Week 15 - Crockpot Fettucine

Hello everyone!  I am a really big fan of cooking in the crockpot on Sundays because it is just so easy! I found this recipe on the Crockin' Girls website which is a great resource if you love using the crockpot. The site is http://www.crockingirls.com/ They are still switching over from their old site so right now the site is not working properly. I definitely recommend checking back when they are up and running.

I found this recipe awhile ago and wanted to give it a try. You will need: 2-3 chicken breasts (cut into pieces), 1 pkg. dry italian salad dressing mix, 2 T. olive oil, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 8 oz. cream cheese, 1 c. chicken broth

First place the chicken in the crockpot and sprinkle the italian seasoning over the chicken. Sprinkle with olive oil. I guess I didn't read the recipe to well because I put my chicken in whole and figured after cooking it I could cut it apart.

Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Then mix the soup, cream cheese and broth until smooth. This was also a bit tough since the cream cheese was hard to get smooth. Add this mixture to the crockpot and cook on low for 1 more hour.

Serve this mixture over hot pasta. We used linguini because I did not have fettucine. Any type of pasta is fine.

This dish reminded me a bit of chicken alfredo, but not as creamy. I liked the sauce mixture that the soup and cream cheese produced.



If you like using the crockpot, definitely check out the Crockin' Girls website. You can also find them on facebook - https://www.facebook.com/happycrockin

Enjoy!!!  I will try to blog over the holiday weekend, but I am not sure how much cooking I will actually be doing. I will try to post a few recipes to end the football season at some point next week. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! Feel free to share your favorite holiday recipes on the blog.

We will conclude the blog for Super Bowl - I'll try to come up with some FUN items for a big party to end the season!

Week 13 - Easy Chicken Parm Bake PLUS a bonus item!

Hello all!  Sorry I haven't blogged in 2 weeks, but I was away on vacation and we didn't cook very much while we were away.  For this week I have 2 items to help make up for missing last week.

The first item is Easy Chicken Parm Bake from Allrecipes.com. I actually followed this recipe by video -  http://allrecipes.com/video/311/easy-chicken-parmesan-bake/detail.aspx?prop24=RR_RelatedVideo, but I will also give step-by-step directions.  Ingredients needed include: chicken, tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, olive oil and a bag of croutons.

First, coat your baking dish with some olive oil and garlic (if you want).  Place the chicken in the baking dish. Coat the chicken with tomato sauce, so that the sauce is covering the chicken. Next top with mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.

Next top with croutons! This is the special ingredient :)

Then top again with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. I paired this dish with penne pasta.

Serve and enjoy!

The bonus item I'd like to share is potato wedges - instead of french fries. Very resourceful especially if you have potatoes in the house.  I got this recipe from my mom and it is super easy!

Take 4 potatoes and place in cold water for 15 minutes. This will help soften the potatoes. Then cut the potatoes into wedges. Place potatoes on a greased cookie sheet in a single layer. Top the potatoes with salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes. At this point, flip the potatoes so they are baking evenly. Bake for another 20 and enjoy!!!  We had this treat with our burgers the other night and they were a great addition to our meal!

Stay tuned for next week!!!!  If anyone has any fun recipes, feel free to email me or post on the blog!

Week 11 - Meat and Potatoes!!!

Hello Everyone! I am excited to share these 2 recipes with you today. We really enjoyed them and I think you will too!!!

I found a recipe online for Incredibly Cheesey Turkey Meatloaf and wanted to give it a try. We usually make the same meatloaf recipe, so it was time to try something new - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/incredibly-cheesy-turkey-meatloaf/detail.aspx. The only item I changed for this recipe was the cheese. I didn't have cubes of colby cheese sitting around, so I used shredded cheddar instead and it did the trick!

I thought the perfect go-with for this meatloaf was some scalloped potatoes. I searched high and low for an easy recipe and found this one - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/man-lovin-potatoes/detail.aspx

While I boiled the potatoes, I mixed together all the ingredients.

For some reason, I hate cooking bacon, so we decided to use already cooked bacon so it was easier just to heat and crumble up into the mixture.

I poured all the ingredients into a a baking dish and topped with the parmesan cheese.  A lot of the mixture was on the bottom of the bowl so I just spread it around the potaotes evenly.

I cooked it for the longer amount of time noted on the recipe. I wanted to make sure the top browned nicely before serving.

