Keepin' it Simple

Happy Icy Monday...as I type, I'm looking out at what looks like a forest of glass trees.  Beautiful, yes...but I'm sick and tired of winter.  I hate winter, I despise it.  I'm ready for sunshine, flowers, mowing the grass, hearing birds sing.  To be honest, I'm in a funk today.   This weather is depressing.  To break the funk, I've pulled up the bootstraps and hit the kitchen.  Cooking always soothes my soul.  Hopefully what I've cooked up today will soothe some empty tummies when dinner time rolls around.

I've also been in de-clutter mode, trying to get out of this mid-winter funk.  If you're like me, you may have years worth of cooking magazines, etc.  I have over a decade's worth of old cooking mags.  They're taking up valuable real estate, and to be honest, I don't have time to sit down and leisurely browse through them for recipe inspiration.  To get rid of the stacks without feeling guilty, I've come up with a compromise.  I am going through them one at a time, tearing out recipes I would like to make, and putting them in a 3 ring binder.  To make it easy to find these recipes, I've divided the binder into sections like a recipe book...categories like appetizers, desserts, soups/salads, main courses, etc.  So far I've whittled the pile down by at least 2 years worth!  It feels good to know where these recipes are now, and it also feels great to get back some cabinet space. 

Today's recipes are exactly what I'm cooking up in my kitchen as we speak.  I recently came across the recipe for Best Beef Tips and I couldn't love the recipe more.  It's super easy, cheap and very hearty.  And as a bonus, everyone here LOVES it!  Serve them over some hot buttered egg noodles, and I think you'll agree that this dish rocks!  For dessert, I'm trying a new recipe, in fact, it's one that I tore out of the above mentioned pile of magazines.  I can't wait to try Orange Citrus Bars.  They sound delish...like a lemon bar, but made with orange juice.  What a great way to get your Vitamin C, right?   Have a great Monday, stay warm, and keep your chins up.  Spring is on the way, the Groundhog said so, right? 

Best Beef Tips

1-2 lbs stew meat
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup milk or dry red wine

Combine all ingredients in crock pot.  Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours, or until meat is tender.  Serve over hot buttered noodles or mashed potatoes. 

Orange Citrus Bars

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, divided
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 c butter, softened
2 c sugar
4 large eggs
1/3 c orange juice
1/2 t. baking powder
additional powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour and powdered sugar.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.  Press evenly into bottom of a 9X13 baking dish.  Bake 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.  In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs and juice until well mixed.  Combine 1/4 c flour and baking powder, add to sugar mixture, stirring to combine.  Pour onto hot baked crust, and bake 25 minutes or until set.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.  Makes 2 dozen bars.