Party Like A Meme

So Meri & Shub's potluck dinner party was great last night!  Meri, of course, had all her Pfalzgraff out and ten place settings filling up her table.  We brought some folding chairs so we'd have a seat too.  Our nephew and his girlfriend joined us as well as a couple from church.  Then Grandma, Robb and Leon.

The "kids" played hide and seek all over the house while the meal finished up.

Meri had cooked up the Penne Noodle lasagna, from yesterday's post.  Since she hadn't anticipated how long it would take to bake from frozen, dinner was a little delayed, but it tasted great.  She also had a salad made up.

The friends from church brought cheesy potatoes with bacon on it. YUM.

Josh brought some brownie bits and rice krispy treats made with fruity pebbles from Caseys.

Robb brought a pepperoni pizza from Caseys, where he met up with Josh.  This way Leon could definitely have something he'd like.  And it's Josh's favorite pizza.

PLUS pizza prices were half priced at ALL the pizza joints around our area in honor of National Pizza Day!

I brought some ice cream for dessert, some boiled cod to ensure my MIL had something she'd like and then I cooked up the Cube steaks with gravy in the Instant Pot.  It took almost 30 minutes to come to pressure as it was frozen solid.  

I pulled out the steaks at that point and mixed in the water and cornstarch to thicken the gravy, but it was taking FOR EV AH!  We didn't want to be late to Meri's, so I kept adding poultry gravy mix until it finally thickened up sufficiently.

At the same time, I made some instant mashed potatoes and pushed it all to one side of a heated up crockpot.  

The steaks got cut up into bite sized pieces and then mixed back in the thickened gravy. I left that until the VERY last minute and then poured it into the open side of the crockpot to keep warm.

After dinner, several people had to clear out due to work and sleep requirements, but after Robb took his mom and Leon back to the house, he came back and joined in a game of What do you Meme?

Hilarious! Especially because Meri had an adult version and I think Josh just picked the REALLY bad ones to hear how Robb or myself would read them out loud.

Yeah... I'm not reading this one and NO it doesn't win! LOL

We finally got home about an hour after our usual bedtime and I was asleep within 5 minutes of touching my pillow and after getting the weather update for the next week.

I went over there this morning and helped her clean up her kitchen a bit more.  

And because I have NO pics of the dinner, here are some of Leon.  He got his hair cut recently.  Here is what it looks like with the expensive product in it that he talked me into buying and the portions that got cut off.  He COULD have donated it to locks of love, it was so long!  Well, I exaggerate a little...

And here is him demonstrating how to use the product...  I had to hide it from him.

I'm just glad he never saw THIS comic!

Fun times... here's the recipe.  I hope you had a fun weekend!

CUBE STEAKS WITH GRAVY
serves 4  I put this one together.  The original recipe called for 6 cube steaks but we only had 8 so we did 4 per bag.

INGREDIENTS
4 cube steaks
2 cups water
1 cup pureed yellow or white onion
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp beef bouillon - I used chicken because I didn't have beef.
1 tsp salt
dash pepper

1. Add all ingredients to a gallon sized freezer bag or container for instant pot.

MAKE IT NOW: Add to either the instant pot or crockpot and cook as directed below.

MAKE IT A FREEZER MEAL: Seal bag or container, removing as much air as possible and freeze.

COOK IN INSTANT POT
From frozen, add contents into an instant pot.  Add 1/4 cup water. Cook for 23 minutes at high pressure, then do quick release. Place on saute. Remove steaks. Whisk in a small bowl  1/4 cup cornstarch with 1/2 cup water until smooth. Pour mixture into the liquids left in the Instant Pot. Whisk continually until gravy starts to thicken. Add cubed steaks back into the pot, heat until warmed through then serve.

From thawed or freshly made, transfer into an instant pot. Cook for 20 minutes at high pressure, then do quick release. Place on saute. Remove steaks. Whisk in a small bowl  1/4 cup cornstarch with 1/2 cup water until smooth. Pour mixture into the liquids left in the Instant Pot. Whisk continually until gravy starts to thicken. Add cubed steaks back into the pot, heat until warmed through then serve.

COOK IN CROCK POT
From thawed or freshly made, transfer into slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours. Remove steaks. Transfer remaining liquid to medium saucepan. Whisk in a small bowl 1/4 cup cornstarch with 1/2 cup water until smooth. Bring saucepan liquids to simmer over medium-high heat. Slowly add while whisking the cornstarch mixture into the sauce.  Whisk continually until gravy starts to thicken. Add cubed steaks into the pot, and heat until warmed through, then serve.

SERVE WITH: So delicious served over buttery mashed potatoes and a side of green vegetables.