Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe I made up. I have been making it for a few years now. I started making it because I had gotten a butternut squash from a bountiful basket and didn't know what to do with it. So I searched recipes online and saw several for butternut squash soup. None of them sounded too bad, but I didn't have everything that those recipe called for. So I improvised and created this DELICIOUS soup. I emphasize this because I have made it for a few of my friends and they are still begging for the recipe and for me to make them my soup. They crave it. They call me and ask if I'm going to make any anytime soon. I figured it was about time to add this to my blog recipes. I hope you enjoy this simple recipe as much as my family, friends and I do. It's perfect for a cold wintery day or just because you want some.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

64 oz of chicken stock/broth
1 butternut squash, peeled and diced
4 apples- gala, fuji or braeburn - peeled and diced
4 med - small potatoes - peeled and diced
1 onion diced
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 8oz cream cheese - room temperature
S & P to taste

Directions

In a Large Crockpot (6 qt or larger), add the butternut squash, apples, potatoes, onion and chicken stock. Set on low for 8 - 10 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Once they are soft and mushy, use a submersible blender and blend until smooth, add chicken soup and tempered cream cheese. Continue to use the blender until nice and smooth consistency. Season with Salt and Pepper to taste. Top with bacon bits and chives, or a little sour cream and cheese.

Serve warm.

Verdict on this... HEAVENLY! nice and smooth, rich and creamy, sweet and savory... the best of all world.

Please let me know what you think of my recipe. I love getting feedback from all who visit my blog. Thanks for stopping by. :)

Beef and Bean Chili

This recipe is a concoction of stuff I had around the house and in food storage. I am trying to stretch our food budget and our food. This recipe includes leftovers from a previous freezer meal for Beef Burritos. This seemed like a great alternative to extend our food. The meat from the burritos stretched from burritos, to quesadillas and now to chili. All from one pot and one freezer bag. Three meals! I find that amazing. Talk about stretching a dollar. :) I may even be able to stretch this to one other meal. That would make four meals from one freezer meal! I'm thinking since this makes a TON of chili. You can reuse leftover chili from anything such as chili cheese dogs, to cornbread chili, and chili burgers. The list can go on and on. You could even make it into a cheese dip for chips. MMM my mouth is salivating thinking of all these possibilities. I digress... Well, here is the recipe for tonights chili. I hope you enjoy it. I know we will.

Ingredients:
2 cups leftover burrito beef (or other leftover meat)
2 cans corn (do not drain)
2 cans white beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can black beans, low sodium (drained and rinsed)
1 can chili beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies
1-2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 tsp beef buillion
4-6 dashes of liquid smoke
2 tsp cilantro
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 tsp onion salt

Add all ingredients in slow cooker. Stir gently, not smashing the beans.  Set on low and cook until heated through or let simmer all day for a full blended flavor. I have mine set on low for 8 hours.

Serve with sour cream and cheese, tortilla chips or corn bread.

Beef Burritos Freezer Meal

I have been trying to do more freezer meals to help me in the evenings since we've become so busy this school year. I found a great recipe on Pinterest for Beef Burritos. I've changed the recipe a bit. It's really good. I want to warn you... this is spicy, but very flavorful. I found it delicious.

I bought my meat at Costco, because it comes in bulk and is usually cheaper unless you hit a sale some where else.

Ingredients:

1 Beef roast (aprox 2-3 pounds)
1 diced onion or 1/2 cup minced dry onions
3 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp ground pepper
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
2 cans (8oz) tomato sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)
1 Chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (comes in a can, ONLY use 1 pepper per roast)
2 tsp chili powder

Stick in a gallon size labeled freezer bag, seal. Freeze up to 3 months.
When ready to use. Run outside of freezer bag under warm water to loosen contents from bag. Empty contents in crockpot for 8 hours on low. Enjoy in taco shells, tortillas, make into enchiladas or divide and make into separate meals.

This makes a LOT of beef. I made this and it will provide 2-3 meals.

Slow Cooker Chocolate Chip-Brownie Cake

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and I had to make it! Since we're having FHE tonight and are busy until then, I thought this would be a great idea, since it's cooked in the slow cooker. Luckily for me, I have two separate crockpots. I have dinner going in one, and I'm going to make this in the other one. :) This looks dangerously delicious! So bad and NOT healthy, but I've been so busy and I need a pick-me-up! every once in a while isn't bad... right!? Well, I'm using the recipe exactly as written. I'm not as comfortable adjusting baked goods in the slow cooker as I am other recipes.

Doesn't that look decadent? It does to me :)

Ingredients:
1 box fudge brownie mix
1/2 cup melted butter
4 eggs
1 chocolate chip cookie mix pouch
Vanilla ice cream or whipped topping if desired
*Hot fudge topping if desired

Directions:

Spray 4 1/2 qt. slow cooker with baking spray with flour. In a large bowl mix brownie mix, 1/4 cup melted butter and 2 eggs. In another bowl, mix chocolate chip cookie mix with 1/4 cup melted butter, and 2 eggs.

Drop by large spoonfuls alternating brownie and chocolate chip cookie batters into slow cooker.

Cover, Cook on high heat setting for 2-3 hours or until cake is set in the center. To serve, spoon cake from slow cooker, and top with ice cream and fudge sauce.

