Chicken and Dumplings

I've been doing a lot of crockpot meals lately - they're so much easier to throw together and have ready in time rather than fighting the clock (and the kiddos) for a decent meal. Everyone eats this one (well, Luke picks at it and takes a few reluctant bites), so we do it every once in awhile. The sodium content has to be out of control, but it's a good way to sneak in some vegetables and I admit I love the mushy biscuits!

Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
1 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 onion, finely diced
2 (10 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces
1 can mixed veggies
1 can chicken broth

Directions

1. Place the chicken, butter, soups, veggies and onion in a slow cooker. (It will look VERY liquidy, but that's what you want.)
2. Cover, and cook for 5 to 6 hours on High or 10 hours on Low.
3. About 2 hours before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

Burritos w/ Marinated Beef

Wednesday was burrito night! I had a pound of flank steak sitting in the freezer and before I started my unintentional meat strike (see the Alfredo Sauce post for more about that one), I was hungry for beef burritos. I mixed the marinade and let the beef sit in it for about 12 hours, and then cooked it and the juices in the crockpot all day. It shred easily and was nice and juicy in time for dinner. My burritos wound up being black bean burritos, but nonetheless delicious.

I recommend this beef marinade - definitely tasty according to Scott and Linds!

Marinated Flank Steak
Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pounds flank steak

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, and ground black pepper. 
2. Place meat in a shallow glass dish. Pour marinade over the steak, turning meat to coat thoroughly. Cover, and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Pork BBQ & Potato Salad

I knew my afternoon was going to be a hectic one. We have a wonderful couple who comes in and cleans our house every other week (upon my insistence once I started working again...the boy wasn't keen at first and has quickly changed his mind!), and they come in at 3:00. It's a tough time of day - still nap time for the kiddos and not much do to late afternoon that doesn't interfere with dinner. Plus, it eats up my prep/cook time, so I need quick, easy and CLEAN meals to make for dinner (I don't want to mess up the house that quickly!).

I was home all day yesterday and bored by 3ish, so I decided to put together stuff for pork BBQ to crockpot all day, and to use the onions, eggs and potatoes we got from the farm for a potato salad before they go bad. It was the PERFECT day to have dinner ready - not a particularly bad day, but as a friend put it, one of those days where you get so many papercuts that it leads to one big injury. Not only was it nice to have dinner ready to go as soon as I got home from errands tonight, it tasted so flippin delicious!

And the best part: it was a hit amongst the ENTIRE family! Linds ate two full sandwiches and a big scoop of the potato salad, the boy chowed down when got home from work, and Luke...my kid who really only eats hot dogs, pizza, pb&js and chicken nuggets - well he ate half a sandwich. I was shocked to say the least! The prep for this meal took an hour or two, but I doubled the pork because I had a 6 lb roast and potato salad is always going to take forever. The recipe below is for a 3 or 4 lb roast. The potato salad doesn't have many ingredients either, but is still very tasty - almost like a loaded baked potato! YUM :)

Pork BBQ
Ingredients
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 (3 or 4 pound) pork shoulder roast
1 cup barbeque sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
8 hamburger buns

Directions

1. Pour the vegetable oil into the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the pork roast into the slow cooker; pour in the barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, and chicken broth. Stir in the brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, garlic, and thyme. 
2. Cover and cook on low (10-12 hours) or high (5-6 hours) until the roast shreds easily with a fork.
3. Remove the roast from the slow cooker, and shred the meat using two forks. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir the meat into the juices. Serve on hamburger buns. 

Red-Skin Potato Salad
Ingredients
2 pounds clean, scrubbed new red potatoes
6 eggs
1 pound bacon
scallions, finely chopped
2 cups mayonnaise
handful of cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and set in the refrigerator to cool.
2. Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, peel and chop.
3. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
4. Chop the cooled potatoes, leaving skin on. Add to a large bowl, along with the eggs, bacon, and onion. Stir in mayonnaise. Chill overnight.

