Crock Pot Carne Asada

I love Carne Asada, but I didn't want to grill it (as I normally do). So I search the internet for a crock pot recipe and found this one. It is a keeper!!! Very easy and so good! Especially good with the homemade tortillas I brought home from Tucson!



2 1/2 pounds lean stew meat (I used beef shoulder roast)
2 Tbsp chili powder (I used 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1/2 Tbsp ancho chili powder, and 1/2 Tbsp cayenne pepper)
1 Tsp ground cumin
1 Tsp salt
2 Tsp minced garlic
Juice of 1 fresh lime
12 oz dark beer or beef broth (I used beef broth)
2 fresh jalapeño peppers, chopped
1 small onion, cut into eights
1 Tsp dry oregano

In a ziplock bag combine the chili powder, cumin, salt, minced garlic, and lime juice until blended. Put meat in ziplock bag and marinate in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, put the meat in the crock pot, along with the beer/beef broth, onion, jalapeño peppers, and the oregano. Cover and cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours, or on high setting for 4 to 6 hours. Shread meat with two forks and serve with your favorite garnishes in flour tortillas.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

I found this recipe on Pioneer woman's website and since I have all those wonderful blueberries I brought home from Indiana, I decided to try it!!! It is GREAT!

• ½ sticks Butter
• 1 Tablespoon (additional) Butter
• ¾ cups Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1 whole Egg
• ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 2-¼ teaspoons Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ¾ cups Whole Milk
• 2 cups Fresh Blueberries
• _____
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• ¾ sticks Butter
• ½ cups Sugar
• ½ cups Flour
• ¼ teaspoons Salt

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, and a salt. Stir and set aside.

Cream 1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter with cinnamon and sugar. Add egg and mix until combined. Add vanilla and mix. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until totally incorporated. Do not over beat. Stir in blueberries until evenly distributed.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Pour in batter.

In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients and cut together using two knives or a pastry cutter. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.

Bake cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Cut into squares and serve with softened butter.

Crab Louie

2 cups crab meat
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups chopped tomatoes
juice of 2 lemons
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chili sauce
2 T. chopped parsley
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 T minced parsley

2-3 hard boiled eggs, quartered
cucumber slices
boston lettuce
artichoke hearts

Mix crab meat, tomatoes, celery, parsley and lemon juice together. Mix in a separate bowl mayonnaise, chili sauce, onion and bit of parsley together and chill. Arrange the crab mixture on a bed of lettuce, pour mayonnaise mixture over tome and garnish with eggs, cucumber and artichokes!!!

This is the BEST ice cream.

I got the recipe from the Pioneer Woman's website.
You do have to have time to prepare it because it involves cooking the custard! But it is soooo worth it!

Delicious Blackberry Ice Cream

2 pints fresh blackberries
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 cup sugar

5 large egg yolks

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Add blackberries to a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice. Cook over low heat, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes. Drain using a fine mesh strainer, pressing berries to extract as much juice/puree as possible. Set aside.

Heat half-and-half and 1 cup sugar in a separate saucepan over low heat. Turn off heat when mixture is totally heated.

Add heavy cream to a separate bowl.

Beat egg yolks by hand or with an electric mixer until yolks are pale yellow and slightly thick.

Temper the egg yolks by slowly drizzling in 1 1/2 cups of hot half-and-half mixture, whisking constantly. After that, pour the egg yolk/half-and-half mixture into the pan containing the rest of the half-and-half mixture. Cook over low to medium-low heat (depending on how hot your stove gets) until quite thick, stirring constantly. Drain custard using a fine mesh strainer, then pour into the bowl with the cream. Stir to combine.

Add blackberry juice/puree to the cream/custard mixture and stir. Chill mixture completely, then freeze in an ice cream maker until thick. Place container in freezer to harden for an additional two hours.

Raspberry Mojito


Many of you asked for this drink recipe after seeing it on my Project 365 post. It is a very light and refreshing summer drink!

Raspberry Mojito
Makes 1 serving

8 fresh mint leaves
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
2 ounces white rum
2-3 ounces seltzer
4-6 fresh raspberries

- Place mint leaves, lime juice and sugar in a highball glass (something tall and narrow is perfect). Using the straight end of a wooden spoon, gently press on leaves to release flavor (“muddle” is the official term).

- Fill glass with ice cubes. Pour in rum. Top off with seltzer. Drop in raspberries, and sip!