Gonna Roast Me a Chicken...or not!

oh, I do love a good oven roasted bird...and in the winter it's nice to have the oven on and the smells of cozy food floating about...
but sometimes you need to run an errand...
or you know that the chicken will need to go into the oven half way thru piano lessons/baseball games/doctor appointments all the way across town....

how, oh how, to have a nice Herb 'Roasted' Chicken on the table for dinner when you will be walking in the door just minutes before you plan to eat?

...maybe Herb-Crocked Chicken is better...
so many...maybe all...of our time honored roasting recipes can be easily turning into crock pot favorites....

this is any easy chicken and so nice on a cold winter day...
and also very doable for a roasting July day when the concept of turning of the oven is horrifying!

you can use dried or fresh herbs for this recipe...thinking I might plant a herb garden this year....

Herb-Crocked Chicken
1 3-3/12 lb whole chicken (you can also use breast or chicken pieces...)
2 Tbs butter-soften
2 cloves garlic-grated or minced
if using fresh herbs
1/2 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup chopped sage
1/4 cup chopped thyme
1/4 cup rosemary-stripped off the stem
if using dried herbs
1 tsp basil-crushed
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
for both
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 tsp pepper or lemon pepper

veggies-optional...potatoes, carrots, celery

1.  Rinse inside of chicken and remove all the gross weird parts, and trim off any excess fatty skin or dangling things...Place breast side up into crock...Rub chicken with softened butter and then rub garlic over the top.
2.  In small bowl stir together herbs and seasonings, rub onto chicken and if using fresh herbs place 1/2 of mixture into the cavity of the bird.

found the package of 'Poultry Medley' herbs at the store and added some basil

you may want to pierce the chicken a few times so the flavors will get inside

3.  If using veggies place around the bird.  Cook/Roast/Crock (not sure of the terminology for the cooking in the crock) on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

sure does look cozy in the crock

If you would like to check bird for done-ness uncover and place a meat thermometer into center of thigh (not touching a bone) and cover crock back up with lid or foil while the thermometer reaches the temp of 180. blog note...I had trouble with the meat thermometer take an accurate reading inside the crock, once I took the bird out and covered it to rest it read the right temp...
4.  Remove from crock, cover with foil and let bird rest for 10 minutes before carving.

to make a gravy
melt 1/4 cup butter in pan
whisk in  1/4 cup+ flour, salt and pepper until you have a ball
then slowly add the broth from the crock (about 2 cups)
cooking and stirring over medium heat, until you get the consistency and amount that you desire
if needed season with more salt and pepper.

our self-imposed-sometimes-vegetarian-because-meat-has-weird-textures daughter gobbled this up AND had seconds...

serve with whatever you want...
mashed potatoes or the potatoes and veggies you roasted with the chicken...
or a nice spinach salad and some bread
steamed broccoli or asparagus
potato or pasta salad....
baked potatoes...

have you 'roasted' a chicken in the crock pot before...did you use a time honored recipe or a newbie?

Sweet-n-Sour Beans

this is an old family recipe...
well, maybe not old...but it's a recipe that I have found memories of from childhood and make it for my family and they love it...

it's a fast one to throw together with stuff you usually have in the pantry and you can 'ad-lib' the recipe a bit...
and it also does well in the crock pot...
it can be a main dish or a side...
beef or vegetarian....

love the versatility of this recipe...

Sweet-n-Sour Beans
1 lb ground beef (optional if you're going the vegetarian route!)
1 onion chopped (optional)
2 stalks celery chopped (optional...I just forget these sometimes...so focused on the beans)
3-5 cans of beans*, drained and rinsed,
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup ketchup
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup vinegar
water

brown the ground beef with the onion and celery in a medium pot, drain. (or put into crock pot)
add the rest of the ingredients, may need to add a can or two of water depending on the consistency you want...I prefer a heartier recipe so I don't usually add any...
stir and bring to boil, simmer for about 20 minutes before serving...you can cook for longer...the longer the better the flavors will be.
or in the crock for as long as you need...high for 3 hours, low for up to 10....

