Saucy Meatballs

Oh looky it's a recipe!  It' funny when I look back at my blog, it all started because of my love for cooking, then some crafting/decorating morphed in, and now it's mostly about our daily life and what we're up to.  I haven't scrapbooked since 2013, so I kind of feel like this is my way of keeping track of what we've been up to...
Now onto this recipe.  While I still LOVE to cook, I don't post as many recipes as I'd like, simply because I keep forgetting to take pictures.  However this week Alayna told me I needed to take a picture and blog this recipe because it is our family's favorite dinner, they call these meatballs, "moms famous meatballs"!

The meatball recipe comes from Pioneer Woman and the sauce comes from Mels Kitchen Cafe.  The meatballs are really the best, there is so much flavor in these puppies, and the sauce is oh so easy, but also SO flavorful!

Meatballs:

• 2 pounds Ground Beef
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 3/4 cups Fine Bread Crumbs
• 2 whole Eggs
• 3/4 cups Freshly Grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup Flat-leaf Parsley, Minced
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
•  Freshly Ground Black Pepper
•  Splash Of Milk

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Sauce:

2 T. butter
3 1/2 T. flour
1/4 t. dried thyme
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
14 oz. can chicken broth (If you want your sauce thicker, cut down the chicken broth to 1 cup)
2/3 cup milk
2 T. minced fresh parsley

That's it, I will make a double batch of meatballs and freeze them, makes getting supper together so much easier!

Linking to Momfessionals for her Recipe Club.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I found a new blog that I really enjoy called Sweet Tooth Sweet Life.

She recently did a post called 21 One Pot Meals and I pinned several of those recipes to make.  Monday I made the Chili Mac and Cheese (which I forgot to take a picture of) which was awesome, and all three kids loved it!

Last night I made the Chicken Enchilada Casserole that was super yummy too!  However, Alayna wanted nothing to do with it.  Oh well, can't please them all the time.

 

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

12 corn tortillas, torn into bite-size pieces

3 cups shredded cooked chicken (3 cups = about 12 oz)

1 can (10 oz each) Ro*Tel® Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained

1 can (10 oz each) red enchilada sauce

1 can (8 oz each) Hunt's® Tomato Sauce

1 cup shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack blend cheese, divided

- See more at: http://www.readyseteat.com/recipes-Chicken-Enchilada-Skillet-2273.html#sthash.xBItGpqQ.dpuf

12 corn tortillas, torn into bite-size pieces

3 cups shredded cooked chicken (3 cups = about 12 oz)

1 can (10 oz each) Ro*Tel® Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained

1 can (10 oz each) red enchilada sauce

1 can (8 oz each) Hunt's® Tomato Sauce

1 cup shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack blend cheese, divided

- See more at: http://www.readyseteat.com/recipes-Chicken-Enchilada-Skillet-2273.html#sthash.xBItGpqQ.dpuf

6 small tortillas, cut into bit size pieces

3 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 can Rotel diced tomatoes

1 can red enchilada sauce (I made my own enchilada sauce from Mels Kitchen Cafe )

1 can tomato sauce

1 cup shredded Cheddar and Monteray Jack blend

Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add tortilla pieces and chicken; mix well. Cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until hot, stirring frequently.

Pour undrained tomatoes and enchilada and tomato sauces over chicken mixture in skillet. Mix well. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over chicken mixture. Cover skillet; cook 5 minutes or until hot, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Serve immediately.

- See more at: http://www.readyseteat.com/recipes-Chicken-Enchilada-Skillet-2273.html#sthash.xBItGpqQ.dpuf

Spray oven safe skillet with butter spray, place chopped tortilla strips in bottom of skillet, ladle in a cup of the enchilada sauce followed by half the chicken and half the cheese, do another layer of tortillas, sauce, chicken and cheese.  Bake at 400 until cheese is bubbly, 10-15 minutes.

Very easy and very versatile!

Salmon

Brad was busy "working" last week on Lake Michigan and brought home an 11 pound rainbow trout and a 21 pound king salmon!  As much as I want to love salmon, I've never much cared for it.  However, now we have 8 packs of salmon steaks in our freezer, so its time to find a good recipe!

