January 12: Better Than Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich

This is an internet recipe I found. It is definitely a favorite. the roast beef is so flavorful cooked this way. 

1 (3 to 4 lb) beef roast
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 onion , chopped (or handful dried onion)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Place roast in crock pot. Stir remaining ingredients together and pour over roast. Cook on LOW all night. The next morning stir together. Remove any membrane or fat, if desired. Stir well again. Let simmer on LOW until noon or evening. (The meat falls apart easily. It is not meant to slice like Arby's beef. So it doesn't compare with Arby's, it is just better.)

Serve on buns with Arby's sauce.

Arby's Sauce

1 c water
1/2 c ketchup
2 TB brown sugar
1/4 c white vinegar
3/4 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
3 TB Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Corn Starch Mixture:
1 TB corn starch
2 TB water

Mix well set aside.

Whisk all ingredients, except corn starch mixture, together in a sauce pan. Heat On medium low. Simmer gently for twenty minutes, stirring several times. After twenty minutes add corn starch mixture, stir well. When sauce begins to thicken let it simmer on a very low temperature for ten minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Store in covered container in fridge.

January 11: Chicken Salad

Happy Birthday Robyn. I am posting one of your recipes. It is one of my favorites. 

Equal amounts of:

Chicken or turkey, cooked and cubed

Celery, chopped finely

Add:

Minced dried onion, or fresh onion

Salt and Spice, to taste, sprinkle on the meat before adding the dressing

Dressing:

Miracle Whip/milk/tad of lemon juice

Add slivered or sliced almonds right before serving. 
Purple grapes, are also optional. 

January 9: Honey Candy/Popcorn Balls

Today is my father's birthday. One of my many childhood memories is making honey candy and or honey popcorn. My father would make up a batch of candy and then we would all take turns stretching it. This stretching of the honey candy was an art. One had to start stretching as soon as it was cool enough to handle. It would go from a dark brown to a beautiful golden color.  Or we would make it into popcorn balls. I asked my father for his recipe and I have written it in his words. 

"I pop up a good-size pan of popcorn. Shake the unpopped kernels to the bottom and use only the good popcorn. (Nobody wants to eat kernels.) Put the following in a medium sized-pan: 2 c honey and 2 c sugar. Cook to a hard ball stage. (Cracks when dropped in cold water.) Stir in a teaspoonful of baking soda. It will foam up so be careful. Pour over popcorn and stir well with a wooden spoon. Form into balls. (Have a bowl of cold water handy to rinse your hands.)
                                                            ~George K. Case

January 8: Scotch A Roos

One of my favorite treats. And so simple. This recipe was given to me by my niece, Kaytlin, who is an fabulous cook and today is her birthday. 

1 c sugar

1 ½ c corn syrup
1 ½ c peanut butter

9 cups rice krispies
Melt together the first three ingredients in microwave until sugar is dissolved. Add rice krispies. Press into a 11 x 17 greased cookie sheet.

1 12 oz pkg chocolate chips semi sweet or milk chocolate
1 12 ox pkg butterscotch chips
Melt 30 sec in microwave . Mix. Microwave more, if needed.
Pour over krispies.

Refrigerate until chocolate layer is hardened.

January 7: 10-Layer Slow-Cooker Dish

I was looking through my favorite beef recipes and found this one. Great recipe! It comes from the book "Fix it and Forget It, Lightly". This recipe will be great fro the side of beef I just bought. 

1-1 ½ lbs lean ground beef

6 medium-sized potatoes, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. black pepper
sliced carrots

15-oz. can corn, undrained, opt

15-oz. can peas, undrained

10 ¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup

Brown ground beef in nonstick skillet. Then create the following layers in the slow cooker.

Layer 1: one-fourth of the potatoes, mixed with one-half the onions, salt, and pepper.

Layer 2: half-can of corn and corn

Layer 3: one-fourth of the potatoes.

Layer 4: half-can of peas.

Layer 5: one-fourth of the potatoes, mixed with one-half the onions, salt, and pepper.

Layer 6: remaining corn.

Layer 7: remaining potatoes.

Layer 8: remaining peas and water.

Layer 9: ground beef.

Layer 10: soup.

Cover. Cook on high 4 hours.

January 5: Waffles

This is a wonderful recipe for waffles, given to me by my sister, Robyn.

2 eggs

2 c milk

½ c melted butter

2 c flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 TB sugar

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Beat eggs until fluffy.

Add milk and butter.

Mix. Add dry ingredients.

Mix well. Bake in waffle iron

January 4: Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Again, from my favorite cooking blog "Jamie Cooks it Up" comes this highly requested favorite chicken recipe.

Chicken:
4 large chicken breasts
2 sleeves Ritz crackers
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 c milk
3 c grated Cheddar cheese
1 tsp dried parsley


Sauce:
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 TB sour cream
2 TB butter


Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks.  In a food processor, grind up Ritz crackers. Put the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate bowls or small pans. Combine the salt and pepper with the cracker crumbs. Dip each chicken chunk into the milk, then the cheese, then finally the cracker crumbs. Place chicken pieces on a sprayed baking sheet.  Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken pieces.  Cover the pan with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake the chicken 10 more minutes or until chicken is golden brown and crispy. 


In a medium size sauce pan, combine soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk. Heat until hot. Serve over chicken.