Crock-Pot Cafe Rio Beef -- Spicy Beef

This is one of my most favorite dishes. You can use this beef in tacos, on a salad, burritos, chimmichangas, almost anything Mexican will work. I've even used it to make empanadas. Yummy!

For those of you familiar with Cafe Rio, this is my adaptation of their recipe:

Spicy Mexican Beef (Cafe Rio Beef)

3 lb Chuck Roast
2 cups salsa
1 cup beef broth
1 can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon cumin
3 cloves garlic
1 onion, cut into rings

1. Put the roast in the crock pot.
2. Mix salsa, broth, tomato sauce, cumin and garlic in the blender or food processor until smooth.
3. Pour mix over the beef.
4. Top with onion rings.
5. Cook for 7-8 hours on low.
6. Remove the onion and shred the meat, removing any visible fat.
7. Return to crock-pot juice and simmer for about an hour.

Serve as tacos with cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, and beans.

French Dip Sandwiches

My mother-in-law makes the best French Dip Sandwiches. We recently had her French Dips for Sunday dinner when visiting in their home. Wow! I really love the flavor of the meat in this recipe!

Sarah's French Dip

1 boneless chuck roast, trimmed(3 to 4 pounds)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 beef bouillon cube**
1 bay leaf
4 peppercorns
1 teaspoon fresh or dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
12 French sandwich rolls, split horizontally

Place roast in a slow cooker. Combine everything but the rolls and pour over the roast. Add water to slow cooker until roast is almost covered.

Cook, covered on LOW setting for 7 hours or until very tender. Remove roast, reserving the broth. Discard bay leaf.

Shred roast or slice very thinly. Place roast in rolls and serve with broth for dipping.

*** I think the next time I make it, I'll use a package of Au Jus mix instead of bullion to see if it gives a slightly richer flavor.

Zippy Casserole

Growing up, this was a family classic. We had it ALL the time. In college, I'd make it for my roommates for Sunday dinner. No fancy-schmancy, but tasty all the same.

Zippy Casserole
1 lb macaroni, cooked according to directions, drained
1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained
1 green pepper, finely diced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 lb cheddar cheese grated

1. Cook and drain pasta
2. Brown and drain ground beef
3. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
4. Combine noodles, beef, pepper, cream of mushroom soup, ketchup and half of the cheese together.
5. Top with the remaining cheese
6. Bake for 45 minutes covered, uncover for 15 minutes more, or until cheese is desired texture.

Beef Stroganoff

I LOVE beef stroganoff. It's not my hubby's favorite, so I often cook it when I know he's going to be eating dinner elsewhere. I usually add a little extra Worcestershire sauce to the meat when browning. This is another recipe I make once and vacuum seal the rest into a few portions for a quick lunch another day.

Beef Stroganoff

1 pound beef stew meat
½ pound mushrooms
½ onion
1 Tablespoon butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 dash garlic salt
1 dash pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup sour cream
Broccoli (optional)
4 cups egg noodles

Melt butter. Lightly brown meat, onion and mushrooms in sauce pan over low heat.

Add everything but the sour cream and egg noodles to a crock pot and simmer on low for 4-6 hours.

Serve over egg noodles.

Best Pot Roast EVER!!!!

The best pot roast I've ever had is also one of the easiest. One Sunday, I wanted to make pot roast, but didn't have all the ingredients listed in the recipe I was planning on using. Whittling out what I didn't have, I was happier with the result than I was with the original recipe.

This recipe is really one of those cases where the whole is more than equal to the sum of the parts -- yet again!. It tastes awesome! Be prepared to be underwhelmed by the ingredient list:

Darcy's Pot Roast

3-4 pounds of roast meat -- you pick the cut
1 cup white grape juice
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 package dry onion soup mix

Combine juice, soup and onion mix together and stir well.

Pour over the roast.

Bake at 350 for about 2 hours.

Test for your texture preference and color.

Tip: The leftovers work well shredded for French Dip Sandwiches