Traditional Beef Stew

I have known for 6 years that my husband likes stew.  Fall would start to set in and he would say, “I just want a big bowl of meaty, hearty, stew.”  Unitl now, I have never made it for him.  Wife of the year (or past 6 years), I know.  But, we had stew meat and I figured I should show the guy some love. 
I was actually very very surprised.  It was so so good.  So good, in fact, that I will be eating leftovers for lunch today.  That says a lot.  First, I don’t usually eat lunch, and there are very few things that I like enough to have the next day for lunch.  (I do however, eat leftovers for dinner regularly….is that weird)
I got this recipe from my Taste of Home slow cooker book.  It is a real gem.  (naturally, I made a few changes)
Traditional Beef Stew
1 lb beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 lb carrots, cut
2 medium baking potatoes, cubed with skin on
1 medium onion, cut in to small wedges
1 15 oz can, stew tomatoes.  Do not drain. 
1 cup beef broth
1 celery rib, chopped
2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1. Combing all ingredients in a 3 to 5 qt slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, until meat and veggies are tender.
Enjoy!

Full Chicken Dinner in the Slow Cooker

My Grammy first told me about cooking a chicken in the slow cooker.  I will never to back to cooking it in the oven.  It is so moist and literally falls off the bone.  It is amazing.  You can season it any way you like.  I chose to stuff the body with onion and then season the skin with black pepper, garlic salt, and onion powder.

You first start by putting down 4 foil balls for the chicken to rest on.  Turn your cooker on low and spray it if you like.  I didn’t. 

Add your chicken, season and cover to cook on low 6-8 hours.  That is it!  How easy is that!! 
This time, I knew I would want some gravy to go on my side dish, so I put in a can of chicken broth and that made for a yummy gravy base with the chicken drippings.

This is the green bean and potato side dish.  YUM!!  This is the first time you 2 year old has liked green beans.  She is not picky by any means, green beans just usually are not her thing.  Tonight, she gobbled them up.  (Recipe below)

Look at that yummy cooked chicken!  The meat is separating on the leg.

The beans are done and ready to be devoured!

Yummy chicken dinner with gravy.  It tasted like a “cook all day Sunday dinner”.  But I was actually out of the house all day and just had to get out the plates come dinner time.
Green Beans and New Potatoes (Taste of Home)
1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
1 lb small red potatoes, quartered
1/2 lb medium fresh mushrooms, halved
1/2 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
1 cans beef broth
2 tablespoons beefy onion soup mix
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1. In a large slow cooker, layer the green beans, potatoes, mushrooms, and onion.  In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, pour over vegetables.  Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours until vegetables are tender.  Serve with a slotted spoon.

Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Growing up, this was my absolute favorite dinner.  Actually, it still is!  My mom would make this for me on my birthday.  She made this frequently, it reminds me of home.  Even the smell of the vinegar reminds me of her house.

I tend to like this best with my own homemade meatballs, but the store bough homestyle ones work great in a pinch.  Time to make more to store in my freezer.  I usually make about 5lbs to keep on hand.  Recipe coming soon.
This recipe is from my mom and then with the help of a few books, I doctored it to work in my slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs
24 oz frozen meatballs, I like home style
2 green bell peppers, diced
2/3 cup white vinegar
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup cornstarch
16 oz pineapple chunks, undrained
Hot rice for serving
1. Place meatballs (can be frozen still) and diced green peppers your slow cooker. 
2. Mix vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a small bowl.  Pour over meatballs and peppers.
3. Cover and cook on low 4 hours. 
4. Add in pineapple and juice.  Stir and cover to heat for 30 minutes. 
5. Serve with hot rice.  I like brown rice and a side of broccoli.
Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Beef Fajitas (5 stars)

