EASY CROCKPOT CHICKEN and NOODLES

Crockpot chicken and noodles is pure comfort food in our home. Easy and inexpensive, it pleases everyone.........even picky-picky husband !!

This is one of those super yummy recipes that just doesn't photograph well......... but trust me, it's GOOOOOOD !!!

1 pound of boneless-skinless chicken breast
2  10.75 ounce cans of cream of chicken soup
4 cups of chicken broth or stock
1 small onion diced
1 cup chopped celery
1 large carrot grated
1 cup peas
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Flat wide egg noodles

Spray your Crockpot with a little cooking spray to make cleanup easier. This recipe (as written) requires a nice big Crockpot. If you only have a smaller one, just make half of the recipe.

Dice the onion and celery and grate the carrot. Sautee in a little butter until the onions and celery soften a little.

Put the saut�ed veggies, soup, broth and pepper into the Crockpot and stir or whisk it around until it is smooth. Add whole (boneless-skinless) chicken breasts and cook on low for three hours.

After 3 hours, the broth will look a little thin, but that's ok because the noodles with thicken it as they cook. Remove the chicken and cut it into pieces, then return it to the Crockpot.

After 3 hours (on low), add about 3-4 cups UNCOOKED egg noodles and the peas. The noodles will expand (and drink up some of the gravy) so be careful how many noodles you add. It also depends on what KIND of noodles you use, so use your best judgment as to how many dry noodles you put in.    

Depending on what style noodles you are using, it can take as little as 20 minutes for the noodles to cook. If you use a thicker noodle like a Penne, it can take as much as 45 minutes.

If you use the flat egg style noodles, be careful how vigorously you stir them, because they break easily once they start to get soft.

ENJOY !!?

FRENCH FRY SAUCE

This French fry dipping sauce is a delicious condiment that is quick, easy to make and very versatile. It goes together in minutes and everyone loves it.

There are a MILLION fry sauce recipes out there; some have a TON of ingredients, some have just a handful. This is our recipe.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons finely minced dill pickles (see note below)
1 teaspoon regular old yellow mustard
dash of salt
scant 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar

When I make this, I put the pickle into the food processor first and pulse it until it is finely minced (2 tablespoons minced pickle is about 1 large pickle). NOTE: You can also just use 2 tablespoons of your favorite pickle relish.

Then add the rest of the ingredients and pulse them all together until the sauce is well mixed and smooth.  You can do this in a full size food processor, although a small food processor (or an hand held immersion blender) works even better.

This recipe makes one cup of French fry sauce. Keep chilled. It is excellent to dip just about anything in, but it is also good on hamburgers.

ENJOY !!!

SHORTBREAD MELT AWAYS

This cookie has a very traditional shortbread cookie texture, yet it is light as a feather, sweet and literally melts in your mouth!!! These cookies are one of my families favorites and they are gone in a snap!!

 

1 1/2 cups butter (room temperature)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Beat the room temperature butter for about a minute, or until it is smooth. Add the powdered sugar, salt and extracts and beat on medium high for another minute.

Add the cornstarch and beat until well mixed. Add the flour, one cup at a time, beating well in between each cup.  Beat everything for one more minute, then cover and chill for about 30 minutes (I seldom chill the dough and it does ok).

Roll the dough into 1" balls and then roll the balls in granulated sugar. Use a fork to gently press down on the cookie ball (see photo).

Bake on ungreased baking sheet for 10-12 minutes at 350�. You will know when they are done because they get lightly golden around the edges. Cool on the cookie sheet for about 30 seconds before removing them.

These are excellent frosted AND unfrosted.  Makes 36 cookies.

NOTE: If you don't have coconut extract, you can just use 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla, however, the coconut extract truly adds a wonderful taste. The finished cookie does NOT taste like coconut, but it adds a wonderful yummy-ness to it, so I hope you will try it.

