Lazy Sunday Brunch

     There's nothing better than a lazy Sunday. Sleeping in. Slowly getting around to cooking up a late breakfast. Then before you have a chance to change out of your pj's to start your day, you make the executive decision to go and crawl back into bed. It's not very often that these kind of days come around, so when they do you gotta take hold and try to make it last for as long as humanly possible. 

     Of course, not getting out of your pj's can cause some issues - such as venturing out to the grocery store to get supplies. Since getting out of my pajamas is clearly not an option, I'm going to do the best with what I have in my fridge. Luckily, we had tacos a couple nights ago which means we have all of the necessary ingredients to make Huevos Rancheros!!

Lazy Sunday Huevos Rancheros

Ingredients: 
2 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 corn tortillas
1/2 cup rice, cooked

3 pieces of thick cut bacon, cooked and diced

1 half of an avocado, diced
1 tbsp cilantro, stems removed
1 tbsp salsa
Mexican cheese, shredded
Hot sauce, to taste ~~~ CLH

Directions:
Heat olive oil in skillet. Fry the eggs sunny-side up. Season with salt and pepper. 
Wrap corn tortillas in damp paper towel, then place inside large ziplock bag. Keep bag unzipped and microwave for 30 seconds to steam. 
Arrange tortillas in a triangle like shape, overlapping in the middle. Top with cooked rice, diced bacon, sunny-side up eggs eggs, avocado, cilantro, salsa and cheese. Dabble with hot sauce. 

Slow Cook Sunday: French Dip Sandwich

     Mother Nature is on my side today because (A) It's Sunday and (B) It's raining. There's some bad TV on in the background and my slow cooker is ready to do it's thang. And what was a slow cooker invented for if not to serve up juicy, melt in your mouth, pulled (insert meat of choice here)? So, come one, come all... it's meat lovin' time!

French Dip Sandwich

Ingredients: 

1 (2 lbs.)beef chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 yellow onions, chopped

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 bay leaf

3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tbsp. hot sauce ~~~ CLH

1 cup beef broth

1 package onion soup mix

1 (12 oz.) bottle of pale ale

French bread, sliced lengthwise

Swiss cheese, sliced

Directions:

Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper and sauté in olive oil until browned. 

Add the rest of the ingredients, except bread and cheese, to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes longer. 

Transfer mixture to the slow cooker and cook at the lowest setting for 5-6 hours. 

Remove the beef and onions from the slow cooker and shred apart with fork.

Reserve jus from the pot.

Layer bottom half of French bread with shredded beef and onions, then top with Swiss cheese. 

Place both sides of French bread under broiler until cheese is melted and other half is toasted. 

Serve with a side bowl of jus and french fries.

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Slow Cook Sunday: Italian

I don’t know about you, but on my Sunday’s I like to do absolutely nothing. In fact, I think Mother Nature should create a law stating every Sunday must be grey, cloudy and rainy, so that you don’t feel bad for staying in your pajamas all day watching one made-for-TV movie after another.

Besides Lifetime movies, lazy Sunday’s also makes for the perfect partner to a slow cooker. Throw everything into one pot and let the magic happen. I like to call it... Slow-Cook Sunday. And this Sunday, we're cooking Italian.

Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced*
½ cup mushrooms, sliced
1 lb. ground turkey**
1 15 oz. can stewed Italian tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste***
3 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. red pepper flakes ~~~ CLH
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan

* TFM: Smash the garlic cloves with the flat part of a knife to help easily remove the peel.
** TFD: The original recipe uses ground beef. Ground turkey has been substituted in this recipe to accommodate the non-red meat eaters (aka my boyfriend).
*** TFM: My mom used to line up my sisters and I and spread tomato paste on our heads to remove the green tint out of our blond hair (commonly caused from the presence of copper in swimming pools). Does it actually work? I don’t know, but I figured I might as well share.

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large pan and heat. Toss in onion and sauté in oil until golden. Add mushrooms and minced garlic. Sauté a couple more minutes. (TFM: Be sure not to burn the garlic, as it will taste bitter.) Add the ground turkey and cook until browned and crumbly.
Transfer the ground turkey mixture into a slow cooker. Add sugar to bring out the sweetness of the tomatoes, red pepper flakes for a little spice, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook on low for 2 hours. (TFM: If you do not have a slow-cooker available, you can use a large pot. Just make sure to stir it from time to time so it doesn’t burn.)


Pasta

Ingredients:
5 quarts water
1-2 tbsp. salt
1 package of angel hair pasta
Spaghetti sauce, recipe above
Parmesan, grated

Directions:
Bring water to a boil. Add salt. Cook pasta according to box, until al dente.
Spoon spaghetti sauce over pasta and sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan on top. 

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     Now, I know it doesn’t sound like making your own garlic bread falls into the lazy Sunday motto – those bags in the frozen aisle are good enough, right? Usually I’d agree with you on this one, but I stopped in to this adorable mom and pop shop in Harbor Country yesterday, Harbert Swedish Bakery, and bought a delicious fresh loaf of sourdough bread that I can’t wait to eat.

Garlic Bread

Ingredients:
6 large garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup Italian parsley, chopped
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 loaf of bread, cut lengthwise
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:
Preheat your oven broiler to low.
Use a food processor and combine the garlic, Italian parsley, butter, salt and pepper.
Spread mixture over sliced bread and sprinkle Parmesan on top.
Set bread, spread side up, on an aluminum lined baking sheet and place in the oven under the broiler for 3-5 minutes.

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     As every mother says, “You have to eat your greens”. So, if you’re feeling adventurous on this particular Sunday, I recommend adding a personal touch to your Caesar Salad with some homemade croutons.

Croutons

Ingredients:
1 loaf French bread (a few days old)
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Italian seasoning

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut the bread into small cubes and place into a bowl. Toss cubed bread with the rest of the ingredients.
Arrange bread cubes in one layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake 15-20 minutes until golden grown. 

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     Also, while in Harbor Country we checked out the local wineries and participated in a few tastings. According to the wine tasting guide I found crumpled in my purse, tonight’s dinner is going to pair perfectly with The Round Barn Winery Weekend Red. Good thing we bought a bottle... or case.