Great Halloween Supper--Ready when you are!

Do you love Halloween?  I don't know about you, but here, in The Woodlands, TX, we have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of cooler temperatures.  They have finally arrived and this wonderful crock pot enchilada casserole is great for a chilly night.  This recipe can be made late in the day, as it requires only 2  hours of cooking. You can whip it up this afternoon and have it for supper after a round of trick or treating. 

Sometimes when we have some leftover queso, I add that in
as one of my layers.  It makes this dish super tasty and creamy!

Here's all you need to know:

INGREDIENTS
1 to 1 1/2 lb. ground beef or ground turkey (LEAN)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bottle of Taco Sauce (old El Paso or Taco Bell brands will do)
1 can of Enchilada Sauce.  (I recommend Hatch brand Tex-Mex Enchilada Sauce)
1 can reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup
1 can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
1 4 oz. can of chopped green chiles
1 package of shredded cheddar cheese (I use reduced fat)
12 tortillas (I use low-fat, whole wheat, and always buy 2 packages, b/c sometimes 12 isn't enough)

DIRECTIONS

1. Brown ground beef/turkey with onion and drain.
2. Cut tortillas into fourths, like little pieces of pie.
3. (Reserve 1/4 c. of enchilada sauce) Mix together the enchilada sauce, taco sauce, soups and green chiles.  Add ground beef and onion and mix to incorporate.
4. Add the reserved 1/4 c. of enchilada sauce to crock pot that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Add next a layer of tortillas, meat and sauce mixture, sprinkle with shredded cheese and repeat.  I like to end with a layer of tortillas.
6. Cook on low for 2 hours, then change setting to warm until you are ready to serve. 

We enjoy this delicious Tex-Mex Enchilada Casserole with taco salad.  It's one of our favorite crock pot dishes.  Enjoy!

Moroccan Chicken--spicing up the crockpot

It's nice to begin to feel the change of seasons down here in The Woodlands, TX.  It takes us a while to get the wheels in motion and our temps are all over the map.  What does that have to do with cooking, you say?  Well, it's hard to get excited about anything in the crockpot when it's still hotter than blue blazes.  The crockpot is a staple in my kitchen because I can prep all the food for the recipe, put it the crockpot and cook it on low if it's early in the day, or on high if it's later in the day.  Regardless, it helps me get a good dinner on the table for my family and out of the drive-thru lines. 


I especially like this dish because you can choose the type of chicken that you prefer.  It has flavors that we don't eat a lot of, but the change is good and so were the reviews!




INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 lbs. of chicken (I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs b/c they stay juicy and tender.  I cut every last bit of fat off the thighs before putting them in the crock pot.  You can also use chicken breasts or drumsticks)
1 (8 oz.) can pineapple tidbits or chunks in juice, drained
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried marjoram leaves
3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp. ground tumeric (or a dash of ground ginger if you just can't be bothered to pick up some tumeric, b/c I bet your are wondering what in the heck that is.  It's good, though and gives this dish its intense yellow-orangish color)
1 T. corn starch
1 T. cold water
1/4 c. sliced green olives with pimentos (if you or your peeps don't care for olives, just omit.  We LOVE olives, so I add more.  Or you can add them to the individual servings if that works better for you)
1 T. chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. Place chicken into crockpot.  Mix pineapple, onion, garlic, lemon juice, salt, marjoram, red pepper, and tumeric; pour over chicken.
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours.  When ready to serve, remove chicken from crockpot and place on serving dish and cover to keep warm.
3. Skim any fat from sauce.  Mix cornstarch and water and stir into sauce.
4. Cover and cook on HIGH for about 15 minutes to thicken the sauce.  Stir in olives.
5. Pour sauce over chicken and sprinkle with parsley.

***I serve mine with tri-colored couscous prepared with chicken stock instead of water.  I also serve steamed broccoli tossed with sauteed garlic, lime juice and a sprinkling of crushed red pepper.

Greek Meatball Pitas--"Opa!"

This wonderful Greek Meatball Pita was an easy
weeknight addition to "sandwich night".  The meatballs
are so flavorful and I nibbled on them later in the week,
too!  They were great for lunch on the run. 

