Slow Cooker Beef in Mushroom Gravy

This extremely juicy roast was brought by Joni Joiner. It just melts in your mouth! Love the simplicity and taste- double score!

2 - 2 1/2 lbs boneless round steak
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 - 3/4 C water

Cut steak into 6 serving size pieces and place in 3 qt crock pot. Combine soup, water and soup mix in a separate bowl then add to the crock pot. Cook covered on low 8 hours or until tender.

Makes it's own gravy and is great with mashed potatoes or add red potatoes to the crock pot for the last 2 hours of cooking. Joni recommends turning the meat every 2 hours to prevent it from getting too brown on one side.

Tomato Cream Sauce

Hubby has moved to a grave shift so he's sleeping in the mornings and wanting to hang out in the evenings- not helpful when it comes to taking time to make dinner. So, my crock pot is working over time! I've been fiddling with recipes that can be adjusted for the crock pot and am adding this to the repertoire. This manages to have a hearty and sweet taste to it at the same time. I usually do this with sausage, but thought I'd try with chicken this time. I won't do that again. It was still pretty good, but I like the flavor of the sweet and creamy sauce and the ground sausage. It can also be done meat free...

1 lb sage or plain ground sausage(optional)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can Italian diced tomatoes, with juice

1 tbsp dried basil

3/4 tsp sugar

1/4 tbsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 C heavy cream

1 tbsp butter

Lazy- Brown the sausage. Put in crock pot with remaining ingredients except cream. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-6. Add cream 30 minutes before serving.

Original- Brown the sausage with the onion, garlic and olive oil. Add tomatoes, basil, sugar, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates. Remove from heat; stir in cream and butter. Reduce heat and simmer 5 more minutes.

Serve over hot noodles.

Hawaiian Chicken

I love cooking in my crock pot- especially during these hot summer months when a hot stove or oven is my nemesis. I was looking for something new to throw in one morning and came up with this concoction. I'm really hoping I remember everything I put in now... It's pretty simple and eliminates the need to stand over heat! It has a sweet taste with just a touch of sour to it. The pineapple makes it nice and light, perfect when you don't want something heavy at 113 degrees! The chicken can be shredded and added into the rice topping, but I kinda liked it on the side.

2 lbs chicken breasts {I just threw mine in frozen- best part!}
1 16 oz can crushed pineapple with juice
1 C chopped green pepper
1 C packed brown sugar
2 tbsp quick cooking tapioca
2 tbsp soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
2 stalks green onions, chopped
1/3 C honey
1/2 C orange juice

Place chicken in crock pot. Add remaining ingredients. If you wanna get fancy, mix remaining ingredients in a separate bowl then pour to coat the chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over rice.

This would be good topped with almonds or macadamia nuts.

Hawaiian Haystacks

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this recipe. It's in my top 5 favorite meals. Because of all the toppings, it is so versatile and easy to please several different tastes. It's easy to make a lot and I'll serve it all the time when we have parties. I got this particular recipe from my sister-in-law, Emily Pittman. I love the sweetness of the sauce- Perfect if you hosted a luau, like we did not too long ago. Just be careful or this guy might show up...
Oh, he'll kill me.... Love it!
AAAAnnnyway, here it is, with all the fun topping favorites....

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken
1 C water
1 C brown sugar
1/4 C soy sauce
cornstarch to thicken, if necessary

Place everything in a crock pot and cook on high until chicken is cooked through (about 6-8 hours on low is best). Shred chicken. Serve over rice with your favorite toppings:

cheese
pineapples
hard boiled eggs, chopped
cranberries
green onions, chopped
celery, chopped
chow mien noodles(best under the rice)
bacon, cooked and chopped
slivered almonds
flaked coconut
maraschino cherries
green bell pepper
green peas
Whatever else sounds good!
*** Warning- this ALWAYS ends up being more food on your plate than you intend, so start small! Then go smaller... Then go back for seconds!
I totally think we're going to have to do an End-of-summer luau with this, again. Ya know, when summer ends in October here! ;)

Honey Lime Enchiladas

There is absolutely NO way this dish could be photographed in a manner that would capture the excellence of its flavor. Seriously. I think this is my new favorite. I have an uncle that has 6 daughters. No typo. 6. Shoot me now. What's even crazier is that they each one is sweeter, cuter, and more talented than the next. The kind of girls that you want to hate because you envy, but can't because it'd be like hating Mother Teresa. And that's just wrong. AAAAAnyway, the 6 girls made a blog to keep connected as they get married and move around. They feature all kinds of ridiculously awesome things, including *GASP* recipes! I've seen a couple ones that I'd like to try, but when I saw a recipe for Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas, I couldn't wait! I'll be honest, it wasn't as knock-your-socks-off as I'd hoped when I first tried it, but it had potential. A few days later, I tried it again, with a few minor tweaks and ran it past my judges panel {my hubby, my 3 year old, and my temporarily wifeless neighbor who, by the way, said it was heaven sent!}. It was as knock-your-socks-off as I'd hoped!! Yay! The chicken is so incredible in and of itself and would be excellent in quesadillas, fajitas, whatever! Ready to rock your taste buds???

