Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

I adapted this one from a recipe posted at The Recipe Critic. It might be my new favorite crock-pot meal! It worked best for me to prepare everything the night before, and just pop it in my Crock-pot on my way out the door in the morning.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds Flank Steak
• 1/3 cup Almond Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic Cloves
• 1/4 cup Dried Minced Onion
• 1/4 teaspoon Dried Ginger
• 3/4 cup Bragg's Amino Acids
• 3/4 cup Water
• 1/2 cup Splenda Brown Sugar
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1 cup snow peas
• Chopped Green Onion for garnish

Directions

• Cut Flank Steak into thin strips. In a large ziplock, add flank steak pieces and almond flour. Shake to coat.
• If prepping in advance, add all ingredients but snow peas and green onion to the ziplock and leave overnight in the fridge. In the morning empty ziplock bag contents into slow cooker.
• OR If prepping in the morning, add olive oil, minced garlic, minced onion, dried ginger, amino acids, water, Splenda and carrots to slow cooker and stir. Add coated flank steak and stir again until coated in the sauce.
• Cook on high 2-3 hours or on low 4-5 hours until cooked through and tender. Add Snow peas in last hour of cooking. Serve over rice or riced cauliflower. Garnish with green onions.

Saucy Chicken and Peaches

As regular readers will know, I get many of my recipes passed to me from my sister, Mercy. She even sent me a whole cookbook put together by her church group. This is one of the gems I found in that cookbook, and it was submitted to the book by my awesome sister!  I had forgotten to post it to the blog until I was talking about it with my friend Carrie tonight.

Saucy Chicken and Peaches

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 2 c. canned peaches (1 large can)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon basil

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat until hot.
2. Add chicken, cook 4-5 minutes. Turn chicken over, cover and cook another 4-5 minutes until juices run clear.
3. Remove from skillet; keep warm. You can also cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces to cook more quickly and for better serving sizes for small appetites.
4. Meanwhile, drain peach syrup into glass measuring cup. Add water to make 1 cup of liquid.
5. Whisk cornstarch, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and basil into peach liquid.
6. Pour liquid into hot skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
7. Gently Stir in Peaches and chicken.
8. Serve over hot rice.

Mercy's family likes the sauce so much, she makes double. Then she saves half of the peaches in custard cups for the kids to eat cold.

Chicken Mozzarella

Easy Italian favorite!

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 (14.5 oz) can pasta-ready chunk tomatoes w/ olive oil, garlic & spices
• 4 slices mozzarella cheese

Directions
Dip chicken breast halves in egg and dredge in bread crumbs. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes each side or until golden brown. Drain. Pour tomatoes with juice over chicken. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Cover; cook for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink inside. Place cheese slices over chickenand tomatoes. Cover. Cook 1-2 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Serve over rice or pasta. A side of steamed spinach makes a nice veggie addition.

Ham & Cheese Oven Omelet

This is a great dish for a brunch. I'm going to try it with bacon instead of ham, since my sweetie prefers the crispy stuff!

Ingredients:

• 8 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 3 oz smoked sliced ham, beef or corned beef (maybe bacon, I'll let Sweetie decide if it works!)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 Tbsp finely chopped onion

Directions:
Beat eggs, milk and salt in medium bowl. Stir in other ingredients. Pour into greased 8x8 dish. Cook uncovered in 325 degree oven until omelet is set and top is golden brown.

Honey Walnut...Chicken

I usually see this dish prepared with Batter-dipped, Fried Shrimp, but since I'm not a big fan of shrimp, I made my own recipe for a similar dish. It's not as amazingly sinful as the entree from my favorite local Chinese place, but it's a bit healthier and every bit as tasty.

Ingredients:

•  1/2 cup mayonnaise
•  4 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 3/4 cup candied walnuts
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small chunks 

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine mayo, honey and sweetened condensed milk. set aside. In a non-stick skillet or lightly oiled saucepan, stir-fry chicken pieces until no longer pink.  I usually cook them for 7-9 , minutes on medium high heat, and then cover, reduce heat to low and allow to cook through (about 5 more minutes). Combine with Candied walnuts and cooked chicken and serve over steamed rice topped with a handful of shredded lettuce.

