Chicken Carnitas in Your Slow Cooker

After a couple of end-of-summer trips to Texas and Mexico, I'm happy to be back enjoying the mild fall weather of NWA!  I got back just in time for my favorite season to begin. 

  I love the crisp air in the mornings when I walk Abbey, and although our leaves haven't really changed yet, I know it's coming!  It's time to pull out a couple of sweaters and jackets for that occasional cool day or early morning dog-walk!

  Around our house, the beginning of fall means searching for soup, chili and stew recipes for my slow cooker to "work on" all day.  What a great way to make your house smell wonderful. 

   I've got a Tex-Mex recipe for you that uses chicken in a tangy citrus/garlic sauce that cooks all day in your slow cooker, and then finishes under the broiler (to put a crisp edge on the meat before filling corn tortillas with it!). (Here are pictures of my process first and then the recipe). I found this recipe on ClosetCooking that I pinned to my board in Pinterest;  so glad that I saved this one!  Delicious!

Baked Potatoes in Your Crock Pot!

If you like baked potatoes in the summer (or anytime!) here's a great way to make them.

1.  Scrub and thoroughly wash your baking potatoes-any kind, I usually fix half regular baking potatoes and half sweet potatoes.

2. Rub the skins with oil and a little kosher salt (optional).  Wrap each potato individually in foil.

3.  Layer in your Crock  Pot and put on High setting for several hours until tender.

They turn out perfectly...and no hot kitchen!

Peach Crumble in Your Crock Pot

I think that one of the many delightful aspects of fall is enjoying the scent of cinnamon-laden desserts floating throughout your home.  During Southlake's recent Oktoberfest, I had a cup of hot cider with plenty of cinnamon, and it was like a celebration (in my mouth) that fall had arrived!  If you are anxious to celebrate that warm cinnamon embrace of Autumn, just put the ingredients for this wonderful peach dessert in your Crock Pot and savor the smell of peaches and spice for hours.  The bonus that evening will be a delicious dessert on your dinner table!

Peach Crumble (Crock Pot)
1 1/3 C rolled old-fashioned oats
1 C granulated sugar
1 C packed brown sugar
2/3 C buttermilk baking mix (I use Bisquick)
2 tsp ground cinnamon (I use more)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 lbs. fresh peaches (about 8 medium), sliced

Stir together oats, sugars, baking mix, cinnamon and nutmeg in large bowl.  Stir in peaches;  mix until well-blended.  Pour mixture into Crock Pot.  Cover and cook on Low 4-6 hours.  Makes 8-12 servings.

Swaps:
At the Picket Fence
Raising Homemakers
We are That Family
Deep Roots at Home
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Slow Cooker Potato Soup/Salmon Casserole

I thought that this week would be a great time to share some slow cooker recipes.  It's finally fall, and if you're like me, the cooler weather gives you that boost of energy to accomplish your household to-do list.  I've been painting a dresser in black and white to match Ben's (our youngest son)  IKEA furniture in his bedroom.  He likes contemporary with a 60's flair, and his room is "Rat-Pack cool"!  Anyway, if you are working your way down a list of projects, you might just appreciate some recipes that let your slow cooker do the work during the afternoon... and your family enjoy the aroma and taste of a home-cooked meal when dinnertime rolls around.  After I post today, the painting will go on;  today I will wear latex gloves because at finishing time yesterday I looked like a Dalmatian!

Potato Soup

6 potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 green onions, washed and cut up
2 whole onions, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 TBSP parsley flakes
5 C water
1 TBSP salt
Pepper
1/3 C butter
1 can evaporated milk
chopped chives

Put all ingredients in large-sized  slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low 10-12 hours.  Can top with chives, bacon, sour cream or shredded cheese before serving if desired.


Salmon Cheese Casserole

1 lb. can salmon (with liquid)
1 (4 oz)  can mushrooms, drained
1 1/2 c bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
1 C grated cheese
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP minced onion

Flake fish in bowl, removing all bones.  Add all remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Pour into lightly-greased slow cooker.  Cover and cook on Low 1 hour then turn to Low for 3 to 4 hours.  Great served with asparagus as a side!

