Adventures in CrockPot Cooking: Chicken Parmesan

We just keep getting better at these CrockPot meals, folks. This one is sure to be a family & guest pleaser!

Ingredients:

--2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

--1/2 cup bread crumbs

--1/4 cup parmesan cheese

--1/2 t Italian Seasoning

--1/4 t black pepper

--1/4 t kosher salt (I think this could be left out...I felt like the meal was a little too salty)

--1 T olive oil

--1 beaten egg

--sliced mozzarella cheese

--favorite jarred marinara sauce

Directions:

• Spread olive oil in bottom of CrockPot (I went ahead and turned my CrockPot on low at this point). 
• In a small bowl, beat egg. In a separate, shallow dish, mix together bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and seasonings. 
• Dip each breast into the egg, then into the bread mixture, coating breast well on both sides. Put chicken breasts in bottom of CrockPot and cover with 3-4 slices of mozzarella cheese. 
• Cover with chosen jar of pasta sauce. 

• Cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender. If you use frozen chicken, it will take longer. (I don't recommend using frozen chicken for this recipe, because it makes it harder to get the egg and bread mixture to stick.)

• Serve on top of chosen pasta (we used whole wheat penne pasta) and enjoy! 

Our Reactions

Sarah - I thought this was a delicious meal! The chicken was perfectly tender and had a delicious flavor from all the seasoning and being cooked in pasta sauce for several hours. I think I would use more mozzarella slices next time, and maybe pound out the chicken breasts to make them all and even thickness.

Brian - Brian LOVED this meal. He cleaned his plate and, quite literally, licked it clean. I'm not a huge fan of reheated chicken, so this is one time Brian was VERY thankful that he could eat the rest of the leftovers! 

Adventures in CrockPot Cooking: Tamale Pie

I feel like I'm finally starting to find some good CrockPot recipes that both Brian and I enjoy. This is a great recipe to use as a side dish or an entree.

Cornbread topping (in separate, small bowl):

--3/4 cup cornmeal

--1 1/4 cup flour

--1 cup milk

--1/4 cup sugar

--1 egg

--1 t baking powder

The Filling (mix well in CrockPot sprayed with oil):

--1 can drained and rinsed black beans

--1 can fire roasted tomatoes
--1 can drained corn

--1 T chili powder

--1 t cumin

--1/2 t paprika

--1/4 cup diced onion

--1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Pour cornbread mix on top of filling and spread evenly. Do not mix together the cornbread and the filling.

Cook on low for 4 hours or until cornbread is cooked.

Serve & enjoy!

Our Reactions

Sarah - I really loved all the spices and ingredients used for the filling. It had a great flavor. The cornbread was kind of rubbery on the very top, but I just cut that thin layer off and enjoyed the perfectly cooked cornbread underneath. Really, I think this would be a great side dish to a taco salad or something. It was quite filling just by itself, but I'm also 8 months pregnant and don't eat very much at one sitting :-)

Brian - Brian really enjoyed this dish. He, too, felt that the very top of the cornbread was kind of weird, but once he got past that, he enjoyed the dish. 

Adventures in CrockPot Cooking: Cowboy Beans

I haven't been hitting any "homeruns" in the kitchen lately...I don't know if it's me or I'm just not picking the best recipes. Considering Brian will eat almost anything without any complaints, I can never really judge how bad my cooking is. To make things harder, morning sickness in the evenings has decided to return and it is NOT fun! [I'm so excited though, because that means hormones are changing again which I can only assume baby BAL is getting ready to make his/her entrance!!] Read on to see how this recipe for Cowboy Beans ranked in our home :-)

Ingredients
1 pound dried pinto beans, soaked overnight
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 (10-ounce) can Rotel
1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
7 cups water
sliced jalapenos, optional (jarred or fresh)


Directions
You must soak the beans overnight then drain in the morning & sort out the "bad beans" - I tried to take out all the beans that had split, were a darker color, or lost their skin. Pour the beans into the slow cooker.