Barbecue Pork Sandwiches

Here's a simple crockpot recipe for pulled pork sandwiches. Perfect for winter days like we've been having recently. You'll LOVE how yummy the house will smell when these are cooking.

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs. Boneless Pork Top Loin
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 can cola (can be diet if desired)
• 1 cup barbecue sauce

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook covered, on high for 5-6 hours, or until meat is very tender. Shred pork with two forks. Serve on rolls. These are great served with potato skins for a football party.

Onion Crusted Pork Chops

Another recipe found on a can we already had in the pantry! This recipe makes pork chops breaded with French's crispy french-fried Onions. We like to serve them with mashed potatoes and a salad.

Ingredients:

• 4 thick cut boneless pork chops


• 2 tablespoons flour


• 2 cups French's Onions


• 1 egg, beaten.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.


• combine flour and onions in a large ziplock and crush onions to crumbs with rolling pin.


• Pat excess moisture from pork chops


• dip pork chops in beaten egg, and then coat with flour/onion mixture. Pat firmly to make sure they're well covered.


• bake for 20-25 minutes, or until meat is cooked through.

A New Favorite: Magic Cookie Bars

These are the most delicious little bites of heaven! They freeze well after baking, too!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter (you can use as little as 1/2 cup, but we like a thicker bottom crust), melted


• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (or twice as much as the butter)


• 1 can sweetened condensed milk


• 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips


• 1-1/2 cups peanut butter, white chocolate or butterscotch chips


• 2 cups flaked coconut


• 1 cup chopped nuts (we like walnuts or pecans best)

Directions:

• Preheat over to 325 degrees


• In small bowl (or kitchenaid mixer) combine melted butter and graham cracker crumbs, mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly on bottom of 13x9 inch baking pan.


• Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumbs. You should be able to cover the whole pan.


• Layer evenly with remaining ingredients, press toppings firmly into milk with a fork.


• Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool before cutting. Store covered at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Mercy's Russian Chicken

Another quick and easy (and super yummy) recipe from my big Sis. This chicken with a sweet & tart sauce is best served over rice. You'll want to double the sauce if you plan more than 4 servings.

Ingredients:
4 chicken Breasts, or 4-6 chicken breast fillets. (I like boneless skinless for health and simplicity)
1/2 bottle Russian salad dressing
1/2 jar (about 1.5 cups) of Apricot preserves
1 packet onion soup mix
rice (cooked, plan for about 1 cup per serving)

Directions:
Mix salad dressing, apricot preserves and onion soup mix in small bowl. Place chicken in an 8 x 8" (or 9 x 13 for a doubled recipe). Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve over rice.

This made a lovely simple meal served with some green beans, but I may experiment with putting some vegetables into the baking dish with the chicken next time. Thanks again for the recipe Sis!

An Easy Autumn Treat

Pumpkin Pie Sandwich cookies

Ingredients:
1 8oz tub of fat free Cool Whip
2 packs (12 full sheets) of reduced fat honey graham crackers
1 8oz can of organic pumpkin pie mix
Room in your freezer for a small cookie sheet

Directions:
Break up the graham crackers in half so that you have 24 squares while the Cool Whip comes to room temperature. Mix 1/2 of the can of pumpkin pie mix with the Cool Whip. Taste. If you like a stronger pumpkin flavor, keep adding until you’re happy. Scoop the Cool Whip/pumpkin mixture on to 12 graham cracker squares. Cover the mixture with the remaining 12 squares, setting them gently atop the Cool Whip mixture. Do not press them down! Transfer the sandwiches to a cookie sheet and quickly put in the freezer until hard. Enjoy!

My kids are always asking for Hawaiian Haystacks!

This is a simple recipe to prepare, but since there's so many ways to eat it, I prefer to serve it to a group.

