Pork Chili Verde

This meal ended up being a rushed meal eaten on the fly. We were trying to get out family garden ready so I had to run back home to finish it off, eat my share and get the kids ready and take it to them. Everyone seemed to enjoy it though which was good. I love rice but some of my kids aren't the biggest fans, oh well I'm mean and make them eat it anyway ;) One thing I would try next time is to try and make the sauce thicker, well if I wanted to use it in a tortilla like the recipe said to do. It was a yummy recipe though and yet again another crock pot recipe which I love :)
1 boneless pork sirloin roast (3 lbs.), cut into 1-inch cubes
4 med. carrots, sliced
1 med. onion, thinly sliced
1 c. minced fresh cilantro
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 T. canola oil
1 can (28 oz.) green enchilada sauce
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 T. cornstarch
1/4 c. cold water
Rice
Flour tortillas

In a large skillet, saute pork, carrots, onion, cilantro and garlic in oil in batches until pork is browned. Transfer to a crock pot, add enchilada sauce and jalapenos. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until meat is tender. In a small bowl combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into pork mixture. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until thickened. I may have not cooked it long enough afterwards thicken it, I would suggest doing that if you want to eat it with tortillas. Yummy Scrummy, ENJOY :)

Asian Chicken Thighs

Once again another recipe from one of my new cookbooks and this one is DEFINITELY a BIG KEEPER!!! As soon as my husband tried it he said that it needed to go on our regular rotation and I totally agree. There are only a few things I would change about the recipe, one being I would use boneless thighs and the other is I would double the recipe so we could have more chicken for each of us and for leftovers :)
5 boneless chicken thighs, skinned (I'm going to use boneless next time)
5 tsp. olive oil
1/3 c. warm water
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 T. orange juice
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. ketchup
1 T. white vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder

In a large skillet over med. heat, cook chicken in oil for 8-10 minutes on each side until cooked. In a small bowl, whisk warm water, brown sugar, orange juice, soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, garlic, red pepper and five-spice powder. Pour sauce over chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is tender, turning occasionally. The recipe said to mix 2 T. of cold water and 2 tsp. of cornstarch together and then add it to the sauce to thicken it but my sauce was already thick enough so I skipped that step. I served this with white rice which was yummy, especially with the sauce drizzled on top.

Chicken 'n Stuffing Pot Pie

I grew up having a big Sunday dinner every week and I LOVED it. Now when I go home to England I can't wait for Sundays so I can enjoy the DELICIOUSNESS of my Mom's Sunday dinner. This recipe reminded me of all those yummy things that make Sunday dinner so I had to try it. This was another recipe from one my new cookbooks and it's a crock pot recipe which is always GREAT in my book. Having 5 kids is WONDERFUL but life gets crazy sometimes so it's nice to have meals I can prepare earlier in the day. This meal turned out REALLY good and we all really liked it. It's definitely something I will be making again. Some of my family weren't a fan of the green beans but you don't have to add those, you could leave them out or add a vegetable that your family like better.
8 boneless chicken thighs
6 slices precooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 bag (1 lb. size) baby carrots, cut in half lengthwise (about 2 c.)
4 medium red potatoes, cut into 4th or 8th
1 tsp. dried marjoram leaves
1 jar (12 oz.) chicken gravy
1 bag (12 oz.) frozen green beans, thawed
6 T. butter or margarine, melted
7 oz. herb-seasoned stuffing cubes (about 4 2/3 c.)

Spray crock pot with cooking spray. Place chicken in crock pot and top with bacon, carrots, potatoes, marjoram and gravy. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Gently stir in thawed green beans to cooked chicken mixture. In a medium bowl mix melted butter and stuffing. Spoon stuffing over chicken mixture. Increase heat setting to high; cover and cook for 15 more minutes and ENJOY :) If you don't have any stuffing cubes you could always make regular stuffing and just add it afterwards or to the crock pot.

