Goulash.. or omg you made that

Crockpot time and its for Steve my hubby's Friend.

Goulash can be made from any meat in my cheap house its mostly hambuger. but in looking in my freezer i notice my DH ate all the hamburger so i go 1 small roast


1 small roast about 2 lbs or what ever. cut into chunks
1 to 2 onions cut into about 8 wedges each
1 large green pepper
1 can tomatoe sauce large
2 cans diced italian tomatoes
parsley dried about 1/8 cup
itailian seasoning about 1/8 cup or to taste
3 tablespoons garlic or more to taste
dash of wes'shire sauce
2 teaspons full of cumin

2 cans mixed veggies
1 bag elbow pasta



in crock pot put everything but mixed veggies and pasta.  stir and let this cook for about 6 hours  set to warm then add mixed veggies. 

cook pasta, drain DO NOT OVER COOK PASTA! maybe just a tiny tad under cooked. turn off crockpot.

Add pasta..... to everything stir let sit in crock pot about 30 mins and then eat  sprinkle with cheese
serve with corn bread garlic toast

Ps. you can add mushrooms fresh chopped or canned, okra frozen, potatoes chunked, almost any left over veggies.

OMG cupcakes

You must try this and send me some

homemade taco seasoning

Homemade Taco Seasoning:
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

crock pot beef for tacos

The Ingredients
serves 6


3 pound hunk of beef (pot roast, tri-tip, rump roast; frozen is just fine!)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained (or 1 cup frozen)
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes (whole can)
1 (4-ounce) can fire roasted diced chiles (whole can, I used mild)
1 (1.25-ounce) packet taco seasoning (check for hidden gluten, or make your own)

Homemade Taco Seasoning:
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Place the meat into the bottom of your pot, and add the black beans, corn, tomatoes, and chiles. Sprinkle in the taco seasoning, and stir carefully with a large spoon to distribute spices. Cover, and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Using two large forks, shred meat completely and stir well. Serve in taco shells with your favorite toppings.

stolen crockpot chicken for tcaos toastadoes etc....

Crockpot Taco Chicken
For each recipe, label a one-gallon freezer bag and fill with the following:
3-1/2 cups diced tomatoes
1/4 cup diced green chiles (small can)
3 tablespoons taco seasoning mix (handmade, bulk or one small packet)
1 teaspoon cumin

Rinse two pounds of boneless/skinless chicken thighs and add to bag. Massage bag to combine ingredients well. Squeeze all possible air from bag, seal and freeze.


To Cook: Thaw overnight in refrigerator. Place contents of bag into crockpot. Cook on low for 4-6 hours/high for 3-4 hours, or until meat shreds easily.
Serving Suggestion: Heated tortillas with assorted toppings: shredded cheese, guacamole, sour cream, diced onions, olives. Also a great tostada filling or topping for taco salad.

Red Wine Adventure start up and Sangria recipe

My mother in law aka Mom and I  read that red wine is good for you soooo this is the start of our red wine adventures.

We bought our wine glasses and sat down to stitch and i made salsa...I found this wine to be a bit bland. I would use this to make Sangria ......it was inexpensive coming in between 4 and 7 bucks.

Mom gagged but managed to get her tiny tiny bit down. I have to say i love the sweeter reds and this just did not hit for me.

Sangria

Left over bottle of wine, 1 liter of sprite, serria mist, or such drink, cut up 2 oranges, 2 lemons, 2 limes or 6 key limes, 1 small can pineapple rings or chunks, small jar cherries or a cup of real cherries pitted, and for you who are adventurous, i can of tropical fruit like add mango, papaya, guava, star fruit, kiwi  ......

Put all in HUGE bowl Kooler or tub........Let soak for a couple of hours and add ice and punch it up!

Serve with hot latin dishes and watch antonio bandarars movies, listen to Enrigue or pitbull.

DIY: Healthy homemade dog & cat treats

DIY: Healthy homemade dog & cat treats

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

Our Version of Cafe Rio’s Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• a dash (or two) cayenne
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 5 c. chicken broth
• 3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• juice of 1/2 lime
• pepper, to taste
• 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
• 1 Tbsp. paprika
• vegetable oil (to taste)
• pico de gallo (click HERE)
• 2-3 avocados, diced
• 2 c. pepper jack cheese
• tortilla strips (Click HERE)
• cilantro (for garnish)
• lime wedges (for garnish)

Instructions

• In a small skillet, saute onion in 1 Tbsp. oil until onions become slightly soft. Stir in cumin, cayenne, and chili powder and saute an additional minute or two.
• Transfer seasoned onions to a small crock pot (or medium-sized saucepan). Add chicken broth, cliantro, lime juice, pepper and pinto beans to onions and simmer on low-heat for at least 2-3 hours.
• In the meantime (when you are close to serving), combine taco seasoning and paprika. Brush chicken with oil and rub with taco seasoning/paprika mixture. Grill chicken over medium-heat until cooked through (try to turn only once during the grilling process). Remove from grill and shred.
• In individual bowls layer chicken, about 1/3 c. pico de gallo, 1/3 c. diced avocado, and 1/3 c. pepper jack cheese. Ladle about 1 cup of chicken broth directly over the layers. Top with tortilla strips and garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.

