Crockpot Beef Chimichangas

I got the inspiration for this recipe from Jam Hands and it looked so delicious that I had to give it a try. Instead of frying the chimis I baked them. They turned out yummy, but if I am completely honest, you just can't beat fried bread! Although baking is definitely healthier I will probably splurge and fry them next time. But here is my version!

Ingredients:

2 to 3 pound chuck roast

10 oz. can Original Rotel (You can use mild or spicy)

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp garlic-chopped

1 Tbsp salt

2 packages Sazon 

1 pkg large flour tortillas

Shredded Mexican cheese

Sour Cream

(Just in case you aren't familiar with Sazon here is what the packaging looks like. You can find it with the Latin/Hispanic food section of the grocery store)

Place the roast and onions in the bottom of the slow cooker and turn it to low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6.

Mix the Rotel, garlic, salt, & Sazon together in a small bowl.

Pour over onions.

Shred cooked beef and place in the center of tortillas and fold. 

Bake in a 350* oven for about 20 minutes. Remove chimis and then add a little cheese to the top of each chimi and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly. 

I serve these with my pico and sour cream. If you want to go all out Mexican rice and refried beans would be great with these!

Happy Eating!

Monlat

Slow Cooker Beef Sandwiches

I saw the recipe for Italian Beef sandwiches in a cookbook that I recently reviewed Come Home to Supper and it sounded so easy that I wanted to give it a try with just a few small changes. In Christy's version she sautes the peppers and onions separately before adding them on top of the beef after it's on the buns and she adds Zesty Italian Dressing. For some reason the Italian dressing didn't sound so good to me and I couldn't bring myself to add it and if I was going to use the slow cooker I didn't want to dirty another pan by sauteing the veggies later. (That's just pure laziness I know, but it's the truth!) Also, I had never used a jar gravy before but I wanted to give it a try and it actually turned out pretty good! I think that next time I will play around with different seasonings and do a repost in the future. But as for right now, here is my slightly lazier version!

Ingredients:

1 3lb boneless chuck roast 

1 jar of beef gravy

Half of 1 yellow onion sliced

1 yellow bell pepper sliced

 

(This is the jarred gravy I used)

Directions:

This is literally an assembly recipe with very little work! I just but the roast in the bottom of the slow coooker, sliced the onion and bell pepper, laid them on top then poured the gravy over the whole thing!

I set the cooker to slow and let it cook for about 8 hours. The roast was fall apart tender and I shredded it with a fork, placed them on buns and added a think slice of provolone and voila! Thursday night dinner with very little effort! I will definitely be doing this again! I may even go all out next time and toast the buns and add sliced tomato on top!

Happy Eating!

Monalt

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I got this recipe from the cookbook Come Home To Dinner and it turned out pretty good. I made a few small changes, but the basic recipe is the same. You can also control how spicy this is by getting mild or spicy enchilada sauce. Next time I think that I will add a can of black beans to this as well. This recipe is all about opening a few cans, pouring them into the slow cooker, and voila! Dinner's ready. 

Ingredients:

1 can of chicken broth

1 29 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 11 oz can of red enchilada sauce

1 4 oz can green chiles

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp dried cilantro

1 heaping tsp of minced garlic

1 pkg boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 c frozen corn

1 small onion diced

Garnishes: 

Tortilla strips or crushed up tortilla chips

Sour Cream

Add everything to the slow cooker! I didn't even cut up the chicken, it will fall apart by the time the soup is ready!

I cooked it on low for about 7 hours. That's it!

Happy Eating!

Monlat

Cheater Chili

The weather here in Arkansas is cold and we just had a front of sleet and snow come through so this is the perfect weather to make my Cheater Chili. I call this Cheater Chili because all it really is is a doctored up box chili mix. I figure if they will put all of the essential spices together for me and I can add to it to make it my own, why not? I hope you enjoy this one. Please leave a comment if you make a different version by adding other ingredients I'd love to try a different version!

Enjoy!

Monlat

Ingredients:

I box of your favorite chili kit

1 lb of ground beef

1 can of red kidney beans

1 can of black beans

1-14 1/2 oz can of diced tomatoes 

1-15 oz. can of tomato sauce

1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 white onion diced

Directions:

Cook the ground beef with the onion and black pepper

While the beef is cooking drain and rinse the two cans of beans.

Add the beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and all of the ingredient packets EXCEPT for the ground chili pepper and salt packets from the kit, but including the packet of masa to the ground beef. Mix well, then mix in  2 cans of water using the15 oz sauce can. I like to use crushed red pepper flakes in my chili. I don't really like the taste of the preground red chili. So I add the salt packet to the red chili flakes and grind it myself with a mortar and pestle. The flakes will not turn into fine powder, but will blend into the chili nicely. The instructions say to add the masa at the end, but because I usually cook this in the oven or the slow cooker I add it right away.

