French Onion Beef Dip Sandwiches!

French Onion Beef Dip Sandwiches
2 large onions, cut in half, then sliced in 1/2 rounds
5 cups beef broth
3 to 4 pound chuck roast, cut into 3 or 4 big pieces
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cooking sherry
1 package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1/2 stick of butter (to sauté onions in prior to putting them into Crock Pot)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp black pepper

*Serve on toasted Hoagie buns, with swiss cheese slices that are melted!  Makes about 8 sandwiches, so have enough buns and cheese for 8!* 

In skillet, saute onion in butter til soft. Add them to Crock Pot.  Put chuck roast, cut into 3 or 4 big pieces, over the onions.  Mix all other ingredients into a bowl and stir well, then pour it over the roast.  Cook on high for about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.  Your house is going to smell AMAZING, I promise!! The boys kept coming into the kitchen to ask when it would be done, because it smelled so darn good! :)  After the 3 to 3 1/2 hours pull out pieces of roast and shred it with a fork and knife, then put it back into crock pot.

After beef is all shredded,  cut your hoagie bun in half, but not all the way through. Put 2 pieces of sliced swiss cheese over each of them and place on cookie sheet. 

Broil on high for about 2 minutes, til cheese is melted and bread is nicely toasted!  Watch them!

Ready to start loading up with the beef and onions!! 

Smoking hot, flavorful, juicy goodness of a sandwich!!  Serve with a bowl of the sauce to dip in, that you will just about want to drink! :) Tastes like french onion soup!! It's so amazing!!  We eat these with good old Lay's potato chips, and they taste great together!!  ENJOY!!!

Grilled Artichokes with Remoulade Sauce!

Went to my cool, fun neighbor Judy's party and she made these awesome grilled artichokes using Houston Restaurant's recipe!  Fell in LOVE!!  These are so addicting, but of course, as usual, I put a twist on the recipe just for fun! Love to try new ingredients in recipes! :)  Thanks, Judy for finding this recipe, and opening my eyes to new, fun foods that I had not tried!! (had boiled artichokes, but never grilled, too~ my new favorite way!!!)  How could I have missed this one?!! LOL!!  LOVE the charred, grilled taste on these guys!!!

Grilled Artichokes with Remoulade Sauce! (or easy hollandaise!)

Cut tops off of 2 large artichokes with serrated knife, then clip all the other tips with kitchen scissors so there are no more 'spikes'!  Next, cut them in half~

Take a spoon and use it to scoop out all of the 'fuzzies' that we can not eat!   They come out really easily! Put lemon juice on flesh to stop it from coloring! 

Put them into ice cold lemon water til you are ready to boil them~ When water is boiling add artichokes and boil them for 15 minutes on high heat. 

Mix up 1/2 cup olive oil,  4-6 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper,  1 Tbsp fresh thyme,  1Tbsp fresh rosemary-chopped fine~  if you use dried herbs, switch to 1 tsp each!  When artichokes are done boiling, take a basting brush and brush artichokes, liberally, with the garlic herb oil! 

Put these onto a grill over high heat, uncovered!  Will need about 5 minutes a side, and sometimes I leave it on for longer, as I love the charred flavor, and I want more! The more charred, the better! ;)

Looking good!  Almost ready to eat! 

These are a great appetizer for parties!  Serve with a Remoulade sauce or an easy hollandaise sauce!  For hollandaise, simply mix up about a 1/2 cup of mayo,  a bit of yellow mustard (about a tsp), and  1Tbsp lemon juice!  So easy!  For remoulade sauce mix up 1 cup mayo, 1 1/2 green sweet relish, 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 tsp capers, 1 tsp dijon mustard, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to taste.  Have an empty bowl ready for the eaten, discarded leaves!!  :) YUMMY, these are so great!!!  Low carb, too!! :)  

Spicy Fish Stew!!!

This is a great, flavorful fish stew, unlike all flavors of others I have tasted! So YUMMY, yet healthy for you!  My sister, Jill, found the basic recipe, and she and I knocked it up a few taste-buds!  I am a multi-level flavor junkie~ So is my sister, and we both enjoy making a good recipe, GREAT!  My boys, who usually are not too fond of fish, love this dish!  They love the flavor, and the spiciness!  IF you do not like too much spice, cut the jalapenos by half! We Texans LOVE the heat, though!! :)  We usually serve this over cooked Quinoa, but it would taste great with any rice or grain~ so good!! 

SPICY FISH STEW!