Cheese Stuffed Meatballs

MI've always loved pasta, it's one of my favourite things to eat which is not very good when you're trying to lose weight but oh well, I would NEVER not eat it, I love it too much. Anyway as I was looking through one of my new cookbooks I found this yummy recipe and had to try it. This was a hit with everyone, my only problem was that I think I should have cooked the meatballs a little longer in the oven and in the pan afterwards but we were in a rush and the pasta was cooked. They were fully cooked but I think they could have been more firm, maybe adding more bread crumbs would have helped with that too, I'll try that next time.
4 sticks mozzarella string cheese, cut into 18 cubes
1/2 c. Italian style bread crumbs
1 jar (48 oz.) tomato pasta sauce
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
2 T. finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1 egg
Pasta (how ever much feeds your family normally and whatever type you like)
2/3 shredded parmesan cheese (or whatever cheese you like)

***Place cheese cubes in a baggie and freeze for at least 1 hour before making this recipe***
Heat oven to 375F. Line a 10x15x1 baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray. In a large bowl mix bread crumbs and 3 T. of the pasta sauce. Next stir in beef, onions, salt, oregano and egg. I used my hands for this, it just made it a lot easier. Shape mixture into 18 (2-inch) balls. Press 1 cheese cube into each ball, sealing it inside. Place each meatball into baking dish carefully. Bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile pour remaining pasta sauce into a large pot (it said to use a dutch oven but I don't have one) and simmer over med-high heat, stirring frequently. Once meatballs are cooked, add them to the pasta sauce in the pot and reduce heat to med-low. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until meatballs are thoroughly cooked and no longer pink. Serve with any kind of pasta you like. Serve with cheese if you like and ENJOY :) Anything with cheese is great with me and my family, I think that's why I wanted to try this recipe.

Salsa Chicken Fiesta

When I saw this recipe in one of my new cookbooks I thought it looked delicious and super easy so I had to try it. It was super easy but it wasn't as delicious as I thought it was going to be :( It wasn't bad though, I just need to figure out a way for the crust to not be as dry and a way to give more flavour to the chicken part.
1 1/3 c. bisquick mix
1/4 c. water
2 eggs
2 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
6 large boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 jar (16 oz.) thick & chunky salsa

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. In a med. bowl stir bisquick mix, water and eggs. Spread mixture into pan and then sprinkle with 2 c. of cheese. In a skillet cook chicken over med-high heat until no longer pink. Drain juices and add salsa. Heat until hot. Spoon chicken mixture over bisquick mixture within 1/2-inch of edges. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges are dark golden brown. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for another 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. This can be served with sour cream and ground red pepper if you like.

Deep-dish Taco Squares

Here's another recipe from one of my new cookbooks. I LOVED this recipe and so did most of my family. Only one of my kids wasn't a fan but I think that was because of the sour cream, she's not really a sour cream fan. Anyway this was super easy to put together and REALLY yummy.
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/4 c. chopped onion
2 T. taco seasoning mix
1 c. bisquick mix
1/4 c. cold water
1/2 c. sour cream
1/3 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 med. tomato, chopped
1 (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chiles

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Over med-high heat cook ground beef and onions until thoroughly cooked. Drain and then stir taco seasoning into beef mixture until blended. In a med. bowl stir bisquick and water together until it forms a soft dough. Put dough mixture into the square dish and pat down so it's evenly spread and about 1/2 inch up the sides. In a med. bowl mix sour cream, mayonnaise and cheese until blended. Layer beef mixture, tomato and chiles over dough. Spoon sour cream mixture over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges of dough are light golden brown.