This recipe was a big hit! I plan to make it for Thanksgiving this week as well! 

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!!  I hope to blog some new recipes next weekend from the road!!  Stay tuned....

Week 10 - Bacon Chicken Ranch and MORE pumpkin!!

I can't believe how fast time is flying!  Before we know it Thanksgiving will be here :)

Today I decided to use the crockpot again for a meal I picked out a few weeks ago.  One of Ben's favorite things to eat is bacon, so when I saw a recipe for Bacon Chicken Ranch I knew it would be perfect.

I found this website on facebook and it is really great for crockpot ideas - http://crockpotgirls.com/

For this recipe you need: 4-5 pieces of chicken, 1/2 jar of bacon bits, 1 pkg ranch dressing mix (I used hidden valley), 1 can cream of mushroom soup and 1/2 cup of sour cream.  Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Spray your crock pot with cooking spray and put the chicken into the crockpot. Top with the soup/dressing mixture. I used my crock pot bag again and it made clean up so easy!!!

 Cook on high 3-4 hours. Serve over rice or pasta.

Ben was a BIG fan of this dish and it was very tasty!  I will definitely make this again. I actually couldn't find this recipe on the site, but found an alternative that sounded just as good - http://crockpotgirls.com/recipes/main-dishes/chicken/bacon-ranch-chicken/

Since I still had more pumpkins, I decided to make some more pumpkin items and found a recipe online for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Here is the recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies-III/Detail.aspx?prop24=etaf. The only thing I did different was instead of using canned pumpkin, I used 2 cups of pumpkin puree for the mixture. 

Bake for 10 minutes at 325. Let cookies cool before eating. They will be more cake like and taste delicious!!

I froze the rest of the pumpkin puree, so that I could make more pumpkin goodies another time!  Just freeze it in a Tupperware or freezer bag and make sure to take all the air out.

Enjoy!!!  Until next week....

Week 9 - PUMPKIN TIME!

I had to be a bit creative this week since I wasn't home on Sunday.  I traveled to NJ and decided to have 2 of my favorite people help me bake for my blog this week.

I wanted to use the pumpkins we picked at the farm now that Halloween was over and I didn't want them to go bad. This weekend was my small window to bake pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread from scratch!!!

Here are the 2 recipes we used:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mrs-siggs-fresh-pumpkin-pie/detail.aspx
http://www.pickyourown.org/pumpkinbread.php

I used the biggest pumpkin we had and prepped it first. It is best to cut your pumpkin up into smaller pieces before cooking.

We used two big pots and filled them both with water. We then submerged the pumpkin in the water and boiled it until it was soft.  Once it was soft, we scraped the pumpkin flesh from the rind of the pumpkin.

We had a TON of pumpkin to use!!!

After mixing all the ingredients together we poured it into the pie crust.  I wasn't sure how it would come out when I saw this:

We followed the exact directions for baking - bake for 10 minutes at 450 and then reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for another 40 minutes. We checked it with a toothpick and it was perfect. We let the pie cool overnight and it was ready to go today!  I tried it this morning and man was it good!!!  This recipe is definitely a keeper!

We made 2 pumpkin pies and still had pumpkin puree left, so we decided to make pumpkin bread too.

We decided to make regular pumpkin bread with no additions but I have made it with chocolate chips before as well.

This came out really good too!!!

Last but not least, I decided to cook the pumpkin seeds which I have never done before.  After pulling them out of the pumpkin I cleaned them and made sure I got all of the pumpkin string off of them.

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and put the seeds on the cookie sheet in a single layer.  Sprinkle with salt and cook for 10 minutes at 325. Take the seeds out of the oven and toss so that all seeds are covered in the cooking spray. Cook for another 15 minutes.  Just be sure they don't get to burnt. You want them to be golden brown. Eat and enjoy!!  These were a really good treat!!

 Due to traveling today I don't have a main course to share. I hope you enjoy these fun pumpkin recipes. We definitely had fun baking yesterday!!!!  These recipes are fun and don't require a ton of work!  I look forward to cooking pumpkin pie every year!!!!  Until next time...

Week 8 - Jambalaya and Apple Bread!

Well we are halfway through football season already!!!  I have really enjoyed cooking on each Sunday and hope everyone has been enjoying the recipes I've been sharing!

