Crockpot sausage tortellini

Since Mother Nature is a B, and we've got a cold front on the way in, I figure its the perfect time to share a crockpot recipe with you! This was one of the easiest ones ever, but then again, I haven't met a super hard crockpot recipe very often. It's sort of the point of the crockpot, isn't it?! Anyway, I had seen this recipe on Pinterest a zillion and one times and had it in my pile to try forever, which meant I had all the elements on hand. Most of them are frozen or canned, so I always kept this on the back burner for a day when I had no dinner ideas (it happens to the best of us)...and that day finally arrived! I had also heard from a few friends who had tried it that this was worth giving a shot, so I saddled up and rode. I do not know who posted this recipe originally, so if anyone does, you can let me know so I can give them credit!

 

1 (19 oz) bag frozen cheese tortellini

1 small bag of fresh spinach

1 (14.5 oz) cans Italian style diced tomatoes, drained

1 block (8 oz) cream cheese (I always use fat free)

1 lb ground turkey or chicken sausage

4 cups chicken broth

1 can mushrooms (I added this)

 

Brown the meat and add all ingredients to the crockpot. Mix well and cook on high for 2-3 hours. I always, always, always cut the cooking time down on crockpot recipes. Seems like they always say 4-6 hours or so, and I've never had anything need 6 hours before. Besides, all the ingredients are just needing to be warmed and melded, the meat is already cooked.

 

Serve with garlic bread and you're in business! I made this on a Sunday afternoon as I ran some errands, and came home to a gloriously filling dinner that I barely worked on...can't beat that with a tortellini. Happy hump day, all!

Crockpot chicken cordon bleu

Main Man has been having a rough go of it this month, I tell ya! He was sick for about 2 weeks, I think it was the flu, but it was at least the respiratory kind where you can still leave the house without worry, even if you don't feel good doing it. He was great for about a week and woke up this morning with the stomach flu, I do believe. Poor kid dropped his phone in the couch and it got squished in the inner workings of the recliner, so now he is home sick without a phone to let me know he's ok or he needs something all day. I do realize this is the definition of a first world problem but I don't like him being incommunicado when he's under the weather...I'm a worry wart.

 

This recipe is one of the comfort food requests he made during his last sickness, so I guess it's fitting that I post this again today. This was super simple, done when I got home so I could take care of my patient instead of cooking dinner, and had the down home taste of something mama would make you when you're sick. What did you request when you were sick? I always wanted my mom's homemade chicken noodle soup...I have some frozen in the freezer so when I am sick now I can just pull some out for myself. Anyway...if you have a sicky on your hands, go ahead and make them a little dose of this and see what happens, sounds like there's a lot of it going around this year!

 

I found this recipe on the Six Sisters Stuff blog...and have a bunch more of their recipes pinned to try soon. What a great idea for siblings to say in touch!?

 

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup (I used 98% fat free)

1 cup milk (I use skim)

4 oz sliced ham

4 oz sliced swiss cheese (I used 2%)

1 (8 oz) package herbed dry bread stuffing mix (I used a box of turkey stuffing I had leftover from Thanksgiving in my cupboard)

1/4 cup butter, melted (I omitted this part, it seemed like extra calories for no reason)

 

Mix together the soup and milk in a sall bowl. Pour enough of the soup into the slow cooker to cover the bottom. Layer chicken breasts over the top of the sauce and cover with slices of ham and swiss cheese. Spread the remaining soup on top. Sprinkle the stuffing on top (drizzle butter on top of that layer if you're using it), and cover. Cook on low for 4-6 hours, or on high for 2-3 hours. I generally have Main Man start the crockpot on high 3 hours before dinner when we're doing chicken.

 

We obviously had leftovers but Main Man loved this dish so much he ate the same leftovers for lunches that whole week. Now that's something to write home about...

 

Served with a side of frozen sweet corn and over a bed of wild rice. This dinner is best enjoyed in front of a warm fire with a blanket wrapped around you. Stay healthy, my friends!

Spicy chicken lettuce wraps

I've been toying with the idea of lettuce wraps for quite some time now. Never got around to it, because lets face it, I like lettuce in my wraps but really like it wrapped inside a tortilla. But I've had a couple friends mention how much they love them, and I've seen them on menus at restaurants, so I figured I better at least give it a go. So here's my go:

 

I made the crockpot buffalo chicken sandwiches except I omitted the butter, the ranch packet, and the cheese. Just throw 4-6 chicken boobs (yes, I'm a 12 year old) in to the crockpot with a sliced white onion and some buffalo sauce for about 3 hours on high.

