Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

I saw this recipe on Instagram and it looked delicious, so I added it to my menu plan last week. It did not disappoint. I made a couple changes to how I cooked it, which I noted at the bottom. I'm already looking forward to eating this again!

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

ohsweetbasil.com

3 pound tri tip steak

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 15 oz can beef broth

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp garlic powder

Hoagie Rolls

Cheese slices

1. Remove and discard the fat from the roast. Place the trimmed roast in a crockpot on low.

2. In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, beef broth, bay leaf, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and garlic powder. Pour mixture over the roast. Cover, and cook on low heat for 8 hours.

3. Take the meat out and shred it, then let it cook 1-2 hours more, or until meat is very tender.

4. Remove meat from broth, reserving the broth.

5. Distribute the meat on hoagies and top with cheese. Place under a broiler until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted. Use reserved broth for dipping.

Notes: I used water and beef bouillon instead of broth. I cooked the roast on high for 5 hours, shredded, then cooked on low for 2 more and it was great. After removing the meat from the slow cooker, I chopped it up a little so that it wouldn't be stringy. I used gouda cheese slices in the picture. It made enough for 10 sandwiches with a little left over. I tried some leftover meat in a tortilla with queso fresco, salsa, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and lime and it was really good!

Zuppa Toscana

I grew kale in my garden this year for the first time. This sent me on the hunt for some kale recipes. I found this Olive Garden copycat Zuppa Toscana aka Tuscan Soup, and had heard of before but never tried it. I used spicy sausage and left the peel on the potatoes. My entire family enjoyed this soup, which means it gets added to the blog. With some focaccia bread on the side, mmmmm!!!

Zuppa Toscana

lecremedelacrumb.com

1 pound spicy or mild Italian ground sausage

4 TBSPs butter 

1/2 white onion, diced

1 TBSP minced garlic

6 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

4/5 yellow potatoes, washed and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 tsps salt or to taste

1 tsp black pepper

2 cups heavy cream

4 cups chopped kale

Chopped bacon and grated parmesan cheese for topping, optional

1. In a large pot, sauté sausage 5-6 minutes until browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer sausage to a plate and set aside. Remove any grease that is left.

2. In the same pot, add butter and sauté onions over medium heat until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for another minute until fragrant. Add chicken broth, water, potatoes, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil.

3. Boil until potatoes are tender, check with a fork at about 10 minutes. Stir in kale and heavy cream. Add sausage. If you want to remove some of the grease, see my note at the bottom. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Serve garnished with bacon and grated parmesan cheese if desired. 

Note: Sausage is greasy and the spicy variety leaves an orange layer that hangs out at the top of the soup. I removed some of this fat with a gravy separator. I scooped the top layer as best as I could with a ladle, poured it into my gravy separator, and let it sit for a few minutes to let the grease rise to the top. Then poured the liquid back in. I added a picture of it below.

Another note: When recipes call for chicken broth, I usually substitute water and chicken bullion which works well in this soup.

Chocolate Yule Log with Mascarpone Cream Filling and Peppermint Meringue Mushrooms

 This year was just the worst. I decided the worst year deserved a special dessert to follow Christmas dinner, so I made my first ever Yule log aka bûche de Noël. A Yule log is a thin sponge cake rolled up with a cream filling and decorated to look like an actual log. I based my creation on a couple different recipes, and have combined them here just in case I endeavor to make this again or even turn it into a yearly tradition. I made this over 2 a day period. The first day I made the cake and filling, rolled it up, covered it, and refrigerated it overnight. I also started the cranberry and rosemary garnish. The next day I made the frosting and mushrooms, finished the garnish, and assembled everything. It's quite a time consuming dessert, and I had a few little helpers which was nice. I absolutely love how it turned out. It might be the most beautiful dessert I've ever made. See a few helpful notes and more pictures following the recipe. 

Chocolate Yule Log with Mascarpone Cream Filling and Peppermint Meringue Mushrooms

adapted from lifeloveandsugar.com and allrecipes.com

Cake

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 large eggs, separated

3/4 cup granulated sugar

5 TBSPs sour cream

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling

1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream, cold

3/4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

8 oz mascarpone cheese, softened, but still chilled

Frosting

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 - 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Meringue Mushrooms (Optional)

3 large egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

1 cup granulated sugar

1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder

4 ounces chocolate chips

Sugared Cranberries and Rosemary (Optional)

1/2 cup water

1 cup sugar, divided

1/2 cup fresh cranberries

4-5 sprigs rosemary

Cake - 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 17×12 inch jelly roll sheet pan with parchment paper. Make sure the parchment paper sticks up at least an inch above the sides of the pan on all sides. You’ll use the parchment paper later to lift the cake out of the pan and roll it up.

2. Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside. 

3. In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar and whisk together until well combined. Add the sour cream, melted butter and vanilla extract and whisk together until well combined.

4. Add the dry ingredients and gently whisk together until well combined, then set aside.

5. Add the egg whites to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.

6. Gently fold about 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen up the batter. Add the remaining egg whites and gently fold together until well combined.

