Crock Pot Potato Soup & Bread Bowls

This is one of my favorite crockpot meals! It is so yummy and so easy! It says that it takes 3 hours for the potatoes, but if you let it go longer... which I may have done... it still works! 

Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients:
2 & 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 small onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
32 oz chicken broth
1 tsp seasoned salt

8 oz low fat cream cheese, let sit outside of the fridge while the potatoes cook

Toppings: bacon, green onions, cheese

Instructions
1. Put the first 5 ingredients in to the crock pot.
2. Cook on high for 3 hours, or until the potatoes are soft. (or you get home!)
3. Using an immersion blender, blend the potato mixture depending on how chunky you want it,  along with the 8 oz of softened cream cheese. If you do not have an immersion blender, remove half of it and blend in a blender or food processor and then return to crockpot.
4. Heat for 30 more minutes and serve with cooked bacon crumbles, green onions and cheddar cheese.

If you want to go all out, make these bread bowls too!!

Ingredients
2½ cups warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
⅓ cup sugar
⅓ cup oil
1 Tbsp. salt
6-7 cups white all purpose flour

Instructions
1. Combine warm water (not over 105*), yeast and sugar and let sit for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.
2. Add oil, salt, and 1½ cups of flour to the yeast mixture. Mix together
3. Slowly add the rest of the flour 1 cup at a time until 5 cups total. Mix and continue to add the flour ½ cup at a time until the dough begins to clean the sides of the bowl and pulls away toward the middle. Do not add more than 7 cups of flour. Knead for 6 minutes.
4. Divide dough into 6 pieces. Make round balls. Place on large cookie sheet and let rise until doubled in size.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes.
6. Rub tops of bread bowls with butter.
Remove centers, and enjoy with soup!! 

Adapted from:
http://www.chef-in-training.com/2011/12/homemade-bread-bowls/
http://thefirstyearblog.com/baked-potato-soup/ 

Baked Wings

I made these baked wings, what seems like forever ago, when we had a Royals World Series watch party. They tasted just like ones we get at the bar and were a big hit! 

Ingredients
4 pounds chicken wings
2 tablespoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
Franks Wing Sauce

Directions: 

1. Adjust oven racks to upper middle and lower middle positions.
2. Heat the oven to 250 degrees.
3. Pat wings dry with a paper towel.
4. Place baking powder and salt in a large ziplock bag. Add chicken wings. Shake wings and make sure that they are evenly coated with baking powder and salt.
5. Cover a baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack in it. Spray it with vegetable oil spray.
6. Place chicken, skin side down, on a single layer on the wire rack.
7. Bake wings on lower middle rack for 30 minutes. Turn up the heat to 425 degrees, move it to the upper middle rack. Bake for 45-50 minutes, rotating the sheet half way through the baking to ensure through baking.
8. Take them out of the oven and let them sit for 5 minutes.
9. Place wings in a large bowl and add the hot sauce over it. Toss to coat.
10. Serve with ranch or bleu cheese dressing.

Adapted from Fool Proof Living

Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups

These are one of my new favorite go-to recipes! They are healthy and delicious! I used some of my summer zucchini that I had grated and froze. It mad it super easy to just pull it out of the freezer! 

Ingredients:

8 lasagna noodles
1 tsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 medium zucchini
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
pepper
1 3/4 cups Marinara sauce
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
fresh basil for garnish


Directions:
Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. 

Grate zucchini and squeeze dry. I use my food processor, it is super fast! 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pour about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

Cook garlic and olive oil over medium heat for about 1 minute; add zucchini, salt and pepper to taste and cook about 4-5 minutes, until soft.

Combine the cooked zucchini, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Pat the lasagna noodles dry with a paper towel. Spread ricotta mixture evenly over the noodle. Roll up the noodle, and place in baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Pour the remaining sauce over the lasagna rolls and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of each roll. Cover with foil and bake for about 40 minutes. Top with fresh basil. Enjoy! 

I think this would also make a great freezer meal, however, I never had any leftover to freeze! :)

Adapted from Skinny Taste 

Southwest Steak

This steak was so yummy and I was able to make a few meals & salads with it. 

Ingredients: 

2 t. cider vinegar

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 beef top round steak (1 inch thick and about 1 1/2 lbs.)