My husband almost always order steak fajitas at our favorite Mexican Restaurant.  I don’t make fajitias very often.  I know they only take about 15 minutes to make, but those are 15 dedicated minutes over a skillet at the stove.  I need to have meal options that I can step away from the stove should I need to help a young one. 
This recipe suggested that I cook all of my ingredients on low for 6-8 hours.  I knew that I would not like my veggies overly soft and I didn’t want to run the risk of the meat getting dry.  So, I chose 4 hours on low (my cooker heats like a dragon and is always on the fast cooking side of the timeline).  I loved how tender yet crisp my peppers were and the meat was “fall apart tender” 
Next time, I will add some taco seasoning to give it a little stronger flavor, but as it, the recipe really was good.
For those of you with toddlers, you can put the filling in a tortilla like quesadilla.  My 2 year old gobbled it down this way.  Rolled fajitas are a bit hard for their hands to hold.
Slow Cooker Fajitas (Taste of Home)

Ingredients

• 1 each medium green, sweet red and yellow pepper, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 1 sweet onion, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 2 pounds beef top sirloin steaks, cut into thin strips
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 8 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• 8 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro

Directions

• Place peppers and onion in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Top with beef. Combine the water, vinegar, lime juice and seasonings; pour over meat. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until tender.
• Using a slotted spoon, place about 3/4 cup meat mixture down the center of each tortilla. Top with 1 tablespoon salsa, 1 tablespoon cheese and 1 teaspoon cilantro; roll up. Yield: 8 servings.

Minestrone Soup (slow cooker style)

Serve this sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and a slice of garlic bread.  Loaded with healthy veggies and warm for a cold, snowy day.

This recipe I was leery of.  I didn’t like Minestrone soup growing up, so I was not sure I would like this one.  But the picture in the cook book looked really yummy, and I had most of the ingredients on hand.  And let me tell you, I have already called dibs on this for lunch and I will be making it again for sure.
Don’t be afraid that it calls for chopped cabbage.  It really did taste good.  I didn’t get to add in the zucchini, there was none to be found.  I couldn’t even find chopped, frozen zucchini.  If you add this in, I am sure it is good.
This recipe comes from my Taste of Home Slow Cooker book.  400 recipes that are totally worth the $14 I spent on the cook book.
Forgotten Minestrone Soup

• Prep: 15 min. Cook: 7-1/2 hours
• Yield: 8 Servings

15 450 465

Ingredients

• 1 pound beef stew meat, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced dried parsley
• 2-1/2 teaspoons salt, optional
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground thyme
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 6 cups water
• 1 medium zucchini, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 cups chopped cabbage
• 1 can (15 ounces) garbanzo beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions

• In a 5-qt. slow cooker, combine the first nine ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat is tender.
• Add the zucchini, cabbage, beans and macaroni; cover and cook on high for 30-45 minutes or until macaroni and vegetables are tender. Sprinkle servings with cheese if desired. Yield: 8 servings (2 quarts).

Hello Slow Cooker!

I have two slow cookers, and I would have 2 more if I had a place to put them.  I love making a full meal with entree, side, and soup all with my slow cookers. 
This week, I am devoting my blog and recipes to slow cooking.  Seems like a lot of you are like me and don’t have a ton of time to stand at the stove making a meal.
So, stay tuned.  Tomorrow, I am making Minestrone soup. 
A trick that I use, is to prep everything at night after I put my girls to bed,   I get everything loaded in to my crock pot and stick the ceramic in the fridge.  Then, in morning, I can just pop it in the slow cooker shell and turn it on.  Sometimes, breakfast time is so busy that chopping veggies and cutting meat is not even going to happen.
See you all tomorrow for pictures, a recipe, and the review.
Here are all the ingredients you will need to make the 3 dinners this week that I will post
Forgotten Minestrone
1 lb beef stew meat
1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes
1 medium onion
2 Tbsp minced dried parsley
salt
pepper
1 1/2 tsp ground thyme
1 beef bouillon cube
1 medium zucchini
1 cups chopped cabbage
1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans
1 cup elbow macaroni
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Slow Cooker Fajitas
1 each: green, red and yellow bell pepper
1 sweet yellow onion
2 lbs beef top sirloin steaks
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
salt & pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 flour tortillas
salsa
cheddar cheese, shredded

