Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Taco Soup

















In a stockpot brown 2 lb. ground beef and 2 medium onions diced in 2 T olive oil. Drain oil and add to the crockpot with 2 T taco seasoning, 1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes, 2 C chopped roasted red peppers, 1 C green salsa, 2 C mild salsa, 1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained, 1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained. Cook on in the crockpot for 6-8 hours. Serve with sour cream and crushed corn chips.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Crockpot Fried Rice and Thai Pork Chops























4 cups leftover jasmine rice
6 T butter
4 T wheat free tamarind sauce
4 t worcestershire sauce
1 t black pepper
1 C diced yellow onion
1 package of Cascadian Farms frozen mixed vegetables
2 eggs

Place everythingin the crockpot, mix together, and cook on high for 2-3 hours, or on low for 3-4. You are only heating everything up and cooking the egg.
This recipe is from A Year of Slow Cooking. I will make this recipe again and again. We all loved it.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Spinach Artichoke Calzones





















2 cups part skim ricotta
A few grinds black pepper
1/2 cup (a couple of handfuls) grated Parmigiano, plus extra, for sprinkling
2 C fresh spinach, chopped
1 c hearts of palm chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 1 lb. pieces of fresh dough
1 (15-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
2 cups shredded asiago
Marinara sauce for serving
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Roll each pizza dough out on a cookie sheet, and halve each cross-wise. Spread 1/2 cup asiago and up to 1/4 of filling on each rectangle.Place chopped artichoke herarts on top of each calzone before you "close" it up. Work on just half of the surface of each rectangle of dough, then fold dough over top of filling and pinch edges firmly to seal. For a half-moon "pizza parlor" look to your calzones, mound filling into a half-moon shape, fold dough over top trim edges of dough to follow the rounded shape, then seal edges with the tines of a fork.


Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Serve calzones with warm tomato or pizza sauce for dunking.

Rachael Ray's Braciole Recipe

I made this recipe for dinner this evening but I forgot to take a picture.
8 slices beef braciole, beef very thinly sliced
Coarse salt and black pepper
8 slices prosciutto di Parma
1 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs, eyeball it ( I used rice bread bread crumbs)
1/2 cup milk, eyeball it
2/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, 3 handfuls
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, a couple of handfuls, chopped
1 cup chopped arugula
Plain round toothpicks
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
2 cloves garlic, cracked away from skin
2 tablespoons butter
12 crimini mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour ( I left the flour out)
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup beef broth
1 rounded tablespoon tomato paste
I also added 2 C tomato sauce
Directions
Season meat with salt and pepper. Top each slice of meat with a slice of prosciutto. In a medium bowl, moisten bread crumbs with milk. Add grated cheese, onion, parsley, arugula, salt and pepper to the crumbs and combine well. Spread a thin layer of stuffing down the center of each beef slice and roll tightly. Fasten rolled meat with plain toothpicks.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to a hot pan along with garlic. Set meat into pan and brown on all sides, 6 minutes. Remove the meat from the pan. Add butter to the pan. Add mushrooms to the melted butter. Saute mushrooms 5 minutes. Add flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes. Whisk wine into the flour and mushrooms and scrape up pan drippings. Reduce wine 1 minute, then whisk in beef broth and tomato paste. Set meat back into sauce and reduce heat to medium low. Partially cover pan with a cover left ajar an inch. Simmer meat in sauce 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer beef rolls to a platter, removing toothpicks. Pour pan gravy down over the beef rolls and serve.

Pecan Tassies





Yield 5 dozen
Ingredients





2 cups butter
4 (3 ounce) packages cream cheese
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, mix together the butter and cream cheese until well blended. Beat in flour, 1 cup at a time, until the mixture forms a smooth dough. Roll into small balls, and press into the bottoms and sides of tart pans or mini muffin pans.
In another bowl, mix together the eggs, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the pecans. Use a spoon to fill each of the crusts 2/3 full with the filling mixture.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, until shell is light brown, and the filling has puffed up. Cool, and carefully remove from pans.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Chicken Soup




















This recipe is adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking.
1 1/2 cups already cooked chicken meat
6 cups water
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chunked
2 teaspoons gluten free chicken bouillon granules
1 cup broccoli florets
1 small onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 C celery, chopped
1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper totaste
3 C raw spinach leaves
Parmesan cheese for serving

Place all ingredients into the crockpot and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or until sweet potatoes are tender and the onion is translucent.

I made a gluen free pasta on the side and we placed the pasta in the bottom of the bowl and laddled the soup on top.

Garnish with parmesan cheese.

