Swiss Steak With Root Vegetables

The Swiss Steak recipe I shared with Julia and the NY Daily News I shared earlier was my second incarnation of Swiss Steak.  This recipe is similar to my mom's version of Swiss Steak and it is very good as well.  Do you like an all in the pot recipe?  You might like this incarnation of Swiss Steak.  

This mess of meat and vegetables reminds me of my mom more than my own reincarnation.

Ingredients

2 lbs Chuck Roast
1 Yellow Onion
4 cloves Garlic
4 large Carrots
2 lbs Potatoes
2 pints Brown Mushrooms
3 cups Stewed Tomatoes (San Martzano if you can find them)
1 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1 cup Flour
Olive Oil

 Cut chuck into large chunks, dredge in the flour.

Pour oil into a preheated 12 inch skillet, enough to just cover the bottom.  Cook chuck over medium heat until browned on both sides.

 Peel carrots, potatoes, and garlic. Rinse mushrooms.  Cut potatoes and carrots into large chunks.

Place carrots, potatoes, garlic, and mushrooms in a pressure cooker pot or slow cooker.  Place chuck on the vegetables. Pour tomatoes and cream on met and vegetables. 

Cook everything in a pressure cooker on high for 55 minutes or low for 6 hours in a slow cooker.

Enjoy!

Swiss Steak With Root Vegetables

Ingredients

2 lbs Chuck Roast
1 Yellow Onion
4 cloves Garlic
4 large Carrots
2 lbs Potatoes
2 pints Brown Mushrooms
3 cups Stewed Tomatoes (San Martzano if you can find them)
1 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1 cup Flour
Olive Oil

Process

Cut chuck into large chunks, dredge in the flour.

Pour oil into a preheated 12 inch skillet, enough to just cover the bottom.  Cook chuck over medium heat until browned on both sides.

Peel carrots, potatoes, and garlic. Rinse mushrooms.  Cut potatoes and carrots into large chunks.

Place carrots, potatoes, garlic, and mushrooms in a pressure cooker pot or slow cooker.  Place chuck on the vegetables. Pour tomatoes and cream on met and vegetables. 

Cook everything in a pressure cooker on high for 55 minutes or low for 6 hours in a slow cooker.

Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

I shop at Costco on a regular basis, especially with a family of seven to feed.  The thought of being a mother to five children surprises me whenever I have it.  Back to my story, on occasion I bring my friend Whitney and her daughter with us to Costco.  We went to her home after Costco, and she shared the most delicious butterscotch cookies.  You might be asking yourself why I'm telling you about butterscotch cookies when clearly the title of the post is double chocolate cookies.  I used Whitney's recipe is a wonderful base recipe to add any sort of chips.  The double chocolate is actually white and milk chocolate chips in these cookies.  You can do what I did and add whatever chips you would like, semi-sweet, white, butterscotch, the choices are yours.

I have tried a multitude of chocolate chip cookies, these are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made.

Ingredients

1 1/2  cup Butter 

1 1/2 cups White Sugar

2 cups Brown Sugar

3 Large Eggs

2 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

4-6 cups Flour

1 1/2 cups Milk Chocolate Chips

1 1/2 cups White Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit

 Combine baking soda, salt, sugars, and butter in mixing bowl.  Mix with a whisk until combined.

 Fluffy sugar, this is known as creaming the butter and sugars.  Mix until the sugar is noticeably lighter in color.

Crack eggs into bowl and whisk until combined, add vanilla and whisk to combine.

 Add flour starting with 4 cups or more depending on the consistancy and whisk on low until combined.  Flour helps give cookies structure, to little creates flat cookies and too much creates dry cookies.

 Add chocolate chips and whisk on low until combined.

 Using either a cookie scoop or a spoon create 1 1/2 inch balls of cookie dough.  Place cookie dough on ungrossed cookie sheet, leave room between balls to allow them to spread.

Bake cookies for 7-10 minutes.

You will have A LOT of cookies, really you will if you make this cookie dough.

Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2  cup Butter 

1 1/2 cups White Sugar

2 cups Brown Sugar

3 Large Eggs

2 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

4-6 cups Flour

1 1/2 cups Milk Chocolate Chips

1 1/2 cups White Chocolate Chips

Process:

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit

Combine baking soda, salt, sugars, and butter in mixing bowl.  Mix with a whisk until combined.  Mix until the sugar is noticeably lighter in color.

Crack eggs into bowl and whisk until combined, add vanilla and whisk to combine.

Add flour starting with 4 cups or more depending on the consistancy and whisk on low until combined.  Flour helps give cookies structure, to little creates flat cookies and too much creates dry cookies.

Add chocolate chips and whisk on low until combined.

Using either a cookie scoop or a spoon create 1 1/2 inch balls of cookie dough.  Place cookie dough on ungrossed cookie sheet, leave room between balls to allow them to spread.

