A break from all of the sweets

Mushroom-Stuffed Beef Roll-Ups
Complete Slow Cooker Cookbook Copyright 2003

4 thin beef round steaks (about 3 ounces each)
olive oil cooking spray
4 ounces mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 cup seasoned stuffing mix
2 cups fat-free beef broth I used a lower-sodium broth
1 tablespoon dry red wine
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons cold water
2 tablespoons corn starch
freshly ground black pepper, garnish

Using a meat mallet, pound the steaks to ¼-inch thick.

Coat a nonstick skillet with the cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, onions and celery and sauté until the mushrooms and onions are lightly browned.

In a bowl, combine the mushroom mixture, stuffing mix and ½ cup of the broth. Place a spoonful of the stuffing mixture in the center of each steak; roll up and fasten with a toothpick.

Heat the nonstick skillet again; add the roll-ups and cook until they’re browned on all sides. Transfer to the crockery pot. Pour in the wine and remaining broth. Add the bay leaf. Cover and cook on LOW until the beef is cooked through and very tender, about 6 to 8 hours. I didn't have that kind of time so I cooked them on high for a few hours. They were still nice and tender.

Remove to a platter, reserving the broth; keep the beef warm. Discard the bay leaf. Pour the broth into a saucepan.

Combine the cornstarch and cold water in a measuring cup. Pour into the broth and cook, stirring, over medium heat until thickened, about 2 minutes. Serve the roll-ups with the thickened broth. Sprinkle the pepper over each serving.
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This recipe caught my eye a long time ago. The picture in the cookbook was a lot more attractive. I had trouble slicing my roll-ups as prettily since the meat was so tender. I was pleased with this recipe. It was very easy to put it all together (I ran the veggies through the mini-chopper) and I thought they were delicious. I used a lower-sodium broth and didn't add any salt yet I didn't miss the extra salt at all. I'm not a saltaholic but I do miss it if there's not enough there. This recipe didn't knock me off my feet but it was something I would make again since they were so easy to prepare and not too heavy or rich.

Question of the Day: Do you use salt? A little? A lot?

No wonder she goes on and on about these

Gooey Butter Cakes (pineapple variation)
The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook Copyright 1997,1998

One 18 ½-ounce package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients and mix well. Pat into a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking pan. Prepare filling.

Filling
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
One 16-ounce box powdered sugar
20-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Add butter; beat. Add powdered sugar and pineapple and mix well. Spread over cake mixture. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. You want the center to be a little gooey, so do not overbake. It comes out looking like a full cake but shrinks down. I might have overbaked these - it was hard to tell. The crust was quite firm but the filling was still nice and chewy. I have no idea if they were supposed to be gooey-er or not. I thought they were great this way.
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Paula Deen raves about these 'Gooey Butter Cakes' and I finally had to see what the big deal was. All I can say is, YUM! I always pictured something sloppy when she talked about these but these cut very cleanly. They were like chewy little brownies. They were nice with a dollop of Cool Whip on top too.

She gives several variations and I opted to add the pineapple. I think they'd be great plain too. I'm sure every variation is good because they all have the two sticks of butter and 8-ounces of cream cheese in them - what could go wrong?

I don't reach for this cookbook too often because my waistline can't handle it but since these were being taken to a gathering (another cookout - not the one I brought the Easy Cream Puff Dessert to), I went ahead and splurged. Well worth it. Oh, and super-simple. These come together in no time. You could do this all in one bowl - just wipe the bowl out after you finish the crust.

These were easy to transport and not overly perishable which was good because this cookout was at a state park and it was hot. I can see that many of you choose picnic dessert recipe based on ease of transportation and perishability. Usually we hang out in the back yard so a refrigerator is close by. After attending a picnic at a state park on Monday, I'm all for staying close to home (where the bathroom is always close, you can come inside for some cool air, where it's easier to keep the food safe, where your toddler can take a nap when he has a complete meltdown, etc).

Question of the Day: How badly do you want to try these Gooey Butter Cakes right now??

Where have you been all of my life?

Easy Cream Puff Cake
Helping Our Kids Grow (fundraiser cookbook) Copyright 2000

1 c. water
1 stick butter
1 c. flour
4 eggs

Crust: Boil water and butter together. Add flour. Mix well on low heat. Dough will come away from the pan. Remove from stove. Add eggs one at a time. Beat until egg disappears. Spread in ungreased 9x 13-inch cake pan. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Press out bubbles when cool. Various recipes have this timed at 25 to 40 minutes so go with your instincts. It will look done on the outside before it's cooked through.