* use all or a mixture of what you have in your pantry or what your family likes...
I usually chose based on color, the more variety the better, this is the norm...1 can kidney, 1 can black, 1 can white (great northern or white kidney), 1 can green beans
other options are pinto beans, garbanzo beans, butter beans, black eyed beans, etc...I would steer clear of any bean that has been flavored like a chili bean...

~this is great with cornbread for dinner
~as a side at a bbq or potluck
~with meat/without meat this is hearty and filling!

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

love an easy chicken dinner with less than 5 ingredients?

and that makes your house smell delish....

BBQ Chicken sandwiches
1 whole chicken (you can use breast or any other chicken pieces that you want)
favorite BBQ sauce (or the one that's in your fridge)
sweet peppers (optional)
rolls
cheese

Rinse off the chicken and get rid of all the gross nasty stuff they put inside...why do they do that...does anyone actual use the neck anymore???
cut off tops of peppers if using them and clean...

place chicken and peppers in crock pot
pour BBQ sauce over the top

high for 5 hrs, low for 8

carve and shred chicken and toss with more BBQ sauce
place on warmed rolls and top with slice of cheese (we used swiss)
....
devour!

sorry I didn't get a better picture, I was hungry and had been smelling the chicken all day...so I snapped a quick pic and gobbled it up...I had plans to take a picture of the chicken all shredded before it went on the rolls...but that also didn't happen...

I've said it before...I think...
but a whole chicken in the crock pot is amazing...real moist chicken and so very tender...I think this bird was in the crock for almost 10 hours and I was worried it was going to be dry, it was fall off the bones tender and melted in our mouths...so good...
I went to make a sandwich the next day with the leftovers and the husband had almost finished it off!

Better Than Taco Bell

and that IS a complement from my children....

Yeah, I know pretty sad...
and seriously they might get a trip to the Bell twice a year...at the MOST!

but hey, if they think that's a complement and they devour the food...and it's a lot healthier than the Bell...then I'll make it over and over again...

Here is my recipe for any meat that you need for a mexican'ish type dinner...
ground beef, shredded beef, chicken, pork...works for them all...
and the meat is great for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos, taco salad, you get the idea...

it's a wonderful throw down meal, three ingredients...
and you don't have to make this in the crock, you can do it on the good ol' stove if you forgot to put it in the pot before you walked out the door in the morning!

so for the sake of the recipe I will use ground beef

Taco/Mexican'ish Meat
1 lb ground beef
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 package onion soup mix
1/2 cup water

put all into your crock pot, stir and set on low for up to 8 hours or high for 4 hours...stir whenever you think of it, if you're home...if not, no big deal...

if you want more meat just double the taco seasoning add a little more water, I wouldn't add more onion soup mix until you get to 3 lbs meat...

I have done with with a beef and a pork roast and shredded (or pulled) the meat with a fork when it's done, so good...or a few chicken breast and shred or cube up when it's all done...all ended with the same 'complement' from the kids....

and I usually double the meat and put the leftovers in the fridge for another meal later in the week...but we do eat Mexican a lot around here!

love the pig

just wanted to share a really fast, easy and delishious meal that I got from my friend Rayna...

not even sure what she calls it...

it's pork
it's roast
it's in the crock pot
it's mexican in flavor-mild but mexican....

maybe Pulled Pork Tacos???

and it's so beautiful in it's simplicity!

4 ingredients...5 if you count water as an ingredient?!

Pulled Pork Taco Meat
1 (or 1/2 of one) Pork Shoulder Roast
2 cups water
2 tsp cumin (the secret 'mexican' flavor...this should be a MUST in your spice rack if you like mexican food!)
1 small onion chopped
2-4 cloves garlic chopped

place all into your crock pot, cook on low for 4-8 hours, the meat will just fall of the bone and almost shred itself!

serve as taco meat...or any other meat you need for any other mexican dish, burritos, nachos, enchiladas, taquitos, quesadillas,  taco soup (I actually saved the 'broth' from the crock pot and plan on making taco soup later this week with the broth and left over meat!)...

now that's a bowl of meat!  YUMMY!

Pork...it's what's for dinner

Here is the easiest recipe that you'll ever make...my entire family LOVES it and it's also really easy to take to a potluck or to a family with a new baby...it has 3 ingredients...yes you read that correctly ONLY 3!