 

I combined a couple recipes that I found and it turned out quite good!  Brad and Rachel loved it, the other two, not so much. I also whipped up some couscous that I had in the cupboard, and some roasted broccoli and parsnips.  I've never had parsnips before and they were delicious!  They taste like a milder sweet potato fry.  And because I knew that the younger wouldn't touch the salmon if it was the last thing on earth, I made scalloped potatoes with ham.

Salmon Steaks

2- 1 1/2 inch thick salmon steaks

1/3 c. maple syrup

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2-4 cloves of garlic, minced

salt/pepper

Combine ingredients in saucepan and heat until boiling, remove from heat and cool completely.  Place steaks in a gallon Ziploc bag and pour marinade over steaks.  Marinade at least one hour and can marinade overnight.

Take steaks our and place in a baking dish, bake at 350 until salmon is opaque all the way through and flaky.

*Next time I will double the marinade so it was more saucy in the pan, and let it marinade overnight!

Quinoa Vegetable Skillet

I recently completed the Advocare 10 day Cleanse.  Its a cleanse that includes a fiber drink, herbal cleanse supplements and probiotics.  Now, I am not one who typically tries cleanses.  Number 1, I am afraid I will be needing to use the restroom at work every 2 hours and I do NOT want to feel like I may crap myself at any moment...Number 2, most cleanses are about eating hardly any food and drinking weird stuff like apple cider vinegar with cayenne pepper..huh? 

So anyway, I was pleasantly surprised with this cleanse.  It's 10 days of really watching what you eat, I exercised like normal and ate very clean.  After the 10 days I lost 3 pounds.  Now, I would imagine that I would have lost those 3 pounds without the cleanse, but I will say that my energy was through the roof and I just felt better.  Might also be from the beer I refrained from having.  Just kidding, I still had a couple...

One of my favorite meals I cam up with was this Quinoa Vegetable Skillet.  It was SUPER easy to make, and very satisfying.

Skillet Vegetable Quinoa

Prepared quinoa *I keep a bag of prepared quinoa in my freezer

2-3 Tbl. olive oil

Chopped onion and garlic

Sugar snap peas

Shrimp

Crushed red pepper

Shredded Parmesan cheese

*Heat the olive oil over medium heat, and add onion.  Saute until softened and translucent.  Add sugar snap peas and cook until crisp tender, add garlic.  Stir in shrimp (or chicken) and red pepper flakes and turn heat to low, cover and cook for a few more minutes.

Like I said, it is very satisfying and I love the added heat the red pepper flakes give it.

Linking up to:

Redhead Can Decorate

Tuscan Chicken Pasta

I know I've posted before about Mel's Kitchen Cafe, but honestly, if you haven't checked out her blog, you need to.  Right now.  Her dishes are amazing, flavorful, easy and even my kids love most of the recipes I've made.  One of my favorite dishes is her Tuscan Chicken Pasta.  

The flavor is amazing, and it truly reminds me of an Olive Garden dish!  The first time I made it, I followed her recipe, the second time around I left out the sundried tomatoes, and added sauteed red pepper.

Tuscan Chicken Pasta

4 Tbl. butter

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp. dried basil

8 ounces cream cheese- cut into chunks

1/2 red bell pepper- chopped

Cooked chicken cut into small chunks or shredded.  I used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store

8 ounce jar sun dried tomatoes

2 cups of milk

2 cups Parmesan cheese- grated

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

Diced fresh tomatoes and basil for garnish on top

Melt butter over medium heat, add red peppers and cook for a few minutes; add garlic and basil, cook for 15 seconds or so, you don't want the garlic to brown as it will taste bitter.  Add cream cheese and whisk until cheese is creamy, it takes a few minutes.  Stir in sundried tomatoes and chicken; add milk, 1/4 cup at a time.  Stir in Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper.  Stir and simmer for 5-10 minutes until everything is melted and thickened.

Enjoy!

