Just a Mom, HA!

Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese

At my house growing up, Mac and Cheese came from a little blue box.

But at Grandpa’s house it changed into a delicacy of big noodles, glob-y cheese, and secret spices.

This is a recipe to make my Grandpa proud.  It’s full of flavor, full of secrets, and you don’t even have to cook the noodles!  Main dish or side dish, this was a crowd pleaser in our house.

Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese
(Adapted from Recipezaar.com)

• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 of an onion, chopped fine
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 celery heart, cut fine
• parsley
• 3 c. milk
• 2 c. grated cheddar cheese (use less if using a sharp cheese)
• 2 c. uncooked elbow macaroni

In your biggest saucepan saute the onion, salt, pepper, and paprika.  Meanwhile, combine the milk and flour and wisk or shake until no lumps are left.  Pour the milk into the saucepan with the onion and spices.  Heat slowly until the mixture thickens and bubbles.  Add cheese and celery, stirring until melted.  Remove from heat and stir in the macaroni, sprinkle with parsley.  Dump contents of saucepan into your slow cooker and cook on low for about 2 hours.*

Kim’s notes:

1. KNOW YOUR SLOW COOKER!  My slow cooker tends to go faster than recipes indicate,  and after 2 hours my noodles got a little mushy.  If you’re like me, scale the time back and check those noodles.
2. Jay didn’t even notice the celery – HA! Veggie successfully snuck!
3. Even with a crock pot liner, the noodles stuck a little bit. Spraying your crock pot or liner ahead of time can help with that.

Happy Cooking!

Veggie Joes

Love Manwich?  Then do not read this post.

Love meatless chili? Then you might be intrigued.

I found a recipe for vegetarian Sloppy Joes, I made it my own without oil and with extra veggies, but then I served it up on brown rice and had a meal that even my healthy brother could eat.  It’s tasty, but it has a bit more of a kick than I expected, so watch for that if you’re sensitive.  We aren’t super spicy people around here but Jay and I devoured it, no prob.

If anyone tries this on buns I’d love to hear about how it holds up.  I also think it would be great with the rice I used but also in lettuce wraps and with a glob of sour cream.

Veggie Joes (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 1/2 c chopped onion
• 1/2 c chopped celery
• 1/2 c chopped carrots
• 1/2 small zucchini, cubed into small pieces
• 1/2 bell pepper (I used yellow), chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 Tbs tomato paste
• 1 Tbs white-ish vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• Rice, rolls, buns, lettuce wraps, whatever you plan to serve it with

Pasta E Fagioli

I adore Pasta E Fagioli soup from the Olive Garden.  Ever since discovering the all-you-can-eat soup, salad, and breadstick combo there during high school, I’ve been hooked.

Lots of recipes online claim to have the exact Olive Garden recipe, but since most call for spaghetti sauce as an ingredient, I haven’t put a lot of stock in these claims.  However, as it is possibly my favorite soup, I took a stab at making it in my trusty crock pot, but Kim style (meaning no oil and extra veggies).  Jay and I loved it, it was great the second time around, and it will definitely be a repeat in our house.

Pasta E Fagioli

• 1/2 lb lean ground beef
• 1/3 of a large red onion, chopped
• 1 c. carrots, cut very fine (the larger the chunks the longer the cook time)
• 3 small-med celery stalks, cut lengthwise then chopped
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 c. low-sodium beef broth
• 3/4 of a 16.5 oz jar red pasta sauce
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt (this was with low sodium broth and may not be necessary if using regular)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 c. dry ditalini (small tube pasta), other small pastas could be substituted if needed

Brown the meat, then drain well.  Chop veggies to desired sizes – the larger the carrots, the longer the cook time.  Add all ingredients except the pasta to your slow cooker.  Cook on low for about 6 hours, check veggies for tenderness.  If the veggies are just about ready, add the pasta and cook for one more hour.  Serve with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

Picante de Pollo

Picante de Pollo is a classic Bolivian dish which I ate often while living there.  When I saw this recipe I knew I’d have to give it a try.  The name is deceiving, this IS NOT a SPICY DISH.  It’s savory with a touch of sweet underlying the salsa flavors.

