Chile Colorado Burritos

Original Photo and Recipe

Nom nom nom nom.... easy and tasty and meaty.

Chile Colorado Burritos 

Makes 5-7 burritos, depending on how full you make them.

Approx. 700 calories per burrito (1/6 recipe)

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds stew meat or other beef cubed (top sirloin is great)
• 1 large can mild (red) enchilada sauce* (at least 19 oz.)
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• 1/2 can refried beans (optional)
• 5-7 burrito size flour tortillas
• 1 cup or so of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Put beef, bouillon, and enchilada sauce*** into a crock pot and cook on low for 7-8 hours**, or until meat is very tender. (Can also cook on high for maybe 3-4 hours.)  I've also cooked it in a dutch oven for about 4 hours at 325 degrees.  More meat, more time.  A third option is to cook it in a large heavy saucepan--bring it to a boil on high heat, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat is tender.  If you go with a method other than the crock pot, make sure the pot is covered and pretty well sealed to minimize evaporation of the liquid.

When beef is done (very tender and flakes off when stirred), taste and add more salt, if desired. Heat up refried beans in the microwave (covered and in a microwave-proof dish, of course)and put your oven on broil. On an oven-proof plate, or cookie sheet even, lay out a tortilla.  Place on tortilla about 1/2 cup of the meat, drained by using a slotted spoon, and a spoonful or two of beans. Roll into a burrito (hopefully you know how to roll these). Pour some of the remaining enchilada sauce from the crock pot over the burrito to cover it. Sprinkle with some cheddar cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly, about 2-4 minutes.

Part 2

I forgot the one new kitchen thing that will change your life!!!  Totally worth it at $2 for a box of 4.  Plus, here is a coupon from Reynolds.

Buy these.  Seriously. 

Applesauce

I have never made applesauce before, but I will be doing this over and over again.. so easy and yummy!!  The store had apples for 59c a pound, so the first time I made this with Cortland and McIntosh.  The second time I made it with honeycrisp because they were on super sale.  Both times it was delicious!  You really should have an apple peeler/slicer machine thing for this.

I like my applesauce chunky so I cut the water and cooked it a little less.  All I needed was a hand potato masher (barely) because they just fell apart.   The second time I did cut back on the sugar some. 

Homemade Applesauce
Makes about 2.5 cups

• 10 cups apples, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks
  
• 0.5 cup water
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
• 0.5 cup sugar or Splenda (optional, or to taste)

Place apples, water, cinnamon, and sugar in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours or until apples are tender and easily mash. Mash with a potato masher, or puree in blender or food processor until you teach the desired consistency.

Freezing Directions:
Divide and place among freezer bags or containers. Seal, label, and freeze. To serve: Thaw. Serve warm or cold.

Salsa Chicken Tacos

 

So my random return to the food blog world is a fail in the picture department.  Sorry, you will just have to trust me that this is delicious.  I make it as often as I can but realized I never blogged it... at least I don't think so.  Either way, it deserves a quick post.

Salsa Chicken Tacos

Serves: 4ish

-3 frozen chicken breasts
-3/4-1 jar salsa (I like Pace thick and chunky- hot)
-1 cup frozen corn kernels
-1/2 block cream cheese
-1 cup canned (rinsed) black beans
-shredded cheese
-10 pk taco sized tortillas
-rice (plain white instant... 1 cup water/1 cup rice)

In a crockpot, throw in the frozen chicken and dump salsa over top.  Cook on low for about 6 hours.

Break up chicken in the crock, throw in the corn, cream cheese, and beans and stir.  Turn up to high and cook for about 30 minutes.  Stir to make sure it is all mixed up and hot.

Spoon into tortilla shells.  Top with cheese if you want.  We usually add some plain rice to the shell first because it can be kinda juicy and the rice will soak it up.

TA DA!  Difficult right?  Well it is ridiculously awesome so you should go make it (looking at you Pete).  It even works great as a dip... just add more salsa to make it thinner and scoop with chips.

Crockpot Mac and Cheese

I had a bunch of stuff to make macaroni and cheese but Matt has been pretty annoyed with all the baked mac I have been making. He wanted something a little different so I hopped on Allrecipes.com and found this one. It was pretty tasty and Matt is really into it. I miss the crunchy crust from the baked mac, but I will be making this one again.

Crockpot Mac and Cheese
Serves: 4 dinner portions

1/2 package spiral pasta (8 oz of whatever shape... I used shells)
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 (10.75 ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (I used colby jack, but I don't think it was strong enough so cheddar jack might be tasty)

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In a 4-qt. slow cooker, combine the cream, soup and butter until smooth; stir in the cheese and pasta. Cover and cook on low for 2-1/2 hours or until cheese is melted.

I added an extra handful of cheese on top to make it all pretty and melty just before serving. I really only cooked it for about and hour and a half and it was ready. This is good for a potluck, just double everything =) I also threw in a teaspoon of black pepper.

Pulled BBQ roast beef

Ok so that is not my picture. I didn't take a picture of this one... sorry!! I threw this in the crockpot for Matt because I wasn't going to be around for dinner. He actually liked this pretty well and ate it leftover. I just wanted to use up the frozen chuck roast in my freezer.

Pulled BBQ roast beef
Serves: 3

1. In a lightly greased crock pot, place a 3 pound beef roast. In a small bowl, mix together the following and pour over the roast:
+3/4 cup Open Pit original flavor BBQ sauce (or just a spicy classic sauce)
+3/4 cup sweet Carolina type BBQ sauce
+1 tablespoon vinegar
+1/4 cup water
+2-4 tablespoons Frank's red hot sauce (to taste)

2. Cook on low for about 8 hours. Pull apart and eat with a fork or slap some on a bun.

Dill Pot Roast and Potatoes

This was pretty tasty and very easy! Mad props to my crockpot for doing all the work.


Dill Pot Roast and Potatoes
Serves: 3

+3 pound beef pot roast (I found a chuck roast on sale)
+1 tsp. salt
+1/4 tsp. black pepper
+1 tsp. dried dillweed
+1 tsp. dried dillweed (yes a second tsp)
+1/4 cup water
+1 Tablespoon vinegar
+3 Tablespoons flour
+1/2 cup water
+1 cup sour cream
+3 large redskin potatoes

1. Place potatoes (scrubbed clean but not dried) in bottom of a lightly greased crock pot.

2. Sprinkle both sides of the meat wth the salt, pepper, and 1 tsp of the dill and rub in. Place in the crock pot, try to nestle the meat down in with the potatoes. Add 1/4 cup water and vinegar.

3. Cook on low for 7-9 hours or until tender. Make sure the meat isn't drying out on top, turn it over if it is.

4. Remove the meat and potatoes to rest and cover with foil to keep warm. Turn on the crockpot to high. Dissolve the flour into the 1/2 cup water and stir into the meat drippings. Add the remainder of the dill and cook for about 5 minutes then stir in the sour cream and cook until hot (about 5 minutes).

5. Slice the meat and serve the sauce with the meat and potatoes.

Dijon Chicken

My friend Molly messaged me with a question about this recipe.. which worked out well for me since I needed a dinner idea! So we ended up making this on the same day. Her picture looks way better than mine... so I stole that too... thanks Molly!!

Dijon Chicken
Serves: 4

* 4 to 6 boneless chicken breast halves
* 2 tablespoons dijon mustard (we used 3)
* 1 can 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup
* 2 teaspoons cornstarch
* dash black pepper

Preparation: Wash chicken and pat dry; place in slow cooker. Combine remaining ingredients and spoon over the chicken. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Serve over rice or pasta.

Chicken Cheesy Yum Yum

Alright so Matt named this one haha. Inspired by my crock pot recipe book.... it was easy and pretty darn tasty! Plus I had everything on hand so that made it even better. I will admit that it doesn't LOOK that pretty...

Chicken Cheesy Yum Yum
Serves: 3-4

1. Lightly spray your crock pot. Add 3-4 medium sized frozen chicken breasts. Mix together 1/3 cup water and 1 packet of zesty italian dressing mix. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for about 8 hours.

2. About an hour before serving mix together and pour over chicken: 4 oz canned mushroom pieces and stems, 1 softened block of cream cheese (fat free!), 10.75 oz can of cream of chicken soup. Cook over low.

3. Serve over rice or noodles. =)

Laziest Roast Ever

This was yummy and beyond easy. There was a sale on boneless shoulder chuck roast, so I picked up a 1.67 pound hunk-o-meat. The recipe is based on that and may need some adjusting if you have a bigger crockpot and a bigger chunk of meat.

Lazy Sunday Roast
Serves: 3

1. Lightly spray your crock pot with Pam.
2. Dump in a 16 oz bag of frozen stew veggies, a cup of frozen diced onion, and a cup of frozen corn kernels. Put the chunk of meat on top of the veggies.
3. Sprinkle on a packet of Lipton soup mix "savory herb with garlic" and top with a can of cream of mushroom soup.
4. Cook for 6 hours on high or all day on low.
5. Serve with bisquits and some fruit.

**Now this is simply the laziest way to do this. If you wanna be all fancy, you can cut up your own fresh veggies like carrots and potatoes. Today just wasn't one of those fancy kinda days.

Cordon Crockpot

I had a bunch of stuff laying around the house and I figured... ehh I bet if I threw them all together it would taste good.... and man did it! I was pretty happy with this randomness. Matt isn't a huge ham fan, but he still liked it.