Ribs

Finally made the ribs I've been planning on Tuesday night...I've been soooo hungry for them (as have the rest of the family). Between the four of us, we polished off almost 3 lbs. NICE! The recipe is super easy and are just as good as you can get at any restaurant (claims the boy, who is picky about his ribs). A friend of mine just asked for the recipe, too, so Lisa will have to chime in!


Slow Cooker Ribs
Ingredients
4 lbs. pork baby back ribs
salt, pepper, minced onion and garlic powder to taste
2 cups Sweet Baby Rays barbecue sauce
1 cup ketchup (only Heinz in this household!)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 dash of hot sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Season ribs with salt, pepper, minced onion and garlic powder. Place in a shallow baking pan. Brown in oven 15 minutes. Turn over, and brown another 15 minutes; drain fat.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the barbecue sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs, and turn to coat.
4. Cover, and cook on low 6 to 8 hours, or until ribs are tender.
5. About 30 minutes before serving, place back in baking pan at 400 degrees F and the sauce will caramelize to the meat and finish them to perfection.

January 8 - Ribs and cornbread!

The boy and I had a serious hankerin for some ribs, so I decided to make them on Saturday since they require a good hour in the morning to prep, crock potting all day, and half-hour in the evening to finish. I only have that free hour in the morning on Tuesdays and Fridays, so making ribs during the week is kinda tough. As usual, they turned out perfectly and he and I ate like crazy! Naturally Luke refused them (although he usually is a fiend...some sort of weird dinner aversion for him lately), and Linds was vomiting all Friday night, so we weren't about to even tempt fate. Luke did, however, eat many pieces of cornbread, so at least he put *something* in his system!

Speaking of cornbread, I did a little something different. It usually calls for buttermilk, which I don't ever keep on hand. There's an easy substitution with vinegar and regular milk, but I needed my laptop to look that one up and it was in the basement...I was too lazy to go downstairs, so I checked my Joy of Cooking to see if it listed it. It did not give me that specific substitution, but it did suggest yogurt instead of the buttermilk. I was curious to see how that turned out, so I figured, what the hell?! The boy doesn't eat it, so worst case scenario, I don't get my cornbread. I'm glad I tried it - it was awesome! AND saved me some calories. I also bought a microwavable sweet potato, cooked it and used the mashed part in the batter rather than grating the uncooked potato. That was also a better alternative because now there was no "crunch" to the bread. This recipe far outweighs the older one I posted!

Slow Cooker Ribs
Ingredients
4 lbs. pork baby back ribs
salt, pepper, minced onion and garlic powder to taste
2 cups Cattleman barbecue sauce
1 cup ketchup (only Heinz in this household!)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 dash of hot sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Season ribs with salt, pepper, minced onion and garlic powder. Place in a shallow baking pan. Brown in oven 15 minutes. Turn over, and brown another 15 minutes; drain fat.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the barbecue sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs, and turn to coat.
4. Cover, and cook on low 6 to 8 hours, or until ribs are tender.
5. About 30 minutes before serving, place back in baking pan at 400 degrees F and the sauce will caramelize to the meat.

Sweet Potato Corn Bread
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup low-fat yogurt
1 medium sweet potato, cooked, peeled and mashed

Directions

1. Cook sweet potato and peel.
2. Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray a 9x9 baking dish.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 
4. In a small bowl, combine egg, buttermilk, sweet potato and softened butter.
5. Fold liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir until just well blended.
6. Pour into baking dish and bake 20 minutes, or until the center springs back when lightly pressed with a fingertip.

Best of 2010 & our contest winner!

Congratulations to Courtney Z. for winning our end of the year contest! She correctly guessed two of the three top meals and wins a 60-minute photography session with Kristina Hall Photography. I'll e-mail you soon to give you details and give you Kristi's information :) Thanks everyone for playing!

And, for the results! I'll count them down, so in third place we have...

Ham & Cheese Loaf!

First, unroll the refrigerated pizza crust on a baking sheet.

Second, lay down some slices of provolone (or your favorite cheese).

Third, place about a dozen slices of ham deli meat down.

Fourth, top with some shredded cheddar cheese (I was out, so I used Mexican cheese).And, last of all, roll the long side up, pinching the seam after it is in roll form.

