Mock Beef Stroganoff over Red Potatoes

The other day I was struggling with what to fix for dinner based on the items I had remaining in my fridge/freezer and pantry. After some research on the internet and comparing different recipes I created my own meal in the crockpot: Mock Beef Stroganoff over Red Potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef (I only had .82 pounds of beef to use)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 jar Alfredo sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1/3 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic powder.
2. Drain. Pour into lightly greased slow cooker.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Add jar of Alfredo sauce, water, flour, and beef bouillon cube to meat mixture.
5. Cover and cook on Low for 5 to 7 hours.
6. Add the sour cream during the last hour.
7. Just before serving, prepare the red potatoes. Wash and cube potatoes and boil in salted water until tender. Drain.
8. Serve the meat mixture over the red potatoes and enjoy!!

Buttermilk Pancakes

Usually about one night a week we do "breakfast" night at our house. I love fixing buttermilk pancakes but I don't love having to stand over the griddle flipping pancakes after a long day. So one particular night I decided to try pancakes in the crockpot! After some research on the internet it seemed doable. I used a recipe from my trusted Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil

I never have buttermilk or sour milk on hand so I make my own. To make sour milk use 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Add enough milk to the vinegar to make one cup worth. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

 

Directions:

1. Heavily grease the inside of the slow cooker.
2. In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients. 
3. In another bowl combine the egg, milk, and oil. Add to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened.
4. Pour into slow cooker.
5. Cover and cook on high for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until done.

Once it's finished cooking, simply cut into smaller portions and serve. The end result: a delicious pancake with no laboring over the stove top!



Pumpkin Bread

It's fall season and that means lots of baking and lots of pumpkin! On my last trip to Trader Joe's I bought their yummy Pumpkin Bread and Muffin Mix. I used the recipe on the back of the box. All you do is add eggs, oil, and water.



Prepare the mix according to the package instructions. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Place the loaf pan inside the slow cooker.

 

Place the lid on top of the slow cooker but prop it open slightly to allow for venting. I used a small wooden stick (it's actually half of a clothespin).

Cook on high for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Be prepared to enjoy this delicious and moist pumpkin bread!

Cheese and Pasta Delight

Cheese and Pasta Delight is exactly that...delightful! This is one of our family's favorite crockpot recipes. Even my picky 2 year old will eat this dish! Tim found this recipe off the internet several years ago.

Ingredients:

• 1 jar Alfredo sauce
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 (7 oz) can white tuna or chicken, drained (I used canned chicken)
• 1/4 tsp. curry powder
• 1 to 1 1/2 c. frozen mixed veggies
• 1/2 c. shredded Swiss cheese (I've also used shredded Mozzarella and it's just as yummy)
• 4 c. cooked pasta (macaroni, bow ties, shells)

I never have macaroni, bow ties, or shells on hand but I always have lots of spaghetti. So I break up the spaghetti into small pieces before I cook it.

Directions:

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients.
2. Cover and cook for 4 to 5 hours on LOW.
3. Add Swiss cheese to the mixture during the last hour.
4. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and add to slow cooker.

Enjoy!!!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed bell peppers are so simple but so yummy!

Ingredients:

• 4 medium green bell peppers
• 1 lb ground beef (instead of ground beef I used ground turkey)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 large jar spaghetti sauce (32 oz)

Directions:

1. Mix ground beef (turkey), onion, rice, and seasonings well.
2. Cut tops off peppers and hollow out seeds.
3. Stuff bells with equal portions of mixture. 
4. Place in crockpot, cover with spaghetti sauce.
5. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or until meat is cooked through and pepper is tender.

Delicious!!

Turkey Meatloaf

One food item I love to cook is meatloaf because you can pretty much dump anything you have leftover or laying around in it! I've made meatloaf one time before in my slow cooker and it was the best meatloaf we've ever had. Today I tried something new and made turkey meatloaf instead of ground beef. While I'm breastfeeding Owen I can't have any red meat...it messes him up!

