Chicken Cacciatore Crock Pot

Chicken

Ingredients

1 lb chicken breasts

26 oz chunky vegetable-style spaghetti sauce

1 green pepper, chopped

1 sweet onion, chopped

Place all ingredients into the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Can be served with spaghetti noodles and garnished with olives and Parmesan cheese.

Our Review

I was not expecting this to taste good.  Partly because the only chunky spaghetti sauce that I found was a can of Hunts brand spaghetti sauce and I'm not a fan of tomato things coming out of cans.  I was surprised, this was really good.  I don't even like bell peppers but I ate everything from this dish.  

*** You can put all of these ingredients in a ziplock bag and freeze them for an easy meal later.

Source

Work in progress

I am in the process of copying over all of the recipes from my old blog to this one so that all of my things will be in one space.  I am also trying to re-format the entries so they look uniform and organized AND adding the sources as to where I find them (if I know or can figure it out.)

If anyone finds a recipe that doesn't have a source linked and you know the source, feel free to let me know.

Tequila Lime Flank Steak

This was a made up recipe one night when I knew I wanted to have flank steak this morning but also knew I wanted to get rid of some liquor because I never drink.

I poured some lime tequila over the flank steak, sliced up some limes and onions and then added some salt and pepper and cilantro.  I let it marinate overnight and then grilled it on the George Foreman the next day.

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't amazing.  It was eatable and that was enough.

Crock Pot Taco Soup

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef (cooked with the onion)

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3 c water

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces

14.5 oz can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can V8 vegetable juice

1 c chopped celery

1 c sliced carrot

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp dried parsley flakes

2 tsp dried basil

1 bay leaf

Add all ingredients to a crock pot and cook on low for about 4 hours or until vegetables are tender.

Discard bay leaf before serving.

Our Review

I wasn't thinking this would taste as good as it did.  I went back for more.  The V8 had me worried and this was a bit tomato-ey but it wasn't bad.  I made it a second time and added beef broth in place of half of the water.  It also needed to cook longer than 4 hours both times.  I think it ended up being about 6 hours.

Source

Homemade Croutons and Italian Dressing

Crouton ingredients

1 Tbsp butter
5 Tbsp light oil (EVOO)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tsp oregano
1 Tsp thyme
5 slices day-old white bread

Melt butter in a skillet and then add the oil.  Mix in the remaining ingredients except for the bread.  Cut the crust off the bread and then cut them into 1/2 inch cubes.  Fry slowly until lightly brown.

Italian Dressing ingredients

3 Tbsp oil (EVOO)
2 Tbsp vinegar (white wine)
salt
black pepper
1/2 Tsp minced garlic
1/2 Tsp italian seasoning
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Mix together well.

Our review

The croutons were not exciting but they were eatable.  The salad dressing tasted like a traditional Italian salad dressing.

Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients

1/2 C olive oil (EVOO)

3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp minced shallot

1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp grated lemon peel

1/2 tsp sugar

Mix all ingredients and then season with salt and pepper.  

Our Review

It was very lemony.  Not in a sour way, but just lemony.  Guest thought it tasted very good.

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Quick Potatoes

Ingredients

1/2 lb small red skinned new potatoes

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 tbsp olive oil

coarse salt, to taste

fresh ground pepper, to taste

1 tsp chopped fresh dill leaves

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the potatoes and cook until tender, but not mushy, about 8-10 minutes.  Drain the water and then toss with butter and oil.  Season with salt and pepper and toss with dill.

Our Review

I actually didn't follow this recipe but I used to to help me figure out how to make a quick potato side dish.  I boiled the water, added the potatoes and cooked them for about 10 minutes.  I drained them and then I added salt, pepper, garlic, and a little olive oil into a bowl and tossed the potatoes to coat everything.  The kids asked for second so it must have tasted good.  They were quick and easy and I did enjoy them as well.

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