Tuck ends under and bake for 35 minutes at 350. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

In second place...

Best. Steaks. Ever.

Ingredients
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon concentrated lemon juice (or 1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag. Knead bag to mix ingredients.
2. Place steaks inside bag and marinate for up to 8 hours (I did 4 hours and they were perfect).
3. Feel free to use some of the marinade on your veggies - it tastes great! Have I mentioned that?!

and *finally*...our NUMBER ONE most sought after recipe...

Cornbread Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients
1 small can diced green chiles (4 oz i think)
1/2 cup of your favorite salsa
3 to 4 chopped scallions (I used 1/4 cup onion)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn with red & green peppers, drained
1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce
1/2 cup egg substitute (I used 2 eggs)
1 (8.5 oz) package corn muffin mix
2 Tblsp chopped roasted red bell pepper
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded Mexican cheese
for garnish - sour cream, fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Place salsa, scallions, chicken, beans, corn, half the chilies, and enchilada sauce into the cooker; stir well. Cover with lid and cook on LOW for 4 hours.
2. Combine the other half of the chiles, corn muffin mix, egg substitute, and chopped red pepper in a bowl. Spoon batter evenly over the bean mixture in the cooker. Cover and cook 1 hour until the crust is done.
3. Sprinkle the cheese over the corn bread, turn off the crockpot and let it sit 5 minutes until the cheese melts. Top each serving with a tablespoon of sour cream and additional cilantro, optional. Makes about 6 servings (unless you're me, then it's like 3...haha!).

I found some of those recipes to be surprising (really? the ham and cheese loaf got that many hits?), but thinking back those were all unanimous hits in our house at one point or another. As we hit 2011 I've been deciding what I want to do with this blog, and I think I'm going to keep it going. I'm trying to incorporate some more vegetarian dishes (which we never have enough of), more fish/seafood meals, and less casserole dishes in favor of more healthy fare (although I won't lie - we'll definitely still have many of them). And as always, if you have inspiration, send it my way...I'm always looking for more :) Happy New Year, dear readers! xoxox

December 11 - Party Meatballs

On Saturday we had Lindsay's fourth birthday party! It was 10 days early, but knowing how crazy everyone's schedules are in December, we wanted to make sure as many of our friends and families would be available. It was an amazingly fun bash - over 50 people made it :) Linds loved having everyone there to celebrate with her (even if she didn't talk to most of you!), and I was in my glory - eating, drinking, and spending time with those who are nearest and dearest to me. Plus, throwing a party is "my thing" - I'll spend weeks planning it all the way down to the gritty details.

Upon Lindsay's request, this year's party theme was a "tea party." We had teapots and saucers, although only made one pot (which no one drank)...not surprisingly, the "ice tea with a kick" (i.e. vodka and peach schnapps) went quickly?!? As far as food, we had meatballs, macaroni and cheese, Chick-Fil-A nuggets, fruits, veggies, cheese, meat, and other little snacky sides. I usually overcook like crazy, but aside from a few dozen meatballs, everything was devoured. I love when I don't have a ton of stuff spoiling in my fridge!

I had many requests for the meatball recipe, so here it is! (I made about 160 balls, so I had to scale my recipe up - very easy to do!)


Meatballs
Ingredients
40 meatballs
1 cup of ketchup
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 medium onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Directions

1. Combine ketchup, brown sugar, onion and garlic powder.
2. Cover meatballs with sauce. 
3. Cook in crockpot for 4 or 5 hours on low.

November 18 - Chicken & Dumplings

I actually cooked "real food" twice last week, so as much of a funk as I'm in, we're at least getting *something* decent to eat here and there?! I made slow cooker chicken & dumplings on Thursday last week and Lindsay, Luke AND Scott all enjoyed it - I swear, it was a small miracle. I've made it before, but I couldn't remember how it was received...I was definitely tempting fate, but it was worth it.

