Jaegerschnitzel

Hubs and I have an affinity for Europe.  We are both fascinated by its' history, architecture, and food.  We would LOVE to go and just eat.  We enjoy the food.  This week, we're eating food from various countries in Europe.  Last night was Germany.  I have some German heritage in my family.  I remember my grandmother cooking various cream sauces for meat like this recipe.  When we ate it last night, it really brought back some memories.   Jaegerschnitzel is a mushroom cream sauce served with meat cutlets.  I chose to use pork.  Here's my recipe.

Jaegerschnitzel

Ingredients:
Jaeger -

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 Tbs. butter

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup + 2 Tbs. half and half, divided

2 Tbs. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

Freshly ground pepper

3 Tbs. fresh parsley, chopped

Schnitzel -

4 pork loin chops

3 Tbs. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

Freshly ground pepper

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 Tbs. butter

Directions:

1. Melt 1 Tbs. butter in large skillet.  Sauté onion until translucent.  Add sliced mushrooms and brown.

2. Add broth.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of half and half and simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Mix remaining 2 Tbs. of half and half with 2 tablespoons of flour to create a slurry. Add slurry to mushroom mixture and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly to avoid clumps. Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm while cutlets are cooked.

4. Lay pork chops on cutting board, cover with plastic wrap, and pound with mallet until chops are 1/4 inch thick.  Slice cutlets in half. 

5. Melt 2 Tbs. butter in skillet. Dip cutlets in flour mixed with pepper, salt and cayenne pepper, shake off extra flour and sauté for 3 minutes on each side or until browned and cutlets are cooked through.  Remove from skillet to plate lined with paper towels to catch grease.  Serve with sauce and mashed potatoes.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

It's Sunday, you've been at church for 3 hours, and for some odd reason you are starving!  What is it about Mormons, church, and hunger?  It's only 3 hours, for crying out loud!  So, I am always looking for crock pot meals so that dinner is ready as soon as we get home.  This was and is a Sunday must at our house.  Mix it with yummy dinner rolls, mmmmmm.... I can still smell this cooking at my Grandma's house when I was little.  Oh, the memories.  Finish it off with a pan of brownies, and you have yummy goodness.  Oh my gosh, could Sunday get here sooner?

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Ingredients:
1 beef roast (2-3 pounds)
4 potatoes, cleaned and cut into cubes
4 carrots, peeled and cut into pieces
1 small onion, cut into slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups water

Directions:
1. Place potatoes, carrots, onion, and garlic in bottom of crock pot.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 
2. Place roast on top of vegetables, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and pour water around edges.  Put lid on and cook on low for 8-10 hours (the longer you cook it, the more tender it will be). 

Beefalo Burgers

I love the taste of wild game - I've never been one to shy away from elk, moose, venison, etc.  One of my favorite burgers is a beefalo burger.  And since I cannot afford to buy REAL beefalo meat, I make my own little variation.  The key to a good beefalo burger though is to cook it over low heat, turning frequently.  And I serve mine with all the fixings, including our special burger sauce.

Beefalo Burgers

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. ground bison/buffalo
1 Tbs. rubbed sage
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
Sliced cheese of your choosing
Buns
Condiments of your choosing

Directions:
1. Preheat grill on medium heat.
2. Combine beef, bison, sage, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
3. Divide into 4 parts and make 1/4 lb. patties.
4. Place patties on preheated grill and cook for 1 minute on each side to sear.
5. Decrease heat to low and cook patties until desired - well done, medium, rare, etc. Turn frequently.
6. During last minute, if you would like cheese on your burger, place sliced cheese on patties and allow to melt.  Remove from heat and serve.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Note: I have updated this recipe.

I am FINALLY getting around to posting this recipe.  Have you ever sat down to eat something with a spouse or friend or other warm body and the ideas on how to improve it just keep rolling?  Well, this happened when we first tried this recipe.  Jon and I seriously sat at the kitchen table for 30 minutes and elaborated until we were salivating all over again. 

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. pork tenderloin
4 Tbs. caribbean jerk seasoning
1 Tbs. thyme
1 medium onion, sliced
1 can Coke
2 cups barbecue sauce
4 Tbs. butter
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
Sliced swiss cheese
French style rolls

Directions:
1. Rub pork with jerk seasoning.  Sprinkle with thyme.  Place in crock pot.
2. Sprinkle diced onion over top of pork and pour in Coke.  Cook on low heat for 8-10 hours.  DO NOT REMOVE LID TO CHECK!
3. Remove pork from crock pot and shred using forks.  Pour 3/4 cup of liquid in with pork.  Add barbecue sauce and shredded pork. 
4. Sautee mushrooms in large skillet with butter. 
5. Using tongs, pick up shredded pork and add as much as desired to your roll, layer with onions and mushrooms, then cheese. 