Chicken filling:

1 lb chicken {I used 2 chicken breasts}

1/2 medium onion, diced

6 tbsp honey{3/8 C}

5 tbsp lime juice {approx 1 large lime, but I just got a bottle of lime juice}

1 tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Place the chicken and onion in a crockpot. Mix together the other 4 ingredients in a small bowl; pour over chicken and onion. Cook on low 6-8 hours if chicken is frozen, 4-6 hours if thawed.

{The original recipe calls for the chicken to be cooked and shredded then placed in a bag with the whisked other ingredients for at least 1/2 hour, but I hate messing with raw chicken so to the crockpot with it! Plus, it hasn't worked out that I've been able to make the enchilada's the same day as I made the chicken, so it's easy to cook, shred, then let it sit in the sauce in the fridge until I am ready to use it. Handy!}

Enchilada's:

8-10 tortillas

1 lb monterey jack cheese, shredded

16 oz green enchilada sauce

1 C sour cream

Pour about 1/4-1/2 C of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13" pan. Fill the tortillas with chicken and all but 1 cup of the cheese. Place the tortillas in the pan as you go. Mix any remaining chicken marinade with the enchilada sauce and sour cream. Pour over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until tortilla edges are brown and crispy.

I served this with black beans tossed with lime juice and sour cream. My neighbor especially liked it with extra sour cream on the side.

Italian Chicken

Admittedly, this looks gross. However, what it lacks in presentation, it makes up for in taste! It's simplicity makes it one of my favorite meals, it's taste makes it one of my family's favorites. The creamy, flavorful sauce wouldn't work on a Weight Watcher's diet, but it meets my 'must taste great' criteria! Plus, it can be done in 15 minutes on the stove, or early in a crock pot.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts {unless they are Costco breasts, then only two. Seriously, what do they feed those chickens for them to have breasts as big as mine??? TMI?;)}
3/4 stick of butter
1 pkg Italian dressing mix
1 pkg cream cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 C evaporated milk {if I'm feeding a larger group, I just add a bit more of the can}

Place chicken, butter, and Italian dressing mix in crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. One hour before serving, heat cream cheese, milk, and soup on stove until well blended. Add to chicken and cook for the last hour. Serve over hot noodles or rice.

For the stove:
Chop the chicken breasts and cook in a large skillet with the butter and dressing mix until cooked through. Add the cream cheese, milk, and soup and stir until well blended. Let simmer about 15 minutes.

Lazy Lasagna Toss

I love lasagna, but then, who doesn't! My mom is kinda famous for hers, so I have a high expectation for anything that calls itself lasagna. While I wouldn't call this my first choice for lasagna, it's a pretty good option when you don't have the time to do it the right way. Hence, Lazy Lasagna Toss!

1 lb ground beef
1-2 green peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced {I was fresh out, but about a tbsp garlic powder was a good substitute}
1 (26 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 2/3 C water
1/4 C zesty Italian dressing
12 oven ready lasagna noodles, broken into quarters {to use regular lasagna noodles, just up the water to 2 cups and plan on needing to cook it a little longer.}
1 Can olives (optional)
1/2-1 C ricotta or cottage cheese (optional)

1 C mozzarella cheese

Brown meat in a large saucepan, drain. Stir in peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water and dressing; bring to a boil. Add noodles and olives; stir. Cover. Cook on medium-low heat 10 to 15 minutes or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Gently stir in cottage cheese. Sprinkle with mozzarella, cover. Let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I needed something that could stay warm long enough to take in to meet my hubby for his dinner break, so I made this in the crock pot- the way to go! I browned the meat and put it in the crock pot along with the peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water, and dressing. I let that simmer for about 4 hours on high, then stirred in the lasagna noodles and olives {forgot to add the cottage cheese, but I would next time}. I let that sit for about a half hour for oven ready, hour for regular lasagna noodles. It was still nice and hot and easy to transport! Might do it like that again next time!