Crockpot Ranch Pork Chops

Hello,

Last week I tried this simple Crockpot Ranch Pork Chop recipe that I found on Pinterest. I'm a huge fan of pretty much any type of gravy so I really wanted to try this one. Here is the original recipe that I followed:  http://www.livinglaughingandloving.com/2012/01/crockpot-ranch-pork-chops-finger-licking-good.html

That's it. All you need is 3 ingredients!

• Pork chops - I used 3 boneless thick cut ones. It looks like the website uses 5-6 thin ones. I really think any kind would work.
• 1 packet of ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup and 1 can water or 2 cans cream of chicken - I used cream of mushroom and about 1/2-3/4 can of water. Any cream of something will do though.

Put your ranch packet, soup, and water into the crockpot and mix. Add the pork chops and make sure they're covered with your mixture. I cooked my pork chops on low for 5 hours. Generally my pork chops take from 4-6 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high. When the pork chops were done I ladled the gravy on top of a box of mashed potatoes that I couponed. Here's the finished product:

This is one of my favorite recipes that I've tried from Pinterest so far. They were so tasty and made great leftovers too. I'm a huge fan of leftovers btw. I eat leftovers for my lunch at work almost every day. I hope you enjoy this recipe and happy cooking, crockpotting, and couponing!

Crockpot Baked Potato Soup

Hello,

Last week I decided to make one of my most favorite soups of all time Baked Potato Soup. I'm a big fan of the potato soup that has chunks of potato in it but also has a creamy texture rather than a thinner more watery one. This recipe really accomplished what I was looking for. The only change that I would make would be to cut my potatoes into smaller pieces. Here's what my final product turned out like:

  

 So you can't exactly see the actual soup but i promise it was creamy and chunky. The recipe I based my soup on was the one found here:  http://momswithcrockpots.com/2011/12/crock-pot-ham-potato-soup/

Ingredients:

•  3.5 cups peeled diced potatoes - I did not peel my potatoes. I like the skins on. I used about six small potatoes to make my 3.5 cups
• 1/3 cup chopped celery - I didn't have any celery so I didn't put any in my soup
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion - I doubled this amount. You can never have too much onion
• 1 cup diced ham - although ham would have been most excellent I didn't have any. I fried up a few slices of bacon instead and used it as my meat topping
• 3.25 cups water - I used chicken stock instead
• 6 chicken boullion cubes - since I used the chicken stock instead of water I didn't use any boullion cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 tablespoon pepper - I salted and peppered to taste instead
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups milk
• shredded cheese - I used sharp cheddar for my garnish
• sour cream - put a dollop on top along with my bacon and cheese

Dice your potatoes and put all your ingredients except flour, butter, milk, cheese, and sour cream into your crockpot and stir.

The recipes calls to cook for 6-8 hours on low and that would work great. I did mine for 3.5 hours on high. When your soup is done, melt butter in a saucepan and stir in flour on medium heat making a roux. Gradually stir in your milk and continue to stir until ingredients are well mixed and the mixture has thickened. Stir in the milk mixture into your crockpot and let cook another 20 minutes on high heat. In the mean time I cooked my bacon. When the soup was done I poured mine into a ramekin and topped with bacon, cheese, and sour cream. I hope you enjoy this recipe and the modifications I made to it. Happy crockpotting!

Crockpot Honey Chicken

Hello,

Over the weekend I was looking for a spicy chicken dish to make to go with some Success Boil in a Bag brown rice I had couponed. I came across this recipe that I had pinned on Pinterest to try:  http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/04/crock-pot-honey-sesame-chicken/ My recipe would have been crockpot honey sesame chicken but...I didn't have the sesame seeds. I just omitted them but I'm sure it would've been delish with them. The chicken came out with a hint of spice. Definitely not overwhelming but very good. I had half the amount of chicken that the recipe called for so I halved the ingredients. So here's how it came out:

Ingredients (since I halved the recipe I will be listing the ingredients by half the original amounts):

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken tenderloins - breasts would work fine too
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons diced onion - I probably used 4 tablespoons of my frozen diced onion
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 clove of garlic - I used the refrigerated already minced in a jar kind
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes - I used the original 1/2 teaspoon amount. If spice is not your thing feel free to omit
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons water
• sesame seeds - again I didn't have any but it still turned out great

Salt and pepper the chicken to taste and place in crockpot. In a bowl combine the honey, onion, ketchup, vegetable oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes and pour over the chicken.

 I cooked my chicken on high for 2 hours. Depending on your crockpot you can cook it on low for 4-6 or high for 2-3. I normally cook on the low setting but time was of the essence. When the chicken is done remove it and cut it or shred it however you prefer. Pour your cornstarch/water mixture in the crockpot with the remaining sauce and put on high for another 10-15 minutes. This will thicken your sauce. When the sauce is done put your chicken back in and mix with sauce. I served my chicken over the before mentioned couponed boil in a bag brown rice. This is a great spicy chicken crockpot recipe and I highly recommend it. Happy cooking, coupon, and crockpotting!

