Let us try some Chinese

Monday - Chinese Lemon Chicken

Tuesday - Fajitas

Thursday - Chicken Florentine

Chinese Lemon Chicken CrockPot Recipe

The Ingredients:

--4 boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces or equivalent

--1/2 cup flour

--1 T kosher salt

--6 oz (1/2 can) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed

--3 T brown sugar

--1 t balsamic vinegar

--3 T ketchup

--olive oil for browning chicken

updated 9/20/09: I've heard from a few readers that 1 tablespoon of

salt is too much. If you are using iodized or table salt, this will

be the case. Kosher salt doesn't taste as "salty" as regular salt,

and since the granules are larger, you don't get as much in the

tablespoon as you would with regular salt. Adjust accordingly!

The Directions:

1. cut chicken into strips or largish chunks

2. dredge in flour and salt, shake off excess

3. brown chicken in a skillet with a bit of olive oil

(you are not trying to cook the chicken--just give it some color

and get the flour mixture to stick a bit)

4. place into crockpot

5. mix the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl and pour over the

top of chicken pieces

6. cover and cook on high for 4 hours, low for 6-8

Serve over rice, drizzle with remaining sauce.

Fajitas

Buy the meat already made

Assemble with goodies in tortillas

mmmmm

Chicken Florentine Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast

halves

1/8 cup butter

3 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream

of mushroom soup

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1/2 cup half-and-half - or some kind of milk

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

frozen spinach, drained

4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/3 cup bacon bits

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the chicken

breast halves on a baking sheet; bake 20 to 30 minutes, until no longer pink

and juices run clear. Remove from heat, and set aside.

2. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

3. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stirring

constantly, mix in the garlic, lemon juice, cream of mushroom soup, Italian

seasoning, half-and-half, and Parmesan cheese.

4. Arrange the spinach over the bottom of a 9x9 inch baking dish. Cover

the spinach with the mushrooms. Pour half the mixture from the saucepan over

the mushrooms. Arrange chicken breasts in the dish, and cover with the remaining

sauce mixture. Sprinkle with bacon bits, and top with mozzarella cheese.

5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes in the 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) oven, until

bubbly and lightly browned.

Mimi and Granddad Visit

Yah! Mimi and Granddad are coming next weekend...now what to cook?

Friday - Chicken Cacciatore

Sunday - Jambalaya

Chicken Cacciatore

1 Large Frying Chicken (Cut into 8 or 10 pieces) (can cut the Breast into 4)

1 14oz can of tomatoes (not sauce) it can be small

diced, plain or the one with basil,

garlic and oregano and mushrooms added to the can

(you can leave the mushrooms out if you want ( I usually do because of Dad)

1 small 8 oz can of tomato sauce

1/2 large onion sliced very thin

4 cloves garlic chopped

1 T parsley

salt/pepper and red pepper (optional)

1 tsp rosemary (optional)

½ tsp oregano (if it comes in tomato can then you can taste to see if more is needed)

(you want it to have a taste, but not too heavy like pizza)

1. Take skin off chicken (if you want - less fattening - my grandma never took skin off.

2. In large sauce pot put some veg oil in pan and brown

chicken (about 5 min on each side) Take out chicken.

3. Add Onions and garlic - Brown lightly (3 - 5 min or less)

Add tomato can ( if diced you might want to mash them a l

ittle to make them a little smoother (optional)

4. Add Sauce Add other seasonings - Taste Add Chicken -

Cover Pot and simmer on LOW BOIL about 1 hour. You can

turn Chicken about 1/2 hour into cooking.

Take chicken out if you want to serve and sauce can put to dunk bread

or put over pasta.

Done

If sauce too watery (it's supposed to be a watery

light sauce, then you can take a little corn starch

or flour, mix with some cooled sauce and put it back

into hot sauce and make it come to a boil before serving it.

**NOTE: Crockpot Recipe revision:

1. Sauté Onions and garlic

2. Combine Onions, garlic, tomatoes and seasonings into

the crockpot (mash up the tomatoes if they are too chunky

3. Add Chicken pieces (I don’t usually brown the chicken)

4. Cover and cook on LOW for 4-5 hrs

Colleen's Slow Cooker Jambalaya

"No need to slave over the stove to prepare a delicious jambalaya!

Toss the chicken, sausage, shrimp, vegetables, and seasonings in the

slow cooker, and forget about it until dinner time. "

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken

breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes

1 pound andouille sausage, sliced

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with

juice

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green bell pepper, chopped

1 cup chopped celery 1 cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried parsley

2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 pound frozen cooked shrimp without

tails

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice,

onion, green bell pepper, celery, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley,

Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.

2. Cover, and cook 7 to 8 hours on Low, or 3 to 4 hours on High.

Stir in the shrimp during the last 30 minutes of cook time.

Note: I used regular smoked sausage, and in the freezer section you can

find a small bag of onion/bell pepper/celery together and already chopped!!

Huge time saver!!!!!

Note: I used ½ tsp Cayenne to make it not too spicy because I am

nursing still. And I used Tony’s Cajun seasoning :)

Serve over Rice!!!!

Week of Crockpot

David is traveling this week so I'm using my trusty Crock all week!

