Peanut Butter Granola From Fit-it and Forget-it...

I found this recipe in 2011 from Fit-it and Forget-it website. Since then we have made this recipe many times and even given it as gifts. The recipe takes a little bit of time and you have to stir a few times. The plus side is you get use your slow cooker, which means you can get the help from little hands.

The kids and I always have fun making this granola, and it makes a great rain or snow day activity.  The instructions states when the granola is cool break into chunks. We have never really gotten chunks, more like crumbles, so we like to use this as the base for trail mix.

The granola has a good peanut taste without being overwhelming, which is good since we you all know I don’t like peanut butter. I like to pour milk over the granola or stir into my yogurt for breakfast.

We have omitted the coconut and raisins, and added in our own favorites. One time we tried to add in chocolate chips after we poured the mix out to cool. Well that did not go so well, since the mix was still too hot for chocolate.  

You can personalize the add-ins to your own tastes, we have made with nothing but a variety of nuts. Most of the time, we just throwing in whatever I have in the pantry, it is great way to use up the leftovers from holiday baking.

I have meaning to omit the brown sugar and try using honey… maybe next time I make this.

Make sure you store the granola in an airtight container!

Ingredients:
6 cups dry oatmeal
½ cup wheat germ
½ cup toasted coconut
½ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup raisins

Click here for the entire recipe!

Crock-pot Ginger Pork Chops…

What would we do without our slow cookers or Crock-pots? If you do have one or do not hardly use the one you have, you are missing out. There are thousands of recipes for the slow cooker. I have two and really could use the three pot slow cooker or the real pretty All-Clad Deluxe Slow Cooker.  

When I was working full time, I used a slow cooker every day. I had a couple cookbooks, but learned the real beauty of one the slow cooker was just taking combinations of ingredients and coming up with new recipes. The recipe for day comes from the 1001 Slow Cooker Recipes cookbook written by Barbara C Jones.

I don’t think experimenting as I was, I would have crossed teriyaki sauce with tomato bisque soup. It works though in combination of the other ingredients to make a wonderful meal. I will sometimes add in sliced apples and a ¼ cup of apple cider. For other variations, you could use garlic or even orange juice.

You just have to be a bit daring and creative, use the recipe as a guidebook instead of a law book.

Click Here To Get Today's Recipe

Crock-pot Cowboy Stew...

I first came across this recipe in a book by Sandra Lee, of Semi-Homemade. The orginal recipe calls from potatoes and corn. I personally thought it was too much in the carbohydrates so I took out the corn and added a can of kidney beans.
The meat in the stew is brisket. You only need 2 pounds, if you can not find a small 2 pound brisket look for corned beef. The meat in that package of corned beef is brisket, just throw away the seasoning packet that is inclosed.
We used to have eat this recipe twice a month. Super simple to throw together in the morning before work, or great on a cold day. The orginal recipe states it serves six, four is more the correct portion.

Ingredients:
2 pounds beef brisket, cut into bite size pieces
1 Tablespoon taco season
2 cups chopped potatoes
2 10 ounce cans of Rotel tomatoes and chilies
1 10 ounce can of cream of celery soup
1 10 - 15 ounce can of kidney beans, undrained
1 cup beef broth, low sodium
1 small onion chopped
2 teaspoons garlic, minced

Directions:
In a 4 quart crock-pot add brisket and sprinkle with taco seasoning
Add remaining ingredients and stir until combined
Cover and cook on hight temp setting for 4 to 6 hours.
or low temp setting for 8 to 10 hours.

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole...

The best part about weekend is having a time to cook breakfast. What if you could get the big breakfast during the week without cutting into that precious morning time. Well you can with a little pre-planning in the evening and using your crockpot or slow cooker. I found this recipe over at fit and fab living and it is a great way to make sure your kids get a good meal before heading out for school.  The recipe calls for ham or bacon, I have used pre cooked ground sausage and it turns out well. You can omit the onion and green pepper if you wish, but it is better with onion. Ingredients * 1 32 oz. bag frozen hash brown potatoes * 1 lb. bacon, diced, cooked and drained or 1 lb. cooked ham, cubed * 1 med. onion, diced * 1 green bell pepper, diced * 1 1/2 C. cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded * 1 dozen eggs * 1 C. milk * 1 tsp. salt * 1 tsp. pepper (more or less to taste) Directions 1. Place a layer of frozen potatoes on the bottom of the slow cooker (Crockpot), followed by a layer of bacon then onions, green pepper and cheese. 2. Repeat the layering process two or three more times, ending with a layer of cheese. 3. Beat the eggs, milk, salt and pepper together. 4. Pour over the Crockpot mixture, cover and turn on low. 5. Cook for 10-12 hours.

Crock Pot Chai Tea...

