Corned Beef

So, this was super easy... a recipe from my mom.....

I found a corned beef slab that was labeled as gluten free so that is what I started with. Put it in the crockpot covered with water and all the juices that came with the beef all day.

When the time came I took it out of the crock pot, put it in a shallow baking dish.

Mixed 3ish tbsp Dijon mustard, 1ish tbsp paprika and 2-3 tbsp brown sugar, then spread it on the beef. Placed the dish in the oven, preheated to 375. Cooked until the glaze crystallized and then sliced it against the grain and served with horseradish sauce.

The kids LOVED it!!!

I just want to apologize for being such a slacker the last few months with posting! We had a burst water pipe back in January that flooded our kitchen, so we had to rip up all the flooring, replace drywall, etc....etc..... and since we were remodeling.......yeah, so anyway, my kitchen has been a mess for months. It is finally, mostly put back together....so cooking should resume full force soon.

I've got a thousand recipes I want to try out......so hopefully in a few weeks we will be back in business!!!

Sundried tomato and chicken pasta

1 can diced mild green chilis
2-3 cloves garlic
1 cup re-hydrated sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1 cup 4 cheese Italian blend cheese
1/2 -1 cup grated Parmesan
1 can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup mayo
2-3 cups leftover diced chicken breasts

pkg of noodles, cooked and drained. ( I used Tinkyada spaghetti noodles)

Mix all ingredients (except noodles) in crock pot, turn on low and let it cook for the afternoon, stir it once or twice. Serve over noodles.

**I didn't salt/pepper it because the chicken had a LOT of seasoning on it from being grilled the day before, so you may want to season your sauce more based on what kind of leftover chicken you use.**

**(I used 2 cans evaporated milk because I have lots of boys to feed, but I tried to cut the recipe down to a more manageable size for the "general public" so it may need to be tweaked a little when you start playing with it)**

Sloppy Joe's

So a friend of mine was making sloppy joes a while back for her kids and I've been craving them ever since. I wanted to try making my own sauce and leave it in the crockpot so the boys can eat when they have a chance.....soccer season.....Anyway, here is the recipe I used.

1 lb ground sirloin
1 lb ground turkey breast

Saute that in a pan until cooked through and crumbly.

Meanwhile in a crockpot mix together the following:

1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup bbq sauce
3-4 tablespoons water
3 tablespoon brown sugar
3 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt

stir all that together and add cooked meat, leave on lowest setting with lid on crockpot to let the sauce get all yummy and enjoy!

BTW.....I called French's to inquire about their Worcestershire sauce and was told that the sauce and all their mustards are gluten free. Just so ya know!

Personally I would have liked to add onion and peppers to the meat while saute-ing BUT then certain boys wouldn't eat it if there were chunks in it....so plain it is. I think I will cook up some veggies on the side and stir it into mine and whichever boys decide they want some too.

Banana's Foster

Been meaning to try this since the summer, when Grant and I discovered the Banana's Foster Sundae's at Culvers......

4-6 bananas peeled and sliced thick

1/4 cup Rum (I used Capt. Morgan)
4 tbsp butter melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

slice banana's in crock pot. Mix rest of ingredients in bowl, pour over banana's. Cover and cook on low 2-3 hours. I just put this in, so I will have to get back to you on how it turns out. I can not imagine it will be anything but YUM, tho!

I plan on serving it with vanilla ice cream.

ok, not as good as Culvers......thinking it needs less rum, more butter ......I added some jarred butterscotch ice cream sauce and that made it better. Sean ate his without complaints tho!!

Warm blueberries and apples

2 cups frozen blueberries
3-5 large apples, I used Macintosh, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oats (added another cup at the end)
3-4 tbsp melted butter
1-2 tsp cinnamon
1-2 tbsp gf flour blend

Place the apples and blueberries in crock pot, add 1-2 tbsp lemon juice, half the brown sugar and cinnamon, stir together. Pour water over mixture.
Mix half the brown sugar and oats with half the cinnamon in bowl, stir in melted butter. Stir this into crock. Cook on high....it's just now cooking, so I will have to update this when it's done.

