Pretzel Jell-o Salad

1 cube butter or margarine
3 Tbs. sugar
2 cups pretzels (broken up)
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 (8 oz.) cool whip
1 large pkg. Raspberry Jell-o mix (you can use Strawberry as well)
2 cups boiling water
2 1/2 pkg. (12 oz.) frozen raspberries (do not thaw; include juice)
(If you don't like Raspberries this is good with Strawberries as well)

Melt butter and sugar together.  Mix in with broken up pretzels. Spread into 10x13 inch pan.  Bake at 350 for 7 minutes. Combine cream cheese, sugar, and cool whip.  Spread over baked pretzel mix. Pour Raspberry Jell-o mix into 2 cups of boiling water.  Add the frozen raspberries to the Jell-o mixture.  Pour over pretzel and cream cheese base and refrigerate until set.

*Submitted by My SIL Tara Braegger

Crock~pot Chicken Alfredo

1 small can cream of chicken soup
1 Cup water
1 cube butter (or margarine)
1- 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 pkg. dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 lb. chicken breast
1 pkg. favorite pasta (we like bow tie)
 
Cut the chicken into bite-sized cubes.  Put everything into the crock-pot except for the pasta noodles.
Cook on low for 4-6 hours.  
Pour over cooked pasta.

*Submitted by (my SIL) Tara Braegger
 (She has a small family, so I doubled the recipe, and changed a couple of things.  We used the corkscrew pasta and the last maybe 20 mins. of cooking time I added the cooked pasta to the crock~pot, and stirred it all together) I didn't get a pic of this one BUT it was YUMMY!!!

April's Chicken

1-1/2 lbs chicken breast (cut to bite size pieces) (I prefer to brown it first)
1 tsp dried basil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
6 oz stove top stuffing
2 cloves garlic, minced

Place chicken in 9 x 13 pan.
Sprinkle with basil & mozzarella.
Top with mixture of tomatoes, stuffing, & garlic.
Bake at 400 for about 30-40 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked through.

*Submitted by Zaida Cooper

Spanish Rice

4 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 rib celery, diced
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 large fresh tomatoes, peeled & diced
1 cup long grain rice, uncooked
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 375.
Lightly oil 9 x 12 baking pan
Heat oil in skillet.
Add onions, green pepper, garlic, celery, & mushrooms.
Saute over med-low heat 5 minutes
Transfer to pan. Add tomatoes, rice, salt, & pepper.
Pour broth, stir well, cover, & bake for 30 minutes.
Stir again & bake for 30 more minutes.

*Recipe submitted by Zaida Cooper

Taco Chowder

1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, not drainaged (I pureed mine)
2 cans (16 oz) fat-free refried beans
1 can (14-1/2 oz) fat-free beef broth
1 can (15 oz) light red kidney beans, not drained (I used black beans)
1 can (15-1/4 oz) whole kernel golden sweet corn, not drained (I used frozen corn)
Optional garnishes: tomatoes, cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, olives, sour cream

Spray crock pot with nonfat cooking spray (I didn't, no problems)
In crock pot, mix together all ingredients

Cover & cook on high 4-5 hours or low 8-10 hours (Really watch this. I only cooked it on low 4 hours. My ground beef was already cooked...could be the difference)

Serve with optional garnishes

*Original recipe found at CD Kitchen

Ratatouille Soup

1 eggplant, cubed
1 zucchini, cubed
1 yellow squash, cubed
1 sweet red pepper diced (I used dried pepper flakes)
1 onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
3 cans chicken broth
4 cups water (possibly more for desired consistency)
2 cups whole wheat pasta, not cooked
1 can white northern beans, rinsed & drained
2 cans tomatoes or 4 ripe tomatoes, chopped (I pureed mine)
salt & pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese as garnish if desired.

In large roasting pain, mix together eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, pepper, onion & garlic.

In a separate bowl, mix olive oil & Ital. seasoning. Mix with other veggies in pan until well coated.

Bake at 425 degrees approx 20 minutes until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally.

In a large pot, combine chicken broth & water. Bring to boil & add pasta. Return to boil & cook until pasta is tender. Reduce heat.

Stir in beans, tomatoes, & roasted veggies. Heat through.

Busy Day Pork Roast

Do not judge this by the picture...it is soooo much better than it looks. It was so tender I couldn't even slice it...shredded to the touch. My son seriously went back for 4th's!!



1 pork roast
1 package onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 soup can of water

Place pork roast in crock pot.
Pour remaining ingredients over roast.
Cook on low for the day (approx 6-8 hours)

The gravy remaining in the crock pot is fantastic over the pork & also with mashed potatoes.

Apricot Jam

                            Ingredients:

8 cups of chopped apricots (I used already canned apricots)

3 cups of sugar (If using fresh apricots use 6 cups of sugar)

1/4 cup of lemon juice

   

Sterilize your canning jars by boiling for 10 minutes in a hot water canner. 

You will need 3~5 pint jars or 6~10 half-pints. 

Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot. 

Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. 

Once mixture reaches a rolling boil, continue to boil it for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent it from sticking. 

Remove from heat and fill jars, leaving 1/4 head space. 

Wipe rims clean and put the 2-piece metal canning lids in place. 

Process in boiling water canner for 10 minutes.  This recipe turned out yummy!!

**Original recipe came from Food.com

Eggplant Nuggets

1 eggplant, skins removed
2 eggs, whisked together
1-2 cups bread crumbs (I used whole wheat)
extra virgin olive oil
seasonings if desired (mixed in bread crumbs)

Slice eggplant into nugget-sized pieces.
Coat frying pan with extra virgin olive oil
Dip in whisked eggs
Dip in bread crumbs
Fry each side of nuggets in pan until golden brown.
Drain on paper towel.
Serve alone or with ranch, ketchup, etc. if desired.

**Sometimes eggplant can taste a little bitter. To remedy this, follow the instructions by clicking HERE

French Fried Onion Chicken

This recipe was submitted by (my Sister) Ashley Braegger

Preheat oven to 350*.
Place Aluminum Foil over Cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray for easy clean up.

 Ingredients:

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 eggs

3 6oz bags of French Fried Onions
  
First put all 3 bags of French Fried Onions in a gallon size freezer bag and use a rolling pin to crush the onions, when they are all pretty well crushed it will look like a crunchy Shake n' Bake. 
Next take the 2 eggs and beat them with a fork in a bowl big enough to dip the chicken in. 
Next dip the 1 chicken breast in the egg both sides then place in the french fried onion bag and shake until the chicken breast is fully coated with the onions  place on cookie sheet. 
Continue until all chicken breasts are coated. Bake at 350* for 1 1/2 hours for large breast, 1 hour for smaller breasts or until done. (Juices will run clear)

Kellie's Homeade Chilli

1~2 pound of beans (your choice)
1~2 pounds of hamburger, browned and drained
1 small yellow onion, chopped or diced
1~2 pkt. chilli mix (name brand of your choice)

The night before you will want to soak your beans.  I use pinto beans and black beans.  But you can use whatever kind you like. We sort through the beans and throw away all the yucky ones, and sometimes they have little clumps of dirt in them. Once we have sorted through them, I wash them off really good, and put them into my crock pot. Cover them really go with hot water, put the lid on them and leave them til morning! (DO NOT turn on your crock pot yet!!)
In the morning I give them a good stir and fill the crock pot all the way up with hot water.  I turn them on low and let them cook for about 6 hours. After about 3 hours I dice up a small yellow onion and add to the beans. After the 6 hours I add a pound of hamburger browned and drained, then 1 packet of chilli mix and give it another good stir.  Then I let it cook on low heat for about 1-1 1/2 more hours and it's ready to serve.  You can add cheese on top, sour cream whatever you like!! It's way yummy and GREAT for the colder weather!!

Beef Stew

Since the weather has changed I have been looking for ideas of soups, stews, and yummy things to cook all day in the crockpot!!! This recipe was submitted by Zaida Cooper, a wonderful family friend!!

1 package beef stew meat

1 regular size can of diced tomatoes with garlic

1 regular size can of beef broth 

1 jar (I use the bigger one) of  sliced mushrooms

1 jar of Heinz beef gravy

1 jar of water (Just add the water with the gravy jar)

1 1/2 cups baby carrots

1 1/2 cups cut red potatoes

1/2 cup diced green onions

1 regular McCormick beef stew seasoning packet

Then garlic powder and salt. 

Throw it all in the crockpot and cook it. 

Cook on medium heat for 6-8 hours