Crock-Pot Heaven

I can't believe it's been over two weeks since my last post.  Tourist Season in SW Florida is in full effect and has been taking a huge toll on my time.  Speaking of my lack of time; my weeknight dinners with the BF have taken a huge beating along with my social life.  I am so exhausted when I come home from an event that the last thing I want to do is cook a big dinner.  Enter my new found love of The Crock-Pot.  I received this glorious gift over a year ago when we first moved into our new home, but for some reason, I have NEVER used it!  Shame on me for I knew not the powers of this gem.  Leave it to my other love, Pinterest to give me hundreds of Crock-pot recipes to try.  I literally throw all the ingredients on the pot before I leave for work and when I come home, Voila!  My meal is done and absolutely fabulous.


Here are three fool-proof recipes that Katina and I have made in the past two weeks:


Crock-pot Angel Chicken

Source

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/2 pounds)

1 8-oz. pkg. fresh button mushrooms, quartered

1 6-oz. pkg. fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced

1/4 cup butter

1 0.7-oz. pkg. Italian dry salad dressing mix

1 10-3/4-oz. can condensed golden mushroom soup

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 of an 8-oz. tub cream cheese spread with chives and onion

Hot cooked rice or angel hair pasta 

Directions:

1.  Melt butter in a saucepan

2. Add in italian dressing packet

3.  Stir in soup , wine and cream cheese until it combines and melts

4.  Cut up mushrooms (I used all button)

5.  Place mushrooms on the bottom of slow cooker...top with chicken....pour sauce on top...close top and cook on low for 5 hours....

Spoon Chicken onto Pasta, Rice or even eat all by it's divine self!

Crock-Pot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Source

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 (17.5 fluid ounce) bottle buffalo wing sauce, divided
• 1/2 (1 ounce) package dry ranch salad dressing mix
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 6 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise  (I actually used Jalapeno Ciabatta Rolls - to DIE for - but any bread of your choice will do)

Directions:

1. Place the chicken breasts into a slow cooker, and pour in 3/4 of the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 7 hours.
2. Once the chicken has cooked, add the butter, and shred the meat finely with two forks. Pile the meat onto the hoagie rolls, and splash with the remaining buffalo wing sauce to serve.

This recipe made so much that we ate sandwiches for two days.  On the third day, I ate this cold, as a dip with tortilla chips.  Talk about a meal that keeps on giving.

The next recipe comes from Recipe Gurl's Kitchen.  I don't eat red meat but plan on making this for the BF since Pot Roast is his fave comfort food.

Crock-Pot Company Pot Roast

Source

Ingredients:

• 1 (2-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut in half
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup beef broth 
• 1 (.35-ounce) package dried morel mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper 
• 3 tablespoons sun-dried tomato paste
• 2 medium onions (about 3/4 pound), quartered 
• 1 (16-ounce) package carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces 
• 16 small red potatoes (about 2 pounds), halved 
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
• 3 tablespoons water

Directions:

• 1. Combine roast, soy sauce, and garlic in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal bag, and marinate in refrigerator at least 8 hours, turning bag occasionally.
• 2. Bring broth to a boil in a small saucepan; add mushrooms. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 20 minutes. Drain mushrooms through a cheesecloth-lines colander over a bowl, reserving broth mixture.
• 3. Remove roast from bag, reserving marinade. Sprinkle roast with pepper, gently pressing pepper into roast. Combine reserved marinade, mushroom broth mixture, and tomato paste; stir well, and set aside.
• 4. Place mushrooms, onion, carrot and potato in a 6-quart electric slow cooker; toss gently.
• 5. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add roast, browing well on all sides. Place roast over vegetables in slow cooker. Pour tomato paste mixture into pan, scraping to loosen browned bits. Pour tomato paste mixture over roast and vegetables. Cover with lid; cook on high-heat setting 1 hour. Reduce to low-heat setting, and cook 8 hours or until roast is tender. Place roast and vegetables on a serving platter; keep warm. Reserve liquid in slow cooker; increase to high-heat setting.
• 6. Place flour in a small bowl. Gradually add water, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add flour mixture to liquid in slow cooker. Cook, uncovered, 15 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring frequently. Serve gravy with roast and vegetables.

