This is a simple & tasty crock pot meal perfect for a family with young kids. Add a nice green salad or roasted broccoli and you’re all set.
Ingredients: 1/2 white onion finely chopped 1 red bell pepper finely chopped 4 cloves of garlic peeled and minced 1 lb. ground beef 93% lean 1 lb. ribbed macaroni noodles 1 can of diced tomatoes (fire roasted and drained) 15 oz 1 can dark kidney beans 15 oz. drained 1 can medium chili beans 15 oz (do not drain) 4 cups beef broth 2 cups shredded fiesta blend cheese 2 tbsp. chili powder 1 tsp. cumin 2 tsp. oregano
How to make it: Line an 8 qt. crock pot with a liner and spray with olive oil. Chop the onion, pepper & garlic.
In a skillet over medium heat, add olive oil, onion, garlic, and peppers and sauté until tinder.
Add the ground beef and cook until brown and cooked through. Use a meat chopper to break apart.
Layer all ingredients in the crockpot and cover.
Cook on low for 3-4 hours. If you prefer a more firm noodle, cook for 1 hour before adding the macaroni in. Top with cheese and stir to melt before serving.
Unlike his sister, Grady will eat any kind of meat we give him but he will not eat his veggies! So I have to hide them in the form of pasta sauce 😉. Skylar asked me to post this even though she wanted to watch tv instead of help .
Ingredients:
28 oz. Can of crushed tomatoes with basil
A bunch of broccoli
A handful of baby carrots
Organic steam in bag frozen butternut squash
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Steam the broccoli and carrots until tender.
Steam the butternut squash.
In a stock pot add the crushed tomatoes, veggies and seasoning.
Use an immersion blender and blend until smooth.
Add in the cream and cheese.
I used little rings for the pasta and Grady is a happy boy 💜
Skylar was amazed when she saw the roses so she wanted to help make them. For this charcuterie bar we used a few soft cheeses, assorted crackers, sliced cheeses, various salamis, fruits, nuts, baked Brie, and raspberry preserves.
I wanted to make sure Skylar understood communion and the last supper so we decided to make this together. You can also roll this out very thin and bake it to make more of a communion wafer or cracker.
Ingredients:
2 cups and 2 tbsp. of flour
1 cup of cold water
1/2 tsp. salt
How to make it:
Combine salt and flour in a stand mixer.
Add the water
Knead for 5 minutes.
Divide dough into 6 pieces and roll each piece very thin.
Cook in a skillet over medium heat for 2 1/2 minutes each side.
I made this in a crockpot but I prefer it in a stock pot on the stove top. The crockpot was a little harder to get the broth to thicken up.
Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cubed
2 cups of shredded carrots
4 cloves of garlic minced
2 tsp. Dried parsley
1 tsp. Dried basil
1 tsp. Celery salt
1/2 tsp. Ground nutmeg
2 bay leaves
Fresh ground salt & pepper to taste
6 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups fat free half & half
3 tbsp. Cornstarch
24-36 oz potato gnocchi
2 cups chopped baby spinach
In a 6-8 qt crockpot layer cubed chicken, carrots, garlic, all spices, and chicken broth. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.
Whisk half and half and cornstarch until dissolved. Add to the soup and stir.
Add the gnocchi.
Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.
Add spinach and cook 10 more minutes.
For the bread:
1 1/2 tbsps. Rapid rise yeast
1 tbsp. Salt
6 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 cups warm water
To make it:
In a stand mixer add yeast into 3 cups of warm water. Add in 3 cups of flour and mix with a dough hook. Slowly add in the rest of the flour until completely mixed and there are no lumps. This dough is very sticky.
Loosely cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 2 hours.
Split the dough in half and make two balls. Place them on and upside down baking sheet lined with parchment and let rise for 45 minutes.
Dust the tops with flour and slash the top three times.
Set the oven to 450 and place a broiler pan on the bottom rack. Heat a pizza stone or upside down baking sheet in the oven for 20 minutes.
Move the bread and parchment to the stone or baking sheet and add 1 cup of water to the broiler pan.
This is a super easy weeknight meal that you can feel good about making.
What you’ll need:
Three salmon filets (4oz each)
Creamer potatoes washed and halved
Green beans washed and trimmed
3.5 oz jar of capers (drained non-pareil)
1 lemon
4 cloves of garlic minced
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Preheat your oven to 375.
Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with olive oil . Lay the salmon skin side down.
Add potatoes
Drizzle with olive oil. Add fresh ground salt and pepper, top with capers, garlic, lemon juice, and a slice of lemon.
We decided to separate the salmon from the potatoes to make sure they had room to cook.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until fish is cooked and potatoes are soft.
Blanch the green beans then add to the potatoes and toss. Continue cooking the potatoes and green beans until done. There should be about 20 minutes left at this point.