Monday - Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup/Grilled Cheese

Tuesday - Beef Mac n Cheese

Thursday - Chicken Tortilla Soup

Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 pinch hot red pepper flakes

1 bay leaf

2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes in juice

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

3 large slices good-quality white sandwich bread, crusts removed, torn into

1-inch pieces

2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth, to make it vegetarian)

2 Tablespoons brandy (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup chopped fresh chives

Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering.

Add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf. Cook, stirring frequently,

until onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Using a potato masher, mash until no pieces

bigger than 2 inches remain.

Stir in sugar and bread; bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook,

stirring occasionally, until bread is completely saturated and starts to break down,

about 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf and discard.

Transfer half of soup to a blender, add 1tablespoon olive oil and process until

soup is smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes (See notes). Transfer to a large bowl

and repeat with remaining soup and oil. (Or use an immersion blender!)

Rinse out Dutch oven and return soup to pot. Stir in chicken broth and brandy.

Return soup to a boil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle each portion with pepper and chives and drizzle with olive oil.

Serve (of course) with grilled cheese sandwiches.

Beef Mac n Cheese

The Ingredients.

1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained

5 bacon strips, diced

1 large onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes --- any flavor, or plain

1 can water (empty tomato can)

6 garlic cloves, chopped

1 (26-ounce) jar prepared pasta sauce

1 (16-ounce) package elbow macaroni (I used brown rice pasta)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. In a large skillet, brown the beef,

bacon and onion all together until the meat is no longer pink.

Drain well and plop into your slow cooker. Add everything else

into the pot except for the pasta and cheese.

Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or

high for about 4. Stir in the raw pasta and cook on high for

approximately 30 minutes, or until pasta is bite-tender. Serve

in a wide-mouthed bowl with a handful of cheese on each serving.

Tortilla Soup Crock pot

The Ingredients:

3 cups of chicken broth

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken (I have leftover chicken in the freezer)

1/2 onion

2 cup frozen veggies

2 green onions

28 oz can of tomatoes and juice

4 cloves of garlic

1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 t cayenne pepper

1 t cumin

salt to taste (especially if using a no-salt broth like I was)

garnish: tortilla chips

The Directions:

dice all veggies into fine chunks

dump everything into the crockpot

it's okay if you have frozen stuff. My broth, vegetables and chicken were all frozen.

totally okay to assemble the night before.

cook on low for 8-10 hours, or high for 6 or so.

before serving, add whatever garnish you choose.

Happy New Year

Monday - Spinach Quiche

Tuesday - Pot Roast

Wednesday - Pizza (with left over pot roast)

Thursday - White Chili

Easy Spinach Quiche

1 9” unbaked pie crust

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 tsp. salt

dash pepper (optional)

1 3 oz. can French fried onions

1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach

4 eggs

1) Pierce pie crust lightly with fork and bake in 350 degree

oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

2) Cook spinach according to package directions.

3) crumble onions. Mix onions, garlic,

cheese, salt, and pepper by hand in medium-sized bowl.

4) Add cooked spinach to mixture.

5) In separate bowl, beat eggs until light and lemon colored.

Add these to mixture.

6) Pour mixture into pie crust and bake in 350 degree oven for

45 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Variations:

Broccoli Quiche: Substitute 1 10 oz. box frozen chopped broccoli for spinach

Mushroom Quiche: Substitute 1 3 oz. can of drained mushrooms

for spinach (no need to heat mushrooms before adding) and 1 cup

shredded Swiss cheese for cheddar cheese.

Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Roast

INGREDIENTS:

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream

of mushroom soup

1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix

1 cups beef broth

1/4 cup red wine

5 1/2 pounds pot roast

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a slow cooker, mix cream of mushroom soup,

dry onion soup mix and water. Place pot roast in slow

cooker and coat with soup mixture.

2. Cook on High setting for 3 to 4 hours, or on

Low setting for 8 to 9 hours.

You can coat roast in salt/pepper/flour and brown on all sides before cooking.

I made this for my Bunko club and everyone wants the recipe.

It really came out GREAT. Thought you might like it for when you entertain.

Mother

Pizza

Premade Crust loaded with left over:

pot roast

spinach

mushrooms

Cheese

Tomato sauce

CHICKEN WHITE CHILI SOUP

4 Chicken Breast (boiled and cut or shredded)

3 Cans White Northern Beans

3 Cans Chicken Broth

2 – 4oz Cans of Green Chili

2 Cans Diced Tomatoes

1-2 teaspoons Oregano

2 Cloves Garlic (minced)

1 Lg Onion

1-2 teaspoons Chili Powder

Salt/Pepper

1 lb Monterey Jack Cheese (cubed)

Put all of the above in Crock Pot except Chicken and Cheese.

After everything has cooked down (about 4 hrs in crock pot)

and blended put in Chicken (about 1 hour before end of cooking).

Just before serving add the cubed cheese to hot mixture.

(I added the liquid from the boiled chicken and only added

2 cans of chicken broth. I also bought 2 cans of diced tomatoes

with green chili in the can so I put in 1 can of the green chili).

It was spicy, but good. If you wanted it less spicy leave go less

on the green chili.)