Southwest Crockpot Burritos

This recipe is from our school cookbook and because I've been loving Mexican food lately I wanted to try this one. I was a little disappointed only because in my mind I thought it was going to be this fantastic recipe. It was still really good but I think it needed something a little extra. I did like the refried beans with it though, that was yummy :)
2 lbs. boneless chuck roast
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. beef bouillon granules
1 med. onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 1/2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. water
8 large tortillas
Refried beans
Shredded cheese

Place roast, pepper, garlic, beef bouillon, onion, chili powder, cumin, cilantro, salt and water into a crockpot. Cook on low for 8-9 hours until tender. Remove meat and shred, then place in a bowl. Combine meat with 1 c. of cooking juices. Spread tortillas with cooked refried beans, add beef and sprinkle with cheese. You could really serve this however you like so enjoy :)

Hawaiian Pork Ribs

Tonight's recipe was DELICIOUS!!!

I found this recipe in my new Betty Crocker cookbook and it looked so good I had to try it. I also knew my husband would love it because he LOVES meat and especially ribs. This was a pretty easy recipe to make as well which is always good. The recipe called for 6lbs pork loin back ribs but I didn't write that down properly so I ended up not knowing what to get when I was at the store. I ended up picked out country style boneless ribs and I only used 3lbs and I actually am glad I did. I think for our family that worked better. Really I think you could use any kind of meat you want. We all LOVED the ribs though, it was a big hit which is always nice when you're trying new things.
3 lbs boneless country style ribs (anything you like really)
3/4 c. ketchup
3/4 c. pineapple preserves
1/2 c. teriyaki marinade and sauce
2 T. packed brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 c. cornstarch
1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks in juice, drained, with 1/3 c. juice reserved
1 (1lb) bag frozen stir fry (any kind you prefer)

Spray crock pot with cooking spray, then place ribs in. In a small bowl combine ketchup, preserves, teriyaki, brown sugar and garlic. Pour mixture over ribs. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours. Remove ribs from cooker and keep warm. I just put mine in the oven set at 200F. In a small bowl combine cornstarch and pineapple juice until smooth. Add mixture to the juice in the crock pot. Increase heat to high, cover and cook for another 25 minutes (or until thickened). Meanwhile mix pineapple chunks and stir fry veggies in a microwave safe bowl. Cook uncovered for about 5-6 minutes (until heated/cooked). Drain water from veggies then mix veggies in with the sauce that is in the crockpot. I serves this with rice and served the veggie mixture over the ribs. I also had some veggie/sauce mixture left over so I put it in a quart size freezer bag and I'm going to freeze it so I can use it another day. I figure if I need a quick dinner one night I can cook some chicken really fast and just add the leftover sauce, YUMMY!!!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Besides desserts and a few other things, one of my most favourite things to eat are soups. I came across this soup a few weeks ago and have excited to try it. I think wild rice is super good so this soup combined a lot of food I like. It seemed like most of my kids liked this meal too, I did have to pick the beans out for one of my daughters but other than that it was a success :) This recipe came from one of the new blogs I found. She has a really good dessert I want to try too, I have all the ingredients to make it but haven't. I should have made it this past weekend when I was eating too much, dang it ;)

1 c. chicken or turkey (shredded or cubed)
1 T. chicken base (or 2 cubes)
2 (10.5 oz.) cans cream of chicken soup
5 2/3 c. water
1 small box Uncle Ben's long wild rice (and seasoning packet)
1 small bag frozen mixed vegetables (any kind you like or none if you would prefer)

In a large pot combine water, chicken base, and wild rice. Bring to a boil. After it starts to boil, reduce the heat and cover to cook the rice (following time recommendations on the box). Add the vegetables and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the soup and the chicken. Stir until everything is heated. This recipe has 1540 calories in it which isn't very much. It could probably serve around 8 people which makes it 210 calories per serving, not bad :)

Sticky Chicken

We eat LOTS of chicken in our family. My husband prefers red meat I think but really he just REALLY loves meat :) Tonight I decided to try another recipe from the school cookbook. See, if you haven't got one you need too get one, there's LOTS of YUMMY recipes. This recipe came from one my really good friends, Susan Bingham who always seems to have great recipes. I LOVED this dinner but because I'm still trying to lose weight I only had a small portion. I REALLY wanted more but I had to resist. My kids and Steve both asked for seconds which is a good sign. This will definitely be something I make again, DELICIOUS!