*****Ok, so it was too watery, I added another cup of oats at the end and let it sit. We did eat it over vanilla ice cream, and it was good, not great, but not tossed either. Needs something else, just not sure what it is.*****

Wassail (aka hot cider punch)

1/2 gallon apple cider (you can use juice, it's just sweeter)
2-3 cups cranberry juice
2-3 cups orange juice
4 cinnamon sticks
20ish whole cloves
several dashes of the following spices:
allspice (about 1 tsp)
nutmeg (about 1 tsp)
about 1/2 the amount of dashes of ginger (about 1/2 tsp)
a couple dallops of honey

2 small oranges sliced thin
a big handful of whole cranberries
(I keep a bag of fresh cranberries in the freezer so when I want to use them, I have them)

stick the cloves in the orange slices, dump everything in a crock pot, heat for 6-8 hours on low, serve in mugs to warm bellies.......Grant LOVES it when I make this!!

Mkae sure you stir it up real good once it is warmed to get the honey mixed in good.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassail FYI

Hash brown dinner

1 pkg hash browns, about 2 cups
2 cups diced ham
1 pkg frozen broccoli florets
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

place all that in a large baking dish.

4-6 eggs
1/3 cup milk
pinch or 2 of basil
black pepper and salt
1 tbsp cornstarch

mix that all thoroughly, pour over ham mixture. Sprinkle more cheese on top, bake in 350 degree oven for 40ish minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand a few minutes....serve with a salad and you are done!

Can also be put into the crock pot in the morning and left all day to cook.

Sausage, mushroom chowder

cold weather, means soup experiments will begin again..... so last night I started making some sausage, ran out of time, ended up eating.....something else, all a blur......anywhoooo, so the sausage went in the crockpot along with some other goodies and here is the recipe....

1 lb sausage, cooked and drained
6 oz sliced or quartered white mushrooms
6 oz sliced or quartered baby bella mushrooms
1 bag frozen corn
a handful or two of baby carrots
8 cups water
3 tbsp Better than boullion chicken flavor

1/2 cup or so of Idahoan Real Potato Flakes

Cook and drain sausage, and saute mushrooms........throw all that plus the rest of the stuff in the crockpot, except the potato flakes. Let it cook over night in the crockpot, add flakes before serving and about a cup of milk....serve and eat yummy.......

Pot Roast

So, as I mentioned earlier, it is Grant's birthday today. And I always let the birthday person pick what they want to do about dinner. So Grant chooses Pot Roast. In the summer, whatever, he's goofy and we love him anyway.

So I'm pretty sure everyone knows how to make pot roast, but thought I'd just post it anyway, just in case.

So you get a huge hunk of meat, the cheap stuff, like a rump roast or something similar. Do NOT buy a good piece of tenderloin or something like that......Mike can fill you in on why that is a bad idea.

Anywhoooo, so brown the hunk of meat in a skillet, while sprinkling liberal amounts of Lawry's season salt on top. Meanwhile, rinse and cut whole carrots into large chunks..do the same with potatoes, I use the Yukon Gold in this recipe, toss those in the bottom of a large crock pot, sprinkle more Lawry's, place the browned meat on top of the veggies, put about 2 cups of water in there with a 12 oz bottle of low sodium v-8 (there's enough sodium already). I add fresh or frozen green beans about half way through cooking, so they aren't too mushy.

so turn that on high and let it set for the day. Meat should fall apart and you can make a yummmy gravy with the juice before serving.

Chicken Taco Soup

1 large can of chicken
1 can Mexicorn
1 can diced new potatoes
1 small can diced green chilies
1 cup shredded carrots
1 pkt Ranch dressing mix (McCormick makes some that is gluten free)
1 pkt chicken taco seasoning (McCormick again)
2-3 cans water
1 can Progresso Cream of Mushroom soup ( I run mine through the food processor so that there are no chunks of mushrooms for the hoodlums to pick out!!)