Peanut Butter Cheerio Treats - 2 Different Versions

Hello,

Over the last week I've made one of my favorite childhood holiday treats which are Peanut Butter Rice Krispie treats. I had two different recipes that I used. One of which is the recipe my mom used and which I preferred. Now, I have stockpiled several boxes of Cheerios lately so that's what I used instead of Rice Krispies. No need to spend more money when I had a cereal that would work just as good. Here's the website for the first recipe I tried:  http://justjennrecipes.com/peanut-butter-cheerios-treats/2012/06/10/

Marshmallow Peanut Butter Cheerio Treats:

Ingredients:

• 6 cups peanut butter cheerios - I used just plain multi-grain cheerios
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter - I doubled this amount and used honey roast creamy Peter Pan. I betrayed my beloved Jif but sadly I had to go with the couponed peanut butter. I really think any peanut butter you have will work
• 10 oz marshmallows - my bag was exactly 10 oz so it worked out great. I think any sized marshmallows will do but I think the mini ones work best
• 1 cup chocolate chips - any kind will do. I used mini semi-sweet ones. I didn't measure mine and just sprinkled them on top when it was done

Prepare a 9x13 pan with cooking spray or parchment paper. You can use a smaller pan but your treats will be thicker. Then in a medium to large pot melt your butter and peanut butter over medium high heat. Then add your marshmallows until melted. At this point you will need to add your cheerios to your pot. It became difficult for me to stir the mixture at this point so you'll want to get the cheerios covered as quickly as possible. Once the cheerios are covered, pour the mixture into your pan and spread it as evenly as possible. Sprinkle your chocolate chips over the treats. Let the treats cool before cutting. I enjoyed these but not nearly as much as I enjoyed the next recipe. This recipe is better for people who prefer old school marshmallow rice krispie treats to the peanut butter variety. Sometimes though it just comes down to what ingredients you have on hand.

Here's what the final product looked like:

 So here is the second recipe I tried and I greatly prefer it:  http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1710,131185-250199,00.html

Peanut Butter Cheerio Treats:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white Karo syrup
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter - I used the Kroger brand honey roasted creamy. Again I think any peanut butter will do
• 5 cups Rice Krispies - Again I used the multi-grain Cheerios and I thought they worked great

Prep your 9x13 pan with cooking spray or parchment paper. In your medium to large pot bring the Karo syrup and sugar to a boil over medium high heat. Add the peanut butter until well combined and remove from heat. Add the cheerios and mix well. Pour the mixture into your pan and smooth. Sprinkle chocolate chips if you desire. I did mine half and half. Let cool before cutting. And fyi these are more difficult to cut than the marshmallow ones but still delicious!

I preferred this version to the marshmallow one because it had much more peanut butter flavor. If you try both recipes I would love to hear about which one you thought turned out better. I hope you enjoy these treats and happy cooking, crockpotting, and couponing!

Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

Hello,

A while back I made a recipe I like to call Chicken Pot Pie Casserole. I based my creation on the recipe found here:  http://mariescookingadventures.blogspot.com/search/label/Cassorole
You'll need to scroll down the page a bit to find the recipe. This recipe was easy to make and reheated well the next day.

 
Ingredients:

• 1 tube of biscuits - I used the Pillsbury Grands Jr. 10 count but any should work
• 1 can cream of chicken soup - I used 98% fat free - cream of anything would work fine though
• 1/2 cup sour cream - I didn't have sour cream so I used milk - you could also use heavy whipping cream or half and half
• 1/2 stick melted butter
• 1 can of peas - I used a bag of frozen mixed vegetables instead
• 2 cups of cooked chicken
• 1 cup of mild shredded cheese - I used sharp cheddar and did not measure. I just sprinkled it on top til it seemed like it was covered
• 3 tablespoons milk
• Ground black pepper to taste

Heat your oven to 375 degrees. Mix your cream of something with your sour cream (in my case milk) in the baking dish. The website suggests a 8 inch square dish. I don't know what you would call my dish but it worked well. Then stir in your chicken, vegetables, melted butter, pepper, and that last 3 tablespoons of milk. I learned that my frozen vegetables did not work well with the melted butter. Next time I will make sure my veggies aren't frozen when I mix them with the other ingredients. Spread the mixture evenly in your baking dish. Sprinkle with however much cheese your heart desires. I might mix some of the cheese in with the mixture and then put more on top too next time.  Then just pop your can of biscuits open and put them on top of your cheese. There were 2 gaps in my biscuits probably because I used the wrong size dish. Don't worry it still turned out great. Put in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until your biscuits appear to be done.

This was a cheap and easy meal. I got the biscuits and cream of something soup couponing and used just used store brand everything else. I hope you enjoy this recipe and happy couponing!

Garlic Chicken Puffs

Hello,

A few weekends ago I made these delish garlic chicken puffs for a gathering that I attended. I found the recipe on Pinterest a while ago and had been wanting to try them. The recipe that I followed is located here:  http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/appetizers-and-snacks/garlic-chicken-puffs/

I'm sorry I don't have a picture of all the ingredients that I used this time. I was kind of in a hurry. I ended up modifying this recipe quite a bit as I wanted to make a larger quantity than the recipe originally called for.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz cream cheese - this is a half a bar. I used the entire 8 oz bar of Neufchatel 
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder - I definitely used alot more than this. I just added enough so that I could actually taste the garlic. It was probably around 1-1.5 tablespoons
• 1/2 cups, cooked shredded chicken - I used a large can of chicken drained
• 1 cup of cheddar cheese - this was my own personal addition to the recipe because everything is better with cheese. Duh.
• 2 8oz cans of crescent rolls - I used 3 cans containing 8 each

 
Mix cream cheese, garlic, cheese, and chicken in a bowl until well blended. I heated up the cream cheese beforehand in the microwave so that it was softer. Unroll the crescent rolls. Cut each triangle into 2 triangles so you'll have 16 triangles for each can of crescent rolls. The next part is tricky. You're going to want to place 1 dollop of the mixture on the center of each triangle and fold the corners in over it. You'll want to seal it up as best as possible so that it doesn't goo out when you put it in the oven. Place on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. I did 2 batches on the cookie sheet. They turned out really good. Next time I want to add some diced jalapenos to the mixture as well to give it a little more kick.

Hope you enjoy this recipe and happy cooking, couponing, and crockpotting!