Thai Chicken

Ingredients:

8 chicken thighs (about 2 lb), skin removed

3/4 cup hot salsa

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 Tbsp lime juice

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Place chicken in 3 1/2 - 6 quart slow cooker.  Mix remaining ingredients except peanuts and cilantro; pour over chicken.

2.  Cover and cook on Low 8 to 9 hours or until juice of chicken is no longer pink.  Remove chicken from cooker using slotted spoon; place on serving platter.

3.  Remove fat from sauce.  Pour sauce over chicken.  Sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro.

Easy French Dip Sandwhiches

Ingredients:

3 lb fresh beef brisket

1 pkg (1.3 oz) dry onion soup mix

1 can (10.5 oz) condensed beef broth

8 mini-baguettes or sandwich buns

Directions:

1. Place beef in a 3 1/2 to 6 qt slow cooker.  Mix dry soup mix and beef broth; pour over beef.

2 Cover slow cooker and cook on Low 8 to 10 hours or until beef is tender.

3.  Skim fat from liquid.  Remove beef; cut across grain into thin slices.  Cut each baguette horizontally in half. Fill baguettes with beef; cut in half.  Serve with broth for dipping.

Poppy Seed Chicken

A friend of mine made this for me when we got home from the hospital after one of E's surgeries.  It has since become my go to recipe for when I make sunshine meals.  I make the Poppy Seed Chicken with a side of rice and I send it along with the salad and dressing  I am going to post tomorrow with a loaf of fresh bread (that I buy because I have never baked bread!).


Ingredients:

3 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into pieces

1 small container of sour cream

1 can cream of chicken condensed soup

1/2 can of chicken broth

1/2 tsp poppy seeds

1/2 sleeve of Ritz crackers

1/2 stick butter

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl, mix sour cream, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth and poppy seeds.  Put chicken in square baking dish and pour mixture on top.

2. Crush the Ritz crackers and melt the butter.  Mix together and put cracker mixture on top of chicken mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Double the mixture and use a 9x13 baking dish. You could also microwave the chicken in white wine for an extra kick prior to throwing this together.

Pork Chops with Spiced Fruit Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 cup diced dried fruit and raisin mixture

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup apple juice

3 Tbsp butter or margarine

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 pkg (6 oz) herb-seasoned one-step stuffing mix

4 boneless pork chops (4 oz each, about 2 in thick)

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, combine dried fruits, broth, 1/4 apple juice, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Bring to a boil. Stir in stuffing mix.  Remove from heat.

2. Arrange pork chops in bottom of 3 1/2 - 4 quart slow cooker. Pour remaining 1/4 cup apple juice over pork.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Top with stuffing mixture.

3.  Cover; cook on low for 5-6 hours.

4.  Remove stuffing from slow cooker; place in serving bowl.  Stir gently; serve with fruit stuffing.

Boston Beef Baby Back Ribs

I think this is the recipe my brother-in-law uses. I haven't tried it yet!

Ingredients:

ribs (recipe didn't say how much so I'm assuming a pound or two?)

6 quarts of water

1/2 bottle imported beer

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp peppercorns

1 onion, chopped

Directions:

1. Bring mixture with ribs to a boil.  Bring down to a simmer and continue simmering for 1/2 hour.

2.  Brush with your favorite BBQ sauce and grill for 10 minutes on each side.  (His favorite is Bulls Eye Thick N Stick Rib Sauce)

Ribs can be boiled ahead of time - refrigerated and grilled later to save time.

Honey Chicken

I have this recipe from my Mom.  It was a family favorite for  while, but we ate it so much we had to put the recipe to rest for a while.  Here's hoping it makes a comeback!

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breasts, cubed

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 - 1 cup honey

2 tsp dry tarragon

1/4 tsp dry basil

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oil in the skillet.  Ligthly sear.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients.  Stir and cover on low heat.  Sir occasionally until chicken is cooked through.


We usually serve this over rice. It's AMAZING.

Peas and Chourico

I got this from my college roommate (and cousins cousin) Sonia a long time ago.  It's an approximate recipe from her Mom so there aren't any specific measurements. I need to make this again soon!

Ingredients:

2 links of chourico, chopped

1 onion, chopped

olive oil

garlic powder

adobe

crushed red pepper

1 can beer

16 oz tomato sauce

paprika

chicken cube

bag of frozen peas

1 egg

2 large potatoes, diced

Directions:

In a sauce pan, boil water and cook frozen veggies.  In a large pot saute the chourico and onion in olive oil;.  Add the garlic powder, adobe, crushed red pepper, paprika and the chicken cube. Mix everything together and saute a bit longer.

Add the beer, tomato sauce, potatoes and enough water to cover the potatoes.  Mix it all.  Cover and let cook until potatoes are done.  When the potatoes are almost done drain the veggies and add them to the stew.  Continue to cook until the veggies are tender and potatoes are done.  Taste and add more seasoning if you'd like.