Today was one of those rare days that we spent the entire day out shopping. Everyone had received a gift card, cash, or both for Christmas this year. The daughter spent most of her money on clothes and splurged at the toy store for a huge remote controlled monster truck. The son spent a tiny bit of one gift card. Only to discover what he bought has to be taken back, because it is defective. My husband spent over an hour roaming the tool department at Sears, finally leaving with nothing because he could not decide what he wanted. After a quick stop at the house for lunch, I did a repeat of my husband’s performance only at Bed Bath and Beyond… sigh. Sometimes there is too many choices and not sure what I want the most.

From there we swung back by the house, to pick up the kids bowling equipment for practice. The bowling alley was freezing and after sitting for over two hours, I wish I had a pot of this Chai Tea waiting for me. This would be great to serve for at a brunch, if you are having a New Year’s party, this might be good for after midnight.

Chai is generally a sweet drink, but you may reduce the sweetener to taste.
 If whole spices are not easily available, you may use powders. However, you will
wish to strain through several layers of cheesecloth or a coffee filter before
serving.

For your vegan friends, you can use a non-dairy milk

Crock Pot Chai Tea

2 quarts (8 cups) water
8 bags black tea
3/4 cup sugar or Splenda **
16 whole cloves
16 whole cardamom seeds, pods removed
5 cinnamon sticks
8 slices fresh ginger
1 cup milk
Optional: more cinnamon sticks



1. Combine water, tea bags, sugar, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon sticks and ginger
in your slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 2-2.5 hours.

2. Strain mixture and discard solids. (At this point, the chai tea may be
covered and refrigerated up to 3 days.)

3. Just before serving, stir in the milk. Serve warm or chilled with additional
cinnamon sticks for garnishes, if desired.


Makes 8-10 servings.

Crock-Pot Sweet Potatoes

Thanksgiving is next week can you believe it. This year had flown by!

If you are cooking the big family gathering, I have no doubt your oven, stove, and microwave will be hard at work. One appliance usually gets the day off on Thanksgiving. I have always found this perplexing, since the other 363 days of the year (minus Christmas), we consider this our “go to work horse.”

 So why not use your crock-pot and free up some room in the oven?

I found this recipe for sweet potatoes, and it works remarkably well in the crock-pot. Making it in the crock-pot also means it will travel without too much difficulty.

You can omit the pecans and granola, add the tiny marshmallows if you chose. I would add them one hour, before serving to give them time to melt.

Crock-Pot Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

7 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1” pieces

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg and ground gloves

1/2 cup applesauce

4 Tbsp. butter

11/2 cups granola

1 cup pecans, chopped

Directions:

Place sweet potatoes in a large crock-pot.

 In a small bowl mix, melted butter, apple sauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and brown sugar.

Pour over sweet potatoes, cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Coarsely mash potatoes

Melt remaining butter in a small pan, add granola and chopped pecans.

Cook on low, stir until granola and pecans are well coated.

Sprinkle over the top of the sweet potatoes and serve.

Crock-pot Sweet and Spicy Chicken

I have to be honest; I do not remember who gave me this recipe. I am sorry, I cannot give the credit it is due. I have added to this recipe, to make a satisfying one-pot meal. With all my chicken in the crock-pot recipes, I add the meat in frozen. It is a crock-pot and most of us will throw everything in the pot while running out the door for work.

This is a great for wrangling a Chinese food craving. I served this in a bowl with each person getting a half-cup of steamed white rice and one cup of chicken mixture. The recipe states it serves six, I was able to get five servings with my measurements.

Ingredients:

6 small boneless skinless chicken breast

1 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (can reduce, if you do not like spicy food)

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ packed brown sugar

1 cup low sodium soy sauce

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ cup cornstarch

½ cup water

1 bag frozen stir fry vegetables (style your choice, I used frozen sugar pea pods)

Directions:

Place chicken in crock-pot, sprinkle with pepper.

Mix all ingredients, except the last three. Pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours or 3-4 hours on high.

Remove chicken

Mix cornstarch and water together and add to sauce mixture, add frozen vegetables. Cook on high until sauce is thickened. Shred chicken and return to pot and mix well.

Serve over steamed rice.

Pot Roast Soup

 Have you ever noticed that pot roast and roast chicken are exactly perfect bases for soup? Think about a pot roast: meat, potatoes, carrots, onion and celery.

I make my pot roast in the crock-pot and it turns out perfect every time. If I cook pot roast in the oven well, I get boot leather. So what do you with boot leather? Make soup!

As I stated above, I make my pot roast in the crock-pot. It is simple, quick and the meat can go in frozen. I usually get a roast big enough to make a few meals out of. The kids and I don’t really care to eat roast as leftovers. So why get a big piece of meat? I will slice it for fajitas, enchiladas, smother it in barbeque sauce or make soup.

