Kitchen Meets Culinary Clutz

Yee-haw! Your cowpokes will love this meal!

1. Brown beef until fully cooked.
2. Drain off excess fat.
3. Add minced garlic, potato pieces, beef broth, and tomato sauce.
4. Stir, cover with lid and let cook on Med to Med-High heat for 35 – 40 minutes (stirring occasionally), or until potatoes, are fork tender and liquid has cooked off, turn down heat to Low setting.
5. Stir in 1 - 2 cans of cut green beans during last 5-minutes of cooking, (replace lid).
6. Add desired amount of seasoned salt for flavor. 

It's not quite autumn yet but when the rain finally came to Oklahoma, the triple digit temperatures disappeared, blessing us with a brief spell of cooler weather, and with it came a hankering for some good 'ol comfort food.

If you're in a bind, and forgot to thaw out stewing beef the night before, don't worry. Run to the freezer and grab yourself a pound of cubed stewing beef and lets get this classic stew recipe thrown together and brewing before y'all have to hustle out to work for the day.

Here's what you'll need:

1. Spray the sides and bottom of the slow cooker bowl.
2. Set your meat inside the slow cooker.
3. Mix together the flour salt and pepper, and pour evenly over meat. (If using thawed meat, stir to coat each piece.)
4. Add remaining ingredients. (This is where you can omit any veggies, or onions that don’t agree with your taste buds, or add extra veggies to your heart’s content, and rest assure that your stew will still taste just as hearty!)
5. Stir to mix well.
6. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 10 to 12 hours (For thawed meat only, stew can be cooked on HIGH for 4-6 hrs.).

Image borrowed from Kraft Canada. I was too hungry to share a picture of my tostada. I'll confess, I et it too fast.

•   Tostada Shells or 12 corn tortillas to fry
• Refried Beans (1 15-oz can)
•  1 ½ - 2 lbs ground beef, cooked, crumbled and drained of fat (Or shredded chicken)
• Season-All (to season meat)
• 8 ounces grated Monterrey Jack, Cheddar, or pre-shredded 4-cheese Mexican Blend 

• 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, thinly shredded

• 1 medium tomato, diced (optional)
•  Salsa
• Jalapenos
• Sour Cream
• Sliced Black Olives
• Guacamole

1. In a frying pan or microwave, heat up can of refried beans. Thin the beans with a tiny bit of water if too thick.
2. While beans are heating, cook ground beef making sure to crumble up. Drain fat and season to taste with Season-All.
3. Prepare all other ingredients in separate serving dishes for your hungry brood to self-serve.
4. If using store bought Tostada Shells proceed with next step. Otherwise, if using Corn Tortillas, find frying instructions below.
5. Time to layer ingredients:

•  First, spread thin layer of refried beans over tostada shell. 
•  Add layer of ground beef (or chicken)
• Next add a layer of cheese
• Then add the lettuce 
• And finally additional toppings

*Warning: Your tostada is destined to break; it cannot be avoided unless you are Superman (Okay I lied... Even if you were Superman, you're officially screwed, hahaha!). So please don’t freak out if it caves in at the center and lands on your lap (or plate if you’re a careful eater, Ha!)  If using Sour Cream or Guacamole (or both), I like to spread a thin layer of both ingredients after I apply the beans (before adding the beef) otherwise my Dollop of Daisy will most definitely land in my lap after taking a nose dive off my yummy creation.  It is worse when I wear white, so I forbade you, please refrain from wearing white the day you sit down to a scrumptious Tostada Meal!

Tostadas are meant to be eaten with your fingers (This is the part where the heavens will part and angels (errr..did I say angels? I meant kids) descend, rejoicing because the forks couldn’t be used anyhow, since Mikey lost them in the yard when he used them to construct his Action Figure Fort earlier!) Without further ado, pick it up and tear into it like you’re biting into a slice of your favorite Game Day Pizza!  


Fry Method:
To fry your corn tortillas, first dry them out a little. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Lay tortillas on the oven racks for about 10-minutes, to dry up some of the moisture.  In a frying pan, add about ¼-inch oil. Heat oil over Med/High heat until hot, but not so hot where the oil is smoking.  One at a time, fry tortillas until golden brown on both sides (about 30 seconds on each side).  The tortilla will bow out in the middle. With tongs, press center of tortilla into the oil as it fries. Remove from oil, drain off excess oil, and let drain on paper towel lined plate. Serve warm.  Tortilla should be stiff and crispy (If not, then the oil isn’t hot enough).

 Summer days are moving along smoothly here on the South Shores of Lake Draper. Memories are made every day. Memories that will last a million summers. Mama will be flying home in a week and my son will be coming home to me in two weeks. Tears of Sadness will mix in with the Tears of Joy. I do know one thing is certain, that the memories of this unforgettable summer will never be forgotten. It will forever be locked into our hearts.


Goodnight, my lovely readers! xoxo


-Bec

1.       In a hot family skillet, melt the butter.

2.      While butter is melting, give your chicken a few light bashes with the tenderizer and then throw them into the skillet in a single layer.

3.       Brown breasts on each side.

4.      Sprinkle each breast generously with Rosemary Herb Seasoning, on both sides.

5.      Add White Cooking Wine, cover and let your chicken absorb all that yummy goodness for about 15-20 minutes, making sure to turn chicken over once halfway through cooking.During last 5 minutes of cooking, remove lid to allow the heat to cook off the liquid.

6.       Serve warm with pasta and steamed veggies, Yum! 

**Substitution: Use Chicken broth if White Cooking Wine is not available!

Bring your water to a boil in a witch's pot. But wait, first make sure your witch's pot has been washed clean of the Earthworm and Eyeball stew made the day before.

While your water is trying to boil, start the sauce.  Add the jar of spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce to your meat and heat until warm. Mix well then set aside. (This is a messy task! I managed to splatter sauce all over my shirt just now, *bleh*)

I love pasta!

Add the elbow noodles to the boiling water and cook according to package directions. . Ooh and Preheat oven to 425°F.

Quick grab a box of Texas Toast from your freezer and arrange on baking stone. To make your hungry brood think you've slaved over a hot stove all day, hide the evidence (packaging)  in the trash. Do it now, Quick!!

Next, drain your elbow noodles and dump them in a 13 x 9-in. casserole dish, being extra careful not to burn yourself with the extremely hot steam. *ooh-la-la*

Dump the prepared meat sauce on top of the noodles and then mix it all together real well. This part is challenging because stray noodles like to jump out of the dish, making a saucy mess on the counter.

Add the yummy cheese...

..And spread it evenly over all the noodles. Place casserole dish on bottom rack and Texas toast on rack above. Bake for 13 minutes or until Toast is browned and Noodles are bubbly.

When dinner is done make the child, who felt they should be served first, clean up the saucy mess you left on the stove top!

Happy HumpDay!