Favorite Family Dinner

Tonight for dinner we are having my oldest son's favorite food in the whole wide world!  He would eat this meal everyday if possible.  
 
Actually everyone in the family likes these sandwiches.  Even my picky non-meat eating son.  These French Dips are super easy to make and taste amazing!

French Dip Sandwiches

Ingredients:
2 lb. beef roast
5 c. beef broth (divided)
.7 oz. pkg. Italian dressing mix
1/8-1/4 of an onion, thickly sliced
Provolone Cheese
Sandwich rolls

Place in Crockpot:
The roast, 3 cups of broth, Italian dressing mix, and onion.  Cook on high for 5-6 hours (or until the meat is cooked through).

 
When the meat is done cooking:
Take it out of the Crockpot and place in a separate bowl.  Cut off the fatty parts. 

 

Use a hand mixer to shred the meat. 

My mom told me about this meat shredding trick a few months ago.  It has been a lifesaver.  I used to shred meat with two forks and it took forever.  Now I can shred any meat in just a few minutes.
 
 For Dip:
Strain the Juice from the Crockpot into a separate bowl using a wire strainer and a large soup ladle.  Add 2-3 cups of Beef Broth to the juice.

 
To Serve:
Add a small amount of the juice to the meat to moisten(about 1/2 cup).  Melt provolone cheese onto the roll and place meat on top.
 

Dip and enjoy!

Real Fruit Smoothies

 

This smoothie one of my most favorite!  It is so simple to make.  Best of all it uses real fruit, so it is good for you.
 
I usually make fruit smoothies for my boys when they get home from school because it's a fun and easy way for me to get them to eat a variety of fruits.

Cherry Vanilla Shake

1 c. cold milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. sugar
2- 6oz. pkgs. vanilla yogurt
1- 16 oz. pkg. frozen cherries
 
Thaw out the cherries a bit by letting them sit out for about 30 minutes.  If the fruit is too frozen the smoothie will be too thick for the blender to mix.
 
Put all the ingredients into a blender and mix until it is smooth.  Replace the sugar with Splenda for fewer calories, if desired.
 
Serves 3 or 4

Hearty-Fall-Favorites

I spent the day trying out my new Pressure Canner.  I canned some ground beef for future use in soups, tacos, spaghetti, etc. 

For dinner tonight I'm going to use some of the left-over meat and make one of my all time favorite Fall dinners.  Hamburger soup!  This soup is full of veggies and is super yummy!

Hamburger Soup

1-1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/4 small onion, minced
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups frozen corn
2 cups frozen peas
1 cup chopped celery
4-5 carrots, peeled and sliced
6 cups beef broth
1-16 oz. can tomatoes (1pt.)
1/4 cup uncooked rice

Brown ground beef and onion in frying pan.  Pour off grease and rinse.  Transfer to large pan and add remaining ingredients.  Simmer 30 minutes.