Vegetable Beef Soup for the slow cooker

OK this was your basic Vegetable Beef Soup.  I'll make it again.
Everyone liked it.  The 4 yr old kind of ate it.  The stew beef was REALLY tender.
I think that's the advantage of making this in the slow cooker instead of the traditional way.

Ingredients

1 lb stew meat, cut into 1/2 “cubes

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, do not drain

3 cups water

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 medium onions, diced

3 stalks of celery, sliced

2 carrots, sliced

3 beef bouillon cubes

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables or soup vegetables

Directions

1. In a slow cooker, combine everything except the frozen vegetables.

2. Cook for about 6 hours on high.

3. Add frozen vegetables and finishing cooking for another 2 hours.

Here's the link:

http://cullyskitchen.com/slow-cookercrock-pot-vegetable-beef-soup-recipe/

Baked Chicken Fajitas

Baked Chicken Fajitas

I'll give this 4 stars!
Tastes just like the regular fajitas but you don't have to stand there getting  hot oil splashed on you and you don't have to use as much oil (there's a little in the seasoning).  Everyone really liked it, except the 4 yr old that says chicken puts gold in his throat (if only that were true).  There was a lot of juice in the bottom from the vegetables, but it kept the chicken really moist.  I'll make this again.

adapted from Taste of Home Magazine
serves 4 – 6

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes (we sliced up fresh tomatoes)
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
1 medium onion, sliced
1 large bell pepper, seeded and sliced
2 T vegetable oil
2 t. chili powder
2 t. cumin
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. salt
12 flour tortillas, warmed to serve

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 13×9 baking dish. Mix together chicken, tomatoes, chilies, peppers, and onions in the dish.
2. In a small bowl combine the oil and spices. Drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken and toss to coat.
3. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
4. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, homemade salsa, and warmed tortillas. Enjoy!!

Here's the link to my find-

http://eatinonthecheap.com/2011/03/24/my-thoughts-on-food-magazines-and-baked-chicken-fajitas/

Los Hermanos Style Salsa

I love Los Hermanos Salsa!
This was pretty close, but not exact.  I'll definitely make it again.
I took it to a baby shower and it was gone.  Everyone seemed to like it.

How you make it -

 1 can (28 ounce) Whole Tomatoes with Juice (I use tomatoes from my garden that I bottled)

2 cans (10 ounce) Rotel Tomatoes (original is kind of spicy so if you want it mild, buy the "mild" version)

1/4 cup chopped onion (that left quite an onion after-taste so I think I'll go with less next time)

1 clove garlic

1 whole Jalapeno, quartered and sliced thin (I did 1/2 with no seeds because it was an extra hot one)

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 cup cilantro

juice from 1/2 lime

Combine all ingredients in food processor, pulse to desired consistency. Refrigerate at least one hour to blend flavors.  I left it overnight to make sure the flavors were really blended.

Here's where I found it, although there are several sites with similar recipes.  

http://cgharris.blogspot.com/2010/05/salsa-quick.html

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches for the slow cooker

5 Stars
We like bbq meat sandwiches.  This time we did chicken and I used a recipe I found online.
It turned out really well.  My 4 yr old ate about 1/3 of the sandwich, which is a success I guess.

Ingredients

6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (12 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce


Directions

Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.
Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low.

This is SO easy and SO good. I toasted the buns and we put cheddar cheese slices on the sandwiches too. Actually, some of us like to put potato chips on our sandwich too :)

Link to where I got it:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/zesty-slow-cooker-chicken-barbecue/detail.aspx

Cilantro Lime Salsa Chicken - for the slow cooker

Hmm, maybe 3 1/2 stars.
Pretty good.  It's salsa chicken on rice and tastes like salsa & chicken on rice, with a hint of lime.  I may make it again.

Just a shot of it as I started the slow cooker.  

In a slow cooker, mix together:
One 24-ounce jar medium or mild salsa
Juice from one lime
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
One 1.25-oz. package taco seasoning
2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped (optional)

Add 4-6 boneless chicken breast halves to the slow cooker and coat with the salsa mixture. Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours.


