chunky crockpot chili (say that 3 times fast)

easiest chili i have ever made. ok i'm not gonna lie- it's the only chili i have ever made. i'm not really into making my own chili but this recipe is sooo yummy! perfect with cornbread muffins and honey!

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 cans (16 oz. each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 oz.) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. prepared salsa (i used pace)
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. diced onions (i just used a couple pinches left over from the medium onion)
4 tsp. sliced black olives
sour cream

heat large skillet over medium heat. add beef and onion, cook until beef is browned and onion is tender. drain fat. place beef mixture, chili powder, cumin, tomatoes, beans and salsa in slow cooker; stir. cover; cook on LOW 5-6 hours or until flavors are blended and chili is bubbly. season with salt and pepper to taste. serve with sour cream, cheese, onions and olives sprinkled on top!

makes 4-6 servings

Cobb Salad

This recipe is pretty much a "no-brainer", but it's healthy and easy. There are also lots of ingredients you can substitute if you don't have everything it calls for on hand. I serve this as the entire meal since it's balanced, but it makes two heaping plates full. You could easily divide it up for smaller portions of four.

1 package romaine lettuce
4 slices bacon, cooked
1 avocado
3 oz. blue cheese (this is strong, but goes well with the bacon and avocado)
1 medium tomato
3 hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup shredded cheese (any variety. I use a reduced fat Mexican)
1 cup grilled chicken or turkey, whatever you have
I throw any other veggies I have in the fridge on the salad. When I made this one I put mushrooms on it and broccoli.

Spread the lettuce evenly across each plate. Add the next 7+ ingredients to the top of the salad, arranging them in small piles around the plate. You can also make vertical lines rather than piles.
I personally think it goes best with ranch dressing.

Taco Soup

quick and easy to throw together and delicious!

shredded chicken

1 C chicken broth

1 small salsa

1 can black beans, do not drain

1 can mexicorn, do not drain

mix and heat. serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheese and sour cream.

Chocolate White Chip Cookies

1 1/4 C flour

2/3 C baking cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 C butter, softened

3/4 C sugar

2/3 C brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 cups white chocolate chips

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt. Cream butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chips. Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes.

Pizza Crust

This is the recipe I used for Girls Night at Jamie's a few months ago. We're eating it tonight so I thought I'd share!

Combine: 1 Tbs yeast

1 C. warm water

1 tsp sugar

Add: 1 tsp salt

2 Tbs vegetable oil

2 1/2 C flour

Mix together, knead with hand and let rise 10 minutes. Roll out onto pizza pan, poke holes with fork. Pre-cook five minutes, add sauce and toppings and cook for remaining 20-25 minutes.

Sauce:

My favorite sauce is Hannaford brand roasted garlic but this is a good homemade recipe:

14.5 oz diced tomatoes

14.5 oz tomato sauce

1 C. chopped onion

2 Tbs dried basil

2 tsp dried oregano

2 Tbs sugar

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp pepper

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until onion is tender. This makes enough sauce for 2-4 pizzas, depending on how much sauce you like. You can freeze the remaining sauce in zip-lock bags, each bag containing enough sauce for one pizza.

Diversity Oreos

Here's the recipe for homemade Oreo's from girls night. Kristen inspired me to do a variation of the Oreo and make a "White Oreo". I had some leftover filling from the (black) Oreo's the other night and needed to make a treat for mutual. I had a box of white cake mix in my cupbord and after reading Kristen's cookie recipe, the wheels started turning. I whipped up a batch of White Oreo's!

Cookies:
1 box *devil's food cake mix
2 eggs beaten well
1/3 cup oil
Filling:
1/4 cup margarine
2 oz. cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
Cookies:.
Mix cake mix, eggs and oil together well.
Shape into marble size balls.
Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. They are done when the tops looked cracked.
Filling:
Mix margarine, cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla together.
When cookies are completely cooled, frost the flat side of one cookie and then sandwich with another cookie.

*substitute white cake mix for devil's food cake when making White Oreo's

Orange Chicken

Ok girls I made this one up so feel free to edit it anyway you want when cooking. It turned out better then I thought, but I would love to hear what you added or did different.

