Turkey Tacos in the Crock-pot

I'm not gonna lie- I use my crock-pot year round. And I finally upgraded and got a programmable CP (my cool abbreviation for crock pot). Which is super cool because I am usually not home in time for the 6 hour window, so it automatically switches itself to warming mode.  For some reason this week when I planned my dinner meals, I ended up having 5 CP recipes in a row. Which I am not going to lie- was pretty awesome to come home and not have to cook.

First up, was an idea that came to me when I couldn't sleep (like most ideas do) I had gone to my friend, Amy's house, earlier that night. The Cubs were in the playoffs and we watched the game with the families. Let's not talk about how the Cubs ended the playoffs (wound still too fresh). Anyways, she made turkey tacos. They were really good! And for someone who once refused to jump on the ground turkey train- that's very big for me to say! I try and make my meals as "heart healthy" as possible so ground beef is not really consumed in my casa much anymore. And if it is, it's usually a 93/7 mix- kinda dry for taco meat. So anyways, one of my favorite things to make in the CP is Turkey Chili. I literally throw everything in there, including frozen ground turkey, and let it cook for 6-8 hours. So i figured I would try the same for taco meat.

Long story short- the results were really amazing. I used 4 whole ingredients, which makes this recipe great on the budget! And I think because the meat simmered all day long, it wasn't turkey tasting at all. And when I came home, all I had to do open a can of beans and warm up some tortillas.

Overall, it's a super easy recipe, very versatile, and great for large groups or even parties. I didn't get a chance to snap a picture of the finished product, because everyone scarfed it up so fast. But here's the dets:

Crock-Pot Turkey Tacos

Ingredients:

Gotta love recipes where you dump everything in!

• 1 lb Ground Turkey (frozen works fine)

• 1 Chopped Onion

• 1 14.5 oz Can Diced Tomatoes (Rotel would be awesome!)

• 1 envelope of Taco Seasoning (I used one envelope to one pound meat ratio, you could always do more/less)

Directions: Spray Crock Pot with Nonstick spray. Dump all ingredients in Crock Pot. I put the taco seasoning directly on the meat, which worked really well. Let cook on low for 6-10 hours. Crumble meat with spoon, stir, and enjoy! :) 

Nutrition Facts
Servings 5.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 176
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 6 g	10 %
Saturated Fat 2 g	8 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 68 mg	23 %
Sodium 631 mg	26 %
Potassium 47 mg	1 %
Total Carbohydrate 10 g	3 %
Dietary Fiber 1 g	5 %
Sugars 3 g
Protein 18 g	36 %
Vitamin A	21 %
Vitamin C	14 %
Calcium	4 %
Iron	11 %
* The Percent Dai

Pioneer Woman's Baked French Toast

My family loves breakfast. My daughter's favorite food is anything breakfast, and given the fact getting her to eat dinner is always a fight, I decided to make some breakfast for dinner the other night. I made Pioneer Woman's Baked French Toast. One of the main reasons I love this recipe, is that you can assemble it the night or day before and then just pop it in the oven when you get home.  The other reason I love this recipe is all of the ingredients are things you have at home. The only thing I usually don't have on hand is heavy whipping cream and I have even substituted milk for the cream and it turned out just as delicious.
This recipe is also great for potlucks and brunches. Super easy, Super delicious, and Super crowd pleasing.

 You start off put chopping (into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes) up a loaf of sourdough or Italian bread. I usually buy whatever is the cheapest at the grocery store- ya know they have those deals where you can get like a loaf for a $1. Throw the cubes into a greased 9 x 13 pan.
Next up is the very difficult task of whisking eggs, milk, cream, sugars and vanilla. Don't ask me why but I hate whisking lots of eggs. It makes me crazy and I feel like they never completely get whisked together, oh well such is life. 

When that mixture is all whisked together, you dump it (evenly) on top of the bread cubes. I usually try and make sure every cube gets covered. This would be the point that you can wrap it up and put it in the fridge to bake later. Or you can bake it right away, your choice- either way DELICIOUS!! If you do bake it right away, do not forget the most important part which is the butter/brown sugar/Cinnamon crumble mixture that makes this whole thing...

