Chicken & Carrot Crockpot Dinner

Story:

My Tuesday and Thursday afternoons can be a little hectic around my house.  And sadly, we don't always get to sit down and eat all together as a big, happy family. (Because that's what our daily family dinners are mostly like, right?  Nothing but laughter and good times...  certainly no picky eaters or teasing siblings or tired momma or anything like that... We try.)  Anyway, for this season, I am trying to put together crockpot meals on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, so even if we don't all sit down together, there is still a good meal ready for my hungry people.

And if I'm feeling a little low on ideas, what's the logical thing to do?  Pinterest, right?  So the recipe I am sharing here kind of came off Pinterest, but I read the comments and made some adaptations to it, and guess what... the kids loved it! Win!

Truth be told, I kinda threw it together before I had to leave for a staff meeting, so all measurements are estimates... but it's kind of one of those things that can't really get messed up.  I'm mostly adding it to the blog because the kids liked it and it was easy and I'd love to do it again.

Ingredients:
Chicken breasts or tenderloins (I used 5 thin-cut breasts that I cut into strips.)
Onions (I sliced 2 smallish ones)
Potatoes (I used 1 big one, because that's all I had.  3 would probably be good.)
Carrots (I used 6 or 7 big carrots, cut into quarters/sticks.  Baby carrots would be fine.)*
Chicken broth (I poured a little more than a cup in, just something wet for the chicken to cook in.)
Cube of butter
2 T minced garlic
1 t parsley
1 t thyme
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Directions:
Layer in the chicken, then onions, then potatoes, then carrots.
Pour the broth over it all, until you feel satisfied that the chicken won't be too dry.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter and add all the seasonings.
Pour the melted butter mixture over everything in the crockpot.

Cook on low.  I don't have an exact time, but 6-8 hours should be plenty.

Note:
The carrots were actually my kids favorite part.  I may add even more of them next time.

Mom's Beef Stew

Story:
This is the beef stew I grew up with.  It still reminds me of home.  And my mom.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs beef cubes
3 medium carrots, sliced 1/2 inch slices
1 or 2 onions, chopped
3 potatoes, peeled and quartered (or eighth-ed)
1 pkg frozen peas
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/2 can of water
1 t salt
dash of pepper
1 bay leaf

Directions:
Combine all ingredients (except the peas) in a crock pot.
Cook on high for five hours.
Add peas last 10 minutes or so, before serving.

Delicious and comforting.

Chrystal's Kentucky Bean Soup

Story:
We moved to Arizona (from Kentucky) in August of 2011.  We lived with my brother and his family in Mesa while we looked for a house.  There was a gal in his ward who I became friends with (and she was my visiting teaching companion).  Ethan and her oldest boy played together... which was great for Ethan to find a friend.  Chrystal S. is awesome.  The funniest part is she is from Kentucky and a lot of her family is still there!  So we played the name game here and there and it's all cool like that.

Well, my brother's family moved out in October and we were still there (still couldn't find our own place).  One evening in December, Chrystal dropped off a little "Christmas neighbor gift" for us. So nice!  I loved that it was the recipe and ingredients for "Chrystal's Kentucky Cornbread" and "Grandma's Pinto Bean Soup."  It was kind of a like a taste of "home."  Loved it!

Now, a year later, I'm pulling out the recipe to try making it again.  You know, it's almost fall-like weather here now... temps have dropped below 100, so I feel like making soup again!  Heh.

Ingredients:
1 C dry pinto beans
1/4 t oregano leaves
1/4 t ground cumin
1/2 t pepper
1 t salt
1/4 t garlic powder
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (6oz) can tomato paste
8 C water

Chrystal's Directions:
Wash beans.  Cook beans in the water and boil for 2 minutes.  Turn off heat for 1 hour.  Add seasonings (oregano, cumin, pepper, salt, garlic), onion, and tomato paste.  Cook 1 1/2-2 hours or until tender.
Fill a blender 1/2 full with soup and puree it.  Pour into a bowl and puree the rest of the soup.  Sprinkle with cheese and serve.
Her notes:  I like to put the 8 C of water in a pot and boil the beans.  If I am short on time, I will boil them for 15 minutes, otherwise just a few minutes.  Then I dump all the water and beans in the crock pot and add the rest of the ingredients.  I turn it on high until I am ready to blend and eat the soup at the end of the day.

So there you have it, from a real Kentuckian!  Thanks again, Chrystal!  I appreciated the recipe... but even more, your friendship!

French Dip Sandwiches (Our Best Bites)

Story:
The extent of my meat dishes, sadly enough, is mostly limited to frozen chicken breasts, ground beef, and an occasioual ham.  So when I make something different, Ben warmly welcomes it.  Especially this dish... he loves a good sandwich, and French Dip is one of his favorites.

I bought myself the beautiful "Our Best Bites" cookbook for Christmas last year (2011).  Ummm... LOVE IT!  I love their food, their photos, and their clear instructions.  So good.  I highly recommend it.  I found this recipe in there; I've made it twice and Ben was pretty much drooling both times.  Thumbs up.

