Sunday Roast Chicken

Sorry - no pictures on this one! It went too fast!
I found the recipe in a cookbook called Fix-It and Forget-It Recipes for Entertaining. There was just enough chicken picked off the carcass to make a gravy for another meal. It went over really, really well. We had this with mashed potatoes and veggies.

Sunday Roast Chicken
Seasoning Mix:
1 TBSP salt
2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp savory (I have no idea what savory is so I used Beau Monde instead)

Combine seasoning mix in small bowl.

2 TBSP butter or margarine
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 roasting chicken (mine was almost 5 lbs)
1/4 cup flour
1-2 cups chicken stock

Saute onions and celery in butter over high heat until onions are golden brown. Add in 3 TBSP seasoning mix. Mix well and let veggies cool.
Stuff bird with cooled vegetables.
Sprinkle outside of chicken with remaining seasoning mix. Rub in well.
Place chicken in large slow cooker. Cover. Cook on low for 6 hours.
Empty juices into saucepan. Whisk in flour and 1 cup chicken stock. Cook over high heat until thickened. Add more stock if you prefer a thinner gravy.

Chicken Taquitos

These go like hot cakes at my house. I always hope there are a couple left over. There never are. I found this recipe years ago in a book called 365 Easy Mexican Recipes. I've modified a couple things.

Chicken Taquitos
1 pint homecanned chicken
3 TBSP vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
12 -14 corn tortillas

Combine chicken, onion and a bit of vegetable oil in skillet. Cook until onion is limp. Add in cream cheese and oregano. Stir until cream cheese is melted and chicken mixture is thoroughly combined. Set aside.
Heat 3 TBSP oil in another skillet. Using tongs, soften tortillas 1 at a time by dipping in hot oil for about 2 seconds on each side. Add additional oil if needed. Drain tortillas between paper towels.
Fill tortillas by placing about 2 TBSP chicken mixture in 1/3 of tortilla. Roll up tightly. Secure with toothpick and lay seam side down on plate. Repeat with all tortillas. Fry taquitos a few at a time, seam side down. Turn until all sides are lightly browned. Drain on paper towels. If making to use as appetizers - cut each taquito in half after removing toothpicks. If using as a meal - leave taquitos whole.

Tortilla Stack

I found this recipe while we lived in Arizona. Money was super tight for groceries. I think at this time we had roughly $20/week for groceries. Thank goodness for food storage I tell you! I found this recipe in a book from the library called The Crockery Cook.

Tortilla Stack
1 1/2 lb uncooked lean ground beef
1 pint pinto or black beans
8 corn tortillas, each cut into 6 wedges
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
1 pkg taco seasoning
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
sour cream
shredded lettuce
chopped green onion
chopped red bell pepper
sliced olives
peeled and chopped avocado
grated cheddar cheese

Combine soup and taco mix. Set aside.

Spray crockpot with veggie spray. Crumble 1/4 of ground beef into bottom of crockpot Top with 1/4 of beans. Top with 1/4 of tortilla wedges. Spread 1/4 soup mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle with 1/4 tomatoes. Repeat layers until all beef, beans, tortilla wedges, soup mixture and tomatoes are in crockpot. Cover and cook on low 4-5 hours. Spoon onto individual plates. Top with sour cream, lettuce, green onion, bell pepper, olives or avocado if desired. Additional cheddar cheese may also be used.

Pepper Steak

We like Chinese food at our house. I am always on the lookout for something I think we all will enjoy. This went over well. I got this recipe from Taste of Home years ago.

Pepper Steak
1 lb boneless sirloin steak
2 TBSP cooking oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt, optional
1/2 tsp pepper
1 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 large red OR yellow OR orange bell peppers, thinly sliced (I used green, orange and yellow)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3/4 tsp beef bouillon granules
3/4 cup hot water
1 TBSP cornstarch
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 tsp sugar

Cut steak into thin strips. Marinate with a bit of oil and cornstarch. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Combine beef bouillon and hot water. Set aside.

Combine cornstarch, soy sauce, cold water and sugar. Set aside.

In large skillet or wok brown steak in oil. Add garlic, ginger, salt and pepper. Cook until meat is almost done. Add peppers and onions to skillet. Cook and stir until peppers are crisp-tender.

Add beef bouillon water to skillet.
Add cornstarch mixture. Cook and stir until mixture boils and starts to thicken a bit. Serve over rice or oriental noodles.

Chicken with Parmesan Cream Sauce

This chicken was so easy to put together and so moist! The sauce was perfect for mixing with pasta to create an "Alfredo" kind of side dish. I chose this recipe from my teammate LifeIsGood from Michigan. This was part of the March 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap on recipezaar.com.

Chicken with Parmesan Cream Sauce
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used thigh/leg quarters - bone in since that's what I had)
1/2 cup flour
6 TBSP butter or margarine, divided
16 mushrooms, sliced (I used baby bellas - my favorite)
2 cups heavy cream
salt and pepper
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
paprika

Melt 3 TBSP butter. Coat chicken with flour then dip in butter. Arrange in 9x13 baking pan. Melt remaining butter. Saute mushrooms until softened. Spread mushrooms over chicken. Pour in cream. Season with salt and pepper. Top with parmesan cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight and all the next day until ready to make dinner.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle paprika over chicken. Bake uncovered 20-30 minutes if doing just boneless chicken breasts.
If you did bone-in like I did - I baked my chicken at 375 for 1 hour 15 minutes. I probably would have been fine doing less time but I like to make sure my chicken is cooked all the way.
When chicken was done....
I removed the chicken to a plate and had angel hair pasta already cooked and ready to add to the cream sauce in the pan. I added in some garlic salt, pepper and additional parmesan cheese to make an "Alfredo" pasta side dish.

Crockpot Chocolate Candies

As Nephi would say...it's "Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!" I chose this recipe from my teammate Chef1MOM~Connie from East Aurora, NY. If you like nuts (any combination) and chocolate - you will definitely like these.

Crockpot Chocolate Candies
12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
12 oz white chocolate chips
2 - 2 1/2 cups roasted nuts (your favorite combination)

Put all ingredients in a crockpot. Turn on high for 15 minutes. Stir. Turn to low. Stir after an additional 15 minutes. Stir one more time 15 minutes later for a total of 45 minutes. Drop by teaspoons onto waxed paper or alumimum foil sprayed with veggie spray. Let cool. Enjoy!

Savory Meatball Soup

Oh my goodness gracious! This was a perfect cold weather day dinner. I chose this recipe from my teammate Baby Kato in the March 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap on recipezaar.com. She hails from Ontario, Canada. Everyone really enjoyed this soup. It's a keeper at my house! I served this with homemade french bread. Perfect in every way! Don't let the long list of ingredients make you run the other way.

Savory Meatball Soup
2 TBSP butter or margarine
1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot OR small onion finely chopped
1 zucchini, coarsely chopped
1 sweet red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
3 cups beef broth
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
2 tsp worchestershire sauce
28 oz diced tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme (I just threw in some dried thyme)
1 tsp fresh oregano (I used dried)
1/2 cup orzo pasta, uncooked
24 small meatballs, frozen (you can also use homemade)
3 large red potatoes, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
grated parmesan cheese for garnish

Fry onion, garlic and shallots in butter or margarine for 5 minutes. Add zucchini and bell pepper. Fry an additional 5 minutes.
Pour into large crockpot. Add remaining ingredients except cheese. Cook on low all day. Serve with parmesan cheese garnish and your favorite crusty bread.