Still running?  Me, too!  Still trying to find a creative way to work "sandwich night" into your menu rotation?  Me, too!  How about some DELICIOUS warm, pita sandwiches?  I love making things with meatballs!  First of all, I can make the dish in stages.  I can mix up the meat with seasonings and what have you, seal it and stick in the fridge and run out the door.  I can come in and use my handy dandy medium scoop to make perfectly sized meatballs and line them on a baking sheet, cover them, and pop them back into the fridge.  I am probably on to two different carlines and at least one run to Boni's before I can pop them into the oven and bake them to perfection!  Add the incredibly tasty yogurt sauce and you've just hit a homerun.  (Use fat free Greek yogurt and you've not only saved calories and fat, but you've added valuable protein to your meal!)

Here's how I did it:

INGREDIENTS

This Greek Seasoning is great! 
I use it in ADDITION to my fave,
Cavender's Greek Seasoning.  This
is great in quinoa and couscous, too.

1 lb ground beef (I used ground turkey breast)
1 tsp. Cavender's Greek Seasoning
1 1/2 tsp. Greek Seasoning (McCormick brand--it has oregano, minced onion, and majoram)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt and pepper
Whole Wheat Pitas
2 cups shredded lettuce (I use Romaine)
1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese (I use reduced fat)

SAUCE
1/2 cucumber, peeled and grated
1 1/2 tsp. Cavender's Greek Seasoning
1 container (~7 oz.) FAT FREE Greek Yogurt
3 T. chopped mint
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp. salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

I work in stages.  After rolling out my little meat-
balls, I popped them into the fridge to wait until I
was ready to bake them.  If you do this, too, make
sure to PREHEAT your oven to 500 and take out
the meatballs and allow them to come to room temp.

1.  Sandwiches:  Heat the oven to 500 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine the beef/turkey, seasonings, garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper.  Using a handy dandy medium scoop, scoop out a portion of the mixture and roll into a ball.  I place these on a foil lined (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray) baking sheet.  You can use a rack in your pan to lift the meatballs off the baking sheet to get an all round brown, but it works just fine right on the baking sheet if you don't have a rack. Bake for 10 minutes.

2.  Sauce:  Squeeze excess water from the cucumber in paper towels.  In a small bowl, stir  together yogurt, cucumber, mint, lemon juice, salt, pepper and Cavender's Greek Seasoning. 

3.  Serve:  Wrap pitas in foil and place in the oven for 3 minutes.  Remove warmed pitas from the oven, stuff with shredded Romaine lettuce, meatballs and top with sauce.  You can add a sprinkling of feta on top for garnish.
 "Opa!"

Coq Au Vin all up in the Crock Pot!

I am still responding to my fabulous FB fans who asked for crock pot recipes.  I have been carrying on a love affair with my crock pot for some time now.  I love that it makes me look like a cooking rock star at the end of the day!  It's great for busy folks who are always on the run, especially during the dinner prep hours. 



I wish you have scratch and sniff internet b/c this dish is
incredible!  It's so easy to make and so full of flavor.  Even mon
petite chous loved it!  Fancy, schmancy--just down right delicious!



I had someone ask me if you can make Coq Au Vin without wine.  And the answer is you can, but it's no longer Coq Au Vin.  Coq Au Vin actually means chicken in wine.  I love how the wonderful flavors from the wine permeate the chicken with an incredible bold flavor.  Now this isn't your Julia Child's fancy schmancy recipe that takes hours to prepare.  Quite honestly, I've never had Julia's version, which I am sure is divine, but she never spent 2 hours in carpool, dressing, dropping and discussing all the while. 





You are going to LOVE this dish, as will your family.  Let me tell you EXACTLY what to do. 

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs., boneless, skinless chicken thighs with all visible fat removed

1 1/2 tsp. herbes de Provence

3/4 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 c. thawed frozen pearl onions

2 large chopped carrots

1 c. dry RED wine

2 T. tomato paste

2 c. quartered white mushrooms

Whole wheat egg noodles

DIRECTIONS

1. Spray the crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.



2. Place chicken thighs in the crock pot and season with herbes de Provence, garlic salt and black pepper.  Add pearl onions and chopped carrots.  Stir together tomato paste and red wine and pour over ingredients already in the crock pot.

3. Cove and cook on HIGH for 5 1/2 hours or LOW for 7 1/2 hours. 

4. Cook pasta according to package directions and serve Coq Au Vin over noodles.



Hearty Potato Soup

Who doesn't LOVE potato soup?  This is a super
easy recipe and your entire family will gobble it up!