I use Honey Orange BBQ sauce from Stop and Shop, I am not sure the brand but I will find out. I use one whole one for us so you might want to buy an extra until you figure out what works best for you.
* first I cut up some chicken into bit size pieces and put in a bowl full of the honey orange sauce.
I put that together at lunch and put it back in the fridge until I was ready to cook at dinner
( I don't know if it makes a difference I am sure it would taste the same if you didn't marinate it)
* When ready to cook put bread crumbs into a plastic bag add bowl of chicken with sauce to bag.
coat chicken completely with bread crumbs. You can add more sauce if you need to.
* Put breaded chicken on cookie sheet and bake on 350 degrees for about 15 min. or until
chicken is cooked through.
* while the chicken is cooking put Honey orange sauce in a frying pan on medium to high heat.
(cover the bottom of the pan) I put snow peas and cut up red pepper in the sauce and cooked
until tender.
* If you need to add some more sauce to pan and add chicken when done, fry the chicken in the
frying pan until it is completely coated with sauce.
* when done put chicken mixture on top of rice, I usually drizzle some orange sauce over the rice
and chicken before serving.

I promise it's easy and tastes yummy! have fun making!

rainbow chip cake mix cookies

so this is what i was "going to make" for the cookies girls night on saturday. i saw the cute pictures and was bummed i was so sick so this is what i have to share! these are seriously so yummy... and addicting.

*you can make them with your favorite kind of cake mix- i prefer rainbow chip!*

1 pkg. cake mix

1/3 c. veg. oil

2 eggs

mix ingredients with a spoon until moistened. drop with a cookie baller and bake at 375 for 6-8 min.

too bad they are so easy to make which means they are even easier to eat!

cinnamon rolls

2 cups milk, 2 cubes butter. Heat until melted (do not boil)

1/3 cup warm water, 2 TBSP yeast, 1 tsp sugar. Mix together, set aside.

Beat in bowl-3 eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt. Add 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir altogether. Pour in milk mixture. Add 2 cups flour. Mix and add yeast mixture. Add 2 1/2 cups flour. (sometimes a little more). Mix well. (i beat it in my bosch for 10 mins) It will be very, very sticky. Raise for one hour. Punch down and raise 30 minutes more.

Take 1/2 dough and put on floured surface. (try to add as little flour as possible!! you may need to add some so it won't be too sticky, but be careful!) Roll into oblong shape. Spread melted butter, cinnamon, sugar, and brown sugar on top. Raisins are optional. It takes quite a bit of cinnamon. Fold over to make 3 layers. Cut width inch wide strips. Take a strip and pull a little, twist and pinch on edge as you lay it on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat same procedure, using other 1/2 of dough. Let raise no longer than 20 mins.

Cook at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Frost. (you can use your favorite frosting recipe)

Frosting

2 lb powdered sugar
1 cup shortening
4 Tbs butter
2/3 cup milk
3 tsp vanilla

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

This recipe is probably more for the man in your life. My hubby loves meatloaf and burgers, so when I found this recipe by Paula Dean I had to make it for him. I try to stick to more low-fat dinners, but sometimes it's fun to make a real artery clogger to mix things up. I made this one in a bit of a hurry and accidentally added the ketchup and mustard directly to the meatloaf. I compensated by adding a shake more breadcrumbs and it actually helped by making it really moist and juicy. Enjoy!

1 pound ground beef

10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used 7 to help lighten it a bit)

1 (8-ounce) package sharp Cheddar, grated (try to get 2%, less fat)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup ketchup 2 tablespoons prepared mustard

1 (3-ounce) can French fried onions ( they only had a HUGE can at the store so I didn't use them)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the ground beed and next 8 ingredients, mix well.
In a small bowl, combine the ketchup and mustard. Stir 1/4 cup ketchup mixture into meat mixture, reserving remaining ketchup mixture.
Press meat mixture into a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan, or shape into a loaf and place on a rack in a broiler pan. Spread remaining ketchup mixture over loaf. Bake 40 minutes. Top with French fried onions; bake another 10 to 15 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink.

chicken n biscuits

this is like an easy "chicken pot pie" recipe. and probably a lot healthier!

ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
2 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional- i didn't use bacon and it was still good)
1 1/2 cups biscuit/baking mix (i used one of those biscuit bags where you "just add water"-like the muffin ones... much easier)

2/3 cup milk (if you use the mix)

1 (2.8 oz.) can french-fried onions (key ingredient for flavor!)

directions:

in a large bowl, combine the vegetables, chicken, soup, milk, 1 cup cheese and bacon if desired. pour into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. cover and bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

meanwhile, in another bowl, combine biscuit mix and milk. drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto chicken mixture. bake, uncovered, for 20-22 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. top with onions and remaining cheese. bake 3-4 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted.

