Danielle's Homemade Products.....My Go To Food Recipes

I swear this crazy weather has had this house bouncing back and forth between healthy and sick for the last couple of weeks, once again. Because of this, I thought I would share three of my "Go TO" beef food recipes that are pretty simple to make and can be made on either the stop top or tossed in a crock pot. I do realize this is lent season, but I did not grow up on eating much fish (fish sticks don't count since they aren't really fish lol). So for those of you following the rules of lent, just prepare these on days you allow meat to be eaten (if you do).

The first one are my Hot Beef Sandwiches. This is something my momma use to make for us when me and my brother were growing up and I have just taken over making this. I have made it for work carry-in's, for friends, and my daughter absolutely loves it. The best part - there are only about 4 ingredients tops and takes about 10 minutes at most to get going. Depending on whether you are doing this on a stove top or a crock pot, it can be done in as little as 30 minutes of actual cook time or a few hours in the crock pot on low.

Hot Beef Sandwiches

deli sandwich beef - cut thin or shaved (if you plan to cook it all day, shaved will fall apart so go for a little thicker slices)
brown gravy - I use store brand brown gravy powder mix (use your favorite brand or style)
rolls - any kind so chose your favorite
water - to mix up your gravy (if you use canned or jarred gravy leave this out)

Now you will notice that I did not give you specifics on how much of each and that is simply because it depends on how many people you are wanting to feed. For me and my daughter, I can get 2 pounds of beef and we can eat 2 meals on that. If you are serving more people, or people with heartier appetites, you will need more. For the gravy, you will want to have enough to just cover the beef and the amount of water to equal the number of packets you have to mix up (or just open your cans and jars, I have made it both ways with good results).

Now...for the easy stuff...are you ready...don't blink or you may miss it.

I use gloves for this but then again I am a bit of a weirdo when it comes to touching meat. Separate each slide of lunch meat and put it in your pot, for stove top, or your crock pot. Then make your gravy. If you are using jarred or canned, just pour the gravy over the meat. If you are using powdered (like I usually do), then make the gravy in a separate pan just like you would for any other normal meal. Once it is thick, pour it over the meat. Ready for the last part? Now, just wait until your meat is nice and hot. On the stove top, this would mean bringing the gravy to a boil and then simmering for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the meat is heated through. If you are using the crock pot, turn it on low and check it in about an hour or two or until the gravy is bubbling in the crock. The longer you cook it, the more the beef will fall apart so if you plan on cooking it in the crock pot for more than an hour or two, make sure your beef slices are a little thicker. I used to buy my meat strictly shaved for this and found that if cooked for more than 2 hours it looked like little pieces of meat and was more difficult to eat (A.K.A. I wore more of it because the meat tended to fall out of the roll more with it being is smaller pieces).

Once your meat and gravy is nice and hot, slice your rolls (if they aren't already sliced), add your meat and gravy and enjoy.

I know most of you are thinking, there is no way she doesn't add anything else, but I promise you that I do not add any spices, seasonings, or anything else to the pot. This salt freak doesn't even need to add any salt or pepper and it is very flavorful. Just make sure that you use a gravy that you like the taste of and the longer it cooks the more the gravy flavor goes into the beef.

The advantages to this meal is that if you are gluten free, then you can use gluten free gravy (yes they do make this, usually found in health food stores or you can make your own, Here is a recipe for one if you prefer to make your own though I have not made this so can't vouch for the taste http://www.food.com/recipe/brown-gravy-mix-gluten-free-504033) and use rolls that are gluten free as well.

The second recipe is for Pepper Steak. This was also one my momma made for us growing up. It can also be made on the stove top or in a crock pot, and I have even made this ahead of time and put it in freezer bags for later meals (BONUS).

Beef roast or stew meat (I prefer to buy a roast and cut it up myself, but if you don't then buy beef chucks or stew meat)
Gravy
Water
Green pepper
cooked rice (I use white minute rice, but any kind is fine and you can use noodles instead if you prefer)

See note above about the amounts. I usually try for a 2 to 3 pound roast for me and my daughter, though this gives us enough for at least 2 meals.