1 T brown sugar

1 T chili powder

1 1/2 t. cumin

1 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. salt

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

Directions: 

Mix vinegar & Worcestershire sauce. Brush over steak. 

Mix brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and cayenne until blended. Sprinkle over both sides of steak.

Grill steak, covered, over medium heat. 

Serve with potatoes, veggies, or on a salad.

Pizza on the grill

I think I have finally mastered "Pizza on the Grill"....

The key is to do everything outside.



Start with the Kitchen Aid Pizza Dough. (I doubled it and it made 7-8 mini pizzas)
Brush the grill with olive oil and turn on Low.
Make the mini pizza dough shapes, brush with olive oil and place on the grill.
Don't let the grill get too hot, I kept opening it and closing it.
Using a large spatula, turn them over after 2-3 minutes.
Keep turning every 2-3 minutes until the crust is slightly golden brown.
Gather your friends and start an assembly line! Add the toppings.
Close the lid of the grill for 1-2 minutes and allow for the cheese to melt.
Open it up until the pizzas look perfect!

Enjoy!

Grilled Veggie & Feta Pitas

I love summer! I love grilling! I love these grilled veggies! 

This is a super easy recipe. 

Ingredients: 

1 zucchini 

1 red pepper

1 red onion

Italian dressing

1 T honey

feta

Veggie seasoning (optional)

Bread or Pita for serving

Directions: 

Chop veggies and place in bowl. 

Pour 1/2-1/3 cup of Italian dressing over the veggies. Sprinkle with veggie seasoning. 

Let sit for 10 minutes. 

Heat up grill to medium heat. 

Place veggies in a veggie grill pan. 

Cook to your liking, I like mine slighlty charred. 

When veggies are finished, place them back in the bowl and add 1/4 cup Italian dressing, feta, and honey. Stir. 

Serve with pita, bread, or plain! 

Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

This is one of my favorite side dishes-- totally not healthy, but oh so yummy!

Ingredients
5 large baking potatoes
1/2 c. milk
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1 c. (8 ounces) sour cream
2 t. dried parsley
1 t. garlic salt
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
8 slices bacon crispy cooked and crumbled

3 green onions, sliced

Instructions
Preheat oven 350*.
Peel, quarter, and boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until soft. 

Drain potatoes and and beat with a mixer until smooth. 

Add milk, cream cheese, sour cream, parsley, garlic salt, and nutmeg. 

Beat at a medium-high speed until nice and creamy. 

Add salt to taste keeping in mind that the cheese and bacon will add a little salt later.
Spoon into a 8x8 baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. 

Top with cheddar cheese and bacon. 

Cover and bake for 30 minutes. 

Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese melts.
Top with green onions.

Beef Short Ribs in the Crockpot

If you are a regular reader, you know how much I love crockpot meals on Sunday! This one was a good one. It reminded me a lot of pot roast! You could probably sub out a different meat and get a similar taste!

Ingredients:

3 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 T. canola oil
4 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 c. beef broth
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 large onions, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. tomato paste (or a T of ketchup, if you don't have tomato paste open)
2 c. dry red wine or beef broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Brown ribs in batches on all sides; transfer to a 4- or 5-qt. slow cooker. 

Add carrots, broth, thyme and bay leaf to ribs.
Add onions to same skillet; cook and stir over medium heat 8-9 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and tomato paste; cook 1 minute longer. 

Stir in wine. 

Bring to a boil; cook 8-10 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. 

Add to slow cooker.

Cook, covered, on low 6-8 hours or until meat is tender.Discard thyme and bay leaf.

     

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

These were so good, but took a while to prepare!

Ingredients
4 large poblano peppers
2 dried ancho chiles
1 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 lb. 90% lean ground sirloin
2 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 cups precooked brown rice (such as Uncle Ben's Ready Rice)
3 ounces queso fresco, crumbled and divided (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 T.fresh lime juice
1/2 T ground cumin
1 t. sugar
1 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
Cooking spray
1/4 cup cilantro leaves

