Roast Beef Sliders - homemade and super quick and easy

 

I'm getting ready to make dinner, got the roast beef and the buns (regular for my husband and keto for me) and I couldn't recall where my recipe for these was!  I checked my 'go to' recipe book, didn't see them but that doesn't mean it wasn't there... I probably missed it.  I've not made these in forever... forgot about them as I don't typically buy roast beef slices when I go to Sam's... but saw them on the shelf my last trip and said "OH YEAH...."

I came to my website to get my recipe (from 11/5/22) and I figured I'd repost it as I'm literally whipping these up now and will not 'forget' about making them again any time soon... they are a favorite of both my husband and I - and need to be put back into rotation! 

Roast Beef Sandwiches

2 T olive oil

2-3 t minced garlic

1/4 t red pepper flakes

1/2 lb. sliced roast beef (mine comes from Sam's Club in the meat/deli area)

1/2 c beef broth

1 t Worcestershire sauce or, a little balsamic vinegar or red wine

2 t liquid aminos or soy sauce

2 t dried parsley

2 t dried basil

1/4 t salt and dash fresh cracked black pepper

1/2 t oregano

provolone or swiss cheese slices

buns

In a skillet, heat the oil.  Add the garlic and dried red pepper flakes.  Heat for 1 minute then add the roast beef slices, broth, Worcestershire, liquid aminos, parsley, basil, salt and pepper and oregano.  Heat through.  Lay bottom buns in a pan, top with the meat.  Drizzle the sauce over, top with cheese slices and the top bun.  Drizzle the top with a little more sauce.  Heat in an oven until the cheese melts.

 

A little more on top... optional

 

I sometimes put a wire cookie cooling rack on the bottom of the pan and the sandwiches on top, which keeps the sauce completely off the bottom bun if you don't want any liquid on the bottom.  Other times I don't bother.  If I don't use too much sauce, it doesn't really affect the bottom bun.  If you use a LOT of sauce and the bottoms get a bit soggy, just flip them over and back into the oven to crisp up the bottoms.  Flip again and serve.

 

 

 

Soft, squishy homemade playdough - (I made 20 pounds of homemade playdough this day!)

 

 

 

I've been making homemade playdough ever since I was a child - literally.  My mother never (ever) bought play-doh from the store, but made it so that was what I knew growing up.  When I had children we did buy Play-Doh and Play-Doh sets from the store (and still do) but made tons of homemade as well - to supplement, to make more to share, and to just 'enjoy' when the store bought versions were too hard to use in some of the play-sets. The squishy homemade versions are so soft, and more affordable!  

This post comes about because I have some 'old' flour to use up from our emergency storage, and playdough is one of the items I chose to use it up on.   

 

I also wanted to use up some celtic salt I don't like as well as 2 of the flavor extracts I'm not a fan of!  I don't want to use any of these in cooking or baking so they were perfect to make into tons of playdough.

 

 

 

 

SUPER SOFT, SQUISHY HOMEMADE PLAYDOUGH

 

2 c flour
3/4 c salt
4 t cream of tartar
2 c water
2 T oil of choice (I used cheap, vegetable oil)
food color and extracts of choice (or use some powdered Kool-Aid from a packet)


Dump all your ingredients into a saucepan on the stove.  Cook over medium, stirring constantly.  It will start to thicken and get sticky.  Keep stirring.  It will start to turn into a ball and hold together.  Remove from heat.  Remove from the pan and plop it out onto wax or parchment paper to cool a little bit - it will still be sticky.  As soon as you can work with it without burning your hands, start to knead it.  As you knead it, it comes together.  When it's smooth and pliable, and cooled, it's ready to use.  Store it in a plastic bag to keep it soft.
 

 

  

 You can wait and not add the food color until later if you want more than one color per batch

 

  

It's sticky but comes together when you knead it.

 

 

 

 

 

Plop it out of the pan and start to knead it into a ball when it's cool enough to work with 

 I used good quality gel and powdered color to get the vibrant shades

 

 

 

 

I made 20 pounds of Playdough this day!  

Low Carb Sugar Free Carrot Cake with my Coffee (and cream cheese frosting on it)

 

 

 

 

We have been enjoying a keto carrot cake this weekend with our coffee as I had to use up some leftover baby carrots from when we had houseguests... I snapped a couple quick pictures with my cell phone to show it as I don't know that I care enough to try to make it look 'pretty' - I literally take a photo just before I'm going to eat it!

I have a version of it I posted back in 2016... Some of those ingredients are not made any longer and others, I don't use anymore or use newer versions.

Here is the carrot cake (sugar free, low carb) I posted back in 2016.  Very similar to the one I typically make now - just a couple changes.  About 10 years ago I started to add heavy cream to my frostings as well - so similar base - but add a huge dollop of heavy cream and you get more volume, a smooth silky frosting, and even better flavor. 

https://www.housewifebarbie.com/2016/05/ 

 

The current cake I've been making for the past almost 10 years though is this one (based on Carolyn Ketchums recipe!).

  
Low Carb Carrot Cake

 
2 c almond flour
1/3 c coconut flour
1/3 vanilla whey protein powder (I use Isopure and have for 20 years)
1 T baking powder
2 t cinnamon
1 t salt
dash of ground cloves
4 eggs
1/2 c avocado oil
1/2 c brown sugar style sweetener
1/2 c granular style natural sweetener
1 1/2 c shredded baby carrots
2 t baking vanilla
optional - a few tablespoons chopped pecans

Grease and line the pans (I use 2, 8" or 9" pans).  Blend together the dry ingredients (flours, powders, seasoning).  