I promised a crock pot recipe today and decided to use turkey meat as my base.  I found a recipe for chili online, but changed it around a bit to be more like jambalaya.  Here is the original recipe: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1726,154178-242204,00.html.
I cooked the turkey meat and added it to the crock pot first. I then added in 1 can of tomatoes, 1 can of corn, 1/2 onion chopped, 1 green pepper chopped and salt/pepper to taste. Thanks to my friend Emily, I used a crock pot liner bag to help with cleanup too!

I cooked this mixture for 3.5 hours on low. I served it over white rice and sprinkled cheese over the top. This was super easy to make and tasty too!  The peppers and onions really came out great after cooking in the crock pot!

Now for dessert.....  Ben and I went apple picking last week, so I decided to do some baking with the apples before they go bad.  I found a recipe online for apple bread and wanted to try it http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/apple-bread/detail.aspx
I only used 1 cup of apples and I did not use nuts.  When I mixed everything together the mixture seemed strange to me (almost like a dough vs. a liquid mixture), so I added some milk to soften it up a bit. I wasn't sure if I was doing it right, but wanted to give it a try!  I only made 1 loaf and had a bit left over to make some mini muffins.

I baked the loaf for 45 minutes because I wanted to make sure it had baked all the way through. The inside was very moist, so it was hard to tell even with using a toothpick.  I cooked the muffins for about 30 minutes and they were much easier to test. However, both the apple bread and muffins came out delicious!!

Stay tuned next week for pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie from scratch!! We went pumpkin picking as well and once Halloween is over I will cut them up for baking. I'll also come up with a main course as too!

I'd love to hear your comments and/or suggestions for recipes you'd like to try! Enjoy your week!

Week 7 - a week with veggies....but good stuff!!

Happy Bye Week for my fellow Giants fans!  Today's blog will feature a chicken quesadilla recipe along with a chicken lo mein recipe from earlier this week.

Lets first start with the quesidilla recipe since this was a GREAT treat to have during the football games today.  I was looking for something to make with leftover chicken and rice from fajitas we made a few days ago. Quesidillas came to mind and I found this easy recipe online http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/chicken-quesadillas/detail.aspx.

Since my chicken was already cooked and seasoned I was able to skip that first step. I started with my vegetables which consisted of peppers, tomatoes and a stir fry mixture that I had in the freezer. I then added in the chicken so it could get mixed in with the cooked vegetables. I let it cook/heat for about 10 minutes.

 I layered half of each tortilla with the mixture and sprinkled with cheese.  

I folded the tortillas in half and baked in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes.  When they came out they were just the right temperature and perfect to cut into smaller pieces.  I served the quesillas with rice and salsa and they were delicious!!

Earlier this week I had dinner with a friend so I thought I would use opportunity to make vegetable lomein. Ben is not a big lomein/stirfry guy so this is not something I would make at home.  I got this recipe from my friends blog Flavors by Four - http://flavorsbyfour.blogspot.com/2011/06/vegetable-lo-mein.html and we added in chicken to make it more wholesome for dinner.

I prepped all my vegetables at home and decided to use green peppers, string beans from my dad's garden, carrots and zucchini. You can really use any vegetables that you prefer for this recipe so that is what makes it fun! I also added in the pre-cooked chicken so that they could all heat in the oil together. 

It took a good 10-15 minutes or so to get the raw vegetables to their cooked state. I continued stirring the mixture over high heat to help.  When I thought the vegetables were good and cooked I added the cooked noodles to the mixture and tossed it all together.

Once the noodles were mixed in I finally added in the soy sauce and stirred until everything was coated evenly. I really enjoyed my version of this recipe. It made me feel like I was eating much healthier than something you can get from a chinese restaurant! This will definitely be something I make again!

  Enjoy the rest of Sunday Funday! Stay tuned next week for another crock pot recipe!!!

Week 6 - Sunday Funday with Friends!

After a great Giants win, we cooked up some goodies to share with our good friends the Murphys!

I decided to make 2 items this week for dinner which included Party Size Crunchy Onion Chicken Tenders and Sloppy Joes.

I found the chicken tenders recipe online http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Party-Size-Crunchy-Onion-Chicken-Tenders. Ingredients included: 1 6oz can of french's fried onion rings, 1/4 cup flour, 2 pounds chicken tenders and 1-2 eggs beaten.

Combine the onion rings and flour in a ziploc bag and lightly crush with your hands or a rolling pin. Dip the chicken in the eggs and add a few pieces at a time to the onion mixture; shake to coat. Place on greased pan and bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

I actually only brought a small can of the onion rings so next time I will need to use the bigger can. They still tasted good, but they did need more onions.

Now for the sloppy joes!  We had these sloppy joes at my friend Laura's house and I knew I had to make them. The recipe is her mother in laws and it was just perfect for Sunday Funday!!!

You will need: 1 onion chopped, 4 cloves garlic (this is optional, I did not use this), 1 lb of ground beef, rolls, american cheese, 1 cup ketchup, salt and pepper to taste.

Take the chopped onion and cook until soft. If using garlic, add to the onion mixture and cook until golden. Add the ground beef and cook through.

Once the ground beef is cooked add 1 cup of ketchup and cook until the ketchup is brown (about 7 min).

Cut your rolls in half (I used hotdog and hamburger rolls because I had them in the house, but Laura used small potato dinner rolls). Top with the beef mixture and a slice of cheese. Place the tops on the rolls and bake covered for 5 minutes at 350 until tops are golden and cheese is melted.

Man were these delicious! This is the PERFECT football food!

I am looking forward to next weeks post. I will be making vegetable lomein this week, so I will include that in next weeks Sunday Funday Blog as well! Stay tuned!!!!





Week 5 - A day of appetizers!

After eating a big brunch with my family today, we weren't in the mood for anything too big to eat.  I thought making a bunch of finger foods would be a good idea for today's blog.

Dish #1 - Pigs in a Blanket
Now some of you may already have this easy recipe in your routine, but not me!  I wanted to do the Pigs in a Blanket myself instead of buying them premade at the grocery store. My mom suggested doing it this way.  What you will need: 1 package of cresent rolls (pillsbury from the store is good),  5-6 hot dogs, cheese (optional). Unroll the cresent rolls and cut each triangle in half (you should have 16 triangles).

Next, take the hotdogs and cut them into thirds so that you have smaller pieces to fit into the triangles. Roll up the hotdogs into the cresent rolls and place on a cookie sheet.  If you want to put cheese into some of these, put the cheese down on the cresents first and then roll the hotdog. ***Follow temperature and baking time on package***

Make sure to bake until golden brown.  Serve with either mustard or ketchup and enjoy!!!

Dish #2 - Turkey Nachos

My mom made a turkey for dinner on Friday, so there was tons of turkey left over.  I wanted to find something fun to make with the turkey and found this super easy recipe for Turkey Nachos online http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Turkey-Nachos. You will need 1 can of condensed cream of cheddar cheese soup, 3/4 cup salsa and 1 cup cubed turkey (you can use chicken too!). Don't forget to pick up your favorite bag of tortilla chips at the store for this recipe!

Mix the soup and salsa together in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and stir in the turkey (I think you can use more than 1 cup if you want to).  Cook until it is heated through and serve. The trick to this was keeping it warm after taking it off the stove. Maybe try serving this in a casserole dish so you can reheat as needed.

Dish #3 - Rye Rounds

My mom used to make this appetizer for a lot of get togethers, but I totatlly forgot about it until now!! 

What you will need: 1 party rye (or anytype of ryebread), 1/3 cup grated parmesan, 3/4 cup mayo, 1/2 cup chopped onion.

Mix the parmesan, mayo and onion together. Spread onto rye rounds evenly. 

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 10-12 minutes until spread is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve and Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed appetizer week #5!!!  We definintely enjoyed eating all of these goodies and hope you to do :)

Week 4 - Mom's Sweet & Sour Meatballs!

So for this week I decided to make an oldie but a goodie!! My mom's sweet and sour meatballs are a favorite of ours and very easy to make.

Ingredients include: 1 can whole cranberry sauce, 12 oz. bottle of chili sauce and 2 lbs hamburger meat (you can use turkey meat if you prefer that)

Mix the cranberry sauce and chili sauce in a big pot and heat on low. Roll your meatballs and add them to the sauce. After a few minutes, turn the meatballs so they cook on both sides. Cook on low heat for 1 hour. 

Either serve hot or you can put away for dinner another day.  They reheat well too!!!

That's it for this week! Been a busy one...I hope to have something new and exciting for next weekend!