Sweet and Sour meatballs
16 oz fully cooked meatballs
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp cornstarch
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 green bell pepper
8 oz pineapple chunks
cooked brown or white rice

Ranch House Pork Chops with Garlic Parm Mashed Potatoes

6 pink pork chops, waiting to be slathered in gravy

This meal was so fast, easy, and a hit with this family (who typically does not like pork)

Steamed broccoli is one of my favorite vegetables.  They seem to go with every meal.
I found this recipe on Pinterest (of course) and quickly found that there are about 6 different cooking blogs that have a version of this.  No wonder, it is THAT good.  I kind of adapted the measurements and amounts per my family’s preference. 
Ranch House Pork Chops with Garlic Parm Mashed Potatoes
6 pork chops 3/4 to 1 inch thick, thawed.
2 pkgs ranch dressing dry mix
2 (10 3/4 oz) cans cream of chicken soup
6 baking potatoes
2 garlic cloves minced
3 Tbsp butter, softened
1/4 cup low fat sour cream
1/4 cup low fat milk
1/4 cup dried parsley flakes
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
pepper to taste
salt to tastes
1. Place pork chops in bottom of crock pot.  Layer if you need.
2. Sprinkle ranch mix and 2 cans of soup on top of chops.  Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 5 hours. 
3. 30 minutes before ready to eat, peel, dice, and boil potatoes until soft.  I place my diced potatoes in a pot of cold water, bring to a boil and let boil for about 15 minutes until very tender but not yet mush.
4. Drain potatoes and transfer to a bowl and beat with an electric mixer.  I just used my kitchen aid.
5. When mostly mashed, add the butter, sour cream, milk, seasonings, and cheese.  Mix well.
6. Serve the pork chops and gravy over the potatoes and serve with a side of steamed veggies or salad. 
ENJOY!

Take This Dinner To Your Friends

I call this dinner, my “friend dinner".  In that, when friends have babies, are sick, or just need a meal to get through the week, this is what I take.  I am sure it has a real name, but “friend dinner” just works.

I put my chicken breasts in the crock pot still frozen. 

2 small cans mushrooms and 2 pkgs ranch dips mix

Add that all together with 2 cups water and 2 chicken bullion cubes, cook on low 6 hours

Stir in cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, and an 8 oz block of cream cheese.  Heat through

Serve that yummy, shredded chicken sauce over whole wheat rotini pasta (or any grain of your choice) and enjoy.  So so easy!
I like to take this to my friends piping hot with a side of steamed broccoli and a can of mixed fruit.  It is a gentle dinner for nursing mothers, a family with a bad cold, or a stressed out mom who just needs a comfort food meal.
Friend Dinner
4 chicken breasts, frozen
2 cups water
2 chicken bullion cubes
2 small cans mushrooms, drained
2 pkgs ranch dip mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz softened cream cheese.
Pasta or grain of your choice.
1. Add frozen chicken, drained mushrooms, ranch mix, water, and bullion cubes to crock pot.  Cook on low 6-8 hours. 
2. Remove chicken from pot and shred with a fork.  While you have the chicken out, whisk in the soft cream cheese and soups to the crock pot.  Let it get warm and smooth while you shred the chicken. 
3. Return the chicken to the crock pot and let it heat through.
4. While the chicken mixture is warming, cook your pasta, rice or quinoa how you like it.  Serve the chicken mixture over the top and include a side of veggies.  We like this with green beans or broccoli.
ENJOY!

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup (Crock pot)

This is my very first loaf of bread from my new bread machine.  YUM!

I wish you could smell my kitchen.  It is mouth watering.