Here's the link:
http://www.pipandebby.com/pip-ebby/2011/11/18/slow-cooker-cilantro-lime-chicken.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PipEbby+%28Pip+%26+Ebby%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail

Dillweed Potato Broccoli Soup

5 Stars!  I love this soup!
I've made it many times for my family and for parties and everyone loves it.
I think it's the dill that we love, I don't know.

Here it is as the vegetables cook

Once it was finished my 13 yr old suggested putting bacon in.  I didn't have any on hand, but that is good in this soup.
I've had men mention the lack of meat so you could cook some sausage or hamburger to go in it too.

Ingredients:

4 tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups diced onions

4 cups diced potatoes

3 cups broccoli

2 carrots, shredded

3 cups water - or more to cover cooking vegetables

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp dried dillweed

3 cups milk

1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Instant potatoes (optional to thicken the soup)

In a large saucepan, melt the butter.  Saute the onions until golden.  Add potatoes, broccoli, carrots, water, salt, pepper, and dillweed.  Bring to a boil, reduce to low, and simmer until vegetables are tender (about 25 mins).  Stir in milk, cheese, and parsley and heat until hot.  If you want a thicker soup, stir in some instant potato flakes or buds during the last few mins of cooking, but BE CAREFUL because it will thicken after a few minutes and you don't want mashed potato soup (I did that once, oops).

Arroz Con Pollo

I think I'll go 3 stars on this.  It was good.  My 4 yr old wouldn't touch it though.
My 13 yr old found it in his foods class and wanted me to try making it, so I did.
I guess that this is a recipe that is done a little differently depending upon which country you are in.
I saw a few different versions, but I had everything to make this version.

Here it is on the plate.  I'll say this was a little too spicy, but I did use diced tomatoes with green chilies.  I could have used regular diced tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS:
Chicken
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 broiler-fryer chicken, about 2 1/2-3 pounds, cut into serving pieces, or 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of chicken thighs or breasts, bone-in, with skin on, rinsed and patted dry
1/2 cup of flour for dredging
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Paprika

Rice
2 tablespoons olive oil (can use up to 1/4 cup)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups of medium or long-grain white rice
3 cups* chicken stock
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste or 1 cup of diced fresh or cooked tomatoes, strained
Pinch of oregano
1 teaspoon salt
*Check the instructions on the rice package for the proportions of liquid to rice. They can range from 1:1 to 2:1. If your rice calls for 2 cups of water for every cup of rice, then for this recipe, use 4 cups of stock for 2 cups of rice.

Cooking directions:
1 Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet (a skillet that has a cover) on medium high heat. Put the flour in a wide bowl, mix in a generous sprinkling of salt, pepper, and paprika. Dredge the chicken pieces lightly in the flour mixture and put in the pan to brown. (You can skip the flour dredging part if you want. It just makes a nicer coating for the chicken.) Cook a few minutes on each side, just enough so that the chicken has browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove from pan and set aside.

2 Add the rice to the pan to brown. Add a little more olive oil if necessary. Stir first to coat the rice with the olive oil in the pan. Then don't stir too much or you will prevent it from browning. Let it brown and then stir a little to let more of it brown. Then add the onion and garlic. Cook the onion, garlic and rice mixture, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened, about 4 minutes.


3 Place the chicken pieces, skin-side up, on top of the rice. In a separate bowl, mix together the stock, tomato, salt, and oregano. Pour the stock mixture over the rice and chicken. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Let cook for 20-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package, until the rice and chicken are done. Fluff the rice with a fork. If you want you can sprinkle with some peas. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4-6.



Here is the link to the recipe online:
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/arroz_con_pollo/

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

4 Stars
This is just what is says, a creamy chicken noodle soup.  Really good on a cold day.  Everyone in the family likes it, even my 4 yr old.  One thing I do differently is leave the noodles in a separate pan then add them to the bowl and pour the soup over them.  The reason for that is that when we eat it for lunch the next day, the noodles are huge and soggy.