 This is the one and only time I really use the pastry cutter. Quite frankly the only reason I bought a pastry cutter was for this recipe. By all means you can use a fork and chop-a-chop-a but ya know I try and be cool.  Sprinkle that mixture ontop of your bread cubes, and bake that baby off!! Finished product is an awesome crunchy, creamy breakfast treat. I usually make up some bacon to go with it, and that's it! Pioneer Woman suggests warming up syrup and fresh blueberries for a topping, but "Ain't nobody got time for that" in my house!!! ENJOY!!

Baked French Toast

• FRENCH TOAST
• Butter, For Greasing
• 1 loaf Crusty Sourdough Or French Bread
• 8 whole Eggs
• 2 cups Whole Milk
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract 
• Topping
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1/2 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• Freshly Grated Nutmeg (optional)
• 1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces

Instructions

For the French toast: Grease the baking pan with butter. Tear the bread into chunks, or cut into cubes, and evenly distribute in the pan. Crack the eggs in a big bowl. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover the pan tightly and store in the fridge until needed (overnight preferably). Or you can make it and bake it right away---delicious no matter what!
For the topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and some nutmeg in a separate bowl. Stir together using a fork. Add the butter and with a pastry cutter, and mix it all together until the mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a plastic bag in the fridge.
When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the casserole from the fridge and sprinkle the topping over the top. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture or for 1 hour-plus or more for a firmer, crisper texture.

American Stir Fry

Yesterday was absolutely insane. I had to work, then drive to school, then drive back to work for a meeting and by 2 o'clock- I realized that I hadn't defrosted anything for dinner. By 5 o'clock- I realized the only thing I had eaten all day was a granola bar. By the time I got home I was so hungry!! I knew I needed something quick and easy. When I saw some Polish Sausage in the fridge, I knew American Stir Fry was in order. American Stir Fry is something I came up on the fly a while back, when we had nothing to eat in the house. Every time I make it's a little bit different but it always has four things: Some type of sausage, potatoes, onions, and some type of vegetable.

The great thing about this recipe is you can really switch it up and make it your own. I usually go by whatever I have in the fridge/pantry. This time I had Polish Sausage, but I have made this with Bratwurst, Italian Sausage, even Hotdogs once. My personal favorite is using Bratwurst because the meat gives the whole mixture a wonderful deep taste.  So you start off by chopping up the meat into slices. Saute them in a large skillet or this time I used a small dutch oven and it worked really well. It only takes about a 3-4 minutes with Kielbasa until they get a nice crispy brown edge to them. Remove the from the pan and add in the vegetables.
  
This is something that is totally up to you what you want to add in.  I have done carrots, red peppers, spinach, frozen corn, frozen mixed veggies. This time I did potatoes, onions, and some leftover green pepper I had. I try and chop them all to the same size so that they cook evenly. The smaller you cut the potatoes, the faster they will cook. I also put the lid on the pot so that they get nice and soft. Then I let them cook for a couple minutes without the lid so that they get crispy on the outside.  About half way through I add in some chopped garlic. I have made the mistake before of putting the garlic in too early and it gets all black and bitter....gross.
 
Once everything gets all nice and tender and yummy, I dump the kielbasa back into the pot. I let everything cook for a couple minutes. And this time I added in some frozen peas at the end, it gives it a pop of color and some crispy-ness at the end. BOOM! You are done! Kinda looks like mush, but is so warm, amazing, and not low fat. Great on a night when it's 9 degrees outside. And the best is all you have to do is pair it with a biscuit and it's a complete meal. :)








American Stir Fry

TOTAL TIME: Prep/Total Time: 30 min.

MAKES: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 package of  Polish Kielbasa, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 5 red potatoes, cubed
• 1 green pepper chopped
• 1 medium onion chopped
• ¼ cup of frozen peas (optional)

Directions

1. In a large skillet or small pot, sauté kielbasa until brown. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add olive oil to pan, and add potatoes, onions and green peppers in pan. Put lid on pan and let cook for 5-10 minutes until tender. Remove lid and let cook until browned.
3. Add in frozen peas if desired. Add Kielbasa back into pan, and stir and let cook for 2-4 minutes.

What Kinda Soup You Got To Have....

What seems like 50 million years ago, My friend Amy and I were looking for somewhere to order food from. We wanted soup and so I called up the restaurant and for some reason said, "What kinda soup ya got to have?" Instead of "What kind of soup do you have today?" Ever since then it has been a major joke when it comes to soup. 

