My rancher is out of town for the week. So what does that mean for this rancher’s wife? A lot of cowboy playing, a lot of cow hauling, a lot of bad guy chasing, and a lot of answering “when will daddy be back home?”. With these high energy boys, this weeks meals are all easy, quick, and low maintenance because my focus is to keep the boys from destroying as much of the house as possible. An easy crockpot roast with revamped leftovers on Wednesday, a ground beef and broccoli on Tuesday browning more hamburger meat than needed for an adventurous new recipe on Friday will allow me to keep my time on my little cowboys instead of the kitchen.
Monday: Balsamic Roast with Roasted Asparagus and Honey Carrots
I love this roast from Add A Pinch because it mixes sweet and tangy with a little spicy. It is flavorful, moist, and cooks in the crock pot. I also love asparagus especially this time of year because asparagus is “in season”, and you can taste the difference; the asparagus is tender, smaller, and just fresher tasting. Asparagus is also very low in calories and extremely healthy. Add some carrots for a little more color on the plate and we have a meal that is just as delicious as healthy.
Balsamic Roast
- 2 pound bottom round roast
- onion, diced
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp. honey
- 1/2 cup unsalted beef broth
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Place the onion in the bottom of the crock to a crock pot. Sprinkle the roast with salt and pepper. Place the meat on top of the onions. In a small bowl, mix together the balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, honey, beef broth, red pepper flakes, and garlic. Pour on top of the roast. Cover with lid and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours.
When the roast is done, remove and shred with 2 forks. Place the meat back into the crock while the vegetables cook. This will absorb more of the cooking liquid and make the meat even more juicy and flavorful.
Roasted Asparagus
- 1 bunch of asparagus, washed and ends removed
- 1-2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, place the asparagus. Drizzle with olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Toss together so all the asparagus is evenly coated. Cook for 10-15 minutes.
Honey Carrots
- 3-4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 pieces
- 1 tsp honey
Bring some water to a boil in a saucepan. Add carrots and cook for 5- 10 minutes, or until reaches desired doneness. Drain the water off the carrots. Add honey and toss carrots.
Tuesday: Asian Style Ground Beef and Broccoli
I found this recipe from Chef Julie Yoon and altered it. I loved the Asian flavors this recipe used with ground beef. To keep with the Asian flavors, I served this with an Asian style salad kit and for the kids some brown rice. It was a hit with everyone(and I can say everyone because my rancher is out of town!)
Asian style ground beef and broccoli
- 1 lb ground beef
- bag of broccoli florets
- 2 carrots, peeled, halved, and cut into 1 inch pieces
- onion, diced
- 2 tablespoon spicy ketchup
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 tablespoons unsalted beef broth
- Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
Heat a little extra virgin olive oil in a skillet. Add onion and cook until clear and tender. Add ground beef and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook the ground beef, breaking apart with a spoon until it is done. (160 degrees is the desired temperature for complete doneness.) Drain the fat off the meat.
In a bowl add the spicy ketchup, dijon mustard, soy sauce, honey, and unsalted beef broth.
Put the meat in the pan and add 4 tablespoon of the sauce to the meat and cook for 1 minute.
While the meat is cooking, bring a pot with salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli and carrots to the water and cook for around 3 minutes. (You want the broccoli to be a bright green color but still crisp.) Drain.
Add the vegetables back to the pan. Add remaining sauce and mix together. Cook for another minute.
*I was going to add water chestnuts to this and forgot them at the grocery store, but I think water chestnuts would be a nice addition to this recipe.
*Tips from Chef Julie Yoon‘s readers were to double the amount of sauce. I did not, and thought it was perfect.
*I will be making another recipe on Friday that requires ground beef. So of course I go ahead and brown enough ground meat for Friday’s recipe.
Wednesday: Zucchini Fritter “Tostados” and Side Salad
This is one of those recipes I thought the kids would love. As I was making these zucchini fritters from Damn Delicious, I sampled a little bite and thought that these would be a hit. I couldn’t be more wrong. I don’t know why they didn’t like them, but I can promise I will still be making them again! I loved them, topped with leftover balsamic roast from Monday with a dollop of sour cream on the top.