Apples and Pineapple Crockpot Dessert





















12 baking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
6 T brown sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 can of crushed pineapple, undrained
3/4 c water
Add all ingredients to a 7 quart crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until the apples are cooked to the desired consistency. serve with roasted walnuts on top.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Saint Joseph's Staff Cookies





















I followed the recipe for Saint Joseph's staff cookies as posted at Catholic cuisine except I used Bob's Gluten free baking mix for the flour.
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened (or half butter, half shortening)
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 egg
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
2 Tablespoons finely crushed peppermint candies
2 Tablespoons sugar

Stir together 1 cup sugar, butter or margarine, milk, vanilla, peppermint extract, and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Divide dough in half. Stir red food coloring into 1 half of the dough. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Heat oven to 375ºF.

Stir together peppermint candy and 2 tablespoons sugar; set aside.

For each candy cane, shape 1 rounded teaspoon dough from each half into 4-inch rope by rolling back and forth on floured surface. Place 1 red and white rope side by side; press together lightly and twist. For best results, complete cookies one at a time--if all the dough of one color is shaped first, strips become too dry to twist.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet; curve top of cookie down to form handle of cane.

Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until set and very light brown. Immediately sprinkle candy mixture over cookies. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. (Recipe from Betty Crocker).

Chicken L'Orange




















Ingredients:
8 Boneless skinlesschicken breast halves
1/2 cup Chopped onion
12 ounces Jar orange marmalade
1/2 cup Russian dressing
1 tablespoon Dried parsley, or to taste

Directions:

Place chicken and onion in slow cooker. Combine marmalade and dressing. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle with parsley. Cover. Cook on low 4-6 hrs. Serve with rice.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Stollen




For Saint Lucy's feast Day on Sunday I made this Stollen recipe. I substituted the Bob's Gluten free baking mix and I did not use the buttery sweet dough flavoring.

Pillsbury Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies


















1 (19.5-oz.) box Pillsbury® Brownie Classics Traditional Fudge Brownie Mix
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
4 oz. cream cheese (from 8-oz. pkg.), softened
1 egg
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 (16-oz.) can chocolate fudge ready-to-spread frosting

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, beat brownie mix, melted butter, cream cheese and egg 50 strokes with spoon until well blended (dough will be sticky).
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets to make 24 cookies; smooth edge of each to form round cookie.
3. In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and peanut butter with spoon until mixture forms a ball. With hands, roll rounded teaspoonfuls peanut butter mixture into 24 balls. Lightly press 1 ball into center of each ball of dough.
4. Bake at 350°F. for 10 to 14 minutes or until edges are set. Cool on cookie sheets at least 30 minutes.
5. Remove from cookie sheets. Spread thin layer of frosting over peanut butter portion of each cooled cookie

Cavatini























This recipe is from allrecipes.com. I made 1 pan with tortellini and another pan with gluten free pasta. Very tasty dish.




1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 yellow onion, chopped 2 cups sliced and quartered pepperoni 16 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste 1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced 1 cup rigatoni pasta 1 cup rotini pasta 1 cup macaroni 1 pound ricotta cheese 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
In a large saucepan, combine green pepper, onion, pepperoni, mushrooms, tomato paste, spaghetti sauce, and garlic. Cover, and simmer for one hour.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Mix together pasta, ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, and Parmesan. In a 9x13 inch baking dish, alternate pasta and cheese mixture and sauce mixture, ending with sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Italian Beef Sandwiches

















This recipe is from Cooking Light October 2009.


Ingredients
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (2 1/2-pound) rump roast, trimmed
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup coarsely chopped green bell pepper (about 1 medium)
8 (2-ounce) Italian rolls
Giardiniera (pickled vegetables), chopped (optional)
Preparation
1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large zip-top bag, and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

2. Place beef and marinade in an electric slow cooker; cook on LOW 8 hours or until beef is tender. Place beef on a cutting board (reserve cooking liquid); let stand 10 minutes. Thinly slice beef; place in a shallow dish. Pour cooking liquid over beef.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Slice rolls lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, other side. Hollow out top and bottom halves of rolls, leaving a 3/4-inch-thick shell; reserve the torn bread for another use. Arrange about 3 ounces beef and 2 tablespoons bell peppers on each roll. Drizzle 1 tablespoon cooking liquid over beef and peppers; top with giardiniera, if desired. Serve with remaining 2 1/2 cups cooking liquid for dipping.

Italian beef Sandwiches

This recipe is from Cooking Light October 2009.