When I asked you today what kind of recipes you were looking for, hands down, you replied you wanted crock pot recipes.  Recently I was telling some girlfriends about a potato soup made in the crockpot with frozen hash browns.  It's not just a great crock pot recipe, but it's one that you can just dump into the crock pot and forget about it. 

Here's what to do:

INGREDIENTS

1 med onion diced

Olive oil

4 cups Orida Southern Style Hash Brown Potatoes

1 can chicken broth

1-2 cloves of garlic, pressed

1/2 tsp. onion salt

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1/4 tsp. basil

crushed red pepper to taste

1 pint 1/2 and 1/2 (I use FAT FREE)

green onions, crumbled bacon and cheddar cheese for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Saute onion in a swirl of olive oil until soft.  Remove to slow cooker.  Add potatoes, broth, seasonings and half and half.  Cook on low for 5 hours.

It's the easiest baked potato soup you've ever had.  Delicious and hearty, too.  : )

An Alternative to Sandwich Night

Are you really tired of fighting the "sandwich night" battle?  The reality is that we are all so busy with our children's activities.  There are year-round sports, competitive dance, cheer, gymnastics, band, choir, orchestra and a great number of other activities that keep us on the go.  Busy nights with super-packed schedules are great from crock pot meals and sandwiches, but have you thought about PIZZA?  I make pizza at home a lot and find it easier and easier to incorporate leftovers from previous dinners to make outstanding "fancy" pizzas that even wow the most skeptical of skeptics. 

Remember that wonderful weeknight flank steak with Argentinian Herb Sauce?  How about those roasted southwestern potatoes?  Well I am going to tell you how to use the remnants of last night's meal to make one heck of a dynamic do-over. 

This is what my pizza looked like before going into
the oven.  I like to put sauce and toppings right
up to the edge of the crust!

INGREDIENTS
leftover flank steak, sliced thin
leftover Argentinian herb sauce
leftover roasted potatoes
olive oil
1 small red onion, sliced very thinly
1 c. sliced baby bella mushrooms
2 c. reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese
2 Ultra Thin Mama Mary's ready made pizza crusts (1 package has two crusts inside)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven according to package directions.  (It's usually around 425)
2. Brush the crusts lightly with olive oil.
3. Spread herb sauce evenly over both pizza crusts.
4. Lightly top with a handful of mozzarella cheese.
5. Add toppings:  steak, thinly sliced southwestern potatoes, sliced baby bella mushrooms, sliced red onion, and any additional toppings you might like.
6. Finish with another handful or two of mozzarella cheese.
7. Bake, according to package directions, usually about 7 to 10 minutes.  Do not use a baking sheet, but instead put crusts directly onto the oven rack, for crisp crust.



Ready to slice and serve.

Remove from the oven grasping the corner of the pizza with long tongs and pull it out slowly onto a large cutting board.  That's how I do it, anyway.  : )

We love to enjoy this pizza with a fresh salad and glass of red wine.  I hope you'll give this sandwich night easy alternative a try soon.



Steak with Argentenian Herb Sauce

Y'all know my family LOVES red meat. Both my girls are serious steak eaters. Although I feed them mostly chicken and fish (with lots of fresh vegetables, much to their chagrin), they still long for steak. We usually reserve "steak night" for weekends, and since my girls have expensive tastes and prefer a filet to any other cut of meat, I had to get creative. I have found with the right seasoning, dry rub and meat tenderizer that a lean flank steak can be a great weeknight treat for my meat lovers! 

The secret to keeping this cut of meat tender is to
use meat tenderizer and allow the steak seasoning
to do it's work.  We prefer ours medium rare and the
juices are seared inside.  So tasty!