Chicken & Dumplings

Ingredients
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
1 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 onion, finely diced
1 (10 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces
1 can mixed veggies
1 can chicken broth

Directions

1. Place the chicken, butter, soups, veggies and onion in a slow cooker. (It will look VERY liquidy, but that's what you want.)
2. Cover, and cook for 5 to 6 hours on High or 10 hours on Low. 
3. About 3 hours before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center. (You can also do this as close to an hour before serving.)

I forgot to take a picture, but I have this leftover one from earlier this year, which will give you the general idea :)

October 21 - Crockpot Meatloaf

I don't make meatloaf very often, but when I do, it has to be this recipe. It take about 20 minutes to toss together, but then you throw it in the crockpot and let it cook all day. It calls for 8 - 12 hours on low, so it's the perfect meal for people with a bit of a commute (like I had when worked outside the home). I always make mine with mashed potatoes and corn - I guess I'm a little traditional with my 'loaf :)

Linds, the boy and I have all loved this meal in the past, and I'm not sure I've made it since Luke's been on solids. After the way he's been eating lately (packs of cheese crackers for dinner two nights in a row...gah...), I didn't expect him to touch anything but the corn (the kid does not like mashed potatoes - I have NO idea why not?!? he's so not a Hoover!). To my surprise, he ate his entire piece in seconds and then handed me the plate and pointed to the spot where the loaf was for more. I couldn't believe it! I think he ended up eating just about as much of the loaf as I did. So, there you have it...if it's Luke-approved, it has to be good!

Crockpot Meatloaf
Ingredients

2 lbs. ground chuck
1/2 lb. bulk sausage
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 eggs
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3 clove garlic
8 oz. tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
3/4 cup crushed saltines
3 large potatoes sliced in 1/4" thick fingers

Sauce
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

1. Line bottom of crockpot with potato fingers.
   
2. Combine all ingredients (except sauce) in a large bowl. Mix well; shape into a loaf and place on top of potatoes.
   
3. Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and pour over loaf.
   
4. Cook 8 - 12 hours on low.

September 22 - Slow cooker whole chicken

After last night's dinner fiasco, I figured I'd tempt fate and try cooking an entire chicken (I mean the WHOLE bird) tonight. I've never done the whole thing, but how much different can it be cooking one in a crockpot than cooking a few "chicken boobies" (thank you, Christy, for my new chicken phrase!)? And, thankfully, it wasn't!

It was a BOGO free sale on whole chickens at Acme and all of their chickens were a solid 6 lbs. I figured $12 for 12 pounds of chicken wasn't a bad deal at all. I let the little guy cook all day in the crockpot and added some carrots 2/3 of the way through cook time. Served all of it over some jasmine rice and voila! - delicious meal. The prep was simple - skin the bird, rinse it off, pat it dry and plop it in the crockpot. Mix up the marinade and pour it in (I had to double the amounts since my bird was 6 lbs.), set it on low, and let it cook all day. It took me about 15 minutes to put together this morning and that was it for the rest of the meal.

Kathy's Delicious Whole Slow Cooker Chicken
Ingredients
1 (3 pound) whole chicken, skin removed
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic

Directions

1. Remove skin from chicken, and empty inner cavity of contents within. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel, and place inside the slow cooker.
2. In a bowl, stir together the chicken broth, soy sauce, olive oil, honey, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, sesame oil, and minced garlic. Pour mixture over chicken, and cover.
3. Cook chicken on low setting for 8 hours, or 4 hours on high setting. 

June 21 - Ribs and Corn on the Cob

We had a hankering for some ribs again, and the boy always loves a "repeat meal," so it was ribs and corn on the cob for dinner. Luke, as always, absolutely loved them...although this meal he spent more time sucking the sauce off the meat, and then pulling it out and throwing it on the floor?! He actually ate the corn that I sliced off the cob, too, which is a nice change of pace. Fruits are easy with him...veggies, not so much.

I've posted the recipe a bunch of times, so if you know me, that means it is GOOD! Enjoy it :)

Slow Cooker Ribs
Ingredients
4 lbs. pork baby back ribs
salt, pepper, minced onion and garlic powder to taste
2 cups Cattleman barbecue sauce
1 cup ketchup (only Heinz in this household!)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 dash of hot sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Season ribs with salt, pepper, minced onion and garlic powder. Place in a shallow baking pan. Brown in oven 15 minutes. Turn over, and brown another 15 minutes; drain fat.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the barbecue sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs, and turn to coat.
4. Cover, and cook on low 6 to 8 hours, or until ribs are tender.
5. About 30 minutes before serving, place back in baking pan at 400 degrees F and the sauce will caramelize to the meat and finish them to perfection.

