Beef Crock Pot Roast

Beef Roast with Carrots and Potatoes

My favorite all-in-one meal is roast with potatoes and carrots. You throw a roast in the crock pot, add carrots, potatoes, garlic, onion, worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, and water, and let it cook it on low for 8-10 hours. It is so wonderful to eat, and great to just have to serve it up at dinner time instead of busting out pots and pans!

Tomato Alfredo Lasagna with Spinach

Tomato Alfredo Lasagna with Spinach

I bought ingredients for lasagna the last time I went to the store because I thought it might be a fun dish to make. First I was going to use my mom's recipe, and I had also looked at a Food Network recipe. In the end, I came up with my own recipe after figuring out the basics of a lasagna. Some of this could be done more simply by buying things ready-made, but it only takes about an hour to do it all from scratch.

1 Package Lasagna Noodles
2 C. White sauce recipe (with garlic and onion powder added) --could also you store-bought
1lb Ground Beef (turkey won't give the same taste)
1 Jar Three Cheese Pasta Sauce
1/2 C. Onion, minced
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Parsley
1/2 tsp Basil
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/2 Bundle Spinach, washed and dried
1 2lb container Ricotta
6 oz Parmesan
8 oz Mozzarella
1 Egg


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F when noodles are cooking
It's easiest to prepare the sauce ahead of time or first in the recipe. Cook white sauce (I'll put the one I use at the bottom of the page if you don't have one). Brown ground beef in skillet with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Make sure the beef is in very small bits. Add beef and jar of pasta sauce to white sauce, set aside. Boil water, add lasagna noodles, cook, drain, and coat with olive oil. While noodles are cooking, add olive oil to a pan on medium heat. Saute onion, garlic and seasonings until translucent. Add spinach and salt and pepper to taste and cook down; finely chop, set aside. In a bowl, mix ricotta, parmesan, egg, and spinach.
In a deep 9x13 casserole dish spoon a little sauce into bottom. Layer noodles, slightly overlapping. In spoonfuls place 1/3 of ricotta mixture on top, spread evenly. Pour 1/3 sauce over ricotta, spread evenly. Repeat 2x, then top with mozzarella cheese. Bake 1 hour. Remove and let cool approx. 30 minutes before cutting and serving so everything sets. Enjoy!

White Sauce
4 Tbsp Butter
4 Tbsp Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Onion Powder
2 C. Milk

Melt butter in pan, add flour and seasonings. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Add milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Chicken & Rice Soup

Chicken & Rice Soup

Winter is the perfect time for soup! I've been having fun making up soup recipes, and this chicken & rice soup is my version of something that was served at our church's Community Kitchen. I must say, I think my version tastes a bit better. I had a lot of time to let it sit, though. I ended up with a ton of soup, so I took some to my sister, who seems to be fighting some kind of cold like Weslee and I are. I don't usually measure my recipes, but here is a rough estimate of what went into the soup:

Boil 2 chicken breasts in a big pot(I tossed a little salt and pepper in the water, and probably had 8-10 Cups water)
Cook 2 Cups Rice (I have a rice cooker, so I did the chicken and rice at the same time)
1/5 Onion, chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 Whole Carrots, diced
Spices to taste
6-8 Bouillon cubes (I put in a few less than the amount for the water I had)

Remove chicken from water, set on cutting board to rest. Strain water from pot into another container. In pot, add a couple teaspoons olive oil, saute onions, garlic and carrots. Add seasonings. Slowly add a few cups of water, adding each when the previous water returns to a boil. Add bouillon cubes as water boils. When you've added about 6 cups of water, start adding spoonfuls of rice. When rice has been added, chop chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to pot. You may need to add more water, depending on how much the rice has absorbed. The starch from the rice will thicken the soup. Let soup simmer for 1/2-1 hour to let flavors meld.

Like I said, the recipe is not exact, but just a rough estimate of what I did. Experiment with it to figure out what you like best. I served it with some garlic bread, but that's not a requirement. It's really a stand-alone meal, as well. It's a great alternative to chicken noodle soup, and was very soothing to my cold.

Salsa Soup

Salsa Soup- one with lots of sour cream added :)

2lb beef roast, cubed (about 1/2" cubes- bite sized)
1/2 C. Onion, chopped
3 Garlic cloves, chopped finely
1/2 C. Carrots, diced
2 C. Corn, cooked
2 Bell peppers, any color, diced
2 C. cooked beans (I used pinto and red beans. Black would also be nice)
2 Cans Stewed tomatoes (I cut up the larger chunks)
6-8 C. Water (Depending on how much broth you want. I used 6 cups)
6-8 Bullion cubes (enough for the water)
1T-2T Chili seasoning (to taste)

Put large pot on medium heat. Put beef in the pan, add a little salt and pepper, and cook most of the way through. Add onion, garlic and carrots. Cook until onions are transluscent. Add corn and bell peppers, allow a few minutes to incorporate. Add water, bring to a boil. Add bullion cubes, beans, tomatoes and chili seasoning. Simmer for 1/2 to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Serve plain or topped with cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips.