Island Ranch Chicken with Coconut Rice

Island Ranch Chicken is a prettier name than what this recipe was called when my mom found it.  It was named "Carl's Chicken."

Who is Carl?

I have no idea, but I love his chicken!


A lovely woman who used to be my neighbor, gave this recipe its new, improved name. And I'm keeping that name.


My mom used to serve this with plain rice, but I love the sweet taste of coconut rice.  Do whatever suits your tastes!


Yields 4 servings

Island Ranch Chicken
3-4 chicken breasts, frozen*
1 small jar apricot jam
1 packet onion soup mix
1 cup prepared ranch dressing**

Mix the apricot jam, onion soup, and ranch dressing together in a bowl.  Place the chicken on the bottom of 9X13 casserole dish, and pour the sauce over top.  Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 1 hour.

This can be done in the crock pot, which is how my mom used to cook it.  I don't really like cooking chicken in the crock pot as it tends to always be overcooked. I get much juicier results when I use the oven.

Sweet Coconut Rice
1 cup long grain, brown rice
1 12 oz can coconut water (I think it's more like 11.8 oz)***
4.2 oz water****
Salt, to taste
1 TB butter
1 green onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced

Combine everything in a rice cooker and let it do its magic!


*You can use fresh chicken if you prefer, but do not add extra water if you do. Decrease cooking time to 45 minutes.

**I make ranch dressing using dry ranch dressing mix, mayonnaise, and milk. Combine the ingredients together before adding to the other sauce ingredients.

***You can use coconut water with pulp or without pulp. It's all about preference.

****To get the right amount of liquid, I pour the can of coconut water into a measuring up, and then add water to make 2 cups. You want 2 cups of liquid for 1 cup of rice.

One Dish Chicken, Potatoes, and Vegetables

This is my go-to meal for a busy day when I don't feel like trying something new or putting a lot of work into dinner.

The chicken is juicy and flavorful. The potatoes soak up all the butter, seasoning, and chicken fat and they are delicious. The green beans are buttery and have the perfect texture.  It is delicious and simple, and it only takes about 5 minutes to throw together!

You could do this in the crock pot, but I think the chicken turns out better when it's done in the oven.  I hate overcooked chicken. Chicken jerky, yuck!

Yields 4 servings


Ingredients:
3-4 chicken breasts, frozen*
2-3 red skinned potatoes, washed
1 bag prepacked fresh green beans**
1 pkg Italian dressing seasoning packet, unprepared***
1 stick butter
Salt and pepper, to taste


Directions:
Slice the red potatoes thinly, or dice them into chunks. I prefer to run them through a mandolin on my thickest setting, giving me about 1/4 inch slices.  Place the potatoes on the bottom of a 9X13 casserole dish.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little bit of the Italian dressing packet.

Open the fresh green beans, sprinkle all of them on top of the potatoes.  Add salt, pepper, and a little more Italian dressing seasoning.

Place frozen chicken breasts on top of the green beans. Add more salt, pepper, and the rest of the Italian dressing seasoning packet. It may seem like a lot of seasoning, but remember that chicken is bland and potatoes are bland, and this is NOT too much seasoning. Trust me!

Cut the stick of butter into small cubes, and dot all over the pan.

Cover the pan with foil, and bake at 375 for 1 hour. Check to make sure chicken is cooked all the way through and the juices are clear before serving.



*You can also use fresh chicken breasts, and you do NOT need to add water. Simply decrease your cooking time by about 15 minutes.

**Other vegetables I have tried: broccoli, carrots. Any root vegetable will do!

***You can use a ranch dressing packet instead of Italian. It's still delicious, but Italian dressing adds a little more zest and interest to the flavors.

Sweet Pork, Lime Rice, and Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

Cafe Rio is my favorite restaurant, ever.

When I was in high school, my best friend and I would go there weekly.  Probably more than weekly.  I remember having a free meal every other month. (You get a free meal after purchasing 10 meals.) After I got married, I stopped going as much, and then we decided to get crazy and move across the country.

The nearest Cafe Rio is approximately 777 miles away.


That's an interesting coincidence... Since that's also my anniversary. Huh... Must be a sign or something.



A few years ago, before I moved across the country, I found an assortment of Cafe Rio copycat recipes.  I tried and played with each one, making my own adjustments, and below is what I have come up with.

Spoiler alert: I have tasted official Cafe Rio Creamy Tomatillo Dressing side by side with my recipe below and I could NOT tell a difference. Take that!



It is easiest if you split the work into two days:

Day 1:
Cook the pork on low (then stick it in the fridge overnight/during the next day before you're ready to prepare dinner - you can skim the grease/fat that hardens and rises to the top this way).
Make the dressing and let it sit in the fridge, getting "happy" (the dressing flavors intensify and the dressing itself gets thicker if you let it sit a while).
Make the pico de gallo and let it sit in the fridge, getting "happy" (flavors will intensify).

Day 2:
Heat up/finish cooking the pork in the yummy sauce while you...
Make the rice.

It's slightly less work this way.

Well, it's the same amount of work, but less work each day, and day 2 is much faster (dinner ready in 45 minutes is fine by me!).

I've included recipes for sweet pork, cilantro lime dressing, lime rice, and pico de gallo. I don't like my Cafe Rio salad with beans, and I'm too lazy to make the tortilla strips that go on top.

My point is, prepare what you want. Make the salad your own! Get crazy!

Cilantro Lime Dressing:
1 c mayonnaise
1/2 c milk
1 lime, zest and juice
1 packet of ranch dressing mix
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c cilantro, roughly chopped (most of the time I use 1/2 or more of an entire bundle)
1/4 c green salsa (La Costena or Herdez brand)
Chili Lime Cholula, to taste (original Cholula will work as well)

Mix all ingredients in the blender, put in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.


Lime Rice:
1 cup long-grain, brown rice
1 3/4 cups water
2 tsp chicken bouillon
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 cup green salsa (use leftovers from the dressing recipe!)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lime, zest and juice
1 tsp butter

Combine everything in a rice cooker and let it do its magic. (You can use white rice instead of brown. You also can substitute straight up chicken broth or chicken stock instead of the bouillon and water.)


Pico De Gallo
1 tomato, diced
a few sprigs (2-3) cilantro, chopped
1 green onion, diced
sprinkle of salt, to taste

Basically this is a fresh, chunky salsa.  Combine tomato, cilantro, onion and sprinkle of salt.  Let sit in the fridge until the flavors get happy.


Sweet Pork
2 pounds pork (I use pork butt roast)
2 cans Coke, divided (You could also use Dr. Pepper. If you use Root Beer, it will not taste like Cafe Rio's.)
1 cup brown sugar, divided
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 c green salsa (same as in the dressing and rice!)
1 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce (I like Old El Paso medium heat)

Put pork, 1 can of Coke, garlic salt and 1/4 cup brown sugar in crock pot on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 8-10 hours. When done, shred pork. Mix 1 can of Coke, green salsa, enchilada sauce, and 3/4 cup brown sugar in a bowl, then pour over shredded pork in crock pot and cook on high for 45 minutes, or on low for 2 hours.


Other items needed:
Tortillas
Shredded romaine lettuce
Sour cream
Extra sprigs of cilantro
Fresh lime wedges


When everything is done, build your salad, or burrito, or taco. Whatever!

I like to put a tortilla on my plate, followed by a a small scoop of rice, a little bit of shredded pork, then some shredded lettuce. Add sour cream, pico, cilantro, and a lime wedge. Pour on as much dressing as suits your fancy.

Then sit back, put your feet up, and relax, because this meal is a ton of work!


Personally I'd rather spend $10 and go to Cafe Rio.

My Favorite Lasagna

This recipe is a combination of Chicken Parmigiana by Pioneer Woman, and Lasagna Roll Ups by Favorite Family Recipes.  Boy oh boy is it perfect!  It's a bit of work, but I promise it's worth it.  Say goodbye to nasty jarred or canned spaghetti sauce!

When I made this today, I prepared it before church and placed it in the refrigerator. When we got home all I had to do was bake and serve!  You could easily assemble it the day before, refrigerate overnight and cook it the next day.

You could also make a meatless version by omitting the ground beef and associated cooking step.

Ingredients for the sauce:
-1 lb ground beef (or sausage, or turkey, or whatever meat you think would taste good)
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 TB olive oil
-1 TB butter
(If you are using a meat that is NOT lean, omit the oil and only use butter, or you will have a TON of grease to remove. The butter is for delicious flavor.)
-1 whole medium onion, diced (or grated)
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-3/4 cup chicken broth
-3 cans crushed tomatoes
-2 TB sugar
-1 TB dried parsley (or about 1/4 cup fresh, chopped)

Ingredients for the filling:
-2 cups cottage cheese
-1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
-1 egg, lightly beaten
-1 tsp dried parsley (or 1 TB fresh, chopped)
-1/2 tsp onion powder
-1/4 tsp garlic powder
-salt and pepper to taste

-Lasagna noodles, cooked, drained and rinsed (rinsed so they don't stick together and tear apart. :( Also, I like to break my noodles in half before cooking, so they're even more less likely to tear and stick together.)
-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (or you could use more fresh Parmesan, I just like how gooey and melty the mozz is.)

Preparation Instructions:
Heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. Season one side of ground beef with salt and pepper. When butter is melted and oil/butter mixture is hot, place the ground beef, seasoned side down in the pan.  While cooking, season the other side of ground beef with salt and pepper.  Cook on first side for 2-3 minutes until you get a nice crust.  Then you can either turn over the ground beef, or start breaking it up, or a combination of both.  Cook until it is no longer pink.  Drain grease and return to heat.

Add onions and garlic and cook until the onions are no longer raw. Pour in chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the pan, getting all the bits off the bottom. Cook for 1 minute.

Pour in crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add sugar and more salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. (I would recommend covering it during this cooking time, since it tends to bubble all over.) Add chopped parsley and give sauce a good stir and a taste. Add more salt and pepper, if needed.

During the 20 minute simmering time, cook the lasagna noodles to al dente. Drain and rinse.

In a bowl combine all filling ingredients.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place a thin layer of the sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.  Cover with lasagna noodles. Spread a thin layer of filling over the noodles.  Repeat until you run out of each. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with mozzarella cheese. Return to oven and cook until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Perfection!

To make ahead and freeze: Assemble lasagna in a 9x13 pan that is lined with foil, with plenty extra foil on the sides.  Once assembled, cover with foil and freeze until firm.  Once firm, remove from the pan, and wrap with extra foil.  Freeze for up to two months.

To prepare after frozen: Remove lasagna from freezer and remove foil. Place in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Cover and thaw in refrigerator for 24 hours. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove cover and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Return to oven and cook until cheese has melted.

Really, Really Good Soup (Cauliflower and Cheese)

I'm not gonna lie, cauliflower, when cooked, smells horrible.  If you can get past the smell, you should make this dish because it is wonderful (and low carb!).

If you like potato soup, you should make this dish because it is wonderful (and low carb!).

When I go to Zupas, I have to order the Wisconsin Cauliflower soup.  I just have to.  It's too perfect to pass up.  It's too good to risk trying another soup I may not like.  This soup, is like that soup, except made in the crock pot.  If you're in a hurry, you can cook a non-crock pot version.  Which is good as well.  I just like to make things and walk away, so crock pot cooking works for me!

The Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 large onion, diced very fine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can chicken broth (if you want to go vegetarian, use vegetable broth)
1 head cauliflower, cut into floretes
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon mustard
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded pepperjack cheese

The Directions:
Put the cauliflower pieces, onion, salt and butter in the crock pot and cook on low for 4-5 hours, or on high for 2-3.  Once the cauliflower is nice and soft, pour the cauliflower mixture into a blender (with the center piece removed from the lid) and puree until you get the consistency you want.  You may have to do this in two or three batches.  Return cauliflower mixture to crock pot and add milk, mustard and cheeses.  You may also want to add more salt and some pepper at this point. Give it a taste!  Turn the crock pot to high and heat through for 30 mins to an hour, stirring occassionally.

My husband, who thinks he hates onions, loves this soup.
My sister in law, who hates a lot of things, likes this soup.  (I didn't tell her what was in it until after she gave her verdict.)

Picky eater approved!  Try it!

My Favorite Chili

This would have to be the best chili I've ever had in my life.

Now before you run out and buy the ingredients, just be aware that I don't eat chili very often.  The only chili I've had is my mom's and some random ones from ward chili competitions.  This chili just really hit the spot the other day.  It could be a pregnant thing, but I don't plan on cooking any other types of chili for a long time since this was so perfect.

The Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound ground beef
2 cans kidney beans, one light red and one dark red (just because it's prettier)
2 cans diced "chili ready" tomatoes (They have some spices in them and green bell pepper, which I don't particularly like, but it's diced extremely fine.)
1 (14oz) can tomato sauce
1 large onion, grated (This is how I hide onions from people who *think* they don't like them.  Shh!)
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon chili powder (if you use regular tomatoes instead of chili ready, increase to two tablespoons of chili powder)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream for garnish.   You could also use Frito chips and bacon bits as well.  Whatever rocks your socks!

The Directions:
Brown the ground beef in the butter with half of the grated onion.  The trick to this is to put the pan on the stove, add the butter, and turn the heat to high.  Once the butter is melted, add the ground beef and onion, a pinch of salt, dash of pepper and bit of chili powder to the pan, but DO NOT STIR until it has nicely browned on one side.  Mmmmm flavor.  You can stir after you get a nice "crust" on one side of the beef.

Once the beef is good and browned, drain the grease and add the cooked ground beef to the crock pot.

Open the two cans of kidney beans and pour them into a collinder.  Rinse them well, you don't want that icky, sweet, liquid that they are sitting in.

Put the rinsed beans in the crock pot with the tomatoes, tomato sauce, the rest of the grated onion, the garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Give it a good stir.

Then wipe up what you spilled on the counter since the crock pot is pretty full at this point.

Put the lid on the crock and cook on low for 8-10 hours (Mine usually goes for 10-11... it's fine.), or on high for 4 hours.

Garnish with whatever you think will taste good.  Then dig in to the best chili ever!!

Oh, but don't forget to pray and bless the food.  That's very important.

Orange Chicken

Hi friends!  I've been cooking a lot lately, I promise.  I just haven't been very good at taking pictures and posting the recipes.

Not that anyone really uses this website besides myself.

Anyway, today I want to share a treasure with you.  This was so delicious!  It's not comparable to the Orange Chicken at Panda Express, it has a completely different flavor.  But personally, I like this one better.  Goodbye, Panda Express!

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken pieces (cut into 1-1/2” cubes). You can use whatever part of the chicken you like, I like chicken breast tenderloins or cutlets.
1 ½ cups flour
1 egg, beaten
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Oil (for frying)
1 cup water
2 tablespoons FRESH orange juice (I used Simply Orange)
¼ cup FRESH lemon juice (I actually used Lime Juice Concentrate, since that's what I had on hand)
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest (grated)
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon ginger root (minced)  (I used about 1/4 tsp ginger)
½ teaspoon garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons green onion (chopped)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (I used 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 c. water

Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken in egg mixture and toss around in the flour mixture to coat. Deep fry chicken in batches until completely cooked.  I don't have a deep fryer, so I put about a half inch of oil in the bottom of a saute pan or a skillet and let it get hot.  Then I add the chicken pieces, turning when they're done on one side, using tongs, and removing when completely done.  It takes about 7-10 minutes for the first side, then 3-5 for the second.  Just watch it.  When it turns a golden brown color, it's right.

In a large saucepan combine 1 cup water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Stir over medium heat for a few minutes. Add brown sugar, orange zest, ginger, garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil.

Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens. If you're using cayenne pepper, add it now.  If not, pour the sauce over the breaded chicken, and add red pepper flakes.  Throw on some green onions for a delicious garnish!

I served some brown rice on the side to soak up the extra sauce.  It was so delicious!  Seriously, make this tonight!

Pomegranate Beef

I love pomegranate.

I'm not a huge fan of beef roasts, generally.  I prefer pork.  But I do believe that pork would just not taste as good as beef in this recipe.

I found this recipe on the A Year of Slowcooking blog. You can see the original here.

I like to change things, to better suit my taste.  So here is my version...

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 pounds beef roast

4 garlic cloves, minced
2 apples, cored, peeped and sliced
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes (petite diced are great)

1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup craisins (pomegranate flavor would be good!)

Put the onion and olive oil in the bottom of the crock pot. Rub the spices on the roast and add to the pot.  Add garlic, apples, tomatoes, chicken broth, pomegranate juice, vinegar, syrup and crasins.

Cook on low for 8 hours, our on high for about 5.

When I got home from work today, the smell in my house was amazing. Seriously... try this!

Take the roast out of the crock, and pour half of the liquids into a blender and blend until you have a smooth puree (You could blend all of the liquids, but then it won't look as pretty.).  Blending the ingredients together makes a delicous sweet, savory sauce.  If you want it to be thicker, add some cornstarch.

Definitely serve with some mashed potatoes.  Yum yum!

For a frozen roast, cook on low for 10-12 hours, and decrease the liquids.  I did 1/4 cup chicken broth, and 1/2 cup pomegranate juice, same measurements for everything else.  As the roast defrosts, it will water down everything and add more liquid.

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

Have you been to Pizza Pie Cafe?  If you have, have you tried their red pepper pasta sauce?  Oh my, it is divine.  I crave that stuff.  Unfortunately, the pizza at Pizza Pie Cafe is a little advanced for Lance's tastes, so I don't get to eat there very often.

Lucky for me, Lance likes this dish!  So, instead of spending $18 for Lance and I to go to Pizza Pie Cafe for me to get that pasta, I can make this.  This isn't as good, I'll admit, but it works.

3-4 roasted red bell peppers (you can use the ones that come in a jar, or you can roast your own)
2 Tb olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tb red pepper flakes (adjust to taste, I like it SPICY)
1/4 c chicken broth
1/2 c heavy cream
fresh Parmesan (NOT the crappy kind in a can, we want the fresh kind, that you will grate yourself)
1 lb pasta, any kind will do
salt, salt, salt

So, how do you roast bell peppers?  I put them under the broiler for 20-30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes.  I want all sides to be burnt black. After they're nice and black, place in a plastic zip lock bag and put in the fridge for about 10 minutes.

Then you'll want to take them out of the fridge and peel off the blackened skin.  I love that part.  Then you of course clean out the seeds and membranes. Voila!

And now, the recipe:

Cook pasta!

Meanwhile, put olive oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic and cook until soft.  Add chicken broth and cook until heated.  Put garlic-onion mixture in the blender with the chopped roasted red peppers.

I do this because Lance doesn't like onion chunks.  Therefore, you blend the heck out of it, until there are no more onion chunks.  If you don't mind chunks, then you could just blend the peppers.  Or the peppers and the chicken broth.  My blender sucks. If I don't have a certain amount of liquid in it, it won't blend.  So.... yeah.  Adjust the blending to your desire, or your blender's desire.

Put red pepper mixture back into pan over medium eat, add salt.  Salt, salt, salt.  It will need salt.  Also add the red pepper flakes, and the 1/2 cup cream.  Cook until warm, or hot, or whatever temperature you prefer. Give it a taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.  Add cooked pasta, stir together.  MMMMM.

Grate some fresh Parm on top of each serving.   You could also add fresh parsley or basil, but I'm not a fan of either of those.  Maybe cilantro would be good.... I'll have to try that next time.

Western Noodle Bake

This was extremely quick and easy, and I had all of the ingredients for it without making a trip to the store!

Any time I brown ground beef, I start it the same way: a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, some red onion, and about a clove of garlic.  I bought some of that pre-chopped garlic in a bottle so I don't smell like garlic all of the time.  1/2 tsp = 1 clove.  It's very handy!

 Once the garlic and onion is a nice caramel color...

Add the ground beef to the pan with some salt and pepper and brown the heck out of it.

You should have previously put on a pot of water to boil, and by this time it should be boiling.  Add the noodles and give it a stir.

Once the ground beef is browned, drain any grease left in the pan.  You know that little bit of grease that you can't get with a spoon?  I use a paper towel to soak it up.  Unfortunately, today I didn't have any paper towels left, so I left that little bit in my beef.  I know, I'm going to die of a heart attack.

Add the tomato sauce to the ground beef.

Let that hang out and simmer while you check on the noodles and get the other ingredients ready.

Mix sour cream and cottage cheese in a bowl.

Add a lot of pepper.

The noodles should be ready by now, so drain them, but do not rinse.  I watch a lot of Chopped on the Food Network, and rinsing your noodles is very bad, according to Scott.  So drain, but no rinse.

Then add the meat to the noodles.

Looking good...

Then add the sour cream and cottage cheese mixture to the noodle mixture.

Looking better....

It will look perfect once you've added the green onions.  Those are my favorite kind of onion.  Yum!

 Then dump it all into a 9X9 pan.

Instead of mixing everything together and dumping it in a pan, you could layer it, like lasagna.  Which is actually what the original recipe said to do, I just didn't listen.  Whoops!

Cover the entire thing with cheese.  Mmmm, cheese....

Then bake in the oven until the cheese is melted, about 5-10 minutes.

 Mmmmm...

I served mine with a simple salad.

This dish reminded me of Western Mac that my mom used to make, using the recipe on the wide of a mac & cheese box.  It was basically macaroni and cheese with ground beef added to it.  This is the grown-up version of that.

INGREDIENTS: 
1-¼ pound ground beef
1 can 15-ounces tomato sauce 
½ teaspoons Salt 
freshly ground black pepper 
8 ounces, noodles, any kind will do
½ cups sour cream 
1-¼ cup cottage cheese 
sliced green onions (to taste) 
1 cup grated cheese, sharp cheddar would be nice, but I used Mexican blend.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Drain fat, then add tomato sauce. 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir, then simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.

Cook noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add to noodles and stir. Add green onions and stir.

To assemble, add half of the noodles to a baking dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the grated cheese. Repeat with noodles, meat, then a final layer of cheese. Bake until all cheese is melted.

Pork 'N Coke

This is an adaptation of a "Ham 'N Cola" recipe that my sister-in-law gave to me (Thanks Nicole!).  I struggle finding crock pot recipes that can cook for 10-12 hours.  Because of my location, the distance to work, and the fact that I carpool with Lance, we're gone from 7:30am until 6:00pm most days.

The sauce ingredients scared me a little bit, but it turned out amazing!  Lance said it had a teriyaki taste to it.  I can't really put a finger on what it tastes like, but it's sweet, slightly spicy and insanely delicious.

Pork 'N Coke

INGREDIENTS:
For the ROAST:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground mustard (or dry mustard)
1 tsp prepared horseradish
1 1/2 cups Coke
3-4 lb pork roast (I use frozen so I can cook it longer.... tricksy!)

For the SAUCE:
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/4 cup Coke
1 TB cornstarch


Can I just say that I HATE, HATE, HATE horseradish?  Good, because I hate it.  I think it smells awful, and tastes similar to how paint smells.  It is one of the nastiest things I have ever eaten.  I was going to omit it, but then I decided to give it a try.  Instead of going out and buying a whole bottle of the nasty stuff, I took a few Horsey Sauce packets from Arby's.  Brilliant, eh?

If you, like me, dislike horseradish, and you, like I, leave it in instead of omitting it, you will be fine.  You can't even taste it, but you can taste the tiny hint of spiciness that it leaves behind.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine brown sugar, mustard, and horseradish. Moisten with just enough Coke to make a smooth paste. Reserve remaining Coke.
2. Rub entire roast with mixture. Place roast in slow cooker and add remaining Coke.
3. Cover. Cook on Low 10-12 hours.  (If you want shorter cooking time, use a thaw roast, or, pre-cook your roast.  Cook it on high for 6-8 hours for frozen, or 3-4 hours for thaw.)

Once it is all done cooking (or once I come home from work), remove the roast from the crock pot and let it rest on its own dish while you make the cooking liquid into a sauce.

In a small sauce pan get some olive oil hot and add the onion and garlic.  Cook on medium heat until the onion has caramelized.  Then add the ground mustard, cooking liquid from the crock pot, extra Coke, and cornstarch.  Mix well and let cook until the cornstarch has cooked out.  This takes about 5-10 minutes.

Then serve!  I served  my gravy on the side of the roast, just in case Lance didn't like it, but you could also pour it over the top.  If you want a thicker sauce, add more cornstarch.

This is delicious.  I love it.  I am definitely making this again.

Note to self: Take more Horsey Sauce packets from Arby's.

Glazed Chicken

This recipe was originally for Salmon, which is what I used when I tried it for the first time.  It was delicious!  But we hate fish.  So... chicken it is!

1/4 cup juice concentrate - any flavor will do.  I used cranberry-raspberry.
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons fruit preserves - I used plum!  Yummy!
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
Grapefruit slices (you could also use lemon or orange)

Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil and place in broiler.

In a small saucepan, over medium-high heat, combine juice concentrate, preserves, and balsamic vinegar. Simmer until preserves melt, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, season each chicken breast with 1 teaspoon lemon pepper. Remove the baking sheet from broiler and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken on baking sheet. Broil for 6 minutes. Spoon glaze over each piece, top each with a grapefruit slice and broil for another 2 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked.

I would recommend doubling the sauce, and serving it over rice on the side.  It's like candy!!  Sooo good!

Cheeseburger Pasta

This recipe was shared with me by Sierra!

1/2 package bacon, cut into pieces

1 bag corkscrew pasta
1/2 lb ground beef
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup ketcup
1/4 cup water
Cheese


(This makes the perfect amount for two people with leftovers for lunch the next day!  If you are cooking for four or more people you may want to double the recipe.)

Place bacon on a baking sheet, and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes (depends on how crispy you like it).
Boil pasta per noodle directions.
While pasta is boiling, brown your ground beef in whatever seasonings you like.  I like onion, garlic powder, seasoning salt, and pepper.  Drain the grease.  When bacon is ready, remove from oven and place on paper towels to soak up as much grease as you can, then add to the ground beef.  Add your BBQ sauce, ketchup and water and heat through on medium heat, until the sauce thickens a bit.

Combine noodles and sauce and top with cheese.

Delicious!

Chicken in Coca-Cola Sauce

We bought a Coke recipe book from the Coke store in Vegas about a year ago.  Here's one of my favorite recipes from it... altered to my taste, of course :)

8 chicken tenders
salt and pepper to taste
2 TB olive oil
2 TB butter
1 lb FRESH mushrooms (cut up if large)
1/4 c chopped spring onions
2 cloves garlic, diced very fine
4-5 T flour
2 c Coca Cola
3/4 c chicken broth
1 tsp dry parsley
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp rosemary

Dry chicken with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet. Add the chicken pieces and cook until golden on one side. Turn over and cook the other side until golden. Place on separate plate and set aside.

In the same pan, add mushrooms.  Cook over medium heat until golden. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring until softened. Sprinkle flour into pan and cook, while stirring, until a light color (1-2 minutes). Add Coca-Cola, broth and herbs. Stir to blend. The smell is a little intense at this point... but don't worry!  It gets better!  Cook for 4-5 minutes.  Return the chicken pieces to the pan. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer gently for 25-30 minutes or until tender.

Discard bay leaf before serving!

Serves 4.


The mushrooms in the Coke sauce is the BEST part about this!  So do not skimp on the mushrooms!!

Chicken Enchiladas

I make these different every time... but this past time that I made them, they turned out perfect!

4 chicken tenders
Herbs De Provence
Lemon pepper
Garlic salt
1 large can of enchilada sauce
2 cups cheese (any kind will do)
1 small can sliced olives
1 small can green chilies
Few sprigs of cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream (sometimes I add a bit of cream cheese)
6 medium sized tortillas

Put chicken tenders in a skillet on medium heat.  Cover them in herbs de provence, lemon pepper, and garlic salt.

When they are done cooking take them out of the pan and let them rest for a couple minutes, then cut them into small pieces.

Cover the bottom of a 9X9 pan with enchilada sauce (any kind will do, you could also use salsa, it's delicious!  But, because of certain tastes in my house... enchilada sauce is what we use).  Put a thin layer of cheese over the enchilada sauce. 

Return the chicken to the skillet, and add sliced olives, green chilies, part of the chopped cilantro, enchilada sauce, sour cream and some more of the cheese.  Mix all that together.

Place a small amount of the filling on a tortilla, and roll up, place in the pan that has enchilada suce on the bottom. Do this until your pan is filled (usually about 6 medium sized enchiladas).  Cover those with the rest of the enchilada sauce and good layer of cheese.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

When done baking, sprinkle remaining cilantro on top.

Delicioso!!