I done my gloves (yes, I know, I know OCD and all)and slice up my beef roast into small bite size pieces. The benefit for this is that you know the quality of beef you are using and depending on how big the roast (and appetite size) you may be able to cut up enough for 2 meals. After slicing up the beef, if I am making this on the stove top, I brown the beef in my pan. If I am using a crock pot, I may still do this it just depends on time and inclination (if I am in a hurry or don't want to wash extra dishes, I will throw it in the crock pot unbrowned, browning it first does add flavor to the meat though so if you have time and a dishwasher then this is a good idea). Now, mix up your brown gravy again or open your jars/cans and pour it over the meat. Then slice up your green peppers. Nice thing about this is if your family likes a little heat or variety, you can add red peppers, yellow peppers, or even jalapenos. Now even if you don't like peppers (like my picky daughter), they give the meat and gravy a wonderful flavor so just cut the peppers up large enough that you can pick them out.

Next, if you are making this on the stove top, simmer the peppers and meat in the gravy until the meat is fully cooked through and tender. When I make this in the crock pot, I usually make this on low for at least 3 to 4 hours, but I have left this cooking for longer. Once the meat is nice and tender, you are ready to serve. I serve this over white minute rice, but it can be served with noodles (gluten free if you prefer) instead.

The third meal that is my go to meal is a crock pot meal. It takes about 5 minutes to put together though you do want to cook this for at least 6 hours on low. It can be done quicker, but the longer you cook it the more tender the beef is and it usually ends up falling apart.

Beef roast
Onion Soup mix (the powder kind that can be used for dips too)
beef stock (I have used chicken stock in a pinch, but beef is better)
Veggies (if you like)

I have made this two ways, as a complete meal with veggies in the pot or without and then made potatoes and veggies once the roast was finished.

I don't usually brown my roast before I put it in the crock pot, but you can if you chose to. It will add additional flavor to the meat (I just hate washing extra dishes since I don't have a dishwasher and my daughter isn't fully trained in dish washing yet lol).

I put the roast down in the crock pot and sprinkle the onion soup mix over the top. Depending on the size of the roast, I may use two packets of the onion soup mix. Then I pour in the beef broth, I tend to just barely cover the roast with the beef broth, but really you don't need that much with crock pot cooking so add in at least an inch or two of broth to the pot. I would keep an eye on it to make sure that the broth doesn't completely evaporate while cooking though if you are cooking this all day (which is why I tend to put that much in to start, I am horrible about remembering to check it and they say not to unlid the crock pot during cooking since it can add to the cooking time). If you want to add veggies, this is the time to do so. When I add them, I usually add carrots and potatoes that I cut up in chunks. If you are cooking this all day, you may want to go with a good size chunk so they don't fall apart completely during the cooking time. The juices will add flavor to the veggies as well as the meat. Now, walk away and let it cook.

When it comes time to serve, slice up the roast and serve with your veggies (if you made them) or with mashed potatoes (yummy garlic cheese ones would be a good compliment) and a veggie of your choice.

I hope these give you a few ideas on what to make for your family the next time you are stumped for a meal. All of these can be put together and frozen for a later meal as well. Just make sure to put them in a zip lock freezer bags (or vacuum seal them) and mark the date on them. I would make them within 3 to 6 months of freezing it and if you are using the crock pot, you don't even have to though them first (just make sure to add extra time for cooking).

Sorry, I don't have any pictures of these for ya, but they tend to not last long enough for me to get any pictures taken lol. Enjoy.

Danielle's Homemade Products....Snow Painting

The thing I love most about Snow Painting....it is so easy and simple.

First thing you will need are spray bottles, squirt bottles, misters something that will disperse the "paint" into the snow.

We scavenged through the house for all the spray bottles we could find (unfortunately some of the didn't work because of this, but a lesson learned).

Then fill your bottles with water....yes I said water.

Then add food coloring. I added 4 drops to the smaller bottles and 8 to the larger bottles but found that the larger bottles weren't as bright when we went to use them so next time I will add a few more drops to those. You can do straight colors from the bottles or mix them to make new colors...we plan to use orange and green next time we do this.

See...told you simple and easy.

Then we put the bottles into a 5 gallon bucket to make it easier to take them outside and move them around as my daughter "painted" the snow.



She was so happy with her creations that we decided to create a bin for this. I am going to visit the dollar store and pick up a bunch of spray bottles to put in the bin and use just for snow painting in the winter and chalk painting in the summer...once it is warmer out I will do a post on the chalk painting.

Happy painting