The corn tasted really good, too...it's still "young" according to the boy, but it's definitely better than the ears we bought a month ago.

June 14 - 17

Wow, so not only did I screw up my dates from the last couple posts, but I also have been SO remiss in posting updates. I can't believe I haven't done any of this?!? To say we've been busy is a HUGE understatement (it's been a craaaaazy week), so I think I'm just going to start fresh tomorrow. But, just in case you were interested, here's what we've been eating (I'm going to go backwards):

June 17: Buffalo chicken salads
June 16: French dip sandwiches with au jus
June 15: Takeout from Cheeburger Cheeburger (for my birthday!)
June 14: Frozen pizza (it wasn't delivery...it was DiGiorno!)

The only recipe I have was for the sandwiches, and it is definitely a scrumptious one. Here it is:


French Dip Sandwiches w/ au jus
Ingredients
2 pounds beef roast
1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup
1 (12 fluid ounce) bottle of lager
6 French rolls
2 tablespoons butter
Minced onion, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce to taste

Directions

1. Place roast in a slow cooker. Add the beef broth, onion soup and beer. Season with onion, garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Cook on low setting for 7 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Split French rolls, and spread with butter. Bake 10 minutes, or until heated through.
4. One hour before serving, slice meat on the diagonal, and return to slow cooker for 60 minutes.
5. Place on the rolls. Serve the sauce for dipping.

Sorry for the crappy photo - I remembered to take a photo of Lindsay's after she was half-way finished and only managed to use my cell phone camera.

June 6 - Crockpot Chicken

I started off this morning with a delicious breakfast that I just threw together with random things that looked good from my fridge, and ended it was a scrumptious dinner and glass of wine...it was a great food day!

Before I get into dinner, here's a picture of my own healthy version of a breakfast burrito.

I scrambled 3 egg whites with a little bit of skim milk, and tossed in some diced yellow pepper and mushrooms. I have some of the Laughing Cow's french onion cheese, so I spread that on a whole wheat tortilla and added my eggs and veggies. Not only did it taste great, but it was hearty and filling, and only had about 300 calories total. YUM!

Now, onto dinner...

I had a bag of chicken parts frozen (2 breasts and 3 drumsticks), so I decided to make some crockpot chicken and used a variation of a recipe called 40-Clove Chicken. I didn't use 40 cloves of garlic, so to call it that would be a total misnomer. We grilled up the rest of the bunch of asparagus I had bought a week or two ago, and I made rosemary bread in the breadmaker (it is BY FAR the best bread I've ever had). The only issue I've been having with my bread-making is that the knead bar in the pan keeps baking into the bread. It drives me absolutely insane - I just can't figure out why it won't stick in the pan. If anyone has a solution, please let me know! Here are the recipes for the chicken and for the bread:

Garlicky Crockpot Chicken in White Wine (I think I need a new name?! haha)
Ingredients
3 lbs. chicken parts
Salt and pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
Dash red pepper flakes
12 cloves of garlic
Splash of lemon juice
1 large onion, cut into thick rings

Directions

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook 10 minutes or until browned on all sides. Remove to platter.
3. Combine wine, parsley, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes in a large bowl.
4. Layer onion across bottom of crockpot. Place chicken on top.
5. Cover chicken with wine and seasoning mixture, and splash a little lemon juice over top. Toss garlic on top of chicken and around crockpot.
6. Cook over low heat for approximately 8 hours.

My chicken was frozen when I put it in the crockpot, so I skipped step 2 and it still turned out fantastic. I also used my crockpot's "auto" setting so it would defrost and cook in the 6 to 8 hours I had until dinner. As for the bread, here's that recipe:


Jo's Rosemary Bread
Ingredients
1 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 packet of yeast

Directions

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. 
2. Select white bread cycle; press Start.

