Kitchen Boycott: Pork and Potatoes with Mustard Sauce

Today was a foggy and cloud day in Minnesota. Days like this puts me in a lazy mood and all motivation for housework goes out the window. So today was the absolute PERFECT day for a crock pot meal!

 Pork chops seem to be a staple in our rotation of meats, so I wanted to try something new with it.

What you need:

6 pork loin chops - trimmed
1 can fat free cream of mushroom soup (10 3/4 oz)
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 medium potatoes - thinly sliced
1 onion, sliced

Step 1: In skillet, brown pork chops in 1 tbsp oil. 

Step 2: In crock pot, mix soup, chicken broth, mustard, thyme, garlic, and pepper.

 Step 3:Add potatoes and onion, stirring to coat. Place browned pork chops on top of potato mixture.

Step 4: Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high 4 to 5 hours.

Kitchen Boycott: Hearty Lentil Soup

    I am new to the ideals of lentils. I had never tried them or attempted to cook with them. I found this recipe (and tweaked it to my liking) on OAMM and thought I'd give it a try! I am starting my journey to slowly lose the baby weight from my last pregnancy, so I thought this hearty and healthy soup would make great lunches and keep me fuller longer. Yay for fiber!

This soup also freezes well. Put in individual size containers before freezing for easy lunches :)

What you need:

2 cups dried lentils, rinsed

4 cups water

4 cups broth (beef, chicken or vegetable works fine)

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrots

1.4 cups chopped fresh parsley

4 teaspoons minced garlic (i used a lot more. LOVE garlic!)

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoons pepper

1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

15 ounces canned diced tomatoes, undrained

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

 

Step 1: Place lentils in slow cooker and cover with water.  

Step 2: Add onion, celery, carrots, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano.  

Step 3: Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.  Add tomatoes and red wine vinegar.  Heat through for 15 minutes.  

I served mine with a few slices of french bread. Enjoy!

Kitchen Boycott: Chicken Tortilla Soup

This recipe was super quick to prepare and delicious! Will definitely make again and again! Plus had tons left over for lunches :)

Ingredients:

Adapted from The Six Sisters' Stuff

2 chicken  breasts- boneless/ skinless
2 cans Ro-Tel  (I used one can and then added diced fresh tomatoes)

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn or 1 c frozen corn
1 onion, chopped
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1-2 cups of water
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp chile powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp dried cilantro
tortilla chips (for topping)
sour cream (for topping)
shredded cheddar cheese (for topping)

Step 1: Place beans, corn, chopped onion, rotel, chicken broth, water and spices in Crock-Pot.

Step 2: Place chicken on top (make sure they are covered by some liquid)

Step 3: Cook on Low 8-9 hours or on High 6-7 hours. Take chicken out and shred, then mix back into soup.

Step 4: To serve, top with tortilla chips, sour cream and cheddar cheese. Enjoy!

What did I do with my time away from the kitchen?: Hung out with my friend Priscilla :)

Kitchen Boycott: Fresh Spaghetti Sauce

 

       Tomatoes were everywhere in my kitchen...fridge, counter, table... I needed to do something to take back my kitchen. So what's a girl to do? I made fresh tomato sauce :) Of course I did it on a large scale (I wasn't kidding when I said they were EVERYWHERE) and plan to freeze most of it for future recipes, but you can make enough for one meal if you like. This recipe was perfect. Just place all ingredients in the crock-pot and let it simmer all day. No work of babysitting a pot on the stove or heating up the house.

I eye-balled the amounts I put in the crockpot (since I did a very large batch). So here are some suggested ingredients amounts (6 servings):

8 lbs tomatoes, skin removed and diced
1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped

1 onion, minced

1 green pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 c/ olive oil
Splash of red wine (and a glass for yourself !)

tomato paste

salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Prep tomatoes by removing skin (see freezing tomatoes tutorial) and dice into smaller chunks. Add to crock-pot.

Step 2: In small pan, saute pepper, garlic, and onion until tender. Add to crock-pot with remaining ingredients.

Step 3: Simmer on low for 6-8 hours. Stir every 3 hours.

Step 4: Pour over your favorite pasta. Top with parmesan cheese.

 Enjoy!

