Ingredients

6 medium red potatoes, cut into chunks
4 medium carrots, cut into 1/2″ pieces
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/8 tsp. garlic salt
2-4 tsp. mashed potato flakes, optional

Direction

Place potatoes and carrots in a slow cooker. Top with the chicken. Combine the soups and garlic salt; pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. To thicken stir potato flakes into the gravy and cook for 30 minutes longer.

4 servings

Ingredients:

1 15 ozs. can hormel chili with beans

1 14 1/2 ozs. can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup water

2 cups minute rice

8 ozs. Velveeta, cut up

Directions:

Boil chili, tomatoes and water.  Add rice and cheese; stir.  Cover and remove from heat.  Let stand 5 minutes, covered.  Serve.

This is really good by itself or served in tortillas.

Courtesy of Allrecipes

We knew that we were supposed to get quite a bit of snow this weekend so we decided it would be perfect to make some chili.  We have tried many different recipes and continue to try more.  After looking at Allrecipes this one stood out.  Hubby wasn’t sure but it was a hit!  We all loved it and it couldn’t be easier.  Thanks Debdoozie!

For those of you that know me, you know that I am not a fan of pork.  I don’t mind ham, bacon, or hot dogs but pork roast or pork chops…yuck.  So, I will post later on how my hubby and kids liked this one.

Ingredients

•1 (3 pound) pork shoulder
•4 cups water or as needed
•8 cups white vinegar or as needed
•1/4 cup kosher salt
•1 large onion cut into 8 wedges
•1 tablespoon ground cumin
•1 tablespoon ground mustard
•1 tablespoon chili powder
•1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions

Place the pork shoulder into the ceramic bowl of a slow cooker. Pour enough water and white vinegar into the slow cooker to assure the pork is completely covered, maintaining a 2-to-1 ratio of vinegar to water. Add the salt. Put the ceramic bowl in the refrigerator and allow the pork to marinate at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours.

Drain enough of the liquid from the ceramic bowl until about 1/2-inch of pork is left exposed. Add the onion to the remaining liquid. Season the exposed surface of the pork with the cumin, mustard, chili powder, and brown sugar. Place the bowl into the base of the slow cooker and cook on High until the pork is tender and falls apart easily, 8 to 10 hours.

Carefully remove the pork to a cutting board; shred the meat into strands using a pair of forks. Remove and discard any excess fat.

We had this last night and it was very good – especially if you like things extra cheesy!  Was a hit with the kids too!

Ingredients

• 1 pound dry ziti pasta
• 1 onion , chopped
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
• 6 ounces provolone cheese , sliced
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese , shredded
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.

2.In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.

3.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9×13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

4.Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

A friend of mine just made this and it sure does sound good. I love using the crock pot and think I will try this next week. Thanks Emma!

Ingredients

2-3 chicken breasts
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can mexican chili beans
(Do not drain tomatoes or beans)
1 Package Taco Seasoning
1 can black olives
1 can chopped green chiles

Directions

Layer chicken in bottom of crock pot. Add the rest of the ingredients in the order written. Do not stir. Cook on low 7-8 hours. Take out chicken and shred. Return chicken to crock pot and stir well. Serve with tortilla chips or on a flour tortilla. Serve with chopped lettuce, tomatoes, and shredded cheese if desired.

If you do make this, let me know what you thought. I love getting comments!

I was talking to my Mom yesterday and she RAVED about this recipe.  I think I will try it next week and will post pictures and let you know what I think.

Ingredients

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 green pepper, chunked
1 red pepper, chunked
1 medium onion, chunked
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 20 ozs. can pineapple chunks, drained (reserved juice)
1 cup sweet and sour sauce
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. reserved pineapple juice

Directions

In a large saucepan, add 1 Tbsp. of the vegetable oil. Saute the peppers, mushrooms, and onions. Remove from the pan. Add the remaining oil and chicken, and saute until golden brown. Add back the vegetables, and all of the other remaining ingredients. Stir well and let simmer for 10 minutes or until heated through. Serve over rice or lo mein noodles.

Planning a menu can really help you stay organized and on budget. There are so many great sites to visit for recipes ideas so I really want to thank I’m an Organizing Junkie for hosting this. Here is my menu – recipes to follow on the days they are scheduled:

Monday: Tender BBQ Chicken
Tuesday: Tacos and Spanish Rice
Wednesday: Peachy Pork Steaks
Thursday: Bandito Chili Dogs
Friday: Out to eat
Saturday: Crockpot Brown Sugar Chicken
Sunday: Beef Roast Marinara

Stay tuned for the recipes, and thanks for visiting!

I am “borrowing” this recipe from What A Crock!  Check out her site, it’s fantastic!  This sounded really good and easy so I thought it was perfect for Sunday.  I’ll let you know what we think later.  Here it is:

Ingredients

3 tbsp tomato paste
3 cups dry red wine
3 cups beef broth
16 oz cubed steak or beef roast or stewing beef
2 medium cooking onions, sliced or 2 cups pearl onions
1 can (10 oz) whole button mushrooms
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup gravy thickener (bisto) mixed with 1/4 cup cold water
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Blend tomato paste, beef broth and wine in the crockpot. Add beef, onions, mushrooms and bay leaf. Cook on low for seven hours. Mix gravy thickener with water and add to crockpot. Continue cooking for one more hour. Taste and season. Serve with rice or mashed potatoes. Serves four.

(notes from What a Crock) This is an excellent dish to make in advance and freeze – if you are the kind of person who prepares meals and puts them in the freezer. It also is a great dish for making a large batch and reheating during the week, as it just gets better with more cooking time.