Crockpot ~ Corned Beef & Cabbage

1 small bag of baby carrots
1 cup chopped celery
4 lb. Corned Beef
1 cup Water
1 large Onion chopped
4 potatoes peeled and chunked
Half head of cabbage cut in wedges

Put carrots, celery, water in Crock pot. Place Beef on top and cover with onions. Cook on high for 5 hours. Remove beef and add chunked potatoes, place beef on top. Cook on Low for 1 hour. Add cabbage to broth, place beef back over, cook on low for 1 more hour.

Usually the corned beef comes with a packet of seasoning inside the packaging. I put that on top of the beef but you don't have to! This meal smells amazing after only an hour of cooking.

Eggs Benedict

I always disliked this dish, up until last year. I took an amazing trip to Chicago and tasted some of the best food Ive ever had. For brunch one day we went to Logan Square and ate at Lula's Cafe. One of the most unique restaurants Ive experienced. They change the menu daily and the food is off the charts! I opted for the Eggs Benedict, the way they described it on the menu made it sound like heaven. From that point on Ive wanted more... I have yet to find any other place that makes this dish like Lula's Cafe. I attempted it this morning and it came out amazing but again, not like Lula's!!

2 Eggs - Poached

2 Slices of Canadian Bacon - Heated in a pan

Hollandaise Sauce - Recipe below

1 English Muffin - Toasted

I made a simple Hollandaise Sauce I found online :

3 Egg yolks - Separate in your hand, its easier

1/2 Cup Butter - Real butter

1 1/2 tbsp Lemon Juice - If you like your sauce more bitter add more lemon juice

1/8 tsp Salt

Dash Cayenne (or) some hot sauce of choice

2 Tbsp hot water

Melt the butter in a pan until its foamy. While that's heating, put egg yolk/Lemon Juice/Salt/Cayenne pepper or hot sauce in a bowl. Mix with a whisk until blended. Once butter is melted add it to the egg mixture, mix with whisk until blended. Put egg mix into the pot the butter was melted in and keep whisking in pot while on Low heat. After a few minutes the sauce will become thick. Be careful because you want it heated just right, it can go from creamy to actually being cooked (which you don't want) in a matter of a few seconds. If you notice that it turns a little curdled, immediately take it off heat and add another Tbs of hot water to it. Your sauce will be saved!

My thing with this was time management. Timing everything perfectly so its still warm when I go to eat it. I prepped my english muffins in the toaster, put the ham in a pan for heating on Low. Started my water for poaching while making the sauce. Once my sauce was made I poached the eggs. It all came together perfectly! I was so pleased with this recipe and will make it again and again!

I hear poaching an egg is hard, I didn't think so. They say to swirl the water before dumping the egg in. I tried not swirling & swirling the water, I much preferred NOT swirling. Bring the water to a boil but not a rolling boil. Set timer for 3min for a runny yoke, 4min for a harder yoke once you dump the egg in. Comes out great!

Shanna's Banana Bread

I am known to make banana bread a lot! Even my local grocery store would save old bananas for me that they had to pull off the shelf, so don't hesitate to ask the produce guy if you see him. This bread is so easy and so good. I found this recipe online a few years ago because my moms recipe was too salty for me. Needless to say it was a hit and so many have asked how to make it.

4 Ripe Bananas (the more brown the better)

1/3 Cup Melted Butter (Real butter)

1 Cup Sugar (I use organic sugar, its better for you & sweeter)

1 Egg Beaten

1Tbsp Vanilla

1t Tsp Baking Soda

1 1/2 Cup Flour

Pinch of salt

* I have cut down the amount of sugar in the past, to 3/4 or a 1/2 cup

* Add chocolate chips if you'd like!

Set oven @ 350

Mix dry ingredients & wet ingredients in separate bowls. Then Mix all together with a wooden spoon. With as many times as I have moved, every oven is so different with cook time. Here are the guides I go by...

Small muffins - Start checking after 10 min

Large muffins - Start checking after 20 min

Loaf - Start checking after 45 min

Dinner in 1 pan ~ Jambalaya (Family Circle Magazine)

I have always wanted to make this New Orleans dish but it looked so unhealthy any time I came across a recipe for it. This recipe I found in Family Circle magazine and for once the ingredients/picture look healthy and it seems easy to do. Cant wait to try it tonight!

1 Tblspn Vegetable Oil

1 pound Chicken Breast (I used 3 lrg breasts)

1 package (12 ounces, 4 links) spicy smoked chicken or pork sausage, cut into coins (I could only find 19oz packs of Italian sausage at my grocer and will use the equivalent to 12oz. - I got the Mild one because of the kids) The smoky heat in this dish comes from the sausage - go as spicy as you can handle for authentic Cajun flavor.

