Slow Cooker Corned Beef

Hello all! Life is just crazy. I think that is enough said. Between the holidays, trips, and the dreaded toilet paper shortage of 2020, posting recipes has been the last thing on my mind. But, here I am, getting my mind off of the worries of the world and spending more time at home with my family. Recipes may get a little...interesting...over the next few weeks but that's alright.
I know a few days after St. Patrick's day isn't the typical day to post a recipe about Corned Beef, but, that's what's happening. This is the Corned Beef we made this year and it was absolutely phenomenal! Every year I say the same thing, "Why don't we eat Corned Beef more often?!" Seriously though...why don't we. Corned Beef is absolutely delicious. Cooked in the slow cooker keeps it nice and juicy and tender while packed with the amazing peppercorn and saltiness we all love! I wanted to jazz up the flavor packet just a little by adding a couple of other pantry staples to it.
I opted to leave the traditional carrots, potatoes, and cabbage out of the slow cooker this time, but, you can totally add them in to make this an all in one pot dish.

Beef and Broccoli

MMM. Guys. This recipe is amazing. This version of the classic beef and broccoli does NOT have some of the typical ingredients that cause inflammation in the body such as cornstarch, sugar, and vegetable oil. This is a great recipe to use if you are in the beginning phases of "trialing" foods, because other then the beefy ingredients the other ingredients are anti-inflammatory!
Something I love about beef and broccoli is that it doesn't take long to make and can be served together, separate, with rice, without rice, etc. My kids typically like their food all separated out, so meals like this where I can easily do that not only makes them happy, but me as well because I don't have to listen to the groaning at dinner if it's combined.

Carne Asada Fries

GUYS!!!! Oh man. I had this baby last night and had to jump on today to share it with you. The marinade on this steak is amazing and paired with the guac and fries just takes it over the edge.
One thing I have decided lately is that everything is better served on top of fries. We went to a little mom and pop sandwich place a couple weeks ago and they suggested that we try the fillings on top of fries instead of in the sandwich buns and holy smokes. It was so much better, and we all know how much I loves me some bread! So for me to say it was better on fries is saying a lot.
This recipe is simple, fast, and screams Southern California lovin. One thing I miss about living there is the amazing carne asada you could pick up pretty much everywhere. I'm here to tell ya that this is a great recipe if you want to get that So Cal vibe in your home for a meal. It won't let you down.

Baked Beans

This recipe brings back such good memories. My husband and I love to camp. When we were first married we camped all the time and this was one of our favorite meals to prepare over the fire.
I don't do much cooking over the fire anymore for this recipe and instead use my handy dandy oven ;) but whenever I eat this it does remind me of those days.
This is seriously one of my favorite recipes because it is so versatile. I've made it with pork chops, with ground hamburger, and with hot dogs (yes we are very healthy at our house😁). This is also my all time favorite meal to make as a freezer meal. It warms up so well and tastes like it was never in the freezer.

Balsamic Glazed Steak Rolls

These little guys won't disappoint! I promise you that. They taste as good as they look, maybe even better because I am not the best photographer.
These little roll ups do require a little bit of work so this one will need to be saved for a day when you just feel like being in the kitchen for a little while. BUT I love the fact that there are tons of veggies rolled up into the meat, so I don't personally feel like I need to cook an additional vegetable side. I think these rolls are great with or without the balsamic sauce, and sometimes I even cheat a little and just buy some balsamic glaze from the grocery store just to save some time and effort.

Korean Beef

I found this recipe one day when I was searching for a REALLY fast dinner idea that would use things that I would have on hand because honestly lately I have been despising going to the grocery store! I'm sure I'm not the only person who HATES going anywhere in the summer, so if this is also the case for you, then this is your recipe. This recipe is jam packed with flavor and is done from start to finish in less than 30 minutes, so that's my kind of meal. I like to serve this beef on top of hot rice and broccoli.

