Crockpot Beef Tips

Comfort food at it's best is easy to prepare as well as being delicious and filling. This recipe fits the bill!

INGREDIENTS:

3 pounds beef tips*, cubed
2 cans condensed Cream of Mushroom soup (or make your own!)
28 ounces beef broth
2 envelopes onion soup mix
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup water, optional
*Beef Tips is a cut that can mean a lot of different things, evidently. I like to buy stew meat that is cut into very small pieces. I have also used round steak and sirloin that I diced myself.

Turn slow cooker on high. Put beef into heated slow cooker and season to taste.

I a medium bowl, whisk the mushroom soup, beef broth and onion soup mix until well blended. 

Pour over beef and stir to coat.

Cover and cook on high for 5 hours or low for 7 hours until tender.

Just before serving, if you would like the sauce to be a bit thicker, mix together the water and flour at the bottom of the ingredient list. Add to the slow cooker and stir. Let it come to a low boil. you could also use liquid from the slow cooker in place of the water.
I don't have a picture of the finished product! We eat it over cooked egg noodles but it would be good over pasta or rice as well. Next time I make it, I will take a finished picture and add it here.

Cheesy Baked Tortellini

Sometimes, you just need a comforting bowl of pasta and rich sauces! This fits the bill. You can use whatever kind of tortellini you want.

INGREDIENTS:

For the Bechamel sauce:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup shredded provolone cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

3 pounds refrigerated tortellini
3 cups spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

To make the Bechamel sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour a cook, whisking continually until lightly browned. You are basically making a roux.

Slowly add the milk while still whisking. once you added all the milk, add in the nutmeg.

Allow the mixture to rise to a simmer and once it does, continue to simmer and whisk for two minutes. Remove from heat and add the shredded provolone by handfuls.

Stri until the provolone melts and then add in the Parmesan.

Season with salt and pepper and let cool to room temperature.

Once cooled, add to the spaghetti sauce.

Whisk to combine and remove about 1/4 of the sauce to another bowl.

Add the tortellini to the bowl with the bulk of the sauce and combine.

Pour into a 9x13 casserole dish.

Evenly pour reserved sauce on top.

Top with remaining cheeses and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil and increase oven to 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving to hungry people you love!

Cheeseburger Skillet Pasta

Here's a great recipe from Taste of home! It's like hamburger helper without all the preservatives and salt. I always double this recipe for my family but the listed ingredients are for a single recipe size.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups uncooked penne pasta
3/4 pound ground beef or turkey
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1 can diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp dill pickle relish
2 Tbsp mustard
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 tsp steak seasoning
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
3/4 cup shredded cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta cooks, brown meat and onion over medium heat until no longer pink.

Add seasonings and condiments to a small bowl and blend together.

Add tomatoes to meat and stir.

Add pasta and seasonings blend. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Top with cheese and remove from heat.

Put lid on skillet and allow cheese to melt.

Serve to hungry minions.

Crockpot Chicken Chili

I love a good throw-it-in-the-crockpot-and-go-about-your-day recipe, don't you? This one was so delicious that I didn't even get a picture of it when it was done! I will remedy that next time I make it.

INGREDIENTS:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed (or equivalent amount of chicken)
2 (15 oz) cans white beans
1(4 oz) can green chilies, drained and chopped
3 cups chicken broth
1 white onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Season chicken cubes with salt and pepper and place in slow cooker.

Add broth, beans, onions and green chilies.

Add in remaining seasonings and stir.

Cook on low for 8 hours stirring at the halfway point!

Creamy Cheesy Chicken and Rice

I have never quite found a chicken and rice recipe that I liked to make. I usually liked the way they tasted but they were hard or had ingredients I didn't care for or were bland. This one is AMAZING! Easy and delicious, especially if you use a rotisserie chicken like I did.

INGREDIENTS:
4 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
4 cups cooked brown rice
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups shredded cheese (I typically use colby-jack)
Additional 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese for topping
1 Tbsp fresh chopped thyme (optional)

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Cook garlic in melted butter for one minute. Add flour and seasonings and whisk.

Slowly add in chicken broth whisking constantly.

Whisk until thick and almost boiling, Add in the 2 cups of cheese, stirring until cheese is melted.

Stir cheese sauce into rice.

Add chicken.

Stir to combine and pour into a 9x13 casserole dish. Top with additional cheese, if desired. I know I desire it, but you may be a weirdo who doesn't like as much cheese different.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until cheese is melted.

This one is a BIG hit in Chaosville!!

Homemade Condensed Soups

If you are anything like me, you LOVE casseroles! I make about one a week, which  means I usually have Cream of Chicken or Cream of Mushroom or Tomato soup on my grocery list. Lately I have been trying to cut down on the sodium and preservatives where I can and those condensed soups that go into my beloved casseroles? LOADED with both!! What's a moderately lazy girl like me to do? Google a suitable replacement! And I found a great set of recipes for each. I have only made the Cream of Chicken so far but I will include all three recipes here and add the pics when I make the others.

CONDENSED CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP
**Recipe will yield the equivalent of two cans of condensed soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I used seasoned flour)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp celery seed (optional)

1/8 tsp dried thyme

1/4 cup diced cooked chicken

      Since I was going to immediately use this in a chicken casserole, I left out the diced chicken.

In a large saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil over medium high heat. Mix together the milk and flour in a bowl until the flour is dissolved.

Slowly pour the milk mixture into the boiling stock and whisk to combine. Whisk in all the seasonings and reduce heat to medium. Bring the mixture back to a low boil and stir constantly. Boil and stir for about 3 minutes or until thickened. If using chicken, add it now. Use immediately in a recipe or store in an airtight container for up to one week in the refrigerator.

CONDENSED CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

**Recipe will yield the equivalent of two cans of condensed soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/3 cups vegetable stock

2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup finely diced fresh mushrooms

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp celery seed (optional)

1/8 tsp dried thyme

In a large saucepan, bring the vegetable stock to a boil over medium high heat. Mix together the milk and flour in a bowl until the flour is dissolved.

Slowly pour the milk mixture into the boiling stock and whisk to combine. 

Whisk in the mushrooms and all the seasonings and reduce heat to medium. 

Bring the mixture back to a low boil and stir constantly. Boil and stir for about 3 minutes or until thickened. Use immediately in a recipe or store in an airtight container for up to one week in the refrigerator. I used mine right away in some Chicken Spaghetti and it was fabulous!!

CONDENSED TOMATO SOUP

**Recipe will yield the equivalent of one can of condensed soup

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz tomato sauce

1-2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

Whisk all ingredients together in a mixing bowl until well combined. Add to your favorite recipe!

Menu 3/31 - 4/6/2014

Did you know I was still alive? Did you know I still cook almost every night? Well, I am and I do. I know this sounds like a broken record, but I am really trying to get back to blogging, at least here on the food site. I have some new recipes I have tried and want to put up. I just need to make it a priority. Something I do for me! Because I really like it. In any case, here is what we are eating this week!
Monday-- Breakfast for Dinner
Tuesday-- Cheeseburger Biscuit Bake
Wednesday-- Salmon and couscous (which will be a first for us)
Thursday-- Kobayashi Maru
Friday-- Hoppin' John
Saturday-- Chicken & Gnocchi Soup
Sunday-- Still open, maybe leftovers?