Doin' Some Cookin'... Slow Cooker Italian Shredded Beef

Work nights are busy enough, but a work night coupled with Little Man's swim class and an additional chore added to the night such as laundry makes for a very exhausting day. The last thing I usually want to do is cook dinner which is a shame because I absolutely love cooking.

Slow cooker dinners are what this working mama needs.

(It was a stormy day and the lighting at dinner time was not the best. Photo does not do this justice.)

This recipe for Italian Shredded Beef is so simple because you just dump the ingredients, set the timer, and let it do it's thang while you do yours.

The meat comes out perfectly seasoned and so tender. I mean, melt-in-your-mouth tender.

If I wasn't attempting another round of Whole30 this shredded beef would have been served on a crusty roll as sandwiches with some provolone cheese.

Slow Cooker Italian Shredded Beef

Adapted From: Organize Yourself Skinny

Makes 8 Servings

Stars of the Show:

• 2 1/2 lb chuck roast
• 1 packet Simply Organic Italian Dressing Mix
• 1/4 of a jar of sliced banana peppers with 1/8 cup of the juice
• 1/2 cup beef broth

And Action:

Place the chuck roast in the slow cooker. 

Sprinkle the Italian dressing over the meat. 

Pour the banana pepper juice and beef broth over the meat. Flip the roast a couple of times and then pour in the banana peppers. 

Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8 hours. 

Using two forks shred the beef. Enjoy!

Doin' Some Cookin'... Pizza Casserole

My company was hosting their annual potluck of "homemade" dishes only this year.

Ugh! I don't mind picking something up from the store but cooking for the entire office. Hmm...

I get cooking anxiety when cooking for people for the first time. Hell, I have a hard enough time cooking for my biggest critic, Little Man. So I end up doing a run through of the recipe ahead of time to make sure it turns out okay.

The potluck was today and I made this recipe on Tuesday, however, while it was absolutely delicious it was incredibly heavy and didn't settle well on my stomach. I couldn't risk serving this gut bomb to my coworkers so I ended up opting out of the potluck.

Little Man loved everything about this dish and polished off his bowl of pasta for the two nights of leftovers. That is a win for me! He exclaimed, "It tastes like Papa Johns but with pasta!"

This was an incredibly easy dish to make on a busy work night and came together fairly quickly. You can customize the toppings to include your family's favorite pizza flavors. I'm thinking next time ham, pineapple, and red onions for a Hawaiian version. Yum.

Pizza Casserole

Adapted From: Taste of Home

Makes 12-14 Servings

Stars of the Show:

• 1 package (16 oz) of rigatoni
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 package of hot Italian sausage
• 1 package (8 oz) pepperoni, sliced
• shredded mozzarella cheese or pizza blend, to taste
• 2 cans (15 oz) pizza sauce
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup

And Action:

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside. While the pasta cooks, brown the beef and Italian sausage. Drain the fat. 

Add the pasta to the meat mixture, add cheese, pizza sauce, mushroom soup, and pepperoni. Stir to combine. Heat over medium until sauce is heated through and cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Doin' Some Cookin'... Roasted Mushroom and Ground Beef Stroganoff

Beef stroganoff is a Russian dish made with sliced beef and a creamy sour cream sauce. Beef stroganoff is one of my favorite comfort foods. I absolutely love a giant bowl of this beefy pasta. The best part about this recipe is that there is only one pot and a baking sheet to clean up and the dinner dishes. Great dish to make on a busy work night. 

My mama would make what I considered to be a "gourmet" version when I was growing up using a more expensive cut of beef, a velvety sauce, and the mushrooms and onions were sautéed in olive oil and garlic. Perfection. 

She comes out to Texas for a weekend visit every one to two years and the last couple of visits it has been beef stroganoff I've requested. This last visit was no difference except this time I was the one making us dinner after seeing that my mama has aged in the last two years and isn't quite as healthy for slaving over the stove either. Because I was cooking and it was football Sunday I decided on something that wasn't too labor intensive. 

I've also been go, go, go every weekend. California, the cruise, and my mom's visit snuck up on me. I thought I had too more weeks. I'm really looking forward to a "relaxing" weekend. As a mom, y'all know what a relaxing weekend really means... I might be able to sneak in a short nap and one shower. Haha!!

Definitely not on my mama's level but a good substitute. By the way, this was my first time making beef stroganoff outside of a box of Hamburger Helper and I made enough to feed us for three days.

Next time I will add some onions to my mushroom roast and use classic egg noodles. 

A little fact about me... I only like mushrooms when they are piping hot and I'm very particular about the way they are cooked and the kind of mushroom. I do not enjoy them reheated. 

As I mentioned, I've been so darn busy since August that home cooking has taken a back seat. I forgot how much I love being in the kitchen. It's my happy place. 

Roasted Mushroom and Ground Beef Stroganoff

Makes 8 Servings

Stars of the Show:

• olive oil
• package of sliced seasoned mushrooms
• salt and pepper, to taste
• onion powder, to taste
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 lb lean ground beef
• 6 cups low sodium beef broth
• 16 oz whole wheat rotini
• 2 cups sour cream

And Action:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Heat some olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add the ground beef, onion powder, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until browned breaking up the beef as it cooks. 

