Beef On a Budget

 If you are anything like me, you are always watching the bottom dollar when it comes to putting meals on the table for your family to enjoy. And if you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know we are "freezer beef" people. We are lucky and blessed to always have fresh beef in our freezer at all times. In fact, we've had to upgrade to two freezers to accommodate it all.

And truthfully, if you are able to find a decent price around you on a quarter or half or even whole beef, I would highly recommend it. Yes, it's not a cheap investment, but in the long run, it will save you money, and the quality is so much better than anything you can find at the grocery store.

But if you are buying beef in the regular store, one of the best values you can find is round steak. It's normally cheaper than other cuts, and  I know most stores around us run a special on it a couple times each month. So keep an eye out for it, and you can not only make this delicious, budget friendly supper, maybe you can stock up too!

This meal is the ultimate "throw it together and come home to dinner" dinner. Not to mention being comfort food! If you're looking for a great side idea, potatoes! I did boiled ones, but mashed would be perfect too. Why? Simple. The gravy. It's SO good, you're going to want to drink it with a straw, but spooning it over some taters seems more appropriate.

 Being this easy should tell you how I could pull it off with Max! Yes, our little guy is now almost 3 months old, and I'm really trying to do more "real" cooking when I can.

Beef doesn't have to be something you only serve on holidays or a treat. You can have a delicious, easy steak dinner any night of the week that doesn't break the wallet!

Slow Cooker Round Steak

2-3 lb round steak, cut into portions
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 (10 3/4 oz.) cream of celery soup
1/4 c. water
Salt and Pepper to taste
Dried Parsley for garnish

Spray slow cooker with non stick spray. Season steak with salt and pepper. Place inside slow cooker. In a medium bowl whisk together water, soup and soup mix. Pour over steak. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. Garnish with parsley before serving.

Perfect Timing, Max

So, we are 2 months in, and our schedule is getting a tad more back to normal. Yes, it's super hard to believe Max has been with us for over 8 weeks now, and we fall in love with him a little more each day.

Anybody that has ever had a baby will tell you, your schedule is not your own. Your schedule becomes the baby's schedule. When he/she wants to nap, the house is quiet, no matter how badly you should be vacuuming, emptying the dishwasher or rearranging closets. When it is time to eat, the world stops, and revolves around a bottle or breast. So, when Max was eating right around supper time every night, things were a  little hectic around here. I mean, how was I supposed to cook and sit down to feed him at the same time?

But luckily, his schedule has shifted a tiny bit and he has started to around supper time, making it easier for me to not only cook, but try some new recipes I've been wanting to. Or, at least it seems easier!

This was our Mexican night treat a few weeks ago. It comes together in almost no time, can even be made ahead if that helps you out, and tastes great. Oh, I will put this disclaimer on it. You might look at it and say "Why isn't the cheese melted all the way?" Well, that's easy. It had 5 minutes left to cook when Max decided he was starving. So I had to decide to pull it early, or let it burn...obviously I chose the first.

Things are beginning to feel a little more "old school" around here, and I would tell you more about that, but I hear my little chipmunk from the next room...must be time to eat again!

Green Chile Mexican Pie

10 small corn tortillas

1 lb. ground beef

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste 

Dried Parsley

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 inch pie plate. In a large skillet brown beef until no longer pink. Drain if necessary. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. In a medium bowl whisk together soup and green chilies. In the bottom of pie plate layer half of the tortillas, overlapping them. Add half the soup mixture. Top with half the meat and then cheese. Repeat layers. Sprinkle top with dried parsley. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese begins to melt. 

Uh-Mazing Fall Fun!

 Autumn is in full swing here in Indiana, and we've been having some absolutely gorgeous weather. Some days it still feels like summer, but with the sights and smells of fall! 

One of our favorite annual traditions is heading about 20 minutes north of Fort Wayne to the little town of Waterloo where our friends at Amazing Fall Fun Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch are always nice enough to have us out for an afternoon of fun.  

With their 17 acre corn maze, and super fun activity area, there is always so much to do for kids young to not so young! Of course, for us, it was even more exciting this year because Alex was able to share in the fun with Baby Max, not to mention how special it was for mommy too.

One of the things we love about the incredible event they put on is every year they try to add some new things to keep it fresh. This year was no exception. Right away Alex was quick to point out the baseball throw and bouncy ball area...both of which he found to be great entertainment.

After some time playing around, it was time for him and I to hit the corn maze. Since we had Max in the stroller, we decided Daddy would stay behind with him and the 12 year old and I would conquer the maze on our own. 