Ingredients 

• 1 pkg of homestyle noodles (12-16 oz??)
• 5-10 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 4 tsp chicken bouillon
• 4 10.75 oz cans cream of chicken soup
• 16 oz sour cream
• 1-2 large chicken breasts, cooked and cut into cubes
• Salt to taste

Cooking Directions:

Cook noodles according to the package directions.  Drain well.  Place potatoes and carrots in a large pot.  Add enough water to just cover.  Add chicken bouillon and cook until vegetables are tender (about 20-25 mins.).  don't drain the water.  Add the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, cooked chicken, and the noodles (unless you want to keep them separate).  Heat through.  Salt to taste.  Makes 12-15 servings (so I half this recipe)

This is a really thick soup.  You can add more water when you cook the vegetables.  When I do left overs for lunch I usually have to add more chicken stock to thin it a bit.

I got this recipe from "Worldwide Ward Cookbook".  Recipe was submitted by Gwen Rich of Morgan, UT

Steak and Cheese Sandwiches

4 Stars
We love The Italian Place steak and cheese sandwiches and thought we'd try making our own.
My husband was the cook on this one, for the most part anyway.  Our 4 year old wouldn't eat it,
I think he ate the bun and that's it.  Oh well, the rest of us liked it.

Ingredients

• THINLY sliced steak - I used top round, partly because it's inexpensive and partly because there wasn't a lot of fat.  I asked the meat dept at our grocery store to slice it for me and they did with no problem.
• Green bell pepper, thinly sliced.
• Onion, thinly sliced (I left this out because we aren't onion fans)
• Tomatoes (again, thinly sliced)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper
• Provolone cheese
• Hoagie buns (good ones from the bakery, this makes a big difference!)

Instructions

1. Heat a frying pan on medium high heat
2. Add about 2 tbsp of olive oil
3. Add green pepper and onions and cook until soft, about 6 mins.
4. Add minced garlic and cook maybe 1 min.
5. Add steak and cook until done, about 5-8 mins.  You can cut up the meat while it cooks.
6. Add salt and plenty of pepper while cooking.
7. Add sliced tomatoes to the meat, pepper mixture and warm.
8. Make sure you have a GOOD hoagie roll
9. Add meat mixture and top with provolone cheese

Another option instead of the provolone cheese is to add some cream cheese to the meat at the end of cooking and let it melt in.

Cranberry Chicken

About 3 stars.
This was pretty good, I thought.  My husband and 13 year old liked it ok too.  Pretty tangy though.
I wish I could have thought of something better to put with it.  I might make it again if I can find a good side dish.

Ingredients:

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 can Whole Berry Cranberry

1 pkg. Dry Onion Soup

8 oz. Catalina Dressing {Russian Dressing can be substituted}

Instructions:

1. Cook chicken in crock pot on high for 3 hours 
2. After 3 hours, drain juices from crockpot
3. Mix together catalina dressing, cranberry sauce and dry onion soup
4. Pour cranberry mixture over chicken, and cook on high for 30 more minutes 

Link to the site I found it on:

http://thefrugalgirls.com/2009/08/crockpot-cranberry-chicken.html

Cinnamon French Toast (Kneaders) and Buttery Syrup!

This year I made a big Christmas Day breakfast for my family and it was SO good!!  Cinnamon French Toast with homemade buttery syrup, eggs, bacon, and orange juice.  I thought I'd post the recipe for the french toast and syrup.

Cinnamon French Toast (Kneaders)

Kneaders loaf of cinnamon bread (is comes drizzled with frosting on top)

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk

Beat eggs and milk together, dip both sides of sliced cinnamon  bread in the mixtures and then fry in a pan.  Pretty basic french toast, you just use the DELICIOUS Kneaders cinnamon bread instead.

Buttery Syrup

1 cube butter (no substitutions)

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan.  Add sugar and dissolve.  Add buttermilk and vanilla, stir.  Add baking soda, it will foam up and double in size so make sure it doesn't boil over.

My family loved this!  We'll do it every year.

YOGURT - BROILED CHICKEN

3 stars and not my best picture.
It's good chicken, but not a ton of flavor.  I've never actually broiled chicken before so I was a little afraid. My son said it tasted like it kind of had a lemonish flavor, and I agree.  I might make it again.  Just something I tried because I had all the ingredients on hand and didn't want to go to the store.