Arepas- Cuban Grilled Cheese

Arepas – Cuban Corn "Pancake" Sandwiches

By Three Guys From Miami


Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

Yield: 6-8 arepas

The famous corn pancake sandwich served at fairs and exhibits in Miami – two cornmeal "cakes" with a layer of gooey cheese inside.


INGREDIENTS:

1 cup milk

5 tablespoons butter

1 cup ground frozen corn kernels

1 cup arepa flour or finely ground yellow cornmeal -- also known as corn flour.

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup water(approximately)

6-8 slices Mild Swiss cheese, sliced

Bring the milk to a boil in a small pan.


Add the five tablespoons of butter. Let stand.

Grind one cup frozen yellow corn kernels in a food processor. In a large bowl, mix the arepa flour, salt, sugar, ground corn, and mozzarella. Make a well in the center and gradually add the hot milk. Stir until there are no lumps.

Work the dough until it is smooth and sticky. Add water as necessary if the dough is too thick. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough between two sheets of wax paper to about 1/4" thickness.

Cut out arepas with a large cookie cutter-- about 3 inches in diameter. (We've had good luck using a small straight edged bowl.)

Heat a lightly buttered griddle on medium. Cook the arepas in batches until crispy and golden brown on each side. Immediately place a slice of cheese on one arepa and cover with another to make a sandwich.

Heat on griddle until cheese melts. You can also make the pancakes only and store them in the refrigerator or frozen until ready to serve. Just lightly butter two pancakes, put a slice of cheese in between (on the unbuttered sides) and heat on the griddle at low-heat until the cheese melts.

ARMADILLO EGGS

Armadillo eggs

Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup yellow cheddar cheese, shredded (2 ounces)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon chopped cilantro

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt to taste

6 medium-sized jalapeños

2 pounds breakfast sausage or any other spicy uncooked sausage, removed from its casing



Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 and lightly grease a baking sheet.



Mix together the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic, cilantro and cumin until well blended. Taste and add salt, and adjust seasonings.



Remove the stems from the jalapeños and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and then cut the sliced jalapeños in half, horizontally.



Place about a teaspoon of the cream cheese filling in each jalapeño quarter. Take about 1/3 cup of the sausage and pat it into a 3-inch circle and place the stuffed jalapeño in the center of the sausage. Wrap the sausage around the stuffed jalapeño until it’s completely covered, and form into an egg shape.



Place sausage-wrapped jalapeños on the sheet, about an inch apart. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked. For additional browning on top, you can place the sheet under the broiler for 2-5 minutes.



Serve with buttermilk dressing, queso or salsa.

Garlic SPA'GETTI SQUASH

Spagetti Squash

1 spagetti squash

Butter

Garlic parsley Salt or just make your own  add parsley flakes, garlic powder and omit salt.

Pepper


Bake Squash for an hour to an hour and 20 minutes  to prep for over place small amount water in bottom of pan and bake at 375 degrees.  poke holes with skewer thru out squash  so it does nto burst during baking.

Bake till ends of sqaush should be tender and easy to stab with fork.

Cut in half, Scrape out seeds and middle fibers.

After you clean sheds insides with fork inot large bowl and add butter and seasoning.


Get creative with it! change to your own seasoning.

Crockpot Gryos

For the gyro meat:




--1/2 pound ground lamb

--1/2 pound ground turkey

--2 t oregano

--1 t paprika



--1/2 chopped onion

--3 cloves minced garlic

--juice from 1 lemon



For the Tzatziki sauce (optional, but not really):



--1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped

--1 cup plain non fat yogurt

--1 T olive oil

--3 cloves minced garlic

--2 T chopped fresh mint

--juice from 1 lemon



Extra stuff (optional. for reals.):



--pita bread (but we used corn tortillas)

--lettuce

--tomatoes

--feta cheese

--olives



The Directions.



Don't freak out about the number of ingredients. This comes together very quickly. I promise. Chop up the onion, and 3 cloves of garlic, and put them in the bottom of your crockpot. In a small mixing bowl, combine the two kinds of ground meat with the paprika and oregano. If your spices don't have a fresh smell anymore, or if you think they may have been purchased in the 90s, consider buying fresh bottles for this dish.