On the stove, brown ground beef and onion - drain fat, then add on top of beans. Add the rest of the ingredients into the CrockPot (except jalapeños). Stir to mix ingredients, cover and cook on low for about 10 hours. [I learned that you might want to do 6 hours on high, and 4 hours on low to make sure the beans cook properly.] 

Our Reactions

Sarah - This particular day, the smell of the beans cooking either made me really hungry or really nauseous, so I never really ate this as a meal. I had a few bites of Brian's. I accidently added CHOPPED jalapeños for the whole cooking time, so I think it did alter the intended taste a little bit. I felt like it took forever for the beans to tenderize, but the beans did have a great flavor to them! Also, for whatever reason, my taste buds kept thinking taco soup so when I took a bite and got a different flavor, that affected my nausea again :-(

Brian - He gladly ate this for dinner 2 nights and lunch 2 days and then decided we should freeze the rest for after baby comes. GREAT idea!! He usually complains about red or green peppers in foods, but he didn't seem to have any complaints other than the strong jalapeño flavor.

Adventures in CrockPot Cooking: Cheese Enchilada Stack

Tonight's Adventure in CrockPot Cooking was definitely an adventure...

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Chicken Broth

1 (14.5 oz) can Crushed Tomatoes

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 small onion (finely chopped) 

8-10 corn tortillas (maybe more?)

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese (maybe less?)

1 (4 oz) can sliced black olives (drained)

Sour cream to taste

Combine chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, spices, and chopped onion in large bowl & set aside.

Cover bottom of CrockPot with corn tortillas. Sprinkle a handful (really just depends on how much cheese you like) of cheese and a few black olives. Then, put about 3 spoonfuls on top.

Repeat layering until out of ingredients. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or until bubbly. Top with dollops of sour cream as desired.

Our Responses


Sarah - I am not a fan. I will probably never choose to cook this again. We did pair it with pinto beans and spanish rice, but I didn't feel like it made the dish much better. It had a good flavor (the spices really made it have a good flavor), but I think used too much cheese and cooked it for too long and it was very mushy. I am a big "texture person" when it comes to food, though, so even though the taste may have been fine, the texture was not what I desired for stacked enchiladas.

Brian - He had 2 servings. Brian does agree that it was a little mushy, but textures don't bother him as bad.

I would recommend that you at least try this recipe and see what you think - it was not terrible, just not one of my favorites! Oh well - for 1 recipe out of 3 so far not being perfect, I'm not complaining! :-)

Happy Crocking!
-Sarah

Adventures in CrockPot Cooking: Artichoke & Chicken Pasta AND (non-CrockPot) Banana Bread

First off, that Tex Mex Roast lasted us FOREVER! Granted, we had family in town this weekend and ate out for most of our meals...but considering it's Thursday and it's the first day I've made a meal this week (because we've been eating leftovers), I consider that lasting FOREVER! 

Today, I made Artichoke & Chicken Pasta. I forgot to take a picture of the ingredients, but they are super easy to find in your local grocery store!

Chicken breasts (as much as you'd like; completely optional)

3 (14.5-ounce) undrained cans Italian Tomatoes (I used diced, but stewed would work great!)

2 (14.5 ounce) cans artichoke hearts in water, drained & lightly chopped (I just bought quartered and did not worry about chopping)

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup pimento-stuffed green olives

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (to add later)

1 pound freshly cooked pasta (to add later, I used veggie farfalli/bowtie pasta)

Directions

(Sorry about the cruddy picture, when I put this in at lunch, I had left my camera in the car and my phone is all I had.)

Place desired amount of chicken in bottom of CrockPot. Pour all three cans of tomatoes on top. Lightly drain artichokes and chop (if necessary/desired) and toss in on top of tomatoes. Add minced garlic and green olives. Cook on low for 4-5 hours (without chicken) or on low for 6-7 hours (with chicken). 

Right before serving, stir in 1/2 cup of heaving whipping cream.