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
1 (2 1/2 - 3 pounds) beef roast
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
2 (1 ounce) packages dry onion soup mix
2 C water
2 (14.5 ounce) cans beef broth
1 (16 ounce) package sliced Swiss cheese
Hard/Crusty rolls

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  While the oil is heating, sprinkle all sides of the roast with kosher salt and pepper.  Carefully place the roast in the pan and sear it on all sides. This shouldn't take more than a few minutes--you just want to quickly brown the roast to add flavor and seal the juices.

Transfer the roast to your slow cooker.  Sprinkle onion soup mix over the roast and add water and beef broth.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours. (OBB recommends: You can also cook it on high until it begins to boil and then switch the heat to low; the meat is more tender.)

When the meat shreds easily with a fork, shred the entire roast.  Serve on sliced crusty rolls with a slice of Swiss cheese.  I like to put these under a broiler/in my toaster oven to toast the bun and melt the cheese.

Serve with the juices from the slow cooker as au jus for dipping.  Sooooo good.

Good Morning Oatmeal

Story:

No real story. I found this one somewhere when I was looking for crock pot breakfast recipes. Yes, I said crock pot breakfasts. You see, I grew up with healthy and substantial breakfasts. And while I love the idea of making a hearty breakfast for my kids, I am simply too tired and too muddle-headed in the mornings to do a very good job at it. So I went looking online for things I could do the night before...

I made this last night and Ben liked it so much that he found himself bragging about it to one of his patients at work today. He told her it was on the blog, which it wasn't, but, well, now it is. So here you go, Miss Patient-Whose-Name-I-Know-Not-Because-of-Confidentiality-Laws! Hope you like it too!!

Ingredients:

4 C milk

1/2 C brown sugar (maybe a little less, it was pretty sweet)

2 T butter, melted

1/2 t salt

1 t cinnamon

2 C regular oats

2 apples, diced

1 C raisins

Directions:

Spray nonstick cooking spray in the bottom of your slow cooker.

Then combine all ingredients and mix well.

Cook on low overnight (8-9 hours).

Stir before serving.

(Makes quite a bit... but Ben likes a big breakfast...)

EDIT:
I still like this... but it seems to burn in my crock pot every time and then I have to spend time scrubbing it out... Hmmm...

World's Easiest BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Story:
Seriously, easy. And we love it! Shelly G. (in South Ogden) told me about this and I was astonished by how easy it was... and mad that I didn't know about it sooner.

Ingredients:
frozen chicken breasts
BBQ sauce
(oh, and hamburger buns, of course)

Directions:
Place however many frozen chicken breasts you want in your crock pot. (I figure roughly a half a breast per person... but, you know me, I throw in a few more for leftovers.) Pour a bunch of your favorite BBQ sauce over. Go ahead and pour on a lot. Cook on high for 5-6 hours, or longer on low. About an hour before serving, pull out the chicken, shred with two forks, and put back into all that yummy sauce. That's it! Just whip up a salad and dinner's ready.

[I will someday insert a picture here.]

Notes:

• The original recipe said you could just serve the BBQ chicken over rice. I'm sure that would be great... I just haven't tried it yet.
• I always put a thin layer of mayonnaise on the hamburger buns before I put on the chicken. It kind of works as a "barrier" from all that sauce so the buns don't get soggy too fast.
• As far as the BBQ sauce goes, you don't need anything fancy; the cheap Hunt's kind is fine. Of course I like the Sweet Baby Ray's sauce, but it's a little too sweet for Ben. (I have yet to come across something that is "too sweet" for me... I don't know what he's talking about.)

French Onion Beef Stew

Story:
I love my Mom's Beef Stew. Way good. It has that nostalgic feel to it, too. It was always one of my favorite family dinners growing up.

But just for variety's sake, I tried my friend's (Janae E.) recipe. My kids love it. (Or as Megan says, "I L-O-V-E love it!" - It was even her 7th birthday dinner request, so you know it's gotta be good.) It has a creamy, more flavorful taste... which also means that it's not quite as "low fat" as my Mom's. But, hey, if you have a good beef stew recipe, why not share it? You can never have enough crock pot recipes, as far as I'm concerned.

And, of course, we love it with Mom's Cornbread or with my Easy Breadsticks.

Ingredients:
2 cans French Onion soup (the regular-sized Campbell's kind)
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup (1 large and one small)
carrots, chopped
celery, chopped
potatoes, chopped
frozen peas
1 lb stew beef (I always cut it into smaller pieces)

Directions:
Put all the ingredients (except the peas) in a crock pot. Cook on high for 6-8 hours, or on low for 10-12. About 10 minutes before serving, stir in the peas. Easy as that!

Notes:

• Warning: It makes a ton, so be prepared to have lots of leftovers. (Hooray for leftovers!! That just means no cooking tomorrow!)
• How many veggies to use? A lot!
• Janae's recipe didn't call for the peas, but personally, I think it adds nice color, gives the kids a little 'legumes' (said all fancy-like) and makes it look a little more like stew than dogfood.

Picture coming soon. (It's in the crock pot as I type...)