Monday, November 17, 2014

Mom's Zucchini Soup

Non potato recipe for potato week! :)

Ingredients:
-3 cups sliced zucchini
-1/2 cup water
-1 Tablespoon minced onion
-1 teaspoon seasoned salt
-1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
-2 teaspoons chicken soup base or 2 bouillon cubes
-2 Tablespoons butter
-2 Tablespoons flour
-1/8 teaspoon white pepper (I use regular pepper)
-1 cup milk
-1/2 cup light cream
-paprika
-sour cream

Directions:
Combine zucchini, water, onion, seasoned salt, parsley, and 1 teaspoon soup base.  Cook until zucchini is tender and most of the water has evaporated.  Mash or puree and set aside. In sauce pan melt butter, add flour & rest of soup base and pepper.  Blend.  Add milk.  If desired, garnish with paprika and sour cream.  Taste to correct seasoning.  

Easy Crock-pot Potato Soup

The name of this is pretty self explanatory. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:
-1 30 oz. bag of frozen diced hash browns ( i am just cutting up potatoes I already have)
-1 32 oz. box of chicken broth
-1 can Cream of Chicken soup
-1 package cream cheese (i use non fat)
-3 oz bacon bits
-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
-salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Put the potatoes in the crock-pot.  Add in the chicken broth, cream of chicken soup and half of the bacon bits.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours or until potatoes are tender.  An hour before serving, cut the cream cheese into small cubes.  Place the cubes in the crock-pot.  Mix a few times throughout the hour before serving.  Once the cream cheese is completely mixed in, it's ready to serve.  Top with cheddar cheese and some additional bacon bits.  Enjoy!!

-Kaylie

Salsa Chicken Casserole

I actually haven't tried this one, but it looks good and EASY! Let's try it together!

Ingredients:
-1 cup uncooked rice

-1 cup frozen corn (thawed)
-1 can (15 oz.) black beans
-1 jar (16 oz.) salsa
-1 cup chicken broth
-1/2 Tablespoon chili powder
-1/2 teaspoon oregano
-2 large chicken breasts
-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
-2 while green onions sliced

Directions:
1. Preheat the over to 375*. Drain and briefly rinse the black beans.  Add the dry rice, black beans, corn, salsa, chicken broth, chili powder, and oregano to an 8x8 casserole dish. Stir until everything is evenly combined.

2. Cut the chicken breasts into three pieces each.  Push the chicken pieces down into the rice salsa mixture in the casserole dish. Try to push them down as far into the liquid as they'll go. Cover the casserole dish tightly with foil.  Bake for one hour.

3.  Take the casserole dish out of the oven, test the rice with a fork to make sure it is tender.  If it is not, recover the dish, return it to the oven, and bake for 10-15 minutes more. When the rice is tender, sprinkle the cheese over top and return the casserole to the oven for a few more minutes, or until the cheese has melted.  Add the sliced green onions on top after baking and serve hot.  

-Kaylie

Potato Week

Hey all! I have enjoyed your recipes you post the past couple weeks and Brayden is really grateful for something new to eat. I am totally one of those moms who get in a rut and only make the same 6 things. So THANK YOU!! 

This week we have an overwhelming amount of potatoes that need to be consumed. We bought our regular 5 lb. bag, then the next day Brayden brought two grocery sacks FULL of potatoes from his parents, and a few days later her brought more home from work. So needless to say, we are cooking "carby" this week! Not all of the recipes have potatoes, but most are. I am going to post all the recipes separately so they are easier to reference later if you so desire. Also, it is officially cold out side so I do have a couple soups. Don't judge. Hope this helps you in your menu planning this week!

20-Minute Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup
Ingredients:
-2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
-1 cup diced white onion
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 cup masa harina
-3 cups chicken stock
-2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (could use roasted chicken from grocery store)
-10 oz. can enchilada sauce
-14 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes with juices
-1 (14oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 4 oz. can chopped green chilies
-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
-8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
-1 teaspoon salt, more or less to taste
-optional toppings: tortilla chips/strips, sliced avocado, grated cheese, sour cream, and cilantro

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large stock over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, or until cooked and translucent. Add the garlic and saute for an additional minute until fragrant.  Stir in the masa harina and cook for an additional minute.

