I've been super busy cooking.

I've been busy entertaining and cooking. I will be updating my blog with probably 4 new recipes tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Pot roast is so easy!

I made pot roast in my crock pot last night for dinner. It is so easy to make.

1 - 3lb pot roast
1pkg. - Lipton onion soup mix
1/2 c. - apple juice
1/2 c. -water

Put all ingredients in crock pot and add carrots and potatoes as desired. Cook on low about 7-9 hours.

If you want to make gravy with the remaining juices, remove everything except juice from the crock pot and add about 3 tbs of flour. Keep temperature on high and stir. Let cook for about 10 minutes until thickened.

Wow! Amazing chicken skewers!

I bought some Sweet and Savory Pineapple sauce from Wildtree and it had a Jerk Chicken skewer recipe on the back using their own products. I decided it sounded pretty good so I looked up a jerk seasoning rub online, had all the ingredients except one, and mixed them all together. This dish was so good that I can't wait to eat it for lunch today.

Jerk Seasoning Mix

2 tbs. - minced onion (I just used chives)
2 1/2 tsp. - thyme
2 tsp. - allspice
1/2 tsp. - cinnamon
2 tsp. - black pepper
1/2 tsp. - cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. - salt
2 tbs. - vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 375. Soak wooden skewers for 30 minutes.
2. Mix ingredients together and set aside.
3. Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes and place into a gallon size bag with the oil. Shake it up so everything is coated.
4. Add seasoning to bag of chicken and shake again until coated. Place chicken pieces on skewers.
5. Grease bottom of pan and place skewers on pan. Bake for 30 minutes.

Serve with white rice, sauteed asparagus, and dip chicken in Wildtree's Sweet and Savory Pineapple Sauce.

Because I didn't have too much of some of the ingredients I cut this recipe in half and it was plenty to coat a package of chicken strips. I used a metal skewer set that I bought for grilling and set the base of that on a cookie sheet covered in foil and sprayed with some Pam olive oil instead of wooden skewers. It worked fantastic for me. The chicken by itself was amazing without the pineapple sauce as well and I couldn't tell if I liked it better with or with out. I will definitely be making this again sometime soon!

Apple Season!

It is that time of year.. apple orchards are open and people like my mom wait in a line of cars for a few hours before the orchard opens to get first pick of the honey crisp apples. Good thing I called her early that morning in just enough time for her to pick me a bag of them also. Since I have so many of these apples now I thought I'd experiment. Guess what! It worked! Here is my recipe for cinnamon apple sauce.

10 honey crisp apples - peeled and cored
1/4 c. - water
1/4 c. - sugar
cinnamon sprinkled over the top

1. Peel and core the apples and put in crock pot. Add water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cook on high for 4 hours. Eat hot or refrigerate.

This recipe is soooo easy!! It tastes so good and because honey crisp apples are so sweet, you probably don't need to add sugar at all! I'll try that next time. :) Enjoy!

Something with pumpkin?? Sure! Why not?

I do not like dentists, therefore, I do not like oral surgeons but.. I was sitting and waiting for my appointment watching the TV. Rachael Ray was on and making pumpkin mac and cheese. So, the first thing I did when I got home was go look up the recipe. You can find the recipe here. This recipe is good for the fall. This is my first time making it. I would change a few things.

1. I would add a little more real maple syrup.
2. I would add a little more allspice.

I also ended up using medium cheddar cheese because that is what I happened to have on hand. The sharp cheddar might be better for this dish but I don't know because I haven't tried it yet! Froze half of it to eat another day.

By the way, sometimes I make a recipe with the intention of posting about it the next day but then I end up working 13 hours.. and then it takes me a few more days to refresh myself. So.. those of you who are friends on facebook, I'll update eventually, just bear with me! Thank you!

Soup for the perfect fall day

I first tried this at my mother-in-law's house. Had to have the recipe. I had a bunch of people over last night when I made this and it was well received.