You can cook this chili one of three ways. I usually use the oven or slow cooker since I love to make things early and not have to worry about babysitting it. An added bonus is that this chili will make your house smell awesome!

1. On the stove top according to the instructions and let simmer for about 30 minutes.

2. In the oven on 350* for about an hour. 

3. In the slow cooker on low for about 6-8 hours.

I serve this chili over tortilla chips or corn chips (Fritos) or with my Southern cornbread recipe. We like to gild the lily with shredded cheese and sour cream. 

40 Tasty Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes by Pamela Kazmierczak

Amazon  

I LOVE my slow cooker and I make a lot of chicken so this freebie is right up my alley! There are no pictures, but the recipes look simple and there are no hard to find ingredients that I could see in these recipes. 

Enjoy!

Monlat

Book Description:

Are You Looking For Crock Pot Chicken Recipes?

Many people love using their slow cooker to create delicious and easy chicken recipes. Chicken is one of the most popular main dishes. If you are looking for some quick and easy dinners, this is the crockpot chicken cookbook for you!

Inside 40 Fabulous Chicken Recipes For Dinner For Your Slow Cooker you will find a wide variety of recipes to try. We hope you enjoy them all!

What Type of Crock Pot Chicken Recipes Will You Find In This Book?

There are a total of 40 different slow cooker chicken recipes inside this book. All of these would fall into the category of recipes for dinner, although, the leftovers would be excellent for lunch or brunch the next day. 

Some Examples of the recipes for chicken include:

Tasty Chicken Casserole

Cream Cheese Chicken

Seasoned Chicken and Rice

Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken

A Taste of Autumn Chicken

Slow Cooker Chicken and Fajitas

& Many More….

Pulled Pork Tacos

This is a super easy and very flavorful version of pulled pork that I make regularly. There's almost nothing to it, it goes in the slow cooker, tastes great, and there's always left overs which are even better! You can use this pork for nachos and in meat buns as well. I'll do these versions soon.

Ingredients:

4-5 lb pork butt

Chicken Fajita Seasoning

3 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 jalapeno with cut 3 slits into it

3 Tsp chicken granules (You can use 2 bouillon cubes as well)

1/4 c water

If you can't find this brand of fajita seasoning you can also use Goya, the flavor is different, but it is still yummy.

Directions:

Generously sprinkle the seasoning on both sides of the pork butt then message the garlic on both sides.

Add 1/4 cup water, jalapeno, and chicken granules to the bottom of cooker. Then place the pork butt in the slow cooker fatty side up.

Cook on high for 3 hours then turn down to low for another 3 hours. If you want to let it go all day just put it on low and cook for 8 hours. When done you should be able to easily scrape the fatty layer off.

Remove the meat from the slow cook and pull apart with 2 forks. At this point it should be so tender that you can barely scoop it out of the pot without it falling apart!

I use my handy dandy electric griddle to warm the tortillas.

I always make home made pico de gallo when I make this and we like to add sour cream as well. That's just how we roll in this house!

Happy eating!

Monlat

Slow Cooker Beans

This is one of my family's favorite meals. I love it because it's one of those throw in the slow cooker and let it work it's magic recipes that doesn't take too much effort but tastes amazing. This makes your whole house smell like a southern wonderland. If you are home for a good deal of the day while this is cooking let me apologize now because the delicious smell may just drive you a little batty! Just try to refrain from eating hard half cooked beans because you couldn't take it any longer. 

The star of the show:

It's important that you get the package with the ham flavor packet.

I like to soak my beans in enough water to cover about 2 inches for about 5 minutes just to see if anything floats and then remove the floaters. Strain then put in slow cooker.

Ingredients:

1 small onion diced

1 Tbsp. chopped garlic (not pictured)

1 whole jalapeno (cut 3-4 slits in it)

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 pork jowel/ham hock or if you're lucky the ham bone from a previously cooked ham

2 chicken bouillon cubes (not pictured)

Flavor packet from bean package

8 cups of water

Directions:

Put beans in and pour water over them. Add all of the ingredients in and give it a good stir to dissolve the flavor packet. Place the ham bone or jowl in and cover. 

Let it cook for 6-8 hours on low. I have never tried it on high for a shorter time so I can't vouch for how quickly these will cook on low but I would guess around 4 hours. 

Yummy-ness in a pot! We eat this with cornbread every time. It's a requirement. Hubby and the girls also have to have it over rice. I also fry turkey kielbasa to have on the side. 