Catching up...again...

It's been yet another crazy weekend, as we celebrated Luke's birthday on Sunday. Most of the time has been spent preparing for the big party and the work paid off - it was a HUGE success! Everyone seemed to have a great time and Luke had a blast...he's been so worn out from all the excitement that he's slept more than 3 hours already today?!?

As for the past few dinners, I ate at the Sinkhole Saloon in Palmyra with the 10-year reunion planning committee. I had an awesome veggie burrito and chips, and, of course, a bottle of Magic Hat! On Saturday, we ate BBQ pork chops and corn on the cob. Yesterday we spent the day munching on hot dogs, meatballs, chips, pretzels, popcorn and cake. The meatballs were a huge hit, so I want to share the recipe. It's honestly one of the easiest recipes ever!


Meatballs
Ingredients
40 meatballs
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 onion

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and cook in crockpot over low for 4-5 hours.

May 10 - Cornbread Enchilada Casserole

Today was the May installment of "Munchin Mamas" recipe club. Although already taken place, we honored the Cinco de Mayo holiday and made it a Mexican themed meeting. We had some fantastic food, including: fruit salsa with cinnamon sugar chips, guacamole and chips, a spicy cream cheese/Velveeta/turkey sausage dip with chips, a cheesy salsa-y chicken, and Mexican wedding cookies. I decided to bring the famed cornbread enchilada casserole, given to me by my friend Katie. I made it a month or two ago and it was a HUGE hit! I had enough leftovers for it to be dinner tonight, so I ate it twice today (so did the kiddos). Luke was really diggin it, too - I couldn't believe how much he enjoyed the beans especially. Watching him eat all this "big boy" food is fascinating, albeit a bit sad...where did my baby go?!?

For those of you who haven't tried it, here is the recipe again!

Cornbread Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
4 oz. can diced green chiles
1/2 cup of your favorite salsa
3 to 4 chopped scallions (I used 1/4 cup onion)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I used 2 boxes of Purdue Short Cuts because I didn't have too much time to make it)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn with red & green peppers, drained
1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce
1/2 cup egg substitute (I used 2 eggs)
1 (8.5 oz) package corn muffin mix
2 Tblsp chopped roasted red bell pepper
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded Mexican cheese
for garnish - sour cream, fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Place salsa, scallions, chicken, beans, corn, half the chilies, and enchilada sauce into the cooker; stir well. Cover with lid and cook on LOW for 4 hours.
2. Combine the other half of the chiles, corn muffin mix, egg substitute, and chopped red pepper in a bowl. Spoon batter evenly over the bean mixture in the cooker. Cover and cook 1 hour until the crust is done.
3. Sprinkle the cheese over the corn bread, turn off the crockpot and let it sit 5 minutes until the cheese melts. Top each serving with a tablespoon of sour cream and additional cilantro, optional. Makes about 6 servings.

May 8 - Pork BBQ & Beans

The other week when I made pork tenderloin, the package had two slices in it. While the other one was roasting in the oven, I tossed this one in a crockpot with some Sweet Baby Ray's, shredded it, and then froze it for later. I pulled it out Saturday morning and we ate it on the onion-poppyseed buns from Pepperidge Farms and baked beans. I don't have a recipe because it was literally a two-ingredient mixture (pork and BBQ sauce), but here's what it looked like!

Apr. 25 - Spaghetti & Meat Sauce

It was a cool, rainy day - just absolutely miserable, with screaming kids, a bored mommy, and a daddy who wound up working a solid 6 hours out of the day (after traveling Thursday and Friday and not coming home until late). What better comfort food than spaghetti?

I used Ronzoni Smart Taste's spaghetti (which I "bought" seven boxes of and paid NOTHING using this deal and buying them at Giant where they're priced at $1 each. Thanks, Deal Finding Chik for the tip! I'm also not big into jarred sauce lately - I've eaten it so much that it just doesn't taste good anymore, so I made a tomato meat sauce to go with it. It was the *best* recipe I've tasted! The sauce was fantastic, albeit a tad bit runny, and it made enough for four separate meals. I divided the rest into three freezer bags and tossed it in the freezer - three meals ready to go! I definitely recommend trying this out. Next time, though, I might half and half it with sausage meat instead of all ground beef. We paired it with salads since we have 3 lbs. that I bought at BJ's and need to finish ASAP!