Zucchini Fritter “Tostados”
- 1 1/2 pounds zucchini, grated (this was about 3 medium zucchini)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large egg, beaten
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Put zucchini in a colander over the sink and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt. Let set for 10 minutes. (This draws out the excess water in the zucchini.) With a clean dish towel or cheese cloth, squeeze out any remaining water.
In a large bowl, combine zucchini, Parmesan cheese, garlic, egg, and salt and pepper to taste. (I think it would be good to put in a sprinkle of crushed red pepper, but I like spice.)
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Scoop tablespoons of batter into pan and flatten with spatula. Cook until underside is a nice golden brown, about 3- 4 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown.
After cooking the fritters, I placed them on a platter with paper towel and warmed my roast from Monday night in the same skillet. I put the fritters on a plate topped with a little dollop of sour cream. I served with a salad that had carrots and tomatoes drizzled with a little ranch dressing.
Thursday: Dance Night!!
Friday: Picadillo Cubano with Cauliflower Rice and Salad
This is my adventurous recipe. It was different. I liked it, and the kids picked out the olives and liked it as well. I snuck in another vegetable with the cauliflower rice, and the kids didn’t know the difference. I found this recipe on a feed that came across facebook from The Domestic Man. I had to change it a little since my hamburger meat is already browned, and I think next time I will add some more liquid and use the crockpot to develop more flavor.
Picadillo Cubano
- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 lbs ground beef (mine is already cooked)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregeno
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- 14 oz can no salt added tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup green olives
- 2 tbsp capers+1/2 tbsp. caper juice
- 1/4 cup unsalted beef broth
In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat oil and add bell pepper. Let cook until tender about 5 minutes. Add garlic and let cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add ground beef, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, bay leaves, tomato sauce, olives, capers, caper juice, and beef broth. Reduce to medium low heat and let simmer until sauce is thickened, about 20- 30minutes. Remove bay leaves, serve with cauliflower rice and top with cilantro.
Cauliflower Rice
- head of cauliflower
- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
Cut the cauliflower into florets. Using a box grater, the grater on a food processor, grate the rice, or use the chopping blade on a food processor and pulse.
In a skillet heat olive oil, add cauliflower, and saute until done, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
*For the salad use what you have on hand.
And just like that, the week is done! We all survived and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of my rancher on Saturday. I hope you enjoy these meals. Call the kids, ring the dinner bell, pull up a chair, and say a little prayer for surviving the week. It’s time for dinner!
Now that the weather is starting to warm up, the grill will be one of my preferred cooking methods. Who doesn’t love a steak on the grill, especially one that was found on sale. There is just something about a outdoor grilled steak that I crave! No doubt about it, I am a carnivore. With a nice, not windy day, the kids jumping on the trampoline while the steak is cooking, and giggles by the number, this meal and the memories being made are something my whole family will enjoy and remember.
This pork recipe I found in a magazine a couple of years ago. This is the first time I have attempted to make the roast, and I have to say, it turned out great. I modified the original recipe a little to fit the taste buds of my little ones a little better.
I took the college kid to lunch last week, and we went to this great Mexican restaurant. I ordered this stuffed avocado that was battered in panko and fried served over some queso then filled with fajita meat. It was wonderful! Then the waitress told me she liked to have it without the panko and fried. And a light bulb went off! So this is my healthier version of their stuffed avocado using some leftovers from earlier in the week.
What a crazy week this has been. The family survived Easter, the college kid safely returned to school, and spring break has officially begun. Unfortunately a break for this rancher’s wife is not in store. So like always, delicious, quick, healthy, and easy meals are in store with a salsa verde roast with revamped leftovers, a zucchini and ground meat skillet, and a pesto chicken.
My oldest sister originally found this recipe and told me how much she loved it because it was delicious and easy. She told me what how she made it so I tried it. She was right. It is delicious and easy.
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