Best Burritos

My husband loved this dish and said it was one of the best meals I've made. I don't know if I'd go that far, but it's pretty good. And easy peasy, too. And that's usually my goal...simple and tasty. If you hand me a recipe and it requires 15 ingredients and hours of prep, I'll likely hand it right back...unless it's Dragonfire Chicken, but I'll save that for a later post. Now go drag your slow cooker out and get this meal started!

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds stew meat
• 1 large (19 oz) can mild enchilada sauce
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• 1 can refried beans (probably won't need the entire can, just depends on your tastes)
• 5-7 burrito size flour tortillas (or 10-12 taco size flour tortillas if you want to make smaller burritos)
• 2-3 cups shredded cheese (whatever kind you prefer will work - I used a white Mexican cheese in the burritos and cheddar on top)

Put beef, bouillon, and enchilada sauce into a slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until meat is fork tender. When beef is done, preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a dish large enough to hold the amount of burritos you are going to prepare. Next, select a tortilla and spread a spoonful of beans down the middle. Then scoop and drain a large spoonful of meat from slow cooker and place evenly on top of the beans. Sprinkle desired amount of cheese on the meat and roll it up and place into the baking dish. Repeat these last few steps until you've prepared all of your burritos. Pour some of the remaining enchilada sauce from the slow cooker over the burritos. (You will not use all of the sauce in the slow cooker.) Sprinkle with more cheese. Bake until heated through and cheese is bubbly, about 25-30 minutes.

(Recipe slightly adapted from Food Pusher.)

Cinnamon Baked French Toast

I recently came across this recipe and knew I needed to try it. I'm glad I did! It's also a great dish if you have guests over since you do all the prep work in advance. Enjoy!

FRENCH TOAST

• 1 loaf French bread
• 8 eggs
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 TBSP vanilla extract

CINNAMON TOPPING

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces

Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Tear bread into chunks (about bite-sized) and evenly distribute in the dish. Whisk together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread chunks. Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight. In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add butter pieces and cut into the dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store cinnamon mixture covered in the fridge. When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from fridge and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. Bake for approximately 1 hour. Scoop out individual portions. You can top each portion with butter and drizzle with maple syrup, but I like it just fine the way it is right out of the oven!

(Recipe very slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman.)

Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika

This is a wonderful stew! (And I don't like beer!) Serve this with Beer Bread and everyone will thank you.

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp butter
2 lbs stew meat

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bottle of beer (12 oz)
4 cups beef stock (or 4 cups water + 4 beef bouillon cubes)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp sugar
4 carrots, peeled and sliced into chunks
4 medium red potatoes, cubed

Heat oil and butter in a Dutch oven (or large pot) over medium-high heat. Brown meat in two batches, setting aside on a plate when brown. Cut pieces in half. Set aside. Reduce heat a little and add chopped onion to the pot. Stir and cook for two or three minutes until softened, then add garlic for another minute. Pour in beer and beef stock, then add Worcestershire, tomato paste, paprika, salt, pepper, and sugar. Add beef back to the pot. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer on low for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Add carrots and potatoes, then cover and cook for approximately another 30 minutes (carrots and potatoes should no longer be firm and beef should be fork tender).

Note: I did not have a problem with the stew getting dry, but if you do, just add one cup of hot water at a time to replenish the liquid. I actually ended up thickening the stew at the end with a little flour dissolved in cold water. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

(Recipe slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman.)

Beer Bread

I had not heard of beer bread until I ate at the Wunsche Brothers Cafe in Old Town Spring a few months ago. It was so tasty I bought a packaged bread mix from the cafe so I could make my own beer bread at home. And then later I discovered I could make this delicious bread from scratch with just four ingredients! So easy and yummy!

3 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup sugar
12 oz beer
2 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and beer and mix well. (Mixture will be sticky.) Pour into prepared pan and bake for approximately 50 minutes (bread should be a nice golden brown color when done). Remove from oven and brush 2 tablespoons of melted butter all over top of bread and bake for an additional 3 minutes.  Let cool 10 minutes and then remove from pan and enjoy!

Tuscan Sausage Ragu

Having guests over for dinner and don't know what to cook? Go get your slow cooker because when you serve this flavorful sauce (over your choice of pasta), everyone will be happy!

1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

1 lb hot Italian sausage, casings removed

1/2 cup red onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup dry red wine

1 (28 oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

salt to taste

1 cup heavy cream

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook and stir the sweet and hot Italian sausage until browned. Break the meat up into crumbles as it cooks. Stir in the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onion is translucent. Carefully drain excess grease. Pour the mixture into a slow cooker. Add the wine, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil and oregano and mix. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Pour in the cream, stir, cover, and cook for 1 more hour. Add salt if desired, and serve over your choice of pasta.

(Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com.)

Slow Cooker Beef and Noodles

Super easy and yummy!

1 1/2 lbs stew meat
1 can cream of chicken soup (yes, chicken!)
1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix
Approx. 3/4 can of water (using empty soup can)
Package of egg noodles

Mix everything in slow cooker, except noodles, and cook on low about 8 hours.  When ready, cook noodles according to package directions and serve beef mixture over noodles.  (My hubby likes this served over mashed potatoes.)

(Recipe adapted from The Crockin' Girls.)