Mix the eggs, oil and sweeteners, add carrots and vanilla.  Beat in the dry ingredient mixture and add chopped nuts if using.  

Divide batter between the 2 pans and bake in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes, until done in the center.  Let cool.  Remove from pans.  

Spread frosting between layers, top and frost all.

For the Frosting I used:

1 stick butter
8 oz. cream cheese
3/4 c powdered natural sweetener (depending on the brand you use some are sweeter than others so adjust to taste.  1 cup of my allulose/splenda/stevia blend is TOO sweet so must cut back to 2/3-ish.)
1-2 t vanilla

dash of salt
Enough heavy whipping cream to taste and amount you need (I use about 3/4 cup)

In a mixing bowl whip the butter and cream cheese and sweeteners with the vanilla.  Slowly pour in the heavy cream while on low speed and increase to medium high.  Beat until it's whippy and spreadable.   Use on your cakes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two (2) Ingredient Whole, Roasted Chicken

 

Am I 'back'?  No... not really.  I'm still pondering whether I have the time and the urge to bring An American Housewife (housewifebarbie.com) back up or not.  But in the meantime I had a couple pictures from my cellphone I could upload of our whole roasted chicken this week from dinner and thought I'd post because it is SO good and literally is just 2 ingredients.

Yes, two.

Two Ingredient Whole Roasted Chicken

1 whole chicken
Dale's Seasoning Marinade and Sauce

Place the chicken into your roasting container (pan, dish, etc) and pour over about 3/4 cup of Dale's.  Pop it into the oven and roast until done according to weight and size of your chicken. Visit the oven a few times during roasting to spoon some of the marinade/drippings from the bottom of the pan over the top of the chicken.  You can also flip your chicken over half way through cooking to get both sides browned and seasoned deeply.

 

 

 

Here is where I'm going to say you don't have to use Dale's if you don't want.  You can find it in many grocery stores, Walmart has it, even Amazon of course... but the reason I started to buy it a few years ago is I realized it tasted almost exactly like MY homemade steak marinade that I've made for years (decades now) and loved; but since it tastes like mine, I might as well just buy a big container of it and I wouldn't have to mix up my own.  

In December 2006 I included it on my site (it's actually been posted numerous times).

https://www.housewifebarbie.com/2006/12/steak-marinade.html

You can play with the amounts in it to suite your taste.  
When I first starting making this recipe it was so many years ago we still used vegetable oil and real sugar (eek!)  So for the past 2 years I've always substituted other options.  I'm not a big fan of ginger so I go really light on that one.  We don't use sugar much so I use low carb or keto options.  Also sometimes add a smidgen of worchestershire sauce sometimes, etc.  I also sometimes add hickory smoke liquid.  I can tell you I always add extra fresh, minced garlic - so healthy and so good.  Play with it. 

STEAK MARINADE (works for chicken)
(use the brands and types of ingredients you like best - and amounts)

1/3 c soy sauce, (or coconut aminos, liquid aminos, etc.)
2 T vegetable oil, (or canola oil, olive oil, avocado oil, etc.)
1+ T brown sugar (or brown sugar sweetener equivalent)
3/4 t garlic, minced, (or use garlic powder)
1 t ginger
1 t seasoned salt (Lawry's etc)
 

 

2026.... My blog's 20 year Anniversary. A rare blog post on An American Housewife - It might be time to make An American Housewife active again

It is this site's 20th Anniversary!  

If you are new here or never knew the history of the site An American Housewife... here is a quick blurb; 

The name "American Housewife" stems from an idea for a cookbook I'd always wanted to put out in the 90's and early 2000's.  I never had the funds to make it happen... but then the internet came along and the chance to have a recipe website presented itself to me. 

The name American Housewife was a natural. As for the url of the site; housewifebarbie - well, that stems from a joke that I kind of regret now.

I was a full time Mommy with three children under the age of 5. I loved cooking, baking, sewing, crafts and everything to do with babies and children. My friends dubbed me the Original Housewife Barbie... after the Barbie doll that had done everything from being an astronaut to a doctor to a teacher, but never 'just a housewife'.  

During some joking conversation one day, I was deemed the original Housewife Barbie and when I had to think of an original url for a blog in 2006, it seemed only natural to use it since it was just a personal little blog for myself and who cares?  Right?

This site is a collection of recipes I've gained over the years since I was in Junior High. Some from the 1,000 recipe books and magazines I have, some from the internet, some from friends, family members, my grandmothers old handwritten school notebook from cooking class and various other places. It's a collection of recipes that also includes those that I've made up myself for my own family.

 

This site was started in 2006 and for quite awhile was my 'part time job' and was much, much busier, bigger and had links and affiliates and ads.  Was continuously updated, had a very high ranking and had about 2 million visits when I put it in 'standby' mode to focus on a lot of things going on in our life at the time.

So many life changes in the past few years... so many big, big things.  I had to pull back all recipe posts, reviews, affiliate links, ads, regular updates, etc. as I was expending all my time and energy elsewhere by   

As we enter 2026 I was really just going to update my site with the cookie list for Christmas 2025... (I made 24 recipes this holiday season and multiple batches of many of them).  I also thought about starting the website back up again... at least a bit... when I realized upon logging in that it is now 2026 and my site was started in 2006 and OMGOSH it's my 20th Anniversary of this site!  

It might be a grand time to make it active again.