Soup is honestly one of my favorite foods, not just in the winter months but in the summer, spring, any time day- I love it! I will chose a restaurant for dinner based on what kind of soup they have. And if there is free bread with it, Done Deal. And one of my all time favorites is Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup. Side of amazeballs Olive Garden Breadsticks- heaven! I used this recipe here. I would defiantly suggest using fresh spinach- not frozen. It will turn your whole soup green. I would also suggest using store bought gnocchi, and I used a rotisserie chicken for the chicken making it easier. I also grated the carrots instead of dicing because I suck at dicing carrots.

Second favorite soup- Lobster Bisque. By far amazing and my favorite. And for a girl who used to hate seafood. It has changed my life. Well this winter has been hard on us and I found myself hitting up our local Mariano's for their amazing lobster soup. So good and hot! With the nasty cold weather it was nice to find something comforting and warm like that. So I said "Self, I can do that" I searched Pinterest for a soup that would not cost a million dollars and found one. And it was for the crockpot, get outta here!! CrockPot Lobster Bisque - it changed my life. And was so easy. I did make some changes though. I only did two lobster tails, because they be expensive! And it turned out great! And at the end I added a can of cream corn, and it was amazing. It made it creamier and who doesn't love corn?


So I have been watching Top Chef Boston, and it has inspired me to not only want to rent a cabin on Cape Cod for the rest of my life, but it has also inspired me to love East Coast food. I told the Hubby the other day I want to take a trip to the East Coast and do nothing but eat Lobster Rolls, and eat CHOWDAH! So the hunt was on for a semi-cheap seafood soup. I found this awesome Shrimp and Corn Chowder recipe that was sooooo delicious, we ate it up so fast I didn't get to take a picture. Bacon, Shrimp, Corn- what more could you ask for? And the best part was it literally took me 30 minutes to make. The paprika gave it a nice kick and a deep flavor that was awesome! Side note- the beginning of this recipe starts off where you cook up the chopped bacon. I found that if you freeze bacon, and use a really sharp knife to chop it off and cook it in a cold pan, not preheated! This will help make the bacon nice and crispy! 
 
And last but not least, the easiest soup I have ever made in my life. I actually got it from the tuna website- which I hate tuna but this chowder is amazing.Charlie's Corn Chowdah is super easy, and the children ate it up like crazy!!  Pair it with some grilled cheese sandwiches and it's a super easy dinner.

The nice thing with soup is that it could be anything from a nice snack, a hearty lunch, a light dinner or even a midnight snack. And all of these recipes make a lot of soup, leftovers can be frozen or I even put individual servings in Tupperware containers in the fridge- for easy reheating.
Happy Soup Eating!!!

Easiest Chicken Marsala of My Life

I have a friend, Kathy, who bless her heart has 5 kids. She's an amazing cook, mother, cleaner, and always has great tips. Not to mention, a great Medical Assistant, which is how we met. She always has great recipes, cleaning tips and exercise tips. And she loves Jon Bon Jovi, which makes her golden in my book. One day she recommended this Marsala Cooking Wine and the Chicken Marsala recipe from the back of the bottle. I tried to find it in the grocery store, and was unsuccessful. Mostly because I think wine, I think liquor aisle but it's actually not alcoholic. Kathy was so adamant about me trying this recipe that she picked up a bottle for me, and I was hooked. I eventually figured out where it was in the store. I usually find it near the vinegar or the salad dressings and you can get a bottle for less than $3. And you only need 3/4 cup for one recipe, so it lasts quite a while. This recipe is actually the one from the back of the bottle, however Kathy and I have made several little tweaks for it to work best for our families. 

I start off with some butter melted in a pan, and add a package of sliced mushrooms. Super easy....Brown up the mushrooms and once they are brown, remove from the pan and I put them in the Tupperware container I am going to use for leftovers= less dishes. While the shrooms are browning up. I take thin sliced Chicken Breast or Tenderloins, and lightly coat them in flour. I actually had the munchkin in the kitchen with me this weekend, so this was her job. It was great, she got to learn how to work with raw chicken and the importance of washing her hands when touching raw meat- parenting win. Granted there was flour everywhere and she complained of the flour clumping up on her fingers, but she had fun.