Directions

• Preheat broiler.
• On a foil-lined baking sheet; broil poblanos for 12 minutes or until blackened, flip over after 6 minutes. 
• Place in a paper bag; fold to close tightly. Let stand 15 minutes. 
• Cut a lengthwise slit in each pepper; discard seeds and membranes. Set aside.
• While poblanos broil, place ancho chiles in a bowl. Cover with boiling water; let stand 10 minutes. 
• Drain.
• Reduce oven temperature to 400°.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Add onion and garlic; cook 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. 
• Reserve half of onion mixture. 
• Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and beef; cook 8 minutes or until beef is done, stirring to crumble. Remove from heat. 
• Add cream cheese, stirring until well combined. Stir in rice and half of queso fresco.
• Place ancho chiles, reserved onion mixture, juice, cumin, sugar, tomatoes, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a blender; process until smooth. 
• Pour 1/2 cup sauce into a square glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. 
• **I used gloves for the next step**
• Open each poblano chile; flatten slightly with hand. Divide beef mixture evenly among chiles (chiles will be very full). Top evenly with remaining sauce and queso. 
• Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until bubbly, or follow freezing instructions. 
• Sprinkle with cilantro after cooking.

Notes from Cooking Light:

TO FREEZE: These do best in a shallow vessel, so follow the recipe instructions to use a standard 8-inch square dish. Cover tightly with heavy-duty foil; freeze up to 2 months.
TO REHEAT: No thawing step is necessary. Remove foil, and cover dish tightly with plastic wrap. Pierce plastic wrap 4 or 5 times. Microwave at HIGH for 14 to 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. (We tried oven reheating and don't recommend it.)

                                          

Adapted from Cooking Light 2014

Stacked Chicken Enchiladas

One of my goals this year is to try new healthier recipes. I have a subscription to Cooking Light, and have torn out many recipes! This week for my menu planning, I went off of ones that I had recently torn out of my magazines.

These stacked chicken enchiladas were yummy, but a little more work than I thought they would be. I think part of it was that I bought the cheap chicken ($1.77 for 1.5 lbs!)... with skin and bones and had to remove the skin and then de-bone the cooked chicken! I think you could probably make this with rotisserie chicken and speed up the process! I also had a major spill with the salsa Verde, did not have the limes that the recipe called for, the paper towels fell in the sink, and the salt and pepper shakers fell on my candle and shattered it!  Not my day! :)

Ingredients: 
2 tablespoons canola oil
1.5 lbs chicken thighs
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. ground red pepper
1 white onion chopped
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15-ounce) can organic whole peeled tomatoes, un-drained
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
1 16 oz jar of salsa Verde
Cooking spray
corn tortillas
Shredded pepper-Jack cheese

1/2 cup fresh tomato

Directions: 

1. Place a small roasting pan in oven. Preheat oven to 425° (leave roasting pan in oven as it preheats).
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with cumin, salt, and pepper. Add chicken to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Turn chicken over, and place in the preheated roasting pan. Add onion, garlic, and tomatoes to pan; bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until chicken is done. 
3. Cool. Shred chicken (remove bones if necessary); toss with tomato mixture. (I used a mixer to shred my chicken and chop up the whole tomatoes a bit)
4. Combine 3/4 cup cilantro and salsa verde; spread 1/4 cup salsa mixture in the bottom of an 11 x 7-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. 
5. Top with tortillas, half of chicken mixture, and 1/4 cup salsa mixture. 
6. Repeat layers. 
7. Top with remaining tortillas and remaining salsa mixture; sprinkle evenly with cheese and fresh tomatoes. 
8. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until golden; sprinkle with remaining cilantro. 

** I made this in 2 8x8 pans, and froze half of it

Adapted from: Julianna Grimes, Cooking Light
MARCH 2014

Zucchini Meatballs

Need a sneaky way to get in your veggies? Or use up some fresh ones before they go bad? These meatballs are awesome! I made them using my food processor to grate the zucchini and onion and stir up the meat!

Ingredients: 

1small zucchini
1/4 small white onion
4 garlic cloves
1lb ground beef (use turkey if you want to be super healthy!)
1 egg white
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs (the original recipe used 1/2 cup panko, which I didn't have on hand)

Directions

Grate the zucchini and onion in the food processor, using the attachment, add in garlic.

Change the blade to the S shaped plastic blade, and add in remaining ingredients.

Shape in to meatballs and place on lightly greased rack.

Bake at 400* for 20-25 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through.

Serve with your favorite sauce and noodles or on a hogie bun for a meatball sub!

These are a great thing to eat half of, and freeze the rest! When you are ready to eat them, pop them in the microwave for 4-5 minutes, or bake them at 350* for 20-25 minutes.

Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats