Crock Pot Week, Day 4: Dr.Pepper Roast

When I first read the recipe for this Dr.Pepper Roast, I wasn't so sure about it.  Cream of potato soup and Dr.Pepper did not sound like a good combination.  I was pleasantly surprised by the slight sweetness in the background of the savory sauce.  I really enjoyed this recipe and will be making it again soon.  I would add some Worcestershire sauce next time to add a little kick.  Click here for the original inspiration.

Dr.Pepper Roast

2 cans Cream of Potato soup

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

1 packet of French Onion Soup mix

2 cups of Dr.Pepper (I used Dr.Dynamite because that is what we had.)

2-3 lb beef roast

Whisk together the soups, onion soup mix and Dr.Pepper in the crock.  Then put the roast in and cook on low for 6 hours.

Crock Pot Week, Day 3: Lasagna

One of my favorite foods is Lasagna.  How much better can a dish get?  Cheesy, meaty, creamy goodness on a plate.  My husband always gets on me for experimenting with our favorite meals.  "If the original is good, why mess with it?"  I didn't so much mess with my Lasagna as I did change it's mode of cooking.

Mom's Lasagna
2 lbs ground beef
1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 blocks of cream cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 a box of Lasagna noodles
Brown the ground beef an drain any excess grease.  Combine the ground beef with the jar of tomato sauce.  Spray the crock with non-stick spray and put a spoonful of the tomato sauce mixture in the bottom.  Then place a layer of noodles followed by the tomato sauce mixture, 1/2 the parmesan, 1 block of cream cheese and 1 cup of the mozzarella.  Follow with another layer of noodles, sauce, parmesan, cream cheese and the remaining mozzarella.  Set the Crock-Pot on low and cook for 6 hours.

While the flavors were what they always are, I would not recommend lasagna cooked this way.  The noodles got a bit mushy, the cheese was rubbery and the meat seemed to dry out.  It was also very difficult to serve from the crock.  I encourage you to try this recipe but instead, bake it in the oven at 350 for about an hour or until its all bubbly and delicious.

Crock Pot Week, Day 2: Mixed Berry Crumble

Mixed Berry Crumble
1 bag of frozen mixed berries
4 tablespoons sugar
1 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 stick butter, melted
Put the bag of frozen berries in the crock with the 4 tablespoons of sugar and combine.  In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, oats, cinnamon and melted butter.  Sprinkle the mixture on top of the berries and cook on high for 2 hours.  Serve with ice cream, whip cream or just alone.

Crock Pot Week, Day 1: Bacon Ranch Chicken

I decided to experiment with a week of Crock Pot cooking.  Day 1 was a throw together because we had a busy weekend and were unable to get to the grocery store.  Bacon Ranch Chicken was inspired by an Italian Chicken recipe I found.  We really enjoyed it and I hope you will too.

Bacon Ranch Chicken

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1 cup Sour Cream

1 packet Ranch dressing mix

1/2 cup crumbled, cooked bacon

4 whole chicken breasts

1 lb of egg noodles, cooked to package directions

Mix the soup, sour cream, bacon and ranch mix in a bowl.  Place the 4 chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock and smear the mixture over the top.  Cook on low for 7 hours.  Shred the chicken and mix in the cooked noodles.

Comfort Food: Vegetable Soup

I love soup.  It is so comforting and with the weather we have been having, it warms you up from the inside.  A few years ago, I found a recipe for Vegetable Barley Soup and I just loved it.  It has such a unique flavor and I really think you will enjoy it.

Vegetable Barley Soup
adapted from Beaker's Vegetable Barley Soup

2 quarts vegetable broth
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
2 large carrots
2 stalks celery
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Pour all ingredients into a large pot.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 90 minutes.  It will be quite thick.

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2013.  I hope this year will be a big one for my little blog.  I have always struggled with follow through on things.  My plan for this blog was one project a week but I am not going to beat myself up if I can't or don't keep up.  My only New Years resolution is to be happy in 2013.  Instead of whining and bitching about things, I am going to try to change them.  Instead of being defeated when my changes don't work out, I am going to try again.  Cheers to 2013 and beyond.

Baking Bonanza

Every year around Christmas, my Mom, sisters Kari and Brenda and I like to get together and have a Girl's Baking day.  This last Sunday we did just that and invited our friend Shamara over to help.  My Grandma even stopped by for a bit.  It was a such a fun day and we got through 10 recipes in just a few hours.  It took some planning but it all worked out.

We made two flavors of Fudge.  The first is a traditional chocolate and the second is a peppermint.  We followed this recipe from Nestle for both except in the peppermint one, we substituted mint chips and peppermint extract.

We also made Magic Bars using the recipe on the back of the Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk.

My favorites were these Holly Crackles.

These are my husband's favorite.  Peanut Butter Cup Cookies.

These Oreo Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies sound strange but they are so delicious.

We had to make another batch of these awesome Rolo Turtles.

These Haystack cookies were requested by my sister Brenda.  The recipe is super simple.  Just melt 3/4 cup peanut butter and one bag of chocolate or butterscotch chips in a saucepan.  When melted, add a 10 oz bag of chow mein noodles.  Stir until full coated and then drop by spoonfuls onto parchment paper.  Let set up for at least an hour and then enjoy the crunchy goodness.

Finally, a family favorite, Cowboy Cookies.  I will share the recipe for these at a later time.  They come from a cookbook my Mom helped put together when I was in 3rd or 4th grade at my Elementary school.  Lots of great memorable recipes in there.