Delicious basil and sweet tomatoes
I really like tomato soup.  When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I ate grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for lunch nearly every day.  I couldn’t get enough of it.  When I was pregnant with my second daughter, I couldn’t as much as look at a tomato or tomato product without getting sick.  Now that she is 7 months old, I am over indulging in the tomatoes.
It is still early winter for us here in Montana.  That means we have a LONG soup season.  This one will surely be added to the rotation as it was easy, very creamy, and loaded with good veggies.  It is a keeper for sure.
Tomato-Basil Parmesan Soup
28 oz diced tomatoes.  Do not drain them
1 cup finely diced celery
1 finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp dried basil
1/2 basil leaf (or one small leaf)
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cups warmed 1/2 & 1/2 (fat free works just fine if you are cutting calories)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1. Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion, oregano, basil, bay leaf, and broth to a large crock pot.
2. Cover and cook on low 5-7 hours.  Until the veggies are soft and the spices have really melded in.
3. About 30 minutes before serving, make a roux.  Melt the butter in a sauce pan over low heat and add the flour.  Stir constantly with a whisk about 5 minutes.  Keep it on low!
4.  Stir in 4 cups of soup very slowly alternating with stirring until smooth.
5. Return the roux to the slow cooker and stir.  Add in the parmesan cheese and warmed 1/2 & 1/2.  Add some extra basil and oregano if needed.  Slow cookers really do a number on spices, so give it a taste test.
6. Season with salt and pepper, stir, and heat through. 

Lasagna Soup

This soup was so yummy!  As soon as it was ready, we gobbled it up so there are no pictures.  But, trust me.  You will want to add this to your list of soups for the fall. 
I found this recipe on Pinterest of course.  You can see the original recipe here.  I adapted it to cook it in my crock pot. I also changed some amounts.  I did not want 3 cups of onions and I don’t like sausage.  So I used ground beef and just one onion.  The original recipe calls for fresh basil leaves chopped, but I used dry so I changed the amount there as well.  And I didn’t want it to spicy so I just used regular diced tomatoes.  I also prefer cottage cheese over ricotta….so of course, another adaption.  So really, I just used this as a guideline and did my own thing.  But thank you pinterest for the inspiration!  I cooked it for just 4 hours on high and it was perfect.  But you can also cook it on low all day if you are out of the house all day.

Lasagna Soup
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 onion chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
28 oz diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock
3 Tbsp dried basil leaves. 
8 oz mini fusilli pasta, cooked al dente
8 oz cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp salt
pinch ground black pepper to taste
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Mix the cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, salt and black pepper in a bowl and put in fridge until ready to serve.
Brown the ground beef and onion and add to crock pot.  Add remaining ingredients except pasta and mozzarella cheese.
Cook on low  6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours.   Add the cooked noodles very last and let heat through. 
Now just wait…..you will be drooling over how good this smells, but…..IT GETS BETTER!!
Scoop a spoon full of cheese mixture into bottom of your bowl.  Top with soup, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Stir that dreamy goodness up and devour.  Garlic bread and a side salad is great to add with it. 
You can thank me after you finish gobbling up a bowl 

Carmel Apple Cider

Even if you don't like cider, this makes the house smell amazing. 

1 large jug apple juice or apple cider
3 cinnamon sticks
Whipping Cream
Caramel topping

Simmer on high in a crock pot apple juice with cinnamon sticks. 
Enjoy in a tall mug topped with whipping cream and drizzled with caramel sauce.

This is always a hit on game night or Saturday nights after church.

Italian Mushroom Chicken

My husband loved this meal! He really loves mushrooms and wine sauces. I don't "love" wine sauces so this was just ok to me. I think I would really get excited about it had the wine been substituted with chicken broth. Yum!
Italian mushroom chicken4 chicken breasts
Fresh mushrooms sliced
1/4 c butter
1 pig Italian dressing dry mix
1 can cream of mushroom sou
1/2 c dry white wine
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup minced onion (1/4 cup if using dry)
Adapted from cleverly inspired blog. 1. Place chicken & mushrooms in slow cooker.
2. In a sauce pan, melt the butter. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat. Careful not to burn this sauce
3. Remove from heat and pour over chicken and mushrooms.
4. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. I served this with mashed potatoes and green beans. I will make it again.