Easy Taco Salad

Every week I ask my husband what he wants for dinner, and every week he says "taco salad". It's kind of become a joke because I feel like it's such a random thing to crave all the time. I don't make it every week, but I try to fit it in as much as my taste allows. It's a super easy and fast dinner, and it's completely customizable which is good for us because we like a lot of different toppings!

Here's some things you need for 2 servings:
1 head Romaine, chopped small (or any leafy green. Spinach works too)
1/2 pound of Ground beef, cooked and drained (we eat everything cool on the salad, not hot)
1/2 can each Kidney and pinto beans, drained and rinsed (I freeze what we don't use for the next time)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Handful of crunched up tortilla chips on top
We top our salads with either a dollop of sour cream or homemade ranch dressing
I've also added olives, chopped tomatoes or salsa, cilantro, limes, diced onion or green onion and avocado!

The meat and beans are hidden underneath!

We pile everything up in a big bowl and top each salad with our favorite things. It's a fun dinner especially for guests, I think, because you get to pick and choose your toppings. Hope you enjoy!

Pot Roast- In the Crock Pot!

I think one of everyone's favorite Sunday meals is the trusty pot roast and vegetables. It was a common smell on Sunday afternoons when we got home from church. My favorite part was always the yummy, tender veggies. I think I thought it was a difficult dish to make, when really it takes less than ten minutes to get it all in the pot and cooking! I heart crock pot meals. I especially love buying a bigger piece of meat on sale for a meal like this and then I use the leftovers for one or more meal remixes. I turned this leftover meat into yummy fried shredded beef tacos.

Here's what you need:
Serves at least 4 people (just two of us ate this and I had a ton of leftovers)
3-4 pound chuck roast (depending on the size of your crock pot)
3 non baking potatoes (I really prefer the creaminess of yukon gold)
Half a red onion
1 cup baby carrots
Big handful of green beans, stems cut off
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon season salt
All I did was put the roast on the bottom of the pot, put the season salt on it, then threw in the veggies, potatoes and onion cut into big chunks and everything else thrown in on top. Then I covered them in the seasonings and salt and pepper. You can add other seasonings if there's a flavor you prefer- These are just the seasonings we like here. I put the top on, put it on high for four hours (or you can do low for six or more hours). When we ate, the meat was SO tender, the veggies were perfect and not overdone or soggy. I took some of the juice at the bottom of the crock pot, ladled it into a pot on the stove and simmered it on low to reduce it a bit for a quick pan gravy. Make sure to taste it for seasonings because I added a little more salt. Serve the meat with the veggies and top it off with a little of the gravy. It's an all in one meal pretty much. All it needs is a little bread on the side. I think this dinner is fancy enough for Sunday dinner but simple enough for a weeknight meal, like we had it last week. Yum!

Swedish Meatballs over Mashed Potatoes

I love pretty much anything served over mashed potatoes (one of my absolute favorite things). I saw a recipe for Swedish meatballs last week and thought that it might be fun to try them out. I've never made them before but I have had them at Ikea :) The photo I saw of the pretty little meatballs sitting in a creamy, brown gravy really got my attention. I added it to my weekly menu and made them tonight. I cut the recipe in half and it made about 15 meatballs which is more than enough for the two of us. The meatballs were tender and flavorful and the gravy was sooo yummy. I mixed up my own version of my favorite potatoes to serve under the meatballs. 


Here's the recipe (below it's cut in half), and my variations are in parentheses.

1 slice fresh white bread (I used sourdough)
1/8 cup milk
4 tablespoons clarified butter, divided ( I just used regular butter and still used all 4 T)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon kosher salt in the meat + 1 teaspoon koser salt in the gravy
3/4 pound ground beef (I only used beef, not pork)
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice (left this out)
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups beef broth (i used chicken)
1/4 cup heavy cream


You can read the directions on the actual post, but I'll break down what I did since I changed it up a bit.