Stir in hot pasta and top with parmesan cheese, if desired.

Our Reactions

Sarah - The first words out of my mouth were, "WOW! That's like restaurant good!" The rest of the meal continued to be "like restaurant good" -- and healthier than eating at most Italian restaurants, too! I will say, I think the chicken was a little dried out and it probably would've been perfect at about the 5th hour (I only used 2 chicken breasts).

Brian - "Uh-Ma-Zing" (He's at a loss for words...)

Now, after dinner we ate a (non-CrockPot) delicious banana bread! I have tried out several different banana bread recipes over the past 3-4 years and have not found one that was just so good it stuck, but I think I have FINALLY found THE recipe and I'm so excited to share it with you! I did not take any pictures, except of the finished product, so just imagine there are pictures :-)

Ingredients

1/4 cup white sugar & 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (for baking pans)

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)

3 cups white sugar

3 eggs

6 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 (16 oz) container sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking soda

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease loaf pans (I used 3) then dust with sugar & cinnamon mixture.
2. In a large bowl (like, really big), cream butter & sugar. Mix in eggs, bananas, sour cream, vanilla, and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda, and flour. Divide into prepared loaf pans.
3. Bake for 1 hour (it took mine about 1 hour & 10 minutes) until toothpick comes out clean when stuck in center of loaf.

DELICIOUS!

"Happy Crocking!"

-Sarah

Adventures in CrockPot Cooking: Tex Mex Roast

I am starting a new adventure! This crazy Texas heat mixed with my 7 month pregnant body do not cope well with an oven turned on in the afternoons, so I've decided to stick to [mostly] CrockPot meals for now. I found this AMAZING website (http://crockpot365.blogspot.com) that has the widest variety of CrockPot meals, side dishes, desserts, and crafts I have ever seen! The blogger, Stephanie, even used her CrockPot to give herself a pedicure!! Now, I wouldn't say I'm going that extreme, but some of her ideas are just wonderful!

Last night, I began my CrockPot adventure with Tex Mex Roast. Everyone say it with me, "OOOOO, AHHHHH!"

Brian and I have very different taste buds, so at the end of each of these posts I'll be sure to clue you in on both of our reactions to the recipe! 

First reason I like this recipe: 5 ingredients.

Second reason I like this recipe: dump & go! 

For your ingredients you'll need:

• 2 lbs Boneless Chuck Roast
• 1 can corn w/peppers
• 1 can Chili Beans
• 1 can Rotel
• 1 teaspoon Chipotle Chili Powder

First, put your roast in the bottom of your CrockPot and sprinkle evenly with chipotle chili powder.

Then, dump the rest of the ingredients on top of the roast. DO NOT DRAIN ANY OF THE CANS! If you use a frozen roast (which is super super wonderful to do!), your cooking length may vary, but I set my CrockPot on low for about 7.5-8 hours. You want your beef to fall apart with a fork.

Our Reactions

Sarah - I must say that as it was cooking, I was slightly thrown off by the Chipotle smell. It smelled [to me] like I should be cooking a BBQ dinner, when I knew I was cooking a Tex Mex dinner. I had a rough time at first, but I tasted the corn, tomato & chili, and bean mixture...it was DELICIOUS! Once I added it all together ontop of a bed of homemade Spanish rice, I thoroughly enjoyed this meal! It was a different flavor than any roast I had ever tasted...and I think this was the first time I've eaten a Chuck Roast, so there was a lot more fat than I was used to, but I can't imagine the recipe being cooked any other way!

Brian - He LOVED it. He said it was a little spicy to him (I think that can be attributed to the Chipotle Chili Powder + Rotel), but he got himself an ice cold Coca-Cola and cleaned his plate! He loves beef, so really, this was an easy meal to please him!

As my Mom put it so pleasantly, "Happy Crocking!!"

-Sarah

Easy Parmesan Chicken & Grilled Asparagus

I got this delicious recipe for Parmesan Chicken from my best friend, Diane! She made it when I went to visit last spring and it has been a staple in our house ever since!

