Crock Pot Beef Carnitas Tacos

Here is another Pinterest find that I was so excited to try out because I thought the rub would give it a lot of flavor, plus the picture looked soooo good. Their picture looks wayyy better than mine so don't judge :)

However, I think the dish could have used more spices. It was kind of bland which surprised me. Kyle and I had to put more seasonings on our own tacos. Next time, I will add different ingredients as well.

Try it out and see what you think or experiment a little.

 

Ingredients:

2 lbs. flank steak (I used a little under 2 lbs)

1 onion; chopped

1 green bell pepper; chopped

1 red bell pepper; chopped

1 jalapeno; seeded and chopped

 

For the rub:

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. salt

1.2 tsp. black pepper

 

Additional items for serving:

tortillas

avocado slices

cilantro

limes

salsa

cheese

 

What To Do:

• Mix together all spices in a small bowl. Rub the spices all over your flank steak. Place your steak at the bottom of your crock pot
• Cover the steak with chopped onions, bell peppers and jalapeno
• Turn heat on low and cook for 8 hours
• After time is up, remove meat and shred. Put back in the crock pot and mix up with the onions and peppers
• Arrange your tacos to your liking!!!

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna

Ready to cook in the oven!

Ingredients:

2 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

1 package dry Ranch dressing mix

3 cups cubed, cooked chicken

8-12 oz. lasagna noodles (I used about 10 noodles)

2 cups cheddar cheese; grated

2 cups mozzarella cheese; grated

Salt and Pepper

What To Do:

• Cook the chicken and the noodles first at the same time
• Once noodles are done, rinse in cold water and set aside (cold water helps keep the noodles from sticking together)
• When the chicken is done, cut into little 1 inch cubes
• Combine evaporated milk and ranch dressing packet in a saucepan
• Heat and stir until all dry ingredients are dissolved
• Stir in chicken, salt and pepper
• Simmer uncovered for 25 minutes; stirring frequently
• In a small bowl, mix together 1 cup of each cheese
• In a baking dish, butter the bottom and sides
• Layer half the lasagna noodles on the bottom, poultry sauce on top and then top with your mixture of cheese
• In the small bowl, mix together the remaining 1 cup of each cheese
• Repeat the layers again
• Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes

Ultra Crunchy Baked Pork Chops

Let's just say that Kyle and I loved this recipe!! I was excited to try out making the breadcrumbs instead of using store bought. I will definitely keep making these when a recipe calls for bread crumbs. Yes, it's easier to just buy ones, but these were worth it!!

Thanks to Sugar & Spice by Celeste for posting this recipe!

Finished Pork Chops!

About to cook the breadcrumbs



Ready to bake!

Ingredients:

4 boneless center cut pork chops; trim excess fat

4 slices hearty white sandwhich bread; torn into 1 inch pieces

1 small shallot; minced

3 medium garlic cloves; minced

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Ground black pepper

Salt

2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves; minced

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley; minced

1/4 cup plus 6 Tbsp. all purpose flour

3 large egg whites

3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard (I omitted)

Lemon wedges (I omitted)

 

What To Do:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350F

 

Pulse bread in food processor until ground. Transfer crumbs to rimmed baking sheet and add shallot, garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Toss until crumbs are venly coated with oil. Bake until deep golden brown and dry, about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. Cool to room temperature and then toss crumbs with parmesan cheese, thyme, and parsley.

 

Increase oven temperature to 425.

 

Place 1/4 cup flour in a bowl or plate. In second dish, whisk egg whites and mustard until combined. Add remaining 6 Tbsp. flour and whisk until almost smooth, with pea sized lumps remaining.

 

Spray wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and place in  rimmed baking sheet. Season chops with salt and pepper. Place pork chop in flour, shake off excess. Next coat in egg mixture; let excess drip off. Coat all sides of chop with breadcrumbs, press to make sure you get a thick layer of crumbs on the chop. Transfer chops to wire rack. Repeat with all the chops.** (After they were on the wire rack, I smashed more breadcrumbs on top)

 

Bake for about 17-25 minutes. I baked for 17 minutes because I used thin center cut pork chops and at about the halfway point, I turned the chops over since the tops were getting a little dark around the edges.

 

Let rest on rack for 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.

 



Mexican Trash Dip

Kyle and I went home for the weekend to meet up with one of my sisters and spend the weekend celebrating my Mom's birthday! We usually snack a whole bunch and prepare meals. I guess you could say we like spending time in the kitchen :)

I read this dip off to my mom and sister to see if it sounded good to them. We decided to make it so I was reading off the ingredients for us to get at the store. I guess pregnanacy brain hit because I read off one of the ingredients wrong. I didn't notice until right when I was trying to make the dip.

The original recipe is called White Trash Dip and you use a can of Chili. We are calling this dip Mexican Trash Dip because I used Green Chili stew sauce instead of Chili.

This recipe is going in the keeper section for sure!!! We halved the recipe and it was a perfect amount.



Finished Product

Before
 

The Green Chili Sauce I used

 

Ingredients:

15 oz. Green Chili sauce

2 (8 oz.) packages Cream Cheese; softened

2 cups Cheddar Cheese; shredded

1 lb. Bacon; cooked and chopped

1 bunch Green Onions; chopped

1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

 

 

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• Cook bacon & crumble
• Mix together green chili sauce, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon and green onions in a large bowl
• Spread mixture into a pie pan
• Cook for 15 minutes
• Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and a little bit more cheese
• Cook for another 5 minutes
• Serve with chips

Red Lobster Biscuits (Copy Cat)

I saw someone on Pinterest post a recipe for the Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits. It made my mouth water right away because I am in love with their biscuits. Let's just say that after making these, it was about 80% correct and will help my craving, but I will definitely keep going for the real thing!!

You definitely need to watch the time on your oven since oven times vary. With this recipe, I made 9 servings, but they were a little big.

Ingredients:

2 cups Bisquick biscuit mix

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 tsp. garlic powder (I would use a little more)

1/4 tsp. dried parsley

 

 

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 450 F
2. In a bowl, mix together the biscuit mix, cheddar cheese and milk until dough forms
3. Beat vigorously for 30 seconds
4. Make dough balls and put onto ungreased cookie sheet
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown
6. Mix melted butter, garlic powder and dried parsley
7. Brush butter mixture over warm biscuits

Lentil & Sausage Soup

My neighbor one day asked if I had ever tried Lentils. I had no clue what Lentils were and had never heard of them. After looking at some things and then trying them once she made them, they were very good and plus they are healthy :)

Thanks to BestCooking.net, I found a recipe for Lentil and Sausage Soup. Although I forgot to add the pasta into the mix, it was still very good. I also made this into a crock pot meal instead of cooking it on the stove top!

This recipe made way to much for 3 of us so I would defintely cut it down unless you are feeding lots of people because you get full fast.

Use your best judgement on seasonings because I always just put on here what the recipe calls for, but of course, I don't measure seasonings out.

The picture doesn't look that appealing, but I promise it is good!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage

1 large onion; chopped

1 stalk celery; finely chopped

1 tbsp. Garlic; chopped

1 (16 oz.) package dry Lentils; rinsed

1 cup shredded carrot (I just chopped mine)

2 cups water

2 cans chicken broth

1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes

1 tbsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. fresh parsley; chopped

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 lb. ditalini pasta

 

What To Do (Stove Top Directions):

1. Place sausage in a large pot & cook until brown
2. Add onion, celery and garlic to pot and saute until tender
3. Stir in Lentils, carrot, chicken broth, water and tomatoes
4. Season with garlic powder, parsley, bay leaves, oregano, thyme, basil, salt and pepper
5. Bring to a boil then reduce heat
6. Cover and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours
7. Remove bay leaves before adding pasta
8. 15-20 minutes before it's done, stir in pasta and cook until tender

 

What To Do (Crock Pot Directions):

1. In a pot, cook sausage over medium heat until browned
2. Add onion, celery and garlic to pot and saute until tender
3. Once meat is browned and vegetables are tender, add to crock pot
4. Next stir in the remaining ingredients except for the bay leaves
5. Place the bay leaves on top and cover crock pot
6. Cook on low for 8 hours
7. *If you want the pasta, I would cook it in a pot and then drain and add to the soup
 

 

 



Lasagna Roll-ups

I saw this on Pinterest saying that it is perfect for when you want Lasagna, but don't want to have all the leftovers from cooking a full recipe. I mixed up the recipe just a little and of course, I never measure my seasonings so what is below is just a basis of what I go off of.

This was perfect for Kyle and I! We had this for dinner last night and really enjoyed it. He didn't even notice that I used ground Turkey instead of beef until I told him :) We enjoyed this with fresh sauteed spinach and green beans.

If you are good at multitasking, then this recipe will only take you about 30 minutes with prep time and cook time.

Ingredients:

6 lasagna noodles

1/2 lb. lean ground turkey

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 clove garlic

1/2 onion

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 egg

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1-1/2 Tbsp. fresh basil; chopped

1-1/2 Tbsp. fresh oregano; chopped

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

What To Do:

Preheat oven to 350 F

Heat a large pot of water to boiling then add noodles. When noodles are done, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat oil and add garlic and onion. Cook for 2 minutes and then add turkey. Once browned, add in tomatoes, 1/2 the basil, 1/2 the oregano and 1/2 the crushed red pepper flakes. Reduce heat and let simmer while you make the cheese mixture.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg. Add ricotta cheese and remaining basil and oregano. Mix well.

Spray the bottom of the cooking dish and then add a little bit of sauce mixture to the bottom.

Lay out the noodles to assemble. Add the ricotta mixture to the noodles and spread out. Top with a spoonful of the sauce mixture and roll up. Place seam side down in the pan. Continue with all the noodles. Top all the roll ups with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and then the remaining crushed red pepper flakes.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is bubbly and melted.

Peppered Steak

This recipe for Peppered Steak was really good and perfect served over rice! I added different spices to ours to make it a little bit spicier. 

The picture isn't very appealing, but it is definitely on our list of keepers!!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb boneless beef round steak

2 medium onions; sliced

1 clove garlic; minced

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

2 medium green bell peppers; cut into strips

1 cup water

2 Tbsp. beef bouillon

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. cornstarch (Do not put in freezer bag)

1/4 cup cold water (Do not put in freezer bag)

What To Do:

• Cut up beef into strips
• Add beef, onion, garlic, peppers, ginger, 1 cup water, beef bouillon, and soy sauce to crock pot
• Cook in High for 3/4 hours or Low 6-7 hours
• When beef is almost done, mix cornstarch and cold water together and then add to beef mixture
• Increase heat to high and cook for 10-12 minutes to thicken

**If you want to freeze then pull out to cook, mix everything together in a freezer bag except for the cornstarch and cold water. Cook exactly the same.

Italian Chicken

Of course this is another Crock Pot recipe. I have been wanting to try out as many as I can right now so once the little one gets here, I can just throw dinner in and let it cook.

This recipe is one that you can freeze and then pull it out the next morning, yes frozen, if you wanted to. If you do, do not put the Italian dressing into the freezer bag. Just add it when you throw the ingredients in the crock pot.

I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, we had company that night, so here is what it looked like when I put it all in the crock pot to start cooking.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 garlic cloves; minced

1 packet ranch dressing mix

1/2 Tbsp. chili powder

1/2 cup water

1 cup Italian dressing

What To Do:

• Place all ingredients into the crock pot
• Cook on High 4-5 hours or Low for 6-7 hours

**If all your ingredients are frozen, cook on High for 5-6 hours or Low 7-8 hours

We ate this as whole chicken breasts with fresh sides, but it would be good to shred and use for tacos.