The best part of this meal is making a little extra so we can have an easy steak & potatoes pizza as a dynamic do-over.  Here's what to do:

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. of LEAN flank steak
Meat tenderizer
1 large clove of garlic, pressed or minced
1-2 T. of McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning

(ARGENTINE HERB SAUCE INGREDIENTS)
1 c. packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 c. packed fress cilantro leaves
1 large clove of garlic (use 2 if they are small)
3 T. Olive Oil
2 T. White Wine Vinegar
1/4 tsp.dried oregano
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Sprinkle steak with meat tenderizer on both sides. Rub 1 to 2 T. of the Montreal Steak Seasoning, along with the crushed garlic, into the meat. Seal in a large ziplock bag or plastic tub. Store overnight in the refrigerator. Take out 30 minutes prior to cooking to allow meat to come to room temperature.
2. Grill to desired doneness, but I recommend cooking no longer than medium. (We prefer ours medium rare, but that's really personal preference)
3. To prepare the herb sauce, combine parsley, cilantro and garlic in the blender adn pulse until finely chopped. Add oil, vinegar, oregano, red pepper and 1/8 tsp of both salt and fresh ground pepper, pulse to blend.
4. Serve with roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli. (And don't forget the wine. I suggest a full-bodied red)

I serve this with rustic cowboy potatoes.  Sometimes I do the traditional roasted rosemary potatoes, but these are so tasty and go great on that dynamic do-over pizza.

Wish I had a pic of just the potatoes, but you can see
how wonderful the whole meal looks here. 
Broccolini was a delicious as well.  : )

1 bag of baby red potatoes (or new potatoes)
1 onion, chopped into large chunks
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 T. Adams Best Southwest Ancho Rub
1/2 tsp. salt and cracked black pepper to taste
1 T. olive oil
2 T. fresh chopped parsley

Preheat your oven to 425.  Slice the small red potatoes into rounds about 1/4 " thickness.  It doesn't have to be exact, but you want the thickness to be about the same so they cook evenly.  Toss the potatoes with the onion, garlic, southwest seasoning, salt & pepper, olive oil and parsley.  Turn out onto a baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until the edges are browned.

Fishing for Compliments

Fish.  Well, that's one I'm not an expert on.  When I was growing up we NEVER ate fish at my house.  My mother does not like fish and she does not cook fish.  The only way I remember having fish at home was at my grandmother's house.  It was rolled in corn meal and deep fried along with some homemade hushpuppies.  Well, you can rest assured that there will be no frying in my house, but I am very interested in getting my people to eat more fish!

This crispy coating gives this baked mahi mahi its satisfying
crunch.  It's a great way to introduce fish into your family's
diet.  And I am sure you won't have to "fish" for compliments!

My husband is not much of a fish eater.  He's more of the cornmeal, deep fried fish with hushpuppies kind of fellow.  I have gotten him to eat mahi mahi grilled, but it's not his favorite.  I like this particular recipe because I use panko bread crumbs and bake the fish in the oven.  To get it crisp on both bottom and top, I use a metal cooling rack, placed directly onto a cookie sheet.  It works like a charm. 

I chose mahi mahi because of it's firm texture and mild flavor, but you could use any white fish such as tilapia, or whatever your family likes best.  Here's what to do:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lemons
• 2 eggs whites (I use the kind from the carton)
• 1 c. panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 4 (4 oz.) fillets, (I used mahi mahi)
• 2 tsp. salt, divided
• Olive oil
• 1 (16 oz.) package of spinach fettuccine
• 1 c. chopped sweet onion
• 4 cloves of garlic, pressed
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can of petite diced tomatoes
• 2 T. drained capers
• 1/4 c. reduced fat crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh basil

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Grate zest from lemons to equal 4 tsp.  Cut lemons in half, squeeze juice into a measuring cup to equal 2 T.  Combine panko, paprika, and 2 tsp. of lemon zest in a shallow dish.  Sprinkle fish with 1 tsp. salt.  Dip fish into the egg whites, dredge in panko mixture, pressing panko to adhere.  Place fish on a lightly greased cooking rack (like I mentioned before) on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and fish flakes with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the pasta according to package directions.  Add a swirl of olive oil to a large non-stick skillet.  Add onion and saute over medium high heat for about 5 to 6 minutes.  Add garlic and cook 1 minute.  Add tomatoes, and cook 5 to 6 minutes or until tomato mixture begins to thicken.  Stir in 2 T. of lemon juice, 2 T. of capers, and remaining 2 tsp. of lemon zest and 1 tsp. of salt.  Cook 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove from heat, toss with hot cooked pasta, feta cheese and basil.  Serve with fish.

My family LOVED this meal.  My girls started out sharing one 4 oz. fillet, but both asked for seconds and gobbled up the other fillet.  This went wonderfully with a great chardonnay and would pair nicely with a sauvignon blanc as well.