Sugar Snap Pea and Ham Risotto

I found a FABULOUS new blog that has a ton of good recipes, Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I decided to try the risotto recipe, and boy was that a hit! Everyone loved it (yes, even Alayna!!). This was the first time I have ever made risotto, and I now look forward to trying more recipes like this. Sugar Snap Pea and Ham Risotto 4 1/2 C chicken broth 8 ounces sugar snap peas 2 Tbl olive oil 1/2 C chopped onion 1 1/2 C thinly sliced leek ( I didn't have leeks, and omitted this part) 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 C Arborio rice (or any other medium grain rice) 3/4 diced ham 1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese Bring the chicken broth to a boil, add peas and cook 2 minutes until crisp tender. Remove peas with a slotted spoon, and rinse with cold water. Heat oil in a saucepan, add onions (this is where you would add the leeks) and cook until soft, then add garlic, cook 30 seconds. Ad rice, cook 1 minute, then add 1/2 C of broth. Cook until broth is absorbed. Continue adding 1/2 C broth to rice mixture and cooking until all is absorbed. This process is a bit time consuming, as you have to stir constantly, but ohhhh so worth the effort! Once all the broth is absorbed into the rice, add ham and parmesan cheese. I served this with homemade crescent rolls and a salad.

Finger Lickin Good!!

No, no, this isn't a shout out to KFC, sorry! In fact I've always hating that saying. Why in tarnation would I want to lick my fingers and tell people about it? Well now I know why!

A couple weeks ago I tried my hand at making ribs. I know, I know, I've never made ribs, you say?! Nope, never. I checked out allrecipes.com to see what I could find, and man oh man are there recipes to be found! After spending most of the morning looking at different ones, I settles on one that required you to boil the ribs, grill them and then crockpot them all day.
And this is how they came out....saucy...spicy....and falling off the bone. They were DIVINE! I have made them twice since then, and each time they are unbelievable!

Barbecue Ribs

Ribs (duh)
1 bottle of Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy sauce
1/2 bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue sauce
1/4-1/2 C of a hot wing sauce (I used Louisiana Wildly Wicked Wing Sauce)
1 bottle of dark beer (I used Leinenkugel's Creamy Dark)

Mix the two barbecue sauce's together; Boil a large kettle of water, and add ribs (cut ribs into sets of 3). Boil ribs for 20 minutes. Preheat grill, slather ribs with barbecue sauce; grill ribs about 5 minutes. Mix the wing sauce with the rest of the barbecue sauce, and add beer. Place ribs in crockpot, and add the sauce over the ribs. Cook on low all day, until they fall off the bone!

Now, you can use whatever type's of barbecue sauce you like, these were the ones I happen to have on hand, and it truly made those ribs amazing! Of course the boiling, grilling and crockpoting had nothing to do with it....ya....

Linked To:

CSI Project

Easy Peasy Chicken in the Crockpot

Doesn't this look like the MOST delicious chicken dish EVER?? I mean, see how creamy and comforting this looks? Let me tell you....Oh wait, you can't see it? Huh. I suppose that *might* be because I didn't take a picture? I know I know, why even post a recipe if you don't have a picture, right? Well sorry peeps, but this dish is seriously THAT good, you don't even need a picture...

It originated from an allrecipes.com recipe called "Jennie's Heavenly Slow Cooker Chicken"
This looked divine, except I don't have cream of mushroom soups on hand, and I didn't have a container of cream cheese with chives either. So, technically it's not Jennie's Heavenly chicken, I suppose. Maybe I could call it, "Cara's Kinda Sorta But Not Really Chicken in the Crockpot". Whew, that's long. How about "Amazing Slow Cooker Chicken", better?

