Chicken-Vegetable Chowder

This one is a Pillsbury Annual Recipe. I've used a lot of theirs. Mostly they include crescent rolls. But this one doesn't. I made it while in the middle of pregnancy, so I wasn't really digging it. But Aaron said it was good, so I might have to make it again once my gag reflex is in check.

Ingredients

1 lb chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup carrots (chopped or baby carrots sliced in half)

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I used canned)

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp thyme

1 can (14 oz) chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup milk

3 tbsp flour

1 box (9 oz) frozen broccoli

In slow cooker, mix chicken, carrots, mushrooms, onion, water, garlic powder, thyme and broth. Cover; cook on low heat for 7 to 9 hours. About 35 minutes before serving, skim fat from slow cooker. In small bowl, beat soup, milk, and flour with wire whisk until smooth. Add soup mixture and broccoli to chicken mixture. Cover; cook on low heat setting 30 minutes longer or unti broccoli is tender.

I think you could easily adjust this to stovetop cooking if you didn't have time to start it early.

Crock Pot Roast

I know for most people roast is pretty darn basic and not exciting. For me, however, it's most intriguing. We did not eat roast growing up, and my first exposure to it I had mono (but didn't know it til the day after) and so needless to say, at the time it didn't taste great. I still don't think I would've liked it because it was a dry roast, which I've learned that I don't really prefer. However, after Emery was born, my neighbor and friend brought us dinner. It was a crock pot roast. I really, really liked it. We recently got a roast from my hub's family ranch and I had to do it right. So I emailed my old neighbor and got her recipe from her. This is what she sent me.

Ingredients
Roast
Onion Soup Mix
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Beef Bouillon
garlic, celery salt, onion powder, onion salt
Potatoes
Carrots

I use 1-2 (depending on the size of the roast, with my family size I usually use a 3-4lb. roast that I would use 2 for, but anything less I would use just one) envelopes of Lipton onion mix. 1-2 (matching how many envelopes you use) cans of cream of mushroom soup. I also like to add 2 beef boulion cube to the water. Add about 1-2 cups of water, I don't really measure it. Just enough to make it 1-2 inches deep in the crock pot. Then I like to set the crock pot on low for at least 6 hours preferrably 8. But if you want to just put a frozen roast in there you can do it for 12. I wouldn't recommend cooking them any faster unless you are doing it in the oven. Then you can do it for 3-4 hours at 250. If you do it in the oven seering the meat first is a good idea too. I just like putting a bunch of herbs on my roast like, garlic, celery salt (plenty of it, it's kind of the secret ingredient), onion powder, onion salt, pepper, Monteral Seasoning, beef bouillon (the other secrect ingedient :) Sometimes I add the cream of mushroom soup sometimes not. The the cooking instructions are the same.
I also add carrots and potatoes toward the end with at least 3 hours left.

So yes, the ingredients and instructions are a big broad. I'll give you a better break down of what I did. I don't know how much roast we had. It was big, so I assumed it was in the 3-4 pound category. (Although it had a bunch of bones, which wasn't fun to deal with. It was apparently a neck. Or was a neck.) So I did 2 cans of the cream of mushroom, 2 packets of onion soup mix, and added enough water to feel like it was sufficiently filled. Our crock pot is really big, so just use your gut on that. Then I peeled and cut up some potatoes. Just as many as you think would suit your size roast. Then I took my carrot sticks from my handy dandy peanut butter snack container and cut them all in half with my kitchen scissors.  As for the seasonings, I just sprinkled liberally. I did add the 2 bouillon. I didn't use any salts. I used garlic and onion powders. I try to reduce salts wherever possible. Just a personal thing. Our potatoes and carrots didn't end up fully cooked. The next time I did this, I put them in from the beginning. That worked well, although they probably didn't have to be in there that long. But I would put them in half way. It came out really tasty. I was very pleased. We've already cooked it again with the rest of our ranch roast. I rather enjoyed cooking a tasty roast.

Chili Upgrade

So we were making our normal chili but really wanted to make it a bit tastier, give it a little upgrade. So we combined it with the recipe for our white chicken chili and came up with something pretty yummy. It was kind of an on the fly recipe change, so bear with me. But I can still remember the gist of how we changed it. I know we started out with the original recipe.