7. Spread the cake batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back when toughed and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

8. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately lift the cake out of the pan using the parchment paper and place it on the counter.

9. While the cake is hot, use the parchment paper the cake was baked in and start at the shorter end of the cake to slowly roll the cake up. Set the cake aside to cool completely.

Filling - 

1. When the cake has cooled and is ready to be filled, make the filling. Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt to a large mixer bowl and whip on high speed until soft peaks form.

2. Add the mascarpone cheese to the whipped cream and whip until stiff peaks form. It will happen fairly quickly.

3. Unroll the cake roll very carefully, looking out for areas where it may be sticking to release it. You can use an offset spatula or something similar and run it along the parchment paper as you unroll the cake to help release it as it unrolls.

4. Spread the filling evenly onto the unrolled cake, then roll it back up without the parchment paper. Wrap it up in plastic wrap with the seam side down and refrigerate for at least an hour to firm up or overnight. 

Sugared Cranberries and Rosemary -

1. Place cranberries and rosemary in small separate bowls; set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring the water and 1/2 cup of sugar and to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved.

3. Remove pan from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. 

4. Pour sugar syrup over the cranberries and rosemary, dividing it evenly between bowls. Cover the bowls and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

5. Drain the cranberries and rosemary from the syrup. Place the cranberries and rosemary in a large zip lock bag and add 1 cup of sugar to the bag. Toss to coat.

6. Pour the sugared cranberries and rosemary out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and let them dry for at least 2 hours at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Frosting -

1. To make the frosting, in a small saucepan, bring whipping cream to a simmer over medium-low heat. Add chocolate chips. Do not stir.

2. Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, stir until smooth.

3. Refrigerate for 30 min.

4. Transfer to a medium sized mixer bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.

5. Mix on high speed until thick enough to spread adding an extra 1/4 cup of powdered sugar if needed.

6. To decorate the cake, use a large serrated knife to gently cut off a piece of the log about 3-4 inches in length. Make the cut with a slight diagonal. Arrange logs pieces on a platter or cake stand.

7. Use some of the frosting to attach the small log to the side of the larger log.

8. Spread the remaining frosting to cover the cake.

9. Using a fork, create bark-like lines by dragging the fork from one end of the cake to the other, wiping off the extra frosting that builds up on the fork.

10. Place in refrigerator uncovered to set frosting while making meringues.

Meringues - 

1. Preheat the oven to 225°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a bowl, use an electric mixer to whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar, salt, and peppermint. Continue whipping until the whites hold soft peaks.

3. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar so that it does not sink to the bottom, and continue whipping until the mixture holds stiff shiny peaks.

4. Place a round tip (I used size 2A) into a pastry bag, and fill the bag half way with the meringue. To pipe the mushroom caps, squeeze out round mounds of meringue onto one of the prepared cookie sheets. Pull the bag off to the side to avoid making peaks on the top. For the stems, press out a tiny bit of meringue onto the other sheet, then pull the bag straight up. They should resemble candy kisses.

5. Dust the mushroom caps lightly with cocoa using a small sifter or strainer. 

6. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the caps are dry enough to easily remove from the cookie sheets. Set aside to cool completely.

7. Melt the chocolate chips in a small bowl in the microwave at half power, stirring occasionally until smooth.

8. Poke a small hole in the bottom of a mushroom cap. Spread chocolate over the bottom of the cap. Dip the tip of a stem in chocolate, and press lightly into the hole. When the chocolate sets, they will hold together. Repeat with remaining pieces. Store at room temperature covered and in a dry place until ready to decorate.

 

Decorate with mushrooms, sugared cranberries and rosemary, if desired. I even threw on a little of the extra sugar to look like snow and sprinkled some on the top. I also added some tiny pine cones. Go wild. 

Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. 

A few notes:

1. I definitely recommend making this over a 2 day period and eating it the 2nd day. I wrote my steps in the order that I did things. Cake, filling, and start sugared cranberries and rosemary the first day. Frosting, meringues, and finish sugared cranberries and rosemary the second day. 

2. When I originally made this, I followed a recipe where the cranberries and rosemary sat overnight together in a bowl. This made the cranberries taste like rosemary, so if you want to eat the sugared cranberries, you should separate them from the rosemary (which I changed in this recipe) if not, then you can combine them in one bowl.

3. I changed the original meringue recipe from vanilla to peppermint. If you prefer vanilla meringue, use 1 tsp of vanilla extract instead of 1/2 tsp of peppermint.

4. After cutting the piece of the diagonal piece off of the log, I also cut a small slice off the other end of the large part of the log to make it look nice at both ends.

Pigs in a Blanket 2.0

 I found a new favorite crescent roll recipe 2 years ago and it's now the roll recipe I use to make pigs in a blanket. The dough is SO easy to work with and rolls out really nicely. I make these a few times a year, and sometimes do a double batch which makes 72 pigs! My kids love them for lunches at home and at school. 