Easy Parmesan Chicken

Preheat oven to 350F.
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 cupgrated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp dried parsley
8 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless


In a shallow bowl, combine the butter, Worchestershire, and garlic powder.

In another shallow bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and parsley.

Dip each chicken piece into the butter mixture, then into the crumb mixture.

Place the chicken in a single layer in a baking pan.

(I drizzled the remaining butter mixture on top)

Bake for about an hour, or until no longer pink inside. Because my chicken breasts were more like tenders, I baked the chicken on 300 degrees for about 40 minutes, and then 400 degrees for 5 minutes to give a nice crust to the breading.

Grilled Asparagus

First, wash & break of the bottoms of the asparagus.

Drizzle with olive oil and season generously with lemon pepper seasoning.

 Cook on medium/medium-low heat until asparagus become bright green and have slight grill marks. Be sure the flip the asparagus over several time during the cooking process.

Homemade Pizza

This is by far the most frequently made meal in our house. I got the recipe for the crust during my time in a ladies mentoring bible study, Apples of Gold, where I also got the recipe for Stinky Chicken. Also, I used to be afraid of yeast before this recipe...fear no more!

Homemade Pizza Crust

1 pkg or 1 tablespoon yeast (quick rising or regular - I use regular)

1 cup warm (NOT hot) water (if you get the water too hot, it will kill the yeast and your dough won't rise)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons oil (I use olive oil)

2 1/2 cups flour (I use about half whole wheat and half white flour)

Mix yeast and water and let stand until yeast dissolves (just a few minutes). Add sugar, salt, and oil and stir well. Gradually add flour and stir until ball forms of dough. Cover bowl with towel and put in warm place to let rise for approximately 30 minutes (I use regular yeast, so this time is sometimes longer) *quick hint* turn oven on for no more than 30 seconds and turn off, place the bowl of dough in the oven and shut the door* Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread dough on one large pizza pan and let rise uncovered until desired thickness (usually about 15 more minutes). 

*quick hint* after letting dough rise an additional 15 minutes, put the dough in the oven (before adding toppings) for about 5 minutes to begin the cooking process* 

Top with your favorite toppings and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Enchiladas

This recipe has been a life-long favorite! My mom learned it from my grandma, but I'm not sure I remember my grandma ever cooking this for me. Because I know where it came from, I am always reminded of my sweet grandmother when I make this dish! It is SO EASY and takes 5 minutes to prepare!

Wolf Chili Enchiladas!

Ingredients:

• 2 cans Wolf Chili (I use the kind w/beans, but you can get without)
• 10-12 flour or corn tortillas (it depends on my mood which ones I use)
• 2 cups shredded cheese (sometimes I use monterrey jack, sometimes I use chedder, sometimes I buy the Mexican Blend)

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees

*Take each tortilla and fill with approximately 2 tbsp of shredded cheese, roll it up, put a toothpick in it to keep it closed and place in a 9x13 pyrex dish (or baking dish) 

*Cover the enchiladas with the chili - I heat mine up in the microwave first so that it's easier to spread

*Top with cheese

*Cover dish with aluminum foil & bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and chili is bubbly

Add some spanish rice to this and you've got yourself a DELICIOUS and easy tex-mex dinner! Enjoy!

Chess/Buttermilk Pie

The other night I had a craving for Chess pie, so I asked a few friends for suggestions and I got a great recipe! The pie hit the spot and was just what I was "dreaming" of! Chess or Buttermilk Pie is SO easy to make and it is just absolutely delicious! I hope you enjoy it!

Chess/Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 T Flour 
3 Eggs
1 Cup Buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350.
*Hand beat eggs until fluffy*Mix butter, sugar and flour together with hand mixer.
*Then add buttermilk little at a time.
*Add vanilla and lemon extract and mix (I did not use lemon extract)
*Pour into pie crust, bake for 10 minutes, then put pie shield/foil over crust.
* Bake 30-45 mins. It will harden/thicken up after sitting out for a little bit. Eat warm or refrigerate before serving.

