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.

Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

I got this recipe from my really great friend, Whitney. We've loved it and it's one of those fun ones you can make with whatever you want. This is the vegetarian version, but it would be good with some seasoned ground beef or shredded chicken. It goes together fairly quickly and has lots of great flavor. We served ours with some fresh guacamole, but you could top it with anything.

Recipe:
4 flour tortillas
1 jalepeno- minced (for less heat, take out ribs and seeds)
1/2 onion- diced
2 garlic cloves- minced
1/2 tsp cumin
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed (we used one black, one red- it added good color)
1 1/2 c water
1 can corn-drained
2 1/2 c cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 9" pie pan. Heat 2 T oil in skillet. Add onion, jalepeno, garlic and cumin. Season with a little salt and pepper, cooking til onion and pepper are soft. Add beans and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until almost all the water is absorbed and then stir in the corn. Remove from heat. Layer in you pie pan, tortilla, 1/4 of the bean mixture, then cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Bake for 20-25 min, until heated through and cheese is melted. Serve sliced into wedges with whatever you want!

You can make this in the morning and refrigerate until ready to cook. Just add 5 minutes to cooking time. Great if dinner time is always busy time!

Best-Ever BBQ Chicken

I got this recipe in the mail from "CookingMyWay". The picture looked good, so we gave it a whirl.
The kids devoured it! It was just me and the kids and they polished every piece of chicken I cooked and I had even tossed in a few extra tenders just to finish off the pack. Served with mashed potatoes and gravy (even if it was just a cheap packet mix) and corn, this was a hit!

Since I was husbandless, we chose to broil the chicken instead of grill, which worked just fine. If you choose that route, put foil on your pan. I did and was glad I did. The extra sauce that dripped down burns quite a bit with the heat from the broiler and it made clean-up easy!

When we have this again, because the kids said they would be sure to remind me to make it again, I want to try it grilled. Grilling would make this a great summer-time meal.

Oh, and don't bother making extra for dipping. I did and it wasn't very good. It has a very strong ketchup flavor and really needs the heat to carmelize the brown sugar. Let me know what you think!

Recipe:
1/4 c ketchup
3 T cider vinegar
1 T worcestire sauce
2 tsp brown sugar-firmly packed
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp black pepper (my kids thought this was too much, I'd do a dash)
3 skinless chicken thighs
3 skinless chicken legs (I bagged both and just use tenders)

Preheat grill to medium heat or turn on broiler. Place a rack 3 inches from the heat.
Combine all sauce ingredients, except pepper, in small sauce pan. Mix well and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stirring constantly, until thickens, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add in pepper.
Brush some sauce on one side of the chicken. Place the chicken sauce side down on the grill or sauce side up under the broiler. Grill or broil, turning and basting with remaining sauce until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear, about 6-8 min on each side.

Chicken and Rice

I think everyone has a version of this and most of them are good. This one is one of those really quick and easy dinners that you almost always have the ingredients for in your pantry and fridge. I grew up with this meal and it proved itself again in my home. Not on my 'healthiest dinners' list, but we all need a few meals that are fast, delicious and a hit with the kids. A great meal when you don't want to think about dinner.


Chicken and Rice
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of celery
1 can of water
1 cup uncooked minute rice
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter or margarine
salt and pepper
chicken breasts or tenders

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix all the ingredients except the chicken, seasoning with the salt and pepper (you can always add more later, don't over do it). Pour the soup mixture into a 9x3 and then settle the chicken into the mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through, uncovering for the last 10 minutes.


Another great thing about this dish is it's easy to play with. The regular recipe isn't quite enough for my family and leftovers for my husband's lunch the next day. So I thrown in an extra can or two of the soups I have and maybe another cup of rice and can of water. Only put as much meat as you'll need, and if you want to stretch your dollar, cut the chicken into bite size pieces and mix it in with the soup.


Serve with a green salad or a whatever veggies you have. Enjoy!

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.

Potato, Egg and Cheese Skillet

We loved this! It started out as a recipe from Kraft, but it needed a little help, so we tweaked it and were quite pleased with how it turned out. Served with grape juice, it was perfect.

Recipe:

3 T melted butter

1 pkg dry Ranch seasoning

3 med-lg potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly

1 T oil

6 eggs, beaten

salt

pepper

2-3 slices of thick sliced ham, diced

1 cup grated cheddar cheese (or whatever you cheese you like or have on hand, I used white cheddar, and that was awesome)

Toss the potatoes with the melted butter and Ranch seasoning. Stirring until well coated. Heat the oil in a large skillet, over med heat. Pour seasoned potatoes into the skillet. Cover and cook until browned and fork tender, stirring often to avoid sticking (about 15 min). Generously season the eggs with the salt and pepper and pour over potatoes, top with diced ham and cover. Cooking until the eggs are set, do not stir (about 8-10 min). Sprinkle with cheese and cover again, cooking until melted.

This is a good one to mix it up with. You could substitute the ham for cooked sausage or bacon. Try a different seasoning packet with the potatoes. Whatever sounds good. This was really easy and really good. Perfect for a busy weeknight!