French Dip Sandwiches

This recipe, found HERE, wins on all counts. It is painfully easy. The hubby (and the rest of us) loved it. AND it cooks itself in my favorite appliance ever--the slow cooker. Ka-chow! That's a Lightning McQueen reference for those of you who don't have little boys :) Here's what you need:

INGREDIENTS

-buns, like hoagie sandwich buns
- a 2 to 4 lb beef roast (I got "eye of round roast" because it was on sale...just get something that says "roast")
-one packet McCormick Au Jus Gravy mix (usually on the soup aisle with the other gravy packets)
-swiss cheese slices
-OPTIONAL: sliced onion, green bell pepper, & red bell pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

(1)Put meat in slow cooker.
(2)Dissolve gravy packet in 3 cups cold water. Pour into slow cooker.
(3)Turn slow cooker on low*. Let it cook 6-8 hours. (If you want the peppers and onions, throw them in for the last hour.)
(4)Shred up meat. It should be very tender. Mine pretty much fell apart.
(5)Put it in your buns. Add a slice of cheese.
(6) Stick in the oven and broil for a minute or two to melt the cheese.
(7) Now for the "dip" part. Get a bowl and pour some of the leftover liquid from the slow cooker in it. Use it to dip your sandwich in and enjoy. Soooo good.

*My slow cooker is a new one, and is apparently nuclear. I NEVER EVER use the high setting. Even frozen meat is completely done in less than 5 hours in my slow cooker. So, if you find your slow cooker meals continually burning or being dry when you use the high setting, try it on low. Hopefully that will work and you can sit back and enjoy some effortless meals!

Bacon & Cheese Potatoes and Ranch Chicken

The reason I have not posted any recipes for nearly two weeks is that my week of recipe "winners" was followed by a week of "flops." It usually happens that way...not sure why. This week I am just cooking whatever to try to use up what is left in my pantry (as I usually do at the end of the month). But last night, we had a pretty good side dish, that was born entirely from the need to use up some random leftover ingredients. I had half a bag of potatoes, some shredded cheddar, and bacon...so I tried to go the restaurant-style cheese fries route, and it turned out really well, if I do say so myself. This is super easy. Here's what you need:

BACON CHEESE POTATOES INGREDIENTS

-enough potatoes cut bite-sized to cover a 13x9 dish in a single layer (I used about 1/3 bag of yukon gold potatoes...they are the best...you could use other potatoes, but I make no guarantees that it will be as yummy)
-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or as much as you want)
-3 or 4 sliced of cooked bacon, crumbled
-1/4 cup olive oil
-garlic salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

(1) Preheat your oven to 425. Put your potatoes in the 13x9 dish.
(2) Pour 1/4 cup olive oil over potatoes, and stir them around to coat.
(3) Season with garlic salt.
(4) Bake for 30-40 minutes, until potatoes are done.
(5) Add crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar over the top, and put it back in the oven for a couple minutes just to melt the cheese.

In other news, I tried the crock pot pork chop recipe with chicken, and (as expected) it was equally yummy. So go here for the recipe and just substitute chicken breasts for chops.

Creamy Italian Crock Pot Chicken

This is crock pot meal #2 for the week (from TidyMom, slightly modified), and it was Easy with a capital E. This got rave reviews from the husband and the kids wolfed theirs down, too. I have to admit, I was concerned that this was going to be a flop--the ingredients seemed too simple especially for plain old chicken breasts. BUT boy was I wrong! Even better, you probably have almost all the ingredients in your kitchen right now.

INGREDIENTS

4 chicken breasts (mine were frozen when I put them in the crock pot--they always are--but you can use thawed...whatever)
1 packet dry Italian dressing mix
1/4 cup water
8 ounces cream cheese (I use fat free)
1 can cream of chicken soup (I use Healthy Request)
1 pound pasta of some sort (spaghetti...penne for the kids...anything)

INSTRUCTIONS

(1) Put your chicken in the crock pot. Mix Italian dressing packet with 1/4 cup water and pour over chicken. Cook on low 3 hours.
(2) After 3 hours mix cream of chicken and cream cheese with a hand mixer until smooth OR you could do like I did (because I did not read the recipe) and put them in a pot on the stove over medium heat. Stir it until the cream cheese melts and combines with the soup.
(3) (Optional: At this point I took the lid off the crock pot and cut my chicken into smaller pieces--not bite-sized but smaller)
(4) Add the soup/cream cheese mixture to the crock pot and cook on low for an additional hour.
(5) Serve over pasta...cooked pasta, of course.

Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Chops

I think you know by now that I LOVE my slow cooker. This week I have two slow cooker recipes on the meal plan, and here's the first (I found it on the Picky Palate blog). Now, as I write this it is not actually dinner time yet, but I have already tasted it...and let me tell you, this is a keeper for sure. It is taking every ounce of self-control in me to not go ahead and eat one...or three. But wait it gets even better...guess how many ingredients this has? Three! And guess what you do with them? Dump them in the crock pot and turn it on! AND (yes there's another and) I am pretty sure that this would be pretty tasty with chicken breasts, too! Here you go:

INGREDIENTS

6 boneless pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick--the package I bought was a little less)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 packet dry Ranch seasoning

INSTRUCTIONS
(1) Put everything in the slow cooker.
(2) Cook on low 6 hours or high 4 hours. E-N-J-O-Y!

And just so you know, we served these with tater tots...how's that for gourmet?

Sarah's Crock Pot Mac-N-Cheese

Even if you are only cooking for two, you do NOT want to half this recipe. You will eat all of it, I promise. Typically after making this I enjoy it for a mid-morning snack, a mid-afternoon snack, and sometimes a late-night snack...and with my meals. I am eternally grateful to Sarah Sachitano for sharing this--it is the closest thing to James' (non-recipe using) grandma's that I have ever had. James' grandma is an amazing cook. Unfortunately for me she does not use recipes--she just kind of throws whatever she has in, and it turns out melt-in-your-mouth amazing every time. All attempts to duplicate her dishes have been royal flops...so, again, THANK YOU, SARAH. YOU ARE AWESOME AND SO IS YOUR MAC-N-CHEESE. AND did I mention that you cook it in my favorite household appliance? The slow cooker(also known as a crock pot in these parts)! Anyway, sorry to be so wordy. Make this. You will thank me, I mean Sarah :)

INGREDIENTS

1 pound elbow macaroni
2 eggs
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 stick of butter
12 ounces evaporated milk
1 cup milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 pound Velveeta, cubed

INSTRUCTIONS

(1)Boil the macaroni for 3 minutes, then drain. Add macaroni to crock pot with butter.
(2)Combine eggs, soup, milk, and evaporated milk in a separate bowl. Add to crock pot.
(3) Add shredded cheese to crock pot and stir everything together.
(4)Cook 3-4 hours on low*.

*Apparently, my crock pot in nuclear because mine is always done in just under 2 hours, and YES, I am sure I have it on low. So keep an eye on yours to make sure it doesn't burn.

Taco Soup

Apparently I had been under a rock most of my life, because I did not have taco soup until our sweet friends the Sachitanos introduced me to it. From what I am told this is a fairly common dish like, say, spaghetti...well, somehow I missed it for 20+ years, but it has now changed my life. Soooo, just in case there are any other people out there who have also been missing out on this easy, delicious, slow cooking wonder--here's the recipe, Sachitano style (well, sort of--I use a pound less meat):

TACO SOUP INGREDIENTS

2 cans diced tomatoes and green chiles (aka Rotel)
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained and rinsed
1 can chili beans
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 packet Ranch dressing mix
2 packets taco seasoning
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
chips, cheese, and sour cream to garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

(1) Brown your meat and drain it.
(2) Dump everything in your slow cooker and stir.
(3) Turn it on high for about 3 hours.
(4) Go find something to do while your dinner cooks itself. I love my slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Chicken BBQ

This is a favorite at our house, and I cannot even begin to tell you how easy it is. You cannot mess this up. And my husband loves it because it has A1 sauce in it--I think he would drink A1. This is not actually what we are having for dinner tonight (we are having taco soup--I'll post that one later), but I already have this recipe typed...so here it is:

INGREDIENTS

2 or 3 frozen (you can use fresh, it just cooks faster) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 a bottle or so of your favorite BBQ sauce (I use Walmart brand Honey BBQ)
1/2 a bottle or so of A1 (again, I use the store brand because it is way cheaper)
your favorite buns

INSTRUCTIONS

(1) Place the frozen chicken breasts in your slow cooker.
(2) Pour your BBQ sauce and A1 sauce over the chicken.
(3) Turn the slow cooker on high and cook about 4 hours.
(4) Grab a couple of forks and shred your chicken in the slow cooker. Turn you slow cooker down to the "low" or "keep warm" setting if you have that on yours. Leave it alone for 20 or 30 minutes to give the time for the chicken to soak up all that wonderful BBQ flavor.
(5) Spoon it onto your buns (we like to toast ours in the toaster) and refrigerate your leftovers!