Ingredients:
1 pound (more or less) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-2 cans of chicken broth (assume about a half-can per person)
1/2 cup cornstarch
White or Brown rice, cooked, about 1 cup per person

Toppings:
Pineapple chunks (or tidbits if you can find them)
Chopped green onions
Chopped green pepper
Chopped celery
Diced tomatoes
Sliced water chestnuts
Grated Cheddar cheese
Chow mein noodles
Shredded Coconut
Slivered almonds
Sliced black olives
Frozen peas, thawed (I put them in a strainer and run hot water over them until they're plump)

Directions: Boil chicken in water until cooked through. Remove from water and dice or shred. Return to saucepan with all but 1/2 cup of the broth, turn burner on medium to high heat. Add cornstarch to broth and whisk until well mixed. Add to the chicken and broth heating in the pan. If you like garlic, you can add a clove of minced garlic now too. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until broth is thickened. I like to then pour the chicken and sauce into a serving bowl, but you can just put the pan on the table too.

To Serve: Put a scoop of rice on your plate, or in a bowl. Ladle chicken mixture over rice, and add desired veggies and other toppings. If you don't like something, skip it. I'd love to hear other toppings you guys try and like. I like to serve this meal with a hearty whole wheat bread or roll.

Vegetarian White Chili

I got this recipe off of a new favorite website - Sparkpeople.com. It's a great place to track your nutrition and fitness, as well as a good resource for health information.

Ingredients:

• 3 cans white beans (navy, great northern, cannellini, ) undrained
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoon Oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne
• 2 cups water (more or less depending on taste)

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a crock pot or soup pot and heat. Serve with Whole wheat rolls. Serves 6. If you have room for some more calories in your day, add cooked shredded chicken breast.

Nutritional Info (without chicken)
Fat: 0.5g
Carbohydrates: 22.0g
Calories:119.4
Protein: 7.9g

So easy my Daughter made it. Filling Fruit Salad

Jello and fruit make this a tasty snack or dessert.

25 Minutes to Prepare and Cook
Ingredients:

• 1 4-serving box of your favorite flavor Jell-o
• 1 Pint strawberries, washed and sliced
• 1 small box of fresh raspberries, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup Cool Whip

Directions:
Prepare the jell-o as instructed for "jigglers" on the box. Chill until set.Spoon remainder of the ingredients into the prepared Jello, stir and serve. Makes 8 One-cup servings.

Making up for Lost Time - Quick Banana Bread

So I feel like I owe you folks a few more recipes. So I'm going through my recipe box to share a couple more favorites. This Banana bread recipe is perfect for when you have over-ripe bananas laying around. They can be completely black and the bread will still taste delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1-3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour (whole grain wheat flour works too - use 1-1/2 cups)
• 2-1/4 teaspoons double acting baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup shortening (softened - not melted-butter will work in a pinch)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind (optional)
• 1-2 beaten eggs (more eggs = fluffier more cake-like bread)
• 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cups banana pulp (use a fork to mush the banana into a measuring cup)
• 1/2 cup nuts (optional, but I like walnuts and pecans, and sometimes I use a full cup!)

Directions:
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Blend next 3 ingredients until creamy. Beat in eggs and banana pulp. Add the sifted mixture in about 3 parts, beating until smooth after each addition. Fold in Nuts. Place the batter in a greased bread pan and bake for about an hour. You can also make 3-4 mini loaves, which cook in 35-45 minutes.

My Favorite Spinach salad

I was really hating salads for a while there, until I "discovered" baby spinach. It's got tons of vitamins, but doesn't taste as bitter as some of the other dark leaf lettuces. So when we eat salads these days, the lettuce is almost always baby spinach. Try my Favorite Spinach Salad, or just add your own toppings and post what combos you love!

Ingredients:

• 1 bag pre-washed baby spinach
• 1 crisp apple, cored & chopped (but I leave the skin on)
• 1/2 to 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped walnuts
• raspberry vinegarette

Directions:
This is pretty easy - it's a salad! Place the spinach on individual plates or bowls. Top with the apple, feta and walnuts. Add dressing sparingly.
My tip for the apples - use a peeler/corer/slicer without peeling, and then just cut the spiral apple in wedges for the right sized chunks. Toss with lemon juice if you're not serving right away, this will keep the apples from browning so quickly.

A quick dessert tip...