Bake cookies for 7-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Swiss Steak

Back in January Julia Xanthos from the NY Daily News came to our home.  Julia had found this blog/website and was asking if I had a recipe I would share in a food feature.  With my three daughter's we shared the process of making Swiss Steak and Julia filmed us.  She asked a lot of questions for her article and took photos of the recipe process as well.  Today my recipe was featured on EthNYC Eats, isn't that so cool!  Maybe being the mom of five children makes my recipe an especially good choice for Mother's Day.  Who knows why my recipe was chosen, but the video turned out really well.  If you get a chance check out my recipe here.   The video is below as well.

Oat Pumpkin Nutella Muffins

I'm excited about this muffin, I was wanting to make muffins that used what ingredients I already had on hand.  Not to mention I have a big bowl of fresh pureed pumpkin puree that I NEED to use, no really it would be a shame for it to go to waste.  These muffins smelled divine when they came out of the oven, and the taste was over the top delicious.  It made 32 muffins, you are welcome to split the recipe but as my husband pointed out for my family that is only 5 muffins per person and likely they'll be gone before the end of the day.  Yes my friends these are that good.

 These have the most fantastic smell, and the taste is just as yummy.

Ingredients:

2 cup Pumpkin Puree

1/2 cup Molasses

2 cup Brown Sugar

4 Eggs

1 cup Coconut Oil (or melted butter, cooled)

2/3 cup Water

2 teaspoon Vanilla

1 1/2 cups Oat Flour (or all-purpose flour)

1 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour

2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Nutmeg

1 teaspoon Ginger

2/3 cup Nutella

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit

 Whisk eggs, water, coconut oil, vanilla, molasses, and pumpkin puree together.

 Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt together in a seperate bowl.

Add half flour mixture to wet mixture, whisk until combined.  Add second half od flour mixture and whisk.  Do not over mix.

Grease two 24 cup muffin pans or use paper liners.  Fill each well 2/3 full.

Microwave Nutella for 30 seconds in a microwave safe bowl.  Scoop 1 teaspoon of Nutella on top of each muffin batter.

 Swirl chocolate with a toothpick in a figure eight shape.

 Bake for 18-20 minutes, turning them halway through and switching them.

Enjoy!

Oat Pumpkin Nutella Muffins

Printable Recipe Found Here

Ingredients:

2 cup Pumpkin Puree

1/2 cup Molasses

2 cup Brown Sugar

4 Eggs

1 cup Coconut Oil (or melted butter, cooled)

2/3 cup Water

2 teaspoon Vanilla

1 1/2 cups Oat Flour (or all-purpose flour)

1 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour

2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Nutmeg

1 teaspoon Ginger

2/3 cup Nutella

Process:

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit

Whisk eggs, water, coconut oil, vanilla, molasses, and pumpkin puree together.

Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt together in a seperate bowl.

Add half flour mixture to wet mixture, whisk until combined.  Add second half od flour mixture and whisk.  Do not over mix.

Grease two 24 cup muffin pans or use paper liners.  Fill each well 2/3 full.

Microwave Nutella for 30 seconds in a microwave safe bowl.  Scoop 1 teaspoon of Nutella on top of each muffin batter.

Swirl chocolate with a toothpick in a figure eight shape.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, turning them halway through and switching them.

Enjoy!

Mini Pumpkin Pie

I thought long and hard about what recipe I wanted to share.  This is the 200th post for Queens Foodie Mama.  We have come full circle.  December 12, 2013, was my first post.  Almost a year later, I'm sitting here contemplating this past year and all the culinary adventures we have shared. My friends who have been here in person to help me create these recipes and my friends and family across the country helping me and sharing the memories with me.  This has been a journey all about love of family, friends, and especially food.  That has been my guiding inspiration while I have created recipes to share with my friends and family and thought about what I know about their likes and loves.  If you have found a greater appreciation for ingredients you might never have thought about, if you have come to love sharing with your family new experiences of food, then we have shared that experience together, you and I.  

Okay enough of my foodie philosophy and deep thoughts on food.  Why did I choose to make pumpkin pie?  Did you know pumpkins have a long history here in North America, since 7000 BC. In 1850 John Greenleaf Whittier even penned a poem about the beloved pumpkin pie.

Ah! on Thanksday, when from East and from West,

From North and from South comes the pilgrim and guest;

When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board

The old broken links of affection restored;

When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,

And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before;

What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye,

What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?

My son Donovan loves pumpkin pie and requested mini pumpkin pies.  He was even my sous chef while we made them for our Thanksgiving feast. These are not your simple mini pumpkin pies, come on you knew they wouldn't be. I wanted to switch up the crust and use something a little more flavorful.  What could be a great alternative to traditional crust? Cookie crust of course, but not just graham crackers.  I decided to go a step further and choose ginger snaps.