YOGURT - BROILED CHICKEN

1/2 c. plain low-fat yogurt 1 green onion, chopped 1 tsp. dried oregano leaves, crushed 1 tbsp. olive or salad oil 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar 1 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. pepper 4 lg. skinless, boneless chicken breast-halves Oregano or parsley sprigs for garnish Directions: 1. In large bowl, with spoon, mix low-fat yogurt, green onion, dried oregano leaves, olive or salad oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Add chicken. 2. Place chicken breasts on rack in broiling pan. Place pan in broiler at closest position to source of heat; broil breasts 4 minutes. Turn breasts; brush with any yogurt mixture remaining in bowl and broil 5-6 minutes longer until chicken breasts are fork-tender and lightly browned. 3. To serve, arrange chicken breasts on warm large platter. Garnish with oregano or parsley sprigs. Makes 4 servings. I left out the green onion and I only had red wine vinegar, so I strayed a bit from the recipe.  Turned out just fine. Here's the link: http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1825,139178-234205,00.html

Easy Lemon Pasta with Chicken

I think we'll go 3 1/2 stars on this one.
The good thing is that it's pretty healthy.  Well, I used whole wheat pasta so that made it a little more healthy.  And, I have to say that I don't think anyone noticed that it was whole wheat!  Maybe I need to start using it more often.  The only sauce is freshly squeezed lemon juice,  I think I might put a little more of the red pepper flakes in next time.  I was afraid there wasn't going to be enough flavor, but there is a lot of flavor.  If you don't like lemon, you won't like this.

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried penne
• 2 chicken cutlets, cut into fingers
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan 

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, until al dente. Drain well.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large grill pan over medium high and add chicken. Grill until golden and completely cooked. Remove to a plate and slice.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to a saute pan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and saute until fragrant. Add the cooked pasta and turn heat off. Mix all together.

Remove pasta to a large bowl. Add chicken to the warm pasta and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in chopped parsley. Add the juice of 2 lemons and mix. Before serving top with Parmesan 

Here's a link to where I found this one:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/down-home-with-the-neelys/easy-lemon-pasta-with-chicken-recipe/index.html

Cafe Rio Burritos

Yum!  Probably about 5 stars on this one.
My family doesn't do salad so we did the chicken burritos.  I didn't have all the fancy things that Cafe Rio puts on them, and I'm wishing I had done a better black bean recipe (meaning more than straight from the can), but it was really good.  We did tortillas, chicken, cilantro lime rice, black beans, and shredded cheddar cheese.

Cafe Rio Chicken

1 (8 ounce) bottle kraft zesty Italian dressing (the small bottle at our store was a 16 oz)

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

Juice from 1 lime

Directions:

1. Mix dressing, chili powder, cumin, and garlic in a bowl.
2. Place chicken in crock pot and pour dressing mixture over the chicken, turning chicken to coat all sides.
3. Cook in crock pot for 5 hours on low.
4. Shred meat and add lime juice
5. Cook 1 additional hour.

Link: http://www.food.com/recipe/cafe-rio-chicken-222868#ixzz1g0kSgwUj

The shredded chicken, ready to go.
Actually, some one already had some to go when this was taken.

CILANTRO-LIME RICE

1 c. uncooked rice (long-grain, white rice)
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 cups water
2 tsp chicken bouillon
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice (I used the whole lime, but I like lime)
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

Directions:

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken bouillon and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

Link: http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2008/09/cafe-rio-cilantro-lime-rice-and-black.html

Yummy lime flavor!  If you want rice on the side as well as in the burrito, I'd suggest doubling the recipe.  There really wasn't a lot left over.  Although, I think my 13 yr old made a rice burrito after his chicken and rice burrito.

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

See the picture on "Lemon Chicken"
These were really good!  Crisp and tasty.  I'll definitely make them again.  Some recipes say to cook for 30-45 mins, but I think the hour was needed to get the crispness.  Don't forget to stir them with the spatula every 20 mins while roasting so they don't stick and all sides are even.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds small red or white-skinned potatoes (or a mixture)
• 1/8 cup good olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoons minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the potatoes in half or quarters and place in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary; toss until the potatoes are well coated. Dump the potatoes on a baking sheet and spread out into 1 layer; roast in the oven for at least 1 hour, or until browned and crisp. Flip twice with a spatula during cooking to ensure even browning.

Remove the potatoes from the oven, season to taste, and serve.

Link to the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/rosemary-roasted-potatoes-recipe/index.html

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins

4-5 servings (for us)