Beef Bolognese Sauce

Beef Bolognese Sauce
Yield: Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

3lbs of ground beef
5 medium onions, diced
1 1/2 cups of chopped baby carrots or one whole carrot diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 15oz can of tomato sauce

2 jars of tomato sauce or 6 cups of homemade sauce
3 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
1 head of garlic (about 8-10 cloves), minced
1/3 cup of olive oil

1/2 cup fresh basil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

1. Prep all of your vegetables, dice and mince when needed and set aside.
2. Turn your large saucepan on medium heat, coat with oil, and add you beef.
3. Sprinkle your salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic on your beef and brown for 5-10 min.
4. Turn your slow cooker on LOW for 8 hours, add the contents of your saucepan to the basin of you slow cooker.  You can also cook this overnight. The longer you cook it for the more flavors marinate together.
5. Add your canned tomatoes, sauce, all your vegetables, and seasonings. Mix well and cover.
6. Serve immediately or cool and freeze in containers! Enjoy!

I make this huge batch every couple of months and freeze in containers for easy dinners. This flavorful and hearty sauce makes for a filling dinner and sneaking in the veggies makes me extra happy as I watch my kids gobble it up!

Rotisserie Chicken Fajitas

Rotisserie Chicken Fajitas  
Yield: Serves 6

Ingredients:

1/2 a Rotisserie chicken, de-boned and skinned
1 green bell pepper
1 jalapeno
1 onion
1/2 a cup of fresh cilantro
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 a cup of olive oil

Directions:

1. Drizzle your olive oil in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish
2. Take your cooked meat, dice it, and toss it into your baking dish.
3. Slice up your bell pepper, dice your jalapeno, and chop your onion. Toss all into the baking dish.
4. Sprinkle your salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, and taco seasoning into your baking dish coating your meat and vegetables.
5. Juice your lemon and drizzle the lemon juice over your ingredients. With a spatula, mix everything together well, cover with tin foil, and let marinate in your refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
6. Bake your dish at 375 F, with foil still covering the dish, for 15 minutes. Take the foil off and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes.
7. I added this mixture of meat and veggies to a base of black beans and cheese on a tortilla and topped it all off with some yummy salsa and sour cream!

Do you ever buy a Rotisserie chicken, eat half, and then wonder what to do with the thing? We buy one weekly because it is a great buy on meat at under $5 for a whole, cooked, chicken! I usually end up with half a chicken and have to come up with ways to use it in the rest of the meals I am fixing for the week. This is one of those many ways you can use that cheapo bird!
Overall, this is a really easy recipe and is pretty fool proof! My husband is currently sitting next to me devouring his food and narrating every bite for me, "Mmmm the peppers still have a nice little crunch to them..." "How many jalapenos did you add to this?" "The chicken is nice and tender..."  Oh husband of mine...

Note: This recipe is on the Medium/Mild end of the heat spectrum so if you want it spicier add a second jalapeno. Also, I seeded my jalapeno and did not add the seeds to the mixture. The seeds hold a lot of the heat so you could just keep the seeds for a little more heat! Enjoy! :)

Strawberry White Wine Spritzer

Strawberry White Wine Spritzer

Yield: Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 750ml bottle of white Moscato wine 

1 liter of Sprite

2 cups of diced fresh strawberries

Directions: 

1. In a pitcher, add your bottle of wine and diced strawberries. Chill in refrigerator for 2-3 hours prior to serving. 

2. Immediately before serving, add your chilled Sprite. Pour into wine glasses and garnish with a fresh strawberry.   Enjoy!

Note: I used Barefoot Moscato, but you could use any brand that you like!

We went strawberry picking at a local farm earlier in the day, so I was left with two huge buckets of fresh, ripe, strawberries. I made this recipe up on a whim mixing two of my most favorite ingredients together: alcohol and strawberries! Yummy! The strawberries got very drunk by the end of the evening and I ate them with a spoon out of the bottom of my glass because I am super Klassy like that! I hope you all enjoyed this beverage as much as I did! Leave a comment and let me know what you thought!

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Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Pulled Pork Sandwich 

Yield: Makes 6-8 sandwiches

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds of pork tenderloin

1 1/2 cups root beer

1 medium onion, diced

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 tablespoon of ground cayenne powder

1 teaspoon of paprika

10 shakes of hot sauce

12 oz bottle of BBQ sauce

Directions:

1. Cut your tenderloin in two inch thick slices, making roughly five slices. Lay your tenderloin slices on the bottom of your slowcooker heated on LOW for 8 hours.

2. Sprinkle your salt and pepper over your meat. Add your chopped garlic and onion along with all your spices.

3. Pour your root beer over your meat and cover.

4. When you have one hour left on your timer (hour seven) use a wooden spoon and work your pork until shredded. Mix well to incorporate all the juices. Add in the bottle of BBQ sauce, mix well, and cover for the remaining hour.

5. Enjoy hot on ciabatta rolls and I bought mine at Costco. You can also store any left over pork in a Ziploc bag and freeze. Enjoy!