 

I used Buffalo Wild Wings brand Spicy Garlic sauce this time. Since the day I found out they bottled and sold their sauces from their restaurants, we haven't eaten there. I love their sauce but don't like to eat fried wings, so I bake mine and use their sauce. Or I soak a chicken book in it and grill it for chicken sammies. Either way, you get the B-Dubb's taste without the B-Dubb's calorie attack...and that, my friends, is a good thing (can I even say that or is Martha Stewart going to be waiting in my closet tonight?).

In the last half hour of cooking, I added 3 celery stalks that were diced up to the crockpot. I like a little crunchity crunch in my wraps. You can add them at the beginning or omit them completely...do whatchu want. And here are the important people in your life right now...and by people, I mean ingredients. That was weird.

Take yoself a large piece of lettuce torn off the iceburg head (I used two to get all wrapped up) and fill it with your chicken mixture, a little cheese, and some light ranch. Roll that shizz up and shove it in your mouth.

I mean it. You have to shove it in there. The things fall apart so easy with hot insides and cold outsides, it was leaking everywheeeeeeere! All I wanted was to get all the yumminess in my mouthhole without losing any of it. This crockpot buffalo chicken is made again and again in our house due to its tastiness...I wasn't about to lose half of mine because my lettuce wasn't performing its duties correctly.

So I did what any rational person would do. Gave a good old Donald Trump "You're fired" hand gesture to the lettuce and wrapped the whole shebang up lovingly in a tortilla blanket so I could ingest it all. All of it. Every piece and dripping of sauce. And that is why I shall never do lettuce wraps again. The end.

Exept you should make this chicken...really, you'll thank me. Now it's the end.

Chicken fajita quesadillas

Aaaaand for the lazy way out Tuesday, still getting in the swing of the week, type post.....what do you do with your leftover meat from the crockpot chicken fajitas you made yesterday? Boom. Chicken fajita quesadillas! When cooking for only two people, it's imperitive that you get creative with leftovers if you don't want to eat the same thing over and over all week or throw out any leftovers (my food hoarding ways wouldn't have that). Sooooo....after getting your fill of fajitas and fajita salads, head on over to quesadilla town and really get down and dirty with your south of the border cravings.

You don't even need any new ingredients! Lay a tortilla flat, cover with chicken fajita mixture, cover with shredded cheese, and top that with another tortilla on top. Throw it in the microwave for about 40 seconds (or if you're really feeling posh you can toss it in a skillet to heat up like we did the boursin chicken quesadillas a while back and get that crispiness to the shells) and you're in business! Dinner served in less than 5 minutes and tasting just like a restaurant with half the grease? No, you're not in heaven...you're in my kitchen in Iowa :)

I topped this with some Chalula hot sauce, which is pretty much the only hot sauce that exists in my world, and some greek yogurt before going to town on this appetizer for dinner dish....hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Crockpot chicken fajitas

I won't say this recipe is as good as as my Cyclone fajitas,...because what could really compare to one of your favorite foods that is sports affilitated...but if you're going for simple, this is the ticket! I usually enjoy chunks of chicken rather than shredded but if you're a lover of the shredded sort then this recipe may be for you! I would make this again (simply because you know how much I love having dinner ready to scoop into my open mouth the minute I walk inside at night) but I believe I would just use a fajita seasoning packet rather than using the cumin and chili powder...I think the taste could've been a little more apparent and the packet seasonings usually do it for me. Either way...if it's too hot to turn your oven on, you have a busy night and need dinner ready immediately, or you just love you some fajitas...get on this train.

1 yellow onion, sliced
3 bell peppers, sliced
4 large chicken breasts
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 t salt (I left this out)
2 T cumin
2 T chili powder
lime juice to taste
tortillas and fajita fixings like tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream (or greek yogurt), salsa

Combine sliced onion and peppers in the bottome of the lined crockpot.

Lay chicken on top of veggies. Pour chicken brother over top. Sprinkle everything with cumin, salt, and chili powder.  Give a nice squirt of lime jice over the top.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (or on high for 4-6 hours). When meat is done, shred with two forks and stir back into juices. Serve meat mixture with slotted spoon onto tortillas and top with fajita fixings! I went the salad route since we're overcome with green leaf lettuce from the garden right now...I flipping love the stuff!