Italian Beef and Noodles

This is one of my "go to" meals that we have ALL the time because everybody likes it! It's great when served hot, but I also like the leftovers cold.
If your on a budget this is a great meal to make because you can limit how much meat goes into the dish. I like to cut the meat thinner, which makes it appear to have more in it (nice trick right?!) This would be good with any assortment of vegetables in it, but zucchini is generally what I use.

Philly Cheesesteak Goodness

I love everything about this recipe. Why is this philly cheeseteak recipe different than others? There is this sauce...a garlic aioli sauce...that is just pure heaven and pulls this entire sandwich together. The best part, other than it tasting fantastic, is that it is another incredibly easy and quick dish. I don't know about your house but once 4 PM hits my house becomes...well not so fun. The kids have had it for the day at that point so the fighting and whining is at an all time high and my nerves are fried. So when I can quickly chop up a few ingredients, throw them in the pan and have it done in under 30 minutes, it saves my sanity a little. I usually have to deconstruct this for my kids because they aren't sandwich fans but it's still always a win.

Grilled Steak with Garlic butter

For valentine's day this year we decided to stick to kind of the traditional steak and shrimp meal. We usually opt to stay at home and cook together rather then going out and waiting forever for a table in a crowded restaurant.
Anyway, instead of having just a plain steak this year we decided to jazz it up with some garlic butter. This recipe was so incredibly easy and very delicious. It took a plain old, still good, steak to another level, without having to really do anything to it.

French Dip Sandwich

I love french dip. It's easy and no matter how you make it, it always comes out tasting delish. I uses to always eat it the classic way with just the meat, horseradish, and bun but lately I've been venturing out and trying some different ways. I believe I have found a keeper. If you like banana peppers you will love this recipe. I love the extra zing you get from cooking the meat with the peppers. Give it  a try. It won't disappoint.

BBQ Meatballs

Meatballs.  You can't get much easier then these for an amazing appetizer that requires no work at all. These bbq meatballs are always a crowd pleaser and I promise you will always have people asking for this recipe. Sometimes I don't like to share how easy it is because they taste like they should take more time and effort.

50-60 frozen meatballs (I like the Italian ones from costco)
9 oz bbq sauce (I use any original flavored kind)
9 oz grape jelly

1. Combine the bbq sauce and grape jelly in the bottom of your crock pot.
2. Add meatballs and stir to coat.
3. Set temperature to high, cover, and cook for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.

**Randi's Side Notes**
- I would keep an eye on these as they tend to brown more on the side that is in the liquid. I like to stir mine when I has about an hour left.

Loaded Philly Cheesesteak Potatoes

This is such a great recipe. This is the perfect weeknight meal. Its super fast, easy, and pretty healthy for you as well. If you cook your potatoes in the microwave then your meal will seriously be done in less then 20 minutes. That's pretty fantastic if you ask me!
I hadn't been over to my favorite food blog SkinnyTaste in a while and I'm glad that I stopped by because I found this great recipe. If your looking for more healthy recipes like this you should definitely check out that blog. It is simply fantastic!

Spaghetti Meat Sauce

On my way to church yesterday for some reason I started thinking about spaghetti. Kinda strange since it was 9:00 AM, but I couldn't get spaghetti out of my head all day. I just happened to have some ground turkey sitting in my fridge that I WAS going to make some stuffed peppers with but instead decided to whip up a homemade meat sauce instead. It turned out great! It involved ingredients that I had in my pantry and fridge, throw it all on the stove and let it simmer together to make a fantastic flavorful sauce!
Enjoy!

Kofta Kebabs

I am about the happiest person on earth right now. Since moving to Arizona we vowed to try out different types of food to eat. We decided we wanted to stay really close to our house and found that there was a Greek/Mediterranean place called Good Fellas Grill a couple blocks down the road. I had never had Greek food so I was a little hesitant but I must say...Oh....my....goodness! Their food is amazing. Anyway, one of the things that I really like to get when we eat there (yes we have been back at least once a month since then) is the Kafta. I love it. Finally I decided to try my hand at it last night to see if I could get a recipe that was similar to theirs...well this one tastes pretty freaking fantastic. I whipped up a quick garlic dressing to go with it and bam...Good Fellas at home!
Here is the even better part....ITS DIET FRIENDLY!! Wahoo, a recipe that isn't chicken lol. Enjoy my friends!