1 c. catalina salad dressing (I used the fat free kind)
1 c. brown sugar
1 pkg. Lipton Onion soup mix (I used the store brand)
6-8 chicken breasts (I used 8)
flourPreheat oven to 325 F. Combine salad dressing, sugar and soup in a bowl. If chicken breasts are thick, cut in half lengthwise. Dip chicken in flour and brown in skillet. Put chicken in a 9x13 dish that has been lined with foil. Pour dressing mixture over chicken, cover and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Serve sauce from chicken over rice. This recipe was about 2265 calories altogether.

Ooey Gooies

So tonight for dinner I made another recipe from the school cookbook and once again it was YUMMY! Another thing I wasn't the biggest fan of when we got married was Mexican food and once again it was because I hadn't really eaten it very much or I hadn't eaten very good Mexican food. I now LOVE eating Mexican food, one of my favourite places to go eat is Cafe Rio and I always get their pork, can you say DELICIOUS :) Most of my family liked this meal tonight but I always make my kids eat everything they take or I give them. I think it's good for them to try EVERYTHING! Of course I know there are things that they don't like but I also think they need to try new things at least once. Anyway here's the recipe, this one was brought to you by Macy Sautter (hahaha, I feel like I'm on Sesame Street).

3 chicken breasts (I used 5 because we like meat at our house)
1 (10.5 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10.5 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1 c. salsa
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 c. shredded monterey jack cheese

Put frozen or non-frozen chicken breasts in a crock pot. Mix together soups, salsa, green chilies, beans and spices and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6 hours. After 6 hours shred chicken and add cheese and cook for another 30 minutes. Serve in a tortilla like a taco. This meal is about 2105 calories altogether (it was 2265 for me because I added more chicken). Then just divide that by however much you eat and ENJOY!

Instead of using tortilla's for my kids like the recipe called for I put it in a bowl and let them use fritos to scoop it out and they liked that. I used a tortilla and added salad, you could also add rice as well or anything you like. It was thinner than I thought it would be so I think just served over rice would be great too. My friend said she doubled the recipe and froze half of it for another day. We had a Relief Society meeting about freezer meals last month so I will doing that with some of these recipes and will hopefully learn as I go along and will share my tips or disasters with you as I go :)

Beef Noodle Bowl

As I mentioned before I LOVE cookbooks/blogs etc... Well these past few months we put together a cookbook for our kids Elementary school. I have a similar cookbook that my ward put together a few years ago and I use it all the time. The other night I went through our new Discovery Elementary cookbook and wrote down LOTS of recipes I wanted to try. Tonight I made my first recipe out of the school cookbook and it was YUMMY! Our family love pasta and vegetables and my husband LOVES meat so this was a perfect meal for us. This was a really fast meal to make and super easy, I will for sure be making this again :)

8 oz. linguine, uncooked
3 c. broccoli florets
3 med. carrots, peeled and sliced
2 tsp. veg oil
1 lb. beef sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
1/2 onion, cut up
1/4 c. zesty Italian dressing
1/4 c. teriyaki sauce
1 tsp. ground ginger

Cook pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli and carrots for the last 2 minutes of the pasta cooking time. Drain mixture. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet. Add meat and onions, cooking until meat is browned on all sides. Stir in dressing, teriyaki sauce and ginger, cooking until sauce thickens. Toss pasta into the meat mixture and serve.

*You could use any vegetables you like and as much or as little meat as you want. I think next time I will change the meat to chicken (which would be WAY cheaper), pork or you could use whatever meat you like.

This recipe was submitted by Shari Bruce. If you're interested in getting a cookbook they're only $15 and are available at the school, it's full of DELICIOUS recipes.