Chicken Tetrazzini

(I will add a terrible phone quality picture when I get it off my phone)

The very first meal [at least that I remember] I had when I visited Brian's family for one of the first times was Chicken Tetrazzini. It was an instant favorite and I now consider it one of my comfort foods. Before I was learning new recipes and trying to create variety (LONG before morning sickness), this was a meal that I made at least twice a month - when I was single, it served me lunch & dinner for almost a whole week! This is a great meal to take to friends when babies are born!

Chicken Tetrazzini

2 tablespoons onion
1 tablespoon butter
10 3/4 ounces cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cooked chicken, deboned & chopped (Rotisserie chickens from HEB are THE BEST)
3 cups cooked spaghetti (I don't actually measure the spaghetti, I usually cook about half to three-fourths a box of spaghetti)
2 tablespoons parsley (I use dried parsley, so I usually only use 1 tbs)
2 ounces chopped pimiento
4 ounces mushrooms, canned & drained 

Cook onion in butter until tender. Add soup, water, and cheese; heat & stir until cheese melts. In buttered casserole dish, combine chicken, spaghetti, parsley, pimiento, and mushrooms. Add soup mixture. Top with extra shredded cheese. Bake, covered, at 350 F. for 20 minutes or until bubbly.If mixture seems too dry, add a little milk.

The recipe doesn't call for this, and I have no idea why, but I add a small can of sliced black olives. I think it just gives the meal a little extra flavor and I'm a big black olive fan!

Enjoy! It is one of my favorites and I know your family will love it, too!

Bad pictures, Good food

Warning -- my camera batteries were dead and I didn't really feel like looking for Brian's amazing camera, so I pulled out my Kodak Playsport which takes decent but not wonderful still pictures. Now as far as video goes, it's amazing! AND waterproof! Highly recommend :-)

On to the point of this post. Dinner tonight was a long time favorite of my family's. I started "Full Teach Week" today and after a long night was pretty exhausted when I got home. This meal is PERFECT for a quick preparation meal -- it does take about an hour to cook/simmer, but seriously about 10 minutes to prep. AMAZING!

We used to eat pork chops all the time when I was younger. Silly me -- I seriously thought it was because we were tight with money when we were younger and I thought pork chops were cheap. They're really not "cheaper" by the pound, except for the fact that you use less pounds of pork to make a meal so in all, it really is cheaper. I'm very picky about eating pork chops and this is actually the only meal I can think of that I will eat pork chops besides grilled pork chops -- which I haven't had since I was about 12 years old. We maybe she try that soon!

Enough chitter-chatter -- on to the show!

Saucy Pork Chops

Ingredients

6 pork chops (I used 8)

1 med onion, thinly sliced

1 10 1/2 oz can condensed cream of chicken/mushroom soup

1/4 cup catsup

3 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Season pork chops with salt and pepper.

In skillet, brown chops on both sides in small amount of hot oil (about 30 seconds on each side). 

At this point I removed the pork chops from the skillet and turned off the burner until everything else was ready. Top chops with onion slices.  Combine remaining ingredients in bowl. Place pork chops in bottom of skillet and pour liquid ingredients over chops. 

(It does not look like there will be enough liquid in the skillet at first, but with the onions releasing so much water, it gets more liquid-like within about 15 minutes. Make sure your burner is on low.)

Cover; simmer 45 to 60 minutes, or till done (when the onions are translucent). 

Normally this is served over egg noodles or mashed potatoes -- I was out of egg noodles and forgot I had potatoes in the pantry so I put it over spiral noodles. Same concept, still delicious! I got created with the frozen vegetables and combined sweet corn with broccoli -- delicious choice!

This meal is relatively healthy when using the healthy soup and whole wheat pasta. Great for large families -- seeing as how one pork chop, some pasta, and vegetables does a great job of filling! 

Enjoy!! 

Sarah