Texas trash dip

The original recipe (from www.allrecipes.com) goes something like this....

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

2 cans (16 ounces, each) refried beans

1 packet taco seasoning

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cream cheese and sour cream in a large bowl. Mix in refried beans until combined. Stir in taco seasoning.

Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Spread mixture evenly into the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle the top with both cheeses.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese in melted and slightly browned. Serve with tortilla chips.

The Never Trust a Skinny Cook version had a few modifications though:

1. Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese...can't even tell the difference!

2. Greek yogurt instead of half of the sour cream.

3. Skip the cheddar and monterey jack cheese and use Velveeta Queso Blanco...I used the whole brick, cubed.

4. Use fat free spicy refried beans.

5. Double everything and throw it all in a crockpot with a liner in it. I like my dips to stay warm while people munch on them all day, not have to continually heat it up (nobody likes cold bean dip)!

So, you can try this recipe either way you think will work best for your purposes...but I'll tell you that my version was doubled and had none left untouched. I didn't throw one refried bean out...this was perfect to leave bubbling at the lake with some buffalo chicken dip and I didn't have to worry about cooking alllllllll day. Tell me that's not the stuff dreams are made of....

Crockpot pulled pork sandwiches

Sometimes a recipe is good enough where it deserves to cut in line in front of the other recipes that are waiting to be posted to the blog. This was one of them! I headed to the Nobiling home last night to hang with their little bundle of love, Keltyn, and meet up with the Hofers and their little lover, Greyson.  Both mamas asked for the recipe after dinner, and I pretty much almost ate the plate while inhaling the sandwich, so I had to bump this recipe right up to the top of the queue.

I usually think of Winter food when I think of the crockpot...like crockpot ranch roasts or crockpot beef stroganoff, but what screams Summer more than BBQ sauce!?  This was a Weight Watchers approved recipe too, so it's basically a home run before it's even hit out of the park. Easier than pie and yummy to boot, plus very portable to bring to a friend's house to have baby time and a nice dinner that tastes like a lot of work but really only needed a few ingredients thrown in a crockpot all day.

2.5 lb boneless pork loin roast

2 t red wine vinegar

2 t Hickory liquid smoke (I didn't have any of this so I used Worchestershire sauce)

1 t garlic powder

1 t sea salt

1 cup your fave BBQ sauce (I usually like Famous Dave's Devil's Spit sauce but I know some people can't stand the heat so I went with the Rich and Sassy this time)

Mix all your ingredients up in a bowl, put the pork loin roast into a lined crockpot, and pour the sauce on top. Cook on low for 6 hours (shred the meat after 4 hours) so you have to smell the stuff while it cooks in your office all day and makes your tummy rumble.

Throw it on some wheat sandwich rolls, and you're in business! The crockpot was literally scraped clean...and it people weren't watching me clean up, I may have licked it. Don't look at me like that, you know you've thought of doing it before...oh, you haven't? Me either.

In other, cuter news....the reason for this dinner was to get a little baby boy fix from Keltyn and Greyson. Look how grown up and mature Keltyn's facial features are, he looks like a mini-adult...so flipping adorable!

Greyson getting a little love from the bottle so mommy could have a couple beers with the ladies :) His eyes are going to make girls melt one day!

Don't judge the slimy hair, I came straight from Kosama plyo day...and then I had to go play softball after that! Mondays really rock my energy level, I'll tell you. Keltyn likes to be snuggled all up into your body...pretty comfy to be hugged up to that little man, I'll tell you! We have to plan another night like this again soon, ladies....

Crockpot philly sandwiches

I've never made Philly sandwiches at home, although I do love them in restaurants. I've had awesome turkey philly's too, I wonder if this would work with the leftovers from the 28 lb turkey we cooked for our friends Christmas last weekend (Christmas in March is the best!)....I may have to give that a shot!

Mama Cynthia brought this over for dinner a couple of weeks ago so we could discuss bachelorette party plans for me and so I could get some baby Greyson snuggles, of course. These were so good that we both kinda sat there after finishing our plates, and finally one of us says "I'll split another one with you"....both of us were thinking it but neither of us wanted to say it first.  Now that's a good sandwich...haha!

2 lb Eye of round steak cut into strips
2 Tbl butter melted
2 Green peppers
1 Red Pepper
1/2 onion
1/2 Cup water
2 tsp Beef boullion granules
1 Tbl garlic pepper blend
Salt to taste
Hoagie Buns
Monteray jack cheese

Combine steak, butter, onions, garlic-pepper blend, and salt in crock pot. Whisk together water and beef boullin granules in small bowl, pour into crockpot, cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. One hour before serving, add the peppers. Remove meat and peppers and pile it on the buns buns, add cheese and place under broiler to melt cheese.