It wasn’t like the Bolivian dish that I knew, but it has become a new favorite of mine.  I see HUGE potential here for making it as a taco/burrito filling, making it in the slow cooker and shredding it, or just serve it simply over rice as the recipe calls for.

Picante de Pollo (from Campbell’s Kitchen)

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 1/2 c. fresh salsa
• 3 Tbs brown sugar
• 1 Tbs honey dijon mustard

Place trimmed chicken breasts in a baking dish.  Mix remaining ingredients together until blended then pour over chicken.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until cooked through.  Serve over rice.

Happy Cooking!

Lemon Herb Chicken

It’s been FOREVER since I posted a recipe!  With the move things have been hectic and cooking experiments have taken a back burner (ha ha, that’s pretty punny for a recipe blog), but I still have a few recipes that I’ve been saving for just such a time as this.

One day I found myself with a bag of chicken breasts and no idea what to do, so I threw a little of anything that I had in with them to marinate and this is what I got:

Not a new fav, but not too shabby either for a last minute, throw together meal.

Lemon Herb Chicken

• ½ Tbs rosemary
• ½ tsp dill (this amount was pretty strong, can be cut back according to your tastes)
• 2 Tbs honey
• 1 clove garlic, minced fine
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 1 green onion, sliced
• 1 tsp canola oil
• 2 Tbs warm water
• 4 chicken breasts (or whatever meat you are using)

Mix all marinade ingredients together until well blended.  Add chicken and seal in an air tight container.  Shake container until marinade is evenly dispersed over meat, then refrigerate until time to cook.  Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes or until cooked through (cooking time will depend on the thickness of the meat).

Happy Cooking!

Black Bean Chili

We’re moving this week, so time is very short.  I won’t give you a long into this time around, I’ll just let the pics do the talking:

Black Bean Chili – can you spot the hidden veggie?  I shredded carrots into the mix! : )  The overall flavor is a sweet tang, but if you want to bring up the heat you can add hot sauce.

Day one we had it with my naan recipe:

Day two we had it over a baked potato – this was insanely good and so filling that I couldn’t even finish my portion!

Black Bean Chili

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 Tbs chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup fresh salsa (I recommend the kinds found in the produce section)
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 1 can black beans, drained, rinsed
• 1 can corn, drained
• 10 baby carrots, shredded to tiny pieces

Cook meat with onion and carrots in a large pot, drain fat. Add all other ingredients, stirring until combined.  Bring chili to a boil, reduce heat to med-low, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.

*Add hot sauce for more kick if that’s what you go for in chili.

Happy Cooking!

Stuffing Casserole

We had a box of stuffing.  Stuffing that didn’t get used at Thanksgiving and that I didn’t know what to do with now.

I’m not roasting another turkey just to make dollar stuffing, I thought.

But Jay told me that men need stuffing sometimes and that he knew I’d come up with something.

I usually don’t even like stuffing, but I do like experimenting, so I took him up on the challenge.  I looked over all of the recipes on the box, threw together the parts from all of them that I liked, added what I had in my average pantry and ended up with, Stuffing Casserole:

Easy, tasty, flavorful.  Not a bad use of lost, abandoned, forgotten, stuffing mix.

Stuffing Casserole

• 4 Chicken Breasts, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 medium onion, sliced or chopped depending on your preferences
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 c. skim milk
• 1 c. frozen peas and carrots
• 2 celery stalks sliced lengthwise then chopped medium-thin
• 1 package turkey stuffing (I used Stove Top)
• 1 2/3 c. hot water

Saute chicken with onions until mostly cooked, then add celery slices for the last few minutes.  Mix stuffing with hot water and let stand, covered for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile drain excess moisture from the chicken and veggies, then mix them with remaining ingredients.  Prepare a 2 quart baking dish with a little cooking spray, put down a thin later of stuffing, top with chicken mixture, then top chicken with remaining stuffing.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Happy Cooking!

