Crockpot: Creamy Chicken Casserole

I can't believe it's been so long since I've made a post! In my defense, it is December.. & if you know me at all, you know I've been baking for the last month! And during the winter, I rely on my crockpot to make my life easier. I've got pork chops in the crockpot now, but I want to taste them before I share the recipe (I made it up, I don't want to make anyone gag! haha).

This recipe is one I've been making for years--always a crowd pleaser & so easy.

Crockpot Creamy Chicken Casserole

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of potato soup

1 can cheddar cheese soup

Any favorite spices: I used 2 cloves minced garlic & some cracked black pepper.

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Place chicken in crockpot & pour all soups over chicken. Sprinkle on favorite spices; stir well. Turn on low for 6-8 hours. (You can also use cream of broccoli or cream of mushroom, instead of potato, if you'd like. I've also cut up fresh broccoli & added it to the dish when I used cream of broccoli soup. Broccoli Rabe also works. Just wash it well, dice it up & add it before cooking. It will be nice & tender by the time you're ready to eat.)

Serve over rice.

Creamy Crockpot Pork Chops

I pulled a packet of 4 pork chops out last night before bed, because I started feeling crummy last night & knew I wouldn't want to cook today. I threw the pork chops in the crockpot this morning with:

1 can of cream of mushroom

1/3 cup of heavy cream

4 tbsp butter

garlic salt--to taste (I use a lot. I love garlic.)

&

cracked black pepper--to taste

My house smells wonderful. I couldn't help myself, so I took a spoon to taste the sauce. It's awesome. I plan on serving these pork chops with potatoes & french style green beans.

And I intend on trying some new cookie recipes this week/weekend, so I'll share those as well.

I can't sleep...

My granny passed away just a couple hours ago... She was 87 years old. My great granny... Erin's great-great granny... I have been very lucky to have become so close to my great grandparents. Having had all that time with granny actually makes losing her harder, because I've had the opportunity to spend quality time with her. I realize that I've been very blessed, and I don't take a second of my time with her for granted... I have spent hours talking with her about the past, about my family members that I never got the opportunity to meet, the Depression, wars, marriage, motherhood, cooking, food... it was like stepping into a time capsule & living through the history with her. My granny taught me about true love. She married my great grandpa Jesse when she was a teenager... he passed away unexpectedly in 1979 and she never dated another man. As she said, "He was the only man for me." It was as simple as that.



She gave birth to six children, four boys, two girls. Her oldest daughter, Joyce, died as a teenager... so, granny was quite familiar with heartache. But she didn't let her pain show; she was made of steel. She'd hold back her own tears, but not give you trouble if you let yours flow. She was the backbone of our family. Our strongest link... She told me of troubles in her lifetime with a smile on her face. "Well, I made it through it, didn't I?" Followed by a little giggle. I can hear her laugh & see her smile when I close my eyes. She was amazingly blunt; I loved that about her. I loved everything about her. "That was pretty dumb of him, now wasn't it?" (I'll let that story stay between me & granny.)

Her memory was like no other that I've ever come to know. She remembered things from her childhood, ages that I can't recall at the age of 25, let alone 87! Granny was an incredibly remarkable woman, and that is an understatement. I can't help but giggle when I think about the 45 minute conversation we once had about food. Not cooking it, but different things we both enjoy eating. Like dark chocolate, fried pork-chops, and chili. Not necessarily in that order. :)

I thank God for allowing us the time we've had with her... I'm grateful that I was able to introduce my daughter to her great-great grandmother... Granny fed Erin & burped her. "Granny, want me to burp her?" "What? No. I'll do it. I've got plenty of experience in that department." She told me with a smile on her face & a little chuckle. My goodness... I already miss her so much. I've got tons of pictures and yet, I wish I had taken more. As little as she's been the last few years, she still gave bear hugs. And held my hand so tight, every time I told her I loved her.

I could go on for hours... so I think I'll end this entry with this... I love you, granny. Thank you so much for being the sweet, strong, intelligent, wonderfully optimistic country woman I've always adored. I will miss you till we meet again. <3

'Distraction' Baking

I need to distract myself.... So I'll bake.

Peanut Butter Cookies with Crushed Peanut M&Ms

(Steve's request)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup sifted all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Crushed Peanut M&Ms

(Optional, amount is however much you like.)

Cream peanut butter, butter, sugar, & brown sugar. Add egg. Sift together dry ingredients & blend with peanut butter mixture. Drop by rounded spoonfuls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet (I line mine with parchment paper). Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Thank you, Gramma Vicki, for the peanut butter cookie recipe (Minus the M&Ms). <3

Cocoa Cola Cake!

