My New Favorite

So we've been in a major boring cycle of eating the same things over and over that are easy and stuff I don't have to think to much about. But in the mix of those, we've been eating THIS a lot. My mother-in-law tried it and I fell in love and now we make it all the time.

On her link it shows the stove top way. I've made it in the crock pot and it works out just fine as long as you have that extra cup of water with the juices for the last few steps.

Give this one a try and don't forget the queso fresco!

Chicken with Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

This is another from the Grandma Naylor collection. She is an excellent cook and I love collecting recipes from her.

Sorry for the picture, the lighting is all wrong, but I can't do much about the time of day or the light that comes in my window.

This is so easy, so quick and is a crock pot meal. All great qualities in a recipe.

Recipe:
4 chicken breasts - I used about 8 chicken tenders
onion and garlic powder
salt and pepper
4-6 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into about 1/4" slices
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c sour cream
*You can use the low or non-fat versions of both the soup and sour cream to lighten this meal up. And if you're like me and like things with lots of sauce, double this!
Season the chicken with the onion and garlic powder and salt and pepper. Brown both sides in about 2 T heated oil. Set aside. Spray crock pot with cooking spray. Mix the soup and sour cream. Place a layer of sliced potatoes in the bottom of the crock pot and lightly season with salt and pepper. Spread a thin layer of the soup mixture over the the potatoes. Continue with all the potatoes, then place the chicken on the top and spread the remaining soup mixture on top. Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

San Francisco Chops

I've been trying a lot of new recipes lately and came across this one... The kids ate it. My husband loved it. It's a crockpot meal =easy. So many great things. The recipe calls for low-sodium soy sauce. I had regular on hand, so that's what I used. Next time I will be using low-sodium. The sauce turned out a bit salty, but still delicious. Also, DOUBLE the sauce. Even triple if your the saucy type. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Five Hour Stew

We just had THIS for dinner. It's one of those perfect winter time meals. I throw the celery and onions in the food processor so my kiddos don't know they're there and all goes well. I served them with THESE, which I had to learn how to make once I married into my husband's family. This is a true 'comfort food' meal.

This meal also works well in the crock pot, just follow the same instructions, but cook on low for u8 hours in your slow cooker. In the winter, using my oven helps keep my house warm on a cold day.

Smothered Pork Burritos

I think this would be Kev's favorite meal and definitely one of mine too. Every time we eat it, we think of something new to try and it always turns out great! The long recipe may seem like a lot of work, but it pulls together faster than it looks and the meat cooks in the crock pot. Worth every minute of work though!

You'll need:
1 recipe of shredded pork

1 recipe lime rice

2 cups shredded cheese, we like Pepper Jack, but Colby Jack and Cheddar are also great.

8-10 flour tortillas and we highly recommend the ones you cook yourself!

PORK: (We like pork , but I've used chicken and beef would be great too)

3 lb pork roast- buy whatever is the cheapest!

1 lg can of green chile enchilada sauce

1 med onion- diced

1 tsp kosher salt

4 crushed garlic cloves

1 sm can green chiles

1/2 bunch chopped cilantro

Pour half the enchilada sauce in the bottom of the crockpot. Put in the meat. Cover the meat with all the remaining ingredients. The pour the rest of the sauce over the top. Cook on low for 8 hours. Pull meat out and allow to rest. Puree the sauce in a blender, which sounds like a pain, but it needs it. I've tried without and the flavors don't meld quite as well. If the sauce still needs a little thickening, just reduce it in a saucepan on the stove. Shred the meat and mix with about a 1/2 cup of the sauce.

Lime Rice (we've also used Taco Rice, which is a Lipton Rice packet. That's really good too, just depending on the flavor you want.)
3 c chicken broth
1 1/2 cups rice
2 tsp lime zest
2 garlic cloves- crushed
1 T butter
black pepper
Cook all ingredients together, either in a rice cooker, or according to rice directions. When finished, stir in the juice of one lime and 2 T chopped cilantro.

Assembly:
Cover the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan with sauce from meat. In a tortilla layer 1/4 cup rice, 1/4 cup meat and sprinkle with cheese. Roll or fold and place in pan. Repeat with all the tortillas. Pour sauce over the top of the finished burritos. You probably won't need it all, but there's no shame if you want to. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 min or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Perfect Pulled Pork

I've seen this recipe in just about every magazine I flip through. It looked good and easy, so we gave it a whirl. It was well worth it. This is one of the best new recipes I've tried in a long time!

The recipe was from the people that do the 'pork, the other white meat' ads. You know the ones. So I guess they really know what they're talking about. We topped ours with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, and it was perfect pulled pork.

Recipe:

5 lbs boneless pork butt shoulder (I did not buy this much and I used a picnic roast)

1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c water (I used less since I had a smaller roast)

soft sandwich buns

Combine all seasonings in a small bowl and rub evenly over roast. Place meat in 6 qt slow cooker. Add water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hrs or high for 4-5 hrs until pork is very tender. Place pork on cutting board or platter and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Pull, slice or chop to serve. Serve on buns with BBQ sauce.

I probably would have just tossed all the meat with sauce, but I used the left over meat for quesadillas the next day and didn't want BBQ pork for those. Either way would work great!

Teriyaki Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This is an easy crock pot dinner that only requires a few ingredients. I think I got it from some magazine, but I don't really remember. It's been too long.

Start with a pork roast. Top it with some diced onions, teriyaki sauce and pineapple juice.

After it has cooked all day, pull the roast out and shred it.

Top it with some pineapple slices, served on buns and served with garden fresh veggies.

Perfect summer meal.

Recipe:

3 lbs pork shoulder roast (or whatever is on sale)

1 c finely diced onion

1 c teriyaki sauce, divided (if you can find low sodium, use it)

1/2 c unsweetend pineapple juice (I use the juice from the can of slices, and just save the slices)

3 T flour

sliced pineapple

Place the roast in the crock pot with onions. Pour over 1/2 c teriyaki sauce and pineapple juice. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. About 45 minutes before you are ready to eat, pull the roast out onto a plate. Mix the remaining 1/2 c sauce with the flour and whisk it into the crock pot. Cover and cook that on high for 30-40 minutes allowing the juices to thicken. Shred the meat and return to the crock pot to warm it through. Serve on buns, topped with pineapple slices.