Ingredients
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (2 1/2-pound) rump roast, trimmed
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup coarsely chopped green bell pepper (about 1 medium)
8 (2-ounce) Italian rolls
Giardiniera (pickled vegetables), chopped (optional)
Preparation
1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large zip-top bag, and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

2. Place beef and marinade in an electric slow cooker; cook on LOW 8 hours or until beef is tender. Place beef on a cutting board (reserve cooking liquid); let stand 10 minutes. Thinly slice beef; place in a shallow dish. Pour cooking liquid over beef.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Slice rolls lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, other side. Hollow out top and bottom halves of rolls, leaving a 3/4-inch-thick shell; reserve the torn bread for another use. Arrange about 3 ounces beef and 2 tablespoons bell peppers on each roll. Drizzle 1 tablespoon cooking liquid over beef and peppers; top with giardiniera, if desired. Serve with remaining 2 1/2 cups cooking liquid for dipping.

Italian beef Sandwiches

This recipe is from Cooking Light October 2009.


Ingredients
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (2 1/2-pound) rump roast, trimmed
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup coarsely chopped green bell pepper (about 1 medium)
8 (2-ounce) Italian rolls
Giardiniera (pickled vegetables), chopped (optional)
Preparation
1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large zip-top bag, and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

2. Place beef and marinade in an electric slow cooker; cook on LOW 8 hours or until beef is tender. Place beef on a cutting board (reserve cooking liquid); let stand 10 minutes. Thinly slice beef; place in a shallow dish. Pour cooking liquid over beef.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Slice rolls lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, other side. Hollow out top and bottom halves of rolls, leaving a 3/4-inch-thick shell; reserve the torn bread for another use. Arrange about 3 ounces beef and 2 tablespoons bell peppers on each roll. Drizzle 1 tablespoon cooking liquid over beef and peppers; top with giardiniera, if desired. Serve with remaining 2 1/2 cups cooking liquid for dipping.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Mini Panettones





















1/2 C mixed dried fruit( i used golden raisins, regular raisins and currants)
1/2 C Limoncello liquer
1 box ( 15.6oz.) cranberry quick bread
2 large eggs, 1/2 c whole milk
1/4 c salted butter, at room temperature
Heat oven to 350 degrees f. In a bowl combine the fruit and Lemoncello, let rest for 10-15 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the bread mix, milk, eggs, butter and fruit -liquer mix until blended. Divide batter evenly between 4 greased and coffee filter lined 8 oz. bowls. Place bowls on a jelly roll pan and bake for 45 minutes or until golden and centers come out clean. Let cool and either dust with conf. sugar or frost, if desired.

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas
















This recipe is from A Year of Slow Cooking.

3 lbs of chicken sliced into bite sized pieces
2 packets of fajita seasoning mix
2 onions, sliced
3 bell peppers, sliced
1/2 cup of water

The Directions.

Place chicken into the crockpot. Cut the onion and the peppers in strips, and add to the crock. Add the seasoning and water. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours, or high for 6.Serve with warmed tortilla shells, cheese, avacado, salsa and lettuce.
This recipe is a keeper, everyone loved the flavor.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Apple Butter in the Crockpot





















This recipe is from a Year of Slow Cooking. The recipe is super tasty and made the house smell so wonderful. The kids loved the flavor. This is a kepper.
Thank you for pushing me to make this. This beats the lid off of store-bought apple butter.

The Ingredients.
16-18 large apples fit in my 7 quart crockpot
--2 tsp cinnamon
--2 cups white sugar
--1 cup brown sugar
--1/2 tsp apple pie spice
--1 T vanilla

The Directions.

Peel and quarter the apples.Place all of the quartered apples into your crockpot. Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

When the cooking is done, mash the apples with a potato masher. Stir in the sugars, cinnamon, and cloves.
Cover again and cook on low for 6 hours. Allow to cool and serve.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Award Winning Chili

















The kids enjoyed this chili. They all had seconds and i think thirds! Thank you Lara From the Recipe Shoebox.

The ingredients:
2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. pork smoked sausage (They look like a pack of little wienies--see ingredient picture above)
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 tsp. salt
1 can (14-oz) sliced stewed tomatoes
1 (1.75-oz.) envelope of chili seasoning
1 cup water
2 cups ketchup
1 can (16-oz.) cut green beans, drained
1 can (7-oz.) diced green chilies
1 can (15-oz.) kidney beans, drained
2 cans (15-oz. each) pinto beans, drained

Garnishments: Sour cream, shredded cheese, crackers

In large skillet, brown beef and smoked sausages with onion. Drain off drippings. Add garlic cloves, pepper, jalapeno, salt, stewed tomatoes, chili mix, and one cup water. Simmer 15 minutes. While tomato/meat mixture is simmering, combine beans, chilies, green beans, and ketchup into a large stock pot (or crock pot). Add the tomato/meat mixture to the beans/ketchup mixture in the large pot and simmer for 2 hours, stirring frequently. Serves 8-9. Top each serving with sour cream and/or shredded cheese.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Creamy Vegetable Soup

















