Monday, April 25, 2011

Sunday Roast

I LOVE this easy meal! We had potatoes, carrots and roast all the time growing up. Except Mom didn't use the baby carrots. That's a convenience I've picked up. It was a given on Sundays that Mom would have homemade rolls and even cake or cookies to go with it! For some reason my logo wouldn't paste onto this pic. Oh, well.
I'm sure you could use a different kind of roast. I prefer the chuck. Chuck roasts tend to be more fatty, but they give the best flavor and they always turn out super moist. I've tried rump roasts and they are always hit and miss. They tend to be more dry. Maybe that's why they are cheaper. I got this chuck roast at Sam's Club and it was a hit!

In a crock pot dump in this order:

2 cups baby carrots
5 small potatoes, cut up
3 cups beef broth, mixed with lipton onion soup
4 lb chuck roast, salted and peppered

Cook on low 8 hours

Let roast rest on warm for an hour and then scoop up vegies with a slotted spoon. Serve with hot rolls or biscuits.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Cheesy Penne

In a large pot boil one box of penne pasta.

In a smaller sauce pan melt slowly while stirring often:

2 cream cheese
1, 1/2 cup real grated parmesan cheese
1 cup butter
1 cup milk (you can add more if you don't want it so thick)

Drain pasta and add to your cream cheese mixture!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Slow Cooker Garlic Chicken

I like the texture of chicken that has been cooked on the bone. I think it tends to be a bit more moist. Here I have cooked 2 chickens. Each was 5, 1/2 lbs. I managed to get them both into my 7 quart crock pot. I let the meat fall off the bones and cool. Then I put 2 cups of chicken per ziploc baggie and throw them in the freezer. I include the dark meat, too. You can't tell when you use it in chicken crouissant sandwitches, enchiladas, or soups!

Have all your ingredients out and handy so it is a clean and quick process!

Clean and pat dry your chicken. I am assuming you are cooking just one.

Mix:

1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Rub your chicken with:

4 TBL room temp butter

Take 6 cloves of garlic and slide them between the skin and the breast meat. You may need to use a knife to get the slit started.

Cover the chicken in the salt rub you made earlier.

Place in crockpot. No added water! Cook on low for 10 hours.

If you cook 2 chickens then make up two separate rubs and use 12 cloves of garlic. Also cook it for about 11-12 hours. (I had to reset my timer for a couple hours and just kept an eye on the clock)

Monday, April 4, 2011

Banana Bread and Muffins

This banana bread is a staple at our house. I also like to freeze it! The muffins can be put in a gallon size ziploc to freeze as well! I like the bread best on the second day, after it has been in the plastic bag for several hours. The top gets a chewey carmel texture. Yum!

This recipe can be doubled and even trippled.

In a large mixing bowl smash:

3 bananas

Add and mix:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 T oil
1/3 cup milk
1 egg

Now add and mix well:

2, 1/2 cup flour (I use 1/2 cup wheat and 2 cups white)
3, 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Now you can add 1 cup chocolate chips.

At this point you can make 2 loaves of bread or 2 batches of muffins. Use muffin sleeves for fast clean up.

For bread - grease bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the pans. Bake for 55 minutes at 350. Let sit and cool for 15 minutes, then remove from pan.

For muffins bake at 400 for 20 minutes.