Pot Roast Soup:
If you know you are going to make soup with your leftovers, return everything to your crock-pot and place in the refrigerator. The next day, I will lift out the solid fat crust and discard. Remove the vegetables and roast, leaving a gelatin broth with onions and celery in your pot.

Chop your vegetables into bite size pieces, adding more carrots and potatoes as necessary. Slice the roast into bite size pieces, remove all fat. Return meat and vegetables to pot, add a bay leave, two cups of beef broth or 2 cups of water and two bouillon cubes. Cook on low heat for 6 hours.

Chicken Soup:

Fifteen years ago, I watched Emeril Lagasse make his chicken noodle soup. After he striped a roast chicken carcass of meat, Emeril took the entire carcass and placed in a soup pot. Emeril made soup with the bones and skin, stating it gave the broth wonderful flavor. It did! 

I made chicken soup that way a few times, but this is not exactly smart. Since Emeril did not remove the skin and bones when he served the soup, it is not exactly child friendly. The young ones do not understand the concept of don’t swallow the bones. I had to come up with a new way to make chicken noodle soup where you get flavor, but not the bones.

I usually find the largest roasting chicken I can find (between 7 to 9 pounds), so we only eat half the bird. I follow the same rules for the pot roast soup with a few exceptions. Do not remove the fat; pull the meat from the bone and chop into bite size pieces. If you do this right between the breast, leg and thigh there should be plenty for soup. (Pickoff the back and remaining rib meat from the bones and save for Chicken Potpie.) Chop carrots, onion, celery, and place in pot with chicken. I also will add frozen peas and corn… about ¼ to ½ cup of each. Add pepper and garlic to taste. If need be, add fat free, low sodium chicken broth and cook on low four to five hours. Add in approximately 2 cups of dry yoke free, egg noodles an hour before consuming.

Time saving and last minute meal fixes to eat within an hour or two:
Crock-pot:
 Turn the crock-pot on high, place raw vegetables in an 8-cup Pyrex measuring bowl with four cups of water and bouillon cube. Cook on high in your microwave for ten to fifteen minutes. Pour into crock-pot add noodles.

Stove top method:
Place two boneless skinless chicken breast cubed, chopped vegetables, chicken broth, and seasonings in stew pot and bring to a boil for five minutes then reduce to a simmer. 15 minutes before serving add in noodles.

Cleaning tip for the day: To clean you grill and oven racks and grates. On a warm day, place racks and grates in a black trash bag, pour in a bottle of ammonia, tie shut and set outside flat in the sun for three hours. Flip after three hours for another two hours.(You might have to move the bag to keep it in the sun.) Remove grates from bag and wash them off with soap and water. Most of all the stuck and burnt chard should just wipe off.

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Crock-pot Chicken Fajitas

I have been making this recipe for close to thirteen years. When I came up with the idea for this recipe “it was let me throw all of these ingredients into the bowl and see what comes out.” This is quick, versatile, simple, tasty, and most off all inexpensive to make

Ingredients:

1 can of Rotel (heat and style is up to you)

2 cans of Black Beans, undrained (we like Ranch Style Brand)

Onion, small and chopped

2 boneless skinless frozen Chicken Breasts

1 clove Garlic, minced

Cumin, ground to taste

1 bunch of Cilantro

Place chicken in bottom of pot.  My family does not care for cilantro chopped up in their food so I lay the entire bunch on top of the chicken. Pour black beans, onion, garlic and Rotel over chicken, lightly dust with cumin. Cover cook on low for 6-8 hours.

When done gently push back beans and Rotel, lift out and discard cilantro. Carefully lift out the chicken, which will be very tender, slice or shred into preferred size.

Serve a variety of ways: over rice, tortilla chips or in tortillas (wheat, flour or corn.) I will usually serve with spanish rice, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, and sliced avocado in tortillas

Serves 4 people

Stew or Soup? You Decide...

My parents were born in raised in Kentucky, my husband’s in Texas. Here lies the base to an eighteen-year long debate over is it stew or soup.

Growing up when mom made stew it was a thick gravy sauce, with beef, potatoes, peas and a single bay leaf that always managed to end up in some ones bowl. Mom served it with bread and butter.

My husband grew up with stew that was broth based, beef, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and one onion. He eats it with crackers.

Can you see where the debate comes from?

My loving husband states it is because he is from the south and they put tomatoes in everything. I have been deemed a Yankee. Well I hate to break this to my husband, but his father's side of the family was not even American's during the Civil War! When the namesake did immigrate to America, he went to Kentucky. Therefore, if I am a Yankee, he is too!

I will leave each of you to decide which label you would like to classify this recipe, in our house it is called "Oh, that’s good!" 

If you have a picky eater like mine. Try a ladle full with only a small bit of broth and top with shredded cheddar jack cheese.

Paddy's Beef Stew (Soup)

1 ½ to 2 lbs of beef stew meat or roast cut into 2 inch pieces

1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped

3 carrots sliced

4 large potatoes, chopped to bite size pieces

2 large (28-30 oz) cans of whole tomatoes

Ground pepper

1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil

In soup pot, add oil and brown stew meat (personally, I add crushed garlic or garlic powder to the meat at this point.) Add enough water to cover meat, cover pot and let simmer until meat is tender. (If you have meat tenderizer go ahead and sprinkle some in) Simmer until almost all of the water has evaporated from pot, usually takes 1 ½ hours.

Add potatoes, onion and carrots.  Crush tomatoes while adding to pot along with the juice.

Cover pot and simmer until vegetables are done, season with pepper to taste.

Crock-pot version – Yes, you can make stew in a crock-pot!

Place meat tenderizer, stew meat, pepper, (garlic,) onion and enough water to reach almost halfway of crock-pot. Set to highest setting, replace lid and let simmer for 6 hours.

After six hours, water should be mostly gone. Place carrots and potatoes in a microwavable dish (I prefer an 8-cup Pyrex measuring cup) cover with water and microwave on high for ten minutes. The vegetables should fork tender but not completely cooked. Add tomatoes, potatoes and carrots to crock-pot and let cook for an hour on high temperature.

Comfort Food - Red Beans and Rice

Webster Dictionary defines comfort food as food prepared in a traditional style having a usually nostalgic or sentimental appeal.

Red Beans and Rice is a comfort food in our house.

My husband was stationed in Virginia for nearly a decade and we loved every minute of it. During our tenure, we became with close friends with a two families. Cheryl and Victor adopted us into their family. They become adopted grandparents to our children, since all the grandparents lived across the country. With Cheryl and Victor, we had the loud, extended family gatherings. Holidays were not just a meal with them. These were events, with good company, great food and always served with Cheryl's yeast rolls made from scratch.

Our other extended family is Ron and Cindy. Here are two people from radically different parts of the country. Cindy is from Vermont; Ron is a crazy Cajun from Louisiana. Ron and I trade Roux and Andouille sausage for BBQ sauce. Since certain ingredients are only available once a year, I usually have a debt to make up when it comes time to make BBQ sauce.

I will not attempt to make Ron’s Gumbo it is just too perfect. Red Beans and Rice I have been tinkering with for several years now. Whenever I ask my family what they want to eat, my youngest and fussiest eater asks for Red Beans and Rice.

I usually make Red Beans and Rice in a crock-pot, so this requires a few days advance planning.  I know there are times when you want it now, not two or three days later. I am going to provide the recipe for both versions.

Two things to look out for when buying a ham hock:

•         Try to find one with as much meat as possible. I have found the best ones at the local farmers market.

•         Have a potato on hand. Once I bought a ham hock from a different grocer, the ham hock was incredibly salty. If the red beans are too salty, cut raw the potato into chunks and place in your pot, remove before serving.

Red Beans and Rice

Cook time 3-4 hours on stove top

1 pound of dried red beans

1/2 to 3/4 pound smoked ham hock
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
1/4 cup bacon drippings
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
4 to 5 cups long grain rice, cooked

*I use Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning instead of spices above. I would say use at least 1 Tablespoon*

Wash and sort red beans before placing in deep pot with 8-9 cups water. Bring to boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let set for 2 hours.
Drain off water and refill pot with fresh water before placing back on heat at moderate to slow boil. Add ham hock and seasonings to pot. When meat is falling off the hock, remove from heat until cooled enough to remove meat from the bone. Before placing meat back in pot, use a potato masher and mash half of the beans, this should cause a creamy texture. (Alternative is to remove two cups of beans and place in food processor for 4-6 seconds) cook slowly on low heat stirring often. Add cooked rice and gently stir well before serving.

Red Beans and Rice in a Crock-pot

1 pound of dried red beans

1 pound smoked ham hock

 Water
1 to 2 Tablespoons of Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
4 to 5 cups cooked long grain rice

Wash and sort red beans before placing in deep pot with 8-9 cups water, soak twelve to twenty-four hours. Drain and rinse beans before placing in 6-quart crock. Add ham hock and enough water to cover both beans and hock before adding Creole seasoning. I put a light coating of seasoning over the entire pot. Replace lid and cook on low for six hours

Remove ham hock, place on a plate to cool while you tamp the red beans with a potato masher for one minute. This will cause thickening giving the beans a creamy sauce like texture. Shred meat from the ham hock and stir back into the bean mixture. Replace lid.

I actually turn off the crock-pot at this point and let the pot stand for one hour. If you cook often with a crock-pot, you know they stay hot for a long time. This will give the beans to thicken up more without cooking them further and making red bean paste. If you end up with paste, just stir in ¼ cup of water.

Serve over cooked rice and cornbread with honey, Yum!