So once the mushrooms are browned and removed, I put a little bit more butter and throw the chicken in the pan. I usually end up having to do batches because all the chicken won't fit in the pan. The original recipe says to let it cook for 4 min per side, but it usually takes me longer. Most likely because unlike the original recipe, I don't pound my chicken down. Because.....Ain't nobody got time for that. Once the chicken is browned up and happy looking, take it out of the pan, throw the mushrooms back in, add in the 3/4 cup - 1 cup Marsala Cooking Wine, little bit of water, some parsley and rosemary. The original recipe says fresh herbs....uh dried spices work just fine. I usually let that cook down for about 5-7 minutes and then pour the sauce over the chicken breasts.  I have made this with mashed potatoes on the side, which is nice because then the sauce soaks into the potatoes and it's heaven. You can also do egg noodles or in my case, I had no time and used some Lipton Parmesan Noodles.

Sorry- was starving- Had to take a bite!

You can get the Original Recipe Here.

Easy Chicken Marsala 

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

flour

4 Tbsp. butter, divided

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

3/4 cup HOLLAND HOUSE Marsala Cooking Wine

water

dash of parsley

dash of rosemary 


Dredge chicken lightly on both sides with flour. In large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp. butter and sauté mushrooms over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms and set aside.

Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook through. Remove to serving platter. Return mushrooms to pan, stir in cooking wine, water, parsley and rosemary. Heat 5-7 minutes and pour over chicken.

Pound chicken (or veal) until thin. Dredge lightly on both sides with flour. In large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp. butter and sauté mushrooms over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms and set aside.

Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook through, 4 minutes on each side. Remove to serving platter. Return mushrooms to pan, stir in cooking wine, water, parsley and rosemary. Heat and pour over chicken.

Makes 4 servings - See more at: http://www.mizkan.com/Recipes/Veal-or-Chicken-Marsala.aspx#sthash.nJfinQjf.dpuf

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or veal cutlets
2 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. butter, divided
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup HOLLAND HOUSE Marsala Cooking Wine
1/4 cup water (optional)
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. rosemary (optional) - See more at: http://www.mizkan.com/Recipes/Veal-or-Chicken-Marsala.aspx#sthash.xak0Au6g.dpuf

Veal or Chicken Marsala

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or veal cutlets
2 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. butter, divided
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup HOLLAND HOUSE Marsala Cooking Wine
1/4 cup water (optional)
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. rosemary (optional)

Directions

Pound chicken (or veal) until thin. Dredge lightly on both sides with flour. In large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp. butter and sauté mushrooms over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms and set aside.

Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook through, 4 minutes on each side. Remove to serving platter. Return mushrooms to pan, stir in cooking wine, water, parsley and rosemary. Heat and pour over chicken.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition

Per serving, with chicken: 330 calories, 28g protein, 10g carb, 15g fat (8g sat. fat), 105mg chol, 430mg sodium, 0g fiber

- See more at: http://www.mizkan.com/Recipes/Veal-or-Chicken-Marsala.aspx#sthash.xak0Au6g.dpuf

Veal or Chicken Marsala

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or veal cutlets
2 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. butter, divided
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup HOLLAND HOUSE Marsala Cooking Wine
1/4 cup water (optional)
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. rosemary (optional)

Directions

Pound chicken (or veal) until thin. Dredge lightly on both sides with flour. In large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp. butter and sauté mushrooms over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms and set aside.

Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook through, 4 minutes on each side. Remove to serving platter. Return mushrooms to pan, stir in cooking wine, water, parsley and rosemary. Heat and pour over chicken.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition

Per serving, with chicken: 330 calories, 28g protein, 10g carb, 15g fat (8g sat. fat), 105mg chol, 430mg sodium, 0g fiber

- See more at: http://www.mizkan.com/Recipes/Veal-or-Chicken-Marsala.aspx#sthash.xak0Au6g.dpuf

Veal or Chicken Marsala

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or veal cutlets
2 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. butter, divided
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup HOLLAND HOUSE Marsala Cooking Wine
1/4 cup water (optional)
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp. rosemary (optional)

Directions

Pound chicken (or veal) until thin. Dredge lightly on both sides with flour. In large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp. butter and sauté mushrooms over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms and set aside.

Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook through, 4 minutes on each side. Remove to serving platter. Return mushrooms to pan, stir in cooking wine, water, parsley and rosemary. Heat and pour over chicken.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition

Per serving, with chicken: 330 calories, 28g protein, 10g carb, 15g fat (8g sat. fat), 105mg chol, 430mg sodium, 0g fiber

- See more at: http://www.mizkan.com/Recipes/Veal-or-Chicken-Marsala.aspx#sthash.xak0Au6g.dpuf