PUMPKIN DOG TREATS

Our 12 year old dog, Chloe, has a very sensitive stomach, Almost everything gives her  nuclear gas, so I have been experimenting with dog treats for her that are dog tummy friendly.

 

This recipe (which she adores)  is quick and easy and doesn't seem to cause her trouble.  Roll the dough into appropriate size treats (small for little dogs or larger for big dogs). They are hard and crunch like a good milk bone.

1/2  cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons instant milk powder
2  1/2  cups flour

Beat eggs, pumpkin, salt and dry milk until well mixed. Add flour and (using your stand mixer because dough is very stiff) and beat until smooth dough forms.  If the dough seems a little sticky, add an extra tablespoon of flour.

Roll into ropes and cut into pieces like this:

Roll each section into a ball and place on Ungreased cookie sheet. These don't expand much as they bake, so you can place them fairly close together, like this:

Bake in pre-heated 350� oven for 40 minutes. If you've made BIG treats, turn the oven off after 40 minutes, but leave the goodies in the oven for an extra 20 minutes to insure they are dry. They will be hard and crunchy and store well.

I hope your dog enjoys them

as much as Chloe does !!

 

?

SIX MINI CHEESECAKES

As empty nesters, we are easily overloaded by a full size cheesecake, so I have been experimenting. I finally got it down to six cupcake size cheesecakes which suits us perfectly.

These little guys ALWAYS turn out perfect.....no cracks, no sink hole in the center and they are smooth, rich and addicting!!

Place six foil (or paper) cupcake liners in a cupcake pan. Preheat your oven to 325�.

CRUST
1/3  cup graham cracker crumbs
2    teaspoons sugar
2    teaspoons melted butter

Mix together and split evenly between the six cupcake liners, and press the crumbs into a flat layer.

FILLING
8 ounces of full fat cream cheese (room temperature)
6 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 teaspoons flour
2 large egg whites

Beat the room temperature cream cheese with electric mixer for three minutes. Add the sugar and beat for another two minutes.

Add the vanilla, flour and egg whites and mix until well incorporated, but don't over mix.

Pour the batter over the crumb crust, filling almost to the top (I use an ice cream scoop).

Bake at 325� for 25 minutes (the cheesecake should be just "set" and barely giggle when you tap lightly on the side of the cupcake pan.

Remove from the oven and let sit at room temperature about 20 minutes, then put in the fridge and chill for at least a couple of hours.

Before serving, I like to add a swirl of raspberry jam on the surface of the COLD cheesecake (any jam will work, see note below).

ENJOY !!!

Note:  I like to use the foil cupcake liners because they release the cheesecake so easily, but paper ones work great as well.

Note: Any jam or spreadable fruit works well in this recipe. I just put a couple of heaping tablespoons into a small bowl and stir in vigorously until it is smooth and soft.

Note: I never seem to remember to bring the cream cheese up to room temperature, so I just put it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds (to take the chill off) and it works fine.?

FIVE STAR SWEET CORNBREAD MUFFINS

I've always liked cornbread muffins. I like the taste and texture(especially the slightly crispy edges) and I like how easy they are to make. Over the years, I've tried a ba-jillion cornbread recipes, but this one is, by far, the best recipe yet. We give it a FULL FIVE STARS !!

If you like your cornbread muffins on the sweet side, you HAVE to give this recipe a try (it makes about 18 small muffins).

FIVE STAR SWEET CORNBREAD MUFFINS

 

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup yellow corn meal

1/2  cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/2  teaspoons baking powder

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/2 cup melted butter

 

Lightly spray (or grease) cupcake pan.  Preheat your oven to 400�

Using a hand whisk, mix everything together until batter is smooth (just takes a minute).

 

Fill cupcake "cups" about 2/3 full of batter.  Bake at 400� for 18-20 minutes or until very lightly golden (don't over bake).  Tip out of pan immediately and serve warm with butter.?

