Crock Pot Love

Do you ever have those days where you forget to thaw out something for dinner? Or you realize that you really need to make a trip to the grocery store because the only food you have is ramen noodles, Pringles, and Sponge Bob fruit chews. Today was one of those days. As I was frantically digging through the pantry looking for something to make for dinner, I realized that I have been neglecting my crock pot. Next to my Kitchen Aid mixer the crock pot is something I could not live without. This is one of the easiest recipes to make, and it is also pretty healthy. it is so easy to make, even a man who is clueless in the kitchen could make it.

Crock Pot Southwestern Chicken

4 Frozen chicken breasts (you read that right - FROZEN!)
2 Cans corn, drained
2 Cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 Jar of salsa (it's better if you make your own, though)

In a crock pot add one can of corn, one can of black beans, and half the salsa. No need to mix it together. Place the frozen chicken breasts on top. Top the chicken with the remaining corn, black beans, and salsa. Cook on low for 6 hours. Top with shredded cheese and sour cream.

*You could leave the salsa out and add green chiles. You could also throw in some chopped onion and jalapenos.

Biscuits, oh how I love thee...

I love biscuits. Especially the ones of the buttermilk variety. And they have to be made from scratch. Whenever I make these, they disappear almost as fast as they come out of the oven. I made some yesterday morning and the kids ate them so fast my head was spinning. Recon, the dog, even had two of them. That was probably courtesy of the seven year old.

Buttermilk Biscuits

3 c flour

2 Tbs sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c Crisco (I like the Crisco sticks, so much easier to measure)

2 1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1 c buttermilk

melted butter

Combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder. Cut in the Crisco until it looks like cornmeal. Add the buttermilk, stirring until mixed. I use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer for this part. Make sure you use the dough hook. Knead 2-3 times. Roll out to 1/2 inch thick and cut out. This makes about 14 biscuits. Now, this is the really important part. Using your thumb, make an indention on top of each biscuit and brush with the melted butter. Bake at 450 for 14-16 minutes. I usually brush the tops with more melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven. Yum!

I'm back!

I admit it has been a while since I've blogged. That doesn't mean that I haven't been cooking. It just means that life happens. Especially life with two kids. Having a daughter on a select soccer team takes up a lot of time. It seems as if we are always at practice or heading to a game. Then the flu hit our house, and my son was down for the count for several days. For once, I have a few moments without some kind of crisis, so I'm going to share a few recipes. There are no pictures...yet...but I'll get some on here soon. I'm still learning how to take pictures of food. With a chocolate lab in the house it's just a tad more difficult to get the picture before the dog gets to the plate. I did find out recently that the dog is quite fond of tortilla pie. My husband and I weren't to happy with the dog's desire to gobble up OUR dinner.

I thought that I would share a few appetizer recipes with you today. Where would we be without appetizers? It would be a sad, sad world.

Spicy Pretzels
1 large bag pretzel sticks
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 package Ranch dressing mix
1 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less depending how spicy you like stuff)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder

Here's the hard part. Find a large bowl with a lid. Trust me on this. You do not want to use a large ziploc baggie. It results in a huge mess. In the bowl add the pretzels and the oil. Add the remaining ingredients. Cover and shake until the pretzels are coated. Store in an airtight container. Take note...do not eat these and rub your eyes. It hurts. A lot.

Olive Balls
Green olives - drained on paper towels
1 1/4 cup flour
6 oz. sharp cheddar cheese - grated
1 stick of butter - room temperature
Dash of garlic salt
Dash of cayenne pepper

Mix flour with a dash of garlic salt and cayenne pepper. Mix in the cheese and butter. It works best if you use your hands. Form into balls around the olives. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes. I used to hate green olives, but I would inhale them when made like this. It's easy, and yummy. I think I need to go to HEB so I can make some.

For my husband...

My husband asks me to make calzones all the time. He thinks I should make them on a daily basis, but I don't. There are too many other good things to make, but this happens to be one of his favorites. When we lived in San Antonio, there was a little pizza place right around the corner from us, and they delivered. I think it is a bad thing that they knew me by name as soon as they heard my voice on the phone. I decided that I should probably just learn to make my own calzones. I think I succeeded. The good thing is, you can stuff with them with whatever you like. This recipe makes two really big ones, but you can also make four smaller ones if the kids are picky (like mine). When making the dough I have been using my Kitchen aid stand mixer, but you can also use a bread machine and just set it to the dough cycle.

Calzones - Jenn's version

Dough:

1 Package yeast

1 C warm water

1 T olive oil

1 t sugar

1 t salt

2 1/2 C flour

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in water and let sit for ten minutes, or until slightly foamy. Stir in olive oil, salt, and 1 cup of flour. Knead in the rest of the flour, or let your stand mixer do the job for you. Knead until no longer sticky. You may need to add a little extra flour. Place in oiled bowl and cover. let rise until doubled in size (usually about 1 1/2 hours). Divide dough in half, or into fourths, and roll out. Place toppings on half of the dough and fold over, sealing the edges. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. I use a pizza stone, and if you don't have one, I highly recommend getting one.

Toppings:
Use whatever you like. I always use sauce and about 1/3 cup of Ricotta cheese along with a ton of mozzarella. Spinach, Canadian bacon, and mushrooms is really yummy. My husband likes Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, and green olives. Let your imagination go wild. Just enjoy it!

Queso...enough said

I love queso. Who doesn't love that ooey goodness that is melted Velveeta cheese with Ro-tel dumped in it? I, however, have a version that kicks it up a notch. This recipe came from an uncle, but like every other recipe that lands in my hands, I tweaked it a bit. This past June, my husband and I spent a weekend at the Frio river with a group of our friends. I took my salsa and this queso. When the queso was heated up I saw grown women swat away the hands of any man who even glanced at the bowl of goodness that is queso. I might have been one of those women. I will never make queso using only Velveeta and Ro-tel again.

Roasted Tomato Queso

Ingredients:
5-6 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 16 oz block of Velveeta cheese

Minced garlic (as much or as little as you like)

Chopped red, yellow, and green bell peppers (again, as much or as little as you like)

Liquid smoke

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Place the sliced tomatoes on a baking sheet, not overlapping. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. I also like to use a little garlic salt. Broil in the oven until they start to shrivel, but don't let them burn. You can also roast them on a BBQ pit, which I do sometimes. Melt the Velveeta in a saucepan, thinning with milk if necessary. In a food processor or blender add the melted Velveeta, tomatoes, peppers, minced garlic, and 3-5 drops of liquid smoke. Give it a whirl until nicely blended. There you have it!

Serve with tortilla chips, top fajitas with it, eat it out of a bowl with a spoon. Just enjoy it. I know my husband does!