With potatoes on the side….

In my opinion, nothing is better than a big warm dish of beef stew on a chilly winter night. I love it even more when I get to throw everything into a slow cooker in the morning and end up having a clean kitchen and a wonderful meal ready for my family in the evening. I do not include potatoes in my stew because I don’t like how they come out. But every good stew needs a potato, so I love to serve it up with either mashed or scalloped potatoes on the side.

Here is what you will need:

• 2½ – 3 lbs of beef stew meat
• 1 medium spanish onion – chopped
• handful of baby carrots
• handful of baby bella mushrooms
• 3 cloves of garlic – minced
• 2 bay leafs
• generous sprinkle of salt and pepper
• 4 cups of beef broth
• 2 beef bouillon
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• sprinkle of dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• 1 tablespoon of butter

Here is what you need to do:

Chop the onion, clean the mushrooms and mince the garlic. Toss into a slow cooker along with the stew meat and baby carrots.

Sprinkle everything with salt and pepper and toss in two bay leafs.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the beef broth, bouillon, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, parsley and italian seasoning.

Pour broth mixture into slow cooker and..

Give a good stir to mix all the ingredients together.  Set to cook for 4-6 hours.

An hour before your stew is set to be ready, mix flour with the tablespoon of butter and pour a little hot broth from the slow cooker over it. Mix it all together and add flour mixture into your stew. Give it all a good mix and continue cooking.

You can serve it up with yummy buttered noodles or crunchy warm bread. Me, I’m a mashed potato kinda girl. 😉

Enjoy

xoxo

Jill ♥

Sometimes you just need a cookie…

I have to confess, I have been really bad this summer and indulging in all the yummy food that Georgia has to offer.  I’m probably going to have to try to fit back into my jeans soon, so I’m thinking it’s about time I get back on track with my diet.

But…

Even people on a diet deserve a yummy cookie every now and then and boy do I have one for you.

Here is what you will need:

• 2 sticks of room temperature butter
• ¾ cup of brown sugar
• ¾ cup of white sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda
• 2¼ cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup of chopped macadamia nuts

Here is what you will need to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Whip the butter, brown and white sugar together.

 Mix in the eggs.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.

 Add the flour mixture, spoonful at a time to a slow-moving mixer.

Mix in the vanilla.

Toss in the chocolate chips and macadamia nuts and mix them into the batter by hand. Scoop out batter onto large baking sheets.

I like to use a small ice cream scoop, so the cookies turn out even in size.

Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Serve them up with a big cold glass of milk and….

Enjoy

xoxo

Jill ♥

KK requested Soup….

I grew up eating chicken soup that was made up of left over chicken, soup greens, pasta and tiny veggies. My husband grew up eating a chicken soup called Sancocho which is a slow cooked soup that contains chicken, cilantro, yuca, plantains, corn on the cob and small pieces of potato. I love them both. My family, not so much.  So I came up with a recipe that includes everyone’s favorite from each soup that is easy to throw together and even better the next day.

Here is what you will need:

• ½ of a large spanish onion – Diced
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 chicken breast – skin removed
• 4 chicken legs – skin removed
• teaspoon of garlic powder
• teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 12 cups of water
• 3 packets of Goya chicken powdered bouillon
• large handful of chopped cilantro
• few pieces of frozen yuca
• 1 cup of frozen veggies
• 1 cup of tiny pasta

Here is what you will need to do:

Saute diced onion in olive oil for a few minutes until translucent.

Add in chicken pieces and sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Toss everything in the pot around.

Add in water and packets of chicken bouillon. Give it all a good stir.

Bring to a boil, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add your frozen yuca pieces, cover and boil for another 15 minutes.

Bring soup to a simmer.

  Remove cooked chicken from the pot, cut meat off the bones and cut chicken into bite size pieces.

Add chicken and large handful of chopped cilantro back to the pot. Give a good stir, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add in your pasta and veggies, cover and cook until pasta and veggies are tender. Remember to keep giving a good stir every once in a while, so the pasta pieces don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

And there you have it…

Enjoy

xoxo

Jill ♥

I ♥ Summer Time Fruit.