So in the interest of speed and simplicity, I made 70 second cake last night, but with a twist! First of all, I doubled the recipe, to 1 cup mix, 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons oil and 4 tablespoons water. I made the batter and "baked" it while I was cooking dinner, using a ceramic cereal bowl. A double batch needs about 90 seconds. I then turned the cake out of the bowl and onto a plate, and stuck it in the fridge. I mixed up some german chocolate frosting with the recipe below, and put the mixing bowl of frosting in the fridge as well. When we were done eating, I grabbed the cake and frosting, spread the frosting on the cake and we had a lovely mini-german chocolate cake for 2. Okay, it's actually cake for 4, since I still have half the cake left, but it was a great size for dessert.

Here's the recipe for my German Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:

• 2 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk (I may try sweetened, condensed milk next time, but my recipe said evaporated)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1-1/2 cups coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:
In a small saucepan, beat yolks, and add milk and sugar. Blend well. Add butter, and heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Cook for about 12 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened. Add remaining ingredients and allow to cool. Spread on Chocolate cake. If you really want to be fancy, slice the cake into two layers, and spread frosting between them also! You'll have plenty of leftover frosting. Throw it in a ziplock in the fridge, and make cake again next week!

Smashing Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 large can of 100% pumpkin
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
• dash salt and pepper
• 2 cans coconut milk

Directions:
In a large pot, melt buttter over medium high heat. Add onion, and cook until soft. Add broth, pumpkin, onions and spices, and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, and remove from heat. Stir in coconut milk. Test. If the coconut milk made the soup too cool, heat on low for 10-15 minutes, but do not boil!
I served this with a Spinach Salad and garlic bread, and it ended up being a really filling meal! I'll post my spinach salad recipe next.

When you just need Dessert

I have to share my recipe for 70 second cake. Imagine - a cake you can whip up while your hubby clears the dinner dishes!

Ingredients:

• powdered cake mix (ideally one that has "pudding in the mix"), any flavor
• 1 (4-serving) box of jello instant pudding mix, any flavor
• 1 egg
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons oil
• Frosting if desired

Directions:
Take the powdered cake mix and powdered pudding mix, and combine the powders in a big ziplock and shake to combine.
Mix 1/2 cup of the powder with egg, water and oil in a microwave safe dish. A large coffee cup or small bowl works great. Microwave on high for 70 seconds, and turn over onto a plate to eat. You can eat it warm or let it cool and frost it.
Voila! Cake for 1 to 2 people. No leftovers to gorge on at midnight. Unless you make more. Label the ziplock with the recipe and keep for the days when you're desperate for cake. Or when you're at the office and want to annoy coworkers with the smell of warm gooey chocolate (or other flavor) cake.

Another from my Sis - Easy Chicken Pot Pie

I have to tell you - my Sister Mercy should really be the one with the blog. I have gotten SO many recipes from her over the years. Granted, she cooks for a family of 7! So I'm guessing it's not "leftovers again" at her house very often. In any case, I'm so glad she gave me a cookbook she and her church friends put together. Everything is super easy and so good! But of course - as all recipes - I've changed it a bit....

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• Pinch Pepper
• 1 bag frozen veggies, thawed (my house likes the potato & carrot stew mix, Mercy's family prefers broccoli, corn & cauliflower.)
• 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken (or about 2 chicken breasts)
  
• 1 (10 oz+) can of refrigerated flaky biscuits (we use Pillsbury Grands)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add Celery and onion, and stir over medium-high heat until crisp tender. Stir in Soup, milk and spices. Mix well. Stir in thawed veggies and chicken. Heat through. Pour into 13x9" baking dish.

Separate biscuits, and cut each one into four or six pieces. Place these chunks of dough on top of the filling mixture. They won't completely cover it, but nearly. Place in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown and filling is bubbly.

As promised...Fluffy Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever! We've adapted it a lot since the original. So far our favorite is using Chocolate pudding mix and white chocolate chips!

Ingredients:

• 2-1/4 cups unsifted flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup butter (softened, not melted)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 package instant pudding & pie filling (4 serving size)
• 2 eggs
• 1 package chocolate chips (12 ounce size)

Directions:

Mix flour and baking soda in a small bowl & set aside. Combine butter, sugars, vanilla and pudding mix in bowl. Beat until smooth. Beat in eggs. Add flour mixture in parts, mixing well. Fold in chips. Drop by teasoon on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.