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches
pork roast
bbq sauce
sandwich rolls

place your pork roast and bbq sauce into the crock pot, how much sauce...until it covers the roast, you can't have too much...and you can also add more at any time...cook on low for 6-8 hrs or high for 4 hrs...

pull the pork with 2 forks until it resembles shredded pork (aka pulled pork)

serve on sandwich rolls...

couldn't be easier!

No-Name Chicken...

This recipe stared out a few weeks ago. 

I had a Mothers Day Craft Fair that I was doing with a few friends...

Jody from TheSmithHotel and Rayna from Gotcha' Covered

and I knew after a day making bank (um...yeah...I made $3...) and sitting in the sun I was not going to want to think about dinner when I walked through the door...

...and my husbands good for a lot of things but thinking of dinner before he plans on eating it is not one of his specialties!  ...

So I looked in my fridge and saw a whole chicken and a jar of salsa sitting right next to it...

hmmm.

and thus the Chicken with No Name was born...

names I'm thinking about...

Salsa Chicken, Tex-Mex Chicken, Mexi-Chicken, No Name Chicken

1 whole Chicken (or 2-4 chicken breasts)

1/2 jar of salsa

1 tsp cumin powder

1 can of black beans, drained (optional)

1 can of corn, drained (optional)

place all in crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours...

I pulled all the chicken off the bones and we had chicken tacos...

you could make some rice and just serve this over rice, I made another version yesterday with just chicken breast since that's what I had...and we used the chicken for taco salad bar....

Could it Get Any Easier?

Okay, I've already shared my crazy Wednesday's with you and that I the only way that Wednesday's are manageable are with wonderful throw-down meals....I also love a great crock pot meal and when the two become one and you have an throw-down crock pot meal, well, I just love those days...

here is a recipe that my friend Jennifer Lorenzen shared with me via facebook...

Cheese Tortellini with Meatballs

24 oz frozen meatballs ( I used turkey meatballs)

26 oz tomato basil pasta sauce

1 1/2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend

9 oz refrigerated cheese tortellini

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves chopped

Put meatballs, cheese, pasta sauce in crockpot. Cook on low 8-10 ho urs. Put pasta in 1 hour before done. Top with basil and serve.

This was SO good...and Beau finished up the leftovers today for lunch, not even heating it up..

Serve with Garlic Cheese French Bread (just discovered wheat French bread...just as good and better for us!) and steamed asparagus.

Thanks Jennifer, my family LOVES this recipe!

hmmm...old family recipe

okay...I'm going to break down and share my family's chili recipe...

My mother has always made the best chili...everyone LOVES my mom's chili...

I move out...get married...

and make some chili following the recipe in good ol' Betty Crocker

(my mom's favorite go-to cook book...and mine)...

FAIL...

try again...

this time going to my second go-to cookbook...

Better-Homes-and Garden's cookbook...

FAIL...

don't worry, I will figure this out...so I got online and found a few recipes

(not as many recipe sites 12 years ago as there are today)...

try a few more times...

Fail...Fail...FAIL!!!

okay, so I call up mom...

"Hey, Mom, can you tell me your secret chili recipe..."

...

and now here it goes...

I'm unleashing the famous chili recipe that's been passed down generation-to-generation...

(okay from my mom to me...but I'll pass it on to my children someday!)

ChambersMade Chili...(okay RobertsMade...or maybe ShelbyMade???)

1 lb ground beef (more or less depending on how beefy you like your chili

1 sm onion, chopped

1 sm call tomato sauce

2 cans water

1 can pinto beans, drained

1 can diced tomatoes

1 package Carroll Shelby's Chili mix (can find at almost any grocery store)

1.  Brown ground beef in pan with onions.  drain fat and add remaining ingredients...I ONLY use the seasoning packet out of the Carroll Shelby's mix not the chili powder or the masa powder or the salt...follow the directions on the package...

...

depending on my day I either make this 30 minutes before dinner (it only takes 30 minutes, 25 of that with you just walking thru the kitchen every once in awhile and stirring the pot)...or I throw it in the crock pot mid morning some time...today was a crock pot morning...

top with cheese & sour cream

Serve with corn bread..

use leftovers for a baked potato bar...