Swaps:
My Sweet and Savory
33 Shades of Green
Blessed with Grace
All the Small Stuff
Beyer Beware
Delightfully Dowling
I Should Be Mopping the Floor
Mandy's Recipe Box
It's a Blog Party
The Blackberry Vine






 

Refried Bean Dip in Your Crock Pot

I found a great recipe to share with you this week.  My recipe file box  is a disaster area right now, but I still  spotted this prize recipe down in that mess.  This one is noted to be a diabetic recipe (I believe it was Aunt Sis'),  but it's just a yummy  dip for anyone who enjoys Mexican food.  The basic recipe is pretty mild in flavor, but if you like it hot (like I do) you can throw in some extra peppers,  crushed red pepper flakes or hot sauce to jazz up the flavor!  We like our dips and salsa with the large white corn "restaurant style" chips or Scoopers.  Here's that recipe I promised:

Refried Bean Dip

20 oz. can fat-free refried beans
1 C shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 C chopped green onions
2-4 TBSP taco sauce

Combine;  cover and cook on LOW in the crock pot for 2-2 1/2 hours, or cook on HIGH for 30 minutes and then on LOW for 30 minutes.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Eat-out places that have good Mexican dips:
-Chilis
-Cheddars

Swaps:
Comfy in the Kitchen
Designs by Gollum
Grocery Cart Challenge
Momtrends
Ann Kroeker
Simply Sweet Home
Shabby Nest
At the Picket Fence
My Romantic Home

Zesty BBQ Steak

Here's a fast dinner idea that can be put on buns for sandwiches or poured over rice. It is baked in the oven, but I think that you could easily make this in your slow cooker as well. I plan to try this great recipe for beef in my crock pot, sometime soon. Happy Wednesday!

Zesty BBQ Steak

1 1/2 lb. chipped sirloin steak
2 TBSP flour
2 TBSP shortening
1/2 minced onion
1/3 C minced celery
1 clove minced garlic
1 can crushed Italian tomatoes
1 C water
2 green peppers, chopped
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
2 TBSP lemon juice
2 tsp Dijon mustard
Dash Tabasco Sauce
salt and pepper to taste

-Dip steak in flour.

-Brown steak in skillet along with onion, celery, peppers and garlic.

-Add remaining ingredients and stir well.

-Cover and bake in 325 degree oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until tender. (I'm going to try this in the crock pot on low for 3 hrs.)

-Serve as a sandwich, or over rice.

-I will be at these swaps today:

DiningwithDebbie
WeareThatfamily
Krazykitchen
KellytheKitchenKop
Raising4Godlymen

Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese...Sempre Fi

When my two older sons were in high school, a new family moved into our community and church family, as well. Matt and Tammy were a great couple with two very sweet girls and a lovable Labrador Retriever. Matt was an officer with the Marine Corp and Tammy was a teacher.

Every time that we had a church dinner, Tammy would bring some great-tasting dish and then, later, pass out copies of the recipes to all of us "fans"! Because she had moved around the country a lot, (military families are known for that!)she had swapped recipes with "the best"! Here's her recipe for a delicious version of Macaroni and Cheese (from a friend that she met while living in Charleston, S.C.). Enjoy!


Tammy's Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese
(from: Margaret Hoover, Charleston, S.C. Church of Christ)

16 oz. box elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
4 C shredded cheddar cheese (can substitute other cheeses of same amount)
1 can evaporated milk
1 1/2 C milk
2 eggs
1/4 C Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

Spray crock pot with cooking spray. Place macaroni, 3 C of the cheese, and the remaining ingredients in the crock pot. Mix well. Sprinkle top with the remaining cup of cheese. Cover and do not stir while cooking!(Very important!) Cook on low setting for 5 to 6 hrs.


***Book That I'm Reading: Civil War Wives by Carol Berkin***


I will be at these recipe swaps today:
WeareThatfamily
DiningwithDebbie
KrazyKitchen

Easy Meatball Stew!

Here's a quick fix to the question, "What's for dinner? I really need some of these kinds of recipes during the month of December! And, another great aspect of this recipe is that it contains an ingredient that most cooks already have in their freezers around the holidays-frozen meatballs!

Meatball Stew
Iris Schultz, Miamisburg, Ohio (Old Taste of Home Magazine)

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
1 pkg. (16 oz.) fresh baby carrots, quartered
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery ribs, sliced
1 pkg. (12 oz.)frozen cooked meatballs
1 can (10 1/2 oz.) beef gravy
1 C water
1 envelope onion soup mix
2 tsp beef bouillon granules

Place the potatoes, carrots, onion, celery and meatballs in a 5 qt. slow cooker. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over meatball mixture. Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours or until vegetables are crisp tender. Makes 6 servings.

I will be at:
DiningwithDebbie
WeareThatfamily
KellytheKitchenKop