When I make this next (because I know I will), I will probably omit the butter as I find butter in that quantity in recipes usually doesn't make a taste difference. Also, I would like to try chicken or turkey phillys as well...the possibilities are endless! Cynthia may have found me my new favorite crockpot meal! Please excuse the photos...I was too busy getting baby love to worry about my picture quality that night, but believe me these are a party in your mouth :)

Crockpot italian chicken sandwiches

Quick post today! I'm not sure where this recipe came from but it's been one that's been in my pile to try for as long as I can remember.  I'm also not sure why I waited so long since we have all the ingredients on hand 99% of the time. Oh well, now I know :)

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
1 T sweet basil
1 T garlic powder

Dredge chicken in parmesan cheese and layer on the bottom of your crockpot. Combine all other ingredients and pour over the chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Once cooked, shred and enjoy!

I'm a horrible food blogger and didn't get a photo of this (that's the best part!), but that doesn't make it any less yummy! I usually like chicken to have some sort of a kick to it (like my favorite crockpot chicken recipe ever, the buffalo chicken sammies), but this had enough flavor that it didn't need any spice. I served with a piece of pepperjack cheese on a large wheat bun and it was delish!

Crockpot chicken tacos

Three ingredients.  Tres, 3, trois....that's all. This was one of the simplest recipes ever, and you know how I love my trusty crockpot these days, when rushing home after Kosama literally leaves me chewing on my arm if I don't have food the minute  I walk in the door...

1 jar salsa

4 chicken breasts

1 taco packet

Add to the crockpot and GO!  Takes about 3 hours on high and then you can load your tortillas up with some lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and chicken for some excellant tacos...how's that for an easy Monday meal?!

Pepperoncini beef sandwiches

I really thought that my only beef roast recipe that I would ever use would be Mama K's french dips....but this jumped right off the page for me when I saw it, had even less ingredients, and I happened to have a roast in the freezer screaming for some pepperoncinis!  As I stated yesterday, I'm in the habit of making dinners for the week on Sunday, so I have little to no work to do when I get home...it's dreamy! This was one of last week's concoctions that I just added the ingredients to the crockpot, threw it in the fridge, and told Justin which day to start it...

1-3 # beef roast
5 cloves minced garlic
16 oz jar of pepperoncinis (I used banana peppers)
crusty sandwich rolls
sliced swiss or provolone cheese

Throw it all in the crockpot (including the juice from your peppers), and cook on low for 8-10 hours.  Serve with a slice of cheese on a crusty bun and devour....not that you would be able to help yourself from doing that last part.

The leftovers were promptly killed the following night....these were magnificent! Just the right amount of heat, and no stomach problems later for my main man and his old man tummy.  This could very well take over the french dip recipe for me in the favorites department....man, last week was a great week for new recipes, I tell you!

Reuben dip

I've been wanting to make this for a while, it's been at the top of my new appetizer file but I have sooooo many picky friends who would rather lose an eye than try sour kraut, that I needed a good venue where people would enjoy it as much as I would to try it.  The Jamison family  Christmas was just the spot...I brought the ever so popular macaroni corn casserole (which didn't disappoint, I must say) and thought I would try something new as well....so here it is!!

I would put money on the fact that Justin will ask me to make this again, he just loved the stuff. We have so many leftovers so usually Sam (our dog) will get in on some of the action but Justin wasn't letting Sam get the remnants of this crockpot.  I also didn't really think I liked Rye bread, but the marble Rye I got was very tasty with this dip....just like a reuben!! I baked the bread so it was warm and cut it up into dipper sized pieces, the rest is history...

1 cup sauerkraut, drained
1 (8 oz) fat free cream cheese
1 (6oz) shredded Swiss cheese
6 oz diced corned beef
2 T Thousand Island dressing

Throw it in the crockpot on high for an hour to an hour and a half and you're set!

Crockpot rigatoni bake

Short posts this week, busy getting back into the swing of things with a routine. I was in Texas a couple weekends ago and only back for 3 days to work before taking off to be a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding this weekend....it was a gorgeous wedding with a beautiful bride and a handsome, loving groom and everything went off without a hitch. I'm a little jealous that they are in Jamaica as we speak, and then get the Thanksgiving holiday off, so they are getting about a 3 week vacation right now...but besides that Im happy to be back at work and my schedule.

