Party Meatballs

If you like what I brought to Fellowship Meal Sunday, here's the recipe. So simple!


Only think I changed is I cooked them in the oven only for half the time since I knew they'd be in the crockpot for quite a while.

PARTY MEATBALLS

1 bottle Heinz 57 steak sauce (small)
1 can jelled cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 lbs frozen home-style meatballs

Precook meatballs according to package directions. Melt steak sauce, cranberry sauce and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Place meatballs in crock-pot, pour mixture over and place the crock-pot on low. 

Some purty good tilapia recipes

Here's some tilapia recipes that are nice and easy to make.  I buy the bag of frozen tilapia at Walmart - the pieces are wrapped individually so very easy to pull out as many pieces as you want the day before to thaw.

Here's some good ones!

Fish Piccata with Tossed Angel Hair Pasta
Food Network: Melissa d'Arabian uses her signature 4-step method to simplify perfectly cooked fish. Her Fish Piccata is sauteed until flaky and tender, with a lightly golden crust and buttery lemon sauce. Her Tossed Angel Hair Pasta helps soak up the tangy pan sauce.
Great together and so simple!

Fish Piccata http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/fish-piccata-recipe/index.html
Tossed Angel Hair Pasta http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/tossed-angel-hair-pasta-recipe/index.html

Tilapia with Green Beans from Food Network Magazine

It calls for fresh oregano so good for you if your store actually sells that.  Mine does not so I substituted 1 teaspoon of Herbes de Provence that is really good on fish.  I'm sure you could use dried oregano instead if that's what you have.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/tilapia-with-green-beans-recipe/index.html

 

 

Super Easy 5 Ingredient Taco Chili

Super Easy 5 Ingredient Taco Chili

This one is also from my "Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes."  I use this one all the time because it is so easy and there's little clean up involved. 

10 minutes prep time
makes 4 to 6 servings
use a 4 qt slow cooker

1 lb ground beef
1 packet of taco seasoning (mild or spicy - you choose)
2 15-oz cans Mexican style tomatoes (I get the big can of Rotel)
2 cans 15-oz red kidney beans, light or dark doesn't matter
1 15-oz can corn

Cook ground beef and drain fat.  Stir everything together in the slow cooker. (Don't drain any of the cans.)  IT'S THAT EASY! I love it!
Cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours.

You can top with cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips...

Southwestern White Chili

This is from my "Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes" so I don't take credit for making this up, just for sharing it with you!

Southwestern White Chili
Makes 8 servings
 use a 4 to 6  quart slow cooker

1 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 cans Great Northern Beans (15.5 oz cans), drained and rinsed
2 4-oz cans diced green chiles
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded Jack cheese (8 oz)
1.5 to 2 lbs cooked chicken, chopped (I cook my chicken in a small crockpot on high for a few hours with chicken broth - then shred it using 2 forks - awesome)

In the slow cooker, place everything but the cheese.  Stir to combine.
Cook on low for 7 hours or high for 3 hours.  THEN, stir in the Jack cheese.

That's it! It's awesome.  Top with more chiles or sour cream or cheese if you want.
Let the kids help with it even.

estimated 431 cal per serving. 14g fat.

White Bean with Sausage Stew (and bacon!)

This is an Emeril Dutch oven recipe I found online but adapted for the Crockpot.  Delish!

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

12 ounces hot smoked sausage, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds

One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juices

Four 15-ounce cans Northern white beans or cannellini , (drain 2 cans, use juices from 2)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

3 cups fresh spinach , rinsed and spun dry, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crusty French bread

Cooked chopped bacon - 5 to 6 slices

Cooking Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the sausage, Increase the heat to medium-high and brown sausage, about 2 minutes.

Add garlic and sausage to crockpot with the cans of beans and tomatoes.  Cook on Low for 4-5 hours.

About 30 minutes before serving, stir in the rosemary, thyme, spinach, and bacon. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with French bread

  4 to 6 servings

last minute idea in the grocery store - Chicken & Vegetable Medley Pasta

I was at the store looking at a box of "just add chicken" meal, and thought, You know, it'd probably be cheaper and better for me to make a real dish.  So I went to the pasta aisle, picked out some rotini (spirals) and used the recipe on the back of the box!  And yeah, it was cheaper and I'm sure much better for me.

I used Ronzoni pasta which has calcium, Vit D, Fiber - good start right? But you can make this with any brand.

So here's how it works:

Season 1 lb chicken with salt and pepper.  Cook and then cut into cubes or small chunks.

In a large skillet, heat up 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil.  Cook 1 clove minced garlic, 1 thinly sliced zucchini,  cup thinly sliced fresh mushrooms, and 1 thinly sliced onion until tender but not brown.  Then add 1 can 14 oz tomatoes undrained (I used a can of Italian diced tomatoes), 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp dried basil, and your cooked chicken. Simmer 15 minutes.  

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Serve chicken and vegetables over pasta.

Makes 4 good sized servings.

Pretty delicious. I think next time I'll add two cans of tomatoes and leave out the water.

sprinkled with some parm

gotta love 5 Ingredient Recipes: Pork Chops with Orange-Dijon Sauce

Someone requested this so instead of just e-mailing it to her, I will type it up for the world to see :)

Maybe I'll even make this tonight since it's so easy.

5 Ingredient Pork Chops with Orange-Dijon Sauce

6 boneless pork sirloin chops, cut 1 inch thick

Salt & Pepper (yeah it counts as one ingredient)

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 cup orange marmalade

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

Season both sides of chops with salt and pepper and sprinkle with thyme. Place chops in 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker.  In a bowl combine orange marmalade and Dijon.  Remove 2 tablespoons of the mixture; cover and refrigerate (to be used later)

Combine remaining mixture with 1/2 cup water. Pour over chops.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.  Transfer chops to serving platter; discard liquid.  Spread reserved marmalade-dijon mixture over the chops.

That's it!  Serve with rice or a veggie like broccoli, green beans or asparagus. 

From the Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes