Mexican Chicken

Here's a fantastic crock pot meal for those days when you don't have much time to make anything. It takes about 10 minutes to prep and then cooks for 8 hours while you are gone or busy.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp adobo seasoning
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/3 tsp chili flakes
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed
1 15.5 oz can black beans, drained
1 4 oz can chopped green chilies, drained
Shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
Sour cream (optional)

Directions:
1. Add the first 11 ingredients (from tomato paste to the green peppers) into the crock pot and mix well.
2. Add chicken thighs or breasts and stir well to coat the chicken pieces.
3. Add the black beans and chilies but do not stir.
4. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours
5. Stir thoroughly before serving.
6. Serve with cheese and sour cream if desired.

This recipe was from the Every Day LC Slow Cooker cookbook.

Pork with Camembert Sauce

Pretty simple dish with a very good sauce.

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless pork loin
2 oz Camembert Cheese
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp dry white wine
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
1/3 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
Pepper - to taste

Directions:
1. Cut the pork loin into 3 portions about 3/4" thick.
2. Put the pork in a zip lock bag and pound to about 1/2 thick with tenderizing hammer.
3. Cut the rind off of the Camembert cheese and cut into 1/2" chunks.
4. Spray a big heavy skillet with nonstick spray and put over medium-high heat.
5. When the skillet is hot, melt the butter in the skillet and coat the insides.
6. Fry the pork a golden brown, being careful not to overcook them.
7. Set the pork loin aside and cover with tin-foil to keep warm.
8. Add wine to the skillet and stir around with a spatula to get up all the bits of pork.
9. As the wine reduces, add the sage and stir again.
10. Turn down the heat to medium-low and add in the Camembert, stiring as it melts.
11. After it is fully melted, add in the sour cream and dijon mustard and heat through w/out simmering again.
12. Pepper to taste and serve immediately spooned over the pork loin.

This recipe is from Dana Carpenders Every Calorie Counts Cookbook

Taco Spaghetti Squash

This is a fantastic meal idea that we borrowed from a friend of ours and tweaked a bit.

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
1/2 pound ground beef
1 chopped onion
2 tbsp taco seasoning
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
2 tomatoes, chopped
olives - for topping
sour cream - for topping
salsa - for topping
guacamole/avocado - for topping

Directions:
1. Cut the squash in half, scooping out the seeds.
2. Place cut-side down on an aluminum foil covered cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about an hour. Bake until the squash is tender and cam be shredded with a fork, but not so much that it is mushy.
3. Brown the ground beef and onion in a medium skillet, draining off the fat if you desire.
4. Remove the squash from the oven and shred with a fork.
5. Stir in the taco seasoning, the shredded squash, and 1/2 of the cheddar cheese with the ground beef/onion mixture.
6. After it is mixed, put it into a greased 2 quart casserole dish and top with the other 1/2 of the cheddar cheese and bake uncovered at 350 for about 20 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and serve over a bed of lettuce and top with tomatoes, olives, sour cream, guacamole or avocados, and salsa if desired.

Here's the link to my friend Rachel's blog that has the original recipe she made.

Skillet Stroganoff and Roasted Asparagus

Here's a nice simple recipe for making skillet stroganoff and a side of roasted asparagus. My family loved it.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound ground beef (80)
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
4 oz can of sliced mushrooms (I'm sure fresh would work)
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp paprika
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp concentrated beef broth (I used 1/16 tsp of bullion granules)

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, brown the meat and add in the diced onion and garlic.
2. Once everything is browned, add in the mushrooms, worcestershire sauce, paprika, sour cream, and beef broth. I didn't have any concentrated beef broth so I put in 1/16th of a tsp of the granules.
3. Season to taste as it is finishing and enjoy.

Ingredients:
Bunch of Asparagus
Olive Oil
Garlic Powder
Other seasonings you like

Directions
1. Add asparagus to pan.
2. Pour on olive oil and sprinkle on garlic powder to taste.
3. Add on any additional seasonings (we've used different combinations of things like blackened seasoning, seasoned salt, Parmesan cheese, etc).
4. Broil until the asparagus is done, turning the asparagus once about 1o-20 minutes in (depending on thickness of asparagus).

Beef Fajitas

A simple beef fajita meal that doesn't take much to prepare, but is very tasty.

Ingredients:

For Marinade:
1/2 cup chicken broth or lite beer
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 small onion, sliced thinly
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic

Rest of Ingredients:
2 lbs of skirt steak or any other steak you want to use.
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thick
1 green pepper, sliced

Toppings:
Guacamole (We love Wholly Guacamole)
Salsa (Mrs. Renfro's is wonderful and most varieties have no sugar added)
Sour Cream
Cheddar Cheese

Directions:
1. Mix together marinade ingredients.
2. Put steak in a big zip lock bag and marinade in the fridge for a few hours. The tougher the steak, the longer you should let it marinade.
3. When ready to cook, remove steak from bag, saving a few tbsp of the marinade.
4. In a large skillet, heat the oil.
5. Add in steak, peppers, and onion when the oil is hot.
6. When the meat is done and the veggies are tender, add in the reserved marinade.
7. Serve on tortilla or plate and top with the guacamole, salsa, sour cream, and cheese

This recipe was based on one from Dana Carpenders 501 LC Recipes

Note that the tougher the steak, the longer to let it marinade.