Sunday I didn't get much done at home except some much needed relaxing after a busy couple of weeks, and a few dinners made for the week so I wouldn't have to worry about cooking in the evenings.  I have much more exciting things to worry about like getting the mountain of laundry tamed and getting the house cleaned and menu organized for Thanksgiving next week...

So if you're looking for an easy crockpot meal during the week...this is it, folks. Perfection.

2 lbs ground beef (I used Italian seasoned ground turkey)
4 cups beef broth
15 oz can of tomato sauce
12 oz can of tomato paste
1 small onion, chopped
1 t oregano
2 t basil
1 t fennel seed
2 t salt
1 T sugar
1 t black pepper
2 T crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 box rigatoni noodles
2 cans mushrooms
2-3 cups shredded cheese (colby jack, mozz, etc)
1 container ricotta cheese (I used reduced fat)

Brown the turkey and onion and drain before putting it in your lined crockpot. 

In a mixing bowl, add the beef broth, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and spices....whisk together well and then pour on top of the meat mixture. 

Stir together and then cook on high for 4 hours (or add to the fridge to start the next morning, and cook on low for 8 hours while you're at work).

Add the dry unboiled rigatoni and make sure you push them under the sauce and mix them all together.

Add the ricotta to the crockpot by spooning tablespoons of it in random spots and gently push down on the ricotta to submerge it as well (don't stir).

Continue to cook on low for 30 minutes and then sprinkle the surface with shredded cheese.  Put the lid back on for about 5 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted.  Serve! 

I will say that this makes a heckuva lot of pasta! This meal would feed 6 adults easily, or work great for leftovers all week...which is my plan.  I absolutely love this and will be making it again (it's sort of lasagna-esque), I never knew the crockpot got hot enough to boil noodles that quickly so this is an exciting lesson for me.  Im easily entertained, I know...

Crockpot caesar chicken

Quick post Thursday! This was a simple, SIMPLE crockpot dinner (you know how I love those) that was a little different than usual...no cream of whatever soup at all! Plus I had fresh basil and tons of tomatoes on hand so this moved right to the top of my recipe stack!

2 cups Caesar salad dressing (Ken's is the shizz!!)

1 cup sweet Italian dressing
half an onion
2 t Italian seasoning
2 t sweet basil
2 T sugar (I left this out)
1 can Italian seasoned tomatoes (I just had plain canned tomatoes so I added a bunch more Italian seasoning)
Chicken breasts (I used 3 breasts for this amount of sauce)

Place chicken breasts into crockpot with a liner.  Mix all other ingredients together and pour over the top of the chicken. 

Cook on low for 6-8 hours and serve over no yolk egg noodles (or on high for 3 hours which is what I did).  You can choose to thicken the sauce the last 30 minutes with some corn starch, but I skipped that step. I just added the noodles to the crockpot after they were boiled, and shredded the chicken, and let it all simmer in there together all stirred up for about 15 minutes, so the starch from the noodles thickened the sauce right up to perfect!  Justin has steadily been working on these leftovers, so I know that's usually a good sign even if he doesn't comment on a meal the first time around. If the leftovers sit in the fridge without nibbles gone for a few days....it was a flop! Very scientific guage, huh?

Cheesy hashbrowns and ham

I made this for a breakfast side dish to an egg casserole for the bachelorette party this weekend...but when I tasted it I realized it could be a side dish to a dinner or pot luck as well.  Most people had seconds and Brandy even asked for a container of the leftovers so I'm thinking it went over pretty well...plus it was in the "easiest recipes ever" category and you can't really beat that!

32 oz bag frozen hash browns
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I used 98% fat free)
1 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
1/2 cup butter (I omitted this part)

I added:
1 lb cubed ham
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl so they are evenly coated with the soups....add to the lined crockpot and cook for 4-6 hours on low.  I won't say this is the healthiest recipe on the blog, but if you skip the butter and use the lowest calorie choices of the ingredients you can find, this isn't going to derail your day.  I only got a pre-cooked, pre-deciding to add tomato picture so this will have to do...still looked yummy at this point though! Next time I would also add onions, mushrooms, bell peppers....whatever I've got in the fridge! We had some picky eaters there this weekend so I'm excited to see how it will be when I beef it up with more veggies.  Kinda wishing I wouldnt have given all the leftovers away now...