GRILLED HAWAIIAN CHICKEN

Where has this recipe been all of my life? I heard rave reviews recently, so I went hunting for the recipe online. As usual, I found a bunch of them and mixed and matched ingredients and techniques to come up with a new chicken dinner that we love!!

This chicken is quick, easy and extremely flavorful. Try it, your family will love it (the pineapple juice makes the chicken very tender).

A word about this photo...... while it isn't the best photo, it IS fairly representative of how WE like our grilled chicken (lots of dark crispy edges). When you are grilling it, just remember that the sugar in this recipe tends to burn if your grill heat is up too high.

2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2  cup soy sauce
1/2  cup brown sugar
1/3  cup ketchup
1/4  cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons fresh ginger root grated
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4  teaspoon cayenne pepper  (see note below)

Mix all ingredients (except the chicken). Remove 1 cup of the mixture and put it in the fridge (you'll use this for basting the chicken when it is on the grill).

Put the chicken pieces into a large Ziploc bag and pour the rest of the sauce over it. Marinate/chill  the chicken for at least 6 hours or up to 12 hours.

Remove the chicken from the sauce (make sure you throw away the sauce the chicken has been marinating in). Grill over medium charcoals (basting with the clean sauce you saved earlier...NOT the marinating sauce)  for about six to eight minutes per side (or if you like them a little crispy, like we do, a couple minutes longer.

ENJOY !!!

 

Note about the cayenne:  Picky-picky husband does not like freaks out when it comes to super spicy food, so I only used 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper in this recipe. Normally, that amount would send him running but, because there is so much sugar in this recipe, it counteracts the "heat" of the cayenne and you can hardly tell it is in the recipe (add more if you like a little heat).?

GRUMPY FACE

One of my recipe blog readers was kind enough to tell me that someone at the following link: http://all-about-women-story.blogspot.com/   had copied and re-published over THREE HUNDRED of my recipes and recipe photos onto their web page. As far as I could tell, MY recipes and photos are the ONLY posts on their whole web site!!

 

Needless to say, I'm not happy about it.  There is NO contact information (that I can see) on this offenders recipe blog, so I don't have a clue how to contact them, do you?

 

Thank you for listening

to my rant.?

?

PEACH CRISP FOR TWO

This is a perfect amount of dessert for just two people. It is quick, easy and tastes divine over a scoop of ice cream!!

2 medium sized peaches, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon flour
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (see note below)
1 teaspoon sugar

Mix the above ingredients gently, until peaches are well covered, then divide evenly into 2 small (greased) baking dishes and set aside.

In another small bowl, mix:

2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons oats
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon butter (or coconut oil)

Using a fork, mix the above ingredients until they are sort of clumpy, for lack of a better description (the butter pieces should be about the size of a small pea). Crumble lightly over the peaches.

Bake in preheated 375� oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Serve over ice cream or let it cool a little and top it with whipped cream.

NOTE: increase cinnamon to 1/2 teaspoon if you like a strong cinnamon flavor.

ENJOY !!!?

FOUR INGREDIENT PORK DINNER

It doesn't get any easier than this one folks. Four ingredients thrown into a Crockpot and six hours later, dinner is ready.

2 to 3 pound boneless pork loin (see note below)
1  16 ounce bottle of your favorite flavored barbecue sauce
8  ounce can crushed pineapple (juice and all)
1/2  teaspoon liquid smoke

Stir the barbecue sauce, undrained pineapple and liquid smoke together and pour it over the raw pork loin (in the Crockpot).

Cook on LOW for five to six hours (I cook it for 6 hours). Turning the meat over once or twice during that time.

Just before you are ready to eat. Remove the meat and thicken the sauce (I use a cornstarch slurry), then put the pork back in the sauce to keep it hot till it's time to eat.

This sauce is absolutely delicious. Even my picky-picky husband gave it a thumbs up (twice!!) and it could NOT be easier.

NOTE: I'm sure this would work with a pork tenderloin, but I haven't tried it so I can't recommend a cooking time.

ENJOY !!!?