Make a little meatloaf with your hands. Put the meatloaf log on top of the chopped onion and garlic in your crockpot. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the top of the meat.



Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours, or on HIGH for about 2.



I, um, forgot to plug in the crockpot until 2pm yesterday and cooked this on high for exactly 2 hours.



It worked!



While you are waiting for the meat to cook, make up a batch of the yummy Tzatziki sauce and put it in the fridge.



You will know when the meat is done, because it will not be raw when you cut into it. This is all so very technical, you know.



Carefully! remove the meat from the crockpot and slice it thinly on a cutting board.



Serve it with pitas (or corn or brown rice tortillas) with the Tzatziki sauce and whatever desired fixings you have chosen.



The Verdict.



I loved making these! I hadn't used garlic and onion just as a flavor infuser before, and was really excited to learn a new trick. This is not greasy, and the flavor was good. It was not the same as how I remember the gyros from across the street at the Zoo, but close enough that I would definitely make them again. I remember a lot more grease, and a lot more salt. and since I'm not sixteen anymore, I'm no longer interested in that, anyhow.

Tameles ala crock pot

Filling (quite mild)


1 (3.5-pound) store-bought rotisserie chicken or roast pork

1 tsp cumin

1/2 yellow onion, diced

2 clove garlic, minced

1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies, mild

1 (15-ounce) can corn or toamtoes drained  optional

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, optional



Tamale Dough:


4 cups masa harina

2 1/2 cups beef broth or chicken or pork

2 tsp baking powder

1 can green chilies if you like.

1 1/3 cup lard or vegetable shortening (I used crisco)

1 (6-ounce) package dried corn husks (I needed to go to a Mexican grocer) banan leaves work well too

twine...........

The Directions.


There are a few parts here. I "cheated" and used a fully-cooked chicken as the meat in my tamale filling. If you'd like, you can cook a hunk of beef or pork overnight with spices and chili pods in your crockpot. The meat should shred easily with forks before it is ready to go inside the tamales.

If you're going to use the rotisserie chicken, combine the meat with the onion, garlic, can of green chilies, cumin, salt, and drained corn in a 4 quart (or so) crockpot and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6. The onions need to be translucent before going into the tamales. If you don't have time for this step, skip the garlic and onion, and combine the chicken with the chiles, cumin, salt, and drained corn in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Soften the corn husks by soaking them in very hot water until they are quite pliable.


To make the masa, combine all dough ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and beat on medium-to-high speed until everything is mixed well and the dough is spongy. Check the dough by dropping a little ball of it into a glass of water. It should float. If it doesn't float, this source says to continue to beat the dough.



Take a bit larger than a golf-ball size piece of masa dough, and spread it into a wet corn husk. The dough should be about 1/4 inch thick--you do not want to see the corn husk through the dough. Add a bit of filling, and some cheese. Fold the corn husk over to join the edges of the masa. If you need to add more dough, do so---no filling should peek through. Fold all corn husk edges into the center and place into the bottom of an empty crockpot, seam side down (I used a 6.5 quart, and fit 19 inside).



Repeat. Many, many, many times. It took me about 2 hours to make all of the tamales. If you find that your corn husks are unraveling, you can add another the other way to secure it, and tear off a long piece to tie around or use twine if your using banan leaves. I had to do this a few times. I also needed to add more hot water to the soaking husks to keep them pliable. If you need to step away from the tamale-making-process for a bit, put the lid on your crockpot to keep moisture inside.



When the crockpot is full, put the lid on and cook on high for 4-6 hours, or until a tester tamale looks and tastes done. The tamales on the edges will cook a bit faster. Once your tester looks good (I used the same one, and kept re-wrapping it and adding it back when it wasn't ready), unplug the crockpot and keep the lid off. Don't unwrap any others until they've set for about 15 minutes. My tamales were cooked at 6 hours, but I began checking every 45 minutes at 4 hours.



The Verdict.



I was thrilled that these worked so well! They are definitely labor-intensive, but pack such an impressive presentation. Now that I know how to do them, I'll make them again----but not for a while.

Mongolian Crockpot Beef

Hold on to your hat!


--1 1/2 pounds flank steak

--3 cloves of garlic, minced

--4 sliced green onions--one is for garnish

--1 t dried minced onion (or 1/2 fresh onion, diced very small)

--1/2 cup gluten free soy sauce (I used La Choy)

--1/4 cup white wine

--1/4 cup cooking sherry

--1/2 T white wine vinegar (optional--I forgot to add it!)

