Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli

This stuff was good! When we make it again I think I will double the sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 pounds flank steak, thinly sliced and chopped into 2 inch pieces*
• 1 cup beef broth
• ⅔ cup soy sauce
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil (I used vegetable)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 2 tablespoons corn starch + 4 tablespoons cold water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Grease the inside of a slow cooker. Add steak, beef froth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, and chili flakes. Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low 4-5 hours.
2. 25 minutes before serving, uncover the slow cooker. In a small bowl whisk corn starch and water until dissolved. Add to slow cooker and stir. Cover and allow to cook another 20-25 minutes.
3. Just before serving, boil broccoli for 3-4 minutes. Drain, stir broccoli into slow cooker, and serve.

* If you can't find any sliced, just buy a roast and freeze it for a couple of hours, then slice it yourself. 

Butterbeer

Ever since Todd and I went to Orlando and tried legit Butterbeer from Universal Studios we have been craving it ever since. The real deal is AMAZING stuff, this will get us by until I either find a better recipe or we get to go back. 

I actually looked through a bunch of different recipes and none of them used caramel sauce they all just used butterscotch, and I am not a huge fan of the taste of butterscotch, but I loved the Harry Potter World butterbeer,and I didn't think it had an over powering butterscotch taste to it, I thought it had a warmer caramelish taste to it,  so I decided to add a bit of caramel sauce as well, and I thought it was closer to the taste. 

We aren't huge soda/sugar fans here so the recipe only makes enough for two 

Butterbeer:

3 C Cream Soda 

2-3 Table spoons Butterscotch Ice Cream Topping

1-2 Table Spoons Caramel Ice Cream Topping

Mix all ingredients and place half in freezer (I used ice trays, and dixie cups) and half in the fridge. After ice is hard place cubes into blender, use the stuff you had in the fridge to help give it the 'Canadian slurpee' texture. 

Froth

This isn't what the froth in universal was like, but it did taste pretty good! This makes a lot you could probably half it for the two drinks, but we ate the extras

1 C Heavy Whipping Cream

1/2 C- 1 C Marshmallow Cream

2 Table Spoons Butterscotch Ice Cream Topping

1 Table Spoon Caramel Ice Cream Topping

Mix marshmallow cream, butterscotch topping, caramel topping together first, after they have a smooth consistency (that mallow cream is tough stuff) mix in the whipping cream. Mix until you have soft peaks. Top your butterbeer with the froth... yum!! 

Toasted Coconut

The coconut popcorn I made a few days ago called for toasted coconut, one of the recipes I read told you how to toast it, but after two burnt pans and my fire alarm going off all morning I came up with a better way. So this is how I did it, I am not sure if it is legit or not, I don't care it tasted amazing and it worked for what I was doing it for. Cheers!

1-2 Cups Shaved Coconut*


Preheat oven to 300 degrees, on a large cookie sheet spread your coconut evenly. Place coconut into the oven for 3-5 minutes. I start at three minutes and then I check on it every minute after. When the coconut turns the color of brown you want take it out. It makes the house smell amazing and it tastes just as good!
* You could put more, that is just how much each of my batches was.

Amy's Amazing Popcorn

Amy brought this over for Super Bowl Sunday and her stuff was amazing! When I tried her recipe it is good... but it is always better when someone else makes it. This isn't a chewy caramel corn it is crunchy, but still totally yummy!

Coconut Caramel Popcorn

Growing up I hated the taste of coconut, I could taste it in anything even if it was a very small amount. With each pregnancy my love of coconut grows, this last pregnancy being the strongest. I have tried a peach coconut smoothie, coconut cookies, and coconut popcorn all in the last three days, although (sadly) the first two didn't make it to the blog the popcorn is amazballs!!! 

I looked at quite a few recipes to get to this one. So it may be jumbled all together, sorry! 

Ingredients 

8 C Popped Popcorn

3/4 C Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt (I just sprinkled in one shake)

6 TBsp Butter

3 TBsp Light Corn Syrup

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Coconut Extract

1 1/2 C Toasted Coconut

1. After your popcorn is popped, grease a cookie sheet, and turn your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Bring sugar, salt, butter and light corn syrup to a boil. Let boil for 1-2 minutes. 

3. Take mixture off of the heat and add baking soda, coconut extract, and toasted coconut to mixture.

4. Pour coconut mixture over popcorn. Pour popcorn mixture onto well greased cookie sheet. 

5. Place in oven for 6-7 minutes, take popcorn out and stir, then place back in oven for another 6-7 minutes. Take out, let cool... if you can... enjoy! YUMMERS!

I also tried it on puffed corn... I could taste the butter too strongly, but if you like the taste of butter and coconut, try it out! 

Amy and Kelby's Brazilian Lemonade

Oh my goodness! This stuff is SO good! I am not a huge fan of limes and this drink made my taste-buds sing, ha ha! Cheers!

Ingredients

1 C Sugar
6 C Cold Water
4 Juicy Limes
6 TBsp sweetened condensed milk

Method:

1. Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time.

2. Wash limes thoroughly with soap (just hand dish-washing soap or regular hand soap can be used) you need the soap to get the wax and pesticides off the limes, because you are using the whole lime. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into eighths.

3. Place half of the limes in your blender, add half of the sugar water, pace the lid on your blender and pulse 5 or so times.

4. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you will serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and residue from the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water.

5. Whisk in sweetened condensed milk.

6. Server immediately over lots of ice. This does not keep well, so while you can mix the sugar and water ahead of time and slice the limes don't mix them in the blender until you are ready to serve. (It gets really bitter)