Pepsi Pot Roast

 

So I got up this morning and decided I need some comfort food. Some real comfort food. Comfort food like my Mom used to make and I remember her pot roast….her slow cooked Pepsi Pot Roast that made the best Hot Roast Beef sandwiches.  Slow cooked beef so tender it melted in your mouth with mashed with gravy. No one made gravy like my Mom.  I still remember how she poured that Pepsi over the roast and then let it cook all day.  Fork tender beef, creamy mashed potatoes and that gravy….oh that gravy! 

Pepsi Pot Roast

1 (3-lb) chuck roast

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

2 envelopes Lipton Beefy Onion Soup Mix
1 cup water 

1 large onion, diced or sliced

12 ounces of Pepsi Cola

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Pat dry the roast and season with salt and pepper on both sides.  In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown the meat for 2 minutes on each side.  Remove from heat and set aside.

 

Combine both soup mixes with water and stir well. Pour soup mixture in crockpot.  Stir in sliced onion. Add the roast and pour the Pepsi over the top. Cover with lid. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4 hours or until fork tender.
 

Gravy

Ladle out 1 cup of the juices from roast and set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk the cornstarch and broth and pour into a saucepan. Heat on medium high and continue whisking on medium high. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, whisking continually, until thickened.

 

 

Prepare yourself a hot roast beef sandwich by slicing the pot roast and laying it on two pieces of sandwich bread.  Add some mashed potatoes beside the sandwich and then pour your gravy all over the sandwich and the potatoes. Enjoy!

 

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Pepperoni Pizza Bombs

This is the time of year when I start thinking party food.  I have a full box of recipe cards just for party snacks and appetizers and another one for fancier Hors d'oeuvres.  But there’s nothing fancy about this little treat.  It’s simple and delicious and perfect for any party treat!

Pepperoni Pizza Bombs

1 can (16.3 ounce) Pillsbury Grands! refrigerated biscuits 

1 cup pizza or pasta sauce

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese 

4 ounces shredded provolone cheese 

pepperoni slices 

4 tablespoons butter

1 egg, beaten 

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in cast iron skillet

Open can of biscuits. Working on a floured surface, and with one biscuit at a time, roll each biscuit out into a flattened disk. Spread each biscuit with a little pasta sauce, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges of the biscuit.

Evenly divide the mozzarella and provolone among each biscuit round, sprinkling the cheese right on top of the pasta sauce.

Top the cheese with some pepperoni slices on each biscuit.

Working with one biscuit at time, pull the edges up and over the filling, pinching the dough together at the seams. Then roll the dough around in your hands to form a more even ball.

Place the biscuit, seam side down, into the skillet. Repeat with the remaining biscuits.

In a small bowl, combine the parmesan, garlic powder and oregano. Brush each pizza bomb with the beaten egg and then sprinkle with the parmesan-spice mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden on top.   

Serve with pizza sauce on the side.  Yummy! 

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Magic Pecan Cookie Bars

I know..... it's one of those photos that stops you in your tracks and makes you stare at it for a few minutes until you feel that tiny bit of drool escape from your mouth.  It's one of those photos that you can almost taste before you make it.  It's one of those photos that make you run to the store to get the ingredients when you weren't planning on it. It's one of those recipes that you make for your friends and family but end up hiding it in a secret place for yourself.  And it's one of those recipes that when you taste it, you can only come up with "D" words.....delightful, delicious, decadent, and divine!

Magic Pecan Cookie Bars

Crust

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Layers

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 ¾ cup shredded sweetened coconut
3/4 cup sliced pecans
12 oz. sweetened condensed milk 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang for easy removal and spray with cooking spray; set aside. 

In a large bowl, mix together the butter and brown sugar until creamy, using a hand mixer.  Add the vanilla and egg and mix until combined. Next, add the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt and mix until fully combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Press dough evenly into the bottom of your prepared baking pan.  Bake for 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with almost all the mini chocolate chips. Reserve about ¼ cup. Next sprinkle coconut and pecans.  Then drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top and sprinkle with reserved ¼ cup of mini chocolate chips. 

Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Then lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the pan to prevent the coconut from burning.  Rotate the pan and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until set. 

Allow to cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes and then refrigerate for another two hours. Bars must be cold when you cut them or they will run and not hold their shape. Once cold, cut into squares.  

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White Chocolate Bark with Nuts and Cranberries

I love this stuff!  I love passing by it and breaking off just little pieces so I don't feel like I am eating too much of it.  Then I notice the tray is empty and I have to make more so I don't feel so guilty. Sometimes I make it with a few drops of peppermint extract for a real holiday taste!


White Chocolate Bark with Nuts and Cranberries
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16 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 cup dried cranberries or Craisins
1 cup  pistachio nuts, shelled and chopped fine
1 cup of cashews
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In bowl over saucepan of hot water, melt chocolate, stirring occasionally. Stir in cranberries and pistachios.  Pour onto foil-lined or parchment lined baking sheet; using a knife or rubber spatula spread  into 12- x 9- inch rectangle. Drop in cashews randomly.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until hardened. Break into pieces.

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♥ STRAWBERRY MINI CAKES

This little cakes are just the right size for that pop in your mouth deliciousness.   Perfect Christmas treat!

Strawberry Mini Bundt Cakes

 1 cup of flour

3 eggs

1 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of milk

1 stick of butter

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 tablespoon of lemon zest

1/3 cup of sliced strawberries (or much as you wish)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray bundt pans with baking spray and set aside.

In a bowl mix your sugar, eggs and soft butter. Add the flour slowly to the mix followed by the milk and lemon zest. Lastly, fold the strawberries into your batter.

Pour batter into your mini molds, bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Decorate them with powdered sugar and extra strawberries on top! 

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