Crockpot Chicken Sloppy Jo's

Crockpot Chicken Sloppy Jo's

I had been going through my Pinterest board looking for ideas for todays dinner.  I knew I wanted something easy and that could be put in the crockpot. I had found a recipe for crockpot sloppy jo's and I was pretty sure I had most of the ingredients for the recipe. I was excited. I had never made sloppy jo's in the crock pot before. As I was going through the ingredient list I realized I didn't have any Worcestershire sauce. I was worried that I would need to scrap the whole idea. But luckily for me, I am creative and not afraid of a little challenge. I decided that I would try to make it with what I had around and what I could try to concoct for a delicious alternative for those of us who don't have exacting ingredients when we find recipes that look and sound delicious but are missing one or two ingredients. We get the joy of substitutions, praying they work. Luckily for me this time it worked splendidly. My husband raved about these, and said they were the best sloppy jo's he's ever had. I thought they were good, too. My children all ate theirs I put on their plates but they didn't eat seconds. Which is fine with me. They snacked all afternoon when I was napping. I am glad I took a nap. 

A side note I even forgot to plug the crockpot in before I took my nap. I woke up and checked dinner at 5pm. Realized I didn't have it plugged in... I set it on high, making sure I plugged it in. And 2 hours later it was heaven. So this is not something you necessarily need to make in the crockpot. It can be heated and cooked on the stove. The chicken or beef is precooked, you just heat the rest of the ingredients so they meld together. The leftovers will be frozen for a future meal when I don't have the energy to make anything or will throw in the crockpot to reheat for a busy school night. I love dual purpose dinners. They make life so much easier. In my opinion.

Ingredients:

2 lb ground chicken or beef (precooked, browned)

1 lg green pepper, diced

1 lg or 2 med onions, diced

2 8oz cans tomato sauce with green chili's

1 1/2 cup ketsup

1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I used sweet baby ray's)

1/2 cup soy sauce

5-6 dashes red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp dry mustard

1/2 Tbsp garlic powder

Directions:

Brown chicken (cook), Add all ingredients to crockpot, set on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4 or all day. Enjoy on hotdog, hamburger buns or on baked potatoes. 

Verdict,

My husband said the sauce part would be delicious on any thing such as pork, ribs, or any kind of meat. I think he really liked it, he had 3 helpings. This makes a lot to feed a crowd or to freeze part for a later meal. 

The original recipe called for Worcestershire sauce and no tomato sauce. I think this by far is the best recipe ever for sloppy jo's. No Worcestershire sauce needed for me. But if you'd like to try the original recipe feel free. Let me know what you think, I love hearing from you. Thanks,

Shae ;)

Thai Chicken Pineapple Curry

I love me some Thai! I crave it but usually when I don't have the money to go out to eat. I made up this great recipe to help curb some of those cravings. Luckily for me there is an international grocery store about 30-45 min away. I make a monthly trip there and get what I want. This place has everything! It's called Food Maxx... I digress... oh anywho's.... This recipe is tangy and spicy, sweet and full of flavor. If you try it, please leave a message on any changes you made and/or how you liked it. I love hearing from my readers :)

Ingredients:
2-4 Tbsp Yellow curry paste (I like yellow, but many like red) The more you add the spicier it gets...
2-3 chicken boneless, skinless breasts (chopped about an inch in size or what ever your personal preference)
1 can coconut milk
1 can chunked pineapple in natural juice
1 red bell pepper (chopped)
1 yellow bell pepper (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
2 Tbsp white sugar
5 leaves of Thai Basil (optional) diced
Jasmine or Basimati rice

Directions:

Make rice per package directions either on the stove or in a rice cooker.

In a stock pot mix curry paste and diced chicken breasts. with a Tbsp of butter and olive oil. Keep stirring until blended and chicken is mostly cooked. Add the bell peppers, and onions, and cook together with the chicken. Until onions are mostly translucent. Then add the remaining ingredients except the rice. Let simmer and let flavors meld together for about 15-20 min on a low simmer.

To serve, pour a ladle or two over prepared rice. Enjoy...

Verdict... I love it! Reminds me of a great Thai restaurant in Draper, UT I used to eat at. You can use shrimp except add shrimp at the end and only cook until shrimp turns pink. Very, very tasty! :) Even my kids will eat it.

Grilled Beef Kebobs and Mixed Veggie Couscous

BBQ Grilled Beef Kebobs

With the warmer weather here this spring in West Virginia, I wanted to cook outside on the Grill. It had been so hot the last couple of days that I planned this dinner. Come to find out the day I made them, it was cold. Even though the weather didn't cooperate, this recipe did not disappoint. It was delicious and even better the next day. It does however, take a good day to prep, and the day before to marinade the beef and veggies. So I suggest getting a headstart. Unless you marinade first thing in the AM and assemble and cook that evening. I cut and marinade the beef and veggies the night before, so by afternoon the day I wanted to make them, everything was nice and marinaded. I also doubled the recipe as I was feeding 8 people. I got the marinade recipe from Pinterest. I Love Pinterest... 

