rockpot Wonders

I am officially in love with my crockpot. I have been for some time, but I figured that I should make a formal announcement. I do wonder if this makes my cooking efforts a little less impressive, but ultimately who cares. Everything I've made in the crockpot comes out delicious. It still amazes me every time how perfectly it cooks food. Plus, it's so convenient to add the ingredients in the morning and come home after work to a wonderful meal. If you're not using yours very often, or...gasp!...don't own one, I strongly recommend showing it some love and letting it work it's magic for you.

Just in case you need further encouragement, I HAVE to share this genius, amazing, life-changing product I stumbled upon in the grocery store a couple weeks ago. Reynolds makes crockpot liners! Check them out here:  http://www.reynoldskitchens.com/product.asp?prod_id=3200. You put the liner in, add your food, and let it cook. Afterwards, you just throw the liner away and voila! There's nothing to clean! Whoever came up with that idea deserves a big high five.

Ok, enough commercial breaks...onto the good stuff. My first Pinterest recipe is a simple Crockpot Ravioli. It doesn't get any easier than this. Only 3 ingredients are between you and a yummy Italian dish. This is a great meal for busy days or Winter nights when you are craving something warm and hearty. Even cooking-challenged boyfriends/husbands can be put in charge of this one (not that I speak from experience). You can also play with different types of ravioli. We tried spinach this time, but I'd also like to try this with a beef ravioli. And bonus, this heats up really well for leftovers.

My next crockpot adventure turned out to be one of my overall favorites so far. I do love Chinese food, but we rarely go to Chinese restaurants. I usually feel icky after eating it because it's so heavy. This recipe is a great compromise: Chinese Beef and Broccoli. It's the great flavor of the classic Chinese dish, but much less filling. There's something very satisfying about creating a dish at home that is generally known as a take-out dish. I like the thought that it's going to be healthier and cheaper than it's counterpart. I have to say, this was really delicious. Michael and I both went pretty crazy for it. I used brown rice instead of white, but I'm sure either would be fine. We just happened to have brown in the pantry. Definitely consider adding this to your rotation if you're looking for a meal that's full of flavor. 

New Favorite

I've been sitting here trying to think of a good excuse for why I haven't blogged in 3 months. I haven't cooked in 3 months? Not true. I was on vacation for 3 months? Don't I wish. My computer died? Sadly yes, but that was only a few days ago. I think the simple answer is that I kept putting it on the back burner (a little cooking humor there) and never took the time to keep up with it. But here we are at the beginning of Fall and I am starting back up with documenting my adventures in the kitchen in hopes of giving you some new ideas, too.

Without further ado, are the best meals of the last few months, including one that jumped to the top of our favorites list. Just click on the titles to get the recipes.

5. Jalepeno Popper Chicken

I made this one because I knew this was right up Michael's alley. I've never tried to make chicken "stuffed" with anything before, and it's a little bit of a challenge. The act itself isn't hard, but it's a little tricky getting it to stay inside. The recipe suggested holding it together with toothpicks, which turned out to be helpful. Mine didn't hold together quite like it was supposed to, but the flavor was still good. The one thing I would definitely change for next time is the size of the chicken I used. The pieces were too big and the chicken-to-stuffing ratio was off. I recommend using small to medium chicken breasts. Michael was a bigger fan of this than I was, but it was still a tasty meal. 

4. Baked Spaghetti

I love spaghetti and I love a good casserole. Combining those is a brilliant idea. Enter the baked spaghetti casserole and you have a yummy dish on your hands. Spaghetti has always been one of my go-to, don't have anything else to make meals. This is just a good way to shake it up a little and put a twist on an old fave. I had a funny "duh" moment while making this one when I realized I'd left out the browned meat after mixing everything else together in the casserole dish. I had to just dump it on top--thus the different look mine has compared to the recipe page. If you like spaghetti, you'll enjoy this one.

3. Crockpot Cube Steak

This has been my ultimate Pinterest meal so far in that every part of the meal came from Pinterest recipes. The main course was the cube steak, which had cooked all day in the crockpot. You can imagine how tender this was by dinner time. It was hard to even get on the plate because it was falling apart...in a good way of course. It was really delicious. I also made Balsamic Honey Oven Roasted Carrots, which were awesome. If you like carrots, you'll love these that have a little extra flavor. However, as much as we liked the first two, the star of the show ended up being this Macaroni & Cheese. Holy moly, was it delicious. The only homemade mac and cheese I've ever attempted is my aunt's recipe that has always been my favorite. This one is baked in the oven as opposed to hers which is done in the crockpot. This version was ooey, gooey and a little crispy on top thanks to the panko crumbs. Seriously delish! If you like mac and cheese, this one is a must! One note: I didn't use all of these cheese it called for as it looked plenty cheesy to me only using about 2/3 the amount. You can alter it based on how much cheese you like.

2. Chicken Fajitas

Mmmm, Mexican food. One of my favorites. This recipe could easily become a regular: it's easy, super yummy, and makes for good leftovers. One of my favorite things about crockpot meals is how I come through the door after work and the whole house smells good from what's cooking. Just throw the chicken and veggies on some tortillas and you're all set. Grab a margarita and you have the perfect weekend meal!