Pour in the beef broth and the pasta. Bring to a light boil and then cover with a lid. Continue to cook and stir often for 17-20 minutes. 

While the pasta is cooking add the mushrooms to a baking sheet and toss with olive oil. Roast for 15 minutes until browned and set aside until pasta is done cooking. 

Remove the pot from the heat. If it looks like there is too much liquid drain some of it so the sauce it's too liquidy. Stir in the mushrooms and sour cream. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Enjoy!

Livin' It Up... 4 Day Western Caribbean Cruise to Cozumel for Sandra's Bachelorette Party

Day 1: Departing Galveston, September 29th, 2016

I had jitters about going on my first cruise because I was so afraid I was going to be sea sick the entire time after hearing horror stories from some of my family and friends. My nerves were a mess that morning as I packed last minute.

Arrived to Sandra's house around 10 a.m., loaded up her luggage and drove down to Galveston. We made it down to the terminal port parking and could see the massive cruise ship and that's when we squealed in delight and slapped high fives.

We did early boarding at made it through the security check in and boarding by 11:30 a.m. We carried our luggage on and so glad we did because our balcony room was ready for us when we got there and we had all of our belongings with us.

Our room had a balcony and was plenty big enough for the two of us girls. I couldn't have asked for a better roommate. We meshed so well for our first ever vacation together, let alone, first ever overnight experience. 4 and 1/2 days together and not one single bit of sass to each other.

Sandra is such a girly girl and had to touch up her nails first thing and the sight of my no polish fingers and toes made her cringe so we got matching manicures, pink polish with an accent nail using nail caviar. So classy looking and now I felt ready to show off my toes in my flip flops on the pool decks.

We ventured up to the Lido Deck to check out the food because we were hungry since we didn't eat breakfast that morning. We looked at the Italian food selection at the buffet and decided on making a salad to go with our burgers and fries we were going to pick up from Guy Fieri's burger joint. I topped my burger with mushrooms, onions, bacon, mayo, and ketchup and grabbed some of the sauces for my fries. Oh em gee!! This was such a burger. I highly recommend that you grab one everyday you are on the cruise and make sure you watch the time because they close at 6 p.m.

I was thirsty while sitting at the table and a cocktail server stopped by with a tray of their "cocktail of the day". We bought the drinks package which was 15 drinks a day for a set price, however, you weren't able to use it on the first day of the cruise. Thankfully, water, lemonade, and iced tea are available for free. Soda is included in another drink package called, "Bottomless Bubbles." I would recommend the Bottomless Bubbles over the alcoholic drinks package and if I ever do it again I wouldn't drink on the cruise or maybe it's just this ship but the drinks were way too sweet and the servers were not accommodating with adjusting the juice content. Very frustrating.

After we stuffed ourselves we went back to the room for a nap until we were woke up with the safety briefing and were forced to head to our Muster Stations. Once they released us we went back to our room for departure from the Port of Galveston. It was so cool watching the dolphins follow the ship from the balcony of our room. Yes, we missed the deck party and no, we didn't care.

(Sandra, the bride to be, asking me to be her Maid of Honor. The ring and this photo was a joke because I made her get down on one knee. Haha!!)

Around 5 p.m. every night we would go to our room and get ready for dinner on the Silver Deck. I cannot lie, I was not impressed by much on this cruise or the ship. Our servers were a bunch of effin' assholes who rolled their eyes anytime you'd ask for something after the order was taken and this guy Dejan acted as if he could get any woman on the boat to sleep with him. He was disgusting and pissed our entire table off from day one. Don't get me started on the food. Appetizers were one or two bites worth and the entrees reminded me of cafeteria food like you'd get from Luby's. So disappointing.

(Bride squad wore cat ears which got us a lot of attention on our way to dinner.)

After dinner we went back to the room to check out the schedule of events so we could plan our evening. We ended up watching the Welcome Aboard show which was so cheesy that we walked out, headed to the piano bar where we ran into a bachelor party and met the guys while they were sober (they progressive became the biggest douche bags as the days went on). The piano man had pads of paper to write down requests, however, he never played a single request and did the same set every night. On the final night his voice kept cracking like a boy going through puberty. After sitting through so many Elton John songs we finally had our fill and went to the Punchliner Comedy Club. This did not disappoint!! Spike Davis was nonstop laughs.

Every night we stopped at the Hot & Cool Nightclub to dance the night away and the Alchemy Bay for an off the menu item, Horchata. The music on night one was the best since it was rap and hip hop. The other nights were mostly country which I am not a fan of.

Later that night we ended up back in the room before bed and ordered room service. Because dinners were also disappointing I ended up ordering a room service tuna sandwich with chips every day. It was so good or it was just okay but I was hungry and it was a simple pleasure.

