Crockpot Chili Verde

1 pound of browned ground beef
1 jar of Salsa Verde (Green Salsa found in the Mexican section of the store)
1 can of rinsed black beans
1 can of rinsed red kidney beans
2 chopped sweet pepper
1 small zucchini chopped
½ of sweet onion chopped
1-2 tbsp of chili powder
½ tbsp of cumin
1 tsp of oregano

1.     Add all ingredients to Crockpot and stir

2.    Cook for 6-8 hours on low or 2-4 hours on high

3.    Serve with buns and anything else you might like with your chili (grated cheese, dollop of sour cream, green onions)

Crockpot "Rotisserie" Chicken

(As good as the grocery store rotisserie and EASY)

1 whole chicken or chicken pieces

1-2 tsp of Cajun seasoning (we use Hyes of Canada)
1/2 to 1 tsp of salt
½ tsp of fresh cracked pepper

1.     Place chicken in Crockpot

2.    Season with Cajun, salt and pepper

3.    Cook on Low for 7-9 hours or High 4-6 hours.

Chicken Chop Suey

Sauce

1 cup of chicken broth (I use ½ cube of Harvest Sun Bouillon plus 1 cup of hot water)

3 tbsp of reduced sodium soy sauce
1 and ½ tbsp of blackstrap molasses
¼ tsp of white pepper
1 tbsp of grated ginger (store ginger in freezer for easy grating)
1 tbsp of cornstarch

Stir Fry

1 tbsp of oil
1 pound of chicken breast cut into long strips
½ cup of sweet onion thinly sliced
1 sweet pepper thinly sliced
1 cup of bean sprouts
1 baby bok choy chopped

1.     Combine chicken broth, soy sauce, molasses, white pepper and ginger in a bowl.  Remove 1-2 tbsp and place in small bowl or ramekin and whisk in cornstarch with a fork.  Set both aside.

2.    Heat oil on medium high heat in wok or large pan.  Add chicken and cook until no longer pink.

3.    Add onions and cook until almost soft.

4.    Add peppers, bean sprouts and bok choy and cook for about 2 minutes.

5.    Pour in sauce and bring to a boil.

6.    Reduce heat to medium and whisk in cornstarch and sauce mixture.  Cook and stirring until sauce is thickened.

7.    Serve on rice or noodles.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories	241
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g	9%
Saturated Fat 0.6g	3%
Cholesterol 73mg	24%
Sodium 720mg	31%
Total Carbohydrate 15.7g	6%
Dietary Fiber 1.2g	4%
Total Sugars 6.3g
Protein 28.9g
Vitamin D 0mcg	0%
Calcium 114mg	9%
Iron 3mg	18%
Potassium 956mg	20%

Cinnamon Rolls

¾ cup of water
1 egg beaten with a fork
2 tsp of vanilla extract
¼ tsp of cinnamon
3 tbsp of sugar
3 tbsp of brown sugar
¼ cup of soften butter or margarine
1 tsp of salt
2 tbsp of dry milk
½ cup of whole wheat flour
2 and ½ cups of unbleached white flour
1 ½ tsp of break maker yeast

Filling

½ cup of melted butter

2/3 cup of brown sugar
2 tsp of cinnamon

1.     Place first 12 ingredients in this order in your bread maker OR the order recommended by the makers of your maker.

2.    Put maker on dough setting and press start.  It takes about 2 hours to make.

3.    Mix melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon

4.    Roll out dough into a rectangle and spread with filling.  Depending on the size of your space you could split the dough and filling and do half at a time.

5.    Roll dough into log trying not to squeeze filling out.  Cut into 1-1 ½ inch logs and place swirl up on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Place logs about ½ inch apart.

6.    Cover with damp towel and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to an hour.

7.    Preheat oven to 375 and bake for 15-20 minutes.

8.    Let cool before enjoying.

So good you won't need icing!

Cheddar and Chive Rustic Bread

1 cup of water
3 tbsp of sugar
1 1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of dried chives
1 tsp of oregano
¼ cup of grated cheddar
3 tablespoons of olive oil
½ cup of whole wheat flour
2 and ½ cups unbleached white flour
1 tbsp of bread maker yeast

1-2 cups of grated cheddar

1.     Place first 9 ingredients in this order in your bread maker OR the order recommended by the makers of your maker.

2.    Put maker on dough setting and press start.  It takes about 2 hours to make.

3.    Stretch out dough into flat rectangle or circle.

4.    Spread out grated cheddar and then roll up dough and shape into a loaf. Making sure all ends are sealed and the seam is facedown. Rustic look is great.

