Slow Cooker Potato Soup

Well, winter makes me want soup, even if we are having a warm spell of the 70s this week!  Here is a super easy one, that used up lots of my staples!

Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs potatoes, washed, peeled and cubed (I used russet)
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 quart chicken broth (4 cups)
1 block (8 ounces) cream cheese
Soup toppings:  sour cream, bacon, ham, chives, green onions, cheese, etc.

1. Place potatoes, onion and garlic in 4 quart slow cooker.
2. Add seasonings and broth.  Stir to combine.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.  
4. Add cream cheese for last hour and place on high to melt.
5. Prior to serving you can leave chunky, or can mash with potato masher or immersion blender.
6. Serve with desired toppings.

Yummy, creamy and makes lots.  Easily can be doubled - I froze some for a later meal!

Swiss Chicken Casserole

Our friends the Whitaker's made this for us when Nate was born!  I loved it!  And my friend Kim put it on her blog, so here is my take!  And Nate and I took it to 2 families this week who have welcomed little boys into their families!  Hope they enjoyed it as much as we did!

Ingredients
6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 package fresh thyme (well, you only need about 6 sprigs, can also use a few dried pinches)
6 slices swiss cheese
1 10 ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 stick of butter, melted
1 14 ounce bag stuffing mix (I used Pepperidge Farm cubed)
1-2 tbsp olive or grape seed oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the chicken in a greased 9x13 casserole dish.  I split this in half, so I used a smaller pan and froze the rest in a foil pan.
3. Season with the salt and pepper. 
4. Strip the thyme leaves from the stalks and sprinkle over the chicken (or place a couple on pinches on each). I used about one stalk per chicken breast.
5. Place a slice of swiss cheese over each chicken breast. 
6. Mix the soup and sour cream together, and spread over the cheese.
7. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and stuffing, stir to coat.  My stuffing still looked dry, so I added a tablespoon of grape seed oil.
8. Sprinkle stuffing evenly over the chicken.
9. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more. This will crisp up the top of the stuffing, and turn it a nice golden brown.

A great meal to have on a cold night!  And all you need is some veggies or cranberry sauce to go with it!

slow cooker meatballs...

want a yummy appetizer?  and super easy?  people have told me that they come to our halloween party just for these!  delicious!!

Ingredients
2-3 lbs precooked meatballs, thawed (smaller size better, from Sam's or Costco)
1 can cranberry sauce (jellied or berry)
1 jar chili sauce

1. Place all items in slow cooker and mix.
2. Place on high for 30 minutes to 1 hour to get everything blended.
3. Place on low for 2-3 more hours, until heated to you liking.

Super yummy, super easy!  And don't worry, there won't be leftovers!

individual spinach quiche cups

My rosary mom's group came over a couple weeks ago.  I wanted to make something that was yummy and healthy.  Found this recipe, make a few tweaks, and here it is!

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 - 10 ounce packages frozen spinach, thawed
3/4 cup egg substitute (or 4 additional eggs)
4 eggs
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
salt and pepper
dash nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat oil in pan over medium.  
3. Add onions and cook until clear.
4. While onions are cooking, wring out moisture from spinach.
5. Add spinach and cook a couple of minutes, until heated through.  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
6. Line muffin tray with baking cups.  Spray cups with cooking spray.
7. Allow spinach mixture to cool a bit, and wring out again (you don't want soggy quiche).
8. Combine egg substitute, egg, peppers, spinach and onions in bowl.
9. Divide evenly in baking cups.  Should make 12 quiches.
10. Bake for 20 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.
11. Serve warm or cool, or freeze for later use.

Slow Cooker Shiner Bock Pot Roast Dip Sandwiches

Okay, big title.  But super easy dish...and I probably think you have most of the items on hand!  I made this for a friend who just had twins.  Even though I had a large roast, it seemed to shrink in the slow cooker.  But as soon as Ryan ate it, he said I had to post it!

I also had extra au jus after this meal, so I froze it for a quick french dip au jus in the future.

Ingredients
1-2 tbsp oil (olive, grape seed, etc.)
chuck roast (however much you want)
1 can/bottle Shiner Bock beer (or your favorite variety)
1 package dry onion soup mix
1 can beef broth
rolls/crusty bread
mozzarella or provolone cheese

1. Heat oil in pan over high.  Trim excess fat from roast, if desired.
2. Add roast and brown on all sides.
3. Place roast in 4 or 6 quart slow cooker.
4. Dump beer, soup mix and broth on top.
5. Cook for 8-10 hours on low.
6. Prior to serving, toast bread with cheese on top in broiler.
7. Serve with meat on bread and au jus to dip.

dry, white carrots...

Okay, maybe it only happens to me...but when I buy precut carrots, they seem to turn white, very quickly!

Found an easy and quick solution - put them in water!  Put carrots in a bowl, cover with cold water, and place in fridge.  I would drain the water when we ate dinner, and whatever carrots we didn't eat, was covered again!

So, don't throw out those carrots!  Rehydrate them!

Garlic Lime chicken

When I first made this, Ryan immediately asked me to put it in the family cookbook.  I usually make a batch of the spice rub and keep it on hand!  Great quick dinner!!  I got this from one of my favorite cooks, Leanne Ely.


Ingredients

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

¼  tsp cayenne pepper (omit if serving kids)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp thyme

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, or about 1 lb chicken tenders

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil

½ cup chicken broth

4 tbsp lime juice

1. In a bowl, mix together first 7 ingredients (the spices). 
2. Evenly sprinkle mixture on both sides of chicken breasts/tenders.
3. In a skillet heat butter and olive oil together over medium high heat. Sauté chicken until golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes on either side. 
4. Remove chicken and add lime juice and chicken broth to the pan, whisking up the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. 
5. Keep cooking until sauce has reduced slightly. Add chicken back to the pan to thoroughly coat and serve.