Amazing Slow Cooker Chicken

1 whole chicken cut up (as in, the thighs, breasts, wings all separated)
4 Tbl butter
1/4 c. flour
milk
cut up mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
1 packet dry Italian seasoning
1 package cream cheese
chives
1/2 c dry white wine
spaghetti noodles

First make your white sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, add mushrooms and the garlic, saute until mushrooms are soft, add flour and cook one minute, then add enough milk to get the right consistency (A little thinner than pudding consistency). Add the package of cream cheese, wine, chopped up chives and seasoning packet. Place chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker, and pour sauce over the top. Cook on low all day. I made spaghetti noodles and placed the chicken mixture over the top with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Broccoli Wild Rice Hotdish

I know, I know, you don't need to rub your eyes here, yes I did TWO posts in ONE day. It's true. Not sure what came over me, but it happened. I think I am starting my Fall routine early or something. Maybe it's because of the weather, ya, that's it. It must be the 95 and humid weather that we are enjoying right now. Hmmm, must be.

This is one of my favorite dishes, or, hotdishes as we call them there thangs here in the nort. This recipe originated from my Dad, and as the title says, there is broccoli in it. See it? no? Oh ya, because I didn't have any. I substituted carrots instead, which turned out fine, but I still prefer the broccoli. It is a super yummy, Fall/Winter comfort food around here!

Broccoli Wild Rice Hotdish

1 lb. ground beef
1 stalk celery
1 large onion
1 cup of wild rice (cooked. And if you are like me who never makes wild rice, it takes a LONG time to cook!)
1 can of mushroom soup (or make your own white sauce, as I do)
2 cans mushrooms
1 C yogurt or sour cream
1 # broccoli (par boiled)
1/3 C soy sauce

Brown together the hamburger, celery and onions. Wash wild rice and drain well (this is AFTER it has cooked). Add the ground beef to the mixture and add remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 for 2 hours in a covered dish.

Linking up to :
Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
What's On The Menu Wednesday

P-Dub's Chicken with Tomatoes and Garlic

Whenever I'm having a down day, I love to mosy on over to Pioneer Woman's blog for a good chuckle. I love her style of writing and her recipes are i.n.c.r.e.d.i.b.l.e. My latest venture was her Chicken with Tomatoes and Garlic. It was scrumptious! And so easy to make, for once, the younger two scarfed it down (they don't like chicken)! I also made bowtie pasta to go along with it, and placed the chicken and sauce over the pasta.

Chicken with Tomatoes and Garlic

8 pieces chicken legs or thighs (I actually used chicken breasts (or, sawdust, as my Dad likes to call them) I used 3 breasts, and cut them in half

salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbl olive oil
1 Tbl butter
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can whole tomatoes- I had a large jar of canned diced tomatoes from our garden that I used
2 Tbl tomato paste
Fresh herbs: Basil, Parsley,Sage, Rosemary
8 cloves of garlic
1/2 C white cooking wine- you could also use red, if I had Marsala wine on hand, I would have used that
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400, salt and pepper your chicken.

Melt oil and butter in a large pan, brown chicken on both sides, about 2 minutes. Remove chicken from pan, and add cooking wine; scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the bits up. Cook for one minute, then add the tomatoes, with their juice and the paste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and turn off heat. Add plenty of fresh herbs, and the 8 cloves of garlic. Add the chicken and transfer to a baking dish (covered) and cook for one hour.

Remove from oven, and take the lid off. In the meantime, cook pasta to al dente. Drain pasta and add to a large serving dish. Check the sauce, if it is too thin, you can a bit more paste to thicken it up.

To serve, place pasta on a plate, add chicken with sauce over the top, and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley!

Linking up to:
Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Indian Chicken Korma

I love, love, love trying new recipes. Truly, I do, and probably make 3-4 new ones a week. However, if you ever see me in a restaurant, 98% of the time you will find me eating a burger and fries. I don't want to have to PAY for something I don't like, so I usually keep it simple. I will actually get made fun of if I order something different. True story.

Now, at home I will try anything. So, in one of my Taste of Home magazines, I found this recipe for Chicken Korma and thought I would give it a try. I thought it was AMAZING!!! Definitely comfort food for me, I loved the cinnamon and curry flavors and how well it meshed with the chicken. The only change I made was that I used sweet potatoes instead of white, only because that was all I had. I LOVED it with the sweet potatoes.