I found this recipe for Turkey Meatloaf with Sauce on the internet.

Ingredients:

Meatloaf: 

• 1 1/4 lbs ground turkey (93% or 99% lean)
• 1/3 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup onion, minced
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Sauce: 

• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 3 teaspoons brown sugar, packed
• 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard

I had to make a few changes to this recipe. Instead of reduced-fat cheddar I used a Mexican cheese blend. My Worcestershire sauce had expired and tasted funny so I left it out. I didn't have any spicy brown mustard so I used a spicy Dijon mustard. My Dijon is extra hot so I only used 1 teaspoon.

Directions:

Fold a long piece of aluminum foil till its about two inches wide and long enough to be placed inside the slow cooker, up the sides, and out. This makes it easier to lift the meatloaf out when its done.

Create a "rack" out of aluminum foil and place it in the slow cooker. This helps to keep the meatloaf up out of the grease.

Mix all the ingredients for the meatloaf together and then shape into a loaf. Place on top of the rack inside the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. I cooked mine on low for 6 1/2 hours.

Combine the ingredients for the sauce and pour over the meatloaf for 30 minutes or until warm. I added my sauce about six hours into cooking.

The result: Another successful dinner! 

I personally prefer the taste of ground beef over ground turkey but this meatloaf was not bad at all. It was quite yummy and my hubby gave it a thumbs up! We even got Ethan to eat a little bit and if you know how picky my son is that says a lot!! Enjoy!

Here are the boys enjoying dinner. :)

Corn Bread

The other night for dinner we had salmon. Corn bread seemed like the perfect side dish. I followed the corn bread recipe off my box of Albers yellow corn meal.

Ingredients

Ingredients:

• 1 cup yellow corn meal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mik
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

I'm still out of baking powder so I made a substitute. Refer to my blueberry muffin blog to learn more. This time around I used milk made from instant nonfat dry milk.

Directions:

1. Grease the inside of the slow cooker.
2. In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients. 
3. In a small bowl combine the milk, oil, and egg. Add to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened.
4. Pour into slow cooker.
5. Cover and cook on high for 1 1/2 hours or until done.

Cornbread in the crockpot is delicious! I will never bake it in the oven again! I've always felt that cornbread can be a little on the dry side...but not in the slow cooker. The inside was incredibly moist. It is worth noting however the edges were quite dry...but I found that to be true of my blueberry muffins. I'm thinking that's the nature of baking in a crockpot...crispier edges but super moist insides. I think I can overlook this minor flaw! 


I will also mention that my husband has a very strong dislike of cornbread. But he loved this slow cooked version and even had seconds!!

Add a little butter and/or honey and you're good to go! Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

On my last trip to Trader Joe's I bought some tiny wild blueberries. Blueberry muffins sounded good to me today so I decided to try making them in the crockpot. Think of this as one giant blueberry muffin!


I used the Blueberry Muffins recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook...my favorite cookbook!

Ingredients

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 beaten egg
• 3/4 cup mik
• 1/4 cup cooking oil
• 3/4 cup frozen blueberries

I ran out of baking powder and keep forgetting to buy more when I'm out shopping, so I had to find an alternative. If you're every in this pickle simply substitute 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar plus 1/4 teaspoon baking soda for every 1 teaspoon of baking powder needed! Also worth noting, I used soy milk instead of cow's milk.


Directions:

1. Grease the inside of the slow cooker.
2. In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients. 
3. In another bowl combine the egg, milk, and oil. Add to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened.
4. Fold blueberries into batter.
5. Pour into slow cooker.
6. Cover and cook on high for 1 1/2 hours or until done.

Ready to cook

I planned to cook this on high for 2 hours but after 1 1/2 hours it was done! Success! It reminded me more of cake than a muffin...very moist but quite delicious.

Yummy!