Day 2: Fun Day at Sea, September 30th, 2016

After breakfast we went back to the room and put on our swimsuits to lounge out by the pool. I was such an idiot forgetting to put on sunscreen and falling asleep in the sun. Here it is a week later and I am still suffering from the sunburn. My skin is peeling and the new layer is very tender and raw. Ouch! Do not forget to slather on sunscreen. Having the burn ruined my ability to enjoy the pool deck and being in direct sun the rest of my trip. Thankfully the ship has shops and I was able to pick up some aloe vera burn gel and sunscreen, a little too late though.

(Lido deck)

We checked out the casino and ended up getting $10 worth of quarters to play a machine that you put a quarter in and hopefully more quarters would dump. Nothing like a Vegas casino and I so badly wish they had penny slots. We stopped using our own money when we realized that people kept leaving quarters behind. I don't see how anyone makes any money on this machine.

Tonight was Captain's dinner so we got to dress up and meet him. As we were walking around they had numerous portrait backdrops and we did a couple of them. These were my faves and worth the purchase.

(Bride and her squad... Me, An, and Kimberly)

(At the piano bar with Kim and Sandra)

Day 3: Cozumel, Mexico, October 1st, 2016

Woke up early this morning from the excitement of knowing we'd be making it into Cozumel shortly. I called room service to bring some coffee and Froot Loops and sat on the balcony to enjoy the sunrise. The colors were so beautiful in the sky.

We docked in Cozumel and made our way off the boat and to our designated waiting area for the excursion.

(Our view at La Casa En La Playa)

As my gift to the bride to be I booked us a day at La Casa En La Playa which translates to The House On The Beach. It is a 15 minute ride from where the cruise docks in Puerta Maya. This excursion is limited to just 16 people and everyone is treated like VIP with a private chef and bartender. We even snorkeled at the small reef nearby which was my first time ever and I loved it! The water was crystal clear and we saw so many fish and starfish.

Lunch was chile rellenos and we ate our weight in guacamole and chips washing it down with pina coladas. So damn good! It rained numerous times and it was cold rain too which had us running into the house for shelter. Thank goodness for this excursion. The house was so cozy and the patio was covered so we could still sit out and listen to the ocean waves.

(Wet from the rain and not from the ocean water. Boo!)

I booked a massage on the beach and that was so relaxing except when she would rub my sunburn. Ouch!!! I wish we had more time here because the water was stunning and duh! who wouldn't want more time. After the rain passed we spent the remainder of our time under the shade of the palm trees.

The excursion guides put us back in Cozumel for shopping about one hour prior to departure so Sandra and I checked out all of the local shops and vendors. I picked up a couple souvenirs and even got to negotiate on a piece of artwork, custom painted mini wooden surfboard for $35 and got it for $21. The man could see how much I loved it.

Once we made it through the line to get back on the ship we went up to the room for some room service and sat out on the balcony to have some coffee and a nap before dinner.

(Sunset)

Day 4: Fun Day at Sea, October 2nd, 2016

We headed up to the Lido deck to check out Fish N' Chips and grabbed some ceviche, tuna with watermelon (oh my! so good!!), fried oysters, and fried fish with fries.

(Wore my tee before changing into my jersey that night for the Steelers game)

Today was a football game day and that did not stop me from lounging around watching the games all day. I said goodbye to the bride to be after breakfast and didn't meet back up with her until after the Steelers game. I definitely recommend the Skybox Sports Bar, however, get there early if this is where you want to watch the game because it fills up quickly and people cram in. To all the ladies, this is the spot to find some men on the cruise. Ha!

Day 5: Arrival to Galveston, October 3rd, 2016

(Cruising back into Galveston)

We were packed the night before and out of our room by 7:30 a.m. for departure. We had no idea what to expect and thought it was a first come first off the ship basis. We were wrong. So wrong. We didn't eat breakfast at the dining room since we were still full from dinner when we woke up and ended up regretting that decision once we learned that they were randomly calling deck numbers and each one took 30 minutes to an hour before the next one was called. We did not get off the boat until 11 a.m.

Going through customs was a hilarious experience.

Customs Agent: "...and we are?"
Me: "American??"
Sandra who is Mexican: Laughing her ass off.
Customs Agent: "Sisters? Family?"
😂😂😂 "Sounds suspicious."
Customs Agent: "... medication?"
Me: "Oh!! Birth control!!
Customs Agent: "That you purchased??"
Me: 😂😂We're not pregnant! No stowaway."
Customs Agent: "Congrats!!"

Because we were so hungry and a coworker of mine made a breakfast suggestion we decided to give it a try and had lunch at the Sunflower Bakery. This is a must try! I had the jumbo lump crab and eggs with a glass of orange juice. Incredible and will definitely come back.

My takeaway and future cruise travel tips for Carnival Liberty:

• Must eat at Guy Fieri's Burger Joint, Fish and Chips, Brunch, Room Service 
• Don't miss the Punchliner Comedy Club and Couples Wedding Show 
• Go to the Skybox Sports Bar
• One thing I regret was not trying a Bloody Mary or the Steakhouse. So if you have a cocktail or go to the steakhouse please tell me how it is.