Soak the bread in the milk in a little dish.
While it soaks, saute the onion (which I grated, not chopped) in one tablespoon of butter for about 3 minutes. Then turn the heat off of the onions and let them sit.
Now take the beef and put it in your kitchen aid bowl (if you don't have a kitchen aid, just mix it by hand. This tip was amazing tho, and from Stephanie Meyer's recipe). Add the egg yolk, salt, nutmeg, pepper to the meat. Add the cooled onions and milky bread. Now mix it for like 2 minutes in medium with the paddle attachment.


In the same pan you cooked the onions, add another tablespoon of butter, heat on medium-low and start forming meatballs. As you form them, put them in the pan. Brown them all over, but don't worry about cooking them through. As they are done browning, place them in the crock pot. 


Once all of the meatballs are browned, put in the last 2 tablespoons of butter, melt it, and whisk in the 2 tablespoons of flour. Cook it for about 30 seconds. Then add the broth and cream plus salt and pepper to taste. Stir it until it's decently think, then pour over the meatballs in the crock pot. I simmered mine for about 3 hours on low. That's it!


As for the mashed potatoes- let me tell you two things that will change your life. 1) YUKON GOLD. For mashed, NOTHING is better. They're creamy, golden and perfect. 2) A POTATO RICER. I thought they were a bulky piece of whatever that didn't make a difference. Well, I was wrong. 


Golden Mashed Potatoes:


4 Large Yukon Golds
2 Tablespoons of butter
2/3 cup sour cream or cream cheese or both
1/2 cup milk OR cream OR buttermilk
1 or 2 or 3 teaspoons of salt (add it slowly and taste as you go)
1 teaspoon of pepper (I like a lot of pepper)


Cut your potatoes the same size (like 1 inch). Place in a pot and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, simmer for about 10 minutes or until you can pierce the potato piece and it falls apart. Rice the potatoes a scoop at a time into a bowl. I like to put the other ingredients in first so as the hot potatoes fall on the cream cheese and butter, it melts it. Then add in the liquid and stir. DON'T stir your potatoes for ten minutes. They'll get gummy and cold. Stir until everything is incorporated and thank me later. 

Steak Sandwich with Chimichurri

David introduced me to chimichurri when we came across it already bottled at a farmer's market a few years ago. It's an argentine type sauce they put on meat and vegetables. I tried it and fell in love! It has so few ingredients, a while ago I figured I'd try to make it myself. It's tangy and fresh and amazing. We made steak sandwiches marinated with a Paula Deen's marinade recipe (just the marinade not the horseradish).

Chimichurri "sauce" ingredients:

bunch of parsley
6 cloves of garlic
juice of one lemon
splash of vinegar
1/4 to 1/3 cup of olive oil
lots of salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in the food processor and blend until it becomes almost creamy looking. Marinate meat in it or just top your sandwich with it, like I did.
I toasted french rolls, sliced and spread a teeny bit of butter on them, topped with the grilled, thinly sliced steak, spinach and LOTS of chimichurri. I ate two and didn't want to stop there. :)

Pasta Fagioli

It's about time for another post! I feel like we've been eating the same things for the past few weeks, but I realized last night that my favorite soup recipe isn't on my blog. Here it is!

Pasta Fagioli Soup

This is a hearty vegetable, ground beef, pasta and bean soup. It's easy and really good.


2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped (any color. I like yellow because I think it's sweeter)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 pound ground beef or turkey or italian sausage
1 small zuchinni, grated
1 carrot, grated
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed (cannelini or white northern)
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup small pasta (ditalini, macaroni)
1 can stewed tomatoes
6 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt (salt as you go, and taste at the end)
1 teaspoon pepper


In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add in onions + celery and a little bit of salt (this helps the onions sweat and release their juice). Cook 3 minutes. Add chopped garlic. Cook 2 minutes. Add in ground meat. Break it up and brown. Once there is no more pink in the meat, add the grated veggies.

Stir in the chicken broth (I like to use bullion cubes or canned broth. either one is fine) canned tomatoes, herbs, salt + pepper, + beans. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add in the pasta and cook for 15 more minutes, or until the pasta is soft.

Serve in bowls with some parmesan over the top, or more pepper- thats how I prefer it :)