Corned Beef

I have not one ounce of Irish blood in me.  I think that is ironic though, considering that I have Scottish and Welsh blood.  But, my hubby does.  And my niece's birthday is on St. Patrick's Day.  So, we try to celebrate a little.  And what's better than Corned Beef on St. Patty's Day?  LEFTOVERS!  We seriously love to have the leftover, cold, sliced corned beef on sandwiches.  OH CORNY GOODNESS!  (Okay, that was weird)  Here's how I fix my corned beef, which serves our family of 4 with leftovers for a few sandwiches.

Corned Beef

Ingredients:
2-3 pound Corned Beef Brisket (Flat or Point Cut) with seasoning packet
4 red potatoes, cleaned and cut into quarters
3 carrots, peeled and cut into pieces
1 small sweet onion, cut into wedges
1 cabbage head, sliced into wedges
1 1/2 cups water

Directions:
1. Place vegetables in crock pot.  Place brisket over vegetables and sprinkle with seasoning packet.  Pour water around edges of brisket.
2. Cook on low for 8-10 hours - the longer you cook the brisket, the more tender it will be and the more flavor your vegi's will have. 
3. Serve with grainy mustard or creamy horseradish. 

Crock Pot Yankee Pot Roast

This week, I'm making Yankee style pot roast for Crock Pot Night. I love this recipe because the meat is so tender and it makes its own drippings for gravy. Then we use the leftover meat the next night, slice it up thinly, and put it on bread with mozzerella or provolone cheese. Leave the sandwich open face and toast it to melt the cheese. Then pour gravy over the top. Sooooooooooooo yummy!

Crock Pot Yankee Pot Roast

Ingredients:
2-3 pound roast
6 red potatoes, washed
1 small bag baby carrots
1 cup water
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
1. Sear the roast by heating a large skillet over medium-high heat, then place the roast on hot skillet for a few minutes on each side, just to brown/sear the outside of the meat. (This will help to keep the meat from drying out)
2. Place potatoes and carrots in bottom of crock pot and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place roast over the top of the vegetables and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour water into crock pot. Cover crock with lid and cook on low for 9-10 hours.
3. To make the gravy, add enough water to the drippings to make 2 cups. In a shaker, combine 1/2 cup cold water and 1/4 cup flour. Shake to combine until there are no lumps. Gradually add to drippings. Cook over medium heat until gravy begins to boil, stirring constantly. Cook for 1 minute or until gravy thickens.

Steak Kabobs

I know that everyone is doing all that they can to save money these days. Gas is out of control, there is flooding in the midwest, and all of this affects everything, especially food! I have been sitting down each week to plan my weekly meals out, trying to spend no more than $4 per person per meal.


My sister-in-law recently introduced me to a new shopping tactic that I found works brilliantly. We try to keep our driving to a minimum, so we only go grocery shopping on Saturdays. I know that when I go shopping, I will have to go to Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and Smith's. BUT! The new tactic is that when I make my shopping list every Thursday/Friday, I pull out the ads we get in the mail each week (for us, it's Smith's, Albertson's, Von's, and Food 4 Less), and look for the sale items that I have on my list. I write down the cheapest sale price for each item and where that price is at. For example, I wanted to try this new recipe this week, Steak Kabobs, so I looked in the ad for steak that was on sale. At Smith's, top sirloin was $2.49. At Von's, it was $1.49! So I wrote that price down. Then, you take your list to Wal-Mart, and they will price match ANYTHING! Seriously, ANYTHING! I got everything on my list, including the water I normally get at Sam's Club, at Wal-Mart. Not only did I save money on gas, but I also saved around $25 on my grocery bill! (By the way, the meat at Wal-Mart is extremely overpriced. They steak I got was $5.38 per pound. So if you shop at Wal-Mart, make sure you do a price match especially on meat!) I owe a big thanks to Dawnie for enlightening me on some money saving tricks!


Now for the recipe. I think I found a keeper that is very cost effective but doesn't taste like it. We tried this recipe last night, and it was very difficult not to hurt yourself by eating too much! These are very good, the meat is so tender, and the vegetables get a nice flavor to them. You can use any type of steak you like, but I used a top sirloin that was thick cut. This was actually something I got Jocey to eat too! Because she doesn't like meat, we made her an all vegetable skewer and an all asparagus skewer. Watch for sales on steak and this meal will only cost you around $12, and it'll feed 4-5 people ($3 per person ain't too shabby!). I also found that metal skewers are easier to use so that the mushrooms don't break.

Steak Kabobs

Ingredients:
2 lbs. steak, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 package whole mushrooms, cut in half
2 red peppers, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup Kraft Greek Vinagrette Dressing, divided in half


Directions:
1. Put steak cubes into large ziploc bag with 1/2 cup of the dressing. Toss to evenly coat steak. Allow to marinade for 6 hours.
2. Blanch asparagus - bring enough water to cover asparagus to a boil. Put asparagus in water and allow to simmer for 3 minutes. Immediately drain and run asparagus under cold water to "shock." This will help to soften the asparagus and keep it a bright green color.
3. Thread meat and vegetables, alternating, on skewers. Grill over medium-high heat for 15 minutes, or until meat is cooked and vegetables are at tender-crisp stage. Brush with remaining dressing while the skewers cook.