2. Pour in half of the chicken stock, and stir until completely combined.  Add in the remainder of the chicken stock, and stir to combine.  Immediately add in the chicken, enchilada sauce, black beans, tomatoes, green chilies, salt and cumin, and stir until combined. Continue stirring occasionally until the mixture reaches a simmer.  Reduce heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the soup does not stick to the bottom of the pan.  Then stir on the cheese, one handful at a time, until combined. Taste, and season the soup to taste with salt.  

3. Serve the soup warm with desired toppings. 

-Kaylie

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Here are a few of the recipes that we love and we eat them pretty often... haha!  They are all really easy and can cook while you are out for the day. When you come home, your house smells yummy and you have a yummy dinner waiting for you!  I hope you guys like them!!


Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork


-Pork Roast
-Seasoned Salt
-Pepper
-Garlic Powder
-Red Pepper Flakes
-1 bottle of Dr. Pepper
-Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce

Generously sprinkle pork with seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Then add about 3/4 of the 16.9 ounce bottle of Dr. Pepper.

After 8-10 hours (or longer) in the crockpot, remove meat and shred. 
(If you have a mixer, you can put the pork in there and it is so much easier to shred)

Strain the gravy (juice meat was cooked in) and return shredded pork and gravy to crockpot.  Now add Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce to the mixture and let sit for about an hour.

Place meat on yummy potato rolls! They are soft and delicious! Enjoy!



Pesto Chicken 

-4-5 Chicken Breasts
-1 package of Ranch Dressing Powder
-1, 8 oz. bottle of Pesto sauce 
-Angel hair pasta
-Chicken Broth

Place chicken breasts in crockpot, pour 1/2 cup chicken broth, package of Ranch Dressing, and the bottle of pesto. Let cook on Low for 6-8 hours. 

Cook pasta like box instructions. Take chicken out and shred it. Place chicken and pasta back in crock pot and mix it all together. ENJOY!


Chicken Taco Soup

-4-5 Chicken Breasts (I put them in frozen)
-1 or 2 packages of Taco Seasoning (2 gives it more flavor)
-2 cans of corn
-2 cans of black beans
-2 cans of chili beans
-2 cans of diced tomatoes
-1 tub of Sour Cream

Pour all the cans on top of the chicken and let cook on low for 6-8 hours. Half hour before you serve, pull out the chicken and shred it.  Place back in crockpot, add sour cream and mix all together. So YUMMY!  (this makes a lot of soup!!)



BBQ Chicken

-4-5 Thawed Chicken Breatst
-18 oz. Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ Sauce
-1 can of Root Beer
-salt 
-pepper

Place chicken in crockpot with root beer and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours. After it is done cooking I shred chicken and then place back in crockpot with desired amount of BBQ sauce. Place the lid back on and let sit till you are ready to eat.  I put it on rolls and have it as sandwiches! YUMMY!


Pot Roast

-Cross Rib Roast
-Au Jus packet
-Slow cooker roast mix
-8 oz. Coke

Put your roast in the crockpot. Mix the slow cooker seasoning according to the package. Pour on top of the roast, add the coke.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Its VERY important that you never lift the lid! Right before you are ready to pull it out, sprinkle your dry Au Jus packet over the roast. Eat with potatoes and veggies, it makes a yummy Sunday dinner!!


 


Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Banana Bread

1/4 C. butter
1 C. sugar
1 egg, beaten
Mix these together in a bowl

3 large, ripe bananas, mashed
Add to the wet ingredients

2 C. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
Mix these together before adding them to the ingredients in the wet ingredients bowl.

1/2 C. chopped nuts, optional

Pour entire mixture into bread pan - it will almost fill the pan. Bake for about 1 hour at 350 degrees. Check it with a toothpick or knife - if it comes out clean from the center of the loaf, it's done

Note: I like to just stick my bananas in the freezer when they get too ripe to eat. They turn SUPER brown, but then whenever you want to make banana bread they are ready to go. You just thaw them out and they are ready to mash into your wet ingredients.