Chicken Korma

1 large sweet potato

1 large onion, chopped

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

3 whole cloves (I omitted these because I don't like them:)

1 Tbl canola oil

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp. minced fresh gingerroot

2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 tsp. salt

1/2 c. sour cream

hot cooked rice

Place sweet potato in boiling water and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until tender. In a large skillet, saute the onion, cinnamon, bay leaf in oil until onion is tender. Add the chicken, garlic, curry and ginger; cook and stir one minute longer. Stir in the tomatoes, salt and potato.

Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from heat; Discard cinnamon stick, bay leaf, and cloves. Stir in sour cream, serve with rice.

Linking up to:

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Tasty Tuesday

Slow Cooked Beef Fajitas

After enjoying authentic Mexican food for a whole week, I knew I needed to find some good recipes to make at home. Especially after realizing that mailing guacamole and pico de gallo wouldn't be an option (insert grumble here). I was so taken away with the food at our resort. Authentic, gourmet, delicious Mexican food. So, I immediately tried a new guacamole recipe and promptly threw it away (faaaar too much lime juice, very bitter). Bummer. Then I tried a pico de gallo recipe that just didn't cut it. Crud.

Feeling a bit of an after-vacation let down, I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. It is made in the slow cooker which works PERFECT for me! And the Mexican Rice is so tasty with the fajitas, even the girls loved it!

Slow-Cooked Steak Fajitas

1 (1 1/2 pound) beef flank steak
1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion, undrained
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 medium onion, sliced
1 medium green pepper, julienned
1 Tbl. fresh minced cilantro
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbl water
flour tortillas, sour cream, salsa

Thinly slice steak across the grain into strips; place in 5 qt. slow cooker. Add tomatoes, garlic, cumin, chili powder and salt. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours. Add onion, peppers and cilantro Cover and cook 1-2 hours longer or until meat is tender.

Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; gradually stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until slightly thickened. Fill tortilla up with meat mixture, sour cream and salsa.

And just for the record, this picture doesn't do it justice, lol!

Linking to:
Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Crockpot Wednesday

I'm in Love With Pioneer Woman!

Truly. I feel like I know her, like maybe she's going to call me up and invite me over for coffee. Ya know, Cara and Ree sippin a little latte while creating new recipes. Oh, to dream...
But in all honesty, her recipes are sooooooo good, the kind of good that when you take a bite, your eyes roll into the back of your head in shear pleasure.

I found her recipe for Chicken Scallopine and new I had to try it. Now, our family loved this recipe, but I also want to throw out that it has a strong lemony/heavy taste to it. Very different. But ohhhh did we gobble it up!

Chicken Scallopine

Linguine
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
flour
2 Tbl olive oil
4 Tbl butter
12 ounces white mushrooms, sliced thin
1 C dry white wine
chicken broth (optional)
1 whole lemon
1/2 C. half and half
1 tsp capers (I didn't use these)
chopped fresh parsley
grated Parmesan cheese (the real stuff, people, not the Kraft kind!)

Prepare linguine as directed.

PW calls for flattening the chicken breasts, but I just took 3 breasts and sliced them in half lengthwise. Salt and pepper both sides and dredge in flour. Heat butter and olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Fry chicken breasts until golden brown, remove from pan and keep warm.

Toss mushrooms into pan, and and add wine and chicken broth, squeeze the juice of one lemon into the pan and deglaze the pan, cook vigorously for one minute.

Pour in cream and stir, add capers (optional) and parsley. Turn off heat and add salt pepper to taste.

Place a heaping pile of noodles on your plate, chicken next to it and add sauce to both. I finished it up with some fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese. Absolutely divine!

Hamburger and Sweet Potato Casserole

With doing daycare, I find that I make a lot of casseroles (or hot dishes:) for the kids. Makes it much easier to get the nutrition they need in one meal. One of the kids' favorites is this casserole I came up with when I didn't have regular potatoes. It has become my number one comfort food, as it's creamy, with a hint of sweetness to it!