Crack an egg over it and replace the cover while the egg poaches.  Mix after the egg is done and you will get egg pieces throughout.

My Sister-In-Law's Shrimp Mozambique

I found this recipe while we were packing this weekend and had to leave it here so I don't lose it!!

Ingredients:

1/2 stick butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 cloves of garlic

Tabasco sauce

1 cup cooking wine/beer

1 packet Goya sazon

shrimp

Directions:

1. Melt butter and olive oil in sauce pan. Add garlic and saute.  Add the wine/beer and goya packet.

2.  Add shrimp and cook 3 minutes on each side.

Serves 2.

Garlic Shrimp

We had this tonight. I halved the recipe because I knew if we had the entire thing we would have eaten it! I also made mine dairy free so I can only imagine how much better it would have tasted with actual butter. We had it served over whole wheat spaghetti garnished with lemon and fresh parsley. I imagine it would be good over rice as well. This will definitely be a go-to recipe when I can buy shrimp on sale because it was super fast and super easy!

Ingredients:

2 lbs shrimp (fresh or frozen, shelled)

1/2 cup light olive oil

2 Tbsp butter

12 garlic clove, minced

1 Tbsp flour

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Prepare your shrimp. If frozen, thaw out. Pat dry so the excess water doesn't mess up the sauce.

2. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet. Add the minced garlic and sauté for about a minute.

3. Add flour a little at a time to avoid clumps. Stir well. Add chicken broth and salt.

4. Add shrimp. If raw cook 4-5 minutes until they turn pink. If cooked, just heat them up 2-3 minutes over medium-low heat.

Nutrition: (serves 6)
Calories: 388.6
Fat: 27.8g
Sodium: 514.6mg
Carbohydrates: 2.5g
Protein: 32.2g

Kung Pao Chicken

The hot sauce in this recipe didn't provide enough of a kick for us, but it was great for the kids. We sprinkled red pepper flakes over our plates with the green part of the scallions and that did the trick!

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp canola oil

1/2 cup roasted peanuts

1 clove garlic, minced

4 scallions, chopped

1 red pepper, cut into bite sized chunks

1 1/4 cup water

1/4 cup soy sauce (I'd recommend low sodium!)

4 tsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp red wine vinegar

hot pepper sauce (to taste)

Directions:

1. Toss chicken with sesame oil and set aside.

2. Heat canola oil in skillet and add peanuts. Saute 23 minutes, without browning them. Transfer peanuts to a large bowl and set aside.

3. Add garlic, white portion of the scallions and the pepper chunks to the pan and saute about 1-2 minutes until tender. Transfer these ingredients to the bowl with the peanuts.

4. Add chicken to the pan. Saute until browned and fully cooked, about 6-10 minutes.

5. While chicken start preparing the sauce in a bowl by adding the water, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar, vinegar and hot sauce. Stir until well blended.

6. When the chicken is full cooked add it to the bowl with the peanut and pepper mixture. Stir the sauce one more time to ensure the cornstarch isn't sticking to the bottom and then add it to the pan, stirring constantly until thickened.

7. Once the sauce has thickened add the chicken and peanut mixture. Simmer 1 minute until heated through.

8. Serve over rice with scallion greens sprinkled on top.

Homemade Mac & Cheese

I just made homemade mac & cheese for the first time ever. Not gonna lie, I usually just make it out of the box on a weekly basis for my kids. I’d like to think most Mom's do... This is a very easy and much more delicious option though! This is mac & cheese I'm not embarrassed to admit I eat!

Ingredients:

2 cups macaroni

¼ cup butter or margarine

¼ cup flour

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

¼ tsp ground mustard (I didn’t have any on hand so I just put in a squirt of yellow mustard)

¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded or cubed cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook macaroni as directed on package.

3. While macaroni is cooking, melt butter in a 3 quart sauce pan over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in cheese. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted.

4. Stir cooked macaroni into cheese sauce. Poor into ungreased 2 quart casserole dish. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Variation: Try adding your favorite crumb topping to add some crunch. I used Whole Wheat Crackers crumbled up on top. Yummy!

Sweet n' Saucy Pork Chops Slow Cooker Recipe From Crock-Pot

I just threw this together in the crock-pot and it smells AMAZING! I plan on serving it tonight over brown rice with a side of veggies.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive oil

4 pork chops

2 cups onions, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup water

1 cup ketchup

½ cup cider vinegar

¼ cup soy sauce

1 tsp dry mustard

1 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Add pork chops and brown for three minutes on each side.

3. Remove pork chops and place in slow cooker. Add onions to the skillet and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

4. Reduce heat to low. Add garlic, water, ketchup, cider vinegar, soy sauce, mustard, and brown sugar. Stir until the brown sugar is dissolved. Pour sauce over pork chops.

5. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Notes:  I started a little late so I am going to cook it for the first hour or so on high and then the rest of the day on low.  Ok, so this recipe made the house smell DELICIOUS!  Seriously, it was fabulous.  The pork was a little dry. Next time I will keep it on low, even if I am short an hour or two.  The sauce was truly amazing though.  We poured it over the pork chop and after we did that we didn't care that the meat was a little on the dry side.  We'll definietly be making this again!

Chicken Bruschetta Bake

This recipe comes from Kraft Foods and it's one of my favorite go to dishes!!

Ingredients:

1 can (14 ½ oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 package (6 oz.) Stuffing Mix for Chicken

½ cup water

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 ½ lb boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 tsp dried basil

1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees

2. Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic until stuffing mix is moistened.

3. Layer chicken, basil, and cheese in 13x9 baking dish.

4. Top with stuffing.

5. Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is done.

Notes:

We are going to have this tonight with bread, corn and homemade mashed potatoes. I know, holy starch overload, right?

Mama's Meatballs

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef (I use 80%)

1 tsp garlic

1 onion, chopped

4 slices of bread

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

½ cup breadcrumbs

2 eggs

Olive oil

2 jars of spaghetti sauce

Directions:

1. Whisk eggs and break up bread slices into egg.

2. Add the remaining ingredients, except olive oil and spaghetti sauce, and mix together well.

3. Heat olive oil in pan.

4. Shape beef mixture into meatballs and add to pan. Cook until done.

5. Add meatballs and spaghetti sauce to crock pot. Simmer on low until you are ready to eat!

This recipe is a slight variation of one my MIL emailed me. You could also use 1 lb ground beef and 1 lb pork. I usually double the recipe and freeze most of the leftovers. In our house, Friday night is meatball night and it saves me the cooking process every other week. Plus, the hamburg is cheaper when you buy it in bulk!

Slow Cooker Lasagna

Another recipe from my current favorite cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

2 29 oz cans tomato sauce

8 oz package of lasagna noodles, uncooked

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 cups cottage cheese

Directions:

1. Spray interior of the cooker with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Brown the beef.

3. Stir in tomato sauce. Mix well.

4. Spread 1/4 of the meat sauce on the bottom of the slow cooker.

5. Arrange 1/3 of the uncooked noodles over the sauce. (You may need to break them up so they fit nicely).

6. Combine the cheeses in a bowl. Spoon 1/3 of the cheeses over the noodles.

7. Repeat the layers twice.

8. Top with remaining sauce.

9. Cover and cook on low 4 hours.

Makes 6-8 servings

Ideal slow cooker size: 6 quart

I also added onion to my hamburg. Next time I'll also add some Italian seasoning and add a sprinkle of cheese to the top about a 1/2 hour before it's done cooking. For a healthier option, consider using ground turkey. I also used reduced fat mozz and fat free cottage cheese.

Baked Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

4 green bell peppers

1 cup of brown rice

2 cups of low sodium chicken broth

1 small can of tomato sauce

1 lb of hamburg or turkey (I use turkey)

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp Italian seasoning

2 tsp garlic powder

A little shredded cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook your brown rice using the chicken broth

2. While your rice is cooking, brown the meat with the onion

3. Clean the seeds and ribs from your peppers, (you can just cut the tops off or cut them in half), blanch 2-3 minutes, don't overcook

4. Mix meat mixture, rice, seasoning and tomato sauce.

5. Place peppers in baking dish and fill with stuffing.

6. Top each pepper with a little bit of cheese

7. Bake at 350 for 20 or so minutes.

Serves 4-6

You can just make the rice in water, but I like the extra flavor the chicken broth gives the dish. Again, you can make this with turkey or hamburg, but turkey is the healthier option. The peppers are even better the next day! I wish Hubby liked green peppers so I could make them more often!

Soft Taco Bake Pie

Ingredients:

4 tortilla wraps

1 can of refried beans or kidney beans

1 16 oz. jar of salsa

1 cup of shredded cheese (I like the taco blend!)

1 lb. of ground meat (Hamburg, turkey, or chicken work well)

1 packet of taco seasoning (or you can just make your own - Google it)

Sour cream

Shredded lettuce

Directions:

1. Heat your oven to 400 degrees while you are browning and seasoning your meat.

2. In a 2 qt. casserole dish layer your tortillas, beans, salsa, meat, and cheese

3. Top your casserole with a little extra cheese

4. Place in the oven for 20 minutes - or until the cheese is melted

5. Garnish each individual serving with shredded lettuce and a dollop of sour cream.

Serves 4-6

It's really a quick and easy recipe. You can buy a kit from Old El Paso that contains the tortillas, taco seasoning and some cheese sauce, but the amount of sodium you'll be consuming when you're done is nuts!

When I make this I use FF sour cream, FF refried beans, whole wheat tortillas and reduced fat cheese. I either make my own seasoning or buy a packet of the reduced sodium taco seasoning.