...

do you have any favorite "family recipes" that you found out weren't so secret???

That's Some Garlic!

Tuesday nights we are currently hosting a Bible/Book study at our house and one of the couples that comes has been coming early and having dinner with us...we were having dinner with them about once a week before we started the Bible study so why not continue...

Anyways...yesterday I knew I was going to be running around all day with appointments and meetings and school drop off's and pick up's and piano lessons...etc...

so I turned to my trusty side-kick "Crocky"...

my crock pot...

and made a family favorite (given to me by my good friend Rayna)...

40 Garlic Chicken...

okay, that sounds like a little much right...

40 cloves of garlic?  Really...  The chicken does have a garlic taste, but it's not overwhelming AT all it's more the smell then the anything and your house might end up smelling like a vampire graveyard...but well worth it!

40 Garlic Chicken

1 (4-lb) whole chicken

2 stalks celery, cut into 3-inch pieces

1/2 tsp. black pepper

40 cloves of garlic, unpeeled

2 springs of fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, fresh sage & Italian parsley

Place 1 sprig thyme, rosemary, sage & parsley in chicken cavity. Place chicken in crock pot on top of celery and add the garlic around chicken. chop remaining herbs, sprinkle herbs and pepper over chicken. Cook on low 8 to 10 hours and on high 3 1/2 to 5 hours.

Squeeze the roasted garlic out of skin and use on French bread...ENJOY!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So this is how the recipe was given to me...but I have yet to have all the fresh herbs when I make it, so I use the ones that I have and then toss in some dried ones as well...

This chicken is so good and not overwhelmingly garlicky like you might think...I promise

and what to do with all that garlic when the chicken is done???

take a few (or 20) garlic cloves out, press with with a fork in a bowl and spread it on a loaf of french bread...and then sprinkle with cheese...yummy...

Serving options...

*Garlic Bread (of course!)

*Garlic Rice: sauted 1 cup of rice in 2 Tbs of butter until rice is white add 2 cups of the chicken broth from the crock pot and 1/2 tsp of salt, simmer for 20 minutes (if you don't get enough broth from the crock pot just add enough water to make 2 cups!)...

*Smashed Potatoes using some of the chicken broth to flavor them

*Tortillni Salad-recipe coming soon...(it's what our company brought as the side dish...thanks Rayna!)

*Steamed Veggies

You Can Do That in the Crock Pot?

Back in October I decided to challenge myself to see how many meals I could make in the crock pot and was interested in how it would effect our grocery budget and eating out.

I discovered a few things...

*I love my crock pot

*you can make lots of stuff that you would never think using the crock pot

*my grocery bill didn't really go down, but our eating out did, because I was making an effort to have a menu, shop off that menu and then if I made dinner at 9 am it was easier for our lifestyle then if I started dinner around 4...

*if a recipe is cooked on High for a certain length doesn't mean that you can turn the crock pot on low and double the cooking time...sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't...this recipe is one it DOES NOT work on!  Believe me I tried!

Cheese Shells and Kielbasa in the Crock Pot

2 (11 ounce) cans condensed Cheddar cheese soup

2 3/4 cups water

1 (16 ounce) package uncooked shell pasta

1/2 pound kielbasa, sliced into rounds

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

salt and black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1.Stir the condensed soup and water together in a slow cooker until smooth. Add the shell pasta and kielbasa sausage. Set the slow cooker to High; cook 2 hours, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

2.Once the pasta is tender, stir in the sour cream, Cheddar, and mozzarella until the cheeses melt. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and allow to rest 15 minutes before serving.

Serve with steamed broccoli and applesauce...

Is there any recipes that you would like to try in the crock pot?  Let me know...

and what is the weirdest thing you've ever made in the crock pot?

a Necessary Evil

People ask or tell me all the time,

"you must love to cook," or "you must be a good cook."

...

these are weird statements and or questions for me...

how does someone respond to that?

..."um, thanks"

the truth...

sometimes I enjoy cooking...

but...sometimes...

well, sometimes.... it's just a necessary evil...

   ...those kids get cranky when they don't eat...

and so does their dad...

Am I a good cook?

I make do...and...

sometimes what I cook turns out REALLY good...

...other times just good...or even just okay...