It was an absolutely beautiful afternoon to get a little lost, and have some fun trying to find our way out. It wasn't long before Alex was very "corn fused" deciding which way to turn, but pretty sure we found our favorite spot, the lookout, and knew we were on the right path.

I am proud to say we had complete success. We did phase 2, the bigger side, which is supposed to take approximately 40 minutes, and we were out in about 30! Victory!

Oh, that's another thing I love about this corn maze. They split it into two parts, one smaller for little legs that can't maybe last as long in the bigger side. That way the whole family, all ages, can enjoy the fun!

I am so blessed when these work days can be family days as well. If you are looking for a fun fall day for your family, and you live anywhere Waterloo, Amazing Fall Fun Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch is the place for you! 

For more info, be sure to check them out online and Facebook.

Game Day Food

If you've been logging onto the blog lately, you know new recipes are few and far between right now. I can't help it. Max is keeping me pretty busy, and just getting supper on the table is sometimes a chore, let alone making something new, and then having the camera handy to snap a photo.

I mean, how can you worry about food photo lighting when you've got this face looking at you?

But there was a night last week that Max was napping, and knew it was time to try a recipe a friend had given me back during the summer that I hadn't had the chance to make yet.

She had shared it thinking it would be a perfect idea for summer time cookouts or barbecues, but obviously the time has passed for those. That's okay though, because I don't think anything goes with football better than a great dip. This would be perfect on Game Day! Rather you've got a big crowd coming over to watch, or it's just your family. Maybe you are tailgaters, that's even better. It doesn't matter where you serve it, as long as you've got plenty of chips for dipping!

As we get more of a schedule, I hope to get back to posting new recipes on a more regular basis, but if you follow me on Facebook, I am always sharing photos of Max (and his Big Brudder Alex too) and old recipes too. I haven't disappeared. I promise. In the meantime, enjoy this dip and think of me!

Warm Corn and Bacon Dip

2 (15 oz.) cans NO salt added corn, drained

6 slices bacon, cooked crisp

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 c. sour cream

2 c. finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 TBS dried chives, extra for garnish

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl combine corn, bacon, cheeses and sour cream. Gently stir until well combined. Add salt, pepper and chives. Stir again. Transfer to a baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden on top. Garnish with extra chives. Serve warm with tortilla chips. 

I Am Back

Whew. It's hard to believe my last post was back on July 18th. What can I say? We've been a little busy!!

For those of you who don't know, we welcomed our baby boy on August 11, 2016 at 1:37 pm.

Maxwell Charles Shartle Marshall was 8 lbs. 4 oz. and 19.5 inches long. He was born with a full head of hair, and we were in love at first sight, including Big "Brudder" (as we like to say) Alex. 

Alex was actually given the honor of naming his baby brother, and he chose "Max." The first time they met was one I had waited 9 months for, and one I will never forget.

His two middle names come from both of this grandpas. Charles is my father-in-law's middle name, and Shartle is my maiden name, and my dad is the last one, so we wanted the name to be carried on in some way.

Max is an absolute joyous addition to our family. We have all adjusted well to having a newborn in the house, and almost a month in, he has yet to wake up his big brother at night, which is good because the day I went into labor, was also his first day of 6th grade, at a brand new school.

It's hard to believe Max will be a month old this weekend, and I am simply trying to treasure every single second. Plus, Alex turns 12 on the 16th....so my boys are growing and I'm looking for the pause button.

So, you can understand why things on the blog are a little slow right now. Sure I'm still in the kitchen making sure my family is fed, but I won't lie, suppers are quick and easy right now, and I'm not really ready to try anything new yet.

This happened to be the last new recipe I did make about 2 weeks before Max was born. It's my take on a dish Alex had at Popeye's Chicken and loved. It's a super simple all in one meal with just enough kick to make it exciting. Add a salad or some fresh fruit on the side and dinner is done.

I promise to get back into the swing of things at some point. But right now baby snuggles are a little higher on my priority list!

 Cajun Dirty Rice

4 c. instant white rice, cooked

1 lb. ground beef

1 medium orange bell pepper, finely chopped

1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped

2 tsp. Cajun seasoning, or to taste

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. dried celery flakes

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

2/3 c. beef broth

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Dried Chives, for garnish

In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown beef with peppers until no longer pink. Drain if necessary. Add rice and mix well. Add seasonings and beef broth. Reduce heat to medium low and cook and stir until liquid is absorbed, about 5-7 minutes. Garnish with chives before serving.