I can't wait to try this! :)

Bourbon Sesame Chicken Crock Pot

Picture taken from Pinterest

Tonights dinner I found on tablefortwoblog.com but it called for honey and red pepper flakes. I didn't have either.  I also didn't want to cut an onion. I also changed the oil to sesame oil instead of regular veg oil. This should give it a nice nutty flavor. I have adjusted the recipe with my changes. I also doubled the recipe to feed my crew of growing boys. So these measurements can be cut in half to feed less people, or have smaller portions. With less chicken, you will also need to cut the cooking time in half. This dish smells delicious. Tonight I will take a picture and add it, since it's cooking right now. I also changed the name of this dish since I don't have any honey in it.  I'll write the verdict at the end of the recipe after dinner tonight. I hope you like this. I am looking forward to dinner tonight :)

Bourbon Sesame Chicken

Serves: 5-8 depending on appetite

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper

1 1/2 cup corn syrup

1 cup white sugar

1 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

4 Tbsp sesame oil

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 cup dry minced onion or 1 cup minced fresh onion

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper powder

Cornstarch

toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Place chicken breasts in slow cooker, sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. In a medium bowl, combine rest of the ingredients except the cornstarch and toasted sesame seeds. Stir to combine well. Pour over the chicken in the crockpot.

Cook on low for high for 4-6 hours.

When done remove chicken from slow cooker, slice/cut up. while chicken is out of slow cooker, add cornstarch mixed with cold water to crockpot to thicken sauce a bit. Add cut up chicken back into the slow cooker stir around to coat chicken with sauce. Serve hot/warm over rice, or eat in a lettuce/cabbage wrap. 

Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of dished up chicken.

Pancake Muffins

This morning, I decided to make some Pancake Muffins. There is no picture because they were eaten by the boys before I could get a picture. I will make more since they are such a hit with my kids. I hope to be able to update this post with a picture when I make more of these.

Since school started at my house, for my kids. I've been wanting them to have a healthy breakfast before they leave for school. I have seen on Pinterest different posts about Pancake Muffins. I decided to try my hand with it. They are baked in the oven and are SUPER easy to make. My one regret is that I don't have more muffin tins. I can only make 12 at a time. With three boys, sometimes that just isn't enough muffins. My children LOVED these. I hope you like them too. Let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

2 cups Krusteez Pancake Mix
2 scoops protein drink powder (I used vanilla)
4-5 Tbsp agave nector
2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
3 dashes pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp vanilla
and enough water to make slightly thinner than normal pancake batter
Chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven 350F.

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl, except the chocolate chips. Place in Non-Stick sprayed muffin tins. Sprinkle with chocolate chips (these will sink to the bottom). Bake for 15 min. Remove from muffin tins and enjoy!

My kids ate these all UP. My middle child was begging for more. These are a nice alternative to typical pancakes with syrup. No syrupy mess and the kids can eat it on the run. They also bake while your helping to get the kids ready for school. I don't have to stand over the griddle making pancakes. I just mix it up, pour in muffin tins and move on to the next thing. You can add fruit or really anything to this. I hope you find these as easy as I do. I'm going to try to make up a bunch and freeze them. So they can just grab, heat in microwave and go to school.

This recipe made 12 plus enough batter left for at least 2 more.

BESTEST CrockPot Mac N Cheese

This morning I asked my kids what they wanted for dinner tonight. Last nights dinner was very tasty but the kids didn't want it for dinner and so then dinner became a fight. I am trying to limit the amount of contention in my home. Fighting with my kids to eat the delicious dinner I made them, because they didn't want to eat it, is not something I want to do every night. I figured that I needed to make something that they actually wanted to eat tonight to save myself some sanity and peace in my home, at least one night this week. I can hope right :). Well, They asked for homemade mac n cheese. I totally could have used the "blue" box, I have several. However, my kids said they wanted HOMEMADE, mac n cheese. I said I could make baked mac n cheese, and they didn't want any part of that either. So homemade cheesy goodness was to be made on the stove and be ready for them for dinner. I decided I didn't want to turn on my stove to make a white sauce into a cheese sauce and then make the noodles and wait for them to just eat it. Too many dirty dishes, and headache for me. The only cooking on the stove for this is to pre-cook the pasta a little, but I think it would be just fine to skip that step in the future. I will test and let you know a different day.

This is recipe is a culmination of looking online and through my recipe apps for a crockpot mac n cheese. I didn't find any that are made this way, but OMGoodness... this is so delicious!  I am so glad that I adjusted this with what I had at home and what I thought would be good.

Ingredients:
12 oz. velveeta, cubed
1 1/2 cup shredded cheese blend
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cup half n half
1 can evaporated milk
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 lb medium shell pasta
1/4 c butter, cubed
1/2 med/large onion diced
1/4 tsp garlic salt
5-8 dashes tabasco
salt and pepper to taste (may need to just add pepper)

Directions:

Pre-boil pasta 5-6 minutes in salted, rapid boiling water to al dente. Drain and set aside (do not rinse). Spray slow cooker with "Pam" or other non stick spray. Add drained pasta. In a medium bowl mix together the rest of the ingredients, pour over the pasta and stir to incorporate throughout the pasta. Set cooker on low and stirring periodically for 2 hours, so the cheese melts thoroughly and does not get crusty on the sides and bottom. After cheese is melted throughout the dish is done. Pasta is cooked perfectly. Eat right away, or set on warm and eat later.

This dish is one of my favorites I've made so far! It's that GOOD! This makes a bunch, but as much as my family LOVES Mac N Cheese, I doubt there will be any left over for lunch tomorrow. I was thinking of serving some chicken tenders with this, but the Mac N Cheese maybe all we eat tonight.

Please let me know what you think of this I am curious to see how you like this recipe. Thanks for stopping by :)