Pudding in a Cloud

Here’s an EASY dessert idea straight from my childhood that pleases both young and old.

Pudding in a cloud.

So simple, yet so stinkin’ good!  The idea is that you can’t see the pudding from the outside because it’s too well blocked by a layer of COOL WHIP!

Yum! (Or nummy nummy num, as Cee would say.)

My mom would make these on special family nights and line them out on the counter for all 5 of us.  My brothers and I would argue and shove until we were sure that we had the biggest or best serving.

It works with any pudding, any whipped topping, can be served up with a plethora of other goodies, or can be scaled back with low-cal Cool Whip, sugar free pudding, skim milk and you’ve got yourself a great low-cal alternative to ice cream!

Pudding in a Cloud

• 1 tub whipped topping
• Pudding – any flavor, I’ve only ever used instant which makes for a quicker dessert, but cooked pudding would be fine if you have the patience.
• Individual glass dishes (or at least a see through container if you don’t trust your kiddos with glass yet)

Mix up pudding according to package or recipe.  Allow to cool in fridge until set.  Using a spoon, heap and glob of whipped topping into a glass container, smearing it around until the glass is completely covered and you can’t see through (that would be the “cloud”).  Line all of the containers that you’ll use in this manner, then scooped the set/chilled pudding into the cloud.  Put a small final drop of whipped topping on the top.  Eat it alone, stash it in the fridge for a few hours, or serve it up with other goodies – goes great with graham crackers, nilla wafers, or anything else you want!

Happy Cooking!

Fajita Sauce for Chicken, Beef, Pork, Shrimp, Whatever!

Jay and I LOVE fajitas.  Love, not like, not want to hold hands at summer camp then part ways never to see each other again.

We’re talking the BIG L.

So when we moved to TX we were kind of surprised to find that just about anything can pass for a fajita down here as long as there is meat in a tortilla.  Sadness – meat is good, but I love the flavorful slightly burnt onions and pops of peppers.

I took it upon myself to make fajitas at home and had a wonderful success!  I was surprised by some of the non-Mexican flavors that went into the original recipe that I found, but with a few tweaks of my own I ended up with a perky (but not spicy) Mexican delight.  I used chicken this first time, but will give it a whirl with other meats in the future.

Fajita Sauce

• 1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbs soy sauce
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1 dash cumin
• 4-5 drops of lime juice (more can be squeezed on the finished food, but this is just what goes in the sauce)

Mix all ingredients together in an air-tight container.  Add trimmed meat, seal and marinate for at least an hour.  Dump container out into a warm fry pan and saute until meat is partially cooked then add onion and peppers and cook until softened and meat is fully cooked.  Serve in tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes, beans, cheese, sour cream, whatever you like.

Cranberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

THIS salad was by far the best thing that I “cooked” all through the holidays.  It beat the ham, it beat the spuds, it rocked.

Oh – and that’s some non-fat dressing you’re looking at to boot!

I’m putting up the dressing recipe, but the salad recipe itself can be whatever you like – suggestions follow…

Cranberry Vinaigrette

• 8 oz whole berry cranberry sauce (about half a normal can, or one small can if you can find it)
• 1/3 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbs. honey dijon mustard
• 3 Tbs. water

Add all ingredients to your blender and liquify.  Store in an air tight contain in the fridge until ready to serve.  Can store for several days.

The pictured salad is made of:

• Sweet baby lettuces
• Spinach
• red onion
• cheese
• cucumber
• candied almonds*
• tomatoes

Next time I’m absolutely adding fresh berries and dried cranberries too.

*Rather than buying tons of candied almonds which I knew I’d eat by the truck load, I bought natural almonds, chopped them, and then sauteed them with only a little cooking spray, sugar and cinnamon.  Wonderful taste, wonderful crunch, no butter and no commitment to eat a million candied nuts.