Slow-Roasted Chicken

Tender and juicy, this is what's for dinner tonight! I love it because it looks so "Martha" but it's actually easier than any crock-pot recipe and surprisingly inexpensive (I got a 9 lb chicken for $8.50!). Feel free to get creative, but here's how I got this bird a-roastin' :

1~Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2~Rinse chicken and remove giblets (don't be scared, they're all ready for you in a little plastic bag in the chicken. this was good news for me since I don't like to get super involved with raw meat ;))

3~Drizzle bottom of roasting pan (or even a cake pan or deep, wide soup pot) with olive oil. Put in the chicken and add seasoning. I drizzled the chicken with olive oil, rubbed on a couple teaspoons of rosemary, two chopped cloves of garlic, salt and pepper, and the juice of 1/2 lemon.
4~Stick that baby in the oven and forget about it until the button pops! Rory thought this was by far the most interesting thing I've ever made so we peeked a couple times and basted the bird while we were at it. Mine took about 2 1/2 hours.

5~Remove and cover w/ foil for at least 20 minutes while you get your side dishes going. I moved the chicken to a plate and whisked a little roux into the juices and let that thicken over a hot stove: easy gravy, easier dishes :)

6~Bon appetite!

Delmonico Potatoes

These potatoes are a tradition in my family and are usually served at special occasions like Christmas Eve with stuffed flank steak and at Easter with a spiral ham. They are so easy to make and taste amazing, really creamy and you'll HAVE to go back for seconds!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. Ore-Ida frozen Hash Browns (1 bag)
• 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup (10 3/4 oz.)
  1/2 stick of butter cut into small cubes
  1 bag Shredded Cheddar Cheese (8 oz)
• 1/3 cup Chopped Scallions
• 1 container Sour Cream (16 0z.)

In a large bowl mix defrosted potatoes, sour cream, soup, scallions and cheddar cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer ingredients into a casserole dish and place small cubes of butter over the mixture. Bake at 325 degrees for 1hr. 30min-1 hr. 45 min or until golden brown.

White Bread

i thought a nice homemade bread recipe would go great with the soup i just posted. i grew up on this bread and love, love, love it! not to mention it is so easy, too.

4 1/2 C lukewarm water (take one of these cups and set aside with 3 Tbls. yeast)
1 1/2 T salt
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C vegatable oil
10-12 C flour

Knead 10-15 minutes in mixer with a bread hook. (i use a bosch) Oil bread bowl to put dough in and let rise. After doubled in size, shape into 5 loaves, place in tins, raise. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

yes, i realize this makes 5 loaves, which means you need 5 loaf pans, but it is delicious!

Cream of Broccoli Soup

As promised...

3 cups water
3 tsp. chicken base or bouillon cubes
2 cups celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely grated carrots
3-4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large bunch of broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces

Cream Sauce
1 1/2 cubes butter (and you wonder why it's so good!)
approx. 1/2 cup flour
1 quart milk
16 oz Velveeta cut into cubes

In a large stock pot combine the first six ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for15-20 minutes or until veggies are tender. Meanwhile, melt butter in saucepan. When completely melted, add enough flour to make a paste. Add milk all at once stirring constantly until it thickens. Add cheese and continue stirring until cheese is melted. ADd sauce to soup. Mix completely to cook until desired thickness.

dinner reality check

crock pot chicken & rice

what? i have to make dinner tonight? is anyone else having these thoughts after the much needed christmas break? i am missing my mom's home cooking already! but it's back to the basics for us! this is our very favorite/easy crock pot chicken & rice recipe adopted from my sister-in-law sarah. yum!

ingredients:

2-4 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese (let sit out to soften)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 pkg. italian dressing seasoning (the dried kind in the packet)

rice

stir the cream cheese, cream of chicken, and seasoning together in the crockpot. i actually start it on low and let them sit in there for about 30 min so the cream cheese is softer to stir. (but don't forget about them like i did today!) put the frozen (because i'm lazy) chicken in and cover with the mix. cook on high 4-6 hours or until the chicken is cooked and fall-apart-tender. after the first two hours when the chicken is softer i cut it up into strips for easier eating. how easy is that!?

cook the rice in a pot (or rice cooker if you're not dumb like me and know how to use the stupid thing) and smother with chicken mixture! the italian seasoning is the secret ingredient! so yum!

Yummy Breakfast

Here is a great little breakfast treat, I made it the other day and it's really easy.

Ingredients:
Hash brown patty (the frozen kind)
Bacon or Canadian bacon (cooked Cut up)
Red Bell pepper (or any other pepper)
egg- scrambled (about one egg per hash brown patty)

Cook the hash brown patty either in the microwave for about one minute, I cook the bacon in the microwave also.(just put paper towels on a plate then the bacon and cover with another paper towel, it comes out not greasy, cook about a minute per piece)In a frying pan I cut up and get the pepper soft, then scramble the egg.
add the pepper, and bacon to the scrambled egg. put the egg mixture on top of the hash brown, I drizzle ketchup and sprinkle cheese on top of that.
This is yummy your husbands will love it!