5.    On a cookie sheet line with parchment paper place loaf and cover with damp towel to rise for 30-35 minutes.

6.    Preheat oven to 350 and bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes until it’s a nice golden brown.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10
Amount per serving
Calories	111
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4.7g	6%
Saturated Fat 0.7g	4%
Cholesterol 1mg	0%
Sodium 368mg	16%
Total Carbohydrate 15.5g	6%
Dietary Fiber 0.7g	2%
Total Sugars 3.6g
Protein 2.8g
Vitamin D 0mcg	0%
Calcium 17mg	1%
Iron 1mg	5%
Potassium 44mg	1%

Fish with Tarragon, Garlic, Herb Butter

500-700g fillet of fish (we used wild pink salmon) Parchment paper


Tarragon, Garlic, Herb Butter

1/2 tsp of dried tarragon

1 tsp of dill

1 tsp of dried chives

2 tsp of garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp of softened butter or margarine

Bread Crumb Topping

2 tbsp of bread crumbs

2 tbsp of grated parmesan

1.     Preheat oven 400.

2.    Place fillet of fish (any fish would work with this recipe) on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

3.     Mix herbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper in butter using a fork.

4.    Spread herb butter on fish.

5.    Mix bread crumbs and parmesan and sprinkle over herb butter.

6.    Bake fish according to thickness:  10-20 minutes. Fish should flake easily but look moist.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories	295
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13.5g	17%
Saturated Fat 3g	15%
Cholesterol 96mg	32%
Sodium 274mg	12%
Total Carbohydrate 4g	1%
Dietary Fiber 0.4g	1%
Total Sugars 0.6g
Protein 37.9g
Vitamin D 0mcg	0%
Calcium 78mg	6%
Iron 2mg	10%
Potassium 602mg	13%

The Meal Planning Blog

Not only do I create recipes for our family meals and strongly believe in the importance of eating together, we also meal plan each week.  You can check out our meals plans at The Meal Planning Blog!

Pizza Rolls

PizzaDough (Click for the recipe) (takes 2 hours to make)

1 cup of tomato sauce (pasta sauce or herbed tomato paste)

2 cup of grated pizza cheese

Parchment paper

1.     Roll out dough on floured surface to very thin. Depending on the size of your surface you might want to break the dough and ingredients in half and do half at a time.

2.    Spread tomato sauce and then cover in cheese

3.    Starting at the end closes to you, roll loosely into a log trying not to squeeze the ingredients out.

4.    Cut log into 1-1.5 inch logs

5.    Place logs swirl up with inch space between each roll on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.

6.    Cover rolls in a damp towel in a warm place to rise for 30-40 mins

7.    Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

8.    Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes

Pizza Dough (Bread maker)

*This makes a wheaty pizza dough, if you wish to have a less wheaty product replace 1 cup of the whole wheat flour with 1 cup unbleached white flour.

1 tsp of sugar or honey

1 ½  tsp of salt

1 tsp of dried oregano

2 tbsp of olive oil

¼ cup of grated parmesan

¼ cup of cornmeal

1 and ¼ cup of water

1 cup plus 3 tbsp of whole wheat flour

2 cups of unbleached white flour

1 tbsp of bread maker yeast

1.     Place all ingredients in this order in your bread maker OR the order recommended by the makers of your maker.

2.    Put maker on dough setting and press start.  It takes about 2 hours to make.

PIZZA: 

3.    Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

4.    If making pizza, roll out dough on flour or cornmeal surface.

5.    Add your favorite pizza ingredients.

6.    Bake pizza on pizza pan or cookie sheet for about 20-25 minutes.

Cuban Rice and Sausage

Rice Cooker Rice
1 can of diced tomatoes with green peppers & onion
3/4 cup of water
1 rice cooker cup of rice (the cup that comes with cooker)

Spice Paste

1 tbsp of paprika
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 & ½ tbsp of lime juice
1 tbsp of oil

Remaining Ingredients

1 lb of sausage cubed (you could use any sausage you like except breakfast)
1 small onion chopped
1 small sweet pepper chopped
1/2 cup of peas

1.  Place diced tomatoes, rice and water in rice cooker and turn to cook. (Takes about 30 minutes for white rice and 45-50 minutes for brown)

2.  Mix spices, lime juice and oil into a paste and set aside.

3.  Brown sausage on medium hot heat in large pan or pot.

4.  Once browned add spice paste and onions. Cook until sausage is no longer pink and onions are soft.

5.  Added peppers and cook until almost soft then add peas and heat through.

6. Add cooked rice and tomatoes from rice cooker, mix and serve.