....and then we move down the scale to edible...

and yes, sometimes it's not even edible and it turns into a pizza or In-n-Out night!

not sure how I got the label as "a good cook"...but I'll take it...

I think something that my mother taught me, I think...

...maybe it was her?...

...I think it was more of a learned lesson...

watching her personal actions and reactions in the kitchen...

That the worst thing that could happen is that it will taste not so good...

end result...I learned something that didn't work, getting me closer to something that might work...

and ...now we order pizza!

So...some helpful things that help me in the kitchen...

*a good attitude...

     ...not saying that I always have one when I am in the kitchen,

           just saying that it's helpful...

*research is your friend...cook books and google are my go-to all the time...

*your personal taste...

     if you have eaten something that you like, break down the taste, textures, colors that helped make it appealing to you and try to duplicate them at home...

*figure out why something works (taste/color/texture combos) and why it didn't work...

*when something doesn't work that you made, don't fret, why didn't it work, now fix it...

*ask questions...ask friends...ask for recipes...

all that being said...

I made this recipe out of desperation...

I needed a dinner, I looked through my pantry/fridge and threw this together...and it worked...

How did I know it would work...well, I have a favorite chicken salad recipe that I really enjoy...some of the ingredients, chicken, celery, apples, raisins (or dried cranberries), onions...well I needed a HOT dinner, not a refreshing lunch menu...I had a whole chicken and an apple, some dried cranberries, celery, onions...you get the idea...if it worked in a cold version, why not a hot version...

The first time I made this in the crock pot (yes a whole chicken in the crock pot) the second time I roasted it in the oven using a Reynolds oven bag (buy these...they are A-Mazing!)...both times the chicken was moist and delicious.

Apple Cranberry Chicken

1 whole chicken (or use whatever pieces that you want to feed the amount of people that you need too)

1 apple (any type, I used Fuji)

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1 sm boiler onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

1/4 cup-1 cup dried cranberries (add little or as much as you like, I think I had a little over 3/4 cup)

1/2 tsp sage

1/2 tsp rosemary

1/2 tsp thyme

salt & pepper to taste

1. Wash chicken and remove all those extra gross parts!

2. Mix all ingredients except chicken together and stuff into the cavity of the chicken, shove in as much as you can and then place chicken into the crock pot* and top with any remaining apple/cranberry mixture.

3. Set crock on low for 6-8 hours (keep a meat therm. handy to check the doneness of the bird)

(if using a Reynolds bag, stuff the bird add 1 Tbs of flour to the bag, place the bird in the bag and bake according to package directions...or since I always lose the directions, google Reynolds Oven Bags, and look for the cooking chart and follow the directions for the weight of your stuffed bird!)

This was my first ever 100% made up, what do I have to throw in the crock pot that works with a whole chicken recipe...

and it worked...I was even taking a meal to another family when I made this so I threw in two extra chicken breast with the whole chicken and it all cooked great. My family all really enjoyed the bird, it had a very festive taste with the apple cranberry combo. I used some of the broth (a sweet broth with the apple) to make a gravy for some smashed potatoes for our family and then some of the broth for rice for the family I took the meal to, both ended up with a hint of sweet, and was really tasty!

I would make this again in the future with just 3-6 chicken breast or whatever I had on hand and the amount of people I needed to feed, no reason that it needs to be a whole bird, but it did look pretty on the serving platter with the apples and cranberries cascading down the sides...yes, I said cascading...

...maybe next time I might use orange slices instead of an apple...orange and cranberry is yummy, might leave out the celery when I do that...

do you have any recipes that you "invented" out of desperation that ended up actually working???

A Yummy End to a Lazy Day

Yesterday was one of those lazy Christmas Break sort of days...woke up a few hours before the kids...

finished my book and a few cups of coffee in peace...

played Legos with the kids for a few hours, stayed in my jammies till noon...

when I finally gave myself a time-out and shower...

reluctantly I put dinner in the crock pot around 1...

had a recipe idea in my head and have been wanting to try it out...

Then took the family to run some errands around 2:30...

got stuck in Barnes-n-Noble looking at their clearance items

and then in Target looking for some amazing post Christmas stuff (nothing I couldn't live without...bummer)...

