Homemade Applesauce ~ in the CrockPot!

I had several apples that needed to be used and after making and having such success with the Apple Butter last year, (which is something I find myself cooking every month now) I decided to try making applesauce....in the CrockPot!  Yummo!  A few weeks ago I ran across a delicious looking applesauce recipe posted by Gina's Skinny Recipes, so after tweaking it a bit and making a batch of this sauce, I don't think I will ever buy applesauce from the store again.  My kids are in love with it and I love the fact that I made it for them.  Plus, you home is filled with very delightful aromas for the six hours that the apples are cooking.  Awww...I love apples!

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You will need:

8 medium apples 

1 strip of orange peel (a vegetable peeler is the easiest way to do this)

2 tsp of fresh squeezed orange juice

3 inch cinnamon stick

6 tsp light brown sugar

Making the Applesauce:

1.  Peel, core and slice the apples.

2.  Place the apples in the slow cooker.  Add the orange peel, cinnamon stick and brown sugar.

3.  Turn the CrockPot setting to low and cook for 6 hours.  Stir the apples occasionally.  After the apples have finished cooking, remove the cinnamon stick and orange peel and use a food processor to blend until smooth. 

4.  Let cool completely, place in a jar or air tight container and keep in the refrigerator.

Makes 3 cups.

Homemade Applesauce ~ in the CrockPot!

Cranberry Relish

This recipe was given to me from a friend in Texas about two years ago.  She served this cranberry relish as a garnish for a pork tenderloin and it was absolutely delicious.  I most recently made this to serve alongside a glazed ham I cooked for my family and it added such a fabulous flavor.  Its bright red color is so festive and just simply beautiful.

To make it you need...

2 cups of cranberries

1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 cup onions, chopped

1 jalapenos, seeded and chopped (optional)

1/4 cup lime juice

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Combine all ingredients and blend in a food processor.  Chill for at least 30 min before serving.  Serve alongside a pork tenderloin, ham or meat of your choice.  

Add all the ingredients in the food processor to chop & blend.

A beautiful and delicious side, when spooned over pork is absolutely divine!

Cranberry Relish

This week's menu...

This cute recipe book can be found at Lucky Girl gifts.

Last week's menu stayed on task and we enjoyed some pretty tasty meals, several were new to us and have found their way onto our list of favorites.  This week I am attempting my first DIY project of the year, Homemade English Muffins.  I am hoping they turn out as yummy as Utah Deal Diva's did!

What yummy meals are you cooking up this week?

Breakfasts:
Homemade English Muffins with jam
Bagels with Nutella
Homemade Sausage and Egg "McMuffins"
Cold ceral
Waffles with oranges
Scrambled eggs with toast and banana
Oatmeal with toast

Lunches:
Soup
Grilled cheese with pretzels
Leftovers from Dinner
Lunch out with the hubby
PB&J with grapes
Healthy Choice meals for mom
Ham and Cheese sandwich with apple slices

Dinners:
Kielbasa & Cabbage with cornbread and mashed potatoes
Spaghetti with green beans and garlic bread
Southwest Enchilada Bake (freezer friendly meal) with green salad
Zatarain's Spanish Rice with Italian sausage, charo beans and cornbread
Nacho Cheese Chicken Chowder
Leftovers
Deli sandwich with soup and chips

This week's menu...

Southwest Enchilada Bake

This Southwest Enchilada Bake is a fantastic freezer pleaser!  I love freezer-friendly dishes to enjoy now...and later!  I made this dish about two weeks ago.  Since it makes two casseroles, we ate one for dinner and then froze the other.  We are going to eat the frozen one this week, as outlined in my meal plan.   Each casserole serves 8 and costs about $1.93 per serving.

To the right is an example of what it looks like before adding the cheese....

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Ingredients:
30 - (6 inch) corn tortillas
3 lbs lean ground beef
2 onions, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (15 oz each) black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
2 cans (10-3/4 oz each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
2 cans (10-3/4 oz each) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
2 cans (10 oz each) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
2 cans (10 oz each) enchilada sauce
1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

corn tortillas cut into eights 

Directions:
Cut tortillas into eighths; set aside.  In a dutch oven cook the beef, onions, jalapenos and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.  Stir in the black-eyed peas, soups, tomatoes, enchilada sauce and pepper sauce; heat through.

Spread 2-2/3 cups meat mixture into each of two greased 13 x 9 in baking dishes.  Top each with 2 cups cut tortillas.  Repeat layers. Top with remaining meat mixture; sprinkle with cheese.

Cool one casserole; cover and freeze for up to 3 months.  Cover and bake the remaining casserole at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.  Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

TO USE FROZEN CASSEROLE:  Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes.  Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer until cheese is melted.  Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Bake and enjoy!

Southwest Enchilada Bake

CrockPot Chicken Tortilla Soup

My favorite soup of all time is Chicken tortilla soup.  This particular recipe was derived from Miller's Musings and I was so excited to find it.  I have tried it at many different places, but in my opinion the kind you make at home is simply the best.  This soup is absolutely amazing and the fact that it is cooked in a CrockPot makes it even more yummy!  


The Ingredients:
2 chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans Ro-Tel 
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn
1 onion, chopped
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1-2 cups of water
1 package of Grill Mates Mojito Lime Marinade
shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese
tortilla chips

MAKING IT:
Put chopped onion, beans, rotel, corn, chicken broth, water, and Mojito Lime spices in CrockPot and stir to mix. Put chicken on top of mixture and make sure they're at least partly submerged in liquid. Cook on high 6-7 hours or low 8-9 hours. Before serving remove the chicken from soup and shred, if needed.  Return chicken to the slow cooker and stir to combine.