4 T olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic
4 carrots, diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
2 small zucchini, peeled and diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
4 C cooked mashed sweet potatoes
2 C chicken broth
2 C water
1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1T cumin
1T chili powder
1T coriander
1/4 C chopped cilantro
salt and pepper
parsley, chopped

Saute onion, carrots, celery, onions, green pepper, zucchini and garlic in oil until golden brown. Add water, tomatoes and chicken broth bring to a boil. Add sweet potatoes and seasonings . Turn to simmer and cook for 8 hours. Stir every so often.

Crockpot Falafels

















This tasty recipe is from A Year of Slow Cooking. I really enjoyed this recipe.
1 15oz can garbanzo beans , drain and rinse
- 1/2 onion, chopped
-1 T dried parsley
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 egg
- 1 t kosher salt
- 1/4 t black pepper
- 2 t ground cumin
- 1 t ground coriander
- 1/4 t cayenne pepper
- juice from 1 lemon (that's a lemon. a weird looking lemon, but a lemon nonetheless)
- 4 slices of gluten free tapioca bread
- 2 T olive oil (for the bottom of your crock)

In a food processor: pulse all ingredients except for the oil a few times to combine.
Pour 2 T of olive oil into the bottom of your crockpot stoneware insert.
Form falafel into golf ball sized portions. place on the bottom of crockpot and squish down a bit.

Cook on low for 4 hours.
I served with a yogurt sauce like Stephanie recommended. I used Greek yogurt, celery seed, dill, salt and pepper.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Snowman Birthday Cake





















For this cake I used Wilton's basic yellow cake recipeand a buttercream frosting. The cake came out cute, but i am a bit worried about how top heavy the cake is. This cake was featured on the front of Fmily Circle December 2009.

Crockpot Orange Chicken


















This recipe is from A Year of Slow Cooking. We all loved this dish. So easy and so tasty.

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, cut in 2-inch chunks
1/2 cup flour (I used Bob's all purpose gluten free Baking Mix)
olive oil, for browning the chicken
1 tablespoon kosher salt
6 ounces (1/2 can) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup
Dredge the chicken pieces with the flour, and shake off the excess.Toss out any remaining flour. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on the stove and brown the chicken on all sides. You do not need to fully cook it, just brown on both sides.
Place chicken pieces into your slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Taste. If you'd like the chicken to be a bit sweeter, add a touch more sugar. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss gingerly to coat.Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Serve over white or brown rice.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Crockpot Carnitas


















This delicious recipe is from allrecipes.com
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
2 bay leaves
2 cups chicken broth
Directions
Mix together salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, and cinnamon in a bowl. Coat pork with the spice mixture. Place the bay leaves in the bottom of a slow cooker and place the pork on top. Pour the chicken broth around the sides of the pork, being careful not to rinse off the spice mixture.
Cover and cook on Low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, about 10 hours. Turn the meat after it has cooked for 5 hours. When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker, and shred with two forks. Use cooking liquid as needed to moisten the meat.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Crockpot French Toast



















This recipe is from A Year of Slow Cooking. The kids seemed to enjoy this recipe. i halved the recipe and did not use nuts.


-1 whole loaf of bread
--1 dozen eggs
--2 t vanilla
--4 cups of milk
--1/4 t salt
--2 t cinnamon
--1/4 cup brown sugar
--1/4 cup walnuts, or other desired nuts

The Directions.

I used a 7 qt. Crock-Pot for this. Grease the inside of your crockpot with cooking spray. Layer bread slices in the crockpot, you can cut some slices in half to fit.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla together. Pour on top of the bread.

Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. This isTurn to warm for 1 hour and serve.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Ultimate Filled Peanut Butter Cookies


















This recipe is from Lara at the Recipe Shoebox.


1 bag of miniature Reese's peanut butter cups --FROZEN
1-1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco (no substitutions)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the Crisco, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla until it is smooth and creamy. Next add the dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place them in an UNgreased mini muffin pan.



Bake at 375° for 10 minutes.

Immediately press a FROZEN miniature Reese's PB cup into the center of each cookie--pressing down until the top of the candy is at the same level as the top of the cookie.



Allow to cool in the pan for at least 2 minutes before removing them. To remove, insert just the tip of a thin knife between the cookie and the pan. Allow to cool completely and the chocolate to reset before serving. Makes about 30-36 cookies (mini-muffin size).