4 pounds frozen tilapia filets

1 large onion, cut in half, then thin strips (I cut those strips in half, again)

2 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic

4-5 Tbsps olive oil

1  14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes

12 oz can sliced jalapenos in 'escabeche'~ which has carrots and onion in it- drained, cut up a bit more (found in the Mexican food section of grocery store) 

1/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup cooking sherry

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp basil

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

2-3 tsp brown sugar

5 bay leaves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

Spicy Fish Stew, served with cooked Quinoa!  SO GOOD!

Just wanted you to see the jalapenos~ there are a few good brands! 

Saute garlic a bit, in olive oil on low heat~ do not let get brown or overcook~ 

Add onions and bay leaves.  Don't cook anymore, til filets and sauce are added~

Put frozen tilapia filets over onions and bay leaves, over lapping each other~ 

Add tomatoes, jalapenos, and all other flavorings and spices into a big measuring bowl and stir well~

Pour all the spiced up sauce over the tilapias filets~ 

Cover, and cook on low for 30 minutes, stirring from time to time~

Stir it all up, several times during cooking time, which will break up pieces of tilapia, which is what you want!   Further into cooking, push pieces that look uncooked, down more~

All cooked up, and ready to be served into bowls over the quinoa, or rice!   Serve with crusty bread too!! YUM, and healthy, too!! 

Beef Florentine Skillet Rice!

Here's a good, quick weekday dinner that goes far, using good ol' Rice A Roni!!!  My boys just scarf it down!  I make this when I am in a hurry and the boys want tasty food now!!  :)  This makes a lot, so if you have a smaller family, cut this in half, and use a regular size box of Rice a Roni!

BEEF FLORENTINE SKILLET RICE

1 pound lean ground beef

8 oz. sliced baby bella mushrooms

8 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 box family size Beef flavored Rice a roni (13.6 oz)~ made to package instructions, but cut water by 1/2- 3/4 cup so it's not mushy!

2 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt- or to taste

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp butter

Saute mushrooms in butter til golden, take out and set aside.  In same skillet brown the ground beef, then drain any grease.  Add the spinach, and spices.  Return the mushrooms to pan.

Make up Rice a Roni in different pot according to normal directions, but cut some water.

After rice is done cooking, add it to skillet with beef mixture, and stir well!  Dinner is ready!  Great served with a cold salad!  Love good, easy recipes, as we are always so busy!!  Aren't we all??!! :)

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic Gravy!

Chicken with 40 cloves, made my way~ with GRAVY!!  This is a really easy recipe that will knock you socks off!!  So much flavor!!  Garlic gets sweet and creamy, when cooked this way! You will LOVE this!!!!!

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic Gravy!

10-12 chicken thighs

Salt, pepper, onion powder to coat both sides of chicken

2 whole bulbs of garlic, around 40 cloves-peeled

4Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp butter

2 tsp herbs de provence

For gravy~ you'll need some Wondra powder, some milk (you'll use as much as you need, or want- the Wondra powder will make the gravy to the thickness you want.  Salt gravy to taste)

In a Dutch oven, saute whole cloves on medium high heat till slightly golden, in the olive oil, butter mix.  

When golden, transfer garlic cloves to a small bowl, but keep all the oil in pot!  DON'T throw that out!  We want that garlicky oil to sear our chicken in!! :)

Season chicken on skin side, with the salt, pepper, and onion powder.

On high heat now, put chicken in skin side down, and sear it till skin gets nice and slightly crispy. About 5 minutes.  Salt, pepper, and onion powder the back side of the chicken, while the skin side is searing!

Turn over, and sear the other side for a couple minutes. 

You will need to do this in batches, so take first 'group' out and set aside on plate, to do the same thing with the rest of the chicken.

Once you have sear up all the chicken, pile them back into Dutch oven and  add the herbs de provence- try to get that all over chicken, then add the cloves of garlic back into pot!  Cover with lid, and put into preheated 350 degree oven.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.  After baking time is done, transfer all the chicken and garlic onto a warm platter, but leave all the pan drippings in pot! I keep my platter of chicken in a very low oven to keep it warm while I whip up the gravy!

Put all the tasty pan drippings, still in Dutch oven, on the stove top, on medium heat and whisk in  some milk.

Add in the Wondra powder and whisk till the gravy is to the thickness of your liking.  If you think it too thin, slowly add more powder, if too thick, add more milk.  When just right, taste for saltiness. Add salt, if needed~ to your liking!!

This looks just perfectly right to me!  Now for the last step~

Take all those yummy garlic cloves and add to the gravy you just whipped up!!

Now pour all that great garlicky gravy all over your yummy cooked chicken that was waiting on a platter for ya, and serve!!  I make this up with my Jalapeno Cheesy Bread (recipe on this blog, August 2013), and the boys use the bread to sop up more of the gravy! It is finger licking AMAZING!!  Hope you enjoy it as much as we McKeels do!!  :)