Salisbury Steak?

I really have no idea if this is like Salisbury Steak or not. Any opinions? I came up with this little diddy 9 or 10 years ago, but have never known what to call it. I am hesitant to call it this though, because when I hear the name Salisbury Steak I automatically think of TV dinners. As a child, I would have a TV dinner about once a month, on the evening that my parents went to the temple. I never liked the Salisbury Steak ones, so I have a hard time referring to this recipe as that same thing. I would like to assure you that it tastes nothing like the frozen little "meat" patty covered in brown "gravy" that is found in a TV dinner.

Salisbury Steak?

6 cubed steaks
flour seasoned with salt and pepper
vegetable or canola oil
1 onion
2 packets of brown gravy mix
water

Cut onion into thin wedges and place half of them in the bottom of a crock pot along with about 1 to1 1/2 cups water. Set aside.

Dredge each of the cubed steaks in flour mixture. Cover the bottom of a saute pan with vegetable oil, and heat on medium heat on stove top. When oil is hot, brown each of the flour coated steaks in the oil.

 Once each one is browned on both sides, move it to the crock pot, placing it on top of the onions. When all of the steaks are browned and in the crock pot, place the  rest of the onions on top.

Cover crock pot and cook on low for about 6 hours or on high for about 3-4 hours. About 20-30 minutes before you are ready to serve it, mix both gravy packets with 1 cup of water. Pour mixture over the steaks in the crock pot, gently turning/folding to sorta mix the gravy mixture with the liquid that is already in the crock pot, and coat the steaks in the gravy. When you are ready to serve, if the gravy is to thick, gently fold in a little water. Serve over hot mashed potatoes.

Crock Pot "Baked" Potatoes

So, last Sunday morning, I was feeling unprepared for Sunday dinner. I had a busy Saturday and didn't make it to the store. Because I believe that part of keeping the Sabbath Day holy is not doing any shopping on Sunday, I had to figure out what to make for dinner with what I had on hand. The other twist is that our church meetings are from 1pm to 4pm. I had these huge, beautiful potatoes that my sister had given me, but couldn't figure out how to bake them and have them done for a 5pm dinner without leaving church to come home and put them in the oven. Then it hit me. I could "bake" them in the crock pot. I had never done this before, and had never heard of it before. Do other people do this? I scrubbed up the potatoes and threw them in the crock pot on high. They were in the crock pot for about 6 hours, and were cooked to perfect tenderness. (Now, remember that these potatoes were really big). The insides didn't have the dry, fluffy texture that you get from a restaurant baked potato, but they were just fine for my little family. Everyone enjoyed them. I was really happy to discover this technique for "baking" potatoes. I am sure I will end up doing it again for a Sunday dinner before the end of the year when our church schedule will change to 9am-12pm (just shoot me now! I am so not looking forward to getting 4 kids and myself ready and to church by 9am!!!).
P.S. Do you use CrockPot Liners? They are the greatest invention ever! I never cook in my crock pot without one. When you are done with the crockpot, you just pull the liner out, throw it away, and put the crock pot away. You NEVER have to scrub your crock pot! How great is that? You find them by the baggies/foil/oven bags in the store.

Crock Pot Chicken Nachos

This is such a versatile recipe that you could do so many things with.  I really liked it as nachos with a little cheddar cheese melted on top, and sour cream. Any of your favorite nacho toppings would be great on these nachos.  The next day I used some of the left-overs and made a chimichanga for my husband, which he really liked.  You could use this for burritos, an enchilada filler or even serve it over rice. A bonus to this recipe is how super easy it is! I got this recipe from my friend Liz, whom I  love and adore. She is the same friend that also gave me this stuffing recipe.

Crock Pot Chicken Nachos

4-5 frozen, boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 15oz jar of Salsa
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
8 oz cream cheese

Place frozen chicken breasts in crock-pot. Pour salsa over chicken. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until chicken can be easily shredded. Shred chicken and place back in crock pot with with the salsa (I was actually able to just shred mine right in the crock-pot). Add the black beans and corn, and stir together. Place the cream cheese on top of the mixture, then cover and let sit for 1 hour.  The cream cheese will then be soft and you will be able to stir it into the chicken mixture. Serve with tortilla chips and your favorite nacho toppings.

Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

Dinner doesn't get any easier than this. This is a super easy recipe that has tons of flavor. I first had this dish at a gathering of friends while we were living in Iowa City, Iowa. We loved it, and so I asked for the recipe.  Since then, I have run into different versions of the recipe many times in different cookbooks and blogs. When we first had it, it was served over smashed red potatoes, so that is the way I have always served it.  In all the other times that I have seen the recipe, it said to serve over rice or noodles. As you can tell in the picture, I decided to try it over rice. YUM. We really liked it with the rice. It wasn't as heavy of a meal as it is when it is served over the potatoes.  Don't get me wrong... it's good with the potatoes too.  Maybe next time I will try it with the pasta.

Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

4-6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup butter
2 8 oz. bricks of cream cheese
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 envelopes dry Italian dressing mix
1 cup of milk

Melt butter in crock pot and then place chicken in crock pot.  Stir together the rest of the ingredients (doesn't need to be smooth) and pour over chicken.  Cook on low heat for about 6 hours. Remove lid and gently stir, breaking the chicken up as you stir. Serve over rice, pasta, or potatoes.