This recipe for Cocoa Cola Cake tastes better than the one Cracker Barrel serves. Not kidding. I can't lie though, I didn't create this one, it's from my cookbook "Cake Mix Creations" by Taste of Home. Try it out, everyone who loves chocolate will LOVE this. Pecans can be replaced with chopped walnuts (I prefer walnuts in this cake.).



Cocoa Cola Cake

1 pkg white cake mix (18-1/4 oz)

1 cup regular coke

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-1/2 cup mini marshmallows

Fudge frosting:

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1/2 cup butter, cubed

1/3 cup regular coke

4 cups confectioner's sugar

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, cola, eggs, buttermilk, butter, cocoa, and vanilla; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Fold in marshmallows. Pour into a greased 13x9x2 in. baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, for frosting, in a small saucepan, combine cocoa & butter. Cook over low heat until butter is melted. Stir in coke until blended. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Fold in pecans. Spread over cake. Let stand for 20 minutes before cutting.

12-15 Servings.. depending on how big you like your slices. Great with a small scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Enjoy!

Before I forget!

I made a few things this week, but thanks to the little one, I haven't posted a new blog. :)

And I didn't take any pictures. But trust, all 3 of these came out AWESOME.

Fresh Basil Mayo

1 cup of GOOD mayo (NOT Miracle Whip!)

3 leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, crushed

Little bit of lemon juice, about a tsp.

Cracked Black Pepper

Dash of salt

Mix all of these ingredients together & use on your favorite sandwich! Unless of course your favorite sandwich is a PB&J. Use common sense. LOL. Refrigerate in an airtight container.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Use the regular ingredients & directions for Bisquick pancakes but add:

1 can (15 oz) Pumpkin puree

2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 heaping tbsp of cinnamon

Mix well & cook as you would regular pancakes! That simple. I sprinkled 'em with powdered sugar before serving. :)

They are extra dense, so they will take longer to cook than regular pancakes.

Crockpot Creamy Chicken Soup

2 cans Cream of Chicken soup

3 cups chicken broth

1 can evaporated milk

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Your favorite vegetables (I used 2 cans of veggies)

Cracked Pepper

Garlic Salt

Place all ingredients in crockpot, stir, then cover & turn on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with fresh bread or cornbread muffins. (I poured mine over elbow noodles to make it more filling, but this isn't necessary.)

Enjoy!!

Happy Halloween!!!



Easy Chicken & Dumplings

I made this dish in my crockpot last week and couldn't take a picture of it, because after my husband & I had eaten a giant bowl each, we discovered that the veggies I used for the soup had been recalled. Lovely. And it was so good, too! That figures, huh?

Anyhow, here it goes:

(Just don't buy Great Value mixed veggies.. lol)

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 cloves fresh garlic, crushed

Cracked black pepper, to taste

1 regular bag of mixed veggies (corn, green beans, carrots)

1 medium white onion, diced

2 cans Cream of Chicken soup

1 can chicken broth

Mix all of the ingredients together in your crockpot & cook on low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours. About 35-40 minutes before serving, mix up 2 & 3/4 cup bisquick with about 1 cup of water. You want the mix to look moist.

Drop by the spoonfuls on top of soup, then cover for 35-40 minutes.

I usually sprinkle black pepper & garlic salt on top of dumplings after I drop the spoonfuls in the crockpot.

Enjoy!!

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Pumpkin cupcakes are an awesome addition to anyone's fall recipes. If you enjoy a nice slice of pumpkin bread, you'll love the flavor of these little gems. Pumpkin bread is incredibly moist & heavy, these cupcakes are incredibly moist & light. You can leave them be or top them with cream cheese icing. (I'd rather eat them plain, honestly.)

1 box (regular or reduced sugar) yellow cake mix

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin (NOT pie filling, just pumpkin)

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

3 eggs

Yup. That's it! Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl & pour into greased cupcake  liners. Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes.

Test with a toothpick to make sure the inside is cooked.

This is what your end product should look like:

Not sure how to rotate it, but you get the point!

Happy Harvest!

Easy & Tasty :)

Linzer Bars:

So here's a recipe that looks as though you put a lot of work into it, when in reality--it's so easy, my 8-year-old nephew could handle it. Maybe. ;)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 roll (16.5 oz size) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies

1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/4 cup sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS

• Heat oven to 350°F. In ungreased 8-inch square pan, break up cookie dough. With floured fingers, press dough evenly in bottom of pan to form crust. Bake 12 to 17 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
• Meanwhile, in small saucepan, mix preserves and cornstarch. Cook over medium heat just until boiling, stirring constantly.
• Remove crust from oven. Pour preserves mixture evenly over crust; spread to within 1/4 inch of edges. Sprinkle evenly with almonds.
• Return to oven; bake 10 minutes longer. Cool completely, about 1 hour. For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows.

If you'd like to see a picture of these cookies, click on this link:

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/linzer-bars/250d44ad-003b-4809-8635-45a78444d0da/

I made these about two years ago and loved how it impressed people with little effort on my behalf! I doubled the recipe; instead of using an 8 inch pan, use one that's about 13x9? Use your best judgement on pan size. :)

Beer Bread

Rule of Beer Bread:

The better the beer, the better the bread.

And never use a green bottled beer, like Heineken. The bread will turn out... not so great tasting.

The best beers to use for this recipe are Harp or Guiness... something rich & dark. However, I didn't have either of those, so I used Budweiser Golden Wheat and my bread still turned out mighty tasty. What might also turn out good this time of year, is the Pumpkin Spice Ale--that would make a yummy beer bread, I would think.

ANYHOW! Here's the recipe:

2 and 1/2 cups of Self-Rising Flour (NOT All-Purpose)

2 tbsp sugar

1 bottle of beer*

2 tbsp butter

*You will not use the entire bottle. See picture of bottle.

Mix self-rising flour and sugar, then slowly add beer until the mixture looks like this:

Moist, but not runny. You will not use the entire bottle of beer; there will be about this much beer left in the bottle:

Pour the mixture into a greased, standard size, loaf pan and split the butter into 3 even dollops & drop them on the top of the mixture. Bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.

Check it with a toothpick, if the toothpick comes out clean, it's done! If not, throw it back in the oven for a few minutes.

Then, ENJOY!

October 1st

Tonight I'll be watching my nephew Skylar for a few hours while my mom & stepdad go out to dinner for their anniversary. However! Tomorrow I will be making beer bread & most likely, Pumpkin Scones (They won the popular vote against Lemon-Almond Biscotti). I will still make the biscotti soon! I love lemon, I love biscotti, & I love easy recipes! So expect a new post & recipe tomorrow. :)

Oatmeal Cookies

Sooooo incredibly easy... my favorite kinds of recipes are simple, affordable, and delicious. These cookies fall into that category. My husband loves oatmeal raisin cookies, so I figured, since I had all the ingredients of typical oatmeal cookies in the house, I would make him some today. I started searching online for an easy recipe and struck gold when I landed on this bad boy on Cooks.com:

Bisquick Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2 cups quick cooking oats

1 and 1/2 cups Bisquick

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 (5 and 1/3 oz) can of evaporated milk

Mix all ingredients together in order until moistened. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes. (I doubled this recipe & wound up with about 4 dozen rather large oatmeal cookies. You can always make yours smaller, but that's not how I roll. ;)

And if you bake cookies regularly and have a not so great oven, such as myself, you should know that to make the best, evenly cooked cookies, only bake one pan at a time. It's time consuming but oh-so-worth-it in the long run.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I enjoy baking, I enjoy cooking, but things I do not enjoy include (but are certainly not limited to) spending lots of money on meals/desserts and spending tons of time in the kitchen. I prefer to spend very little money on delicious eats and prefer to spend my time with my family. So any and all recipes that I will share on my page will always be affordable and never time consuming. You can thank me later. ;)

Cupcakes, Scones, & Biscotti--Oh My!

I'm planning on starting my fall baking soon; it's a tradition of mine. :)

This year I want to try out some new recipes. Pumpkin Scones, Lemon Biscotti, & Apple cupcakes with old fashioned brown sugar icing. (The icing is new on the apple cake, but I have made the cake before & it is AMAZING.)

My question is.. which one should I try first? I've got everything for the biscotti, so that would be the logical choice. I love the smells of fall though, & as soon as I purchase a can of pumpkin & a bag of apples, I'll have the ingredients to make all three! Yummmm. Pictures will be posted of the final products, as well as recipes if they turn out as delicious as I think they will.

Wish me luck! (My goal is to make readers wish their computer screens were scratch & sniffs. haha! :)

My Reason For Blogging

So... I wanted to start a blog, because I have IDEAS. Ideas about baking, ideas about life in general--how it is and how it should be. (I love philosophy and sometimes, it might show.)

I love my life. And I don't mean for that to sound as cliche as I'm sure it did when you read it, but I truly adore everything about my life. My daughter, my husband, my family, my friends, my dogs... my little home. Sure, it could be bigger, but it's 'ours.' And I've learned to be grateful for what I have and to make the most of it. (No one likes a 'pity party host!')

Know what I really love about my little home besides the fact that my family lives here? My kitchen. It's my favorite room in the house. I love creating tasty meals and treats for my loved ones to share and give input on. So, that will probably be the main basis for this blog. Well... that, and my occasional 'life' rant. But who doesn't need an outlet? This space will be mine. :)