Red Beans and Rice *Crockpot*

Hello?  Anyone still there?  I'm sorry; I've been gone a looooong time.  Life has been pretty busy.  The busier it gets, the less I cook pretty food.  Sad fact.  BUT - I have been using my crockpot a LOT.  Like at least twice a week.  So I thought I'd share some red beans and rice with you.  This is a family favorite, comfort food at its best.  My kids will eat beans and rice without fail.  They would eat it every night if I would allow.  And it is so nice to come home to a meal that's ready to go and waiting on you.

You actually start this the night before you cook it.  Open up your beans, rinse them and put them in a pot.  Cover the beans with water.  Make sure there's a lot of water in there (at least 2-3 inches over the top of the beans).  Put the lid on the pot and leave it just like that on the counter over night.  This softens the beans so you'll get a better consistency when you cook them.

When you wake up drain your beans in a collander, rinse them (I'm told this removes the gas from the beans) and put them in your crock pot.

Add your liquid.  Best case senario is stock.  If you don't have any, you can use water.  If I use water, I usually add bullion or brown gravy mix.

Add onions, garlic, bell pepper (you can buy this pre chopped, or chop them the night before when you put your beans soaking) and seasoning.

You can either add your sausage straight from the fridge, or cook it first.  I've done it both ways with no complaints from the crowd.  It really depends on how much time you have.  I prefer the taste and texture of browning it on the stove first, but some days I'm short on time and I throw it in the crock pot without even bothering to cut it.

That's really all there is to it.  Put the lid on your crock pot and let it do it's thing.

Serve over rice (which can also be made the night before if you know you'll have a hungry crew when you walk in the door).

Chicken with Roasted Peppers and White Wine Butter Sauce

Ok.  Yum.  Can I just say this is amazing!?! Like, super-yum. 

I made this on one of the three days this "winter" when it got cold.  I was looking for some warm comfort food that was kind of fancy.  The butter and the wine make the sauce so rich, and the peppers are soft and sweet.

I serve it over cheddar grits.  I think you should, too.  But if you don't know what grits are, or you're really adverse to them, I'm sure it would be awesome over mashed potatoes.

Well enough talking - let's cook!

**If you are making cheddar grits, I like to start them first so they have plenty of time to get cooked all the way**

Grab your groceries:

Sear chicken and cook through - brown bits = GOODNESS!

While that's going, put the peppers in the oven to roast. 

Put the chicken in a plate and set aside.  Pour the wine in the pot over the browned bits of chicken.  Cook about 4 minutes then add butter.  Oh! My!  This is when it starts to get GOOD!

When the butter melts, add the onion mixture.  Do you smell that???

Then the mushrooms.

When the mushrooms get brown, add in the chicken stock.  Give that a few minutes to marinate while you chop the chicken and skin and chop the peppers.  Then add the peppers and the chicken to the pan.  Make sure to pour in any chicken drippings in the bottom of the plate.

Let it all cook together for a few minutes.  Then dish up the grits...

And add the chicken, peppers, mushrooms and sauce over the top.

Now, pour a glasss of that wine and dig in.
Get the printable here.

Bolognese Sauce

Wow - Sorry for the long absence.  I started a new job last week!  It took me a few days to adjust to the schedule change, but I'm back.

Over the weekend I did some extra cooking to prepare for the week.  I find that being prepared is my best tool for success.  I made a pot of bolognese sauce on Sunday, divided it and froze half.  We will have 1 half for dinner tonight and the other half is in my freezer, ready for the next day (and there are plenty) when I've been too tired, lazy or busy to prepare in advance.

I love the comforting, at-home taste of a warm meat sauce over pasta.  This one's pretty basic, so feel free to customize it to your family's taste.

You can print the recipe here.

Here's what you'll need:
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup bellpepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup carrots, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 can crushed tomatoes (28oz)
1 can whole peeled tomatoes (28oz)
1 can tomato paste (6oz)
1/3 cup beef broth
Seasonings to taste (salt, pepper, Tony's, celery seed, garlic/onion powder)

Start by chopping your onions, bellpepper, carrots, garlic and parsley.  On this particular day, I had some pre-chopped veggies in my fridge so I just used those and added carrots.

I always debate the order of operations here.  Do I cook the meat first, then the vegetables in the rendered fat?  Do I cook the vegetables first in olive oil, then pull them out and add the meat?  This time I heated a little olive oil and threw it all in the pot together.  It seemed to work out great.  I'll go with everything all together from now on.

Let your meat get good and brown.  Then season and taste it.  Let it go a little longer, adjust seasonings, taste again.  This really isn't something I rush.

When the meat is full of flavor, add crushed tomatoes, whole tomatoes, tomato paste and beef broth. Cook for about 10 minutes.  Use a wooden spoon or spatula to break up the whole tomatoes.


Reduce to a simmer, cover. Allow to simmer for about 2 hours.  Taste again, and adjust seasonings.  Serve half right away if you want.  Then freeze half for another day.  I like to make this on Sunday, save half for Monday or Tuesday night and half goes in the freezer.  Then I have one meal for this week already finished before the working days begin.

Tomato Basil Crock Pot Chicken

As far as weekday thrills go, I'm not sure there are many things that make me happier than coming home to dinner already cooked and waiting on me.  But since I don't have a personal chef, this means my crock pot has become one of my best friends.  Even though I'm usually not a morning person, I believe it is totally worth getting up 30-45 minutes early to get dinner in the crock pot and check that off my list for the day.

You probably could just throw all of this in your crock pot and turn it on with no problems, but I like to do a little stove top prep.

Here's what you need:
1 whole cut up chicken
Salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped vegetables (usually onion, garlic, bell pepper and parsley)
1 (6oz) can tomato paste
2 cup chicken broth (divided)
1 package cherry or grape tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped basil leaves

Heat some olive oil in pan on stove over medium high heat, season your chicken. When the oil gets HOT, add chicken to brown a bit.


In the same pan you browned the chicken, add some more olive oil and the vegetable mix.
***A note about the vegetable mix - this is just onions, bell pepper, garlic and parsley pre-chopped.  You can find it in the produce section.  You can absolutely just chop your own.  However, this doesn't sound like something I want to do at 6am, so I buy the pre-chopped.***  Cook until clear.

Add to crock pot.

Again, in the same pan used for the chicken, then the vegetables, add about half of the chicken stock (you just need enough to wet the pan and un-clump the tomato paste, think of this as a useful pre-rinsing of your pan) plus tomato paste. Using a spatula, scrape the good stuff off the bottom of the pan, and stir until the paste is no longer clumpy. Add this to the crock pot.

Add the rest of chicken stock, cherry tomatoes and basil leaves to crock pot.  Oh. My. Wow.  that looks yummy.

Put lid on the crock, set it and forget it.  When you get home, your house will smell fantastic.  Best of all, THIS will be waiting on you...

Now, everytime you start to panic over dinner for the rest of the day, you can calm yourself knowing it's already ready already.  Which means you have time to do extra laundry, scrub bathrooms or something else equally as glamorous.

Have a great day - and go make friends with your crock pot!

Get the printable here.

Crock pot cooking works for me.  Check out what works for everyone else!

   

When All Else Fails...

Life is busy.  It's been so very busy.  I could list all the reasons why, but I bet one thing: we all have busy lives.  Everything's been so crazy around here that I decided to skip bible study tonight and just stay home.  I was all the way home, with all 3 kids unloaded from the car before I stopped to think about the fact that I had no clue whatsoever about what to do for dinner. 

We had a pack of chicken tenderloins in the fridge.  There were some sweet peppers left from the market this weekend.  I found some evaporated milk in the pantry (don't wince, it's the perfect substitution for cream).  I decided to go with what I know.  When all else fails butter + cream will save the day.

This isn't so much a recipe as it is a reminder.  You can probably make a meal with what you have on hand if you just get creative and confident.

So here's what I did:  I melted some butter in a pan and added in the chicken (tenderloin strips), straight from the package.  I sprinkled on some Tony's and threw the bacon press on top.  After a few minutes, I flipped the chicken.  I added some onion and sweet peppers, because I had them and they would probably go bad in a day or two.  While that was all cooking {and smelling pretty good} I poked around the fridge for more ideas.  There was a little bit of the chili paste I'd used making Citrus-Chili Chicken, so I decided to add that.

In a bowl, I whisked a can of evaporate milk, what was left in the jar of chili paste and a little flour.  I poured that in and continued to add a little bit of this and that.  We ended up with a nice, quick meal that I didn't have to think about or plan.

Don't be afraid of your kitchen.  Melt some butter in a pan then add cream and flour (whisk this in a separate bowl first) --- you just made cream sauce.

Too thick?  Thin it our with a little chicken stock.

Too thin?  Add more flour - or cheese(!)

Bland?  Add in some vegetables, the end of a jar of something that's in the fridge, lemon juice, a seasoning packet... whatever you want!

Just remember: Butter + Cream + whatever flavorings you've got lying around = easy weeknight pasta.  And who doesn't need a good cream sauce after a busy day?

Linking up at Tidy Mom

Easy Chicken and Black Bean Casserole

This week has been crazy with the start of school.  I am the proud momma of a Pre-K student!

The start of school had me out of the house Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  By Thursday night, we were all tired of eating pizza and takeout.  I was also pretty tired, and the kids were clingy.  I threw this casserole together with very little prep time, which allowed me some much needed playtime with my little ones.

I used my go-to kitchen staples of chicken, black beans, tomatoes and cheese, then spiced them up with a little jalapeno pepper.

The result was warm, creamy comfort food that I didn't have to slave over!  This is perfect when you don't really feel like cooking, but you want something good to eat.

I made it up as I went along, so I don't have a picture of all the ingredients, but here's what you'll need.

• 2 cups uncooked pasta, I use small shapes
• 3 cups cooked chicken (leftovers work great!)
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato paste
• Water - after you scoop out the tomato paste, fill that can with water....that's how much you need
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt to taste
• 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese, divided (I get the Mexican blend)

Start by preheating oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease 9x13 pan.  Cook pasta according to package directions.

Heat olive oil in large pot (big enough to fit all of this in there eventually) over medium high heat. Add jalapeno and cook about 2 minutes. Add in diced tomatoes, chicken, black beans, tomato paste and water. Cook about 5 minutes. Stir in cooked pasta and 1 cup of the shredded cheese until everything is well blended (think about it like this, "I want a little bit of everything in every bite").

Pour into prepared 9x13 pan.

Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven, Top with remaining 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese.  Bake an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Enjoy it with some happy dinner conversation tonight!

Get the printable.

Chili Pepper Meatloaf

I have had meatloaf on the brain lately.  I don't really know why, I've just been thinking about it daily.  Do you ever get a food stuck in your head and think about it constantly?  No?  Maybe it's just me. . . I tend to think in food, and I kinda knew it wouldn't go away until I made some.

AND...

I've been seeing these adorable little tubes of spices in the produce section at the store.  I always look, then decide that I'm perfectly capable of chopping my own herbs . . . and I leave the little tubes at the store.

But ya know what?  Sometimes I don't have the time.  And sometimes the fresh produce isn't looking so fresh.  And sometimes I just don't feel like it.  So I picked up this little guy today.  He's the secret ingredient in this meatloaf.  Of course, if your grocery store doesn't carry these, you can just get a red chili pepper.

First, grab all of this for the meatloaf. . . .

Meatloaf
1 pound ground meat ( I always use the leanest I can find)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 Tbsp Red Chili Pepper Spice Blend (or 1 red chili pepper, minced)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup diced tomatoes, drained (canned is fine)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt

and this for the sauce. . . .

Sauce
1 1/2 cups pureed tomato (about (1) 28oz can)
1/2 can cream of mushroom soup
1 Tbsp Red Chili Pepper Spice Blend (or 1 red chili pepper, minced)
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Throw all of the meatloaf ingredients in a bowl.

Squish it all together with CLEAN hands.

Form into a loaf in a square pan.  I use a 9" pan, so there's room in the oven for another pan with potatoes.  If you have a hungry crew, you might need 2 meatloafs (meatloaves?). . . so you'll have to do a 9x13 pan.  But if one pound of meat serves your family, definitely think ahead of time about where you'll cook your potatoes ~ it's kind of a rule that meatloaf has potatoes next to it.

Put this in the preheated oven, uncovered for about 15 minutes, to brown.

Meanwhile, mix up your sauce.  Just put everything together in a bowl

and whisk

until the cream of mushroom isn't clumpy anymore.

Remove your browned meatloaf from the oven,

and pour the sauce in the pan.

Return to the oven (still uncovered), reduce ove temperature to 375 degrees, and cook another 45-55 minutes, until cooked through.

Serve in slices with sauce poured over the top.  For smaller children I break it into pieces with the spatula and hold off on extra sauce.  There's a little heat in the sauce, so what's on there in the pan is probably enough for the younger ones.  Mine attacked this and asked for more.

Get the printable here!

***Make Ahead Tip***  You can mix everything up for your meatloaf, form it in the pan, cover it and store it in the fridge overnight.  That way when you get home from work and you're too tired to cook, all you have to do is throw it in the oven.  Don't forget to go ahead and mix up your sauce too.  Just store it in a separate container in the fridge. 

This recipe is linked to:
Mingle Monday and Melt in Your Mouth Monday