Now I have two cranky kids and a hungry husband

(I had one more stop on my list and they over-ruled me)...

walked in the door at 5:30 and was blissfully happy that I had dinner almost done!

This is a recipe idea that I got from a friend, Jennifer Shawnego Lorenzen, from a post she made on facebook...not entirely sure what sort of pesto she used, but this is the recipe I ended up with...thanks Jen.

Creamy Pesto Chicken (in the crock pot)

1-4 chicken breast (how ever many you think your family needs, I just used one REALLY big one)

1 tea Lemon Herb Seasoning or Lemon Salt or Lemon Pepper  (I used Pampered Chef's Citrus & Basil Rub)

1 package Knorr Creamy Pesto sauce mix (get in the same aisle as the dry taco mix and gravy mixes)

1 1/4 cup milk

2 Tbs olive oil

slices of Swiss Cheese (enough to cover each chicken breast)

zest of one lemon (optional)

pasta or rice of your choice to serve it on/with

1.  Place chicken breast into crock pot and season with Lemon Herb seasoning.

2.  Mix Knorr Creamy Pesto sauce mix with milk and olive oil and pour over chicken.  Cover chicken breast with Swiss Cheese and lemon zest (optional).  Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

3.  Serve with cooked pasta or rice of you choice.  I removed the Chicken breast and sliced it up, poured the pesto sauce over cooked pasta on a serving plate and topped it with the sliced chicken breast.  To really impress guest you can top with more lemon zest and a piece of fresh basil.

Serving ideas:

Fresh or Frozen veggies

Sweet Potatoes (my family won't eat!)

French Bread

Spinach Salad

~~~~~~~~~

My family devoured this meal...and have asked for me to place it on the menu on a rotating basis!

Cheese and Beef=Heaven

I had to pack my crock pot away for a few weeks...it was just taking up too much space on my space deprived kitchen counter and the holiday baking won out...

but it's been returned to it's rightful place...

and how are we welcoming it back in style...
our favorite...
the best...the easiest...
the ChambersMade Cheddar Roast...
I actually got this recipe from my one of my oldest friends, Jennifer
(known her the longest...we met on the school bus in kindergarten...not oldest as in age...)
and I have only made one change in the recipe...

Cheddar Roast
1 beef roast (any size any type)
2 cans of condensed cheddar soup
3-5 boiler onions, sliced in half (optional...the only thing I added to the recipe)

Place all ingredients into crock pot, heat on low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours.

Yes, it sounds weird...sounds crazy...cheddar and beef...this is so amazingly good...the "gravy" that it makes (just the soup and the beef juices) is very good served over smashed potatoes (mashed potatoes not peeled and mixed with sour cream, butter, salt & pepper) and steamed broccoli (or any other steamed veggies that your family likes)...

Loafing Around

Meatloaf was on the menu...and more accurately Meatloaf in the crock pot was on the menu...
but I kept putting off making it and putting off making it and well, 4 o'clock rolled around and I realized that this would be regular ol' meatloaf...

...or would it...

I then remembered a recipe a friend had sent me...

Mexican Meatloaf...

...yes it was a recipe for the crock pot, but heck, I take regular recipes all the time and make them crock pot recipes so why not the other way around...

so the original recipe from my friend, Jesica Wright, looked like this
~~~~
Mexican Meatloaf-crock pot style
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups crushed corn or tortilla chips
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2/3 cup salsa
2 eggs, beaten
4 tablespons taco seasoning

Combine all ingredients in large bowl; mix well. Shape meat mixture into loaf and place in slow cooker. Cover; cook on low 8 to 10 hours. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Tip: For a glaze, mix together 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 teaspoon dry mustard. Spread over meatloaf, cover, cook on high 15 minutes

~~~~~~
I had just looked at the recipe a few days ago, but when it was time for me to actually make dinner I couldn't bring myself to walk ALL the way up the stairs...
log onto the computer...
open up my recipe folder...
find my crock pot recipes...
find the Mexican Meatloaf recipe...
print or write it down...
and then walk ALL the way back downstairs...

So instead I relied on my memory...and this is the recipe I ended up with...
~~~~~~
Mexican Meatloaf-oven style
1 lb of ground beef or turkey
1 cup tortilla chips crushed up
1/2 cup corn (canned-drained, frozen-defrosted)
1 cup mexi style pre-shredded cheese
1/3 cup salsa
1 carrot finely grated (use the fine side of your grater)*
1/2 cup spinach chopped finely*
1/3 cup ketchup
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 egg