Indian Chicken and lentils with Rice

















This recipe is from A Year of Slow Cooking. we were not overly crazy about this dish, it lacked something, maybe more spice?

2 cups lentils
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon corriander
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can diced chiles (hot or mild, your choice)--no need to drain
1 tablespoon dried parsley (or 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh)
4 large chicken breast halves

The Directions.

Rinse the lentils under cold water until it runs clear. Dump into the slow cooker. Add broth and water. Add diced onion and celery. Add all spices, the garlic, and chiles. Stir to combine.

Lay 4 chicken breast halves on top of the assembled food.
Cover and cook on low for about 7 hours, or on high for about 4. Before serving, remove chicken from the slow cooker, chop it up, and stir back in. Serve over basmati rice with corn tortillas.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Crockpot Cranberry Sauce





















This delicious and easy recipe comes from A Year of Slow Cooking.
12 oz cranberries (fresh or frozen)
--1/2 cup orange juice
--1/2 cup water
--1/2 cup brown sugar
--1/2 cup white sugar
--1/4 tsp cinnamon

The Directions.
I doubled this recipe and used a big 7 qt. crockpot.

Rinse off the cranberries and put them into your crockpot. Add the orange juice and water. I used fresh squeezed.
Add the sugar and the cinnamon. Stir. There will be an awful lot of liquid, and the cranberries will float .
Cover and cook on high. It will take about 3 hours. Stir ever 30 minutes or so. I wondered if the sauce would ever thicken. The sauce was still watery when I put it in the refrigerator and by the morning the cranberry sauce thickened and was wonderful.

Black Forest Cake























This recipe come from the book Cake Mix Magic in Minutes.
1 box Chocolate cake mix
2 x 20 ounce. cans Pitted cherries
1 c. Sugar
3 Tbsp. Cornstarch
1 tsp Vanilla
3 c. Whipping cream, chilled
1/3 c. Powdered sugar
Directions
Bake chocolate cake according to directions on box to make 2 9-inch cakes. Allow cakes to cold.
Meanwhile, combine cherries with just 1/2 c. liquid (drain remaining liquid off of cherries), sugar, cornstarch and vanilla in a saucepan and cook over low heat till mix thickens. Remove from heat and set aside.
Slice each cake layer in half horizontally. Crumble one of the halves and set aside. Beat cool whipping cream and confectioner's sugar till stiff peaks form.Place one half layer of cake on a plate and top with 1/3 of cherry mix followed by a layer of whipped topping. Place second layer of cake over the first and repeat with the second and third layer ending with cherries on top. Use remaining whipped cream to ice the sides of the cake. Use crumbled cake and press crumbs along the sides of the iced cake.

Paula Deen's Hoecake Recipe




















I got pretty good reviews on these hoecakes from the family. They smelled really good.
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup self-rising cornmeal, or from a mix (recommended: Aunt Jemima's)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup vegetable oil or bacon grease
Oil, butter, or clarified margarine, for frying
Directions
Mix well all ingredients, except for the frying oil. Heat the frying oil or butter in a medium or large skillet over medium heat. Drop the batter, by full tablespoons, into the hot skillet. Use about 2 tablespoons of batter per hoecake. Fry each hoecake until brown and crisp; turn each hoecake with a spatula, and then brown the other side. With a slotted spoon, remove each hoecake to drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Leftover batter will keep in refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Breakfast Burrito



















6 slices bacon
6 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
6 (8 inch)corn tortillas
6 slices Cheddar cheese
In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp; remove to paper towels. Drain, reserving 1-2 tablespoons drippings. Add eggs, salt and pepper to drippings; cook and stir over medium heat until the eggs are completely set. In a seperate skilllet warm the tortillas. Place 1 slice of cheese on each tortilla, a slice of bacon and eggs. Roll and serve.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Rachael Ray's Mu Shu Chicken Patties with Seared Napa Cabbage




















This recipe was flavorful, we did not need the hoisin sauce. I would definitely make this again.
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground chicken
4 scallions, finely chopped
One 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated or finely chopped
3 tablespoons tamari sauce (gluten free)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon grill seasoning, such as McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning (about a palmful)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small Napa cabbage, shredded
Salt
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Hoisin sauce, to pass around the table Directions:In a medium bowl, mix the chicken with the scallions, ginger, tamari, garlic and grill seasoning. Form into 8 small patties. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil, 1 turn of the pan, over medium-high to high heat until smoking. Add the patties and cook until well done, about 5 minutes on each side; transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet and heat to smoking, then add the cabbage and stir-fry until wilted. Season with salt and add the sesame seeds. Pile the cabbage on plates and serve with 2 chicken patties per person. Pass the hoisin sauce around the table.