Sweet Potato Casserole

1 lb. hamb browned with onions
1-2 sweet potatoes (depending on size)
1-2 large carrots chopped
4-5 Tbl butter
4-5 Tbl flour
1 clove garlic
milk

To make the white sauce, melt the butter in saucepan. For a casserole like this, I usually use 5 Tbl butter, but adjust to your liking. Add minced garlic and cook for a few seconds, add flour, cook for a minute or so and add milk so the sauce is the right consistency. I would guess I add a half a cup? Maybe? Add hamb and sweet potatoes, mix all together and bake covered at 350 degrees until sweet potatoes are soft.

Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

I want you to stare at the picture and imagine this flaky creamy concoction sitting in front of you.

Drooling yet? You should be. If you're not than you are one of those lucky people that doesn't have to worry about intense food cravings. And I'm a hundred per sure (wise words from my Godson) those people don't exist. Now, on with the recipe....

I have finally found the perfect recipe for pot pie. I used to make the good ole Bisquick brand, but haven't used that stuff in years. I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com, and modified it to what I had on hand. It does take some time to make, but ohhhhh so worth it!

Best Ever Chicken Pot Pie

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast meat
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 c milk
3 Tbl butter
1 onion, chopped
1 c celery, chopped
1/3 c all-purpose flour
2 c frozen chopped veggies ( I actually just used fresh chopped potatoes and carrots)
1 Tbl fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. dried Thyme

2 pastries for a 9 inch pie

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine chicken meat, broth, salt and pepper. Bring mixture to boiling and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from broth and let cool. Pour broth into measuring cup. add enough milk to measure 2 1/2 cups. Cube chicken.

In the same pan, melt butter, and add onion and celery; sautee until tender, about 3 minutes. Add flour and stir until well blended, add broth mixture gradually, stir until sauce thickens. Add chicken, vegetables, parsley and thyme. Roll out one crust and form to the bottom of dish. Pour into a 1 1/2 quart deep casserole dish, and top with second crust. Make sure to crimp the edges so the filling doesn't spill out.

Bake at 4oo degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Linking to:
Tasty Tuesdays
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Beef Stew

I have tried many, many different recipes for beef stew and I FINALLY found one that is what I have been looking for. Stew needs to be thick, and saucy, and full of yummy flavorful goodness. I made this tonight with a loaf of crusty homemade bread.

Beef Stew

3lbs. stew meat (I used round steak)
1/4 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 Tbl olive oil
3 Tbl Worcestershire sauce
1 lb carrots peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
4 large potatoes cubed
1 Tbl dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 C boiling water
2 envelopes onion soup mix
3 Tbl butter
3 lg onions quartered
2 Tbl minced garlic
1/2 C Marsala wine (or beef broth)
2 pkgs button mushrooms sliced
1/4 C warm water
3 Tbl cornstarch

Toss the beef, flour, salt and garlic powder in a sealable bag until beef is coated. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Combine beef and Worcestershire in the skillet; cook until beef is browned on all sides; transfer to a slow cooker but do not clean the skillet. Add potatoes, carrots, parsley and pepper to the slow cooker.

Combine the boiling water and onion soup mix, add to the slow cooker. Melt butter in skillet, and cook onions and garlic until soft, add to slow cooker; Add wine and mushrooms to the skillet, cook until mushrooms absorb the wine, pour into slow cooker.

Cook on low 6-8 hours. Combine 1/4 C warm water and cornstarch, whisk together and add to slow cooker to thicken mixture up.

This is a little more work that other recipes I've tried, but believe me, it's worth it!!

Linking up to:

Tasty Tuesdays

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Crockpot Wednesdays

Tuesdays at the Table

Crockpot Creamy Chicken with Noodles

I have been in a comfort food mode lately (great, and I have a trip coming up in March...) and yesterday was the WORST!! I made buttermilk biscuits for lunch (with broccoli chicken and rice), and for supper I wanted something easy (ie: crockpot!). Sooooo, I came up with this easy and delicious chicken dish for the crockpot. The girls even loved it, and paired with homemade Honey Wheat Bread, it was a heavenly supper:)

Creamy Chicken with Noodles

Chicken breasts (I used three, for our family)
Chopped fresh mushrooms
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup (I had some left over from Thanksgiving, I don't normally use canned soups:)

Cook these on low 5-7 hours. Take chicken out and shred, make a cream sauce (melt 3 Tbl butter, add more chopped mushrooms, and minced garlic. Add 3 Tbl flour, and enough milk to make it thickened). Add chicken and sauce back into the crockpot, until heated through. Serve on a bed of spaghetti noodles or egg noodles and freshly grated Parmesan cheese!