Mix all together form into loaf and bake in loaf pan or pie plate for 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees...

 ~~~~~~
*I like to add extra vegetables to dinner dishes this way, no one at the table knew they were eating carrots and spinach...

My family liked it, they all ate their original serving and Madison and I both had seconds...the whole family had been expecting regular meatloaf...
yes, my family LOVES meatloaf...
so, when they couldn't cover it in A-1 sauce and ketchup they were all a little disappointed...but they still liked it!

Serving Ideas
choice of salsa, sour cream, avocados/guacamole, and chips...
Refried beans (home made-so easy...future blog)
Spanish rice
Corn

Recipe variations you could try
add 1/2 cup of beans (pinto or black) to the meat loaf
chop up some broccoli really fine and "hide" it in the meatloaf
a can of Rotel tomatoes (tomatoes w/ green chilies in them)
use Mexi corn instead of regular corn
a can of green chilies
a sm can of sliced or diced olives
and more cheese...

Lessons learned from ChambersMade Meatloaf...
next time I won't spring on my family at the table that I made "special" meatloaf...and they will probably LOVE it, rather than just liking it!

you can put off making dinner all day and still end up with a pretty darn good dinner...

you can feed your family extra veggies and they'll never know (unless my husband reads my blog...)

I don't need to walk up the stairs (although my Wii fitness trainer tells me more stairs would be good for me) to get my recipe off my computer...

when I have my dream kitchen my computer will be on one of the islands...(so I can check recipes and so I can blog while cooking!)...

why'd the chicken cross the road...to get into the crock with some apricot!!!

I'm going out tonight with some friends...love a good girls night out!

And since I love my husband...
or maybe it's because I love my crock pot...
I'm throwing dinner in the crock this morning so he won't have to do anything besides have the kids set the table and then clean up the mess that follows!

So a favorite ChambersMade recipe is Apricot Chicken...the apricot jam that we use is leftover from a huge batch that we made this summer off the tree out front, that the kids spent the morning on the 4th of July picking the fruit off of...

BLOG WARNING
I'm not one of those bloggers with a huge country garden, an organic orchard, and my own free range chickens!  We have 2 fruit trees (3 in you count the mulberry tree that we HATE!  But then our plum tree didn't give us any plums this year, so I guess we're back to two, apricot and stinkin', mess making, bird pooping, mulberry) on our small plot of city land and we have no backyard, no chickens, no country brook meandering thru our land and no organic bee hives!
But I do have two VERY cute children and I will post pictures of them all over my blog until they are legally allowed to stop me!
So if you want the organic, gardening, chicken farming blogger you must stop reading this blog now...if you want some pic of two beautiful children continue!
END OF BLOG WARNING

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Apricot Chicken
11 oz jar of apricot jam/jelly/preserves (whatever you want to call it!)
1 t dried minced onion flakes
1 T dijon mustard
1 T soy sauce
1/4 t ginger
4-6 chicken breasts
I used frozen breasts. Drop the chicken into your crockpot. In a small bowl, mix all the other stuff pour on top of the chicken
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, high for 4-6--if your chicken isn't frozen, your dinner will cook faster.

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 Recipe Options:
*If you like your dishes with a little spice you can also add 1/2-1 tea of chili powder to the recipe, I want my kids to eat it so I don't add the chili powder

*You can make this same recipe with Peach Jam or Orange Marmalade
*If you have some fresh apricots around chop one or two up and throw them in
*serve with some sliced almonds and chopped cilantro on top to impress the guests or in-laws**!

Serving Options:
*White or brown rice
*Spinach Salad
*Corn on the cob

Enjoy!


**I don't need to impress my in-laws because they're amazing...
and I'm not sure my father-in-law even eats apricots so I probably wouldn't serve this for them!

a crock of Lasagna

What's for dinner...leftover lasagna...

Last night My Beau and I had a rare night out...

(my Beau and I all fancied up for the Christmas Party)





...so I made dinner really easy for the sitter, I made lasagna in the crock pot earlier that day...

(if you don't know me you might not know that I HEART my crock pot!)