A-1 Swiss Steak

This was a yummy and super easy dish.  I got this recipe from Kraft. I love A-1... I mean really love A-1.  My husband says that I eat steak just so that I can have A-1 (I think he might be telling the truth).  So when I saw this recipe, I knew I would like it.  The A-1 taste was actually pretty subtle though, so if you don't like A-1, don't let that scare you away from making this (although, if you are very averse to it, you could probably just leave it out). Kraft suggested serving this over egg noodles, and in some of the reviews, people said they served it over rice.  Either of those would be good.  I actually just served it along side of baked potatoes. 

A-1 Swiss Steak

2 lb. boneless beef chuck eye roast, cut into 1-inch pieces (you could use what ever kind of beef you wanted to for this.  I used some sirloin steaks that I got on sale)
1/4 cup A.1. Original Steak Sauce
1 onion, sliced
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained (I used stewed tomatoes, because that is what I had)
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup water

Toss meat with steak sauce; place in slow cooker. Top with onions and tomatoes; cover with lid.
Cook on Low 9 to 10 hours (or high 4 to 5 hours).
Mix flour and water. Stir into meat mixture; cook, covered, 5 min. or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.

Creamy Potato Leek Soup

When I saw this soup on Sisters Cafe, I was really excited to try it because I had never cooked with leeks before.  I really liked using them, and will definitely do it again in the future.  They have a really great, light, oniony flavor.  This soup was really yummy.  Everyone really liked it, including my husband, who isn't the biggest soup fan.  It did need a little salt when I served it, and I recommend not leaving the bacon and cheddar behind.  They were a great addition to the flavor of the soup. 

Creamy Potato Leek Soup

6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 leeks, washed, sliced, including white and light green parts
1 cup chopped onion
1 carrot, sliced (I used 2)
1 stalk of celery, sliced (I used 3)
4 cups chicken broth
1 Tb dried parsley flakes (I left this out because I didn't have any)
1 tsp garlic salt
2 Tb butter
12 oz. can evaporated milk
12 oz. bacon, cooked and crumbled
sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Combine everything except last 4 ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low 7-9 hours or on high 3-4 hours. Stir in butter and the can of evaporated milk the last 45 minutes. Serve hot topped with bacon and cheddar.

My Award Winning Chili

Okay, so it's not exactly "award winning", but it has won a church chili cook-off or two. Does that count? My mom is my biggest fan of this chili. She loves it. The base for this recipe came from a Better Homes and Gardens "Red Plaid" cookbook. You may not know that I collect the "red plaid" cookbooks. My husband used to work for Meredith Corporation which publishes Better Homes and Gardens. He was actually the marketing manager for the "red plaid" cookbook for 3 years. So, I started collecting them. I have 11 of them, (although 2 of them are actually "pink plaid" for breast cancer awarness). So here is my version of their recipe. This recipe will make a big crockpot full of chili. It is also a very forgiving.... you can add more of any of the ingredients listed. I also have to admit that this picture was taken of leftover chili.  I forgot to take a picture when it was fresh and piping hot.  So, this picture shows it quite a bit thicker than it actually is.


Chili

3 lb hamburger
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
4 cloves garlic chopped
3 cans kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
3  8oz cans tomato sauce
3 cans petite diced tomatoes
6-8 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp black pepper

Brown Hamburger and drain, add onion, green peppers and garlic. Saute for a few minutes until onions and green peppers start to soften. Place meat mixture in crockpot, add remaining ingredients and fold together. Cook in crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.

Taco Soup

This is honestly the easiest soup you will ever make!  I got the recipe from a ward (church) cookbook when we first moved to Iowa.  It is really yummy and perfect for a fall day. 

Taco Soup

1 envelope Taco Seasoning
1 lb. hamburger, browned and drained
1 can stewed tomatoes, blended
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can whole kernel corn, undrained
1 can kidney beans, undrained
1 8oz can tomato sauce

Combine all ingredients in a pan and heat on medium heat (may also be done in a crockpot). Serve with tortilla chips, grated cheese and sour cream.

4 packet roast

If you haven't noticed, I love the Sisters Cafe recipe blog.  This is yet another recipe I tried of theirs.  It was fun to try something different with my normal "Sunday roast".  We really liked the flavor that all the seasonings gave the roast.  My initial thought as I dumped all the packets on was that it was going to be way to much seasoning.  But it wasn't at all.  It was great.

4 Packet Roast

1 Beef Roast (whichever cut you prefer)
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 packet italian dressing mix
1 packet brown gravy mix
1 packet onion soup mix
assorted veggies if desired (I added carrots and onions to mine)

Place roast in crock-pot and place veggies around roast.  Sprinkle each packet over the roast.  Pour about 1/2 to 3/4 cup water around the roast. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  (I actually cooked my on high for about 6 hours and it was perfect)

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I got this recipe from my sister Laurie when I was a pretty newly-wed. We love this recipe. It is super easy. I love that the ingredients for the sauce are things that I always have on hand. It is really versatile too. You can do whole chicken breasts, or cut them up into bite sized pieces. I've done just about every size there is, however, our favorite is bite sized pieces. I often add a can of (drained) pineapple to this (Steve loves pineapple in it). I have also cooked this in a crockpot instead of baking it. I think I have also seen someone in my family do it in a dutch oven. If you like sweet and sour, you should try this recipe!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

8-10 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1-2 cups flour (seasoned with salt and any other spices you want)

Put flour and spices in large ziplock baggie. Add chicken and shake until chicken is well coated. Saute chicken in a little bit of oil in a skillet until browned. Place in a 9x13 or large casserole dish

Sauce:
2 cubes chicken bullion
1 cup hot water
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 T. soy sauce
1 cup vinegar
2/3 cup ketchup


Bring all ingredients to a boil in a sauce pan. Pour over chicken and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Serve over hot, cooked rice.