Linking to:
Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Crockpot Wednesdays

Beef and Noodle Casserole

I got this recipe from a Taste of Home Casserole mini book that we received at the TOH Cooking Show in Sept. I have modified it a bit, but we LOVE this casserole, plus it's easy. What could be better??!!

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 Tbl. butter

1 large onion

1 C. chopped green pepper (I did half green half red)

1 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce

1 Pkg. wide noodles, cooked and drained

2 cans condensed tomato soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Now, I don't buy cream soups, as I always make my own. So, I sauteed up some mushrooms and made a cream sauce (just equal amounts of butter and flour, cook, and add milk until the right consistency) to add to the hot dish.

*In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink, drain. In the same skillet, melt butter and saute onion and peppers until tender. Add beef, Worcestershire sauce, noodles and soups.

Transfer to a greased 3 qt. baking dish; top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until heated through.

Linking up to Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays and Tuesdays at the Table.

Chicken Pot Pie

Okay, so this isn't the best picture, I completely forgot to take a pic before I "staged" it, lol. But in all honesty, this is the BEST chicken potpie I have ever had. My girlfriend Lisa and I were lucky enough to go to the Taste Of Home Cooking School that was in town back in September. It was SUCH a blast, they had a ton of vendors there before hand, that you could check out, taste samples, wine, etc. Then for about two hours you watched a rep from TOH cook. When you came in, they gave you a reusable grocery bag full of goodies, including a TOH special edition Fall magazine, a Light and Delicious magazine, and a Casserole cookbook. This is where this recipe comes from. It is AMAZING! The only changes I made to it, was to make my own white sauce, as I don't use canned soups.

Vegetable Chicken Potpie

1 unbaked deep-dish pastry shell (9 inches) (I didn't use this, I just had a topping)
3/4 C. each chopped carrot, celery and onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbl canola oil
1/2 pound boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes ( I actually had cubed cooked chicken in the freezer already)
1 C. chicken broth
3/4 C. peeled potatoes
3/4 C. frozen peas
2 Tbl. minced fresh parsley ( I always have fresh parsley on hand, it's super cheap, and I have a lot of recipes that call for it)
2 Tbl. butter
2 Tbl all purpose flour
1 C. milk
1/2 C. condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/4 tsp. hot pepper sauce

TOPPING:
2 C. all-purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C. buttermilk
1/3 C. unsweetened applesauce
2 Tbl. butter, melted

Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 425 for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer.

In a large skillet, saute vegetables and garlic in oil for 5 minutes or until crisp tender. Add chicken; cook until lightly browned. Add broth; bring to a boil. Add the potatoes, peas and parsley. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour; gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in soup until smooth. Add hot pepper sauce. Stir into vegetable mixture. Transfer to pastry shell.

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine buttermilk, applesauce and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Drop by spoonfuls over the filling (I spread it out so it covered the entire pan). Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.

I also added shredded cheese before adding the topping.

Crockpot Chili

This is hands down my favorite chili recipe. My sister-in-law gave me this recipe a few years ago, and it is not the only only one I make. Now, she likes to include jalapeno peppers, but I don't want to feel like I'm on fire while eating because then my nose runs, my eyes water, and I forget how stinkin good the chili is. Unfortunately I don't have a pic, forgot to take one last week when I made it. Linking up to Crockpot Wednesdays

Crockpot Chili

6 slices bacon chopped
1 lb. hamburger
1lb. ground turkey
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped

Brown the above 5 together

1 pkg. McCormick chili seasoning
1 large can Bush's baked beans
1 can kidney beans
1 jar salsa or picante sauce
1 small can crushed tomatoes

Simmer 1 hour on stove top or cook on low 4-6 hours