Cordon Crockpot
Serves: 3-4

1. Lightly spray oil in your crockpot. Place 2 medium sized frozen chicken breasts in. Sprinkle on about 5-6 oz of julienne or diced ham chunks- which does not mean deli slices (I am lazy and buy the pre cut up stuff by the deli meats). Dump on a can of cream of chicken soup and a few splashes of chicken broth. I am sure milk could be used if you don't want to open up a container of broth.

2. Cover and cook on low all day.

3. When you get home, break up the chicken so its all shredded. Throw in about 4 oz cubed swiss cheese and a few cranks on your pepper grinder. Stir. Recover and cook for another hour or until the cheese is all melty and delish.

4. Serve. We had it with green beans, bisquits, and pineapple.

BroccoCheese Chicken

It's crockpot time!! This is another quick and easy one. It wasn't phenomenal, but it was tasty and so welcoming to come home to. I think next time I will use some velveeta or cheese soup to thicken it up.

BroccoCheese Chicken
Serves: 2

1. In a lightly oil sprayed crockpot, place 2 medium to large frozen chicken breasts.
2. In a bowl combine the following: 1 can broccoli cheese condensed soup, 1 cup milk, 1/2 sweet onion (diced), 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pour over the chicken.
3. Cover and cook on low all day while at work. Do not stir it, it will break the chicken up.
4. When you get home, boil some water and cook up about 3 handfuls of medium egg noodles. Drain.
5. Serve chicken and sauce over noodles.

Beef Stew

Now I am not a huge beef eater, but I do like to throw some red meat into the mix every now and then because it makes Matt happy. This is an easy recipe that smells amazing when you come home from work.

Beef Stew
Serves: 4-5

Ingredients
*1-1 1/2 pounds of stew meat
*1/4 cup all purpose flour
*1 teaspoon salt
*2 teaspoons black pepper
*2 clove garlic, minced
*2 bay leaves
*2+ teaspoons paprika
*2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
*1 medium onion, chopped
*1-2 cans beef broth  (depending on how you like your stew)
*3 large redskin potatoes, chopped
*2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced
*1-2 stalk celery, sliced

Directions
1. Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and pepper. Pour over meat and stir to coat. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, worcestershire, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.

2. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.

3. If the stew is not thick enough for your liking about 30 minutes before serving, scoop out a ladleful of juice into a cup. Add about 1 tablespoon of corn starch and stir to dissolve. Mix into the stew. Wait about 5-10 minutes. If it is still too thin for you, repeat with the cornstarch until you are happy. Remove the bayleaves before serving. Enjoy!

Chili Cheese Dip

This is one of my all time favorite things to feed my guests! So easy and addicting. I brought this to a get together night and forgot to take a picture.... but a cheesy spoon laying next to the crock pot is the most common sight to see with this recipe, so this picture is only appropriate.

Chili Cheese Dip

Serves 12-15

1. Get your crock pot heating up on high.

2. Throw in the following:

• 1- 8oz bar of cream cheese, reduced/fat free works too
• 1 can of Hormel Hot no bean chili
• 1-16 oz. jar of your favorite salsa
• 1- 2 pound brick of Velveeta, cubed

3. Stirring occasionally, heat until melty and combined. Warning, this could take an hour.

4. Reduce heat to low and serve with tortilla chips (2 regular sized bags). Make sure you set out a paper plate for the spoon, this gets messy!

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

This recipe comes compliments of my knottie friend, MrsLaurenandJustin. It is super simple and smells wonderful! Matt is not a huge Mexican food fan, so I toned down the seasoning. Also, I thought I had a packet of Mexican rice mix in the pantry... I was wrong... so I just threw some stuff together. It wasn't too bad.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken
Serves 4
1. In a crockpot:

• Add 4 FROZEN chicken breasts (I had 2 super huge ones)
• Sprinkle 1 packet taco seasoning over the chicken (I used half)
• Mix together 1 cup salsa and 1 can cream of chicken soup and pour over chicken

2. Cook on low for about 8 hours. Mine ended up being in for closer to 11 and it was fine, I love crock pots!

3. When you get home from a long day at work, figure out your side dish and start making it. Below is the recipe for the rice I made with it. Once the side dish is almost done, add 1/2 cup sour cream to the crock pot and mix in. Also, break up the chicken into shreds, it should just fall apart. Let it sit for a couple minutes while the sour cream warms.

4. There are many ways you could serve this... by itself, over rice, in a tortilla, with tortilla chips... I chose to pile it onto a store bought tostada and sprinkle on a little cheese and a dab of sour cream... and a couple jalapenos. Mmmmm. Thanks Lauren!!

Mexican Rice

1. Prepare 1 package of Rice-a-roni chicken flavor rice per directions except:

• Add a handful of diced onion and half a diced jalapeno to the browning of the rice
• Reduce the water by 1/2 cup
• Add 3/4 cup salsa and 1/2 cup canned corn when you add the water

2. Watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't stick/burn due to the reduced water. It depends on the liquid content of your salsa.

3. Enjoy.