1. Parmesan Honey Pork Roast

OK, people. If I can stress one thing to you, it's this: if you like pork, you HAVE to make this recipe. As soon as we tasted this, it shot to the top of our favorites list. This is seriously delicious stuff. Once again, the crockpot works its magic on this one, and my oh my, did we love it. I even got the comment, "This is restaurant quality!" The blend of spices on the meat smells so good, and after this has cooked for hours, the meat just soaks up all of the wonderful flavors. I actually didn't even make the gravy that the recipe calls for...I really don't think it needed it. I cooked two roasts and sliced the first and then shredded the second. We saved the shredded for leftovers and if it's possible, it was even better the next day. My friend that was visiting for the weekend had a bite and immediately asked for the recipe. If you are looking for a good meal this week, I promise this won't disappoint!!

atching Up!

Well, I do believe it's officially summer. It was 102 today in Memphis. What better time to stay inside and update the blog?? I'm way past due anyway. So in an attempt to catch up on what's been cookin' the past 3 weeks, here's my rankings and notes on what's come out of my Pinterest kitchen lately.

4. Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon

We eat a fair amount of salmon and we usually keep it pretty simple, so I thought it would be nice to try a glaze that has some different flavors in it. After reading all the rave reviews on this one, maybe my expectations were a little too high. Between the brown sugar, soy sauce and dijon mustard, I was expecting this to be a party in my mouth. Don't get me wrong, this was still tasty and a nice compliment to the salmon itself...but not quite what I was preparing myself for. Maybe I should've put more glaze? Not sure, but I would definitely try this again to see if I can do it a little better.

3. Honey Garlic Pork Chops

This recipe is somewhat similar to the last one in that the glaze is the star of the show. Even though this one had less ingredients in the glaze, I think I actually liked it a tad better. As soon as I mixed this glaze together, I was excited to try it on the pork. The flavor of this was really good. Based on comments from the website, I opted to bake them instead of grilling. I think I may try the grill next time and see how that affects the flavor. For some reason, I had to put the chops back in the oven for a little longer (still learning the tricks of a gas oven), and I think they got a little too dry. I did enjoy these, but I'd be interested to see the differences on the grill. I'm guessing they'd actually do well on the stove, too. 

PS: I've just discovered the handiness of a meat thermometer. Go buy one if you don't have one...super helpful!

2. Crockpot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

So this is one of those meals that you feel like shouldn't really qualify as cooking. It's literally 3 ingredients in a crockpot. That's it. Serve it over some rice and you have yourself a meal. And of course, this was Michael's favorite. When he first took a bite and let out a happy choice word that won't be repeated here, my first thought was, "Yay, success!" My second thought, however, was, "Seriously? Your favorite can't be the meal I slave over?" Oh well, I'll take what I can get :) I'll admit, this was better than I expected. It was surprisingly flavorful, especially considering the lack of ingredients. This could definitely turn into a go-to meal when you have limited time or, if you're like me, limited groceries.

1. Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

Out of this batch, this was my favorite. I'd always wanted to attempt a homemade pesto, and it is definitely worth the effort...not that it's even that hard. This one is unique because it uses a cilantro base instead of basil. It was ridiculously good. The beauty of a pesto is that you can taste all of the great elements. Once the chicken was coated in it, it was the perfect balance. We only added some lettuce, cheese and a little salsa to the tacos because it really didn't need much else. I think black beans would also be really good, but I didn't have any on hand. Do yourself a favor and make these soon! 

One thing to note: you definitely don't need all of the salt the recipe calls for. My friend Mary mentioned this to me after she had made them, and I am so glad she did. I only used 1/2 teaspoon of table salt in the pesto. I'm not a big salt fan, so that was plenty.

ittle Extras

So here are a couple of small items that I've made in the past week.


I made this Hot Corn Dip over Memorial Day Weekend. We were watching the NBA playoffs and I was in the mood for some sort of chips and dip. I remembered this recipe and took a shot with it. I really enjoyed the simplicity of it, and it was a little different from the other corn dips I've had. This would be great for a party or tailgating, and next time I would add even more of the topping as those were the most flavorful bites.

Rating: 4

We also grilled burgers one night, so I wanted to try this recipe for Ranch Roasted Red Potatoes to go on the side. I love red potatoes and thought they'd be great with the ranch seasoning. Maybe I had my expectations a little high on this one, but I was a tad disappointed. I think it had potential to be really good, but I just didn't love them. For one thing, I think they may need to be flipped while cooking, as some were very done on one side, but undercooked on the other. I also might add a few more potatoes next time since the ranch flavoring was a tad much for me. Maybe more potatoes would even it out.

Rating: 3 (with potential to be better)

talian Night

I love pasta. It's one of those comfort foods that I get a craving for every so often. There's just something about it that is so satisfying. I have to admit, though, that I've never attempted much with it at home other than the basics like spaghetti or noodles with some chicken thrown in. Since being on Pinterest, I've pinned several recipes that revolve around pasta shells. I thought these would be pretty simple and the options of what to stuff them with seem endless. I decided to first try this recipe for Stuffed Shells with Spinach and Sausage. I was pretty excited for this one since the pictures look delicious and the ingredients all sound wonderful. 


Michael volunteered to do the grocery shopping since he knows I hate it (gold star for him!), but he ran into a little problem: no jumbo pasta shells to be found. We had to go to plan B and ended up using manicotti shells. (By the way, I looked on my next trip to the store and couldn't find them either...why are these hard to find?) The manicotti shells worked pretty well, but I'm sure this would've been better with the normal pasta shells. I had a hard time getting the stuffing in without ripping the shells open. 


Despite all that, these were quite delicious. These made me hungry just cooking them. The stuffing smelled so good once all of the ingredients were in the pan together. I will definitely be trying the other pasta shell recipes I've found...once I can actually find pasta shells :) I think these will be a keeper.

Stuffing it in :)

Rating: 4

Music Selection: Marc Broussard's Carencro