Pasta Fagioli

1 to 1.5lb Italian sausage
2tbs. - olive oil
1 - onion diced
3 - cloves garlic, chopped
1 14oz. can - diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
2 14oz. cans - chicken broth
2c. - small pasta shells (I prefer tortellini)
1tsp. - Italian seasoning (I just throw in a combo of Italian spices)
1/2 - 3/4c. - chopped spinach (I don't chop it and I throw in 1-2 handfuls of fresh spinach)
2 cans - small white beans drained and rinsed
1tbs. - tomato paste
salt and pepper, Parmesan cheese to taste

1. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic - cook about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in tomatoes, broth, and 3 cups water. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Add Italian seasonings.
3. Brown Italian sausage, slice in chunks. (I buy Italian sausage not in sausage form.)
4. Add spinach, beans, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Simmer on low for 45 minutes.
5. Add pasta. (May cook first to get starch out) Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

I'm not sure where she got the recipe from but this is really good. Serves a lot of people. I make it and freeze a good bunch of it for another meal. Tastes best the first day though. I usually buy some bread for dipping as well.

I'll take some fruit with my ham!

I love ham. I rarely eat ham because my family eats turkey on Thanksgiving, lutefisk or swedish meatballs on Christmas Eve, swedish pancakes Christmas morning, and usually lamb on Easter. I love that I get to eat ham when we head over to my husband's side of the family for holidays! Soo.. I was going through some cookbooks to make a new item this week and found this one for the crockpot! Ham with Fruited Bourbon Sauce.. or in my case, rum sauce!

To Start:
1 bone-in ham, butt portion about 6lbs.
1/2 c. - apple juice
3/4 c. - dark brown sugar
1/2 c. - raisins (I used golden raisins)
1tsp - cinnamon
1/4 tsp - red pepper flakes (didn't have any so I threw in some cayenne pepper)

Finishing Sauce
1/3 c. - dried cherries
1/4 c. - cornstarch (I used 3-4 tbs. flour)
1/4 c. - bourbon, rum, or apple juice (rum)

1. Spray crock pot with nonstick spray. Add ham cut side up.. I put it on the side so it would fit.
2. In a separate bowl mix apple juice, brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon and pepper. Once mixed pour mixture evenly over ham.
3. Cover and cook on Low 9-10 hours or on High 4.5-5 hours.
4. Add cherries 30 minutes before end of cooking time.
5. Transfer ham to cutting board to cool for 15 minutes. (Ham falls apart)
6. Pour cooking liquid into large measuring cup and let stand 5 minutes. Skim and discard excess fat. Return liquid to slow cooker.
7. Turn temp to high. Mix cornstarch or flour into your bourbon, rum, or apple juice until dissolved. Stir into cooking liquid, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until thickened then server over sliced ham.


This recipe was excellent and my only complaint was that I bought a smoked ham. Because I bought a smoked ham, it was very salty. Next time I'll go with a plain one. Loved it and will definitely make again! I served this with some mashed potatoes, and cooked carrots. This would make an excellent Christmas entree.

This recipe is from Rival Crockpot The Original and #1 Brand Slow Cooker Made Simple cookbook. Fantastic buy. Loved every dish I've made so far.

I didn't know I liked eggplant until...

I found this recipe on my phone app. Simple grilled eggplant. I didn't think I liked eggplant until I tried this. It was healthy and so easy. I didn't have italian mixed seasonings so I just used basil, oregano, and some rosemary.

1 large eggplant peeled and cut into round slices
1/3 c. - butter or margarin melted
1/2 tsp. - Garlic salt
1/2 tsp. - Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. - salt
1/8 tsp. - pepper

1. Combine melted butter, garlic, and italian seasoning; stir well. Dip eggplant slices into mixture on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Place eggplant 3-4 inches from coals. Grill over medium coals about 10 minutes or until tender, turning and basting occasionally.

After I made this, I threw it on top of some quinoa and it made a great summer dish!

Love the phone app!

I recently picked out my first smartphone.. and because I love to try new food one of the first things I looked for in the app market was a recipe app. I downloaded this app called Recipes by allthecooks.com. I've tried several of their recipes now and tonight decided to try a teriyaki chicken recipe in my crockpot.
It was very simple and smelled delicious! Here is the recipe..

Up to 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used 3)
1/2 small onion - chopped
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground ginger (I used fresh)
1 clove garlic
1tbsp. dry sherry

 1. Put chicken into crockpot. (I cut them up a bit first)
2. Mix the remaining ingredients together in a bowl and pour over chicken.
3. Cook on low for 5 - 6 hours or high for 2 - 2.5 hours.

I chose to serve this dish with egg noodles but will most likely use rice next time because it is very juicy. I also added some carrots and celery near the end of cooking time.