Pour it all in a big pot on the stove and bring to a simmer, let simmer for 20ish minutes till flavors are all yummy. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some crushed Frito's on top.....YUM!!!!

This was fabulous. We ate it ALL. No leftovers for me for lunch today. This was one of those, ok, it's time for dinner, what can I throw together meals, an experiment gone yummy!

Corn, Black Bean Salsa and Chicken Taco's

Today is one of those days. Will start running in about 45 minutes (4:30) and won't be back home until 7:30ish. And of course I need to feed hooligans when we get home and try to have them in bed by 9pm. SO...it is another crockpot day, only this time it is for chicken taco's.

Corn Black Bean Salsa

1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can diced tomato (you can use on of the flavored ones too, most of them would work)
(Rotel works great in this also, if you want it to have a kick!)
a dash of olive oil
about 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar
some granulated garlic
black pepper
chives, fresh or dedydrated

Drain and rinse the beans until clear water runs through colander. Dump corn and tomato all in same colander to drain. Dump all that in a bowl. Add the chives, whatever looks good to you, ad a couple sprinkles of garlic and black pepper, a dash of olive oil and the red wine vinegar. Stir it all together and refridgerate.

**You can make this even easier by adding red wine vinegarette salad dressing instead of the oil and vinegar.

Is yummy good served with tortilla chips, as a salad dressing or just by the spoonful. Also is yummy to add avocado. Or mix with guacamole.

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Chicken Taco's

1+ lbs chicken breasts
1 pkg McCormick chicken taco seasoning mix ( or any of thier taco mixes)
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 can of water

Throw it all in the crockpot and turn on high for 3-4 hours, low if longer. Once again shred up the meat and serve it in tortilla's or on a salad or tortilla chips (like nacho's). Serve with black olives, sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, etc....etc.....whatever floats your boat.

**Most corn tortilla's are gluten free, and there are some pretty good brown rice tortillas made by Food for Life.

Sorry no pic of the chicken. Came home from soccer to find a whole in the wall in the hallway. Two boys will be grounded for quite some time. Anyway....such is life in a testosterone infested home.

BBQ Pork

Ok, this is for one of those days in which one child has a 3pm appt, another has a 5pm appt and someone else needs to be at guitar lessons at 6, AND darling spousal person is working until, oh lets say 7, and the 2 year old has decided he DOES NOT need a nap!!!! SO you come home in the afternoon after spending $200 at the grocery and throw the following in the crockpot....

1 pork roast ( I don't know the size, I never look, I just buy one that looks good)
1 bottle of BBQ sauce (Kraft will list any gluten stuff)
personally I use Saz's and/or Sweet Baby Ray's
1 bottle of water
1 small can of diced chili peppers (optional!!)

Put the roast in the crock pot, dump the BBQ sauce on top, add chili's, add water to the nearly empty BBQ bottle and shake to loosen any bits, dump into crockpot. Put lid on pot and turn on high if it is after 12pm, low if it is earlier. Leave it alone until dinnertime. Then use 2 forks and/or a knife and pull the pork apart, sort of shredding it. Whatever, just make it into small bite sized pieces and leave it in the pot, stir it all up.

In the meantime......you have 2 options.

1.) bake some potatoes
2.) make some mashed potatoes

Then get out the sour cream, shredded cheese (we like cheddar, or a cheddar blend), chopped dill pickles and let everyone make thier own plate.

You dump some pork into/onto your potato, then add cheese, sour cream and chopped pickles and eat. Add some corn or green beans or a salad on the side and you have a quick and easy meal.

there is no pic. sorry at 7:45 I just wanted everyone fed and in BED!!!! I forgot to take a pic.

BUT this is a FAVORITE meal of ours and the pickles make it all!!!! Do not leave out the pickle!!

check out my real blog for a pic of my new dishwasher.......even she likes the BBQ pork!!