Creamy Beef Stroganoff

Yum....I haven't had Beef Stroganoff in a very long time. Plus, it always seems like the Hamburger Helper (yes sometimes I buy stuff that I can just throw together real quick) has a really strong distinct flavor to it. 

Yes, I am also on a CROCK POT kick right now :). It helps me not change my mind on what I want for dinner every 10 minutes and it keeps me from asking Kyle what he wants time after time after time haha.

My only suggestion for this recipe is to maybe not cook it quiet as long as 8 hours because our meat was so tender that is kept falling apart and for stroganoff, I like the chunks of meat.

Ingredients:

1 lb. cubed Beef Stew Meat

1 can Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/2 cup chopped Onion

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup Water

4 oz. Cream Cheese

Egg Noodles

*I added Creole and a touch of Cayenne Pepper to ours

What To Do:

• In a crock pot, combine meat, soup, onion, Worcestershire sauce and water
• Cook on Low for 8 hours or on High for about 5 hours
• Stir in Cream Cheese right before serving
• Cook Egg noodles on stove top
• Serve stroganoff on top of noodles

ENJOY :)

Crock Pot Meatloaf

So Kyle is not a huge fan of meatloaf because of all the onions. I found this crock pot recipe and thought it would be perfect because Kyle wouldn't get the overload of onions, but I could still get some from the salsa. Hmm..salsa in meatloaf. I have never heard of that, but that could be because I have never made meatloaf. My Mom makes really good meatloaf, but this recipe will get the job done. If you like your meatloaf kind of crunchy on the outside, then this is not for you. Since it cooks in the crock pot, the texture is really soft.

Ingredients:

1 lb. Lean Ground Beef

1/4 cup Milk

1 Egg

1/4 cup Salsa

2 slices of Bread; cubed

1/4 cup Ketchup

Salt and Pepper to taste

8 medium Carrots

8 small Red Potatoes

(Kind of reminds me of a pot roast w/ the carrots and potatoes)

Mix everything together in the bowl

Before I added in all the potatoes and carrots

What To Do:

• In a bowl, beat the egg and milk
• Stir in the bread cubes, salsa, salt and pepper
• Add the beef and mix well
• Spray the entire crock pot with cooking spray 
• Put beef mixture into pot and shape like a loaf of bread
• Spread the ketchup on top (I just squeezed the ketchup on top)
• Arrange the carrots and potatoes in layers around the meat

1. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour
2. Reduce heat to low
3. Cover and cook 7-8 hours

Creamy Chicken (Pasta)

So I started looking up recipes and found one that sounded good, but could use some changes to it. Since I made it with more sauce, I was going to serve it over pasta, but of course being pregnant now, my desire for certain foods changes quickly. I decided that I just wanted the chicken with some veggies instead of pasta. Next time, I will definitely cook it with pasta because of all the sauce it made.

Camera went dead so I had to use my phone (Not the best quality)


Ingredients:
4 Chicken Breasts
1 Packet Zesty Italian Dressing seasoning
1 (8 oz) Cream Cheese
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Garlic Clove; minced
1/2 cup Onion; chopped
1 tsp. Tony's Creole

What To Do:

• Cut the Chicken breasts in half (if serving w/o pasta)
• Cut the Chicken breasts in slices (if serving w/ pasta)
• Put Chicken in the crock pot
• Chop up your onion and garlic and add to pot
• Cut the cream cheese into smaller slices so that doesn't melt in one big blob and add to pot
• Pour the rest of the ingredients into the crock pot and mix
• Cover and cook on low for 4 hours

*If sauce is too thick for your liking, add a little bit of milk right before serving

Val's Teriyaki Chicken

Labor Day Family Dinner w/ Friends :)

Our close friends, Val and Del, invited us over for dinner last night since it has been awhile since we last did our Family Dinner w/ Friends. Val decided  to try out a new recipe in the crock pot and man was it good. The whole meal fed 3 guys, us 2 girls and then leftovers for 2 lunches...a perfect meal for a small group! We served it over brown rice, which was the perfect combination.

We decided to take a picture so that I could post it on my blog to share with everyone. You actually split this meal into 2 separate freezer bags to freeze and pull them out when you want them.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts

4 cloves of Garlic

2 large can of Pineapples (undrained)

Red Onion cut into large chunks

Large bag of medium size Carrots

1 cup of Teriyaki sauce 

What To Do: 

• Split all the ingredients into 2 batches and put in separator freezer bags
• Mix, lay flat & freeze
• Thaw out a bag the night before you want to cook
• Throw in crock pot, add an additional 1/4 cup of Teriyaki sauce and cook on low for 6-7 hours

Sopapilla Cheesecake!

Thank you to my wonderful Mother-in-law for introducing me to Sopapilla Cheesecake about 2 years ago! I am now addicted to this delicious treat, but only make it every once in a while. We had a Mexican Night BBQ with our friends not too long ago & it was the perfect time to make this again :)

Ingredients:

2 cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

2 (8 oz) packages Cream Cheese; softened

1 1/4 cups Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

1/4 cup Cinnamon Sugar

3/4 of a stick of real Butter

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray
3. Unroll and press 1 can of the crescent rolls into the bottom of your baking dish and press the seams together
4. In a bowl, blend the softened cream cheese, 1 cup Sugar and Vanilla extract
5. Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and place on top of the cream cheese mixture
6. Melt butter and pour over the top
7. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of Sugar on top
8. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of Cinnamon Sugar on top of that
9. Bake for 30 minutes

ENJOY :)

Sausage & Peppers

I know that everyone probably knows about Sausage and Peppers, but I decided that I would go ahead and post it since I completely forgot about making this for dinner until I talked with my Mom and then saw the leftovers in the fridge. This only takes about 10 min. to make if your sausage is already cooked.

Ingredients:

2 cloves Garlic; minced

1 Red Pepper; chopped

1 Green Pepper; chopped

1/2 Red Onion; chopped

1 Tomato; chopped

Sausage Links

1 tsp. Oil

1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

1 Tbsp. Tony's Creole

What To Do:

• Cook Sausage on the grill if you haven't done so already
• In a skillet, add the tsp. oil and saute your minced garlic
• Add the peppers, onion and  tomato and saute until tender
• Add the sausage and cook until it is warm since it is already cooked
• Mix in the seasonings and cook about a minute longer

Pot Roast

I absolutely love Pot Roast with all the carrots, potatoes, and onions!! This recipe is easy just to throw in your crock pot and let it cook all day while you are out or working. It's also perfect for lunch the next day...My sister & her family were in town so they used the pot roast and potatoes to throw in their breakfast burritos!

Ingredients:

2-5 pound Pot Roast

1 packet Ranch dressing (dried)

1 packet Italian dressing (dried)

1 packet Brown Gravy mix

Potatoes

Carrots

Onion (I use Red)

1 Beef Bouillon cube

1 to 1-1/2 cup Water

Salt & Pepper to taste

What To Do:

1. Cut the potatoes, carrots and onions to your liking and put in the bottom of the crock pot (I used about half a bag of carrots-left them whole, 6 red potatoes-quartered, and half of a red onion)
2. Place the beef cube on top of the vegetables
3. Place the Pot Roast on top of the vegetables
4. Sprinkle all 3 spice packets on top
5. Add the water (I added only 1 cup for the size of my Pot Roast)
6. Add Salt & Pepper to taste
7. Cook on Low for 6-10 hours until the vegetables are cooked through and the meat is tender

ENJOY :)