Ingredients

1 lb. lean ground beef (or turkey)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 green sweet pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (Can't go wrong with more garlic either)
1 15-oz can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained (may use dried beans)
1 14 ½ oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
2-3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried basil, crushed
1/2 cup flax seed

Then we added some bits from the white chicken chili.
1 can of kernel corn

1 (4oz) cans diced green chiles
1 tbs ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

I want to say that was most of the additions.

Brown meat, chop veggies, toss it all in a crockpot and cook on high for 4-5 hours. You can saute your veggies before hand if you want to, as well.

Royal Round Steak

Well, this is a simple crock pot meal. It's really simple and tastes pretty good. To me, it was a bit too salty, but there's not much to edit to make it less salty. But with me, it could've just been that day. Aaron liked it so we're gonna keep it around. It was an all around easy and yummy dish.

Ingredients
1-2 lbs beef round steak or stew meat
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 envelope (1 oz.) dry onion soup mix (maybe they make a reduced sodium version? And I didn't buy a nice brand, just the X-stuff. Maybe that would make a difference to salt and flavor issues.)
2 cans (10 3/4 oz. each) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
Hot cooked egg noodles
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Trim round steak and cut into cubes. Partially frozen meat makes for easier cutting. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown meat on all sides. (Do not need to cook through, just brown sides.) Combine dry onion soup mix and canned soups in mixing bowl. Pour mixture into crock pot. (I just mixed it in the crock pot. No need to dirty a bowl.) Add browned meat. Cover and cook on high 6-7 hours. Spoon over egg noodles. Sprinkle with parsley.

Vegetable and Red Lentil Soup

This one came out great and I'm sure it's insanely healthy for you. Once you chop up the veggies it's one of the really easy dump-in-the-crock-pot-and-leave-it recipes. Love those.

Ingredients

1 can (14 ½ oz.) vegetable broth (Check sodium levels on those things. Some of them are insane. I found one with like 1/3 the sodium of the others. Same goes with chicken broth.)
1 can (14 ½ oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 medium zucchini or yellow summer squash (or 1 of each), diced (I used one of each)
1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced
½ cup thinly sliced carrots
½ cup red lentils, rinsed and sorted (may substitute with brown lentils)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp black pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil or thyme (I used basil. For no reason really.)
½ cup croutons or shredded cheese (optional)

Combine broth, tomatoes with juize, zucchini/squash, bell pepper, carrots, lentil, salt, sugar and black pepper in crock pot; mix well. Cover; cook on low 8 hours or on high 4 hours or until lentils and vegetables are tender. Ladle into shallow bowls; top with basil, croutons, and cheese.

Like I said, hearty and easy. I did make one mistake and cooked my basil with the soup. Although mine wasn't fresh, so it wouldn't be as potent I imagine. Anyway, it was good. And made me feel good for eating healthy. Yay for that.

Chili!

So here's your standard crock pot chili! I've been making crock pot meals on Sundays with our church starting at 1 this year and choir practice right after, there's not time for elaborate cooking when we get home. This came out great. Like I said, it's a standard chili, but there's nothing wrong with that. It's refreshing every now and then.

Ingredients

1 lb. lean ground beef (or turkey)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 green sweet pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (Can't go wrong with more garlic either)
1 15-oz can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained (may use dried beans)
1 14 ½ oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
2-3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried basil, crushed
1/2 cup flax seed

In a large saucepan, cook ground beef, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender; drain fat. Stir in kidney beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, basil and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes. -OR-
Cook ground beef, chopped onions, chopped green sweet pepper, and minced garlic. Drain fat. Combine in crock pot beef mixture; kidney beans, rinsed and drained; tomato sauce; diced tomatoes, undrained; chili powder; dried basil, crushed; and black pepper. Cover; cook on low heat for 8-10 hours or on high heat for 4-5 hours.

I made a few alterations to the recipe. It's a bit bulkier than the original (from Better Homes and Gardens.) I also used dried beans. I measured out two cups and then cooked them. This of course equaled more than 15 ounces of beans when they were cooked. However, with the added meat (it was originally 12 oz.) it's not super beany or anything.

We like to top our chili with cheese (cheddar or swiss) and/or saltines. Generally speaking, we also eat it with corn bread (coming next!)

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak ... in progress

So this one didn't come out like it should have. But we can tell it has tons of potential, so we're keeping it around. There are a few reasons why it didn't turn out. One, I bought less steak than it calls for, planning to half it, but really had to 1/3 it. But then I put the full amount of soy sauce in the slow cooker, etc. So it didn't come out like it ought to. And the picture isn't nearly as pretty as the one on the card I have. But, we're going to try it again, because like I said before, it has great potential. So here it is.

Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 lbs boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut into strips
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce (I would highly suggest finding reduced sodium)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 green bell peppers, cut into strips (mine are chopped. I forgot)
1/4 cup cold water
1 tbsp cornstarch
Hot cooked rice

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-low heat. Brown steak strips in 2 batches (or 1 if you pan is large enough.) Add garlic; cook and stir 2 minutes. Transfer steak strips, garlic and pan juices to crock pot. Add onion, soy sauce, sugar, salt, ginger and black pepper to crock pot; mix well. Cover; cook on low 6 to 8 hours or until meat is tender (up to 10 hours.) Add bell pepper strips during final hour of cooking. Blend water and cornstarch until smooth; stir into slow cooker. Cook, uncovered, on high 15 minutes or until thickened. Serve with rice.

As a note, I do not typically add salt to any of my recipes unless it is absolutely necessary. So although I may list it in the ingredients, my versions most likely don't use it. So you can use it or not.

Mac and Cheese!

Everyone loves a good mac and cheese. I have a few recipes that I've used and tried. This is definitely near the top. It is great because you can crock pot it, or stove top it. I love the versatility of that. Anyhow, it's a really simple recipe and makes great noodles. It's also the top of my mac and cheese reheat list. Anyone who's had Kraft knows that mac and cheese does not microwave well. This is my #1 microwavable mac and cheese. Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients
3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
2 tbsp butter
3 cups (24 oz) grated cheedar cheese (or sharp for different flavor. Or any combo of cheese equal to 24 oz)
20 oz. Evaporated milk
salt and pepper to taste
I added some cayenne pepper as well

Crock Pot:
Cook noodles, then toss in butter. Add to Crock pot with additional ingredients. Cook for 2-3 hours on high. Stir occasionally.

Stove Top:
Cook noodles, coat on butter. Add remaining ingredients and melt on medium heat, stirring regularly to avoid scorching.

This recipe is easily beefed up by adding peppers, mushrooms, meat products, etc. It's easy to get creative, but still yummy simple.

White and Black Bean Chicken Chili

So Sunday was a day of misfires in the kitchen. Thankfully last night we had a wonderful success, thanks to a recipe from Jared and Anita. I just call it White Chicken Chili. It's actually like a soup. But whatever you call it, it's good!

Ingredients:

* 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts halves, cut into 1 inch pieces
* 1 med yellow onion, chopped
* 4 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 tbs olive oil
* 2 (14.5oz) cans cannellini beans, (reserve liquid from one can) drained and rinsed
* 1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
* 2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
* 1 can of kernel corn
* 1 (4oz) cans diced green chiles
* 1 tbs ground cumin
* 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
* 3/4 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp black pepper
* 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or chili peppers of your choice, dried flakes, or diced. I like Serrano diced or dried red peppers. 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes will be medium spice, 1/2 tsp will be medium hot spicy. Typically, 1 Serrano pepper diced will make it medium hot spicy. Start less, you can always add more!!!
* 1/2 cup heavy cream or 3/4 cup milk

Saute the onion, garlic, chili peppers of your choice, cumin, and oregano in a large pot with medium hot oil for 2-3 minutes. Push to side of the pot and add chicken. Cook the chicken until it's no longer pink on the outside. Add all remaining ingredients, including reserved white bean liquid, except the cream or milk. Increase heat to med-high; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low; simmer 10 mins or until heated through. After it's heated. Remove from heat and add cream or milk. Serve with cheese, fresh cilantro, and sour cream. Can also be made in a crockpot. After cooking the chicken, onions and garlic, put all the ingredients, except the cream or milk, into a crockpot and let cook for the day. Add cream or milk before serving.

This stuff is killer good. We ended up adding more seasoning than it calls for (well, Aaron did) so ours had some real kick to it, but I think it would've been perfect just the way the recipe is. We used milk and cayenne pepper. We also ended up not using the liquid from the can of beans (because I put cutting board remnants in the can on accident.) Definitely a keeper still!

 

The only cheese we had was cheddar, but I think it would've been better with a white cheese. Swiss, maybe Monterrey or Colby. Cilantro definitely would've been an awesome addition. We just didn't have any at the time.