*Hash*

Lately we've been having roast, carrots, and potatoes for dinner on my Monday night cooking club night...then Hash for Tuesday night. It's just an EASY meal for me when it's such a crazy night. And my family loves it. So... everyone in my cooking clubs- and a lot of other people keep wondering, "What the heck is Hash?" Well, I didn't know either, til I married Luke. Basically it's just leftover roast with a twist.

So, first you have to make a roast. The way I do it is turn my crockpot to high (if the roast is frozen, low if it's thawed) and put in a 2-3lb roast (or 2!). I pour about a cup of water over the top, then sprinkle it generously with garlic salt, onion salt, salt and pepper. (No, it is NOT too salty.) Then I chop an onion into 8 wedges and throw them in. I leave it on that setting from about 1pm to 3pm. At 3pm I add as many potatoes (halved) and carrots (halved...or baby carrots) as I can cram into my crockpot (and always wish for a bigger pot) and turn the setting to high. I sprinkle those with the same 4 spices. I leave it on high for about an hour then turn it to low again until it's time to eat. (if you can't be around all day, like I am, then just stick it all in (with a thawed roast) and turn it on low for about 4 hours) So, night 1 I serve that meal...

The next day, I chop the potatoes and carrots into bite size pieces and fry them in a layer of oil (preferrably, actually, bacon grease. Say, 2 Tablespoons...) When they seem almost fried I add chopped (bitesize) roast pieces and continue frying it all until the first piece burns. (Try not to let a bunch of first pieces burn all at once. Or you could just keep frying them until they are hot!) Now, one tip is to get the pan and oil heated up on medium heat until you can flick water into it and it sizzles. THEN and ONLY then do you add the potatoes and carrots. This is what makes them crispy. While it's all frying I like to add more garlic salt, onion salt and pepper to the pieces. Oh my goodness...until I had hash I hated roast. Now I tolerate roast to get to the hash. I've even considered making a roast and saving it for hash. But I don't think Luke would love that.

This meal is seriously SO easy. Quick clean up. And even in the summer it's do-able since it won't heat your house to blazes. Before you judge it, TRY it. At least the hash part.

Crockpot Chicken (or Beef!) Stroganoff

Dinner's on! And it's only noon!!! That's because I found me some crockpot recipes to try, and BOY AM I EXCITED! I know some of you out there (including my very own sister in law!) have a THING against crockpot foods....I have this to say to you. Get over it. You've probably only had foods that came from the campbell's "I don't have any taste" cookbook or some 3 ingredient or less thing. I LOVE my crockpot, and I'm not afraid to say it. For the rest of you, here's the recipe I'm trying. It originally calls for chicken, but I'm in the mood for some good red meat SOOOO true to my subconcious need to change every recipe, I have modified it some. I'll give it both ways in case you want to try the chicken one!

Ingredients:
4 chicken breast halves, cubed
(1lb-ish cubed deer or beef steak)
2 T butter or margarine
1 pkg (.7 oz) Italian Dressing Mix
1 (10.75 oz) can Cream of Chicken soup
(Cream of Mushroom would be good with the beef)
1 (8oz) block of cream cheese
OPTIONAL: 1 can sliced mushrooms or equivilant fresh
frozen broccoli (for the beef kind, not sure about broccoli with chicken..maybe?)

Throw the cubed chicken (beef) into the crockpot along with the butter and Italian Dressing Mix. Cook on low for 5 hours. One half hour before serving add the soup, cream cheese, and veggies and cook on HIGH until heated through. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

POINTS: 10 per serving
makes 4 servings
14 points if served over 3/4 cup cooked rice OR egg noodles. 13 points if served over 1/2 cup cooked rice.
Weight Watchers has changed their point system, so this point value is only valid with their NEW system. (My GUESS is that it'd be a few less points with the "old" system, but I can't be sure) Curse you WW for changing what I knew so well.

*I'm thinking I might try it next time with some garlic added. We'll see how that goes.*

Sesame Beef and Broccoli

I tried this recipe about a month ago and it was fantastic. I am going to make it again this week and will have a picture then, I promise.

I just LOVE sesame oil- it has such a unique and yummy flavor- so (as I will say several more times I am sure) I highly reccomend including this ingredient. EVEN if it means you will have to wait to try it unti you've been to the store!

Really though, I just love almost any recipe with sesame seeds. Also, I love broccoli. Also, rice. Not so much beef...but even I can say that in this particular recipe the beef is exceptional.

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless beef top round steak
1 small can sliced mushrooms, drained well
1 medium onion
1/2 cup water, mix with 1 beef bouillon cube
3 tablespoons teriyaki baste and glaze (Kikkomans works well)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil — if desired (I TOTALLY reccomend this ingredient!!)
2/3 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
1 1/3 cups water
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups frozen broccoli florets or fresh broccoli

Trim fat off beef, and cut into bite-size pieces, and throw into crock pot. Cut onion into wedges and add to pot. Drain mushrooms well and add along with beef broth, teriyaki baste and glaze, sesame seeds and sesame oil (again, I will emphasize...sesame oil is FANTASTIC in this recipe!); mix well. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours. About 35 minutes before serving, on stovetop cook rice as directed on package. Also, combine 2 tablespoons water and cornstarch; blend well. Stir cornstarch mixture and broccoli into beef mixture. Cover; cook on low setting for an additional 30 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender. Serve over rice.

This recipe serves 4 (unless your hubby eats like mine, then it serves 3).
Each serving is 7 points (assuming your hubby ate 2 servings. He then gets 14 points.)