Pigs in a Blanket 2.0

1 TBSP instant yeast

¼ cup warm water

½ tsp sugar

1 cup warm milk

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup flour

2 eggs

3-4 cups flour

1 (14oz.) package Lit'l Smokies sausages

 

1. In a 1 cup glass measuring cup, mix yeast with warm water and ½ tsp sugar. Let stand until bubbly.

2. In a large bowl whisk together warm milk, oil, ½ cup sugar, and salt. Add 1 cup of flour to mixture, and mix well. Add 2 eggs and mix vigorously by hand. Add yeast mixture and mix vigorously until smooth (I like to use my whisk again here). With a wooden spoon, stir in 3-4 cups flour to the yeast mixture ( I usually end up doing 3 1/2 cups). Dough should be sticky.

3. Pour the dough into a large bowl. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours until it has doubled in size.

4. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch down and divide into thirds (each of my thirds weighs about 14.5 ounces). Roll 1/3 of dough on a floured surface making a circle about 12 inches round. Dough should be about ⅜" thick. Cut into 12 triangles (like a pizza). Place a sausage at the wide end of each triangle. Roll from the wide end to the point. Place rolls onto a lined or greased cookie sheet (I do 3 across and 6 rows down). Repeat with the other 2 thirds of dough. You should end up with 36 rolls, 2 pans with 18 on each. Cover rolls with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise for another hour at room temperature or until the rolls double in size. 

5. Bake at 375 degrees until light lightly browned, which is about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.

Sticky Cinnamon-Sugar Monkey Bread

 My daughter works at a sandwich shop and some nights she brings home extra bread dough. This is one of the things I like to make with that dough. It's super easy and yummy. The recipe calls for 2 pounds of frozen dough. Rhodes Bake n Serve White Bread dough works well for this. I have tried it with vanilla and butterscotch pudding and they are both great. This picture is with the butterscotch pudding. 

Sticky Cinnamon-Sugar Monkey Bread

tasteofhome.com

2 loaves (1 pound each) frozen bread dough, thawed 

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, cubed

1 package (3 oz) cook and serve vanilla or butterscotch pudding mix

2 TBSPs milk

2 tsps ground cinnamon

1. Cut dough into 1-inch pieces; place in a greased 13x9 inch baking dish.

2. In a large saucepan, combine remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cook and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Pour over dough pieces.

3. Cover loosely with parchment or nonstick foil. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes, until golden brown . Immediately invert onto a serving plate.

Serves 16

Best Pumpkin Bread

I decided I wanted to try a new pumpkin bread recipe, but I didn't have to make a bunch of different loaves to find the best one, because there's a blogger that already does that! I read The Pancake Princess's pumpkin bread bake-off post and baked her winner. It comes from seriouseats.com and apparently is the pumpkin bread recipe for the San Francisco bakery Tartine and is actually called Pumpkin Tea Cake. It has great spice flavor and a fun crispy sugary crust on top. If you like chocolate chips in your pumpkin bread, don't be afraid to throw some in!

Best Pumpkin Bread

seriouseats.com

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 TBSP + 2 tsps ground cinnamon

2 tsps freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 cup + 2 TBSPs pumpkin or squash puree (canned or homemade)

1 cup vegetable oil

1 1/3 cups sugar

3/4 tsp salt

3 large eggs

2 TBSPs sugar for topping

2 TBSPs pepitas (optional but highly recommended)

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

2. Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

3. In another bowl, beat together the pumpkin puree, oil, sugar, and salt on medium speed until well mixed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. On low speed, add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Scrape down the sides again, then beat on medium speed for 5 to 10 seconds to make a smooth batter. The batter should have the consistency of a thick purée. Make sure not to overmix, or you will end up with a coarse, tough crumb.

4. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the top evenly with half the topping sugar, then the optional pepitas, and then the rest of the topping sugar. Bake until a tester emerges clean from the center, about 1 hour

5. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes. Then invert the cake onto the rack, turn right side up, and let cool completely. Serve at room temperature. The cake will keep, well wrapped, at room temperature for 4 days or in the refrigerator for about 1 week.

Rustic Strawberry and Peach Galette

 Summer is almost over, but there's still time for summer desserts! You only need a few ingredients for this recipe. It's pretty much like a pie but an easier version with less filling. You can substitute other fruit like blackberries or blueberries and make your own creation. We like it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Rustic Strawberry and Peach Galette

adapted from sallysbakingaddiction.com

1 pie crust (store bought or my recipe here)

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

2 fresh ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced

2 TBSPs sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg beaten

1. Mix the peaches and strawberries together in a medium bowl. Add the sugar and vanilla, tossing well to coat the fruit. Set aside and allow the mixture to soak as you roll out the crust.

2. Preheat oven to 425°F (190°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pie dough into a 12-inch circle. Trim the rim of the circle to make a clean cut if desired. Transfer dough to the prepared baking sheet.

4. Spoon the fruit (not the juices) into the center of the dough, leaving a 2-3 inch border all around.

5. Gently fold the edges of the dough over the fruit, overlapping the dough as necessary. Press gently to seal the edges. Pour most of the reserved juices over the fruit, leaving about 1-2 TBSPs behind. Too much juice and the dough will become soggy. Brush the crust with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar.

6. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown, Remove from the oven and allow to slightly cool before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature. Tart tastes best on the same day it is baked. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.