Sweet and Tangy Pot Roast

From my old CrockPot Blog-
I picked up another Taste of Home crock pot cookbook magazines at the check out. This recipe was in it. This would be perfect for a less-than-perfect cut of roast beef. I didn't get it in the crock pot in time for the recommended 9-10 hours. If you make it, it definetely cook it for the recommended time.

1 boneless beef chuck roast

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup water
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup red wine or beef broth
1 envelope brown gravy mix
2 tsps Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp garlic powder
3 TBSP cornstarch
1/4 c cold water

Cut meat in half and place in 5 qt slow cooker. Sprinkl ewith salt and pepper. In a bowl, combine the water, ketchup, wine or broth, gravy mix, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder, pour over meat. Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours or until meat is tender.

Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until gravy is thickened. Remove meat from slow cooker. Slice and serve with gravy.

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

From my old CrockPot Blog-
I recently posted the recipe I use for Roast Chicken. I did cook that this week and had a lot of leftovers. I found this soup on my friend Kelly's cooking blog and I made it. It was fantastic!!! I am very much not a soup person, but this was really good.

• 1/2 c. chopped carrot
• 1/3 c. finely chopped onion
• 1/3 c. chopped celery
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2T butter (I, of course, only use margarine)
• 1/4 c. flour (soft white works great)
• 2 14-1/2 oz. cans chicken broth (I use homemade from the freezer)
• 2 c. cooked rice (I use brown)
• 1 c. cubed cooked chicken
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 cup milk (I use Lactose-free 2% milk))
• 2 T lemon juice

In a large saucepan, saute the carrot, onion, celery and garlic in butter/margarin unil tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in broth. Add the rice, chicken, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 min. or until vegetables are tender. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the milk and lemon juice. Cook and stir for 5 min. or until heated through.
The only thing I did differently was that I added more water to cook the rice in the soup. That's it!

Roast/Fried Chicken Seasoning

I found a recipe for "Mimi's Sticky Chicken" several years ago on a homeschool forum I participate in.

• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Mix these spices together and spread evenly over a whole 3lb chicken. The actual recipe suggests putting 1 cup of chopped onions in the empty chicken cavity. I usually skip that part, I might do it if my husband is going to be home. But normally not.

Cook at 225 deg. for 5 hours. It's a wonderful meal!

I found myself making this recipe so often, I decided once to just mix all the spices together at once. Here are the spices multiplied by 6. One chicken would need 2 TBSP of this spice mixture. This means that you could make 6 roast chickens with this mixture. I just mix it up and put it in a gladware container.

• 4 TBSP salt
• 2 TBSP paprika
• 1.5 TBSP cayenne pepper
• 1 TBSP onion powder
• 1 TBSP thyme
• 1 TBSP white pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp pepper

I also use this mixture for fried chicken. I put 1 TBSP of this spice mixture into a 1/2 cup of flour for a fried chicken seasoning. I sometimes add a bit more paprika because that's what I like.

Crockpot Pizza

From my old CrockPot Blog-
When I was looking for a recipe like this, I found several and I have just combined them into this one that works for us.

Crockpot Pizza - feeds 6

1 lb hamburger, browned and well drained
8oz shredded mozarella
1/4 c chopped onion
1/2 package sliced pepperoni - chopped
half a package of rotini (spiral) pasta
1/2 can cream of mushroom soup (substitute)4 oz mushrooms
1 jars pizza sauce


Brown hamburger with onion. Mix hamburger, onion, pepperoni, cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms and pizza sauce together in Crockpot. Cook on low for 4 hours.

Just before you are ready to serve, cook pasta. Add the pasta and shredded cheese to the sauce mixture in crockpot and cook together until the cheese in melted - about 15 minutes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

From my old CrockPot Blog-
We are having Thanksgiving over at my sister's house this year. Our plan is to keep the menu very simple. My husband is not home for the holiday and he is the one who loves a lot of variety. So, while I will miss him - we have a simpler menu!

I'm not usually very creative on Thanksgiving. But the other day I was listening to our local Christian Radio station and they had a guest chef on - Clive Berkman. I had never heard of him but he had some very interested recipes and a wonderful testimony.

I tracked down the radio station's website and found the recipes.
COOKING WITH CLIVE.

I'm going to try the stuffing, I think. It does sound wonderful.

But I'll probably have a sample of "Stove Top" available!

THANKSGIVING DAY EDIT -

I declare that the Stuffing/dressing recipe is a HIT. It was phenomenal!!

Country French Beef Stew

From my old CrockPot Blog-
Country French Beef Stew

6 slices bacon; cut into 1/2 in pieces
1 (3 lbs) boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed; cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion; cut into 1/2 in wedges
3 cups ready to serve baby carrots
1 cup red Zinfandel wine OR nonalcoholic red wine
3/4 cup beef broth
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes undrained
1 pkg (8 oz) sliced fresh mushrooms; (3 cups)
1/2 cup julienne-cut sun-dried tomatoes; (not oil-packed)
Hot cooked noodles;
if desired Chopped fresh parsley OR basil leaves; if desired 1.

Spray 5 to 6 quart slow cooker with coking spray. In a 12-inch skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Place the bacon in cooker. Discard all but 1 TBSP bacon fat in skillet, Cook beef in bacon fat in batches, 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown. Stir onion into beef. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Spoon mixture into cooker. 2. Stir carrots, wine, broth, flour, basil, thyme, salt, pepper and canned diced tomatoes into mixture in cooker. 3. Cover; cook on LOW heat setting 7 to 8 hours. 4. Stir in mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. Cover; cook on LOW heat setting 20 to 30 minutes longer or until sun-dried tomatoes are tender. Serve mixture over noodles; sprinkle with parsley.

Pork Chops with Apples, Sweet Potatoes, and Sauerkraut

From my old CrockPot Blog-
4 (1 inch thick) boneless pork chops
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 medium onion, sliced
2 apples - peeled, cored and sliced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 (16 ounce) can sauerkraut, drained

DIRECTIONS
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Quickly brown the pork chops on each side. Set aside.
Arrange sweet potato slices in the bottom of a 3 to 4 quart slow cooker. Cover with the onion slices, then the apple slices. Sprinkle brown sugar, nutmeg and salt over the apples, and grind a little pepper. Place the pork chops on top of the pile, and cover with sauerkraut. Cover, and cook on Low for about 5 hours. It can go an extra hour without drying out though.
Serve pork and vegetables with juice from the slow cooker spooned over them.