What did I do with my time away?: Sophie and I played with play-doh :)

Kitchen Boycott: Crock-Pot Shepards Pie

  So I found myself this morning thinking "What am I going to make?" I still needed to make my upcoming weekly meal plan and shopping. But with two little ones and too much on the to-do list today, going to the store was not an option. So I thought about what I had that was quick on hand. ...Potatoes, frozen veggies, and hamburger... hmmm.. Shepards Pie! 
     I know Shepards Pie in the Crock-Pot sounds wierd, but I'm going to try it. What is great about this meal is that all these ingredients are stuff I always usually have on hand. So it makes for a great 'go-to' meal.
           

Crock-Pot Shepards Pie

Adapted from Stephanie O'dea

Ingredients:

-3 cups leftover mashed potatoes
-1 lb ground turkey or beef (I used beef)
-2 cloves garlic, chopped
-2 cups frozen vegetables (I used corn and green beans)

-1 medium onion, chopped finely, or 1 T onion flakes
-1/2 tsp seasoned salt
-1/2 tsp onion powder
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-1/4 tsp paprika
-1 cup water
-2 cups shredded cheese

Step 1: Brown your meat**  on the stove with the onion. Toss with spices and garlic. (Due to my abundant graden supply, I added once again some chopped green peppers while frying).
Step 2: Spray inside of your Crock-Pot with cooking spray.
Step 3: Place the meat in the bottom of the pot. Stir in your veggies and add a cup of water.
Step 4: Add the cheese. Then press down the mash potatoes on tops and sprinkle with paprika.
Step 5: Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 3 hours. The remove the lid and cook for additional 30 minutes. This allows the potatoes to get crusty and a bit brown, like it would in the oven (yay for not heating up the house in the summer!).
This was the perfect one pot meal! Sophie (my picky eater) actially ate it!
** Time saving tip: Have a couple of pre-portioned Ziplock bags of cooked ground beef in your freezer. Makes for less time in the kitchen on days you need to assemble meals quick. (taco salad, casseroles, etc)


Time preparing this meal: 10 minutes (while Sophie ate breakfast)

What did I do with my extra time away from the kitchen?: Took a long needed nap! :) Newborns are fun, but not so fun in the sleep department..

Photo from www.lwhancock.com
My basic camera didn't do this delicious meal justice!

Kitchen Boycott: Crock-Pot Teriyaki Chicken

   There are so many days I find myself spending half my day (or so it feels) in my kitchen making meals. Between rummaging through my cupboards and fridge, preparing ingredients, and cooking meals; There is little time left for what I want to do.  So today is my first day on my journey to get out of the kitchen (or spend as little time as I can) and spend more time with my family.
    To accomplish this goal today, I dusted off my trusty Crock-Pot and tried a new recipe! Today I made Teriyaki Chicken over Rice. SUPER EASY! The best thing about this recipe too is that you can prep it before hand and freeze it all in a Ziploc freezer bag (my new best friend). Thaw and then dump it all into your slow cooker! Dinner is ready when you come home and only one bag to throw away! Easy clean up.

Crock-Pot Teriyaki Chicken

Makes two meals with 4 servings each.
(I made one today in the crock-pot and saved the other in the freezer for an easy meal later this month!)

What you need:
- Ziploc freezer bag (to store second meal)
- White rice
- 1 large can pineapple (undrained)
- 1 large onion (cut into large chunks)
- 1 medium bag of carrots
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 green pepper- chopped in large chunks (optional: I have tons in the garden to use up)
- 4 chicken breasts- cut in half (I used tenderloins instead)
- 1 cup teriyaki sauce
- Ginger powder to taste

Step 1: Cut up all veggies
Step 2: Label extra bag with directions and content.
           -Add 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
           -Cook on High-4 hours/ Low 8 hours
           -Serve over rice
Step 3: Add meat to bag and crock-pot
Step 4: Divide veggies and all other ingredients between the bag and cock-pot.
Step 5: Start crock pot for desired time. Press air of our bag, seal and freeze for a later meal (lay flat to freeze)

Step 6: Serve over hot rice when done.

This meal took me 10 minutes to prep. I now have a meal ready with barely any work and PLUS a meal with no prep later this month :)
 **When ready to use the frozen meal. Move to refrigerator to thaw (enough to slide out of bag), place contents of the bag in crock pot, turn on, and dinner will be ready when you get home!

What I did with my extra time away from the kitchen?:  Took girls for a walk and spent extra time reading Sophie books :)