Hubby's way 

My way...

Enjoy!

The Crockin' Girls by Nicole Sparks and Jenna Marwitz

The Crockin' Girls

We have a winner ya'll! One of the things that I really want to do with this blog is to pick cookbooks that I really like and work my way through them completely. This is it, this will be the first cookbook that I will make almost everything in it. I'm sure that there will be one or two that I decide to skip and I will note which one and why as I get to it. Although, at this point I can't imagine which one I would forgo as they all look so wonderful. This book literally had me doing the happy dance in the bookstore this weekend! I got one strange look from the guy in the Sci/Fi section but I didn't care, I had just found what I think will be the best slow cooker cookbook that I have ever seen. I flipped slowly through the pages getting more and more excited with each lovely picture. Each recipe has an accompanying picture which is one of my favorite features in a good cookbook, and boy is the photography wonderful. Now nothing can be perfect can it? After flipping through this wonderful book and doing the happy dance I turned the book over to see the list price...Insert the sound of a car screeching to a halt here. Ya'll it's $32.95 off the shelf.  Being he modern woman that I am I took out my handy dandy cell phone and looked on Amazon. $52.34-what the frack? Barnes and Noble online $27.75 & eligable for free shipping, okay a little better, but it's Labor Day weekend and I'll have to wait that extra day to get it so we're looking at maybe Wednesday delivery. Oh, what fresh hell is this? I am one of the cheapest, nay frugal, of girls. I love a deal, I don't buy anything full price if I don't have too. Yet this cookbook is speaking to me. "It's alright", it softly whispers. Then it reasons "When was the last time that you indulged yourself? That Clean Eating cookbook doesn't really count, that was for your health and that of your family. That wasn't an indulgence, that was necessary to the survival of your loved ones."  I nod my head yes, aren't I worth a measly $32.95? After all, I've started a food blog, this is really an investment....So I clutch my copy to my chest, as there are only 2 copies left, and I walk around and look at other things. I do this often because if I walk around long enough I can usually talk myself out of a purchase. "Aren't I pretty?" she whispers, "just flip through a few more pages.." Yeah, I think. Just flip through it again, that first blush of giddiness was just a fluke. I flipped through again. No, no it wasn't a fluke. Dang.  I walk slow to the cash wrap and of course there's no one in front of me so I'm rung up right away. No, I don't have a loyalty card, no I don't want to pay up yet more money than I intended to spend and sign up for your stinkin' club. Just swipe my dang card already! Saturday night, as I settle into bed to read through my new purchase she says "Now aren't you glad you brought me home?" Yes, yes I am. "Am I worth the price?" she asks lastly. Yeah, girlie you're worth the price...

Sunday Roast

I first learned to make this recipe from my mother when I was a newlywed and boy did it impress the hubby. In the beginning I always said that hubby married me for my brains and not for my cooking skills. Well, brains, love, and lust does not fill the belly! Like many newly married couples we were poor students so it was either learn to cook or live off of ramen noodles and cold cut sandwiches. After growing up with a mother who could cook well and never having to wonder if I would have a tasty meal I decided that maybe learning to cook some of the basics would be the best way forward. See, told you I was smart! This roast also has the added boon of feeding us for a few days. My mom's recipe didn't include rosemary, chopped garlic, or fresh mushrooms so you can easily leave these two out and still have a great roast. You can serve it over rice or noodles, or just add a side salad or veggies and it's a new meal. This also makes awesome sandwiches with mayo and sliced tomatoes. This started out as a recipe for the electric skillet or oven but I now make it in the crock pot. I hope that you enjoy this super simple, but delicious recipe.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 to 3 lb beef roast

1 c. All purpose flour

1 tsp. each of salt, pepper, and garlic powder

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 pkg. onion soup mix

1 tsp. chopped garlic

3 sprigs fresh rosemary (can substitute 1 tsp. dried rosemary)

1 pkg button mushrooms

Directions:

Mix together the flour, salt,pepper, and garlic powder and completely coat meat . I like to do this in a plastic shopping bag when I am doing large pieces of meat it makes it super easy and you just toss the bag after-easy clean up!

Heat oil in a cast iron or heavy bottom skillet until oil is hot enough that you can see the waves in the oil. Brown roast on all sides.

While the roast is browning add the can of cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix, garlic, fill the soup can 3/4 full of water to add,  and one sprig of rosemary. Mix well. If you are using dried rosemary add it here.

The roast should look like this when completely seared.

Place roast in crock pot and rotate in sauce so that it is completely covered ending with the fat side up. Add the last two sprigs of rosemary on top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-5 depending on you crock. 

Voila! Easy and tasty!