Shredded Beef Tacos

Every year my sister Stephanie and I have a Father's day dinner for my dad.  We have my dad and any of my brothers and sisters that are around come for dinner.  This year I made these shredded beef tacos and they were a hit. 

When dinner was just about finished, my dad had me break out the ketchup to put on his taco.  I would never put ketchup on these tacos because they are too tasty to ruin with ketchup.  I will however admit to putting ketchup on a hard or soft shell beef and cheese taco and on every bite of a chicken pot pie and I'm guessing that I got that from my dad.

Shredded Beef Tacos

Chuck roast

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup beef stock

Salt to taste

Flour torilla

Queso fresco

Salsa

Guacamole

Cilantro

Preheat oven to 190.  Season chuck roast with salt and pepper.  Place roast in a pot with a lid and cover pot with lid.  Place in oven and cook for 15 to 18 hours or until meat falls apart.  Remove meat from pot and shred with two forks (I use my hands once the meat has cooled down a bit.)  Remove fat from meat and discard. 

Pour the liquid from the pot through a strainer and skim fat off the top.  Use one cup of the liquid in place of the beef stock.

Once the liquid has been removed from the pot, add the shredded beef back to the pot.

Combine vegetable oil, vinegar, fresh lime, ground cumin, chili powder, garlic, and beef stock in a bowl and pour over shredded beef.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover pot with lid and put back in the oven (250 degrees) for a couple of hours.

I serve the shredded beef with small homemade flour tortillas, sour cream, guacamole, queso fresco, salsa and cilantro. Sooo good!

Adapted from userealbutter.com

Granola

My family thinks this granola recipe is the best out there, but to be honest, we haven't tried any other granola recipe because we love this one so much!

Granola

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup chopped almonds

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl stir together oats, coconut, almonds, walnuts, pecans, cinnamon, and salt.  In a small saucepan melt butter with honey over low heat, stirring.  Add vanilla and pour butter mixture over oat mixture and stir until combined.

On a large baking sheet, spread the granola evenly in a thin layer.  Bake, stirring every 5 minutes to keep from sticking or burning, until golden brown and crisp, about 20 minutes.  (Do not overcook; the granola will crisp more when cooled.)  Cool granola on the pan.  Granola may be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

A few notes: 

*I always double the recipe and I keep mine in the freezer because I love when the granola is really cold. 

*Use whatever kind of nuts you like and if you don't like nuts, leave them out. 

*I don't like dried fruit in my granola, but if you do, stir in dried fruit once you've taken the granola out to cool.

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Buttermilk Ice Cream

Oh my, oh my, this is delicious ice cream, definitely one of my favorites.  This past week, my sister Stephanie was visiting from Hawaii.  I had her come for lunch and this bowl of cold, creamy, tangy deliciousness was our dessert, we were both in love. 

  

Buttermilk Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided

6-12 large egg yolks (I used 8)

2 cups buttermilk

1 tablespoon vanilla or half a vanilla bean, scraped and simmered with the cream

Pinch of salt

In a large, heavy saucepan, combine the heavy cream and one cup of sugar and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar.

Remove the cream mixture from heat and drizzle a small amount into the yolks, slowly, and whisking constantly to keep the eggs from curdling.  Do this a few more times to warm up the yolks before pouring the yolk mixture back into the cream, whisking constantly.

Cook over low heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Strain mixture and whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla, and salt.  Cool completely and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.

I served this cold treat with strawberries and an oatmeal brown sugar crumble.

Adapted from smitten kitchen

Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes

1 pound lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup chili sauce

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup diced red pepper

1/2 cup diced yellow pepper

11/2 teaspoons cider vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

Hamburger buns, toasted

Heat nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Add beef and onions; cook, stirring to break up the meat, 5 minutes or until browned and onion is softened.  Add garlic and the next ten ingredients.  Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened and peppers are crisp-tender.  Serve on toasted hamburger buns.

Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups have always been one of my favorites.  I remember being at the Courgareat at BYU with one of my best friends Susanna and filling our white styrofoam cups with vanilla soft serve ice cream and then piling on the Reese’s peanut butter cups.  Then a few years ago, my friend Christie told me about an ice cream concoction that she made in her kitchen aid.  It had all the makings of something delicious, vanilla ice cream, peanut butter, peanut butter cups, and pretzels all mixed together in a kitchen aid.  It was thick, creamy, salty, sweet, and crunchy.  I ate this treat many, many times and often used more ice cream then one should eat in one sitting.  I nearly burned out my kitchen aid motor making it so many times. YIKES!  This recipe for peanut butter cup ice cream won't disappoint those who have a love for peanut butter in their hearts like I do!

Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

1 1/4 cups smooth peanut butter

3/4 cup white sugar

1 1/4 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate peanut butter cups

In a medium sauce pan combine milk, sugar and salt.  Over medium heat stir the milk until the sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat and add peanut butter.  Stir until smooth.

Pour cream and vanilla into a medium sized bowl.  Pour peanut butter mixture into the cream and mix until combined.  Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the ice cream base so that a skin doesn't form on the top.  Refrigerate until cold. 

Freeze in ice cream maker according the manufacturer’s instructions.  Once the ice cream is a soft-serve consistency, stir in the chopped peanut butter cups.  You can eat it right away or freeze to eat later.  If you freeze it for later, it will be more ice cream-scoopable (I prefer it this way).

Adapted from Recipe girl

Thousand Layer Lasagna

This is lasagna number two and my sister Stephanie shared this recipe with me.  Preston loves this lasagna and just thinking about it makes my mouth water.  It is great summer lasagna.

Thousand Layer Lasagna

1 pound package lasagna noodles
butter to prep baking dish

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I use less)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 28-ounce can crushed organic tomatoes
zest of one lemon

16-ounces of fresh mozzarella, sliced into thin pieces
Slivered basil (optional)
Freshly grated Parmesan (optional)

Preheat your oven to 375.

Make your sauce: Place the olive oil, salt, pepper flakes, and garlic in a pan. Dial the heat up and sauté for a minute or two. Add the tomatoes and slowly bring to a simmer as well. Remove from heat, stir in the lemon zest and taste for seasoning. Add more salt if needed. Set aside.

Fill a large pot full of water and bring to a boil.Butter a deep, square baking dish. The one I use is 9x9 and 2 1/2-inches deep.

Pre-cook the pasta: Salt your pot of boiling water generously.  Cook pasta according to package directions. When the noodles are finished cooking, drain, rinse with cool water, and lay the noodles flat on a sheet of aluminum foil.

Ladle a bit of the sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Cover the bottom with a layer of lasagna noodles (I cut mine so that they fit nicely in the bottom of the pan).  Top the noodles with a thin layer of sauce and then a layer of mozzarella cheese. Go for another layer of pasta, then sauce, then cheese.  Keep layering until you have used all of the sauce and cheese.  You want to finish with a layer of pasta (I usually have 4 noodles or so that I don’t use from the 1-pound package). Top with the last of the sauce and the very last of the cheese so you have a nice cheesy top.

Bake until everything is melted, about 35 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with slivered basil and parmesan.

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks http://www.101cookbooks.com/

Lasagna

We have two different lasagnas that are loved in our family.  This is lasagna number one and is the favorite of Todd and Noah.  I honestly can't decide which one I love more because I think they are both delicious and Stella has yet to decide on her favorite.

Lasagna

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground sausage

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 14.5-ounce cans petit diced tomatoes

2 6-ounce cans tomato paste

6 tablespoons dried parsley flakes (divided)

2 tablespoons dried basil

Salt

1 package lasagna noodles

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups cottage cheese

2 beaten eggs

1/2 cup Kraft parmesan cheese

1 pound sliced mozzarella

In a skillet, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic, cook until brown, drain off most of the fat.  Pour in tomatoes, tomato paste, 4 tablespoons dried parsley, dried basil, and 1 teaspoon salt.  Mix together and simmer, uncovered for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a large pot of boiling water add 1/2 teaspoon salt and olive oil.  Cook the lasagna noodles "al dente".  When noodles are finished, drain, rinse with cool water and lay the noodles flat on a sheet of aluminum foil.

While the meat and noodles are cooking, mix cottage cheese, 2 beaten eggs, parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons dried parsley, and 1 teaspoon salt.

Butter a 9x13 pan.  Once the sauce and noodles are cooked begin layers lasagna.  Lay four cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of the pan, overlapping as you go.  Spread 1/3 of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over noodles.  Then 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese on top of the cottage cheese mixture. 

With a spoon, divide your meat sauce into 4 quarters.  Spread one quarter of the meat sauce evenly over the mozzarella cheese.

Repeat the layering processes, 4 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the cottage cheese mixture, 1/3 of the mozzarella, 1 quarter of the meat sauce.  4 lasagna noodles, remaining cottage cheese mixture, remaining mozzarella, and remaining sauce.  Top generously with Kraft Parmesan Cheese.

Place in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Adapted from Pioneer Women Cooks