I hope you enjoy these delicious, time saving and easy dinners!!  

xoxo,

Amanda and Katina

Pinterest Dinner: Spicy Thai Noodles

I swear I spend way too much time on Pinterest.  But I have to say it's totally worth it since the past couple of recipes I've made from my Food Board have turned out absolutely fabulous.  There's nothing better than sitting at work, thinking about what on earth I'm going to make for dinner that night, and instead of aimlessly scouring the internet, searching for god knows what - I just head to my Pinterest and pick something off my "Food" Board knowing that it will never let me down.  


Last week I made the BEST Cheesy Enchiladas which I found on Pinterest...and tonight I made Spicy Thai Noodles - a dish I 'pinned' awhile ago but finally got around to making.  The dish comes from the uber cute blog, A Small Snippet.  If you love chinese/thai flavors with a little heat yet don't feel like buying a zillion thai ingredients, this dish is for you.  It was made with items I already had in my house and turned out amazing!  Here it is:

Source - I'm sorry, I was lazy and didn't take any of my own pics!

Ingredients:


1 Box Linguine or Angel Hair (I actually used regular ol' Spaghetti b/c that's all I had!)
1-2 TBSP Crushed Red Pepper
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Sesame Oil
6 TBSP Honey
6 TBSP Soy Sauce
Green Onions, Cilantro (I absolutely loathe Cilantro, so I subbed Basil for this), Peanuts and Sesame Seeds


Directions:


Boil Noodles.  Drain.
Chop Green Onions, Cilantro, and Peanuts.
Heat Both Oils and Crushed Red Pepper over Medium Heat in a Small Pan.  (2 TBSP Makes This Dish VERY Spicy - I used just 1 TBSP and it Still Turned out Very Hot).
Strain Out Pepper and Reserve Oil.
To Oil, Whisk in Honey and Soy Sauce.
Toss Mixture with Noodles.
Refrigerate Overnight or Until Cold (I did NOT Do This...Me and the BF Were Way Too Hungry so We Ate This Warm!)
*I Also Sauteed One Small Chicken Breast in the Vegetable Oil and Added it to the Pasta for a Little Extra Protein*
Before Serving, Top with Onions, Cilantro (or Basil), Peanuts and Toasted Sesame Seeds.


Enjoy!  


Thanks Again to Leana from A Small Snippet for this Quick and Yummy Meal!  


If you are lacking creativity in the kitchen, you seriously need to check out Pinterest and get inspired!

xoxo,

Amanda

Recipe Gurl's Easy Pantry Salad

Source

 

 

So after a week of vacation and consuming nothing but Corona beer, crab legs dipped in raw butter, and hush puppies, I was in the mood for a healthy and light dinner to start my vacation detox. I was totally not inspired at the grocery store, so all I picked up was lettuce, cukes, tomatoes, an onion, and some chicken tenders for the grill. So when I got home I knew I was going to make a salad but what I purchased at the store was only the makings for a boring salad. So thanks to the ingredients I already had in my pantry and my fridge I created this unique salad.  Who would have ever thought capers would even be good in a salad? So try this one night when you're in the mood for something light but not boring. I would say it's kind of my twist on a plain old caesar salad.

 

Ingredients:

 

chicken tenders

light sun dried tomato dressing

romaine lettuce

tomatoes (diced)

red onion (finely chopped)

cucumber (diced)

eggs (hard boiled then chopped)

bacon bits (I use the Hormel 50% less fat real bacon bits)

capers

light creamy caesar dressing

low fat or whole wheat seasoned croutons

 

Directions:

 

Place chicken tenders in a ziploc bag, cover them liberally in sun dried tomato dressing and marinate in the fridge for a couple hours. Grill the chicken on a grill or cook in a pan. While the chicken is cooking assemble your salad with the ingredients above and use as much or little of the ingredients as you like to your taste. Place the grilled chicken on top of the salad, drizzle light creamy caesar dressing on top, and enjoy!

 

xoxo,

Katina