Breakfast Casserole

⅓ cup butter
½ cup prepared biscuit mix
1 ½ cups milk
3 eggs
1 cup chopped ham or bacon
½ cup cheese

Combine butter and prepared biscuit mix.  Add eggs.  Mix well.  Add milk, ham, and cheese.  Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes.

California Zucchini Bake

1 lb. Ground beef (or Turkey burger)
3 each Zucchini, sliced thin
¼ cup Green Onions, sliced
¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 teaspoon Chili Powder
4 ounce Green Chilies, diced
3 cups Rice, cooked
1 cup Sour Cream
2 cups Cheese (I omit the cheese, but sprinkle a bit on top of half the casserole for my family)
about ½ - 1 teaspoon Salt
about ¼ teaspoon Pepper

Sauté the beef, zucchini, green onions, salt, garlic powder and chili powder in a lightly greased skillet until the meat is no longer pink and the vegetables are tender crisp, stirring frequently.  Add green chilies, rice, sour cream and 1 cup of cheese.  Turn into a greased shallow 2-quart casserole.  Arrange tomato slices on top and season with salt and pepper.  Top with remaining cheese.  Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese browns.

Steak Marinade

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon crushed dried rosemary
3 tablespoons steak sauce (e.g. A-1)
4 (10 ounce) Delmonico (rib-eye) steaks

Combine the olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, rosemary, and steak sauce in the container of a food processor or blender. Process until well blended.  Prick steaks on both sides with a fork, and place in a shallow container with a lid. Pour marinade over steaks, cover, and refrigerate at least 3 hours, or overnight. 

*Don't overmarinade them (i.e. 24 hrs) or the get super salty!  Been there...done that.

French Dip

½ lb. sliced deli roast beef
Sliced Swiss cheese
1 packet prepared Schillings AuJus sauce
Hogi rolls

 Prepare AuJus sauce as directed on the packet.  Put meat in sauce to warm up.  Butter the top of the bun.  Put the meat and cheese on the bottom bun.  Place buns in the oven to brown and melt cheese.  Put together and enjoy.  You can dip the sandwiches in the remaining sauce.

Barbecued Pulled Pork Sandwiches

2 ½ lbs. pork roast
1 bottle (14 ounce) of your favorite barbecue sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 medium onion, chopped
8 hamburger buns or hard rolls

Place the pork roast in a crock-pot and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 5-6 hours or until done.  Remove the pork roast from the crock-pot.  Shred the meat with two forks and pour out any liquid from the crock-pot.  Return the pork to the stoneware and add the barbecue sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice and onion.  Cook on low for 1 hour or on high for 2 hours.  Serve the pork on hamburger buns or hard rolls.

Corned Beef & Cabbage...St. Patrick's Day

Corned Beef Roast
5 peppercorns
8-10 small red potatoes
Carrots...I like a lot of vegetables
1 large Head Cabbage
Broth

Trim fat from roast.  Place in stock pot and cover with beef broth & chicken broth and water (until covered completely).  Add seasoning packet and peppercorns.  Cook 50 minutes for each pound of roast.  Add whole potatoes and carrots, and cook until the vegetables are almost tender. Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove meat and let rest 15 minutes.  Place vegetables in a bowl and cover. Add as much broth (cooking liquid reserved in the Dutch oven or large pot) as you want. Slice meat across the grain.

Café Rio At Home

Source: my sister-in-law

1 medium pork roast (3-5 lbs.)

1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups sugar (you can add up to 2 cups depending on how sweet you like it)

1 can coke

16 ounces “FRESH” salsa

In crock pot, place pork roast with a small amount of water.  Cover and let cook 8-12 hours on low heat until cooked through.  Drain the fat from the crock pot and shred the meat.  Pour coke, salsa, and sugar over the roast and stir.  Cover and let cook for 1 hour.  When done serve with lime rice (see recipe below), your favorite beans (pinto, black, or refried) and put all ingredients on a warm tortilla and cover with tomatillo dressing (see recipe below) that has been warmed.

Tomatillo & Cilantro Dressing (green ranch sauce)

1 package buttermilk ranch dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon lemon juice, and milk to make 1 cup buttermilk*

1 cup sour cream

1 cup chopped cilantro

3 tomatillos (green tomato – can use canned ones)

3 cloves garlic

In a blender, put buttermilk, sour cream, mayo and package of buttermilk dressing.  Take cilantro bunch and tear off leaves (do not use courser stems, but little ones connected to leaves are okay.)  Place cilantro leaves in blender.  Peel covering off of tomatillos and remove core.  Chop in half, place in blender.  Add minced garlic and cayenne pepper into blender.  Blend all ingredients until smooth.  Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.  Warm for pork burritos.

Lime Rice

2 cups white rice

3 ¾ cups chicken stock

⅛ cup fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon grated lime peel

2 tbsp butter

Add chicken stock, lime juice, and grated peel to large heavy saucepan on medium heat bring to boil.  Stirring occasionally.  Add rice.  Reduce heat.  Cover and cook until rice is tender and all liquid is absorbed (about 20 minutes.)

*So, to make your own buttermilk (which is what I do since I'm lactose intolerant) is put 1 TBSP lemon juice or vinegar in my liquid measuring cup, then add milk to make 1 cup.  Allow to sit 5 minutes before using so the milk sours.  If you aren't lactose intolerant, omit this and just use 1 cup buttermilk.

Navajo Fry Bread for Navajo Taco

2 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon non-dairy creamer
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup warm water
Vegetable oil or shortening for frying

Optional taco toppings:

Shredded lettuce
Shredded cheese
Salsa
Olives
Sour cream
Avocados
 
Preheat oven to 200° and line baking sheet with paper towels.  Stir together flour, salt, creamer, and baking powder.  Stir in warm water.  If dough is very sticky add more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until dough is soft but cohesive.  Don’t knead.  Let dough rest 15-20 minutes.  Cut dough into 6-8 pieces.  On a lightly floured surface, pat first pieces of dough into a circle about ¼ inch thick.  Heat 1-inch of oil or shortening in heavy skillet over medium heat.  Oil should be 350°.  Test with a small piece of dough.  If it starts to fry immediately, the oil is ready.  Pat excess flour off first dough circle and carefully lay into the oil.  With tongs, depress the middle so the top is submerged under the oil.  Fry 3 minutes, or until the bottom is golden.  Turn and fry the other side approximately the same amount of time.  You do not need the bread to be uniformly golden.  Drain on paper towels.  Transfer to baking sheet and place in oven to keep warm.  Cook remaining dough.  When all the bread is cooked, top with chili and serve with shredded cheese, shredded lettuce and other optional taco toppings if desired.

Chili or Navajo Taco Filling

1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
32 oz stewed tomatoes (I use 1 quart of my canned tomatoes)

2 (15 oz) cans kidney beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup water (about)
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons corn starch, mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water to create a slurry

Optional garnishes:

Corn chips
Grated cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Warm flour tortillas
Lime wedges
Or whatever other taco or chili toppings you like 

Brown and crumble beef in pan over medium heat.  Remove meat and discard all but 1 tablespoon of grease.  Saute onion and garlic until softened in the reserved grease.  Add chili powder, cumin, and oregano and sauté until fragrant.  Return beef to pan and add salt, cocoa powder and Tabasco.  Add tomatoes, beans and water to cover.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove lid and simmer uncovered  for 20 more minutes, stir occasionally.  Stir in peanut butter.  Simmer 10 more minutes.  Thicken as desired with corn starch slurry, stirring constantly until mixture boils and thickens.