This dip is hands down my most favorite item to put along side a big platter of fresh summer fruit.  My very favorite friend from high school made this dip for me years ago and recently I made a couple of changes to it by adding a little diced pineapple and pineapple juice. I just love the little extra something the pineapple gives to the dip and hope you will like it to.

Here is what you will need:

• 1 tub of thawed Cool Whip.
• 1 package of instant pistachio jello.
• ¼ cup of diced pineapple.
• ¼ cup of pineapple juice.
• Fruit of your choosing for the platter.

Here is what you need to do:

Put all the ingredients into a bowl…

And give it all a good mix

Serve it up with your favorite fruit and…

Enjoy

xoxo

Jill ♥

Holy Hotness…

The last thing I want to do when it is really hot outside is turn on my oven or stand by a barbecue.  My slow cooker is probably most used during these hot summer months and these pulled pork sandwiches are so easy to throw together in the early afternoon and will turn out perfect by dinner time.

Here is what you will need:

• 2 good size shallots.
• Boneless Pork Loin Roast (Size depends on how many people you are feeding. I usually look for an 8 lb roast, but have used 2 small roast if I can’t find a larger one.
• bottle of barbecue sauce.
• ½ cup of low sodium chicken broth.
• ¼ cup of Dijon mustard.
• ¼ cup ketchup.
• teaspoon of garlic powder.
• big pinch of salt and pepper.

Here is what you need to do:

Slice up the 2 shallots and place in bottom of slow cooker.

Place pork loin on top of shallots.

In a medium bowl, mix together the barbecue sauce, chicken broth, mustard, ketchup, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Pour mixture over the top of the roast, cover and set slow cooker on high for 4 hours or medium for 6 hours. When time is up, use to forks to pull the meat apart and give it all a good mix into the hot tangy sauce. I like to serve the meat on a seeded crunchy roll with a big dollop of cole slaw to top it off.

Yummy

Hope your having a great summer…

xoxo

Jill ♥

I’m Back

Moving is tough and not having a functional kitchen is just the worst. Words can never express how happy I am to have this move behind us and a fully stocked kitchen to put to good use.

So in honor of my new home and the 4th of July, I bring to you a sweet, easy to make dessert, that is sure to please.

Here is what you will need:

• 4 extra-large egg whites.
• pinch of kosher salt.
• ¾ cup of sugar.
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla.
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch.
• 1 cup of heavy cream.
• ½ pint of sliced strawberries.
• ½ pint of blueberries.
• 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Here is what you need to do:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Trace a dinner plate onto a piece of parchment and then flip over paper and place on cookie sheet. Set aside.

Whip up egg whites for 1 minute.

Slowly add in ¾ cup of sugar and whip the egg whites until firm and shiny.

Fold in the cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla.

Place mixture on parchment lined cookie sheet and spread batter to fit in pre-drawn circle.  Bake for 1½ hours and then turn off oven and let the meringue completely cool in a closed-door oven for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, slice up your strawberries and add them to a bowl. Add blueberries and the 2 tablespoons of sugar and give a good toss. Place in refrigerator.

When the meringue is ready, carefully transfer it to a cake plate. Whip up your 1 cup of heavy cream and cover up the top of the meringue.  Add the berry mixture, making sure to include all juices that have accumulated and…….

Enjoy

xoxo

Jill ♥

Bacon always makes it better….

I love an easy to put together, healthy lunch that satisfies my hunger and packs up nicely for those crazy busy days.  These wraps are exactly that and the little bit of added bacon gives it a boost of salty yumminess without ruining your diet for the day.

Here is what you will need:

• low-fat garden veggie wraps.
• spinach leaves.
• cooked sliced chicken breast.
• avocado.
• bacon.
• fat-free ranch dressing.
• black pepper

Here is what you need to do:

Fry up your bacon, slice up your chicken and avocado and get the veggie wraps, spinach leaves and ranch dressing ready for assembling.

Put down a layer of the spinach leaves, a few slices of chicken, avocado and one slice of broken up bacon. Top off with a little fat-free ranch dressing and a good sprinkling of pepper.

Wrap it up like you would a burrito and…..

Enjoy

xoxo

Jill 💜