Oh, and I almost forgot - since it was Luke's 11-month birthday (can you believe it?!?), we ate special "butterscotch birthday pudding" that was topped with Cool Whip. Yum!

Spaghetti Tomato/Meat Sauce
Ingredients
1 (28 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 pound lean ground beef
2 yellow onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Blend the stewed tomatoes and crushed tomatoes in a blender.
2. In a large pot, brown the ground beef with the onions and garlic. 
3. Pour in tomatoes, and reduce heat. 
4. Add sugar, basil, oregano, salt and pepper, and cover. 
5. Simmer about 45 minutes. Serve warm over pasta of your choice.

The prep time was about 15 minutes - that included chopping the onion and garlic, as well as browning it and mixing the sauce together. This would be simple to toss together and put in the crockpot on low for those of you who work. It's also a great sauce to make ahead and freeze, pulling out each individual serving when you need it (when I say there were four servings, I meant there was enough for four meals for 2 adults and 1 child). And like I mentioned before, next time I make it, I'm going to substitute 1/2 lb. of sausage for 1/2 lb. of the beef. I think that will give it a nice kick! If you want to make it vegetarian, however, delete the meat out of the recipe and substitute in two tablespoons of olive oil.

Apr. 13 - Ribs & Corn Bread

The ribs I made a month or two ago were such a hit that I decided to make them again tonight. I didn't want to make a dish that required silverware since we were all messy last time we ate them, so instead, I made some sweet potato cornbread. I absolutely love this recipe!

I bought one of those "sneaky veggie" cookbooks, trying to incorporate more vegetables into our diets, and so far the only dish I've made is this cornbread. It's a lot moister than regular cornbread because of the sweet potatoes, but they add Vitamins A and E, beta carotene, potassium, calcium and folate - nutrients that are very important for kids and grown-ups alike!

The one thing it calls for that I never have on hand is buttermilk, so instead of buying it and trying to use it before it expires, I make my own. No, no, no - I don't actually "make" it...I use a substitute. Take a liquid measuring cup, add 1 tablespoon of vinegar, and then add milk until the mixture reaches the amount called for (i.e. in this recipe, I used 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 cup, 15 tablespoons of milk). Let it sit for 5 minutes and voila! You have buttermilk's substitute.

Enjoy these recipes - these are both delicious and are highly recommended!

Slow Cooker Ribs
Ingredients
4 lbs. pork baby back ribs
salt, pepper, minced onion and garlic powder to taste
2 cups Cattleman barbecue sauce
1 cup ketchup (only Heinz in this household!)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 dash of hot sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Season ribs with salt, pepper, minced onion and garlic powder. Place in a shallow baking pan. Brown in oven 15 minutes. Turn over, and brown another 15 minutes; drain fat.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the barbecue sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs, and turn to coat.
4. Cover, and cook on low 6 to 8 hours, or until ribs are tender.
5. About 30 minutes before serving, place back in baking pan at 400 degrees F and the sauce will caramelize to the meat.

Sweet Potato Corn Bread
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vinegar + 15 T milk
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray a 9x9 baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 
3. In a small bowl, combine egg, buttermilk, sweet potato and softened butter.
4. Fold liquid mixture into dry mixture and stir until just well blended.
5. Pour into baking dish and bake 20 minutes, or until the center springs back when lightly pressed with a fingertip.

Mar. 22 - Beef Stew, bread & applesauce

I was up around 3 a.m. with Luke, who was, again, fussing throughout the night (teeth come in please!). As I tried rocking him back to sleep, I was thinking about how our gorgeous, sunny 70 degree weather was going to come to a crashing end come morning. I realized I had all the fixings for a beef stew, except the beef was frozen. I finally got him back to sleep, ran downstairs and pulled the beef out, and then went back to bed.