Topping:
2 small boxes vanilla instant pudding I used French vanilla
2 ½ c. cold milk
1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese
1 8-oz container Cool Whip

Cream cheese until smooth. Add pudding and milk until thick. Spread on cool cake. Top with Cool Whip. Optional: Drizzle with chocolate syrup.
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For family cookouts, I usually find myself looking for the 'classics' that I've missed. I'm talking about Cool Whip/pudding/Jell-O/cake mix/sweetened condensed milk/cream cheese/etc conconctions that have made the rounds of pot lucks and other social gatherings. There are so many of these recipes, I just haven't been able to sample them all. I still haven't tried the pretzel/Jell-O/strawberries/cream cheese recipe which I'm pretty sure I would really like.

The best place to find these recipes are fundraiser cookbooks. Not only will you see the same recipes in several cookbooks, you'll see variations of the same recipe in the same cookbook. This recipe was all over the place. I love cream puffs and eclairs but I never feel like sitting around and piping these out individually or filling them individually. Making this as one big dessert was so easy and it was definitely a hit. I can't believe I've never made this before now. That piece in the picture was the last one. It wasn't the prettiest piece of the dessert (it had survived two 2-hour car trips in a cooler by the time this picture was taken) but I still think it looks pretty good.

And heck, if instant pudding and Cool Whip is not your thing, use a from-scratch custard and real whipped cream.

Question of the Day: What type of desserts do you usually serve at cookouts (or barbecue or picnics - whatever term you might use)?

Odds and ends

Turkey-Cheese Wraps
Betty Crocker Easy Family Dinners Copyright 2004

1 container (4 ounces) herb-and-garlic spreadable cheese
4 flour tortillas (8 to 10 inches in diameter) I used whole wheat wraps from Costco
8 ounces thinly sliced smoked turkey
4 ounces thinly sliced provolone cheese
1 cup shredded lettuce

1. Spread herb-and-garlic spreadable cheese over each tortilla. Top with turkey, cheese and lettuce to within 1 inch of edge.
2. Roll up tortillas tightly. Serve immediately or wrap securely with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 24 hours to grab ‘n go.


French Dressing
Better Homes and Gardens Salad Book Copyright 1969

½ cup salad oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon paprika
dash cayenne

Combine all ingredients in screw-top jar; cover and shake. Chill. Shake again just before serving.

Makes ¾ cup.
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I'm a little burned out so all I can offer today is two recipes that really aren't that exciting individually but together, well together they aren't very exciting either but at least you get two recipes. These were both good, just nothing special.

The first cookbook, Betty Crocker Easy Family Dinners is ill-named. They include many breakfast and lunch recipes in the book. I think this would be a great book for a working mom with a couple of kids since these recipes are super-easy. They do rely on convenience products but these days that often means pre-cut veggies and pre-cooked meats, not sodium and fat laden processed products.

The salad cookbook is one of the vintage cookbooks that I picked up at a yard sale last week. I love this book because it has quite a few salad dressing recipes. I recently searched through my cookbooks for salad dressing recipes and surprisingly I couldn't find many of them, probably because there are so many commercially prepared ones on the market these days.

As an extra bonus, I'll direct you to some of the best cupcakes that I've tried. I like dense cakes but I also like a lighter cake too. I've never been able to duplicate the lightness of boxed cake mix but this recipe for Almost Cake Mix Vanilla Cupcakes over on Cookies, Cupcakes and More made the lightest yellow cupcakes I've ever made. I only needed one cupcake for my son to take to school since he couldn't eat the bakery cupcakes another child was bringing to school for his birthday. So I treated my co-workers to the excess and they scarfed them down. I used the Easy Buttercream on them.

Question of the Day: What kind of sandwiches or wraps do you make at home?

Not as good as Marlen's

Spanish-Style Couscous
Favorite Brand Name Slow Cooker Casseroles and More Copyright 2002

1 pound lean ground beef
1 can (about 14 ounces) beef broth
1 small green bell pepper, cut into ½-inch pieces
½ cup pimiento-stuffed green olives, sliced
½ medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 1/3 cups water
1 cup uncooked couscous I used whole wheat couscous

Heat skillet over high heat until hot. Add beef; cook until browned. Pour off fat. Place broth, bell pepper, onion, olives, garlic, cumin, thyme and beef in slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 4 hours or until bell pepper is tender. I actually did this on the stovetop - I sautéed the peppers and onion with the meat and then let everything simmer for a while..

Bring water to a boil over high heat in small saucepan. Stir in couscous. Cover; remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes; fluff with fork. Spoon couscous onto plates; top with beef mixture.

Makes 4 servings

This was basically picadillo but not as good as Picadillo a al Marlen. Still good, just not as flavorful as Marlen's recipe. I had a box of whole wheat couscous waiting in the cupboard, which is what made this recipe jump out at me.

I feel burned out. Last night was my regular recipe planning night and instead I watched the American Idol finale and I didn't even crack open a cookbook. Next week might be a week of rerun recipes since we have some travel and family gatherings going on this weekend.

Question of the Day: Do you ever make couscous?