Ingredients:

2 lb. lean beef steaks, cubed

1 green bell peppers, cut into cubes

1 yellow bell peppers, cut into cubes

1 red bell peppers, cut into cubes

1/2 onion cubed

Marinade:

1 cup veg oil

1 cup cooking white wine

1 cup soy sauce

4 Tbsp spicy mustard (prepared)

4 tsp garlic powder

8 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (2 2/3 tablespoons0

2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

In a quart size bag or larger add the cut vegetables and 1/2 the marinade, seal and put in the fridge for 12-24 hours. In another quart size bag add the cubed beef steak and the remaining marinade, seal and set in the fridge for 12-24 hours.

Assembly is just alternating veggie and beef on a Skewer. ** Don't stick your self with the skewer... it hurts... (Reserve marinade used on veggies for basting kebobs while cooking). I used metal skewers but you can use bamboo skewers by soaking them for 30 min in water before using them.

I used a gas grill and set it at high. Once it was hot I placed prepared kebobs on the grill and basted with leftover marinade. I cooked about 5 min, per side (depending on desired doneness and thickness of meat) flipped the skewer over with tongs and basted again with reserved marinade. Cooked another 5 or so minutes and then removed from heat. Set aside for 5 min before eating. 

Served with mixed veggie couscous. So yummy!

Ingredients:

2 cups couscous (cooked per package)

4 carrots, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 cup cooking white wine

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

REAL Salt and Pepper to taste

Make couscous per package directions and set aside. In a separate skillet melt the butter with the olive oil, over med/hi heat. Once hot and butter is melted add the diced veggies to soften. sprinkle with salt and pepper. cook down until onions are translucent and veggies are slightly softened. Once the veggies are cooked, add the white wine and deglaze the pan. cook down and reduce. Once reduced add the prepared couscous and mix together. Once warmed through pour lemon Juice on top and mix again. Serve warm with Kebobs.

White Chicken Chili - Slow Cooker

Tonights dinner was a "what do I have on hand" dinner. Yeah, I know I do a lot of those types of meals, but sometimes that's all we can do. I had my good friend AMY over tonight with her three girls. And I was busy today, so it was hmmm what do I do for dinner tonight... around 9am when I'm functioning enough to think about dinner. I'm in three classes at school and I'm so overwhelmed. I may be dropping one of my classes so I can function better. I really didn't realize that I would be so overwhelmed and unorganized... That I think is the hardest thing me not being able to get organized to function. This is the worst start to a grouping of classes I have ever had. :( So not happy with myself right now.

Here's for a good gather your wits healthy nutrient rich dinner. :)

1 lb chicken - tenders or breasts cut into bite sized pieces (canned chicken or freeze dried -foodstorage would work good too)
1 onion chopped
3-1/2 bell peppers orange, yellow and red
1 cup herb and garlic with lemon juice marinade
Cook in a pan on the stove or just add to the slow cooker. (depending on if you don't mind raw chicken cooking slowly) This will take about 10 min or so depending on heat.

Add to the slow cooker then add
1 can chicken broth
1 can chili beans
1 can drained and rinsed white northern beans
2 cans sweet corn
1 can rotel tomatoes with green chili's
salt and pepper to taste - I did about 3 pinches of salt and 10 turns of the pepper grinder
Cook 5-6 hrs on low or 3-4 on high then set to warm/simmer  til ready to serve.
30 min before serving. Add 2 cans cream of chicken soup and combine

Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese and tortilla strips/chips as toppings.

We didn't add any toppings except tortilla strips.

This makes enough to fill a 4 qt slow cooker, or 2/3 of a 6 qt slow cooker. Plenty for a crowd or even to freeze half for a later meal.

Verdict!
SO DELICIOUS! I know I say that a lot. My friend that was over didn't want any toppings, she said it was delicious all by it's self. Also, her girls ate 2 whole bowls. :) that's always a good sign. My boys ate BIG bowls and we still had enough to share or freeze for another family. So can easily feel 8-10 people. :) Those are always good meals. (in my opinion) :)

Who needs to go to a restaurant when you can make delicious white chicken chili at home and have it cook all day while you do other things. I think that's the best and most satisfying thing.

Meatloaf recipe for tonights dinner

Okay, I posted a meatloaf recipe before I made mine tonight. Well, I changed it. Here is what I made tonight.

Meatloaf

Preheat oven to 400F

1 lb ground beef

1 lb pork sausage

1/2 large onion (diced)

2 tiny bell peppers (1/2 large bell pepper)(diced)

2 eggs

5 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

2/3 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon

minced garlic

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon italian seasoning

1/2 tablespoon

Mrs. Dash

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tsp salt

3 tbsp ketchup

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Form into a loaf in a loaf pan or into small loaves on cookie sheet. Bake in oven 30 min, then top with glaze. Bake an additional 15 min at 350 F.

Glaze

4 tbsp brown sugar

1 cup ketchup

1 tsp dry mustard

Mix

well, place in fridge until needed to glaze before the last 15 min. Reserve rest to add during meal.

I made mine into small loaves so they are a more single serve portion. I will be serving with Mashed potatoes and green beans. The bell peppers I used are bonnie bells, they are a small green bell pepper (very sweet) from my garden. I love incorporating items from my garden into my recipes.

The pictures are part of the ingredients and what my mini-meatloaves looked like before I put them in the oven and when the glaze was added. Tonights meatloaf was a HIT... Braeden had three servings. One was enough for me and the rest. I have two leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. MMMM SO YUMMY! I think the best yet. Let me know what you think...Enjoy :)