I put together the stew this morning and let it sit in the crockpot for a good 8 hours. I love how simple this recipe is - honestly, it takes *maybe* 15 minutes to put together. Originally, I only used 1 1/2 cups of beef broth, but toward the end (especially with the addition of the packet of stew mix), it looked a little too thick, so I added the cup of water.

Later, when the kids were napping, I put together the bread (Jo's Rosemary Bread from allrecipes.com) and tossed it in the bread machine. I tell you what, the more I use that thing, the more I fall in love with it. It could be one of my favorite kitchen appliances. The loaf I made today was, by far, my favorite as of yet!

The meal was a hit with everyone - even though the boy isn't a huge stew fan. I mixed up some olive oil and cracked pepper to dip the bread in and it was strikingly similar to Romano Macaroni Grille's recipe. Delish! I also made up some applesauce to round out the meal. Here are the recipes - enjoy :)

Beef Stew
Ingredients
1 1/2 - 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups beef broth
3 potatoes, diced
4 carrots, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup of water
1 packet beef stew mix

Directions

1. Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. 
2. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, celery, water and packet of stew mix.
3. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

Jo's Rosemary Bread
Ingredients
1 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 packet of yeast

Directions

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. 
2. Select white bread cycle; press Start 

From Allrecipes.com

Applesauce
Ingredients
6 apples, peeled & cored (I used Gala this time)
4 packets of Splenda
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup of water

Directions

1. Combine ingredients in a deep pan and bring to boil over medium-high heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Blend in food processor to desired consistency. 

Feb. 23 - Ribs!!

Okay, so I have this bizarre fear of cooking ribs. I think it's because I've never met a rib I didn't enjoy - whether from Chili's, Tony Roma's, Damon's, T-Bonz (Myrtle Beach), etc. Hell, even the premade kind you get from the grocery are half-decent and nearly impossible to screw up.

So when I came across a crockpot ribs recipe, I'll admit it...I was nervous. I didn't want to spend $15 on meat that ended up trashed. I didn't want to take the effort to make the marinade, just to have it poo-poo'ed by the rest of the family. But, I wanted to conquer this inane trepidation, and figured I better have at it.

The recipe I found was on allrecipes.com - one of my absolute favorite recipe sites! It had well over 600 reviews, with an overall rating of 4.5 (out of 5) stars. I always read the reviews on the front page, too, for changes or suggestions (these are the ones voted most helpful), and used those in fixing up my recipe. Here's what I ended up with:

Slow Cooker Ribs
Ingredients
4 lbs. pork baby back ribs
salt, pepper, minced onion and garlic powder to taste
2 cups Cattleman barbecue sauce
1 cup ketchup (only Heinz in this household!)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 dash of hot sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Season ribs with salt, pepper, minced onion and garlic powder. Place in a shallow baking pan. Brown in oven 15 minutes. Turn over, and brown another 15 minutes; drain fat.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the barbecue sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs, and turn to coat.
4. Cover, and cook on low 6 to 8 hours, or until ribs are tender.
5. About 30 minutes before serving, place back in baking pan at 400 degrees F and the sauce will caramelize to the meat and finish them to perfection.

They turned out SO, SO DELICIOUS! Oh my word, I can't believe how easy they were, and how scrumptious they tasted. I swear, this was better than I ever could have imagined! I roasted corn in the oven to go with them and that tasted great, too. It was just frozen corn, 2 tablespoons of butter, and a little salt and pepper sprinkled on top. I roasted it at 400 degrees F for about 30 minutes (same as the ribs), and it turned out perfectly. Veggies in the oven, I've learned, taste much better than microwaved, steamed or boiled veggies.

If you need one more reason to try these, even the little man ate nearly an entire rib?!? He can barely tolerate applesauce and mashed bananas, but give him some rib meat and he's in heaven! Linds devoured it happily, too.

So, yeah, two days into the week, and two phenomenal meals down. I'm almost worried about tomorrow's dinner - it will probably be quite a let-down after cornbread enchilada casserole and spare ribs- but that's okay, I conquered my fear of cooking ribs and have a great new meal to add to the collection!