...so all the sitter had to do was butter the French Bread and serve! This recipe makes WAY more than my family would ever eat in one sitting, and the kids loved it so we are having it as "first's" for My Beau and I, and as leftovers for the kids!

this is the recipe as I received it from a friend (I think it was Kelly Jackson?)
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Crock Pot Lasagna
1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 pkg (8oz) no-cook lasagna noodles**
4 cups (16 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1½ cups (12oz) small-curd cottage cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.  Add the tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, salt and oregano; mix well.
In another bowl mix together 2 cups of mozzarella, cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese.  Spread 1/4 of the meat sauce in an ungreased 5 quart slow cooker.  Arrange a third of the noodles over sauce (break the noodles). spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top of noodles  Repeat layers three times.  Top with remaining meat sauce, and extra mozzarella.  Cover and cook on low for 4/5 hours or until noodles are tender.  Yields 6-8 servings.

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Changes I made
*only used 1/2 lb of ground beef
*didn't have the large can of tomato sauce so used 3 sm 8 oz jars-plenty
*I grate my garlic on the really fine side of the cheese grater, no more big chunks of garlic, and all the flavor.
*didn't have the no-cook noodles so I boiled the reg ones for 1/2 the time, drained and rinsed them
*added 1 cup of chopped fresh spinach to the cottage cheese mixture
*added 1 egg to the cottage cheese mixture

Changes I didn't make but you might like to...
*Italian sausage along with the beef or to replace the beef
*ground turkey, which I find dry, but in dishes with lots of sauce the dryness isn't a big deal
*leaving the meat out all together and making it vegetarian
*using 2 cups mozzarella and 2 cups cheddar
*using rocotta cheese rather than cottage cheese
*using manicotti noodles rather than lasagna


**Trader Joes has the no-cook lasagna noodles for cheaper and twice as many WinCo carries them...so pick up a box next time you run in for some Candy Cane Joe Joe's (Oreos) and Sea Salt Carmels (YUMMY)!

Serving suggestions-I always think pasta dishes have it all, the starch, the meat, the veggies...but if you want to serve it with something, butter up some french bread (I like to keep an extra loaf in the freezer), and grate some garlic onto it and a little cheese...broil until it's as done as you like.  Add a good hearty salad and you're more than done!

the Chops

Okay, for those of you who are my "facebook friends" you might know that I like my crock pot...I might like it more than most; I would venture to say that 5 out of 7 dinners a week come from the crock....tonight's being one of them...

So the first time this was "ChambersMade" it really wasn't by a Chambers, my mom was watching the kids while Beau and I were out of town, so it was "GrandmaLindaMade" and the kids LOVED it...I had googled the recipe and this is the first one I found...and I'm pretty sure Grandma made it as follows...

Pork Chops 'n Applesauce
6 boneless pork chops, browned
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup vinegar
Salt and pepper pork chops to taste, place in slow cooker. Place apple sauce on top of the chops, then pour mixture over. Cover, cook on LOW 4-6 hours.

Take 2...The kids raved about how wonderful this was when Grandma made it...so mommy made it...and did the normal crock pot thing, "low for 6-8 hours" not reading the directions too closely....Apparently pork really doesn't need to be on low for that long...and we ended up with more of a Pork Jerky and Applesauce! And I wasn't a huge fan of the tomato sauce and vinegar in the recipe...

Take 3...Made it again...this time leaving out the tomato sauce and vinegar and adding a chopped apple...forgot about the time issue, and once again the chops where a little rough on our chops...

Take 4...Made it again tonight...leaving out tomato sauce & vinegar, adding 1 cup of applesauce, an apple, and then asked Wilson if I should add raisins, he said, "I think cranberries would be better!"...so I also added a handful of dried cranberries...and this time I did remember the time issue and cooked it on low for about 5 hours...

Three of us really enjoyed it, Madison was late to choir and didn't get to eat dinner until after, she thought the apples were potatoes...something I didn't realize she was thinking until much too late...and well, Madison ended up eating crackers and cheese @ 8:30 when we got home from church!