--1 t sesame oil

--1 t molasses

--1 t ginger

--1/4 t black pepper

--1 t red chili pepper flakes

--1/2 T peanut butter (if allergic, use black bean paste)

--3 T brown sugar

--1/4 cup cornstarch (to dredge meat--don't add to sauce mixture)


The Directions.

--slice your meat in thin strips and toss in a Ziploc bag with cornstarch.

--add all of the liquid and dried spices to your crockpot, and the peanut butter, and mix well. Add the garlic and three of the sliced green onions. If you are using fresh onion, add that now, too.

--put your meat on top, and toss gingerly to coat.





Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Flank steak is thin and have very little fat, and will cook quickly. There isn't a lot of liquid in this dish, so if your crock tends to cook hot, please check it after 3 hours.

The meat is done when it is no longer pink and has reached desired tenderness. I cooked our meat in a 6qt oval Smart Pot and it was done after 4 hours on low.

Serve over steamed or fried rice, and garnish with freshly sliced green onion.

The Verdict.

This serves enough to feed 2 hungry adults for dinner. If you have a large family, you're going to need more meat and double the sauce.

Delicious. This is so good---before this year I would not have attempted to make something so "complicated" in a crockpot. But really, the only complicated thing was figuring out what flavors would work and assembling the ingredients---the actual cooking and food preparation was a snap, and the kitchen was clean and mopped at 12noon.

We had all of the ingredients on hand for this meal, except for the meat and the green onion. Much better for our wallets, than take-out, and much, much, much less greasy than take-out. And it was gluten-free!

Citrus Garlic Crockpot Chicken with Rosemary

Citrus Garlic Crockpot Chicken with Rosemary

i found this on the web  thank you "a southern fairytale"


1.1 head of garlic, sliced

2.4 medium lemons, sliced

3.4 medium limes, sliced

4.2 medium mandarins, sliced

5.1 large yellow onion, sliced

6.4 to 5 fresh rosemary stems

7.fresh cracked black pepper

8.1 (5 lb) whole chicken

1.Slice the citrus and the onion

2.Slice the entire head of garlic

3.Layer the onion, the slices of 1 lemon, 1 lime, a handful of garlic and 1 mandarin in the bottom of the crockpot

4.Fill the cavity of the chicken with garlic, lemons, limes and mandarins

5.Place the chicken in the crockpot and top with the remaining lemons, limes, mandarins, garlic and rosemary.

6.Garnish with fresh cracked pepper

7.Cook on low for 8 hours

* add 2 sliced jalapenos for a nice kick of heat



* if you are worried that your fruit might not be ripe enough, remove the peels. Unripe citrus will leave a bitter taste.

Crock pot Garlic Chicken

GARLIC CHICKEN

3-4 pounds chicken


1 large onion (or 2 bitties, like I used), sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons abodo or no salt seasoning
2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon pepper

10-30 garlic cloves, peeled, but intact   depends on your taste


 6 quart or bigger slow cooker. Place onion slices on the bottom of the pot. In a large mixing bowl, toss chicken parts with olive oil, salt, paprika, pepper, and all of the garlic cloves. Pour into slow cooker, on top of the onion.

Do not add water.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-6. The longer you cook chicken-on-the-bone, the more tender it will be. If you small pieces, one side will brown and may stick to the sides of the crock, burning a bit. If this bothers you, you can rearrange them with tongs an hour before serving toward the end but do not keep opening the pot.

serve with salad rice or garlic pasta.

Fake Fraxby's Zalad

Fake Fraxby’s Zalad

Ok my one fav thing from zaxby is their Zaxby Blue Zalad.
Here is my fake Version

1 grilled non bbq chicken breast Chunked

½ cup blue cheese crumbles

4 slices of bacon or bacon bits to match about ¼ cup

Baby Spinach leaves small bag

Bag salad

Slice tomatoes < I use roma sooo cute>

Dices boiled eggs

French’s onions

Dressing of your choice best one I think is ITIALIAN the olive oil kind from Kraft

Extras, olives, capers, dried cranberries, shredded mozzarella very fine, croutons

One 2 large plate arrange bag salad with spinach leaves

On top add slice tomatoes then on one corner add blue cheese crumbles , egg one egg per plate on other corner, sprinkle with bacon bits, then chicken on top,

Add any extras I do…..

Add dressing

Serve with crispy crunchy bread, sparkling lemonade aid, or white wine

CROCKBUTT ROAST

CrockButt Roast

Get you a boston Butt or Pork loin

1 bottle of platinum budwiser

abodo season or any you like

1 large onion chopped

place butt in crock pott season add beer and onion cook on low all day  

fall apart tender shred toserve on buns  or with garlic rice with a crisp salad cuban bread and some          beer or wine listening to the rain fall outside.

PS if you can find some gun powder spice add a dash or two of that!