups). Place the wings at an angle in the still soft chocolate body. Prop them up underneath. Place the antennae at the head of the butterfly and prop that as well.

I tried just holding the wings while the chocolate hardened, but the wings started to melt in my fingers before the body was hard enough to support the wings. Propping them was much easier!

Gently peel the butterflies off of the waxed paper when you are ready to put them onto your cupcakes.

—

RECIPE:

Vanilla Cupcake (or Cake) Frosting

Servings: frosting for 24 cupcakes
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1 cup whole milk
5 Tbs flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar (do not use powdered sugar)
Optional: food coloring

In a small saucepan, mix the flour and milk until combined. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, until mixture thickens (and is just about to boil). Remove from heat and let it cool completely to room temperature. Stir in vanilla.

In a large mixing bowl (a stand mixer works best for this) cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the cooled milk mixture and beat for 5-7 minutes, until frosting is light, fluffy and completely uniform throughout. Beat in food coloring, if desired.

This frosting looks best when piped with a large decorating tip (1M), but can also be spread with a spatula.

Yield: frosting for one cake or about 24 cupcakes

NoEmptyChairs.me

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Filed under Desserts, Kids' Cakes

Tagged as birthday, butterfly cupcakes, butterfly wings, childrens birthday party, colored candy, cupcakes, dipping chocolate, flour frosting, frosting, kids birthday, melted chocolate, swirled wings

April 12, 2010 · 10:13 pm

Butterfly Wings and Apron Strings

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This weekend was my baby girl’s 6th birthday.

As we count down the days to the end of kindergarten, I am also counting down to the first time in 18 years that I will have all of my children in school all day. So what is more fitting for the birthday of my last stay-at-home-at-least-part-of-the-day child than a party full of apron strings (that I’m longing to keep tied) and butterfly wings (that she is yearning to open and fly).

So we planned a “Cooking Party” for 6 little girls, complete with hand-sewn aprons, chef hats, and a make-your-own menu of mini pizzas, fruit kabobs and butterfly cupcakes.

Our butterfly cupcakes, inspired by Annie’s Eats.

Little J modeling the apron she helped design and make. And if you look close enough, you can see (or not see) the first tooth that she lost on the night of her birthday!

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So, how come no one ever told me that there was such a thing as a “bias tape maker” before I made about 600 yards of bias tape with just a pair of scissors and an iron!? (Actually it was closer to 20 yards, but it sure felt like 600)

— All of my love to my sweet Little J, who is growing into such a lovely young lady! As you stretch your wings and fly, I hope you never completely forget those apron strings we tied together.

—

Tomorrow: a tutorial on how to make Butterfly Cupcakes, plus a totally delicious cupcake frosting (from someone who picks the frosting off of just about every cake around).

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Filed under Desserts, Kids' Cakes, Uncategorized

Tagged as apron strings, aprons, butterflies, childrens birthday cake, chocolate butterflies, cupcakes, girls birthday, kids aprons, kids birthdays, kids cooking party