Cozy Cabin Casserole

I'm on a roll with trying new crockpot recipes lately, since I borrowed a crockpot recipe magazine from my sister-in-law. We all liked this one!  I have no idea why it has this "Cozy Cabin Casserole" name, because it's certainly not a casserole. It's very similar to this Beef and Noodles recipe. I think you could easily serve it on noodles as a beef stroganoff type meal. My plan was to serve it on top of mashed potatoes (since there's quite a bit of gravy in it), but we ended up having it with baked potatoes instead.

Ingredients:
2 lb. lean round steak (I used beef stew meat instead)
2 1.1-oz envelopes dry beefy onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions:
Layer first four ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high one hour and then on low 4-6 hours or until meat is tender. (I cooked it on high for 4 hours instead.) Stir in sour cream 10 minutes before serving. 

Salsa Chicken with Rice

I should call this recipe "Miracle Chicken", because it's a miracle that I've actually posted THREE recipes this month!  :)  I decided the other day to institute the tradition of a "Sunday dinner" (actually, lunch) each week in our home, and so today I started this in the crockpot before we left for church.

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1-1/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup salsa 
1 Tbsp. olive oil (I used vegetable oil)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:
Spray interior of slow cooker with cooking spray. Pour rice into slow cooker. Add chicken broth and salsa. Stir together well.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to skillet and brown chicken 2 to 3 minutes per side. Place chicken breasts on top of salsa mixture in slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours or until chicken and rice are tender. Top with cheese just before serving.

Tangy Cranberry Meatballs

I've seen this recipe several times over the years, but never tried it until tonight. I think it's meant to be more of an appetizer, but we had it as a dinner, served on rice, with green beans. It got the thumbs up from 4/5 of us! The man who took a bite and spit it into the trashcan shall remain nameless.  Since I am currently following the Weight Watchers program, I made this recipe with turkey meatballs rather than beef meatballs.  Turkey meatballs are an acquired taste, and apparently the above mentioned nameless man has yet to acquire it.  :)

Ingredients:

1 lb. frozen precooked meatballs 

12-oz bottle chili sauce

16-oz can jellied cranberry sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

Instructions:

Place meatballs in slow cooker.  In a mixing bowl, combine chili sauce, cranberry sauce, and brown sugar, breaking up the cranberry sauce as well as you can.  Pour over meatballs.  Cover and cook on low 3 to 4 hours.

Crunchy Onion Chicken

Seriously??  It's been FOUR MONTHS since I posted anything here??  I should be ashamed.  And I am!

Last night, I tried this new recipe, which I tore out of a magazine a long time ago.  It was part of an ad for French's french fried onions.  Everyone liked it, so it has been deemed "a keeper."  As a side note, I have found that cooking meals for the brother-in-law who is snowed in with us and spending the week with us is really a joy.  Over the past ten years or so, he has probably only eaten the equivalent of about three months of home cooked meals... and so it's really been fun to cook meals and see his reaction over them.  I hope after experiencing compliment after compliment from him over my meals, it will remind me to be equally complimentary of meals that other people cook for me.  It really does a cook's heart good to be complimented and thanked.  :)

Ingredients:
2-2/3 c. French's french fried onions (I used generic)
2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 eggs, beaten

**Note:  I found this to not be enough french fried onions to completely coat the chicken breasts.  I guesstimated the chicken, so maybe I was using more than two pounds.  But just be advised that you may need more of the french fried onions than what is stated here.**

Instructions:
Crush french fried onions in plastic bag.  Dip chicken into egg; then coat in onion crumbs.  Bake 20 minutes at 400F until cooked through.

**Another note:  The chicken breasts I used were thick, and so I probably ended up doubling this baking time.  It was definitely at least 30 minutes.  Also, be sure to use a baking sheet with sides, because the french fried onions do produce grease.**

Chicken Potato Delight

Another successful new recipe attempt... kind of.

Make this casserole at your own risk! I followed the directions exactly, and ended up with a thick layer of burnt cheese on the top. I ended up having to take that layer off, donate it to the trash can, and then add another layer of cheese and just put it into the oven long enough for it to melt. The next time I make this, I'll wait until about 10 minutes before it's done and then add the cheese and put it back in for the last 10 minutes, rather than following the directions.

It was pretty annoying, but since my nephew announced, "Bikki Boo, this one's a keeper!" and my niece proclaimed it to be "the bomb", I've decided to add it to our recipe collection. :)

This is the original recipe...

Ingredients:
1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

3/4 c. sour cream

1/4 c. milk

1 c. cubed cooked chicken (I thought that seemed pretty skimpy, so I doubled the chicken)

2-1/2 c. (10 oz) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

2-1/2 c. frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed

1 can (2.8 oz) french-fried onions

1 c. crushed sour cream and onion potato chips

Instructions:

In a bowl, combine soup, sour cream, milk, chicken, and 1-1/4 cups of the cheese. Spread 3/4 of the mixture into a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle hash browns over the top and press down lightly. Spread with the remaining soup mixture.

Sprinkle with onions, potato chips, and remaining cheese. (Caution! See my note above.) Bake, uncovered, at 350F for 1 hour or until bubbly. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

South Dakota Tea

In celebration of the first day of my favorite season, I came down with a sore throat. The ONLY good thing about a sore throat is that it gives me the opportunity to drink hot South Dakota Tea! But this is a good hot drink even if you don't have a sore throat, and it has a great orange/clove scent, which is one of my favorite cold weather scents... and the scent of one of my all time favorite candles, given to me by my friend Sherry! :)

8 oz Tang

1/2 cup lemon tea mix, sweetened (such as Lipton Sugar Sweetened Tea Mix w/Lemon Flavoring)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. powdered cloves

Mix all ingredients together very well; store in air tight container. Add mix to hot water according to your taste... I use 2 Tbsp. mix with 1 cup hot water.

Saucy Beef Casserole

Today was the first day of my "week of new recipes". I'm trying six new recipes over the next week from a couple of Taste of Home magazines. So far so good! We really liked this one... simple and good. :)

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped (I used some dried minced onion)

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

1 can condensed vegetable soup, undiluted

3/4 cup chow mein noodles

Instructions:
In a skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in soups. Transfer to a greased 8-inch square baking dish. Cover and bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Uncover; sprinkle with chow mein noodles. Bake 5 minutes longer or until noodles are crisp.

Yield:
4 large servings