Slow Cooked Beef Fajitas

After enjoying authentic Mexican food for a whole week, I knew I needed to find some good recipes to make at home. Especially after realizing that mailing guacamole and pico de gallo wouldn't be an option (insert grumble here). I was so taken away with the food at our resort. Authentic, gourmet, delicious Mexican food. So, I immediately tried a new guacamole recipe and promptly threw it away (faaaar too much lime juice, very bitter). Bummer. Then I tried a pico de gallo recipe that just didn't cut it. Crud.

Feeling a bit of an after-vacation let down, I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. It is made in the slow cooker which works PERFECT for me! And the Mexican Rice is so tasty with the fajitas, even the girls loved it!

Slow-Cooked Steak Fajitas

1 (1 1/2 pound) beef flank steak
1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion, undrained
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 medium onion, sliced
1 medium green pepper, julienned
1 Tbl. fresh minced cilantro
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbl water
flour tortillas, sour cream, salsa

Thinly slice steak across the grain into strips; place in 5 qt. slow cooker. Add tomatoes, garlic, cumin, chili powder and salt. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours. Add onion, peppers and cilantro Cover and cook 1-2 hours longer or until meat is tender.

Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; gradually stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until slightly thickened. Fill tortilla up with meat mixture, sour cream and salsa.

And just for the record, this picture doesn't do it justice, lol!

Linking to:
Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Crockpot Wednesday

Happy April Fool's Day!

This is what the kiddos enjoyed for snack today..."meatloaf" and "kool-aid". The meatloaf is actually a rice crispy bar (made out of cocoa crispy cereal) and a fruit leather on top. The kool-aid is jello, hee-hee!! Unfortunately the kids are getting to wise for me, and rolled their eyes and sighed. However, when Rachel came home from school she asked if I had anything up my sleeves (yes, Kleenexes for this darn sinus infection) and I said no, that I had been too sick. I think she sulked for a minute before realizing that I DID have something up my sleeve:)

Oh the fun of trickery....

Can I Whine??

Look at this picture. This sweet, adorable, sleeping face. Precious, isn't it?

Yes, it is, until she wakes up. And before I even get started... No Dad, I was not like this as a child, and yes Mom, I realize she is a perfect little angel for you. Seriously.

So please tell me why she is hell on wheels for me? Ugh, she is the most whiniest, energy sucking child I have ever met. Well ok, maybe not, but of my 3 kids she is! I try to remember my Mom's words, "enjoy these years, they go by so fast!!". And I do try, but dealing with the 300th tantrum because she cannot wear a swimsuit and red socks with no shoes outside (it's only 50 degrees out), wears me out.

Help??!!!

The Most Heavenly Fudge Sauce You Will Ever Eat!

This is my sweet little Emma with her Curious George animal from school (each child gets to take George home for the weekend and then they write about it:) eating what one might coin,
"THE chocolate sauce to add ten pounds on you instantly". Ok, but in a good way, K? Really, it's that good. 'Nuff said.

Heavenly Fudge Sauce (recipe from my Dad)

1 oz. unsweetened chocolate


1/4 c. butter (well, or margarine, but I say butter)
1 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan. Whisk in sugar and salt alternately with milk; bring almost to a boil, stirring constantly. Pour into a bowl and let cool. This really soooooo yummy!!



Linking up to:

Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Crockpot Wednesday

I'm in Love With Pioneer Woman!

Truly. I feel like I know her, like maybe she's going to call me up and invite me over for coffee. Ya know, Cara and Ree sippin a little latte while creating new recipes. Oh, to dream...
But in all honesty, her recipes are sooooooo good, the kind of good that when you take a bite, your eyes roll into the back of your head in shear pleasure.

I found her recipe for Chicken Scallopine and new I had to try it. Now, our family loved this recipe, but I also want to throw out that it has a strong lemony/heavy taste to it. Very different. But ohhhh did we gobble it up!

Chicken Scallopine

Linguine
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
flour
2 Tbl olive oil
4 Tbl butter
12 ounces white mushrooms, sliced thin
1 C dry white wine
chicken broth (optional)
1 whole lemon
1/2 C. half and half
1 tsp capers (I didn't use these)
chopped fresh parsley
grated Parmesan cheese (the real stuff, people, not the Kraft kind!)

Prepare linguine as directed.

PW calls for flattening the chicken breasts, but I just took 3 breasts and sliced them in half lengthwise. Salt and pepper both sides and dredge in flour. Heat butter and olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Fry chicken breasts until golden brown, remove from pan and keep warm.

Toss mushrooms into pan, and and add wine and chicken broth, squeeze the juice of one lemon into the pan and deglaze the pan, cook vigorously for one minute.

Pour in cream and stir, add capers (optional) and parsley. Turn off heat and add salt pepper to taste.

Place a heaping pile of noodles on your plate, chicken next to it and add sauce to both. I finished it up with some fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese. Absolutely divine!

PW: That's The Best Frosting I've Ever Had!!!

My incredible, bright, beautiful first born has turned 9. *sigh*. Which, in case you didn't know, means she'll be twenty in a couple years. *sigh*. Truly, I know it's so cliche to say "my, where has the time gone???" But really, I would love to know. I was going through some old pics on the computer and can't believe it seemed like it was yesterday that we brought her home, not having a clue as to what we were supposed to do with her!

Her birthday was the 14th of March, and we celebrated her birthday with husband's family. Rachel isn't one for cake, as she doesn't like frosting. So I have tried several recipes for frosting with no winner so far. Saturday I was browsing the all wonderful Pioneer Woman's blog and found a recipe for frosting that looked intriguing. The title says it all, "That's The Best Frosting I've Ever Had". And let me tell you, it is!! Rachel raved about it and told me I have to keep that recipe. It's light, fluffy and has just the right sweetness (although licking all the frosting off the beaters still gave me a stomachache). The recipe is for white icing, so I added 1/4 C cocoa (per a suggestion from one of the comments) to make it chocolate. DELISH!!

Rachel's theme this year is animals, next week for her kid birthday party we are going to the local animal shelter to volunteer. For that cake, she wants a kitty. Now I just need to find a cute way to make a kitty out of a paper lunch bag. Any ideas? Instead of giving out treat bags, I will have a note in there that says we donated items to the shelter in their name. Who needs more crappy candy and poisoned toys anyway, right??!!

Hamburger and Sweet Potato Casserole

With doing daycare, I find that I make a lot of casseroles (or hot dishes:) for the kids. Makes it much easier to get the nutrition they need in one meal. One of the kids' favorites is this casserole I came up with when I didn't have regular potatoes. It has become my number one comfort food, as it's creamy, with a hint of sweetness to it!

Sweet Potato Casserole

1 lb. hamb browned with onions
1-2 sweet potatoes (depending on size)
1-2 large carrots chopped
4-5 Tbl butter
4-5 Tbl flour
1 clove garlic
milk

To make the white sauce, melt the butter in saucepan. For a casserole like this, I usually use 5 Tbl butter, but adjust to your liking. Add minced garlic and cook for a few seconds, add flour, cook for a minute or so and add milk so the sauce is the right consistency. I would guess I add a half a cup? Maybe? Add hamb and sweet potatoes, mix all together and bake covered at 350 degrees until sweet potatoes are soft.

Enjoy!