French Bread Pizza

So your craving homemade pizza but don't have the time to make some dough or want to mess with any store bought dough....well here is your answer. French, Bread, Pizza. I love these things. Just go grab a loaf of french bread, it in half, and load it up with whatever toppings your little heart desires. Its crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, which to me makes the perfect bite.

Classic Tinfoil Dinner

You know, tinfoil dinners are one of my favorites. There are a few reasons why I absolutely love them
1- EASY
2- No dishes to clean up
3- scrumptious!
These are my favorite thing to make when we are camping but they are also one of my favorite things to just have at home. You don't have to have a big fire or a tent pitched to eat these babies. I love that these dinners are so versatile. Not only can you throw whatever sounds good in a packet and it will almost always come out amazing, but you can cook it so many different ways as well.
Here is how I did my basic basic classic tinfoil dinner last night!
(Oh and I apologize for the REALLY bad photo. I forgot to snap a couple pictures last night since I wasn't here to eat it when it came out of the oven so I took a photo of what the leftovers looked like lol...sorry!)

Carne Asada

I realize this picture isn't the best of quality but my camera on my phone was all I had around when I made these the other night.
I could eat beef tacos every day of the week. While living in Southern California and working at the mall I grew accustomed to being able to have fantastic carne asada tacos whenever my little heart desired.
Since we are still fairly new to Arizona I haven't found a place yet that sells fantastic tacos for a good price so I had to resort to making my own. This recipe is fantastic. Its nice and zingy from all the citrus you put in the marinade but has all the wonderful classic flavors of a true Mexican taco. I served mine up on a white corn tortilla with some fresh made Pico De Gallo and avocado.

Shredded Beef Tacos

Oh....my.....goodness!!!!!
Between the amazing beef in this recipe and the tomatillo dressing recipe (recipe to come tomorrow) that goes with it I think I died and went to heaven! This I must say has got to be one of the best recipe finds I have ever found. The beef is slow cooked all day in a fantastic combination of flavors and then shredded to put in tacos! Then there is a tomatillo dressing recipe that is OUT OF THIS WORLD!
If you have ever been to Cafe Rio, this is a copycat version of their Shredded Beef Tacos and their Tomatillo dressing. So if you like it there then you will love this recipe!

The Gage Dog

Ohhhhh the hot dog. Everybody's favorite thing they hate to love. I personally am not a huge fan of the cheap (I don't know whats really in them) dogs from the grocery store, but, this recipe I will eat...everytime! The GAGE dog.
We were having a bbq at my sisters house a few years ago and my brother in law said that we had to try this version of a hot dog. It was fantastic. How can a hot dog with bacon not be good. Anyway, I believe it was his creation, or maybe it was something that he had seen before, BUT my husband loved it (as I recall he may have snarfed down one or two extra hot dogs that day.) Since they are brothers and they both love them, it is now called the GAGE dog in our household.

*I forgot to snap a picture of our dogs this time, so I tried to find the closest

thing on the web I could to what it looks like. I will update a new picture

when we make them again! But this is a great picture for if you forget to wrap the bacon around the dog, like I sometimes do :)*

Dad's Texas BBQ

Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm. I love BBQ season! And now that I live in the great state of Arizona, its ALWAYS BBQ season! This makes my tummy very happy :)
This BBQ sauce recipe is one that I grew up on. It's one that my dad always used whenever he would do up some ribs. In my opinion I think it would be good on any kind of meat, but you can never go wrong with it when its on some fantastic ribs...
(Yes I did just have to wipe a little drool off my chin...)
If you don't use all of the sauce it can save in the fridge for at least a week, depending on how you store it.
For me, this recipe just brings back fond memories of dad at the grill, mom making some macaroni salad, and me bringing the dishes outside to eat with the family on the deck!