 Isn't it so cute, itty bitty, so cute and little?  This is a full flavor dessert in a small package.

Crust Ingredients:

2 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cloves
12 tablespoons softened (1 1/2 sticks) Unsalted Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 large Egg
1/4 cup Molasses

Pumpkin Filling Ingredients:

16 ounces Pumpkin Puree (I used homemade, you may use canned)
1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

1/2 cup Milk
1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 large Eggs
1 large Egg Yolk

Preheat Oven to 350 Fahrenheit 

Let's begin with the crust.  Mix all the dry ingredients together.

Whisk butter, molasses, and brown sugar together in a stand mixer.

Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients including egg and whisk until combined.

Place aluminum/paper liners in two 12 cup muffin pans.  Place one tablespoon of batter in each muffin cup. Bake in oven for 15 minutes.

After they have baked, using the back of a tablespoon, smoosh the cookie down to create
a well.  The crust is complete.

Whisk all the pumpkin puree ingredients until combined.

Pour pumpkin filling into cups within a 1/3 inch of the top of the liner.

Increase the oven to 400 Farhenheit

Bake pumpkin pies for 15-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

They are so cute.  My son was super happy.  Allow to cool on counter and eat at
room temperature.

Serve pumpkin pies with whipped cream, homemade whipped cream preferred.

Enjoy!

Mini Pumpkin Pie

Printable Recipe Found Here

Crust Ingredients:

2 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cloves
12 tablespoons softened (1 1/2 sticks) Unsalted Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 large Egg
1/4 cup Molasses

Pumpkin Filling Ingredients:

16 ounces Pumpkin Puree (I used homemade, you may use canned)
1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

1/2 cup Milk
1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 large Eggs
1 large Egg Yolk

Crust Process:

Preheat Oven to 350 Fahrenheit 

Mix all the dry ingredients together.

Whisk butter, molasses, and brown sugar together in a stand mixer.

Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients including egg and whisk until combined.

Place aluminum/paper liners in two 12 cup muffin pans.  

Place one tablespoon of batter in each muffin cup. Bake in oven for 15 minutes.

After they have baked, using the back of a tablespoon smoosh the cookie down to create a well.  

The crust is complete.

Pumpkin Filling Process:

Whisk all the pumpkin puree ingredients until combined.

Mini Pumpkin Pie Process:

Pour pumpkin filling into cups within a 1/3 inch of the top of the liner.

Increase the oven to 400 Farhenheit

Bake pumpkin pies for 15-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow to cool on counter and eat at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Over the weekend I gave my friend some homemade flour tortilla dough to roll out at home and cook. I also gave her some of our left over unstuffed bell pepper to make burritos with.  She and her husband loved the tortillas and asked me for this recipe.  When I was a teenager, I had a lesson on making homemade flour tortillas.   Recently I was craving those tortillas again.  This particular recipe is from Rick Bayliss.   He has a cooking show on Live Well Network.  This recipe is super easy, and truthfully it is a great recipe.  Keep in mind this recipe can be made with shortening, if you are concerned about using lard, but they do taste better with lard.  Lard has less saturated fat than shortening and contains more polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat.  Both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can benefit your heart, versus shortening that does not contain these fats.

These will be the best tortillas you will ever eat.  I promise you will want fresh from now on.

Ingredients: 

3/4 lb. ( 2 3/4 cups) All-purpose Flour, plus a little extra for rolling the tortillas
5tablespoons Lard (vegetable shortening can be substituted)
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
3/4cup very warm tap Water

Mix flour, salt, and lard together in a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment or with your fingers.

Add water and mix to form a slightly sticky dough.

Divide dough into 12 equal portions and cover with a tea towel.  Allow to rest for 30 minutes.
 I doubled the recipe for my family.

Preheat skillet over medium high heat.

Dust counter with flour and roll out balls of dough with a small rolling pin.  Turn quarter 
turn after each roll to roll out a round tortilla.

Cook tortillas on skillet until brown bubbles form then flip and repeat.

Place cooked tortillas in a folded tea towel. 

Enjoy!

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Printable Recipe Found Here

Ingredients: 
3/4 lb. ( 2 3/4 cups) All-purpose Flour, plus a little extra for rolling the tortillas

5tablespoons Lard (vegetable shortening can be substituted)
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
3/4cup very warm tap Water

Process:

Mix flour, salt, and lard together in a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment or with your fingers.

Add water and mix to form a slightly sticky dough.

Divide dough into 12 equal portions and cover with a tea towel.  Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat skillet over medium high heat.

Dust counter with flour and roll out balls of dough with a small rolling pin.  Turn quarter turn after each roll to roll out a round tortilla.

Cook tortillas on skillet until brown bubbles form then flip and repeat.

Place cooked tortillas in a folded tea towel. 

Enjoy!