To serve put a few tortilla chips in the bottom of a bowl, topped with some shredded cheddar cheese, spoon some soup over the tortilla chips, and top with additional shredded cheddar cheese if desired.  Absolutely delicious! 

Enjoy!

CrockPot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Kielbasa and Cabbage

Last night I attempted two firsts in our home, cooking cabbage and frying potatoes.  Lets just say they were both absolutely delicious, however I don't know that frying potatoes will be done that often.  I'm not really into frying foods for the simple facts that it is not real healthy and I really can't stand the greasiness the entire house feels afterwards.  However, those potatoes sure were good!

Since I had never cooked a head of cabbage before in my entire life, I was on a mad search yesterday for a good cabbage recipe to feed my family for New Years Day.  I came across a Kielbasa and Cabbage recipe on Mostly Food and Crafts blog.  My kids ate this and asked for seconds, so that says a lot.  I had enough left over to feed us lunch today, which made this recipe even better.  If you love cabbage, you are sure to love this.

PRINTABLE VERSION

What you need:

1  pound  kielbasa, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick slices 

2 1/2 pound head of cabbage, chopped into bite-size pieces

1  (14.5-ounce) can of Rotel, undrained

1  teaspoon  salt

1/2  teaspoon  pepper

What you do:

Sauté kielbasa in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels, reserving drippings in skillet. Set aside.

 Stir in cabbage; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Stir in cooked sausage, Rotel, salt, and pepper. Cook until thoroughly heated.

Kielbasa and Cabbage

Hello 2012 and welcome back Meal Planning!

Throughout the 2011 holiday season my meal planning seemed to get lost in the hustle and bustle of company parties, school functions, gift wrapping, seasonal baking and so on....

I was excited this morning, the first day of a new year, to sit down at my computer with my pen and paper (yes, I'm a write it down and cross it out type of gal) and meal plan for this week.  I found some new budget friendly and healthy meal choices that will be new for our family as well as some family favorites that we tend to eat every week.  I look forward to sharing these new foods with you and if you try them and like them, I would love to hear about it!  The Project Girl offers a FREE downloadable menu planner to make your meal planning that much easier.

HAPPY NEW YEAR from our family to yours!

Week of Jan 1, 2012:

Breakfasts:
cold cereal
english muffin with apple butter. (my Jan DIY project is homemade english muffins so keep an out for that recipe later in the month).
waffle and fruit
oatmeal and banana
scrambled eggs and toast
Chocolate No-Bake Energy Bars
bagels and Nutella

Lunches:
PB & J sandwich with bananas
Left over soup and crackers
Ham Sandwich and chips
Grilled cheese and apple slices
Healthy choice meals for mom
Left overs from dinner
Cheese and crackers with oranges

Dinners:
Black eye peas, kielbasa and cabbage, fried potatoes and sweet cornbread
Pasta Bake with Kielbasa and Apples , whole kernal corn,  Red Lobster Biscuits
Spaghetti with meat sauce, cut green beans, and garlic bread
Hearty Lasagna Soup  with garlic bread
One Pot Chili Casserole and corn on the cobb
Left Overs
Date Night with the hubby at Proud Cut (using gift card won at Christmas Company party)!

Hello 2012 and welcome back Meal Planning!

Cinnamon Chips

I had some left over corn tortillas that needed to be used, so what better way to use them up than to make some chips? I decided to make some cinnamon chips for the boys to snack on today. Let me just say....yum!


What you need:
10 tortillas (flour or corn)
Butter cooking spray
Cinnamon sugar mixture

What to do:
Cut your tortillas into 8ths and spread them out on a baking sheet. Do not overlap. Spray them with cooking spray, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture and then lightly spray again with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. After baking let cool completely for 15 minutes. Repeat steps for remaining tortillas.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Chips

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Earlier this week I baked these cookies for a cookie swap I was invited to by a large group of woman from my husband's company.  It was my very first cookie swap and it was SO MUCH FUN!  We had a wonderful white chicken chili prepared by the host and had a fabulous time eating cookies and chatting.  To top it off at the end of the night we filled our bags full of each others cookies to bring home and I can't wait to get my copy of all the recipes that the host is in the process of compiling.  For the swap I decided to try a new cookie.  This one caught my eye because it was minty and green, a perfect cookie for a Christmas get together.  These cookies were so moist, minty and chocolatey, I have decided to make them for my neighbors and am including the recipe in with my Christmas cards!

PRINTABLE VERSION
The Ingredients:
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
1 egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
8 drops green food coloring
1 cup creme de menthe baking chips

Directions:
1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, extract, food color, and egg until soft dough forms.  Stir in creme de menthe baking chips and chocolate chunks.
2.  Using a small cookie scoop drop dough 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until set.  Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.
4.  Store tightly covered at room temperature.

Makes 36 cookies  

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wassail

Thanksgiving Day we made our first Wassail of the holiday season.  It is a delicious tradition in our house and the kids always look forward to it.  This year our 11 year old Collin prepared the Thanksgiving wassail and he did a terrific job.  It tasted just as wonderful as ever, maybe even a little bit sweeter, being made by such a sweet guy! :)

PRINTABLE VERSION
Ingredients:
1 gallon Apple Cider
1 tsp Whole Cloves
1 tsp Whole All spice
2 3" cinnamon sticks
2/3 cup sugar
orange studded with whole cloves

Mix all the ingredients together in a large pot or slow cooker (I prefer the slow cooker that way I can keep it on low and we can enjoy the hot cider throughout the day).  Bring to a boil. (In a slow cooker turn on high and in about an hour should be good and hot).  Reduce heat and let simmer.

Wassail