1 Med size onion, diced

1 Green bell pepper, seeded & diced

1 Rib celery, trimmed & diced

1 1/2 Tsp Cajun Seasoning

1 can (14oz.) diced tomatoes with mild green Chile's, drained

1 cup Long grain white rice

1 can (14-15.5oz.) Chicken broth

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken & sausage saute, shaking pan and stirring frequently until chicken is no longer pink but not cooked completely. About 4 minutes.

With slotted spoon, remove chicken & sausage to a bowl. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, green pepper & celery to skillet. Cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in Cajun seasoning, tomatoes and rice. Add broth. Bring to simmer, then cover and reduce heat to med-low. Simmer 20 minutes, until almost all liquid is absorbed. Stir chicken & sausage back into skillet along with any accumulated juices. Cook, uncovered, 5 min, until rice is tender!

This turned out GREAT! I loved it and the kids went for 2nd's. It was very easy to make & even better the next day. The only thing I would do differently is cook the meat a little longer in the beginning. Some of the sausage had looked under cooked when it was all done.

CROCKPOT ~ Southwest Chicken Tortilla Soup (Shara Peters)

If there is ANY food after this woman's heart, its Chicken Tortilla Soup! This recipe came from our good friends Phil & Shara and its whats cooking for dinner. She promised it would only take a few minutes to put together and man was she right! I live for meals like this.


2 cans Mexican stewed tomatoes
1 cup Salsa (I used Picante)
1 Sm can chopped green Chile's
1 can corn
2 cans black beans
1 can kidney beans
* Dump all cans in, do not drain
Fill with Chicken to the top, they can even be straight from the freezer (I added 3 large thawed chicken breasts)

Cook on Low for 8 hours - Last 30 min, pull chicken out and shred, put back in. Serve with chips and cheese on top.

"Easiest, healthy, high protein/low carb, yummy fast dinner ever" - Shara!



It was SO good, extremely filling and very very flavorful! Thank you so much for this recipe. Both boys loved it as well. We will be making this one again for sure :)

CROCKPOT ~ Moroccan Chicken

I love cooking with Chicken Thighs, you can get a huge pack for cheap and the meat has more flavor! This is one of my (& Scott's) favorite Crock pot recipes to date. Ill be cooking this tonight! If your not a prune lover (like me) do not fore go them in this recipe. They make a difference in flavor and are very good in this dish!

*** Crockpot Tip when cooking with bone in chicken - ALWAYS boil the chicken first in a pot until it is ALL WHITE on the outside. Do not cook it all the way, just zap it on the outside. This will eliminate a lot of the oils that come out when cooking them in the crockpot.

8 Chicken Thighs (bone-in)
1 Onion coarsely chopped
3/4 Cup Pitted Prunes
1 bag baby carrots
1 (14 oz.) can Chicken Broth
3 tsp Curry Powder
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt


Place Prunes/Carrots/Chkn Broth/Onion in bottom of Crock pot. Mix Curry/Cinnamon/Salt in a small bowl. Pull skin off Thighs and lightly sprinkle seasoning mix over each thigh, you might have some left over. Place Chkn thighs on top in the Crock pot as evenly as possible. Cook on High for 4 to 5 hours (or) Low for 8 to 10 hours - I prefer the taste and texture when its on Low.

* To make this meal more hearty, I cook rice in chicken broth on the stove and poor this meal over the rice in a bowl. Add some large buttermilk biscuits for dipping and your good to go!

Luke loves it, the chicken tastes sweet and he loves carrots, onions & prunes! Logan would prefer a turkey dog to this :)

Introduction

Yup! I'm going to post tried and true recipes. Considering the level of boredom I find myself with daily ... this should be fun for me :) I only cook super quick & easy dinners and would love to share them. Since I have an all guy house, including a husband who eats more than anyone I know, my meals are also hearty. Now if you dont have a Crock Pot/Slow Cooker than I dont know how you've been surviving!!! It is a kitchen staple and half of my recipes are in the Crockpot. So go treat yourself :) You can pick up a nice one at Walmart for $25 and if you want to go all out there are more expensive ones that adjust the high/low temp for you without you needing to be home. If your a family of 4+ then definitely get a 5 or 6 quart, anything less wont make enough food for you all.

If you have a recipe that you LOVE, please email it to me at cranefamily07@aol.com and I will post them. I have been surrounded by amazing cooks my whole life and if there's one thing my family knows how to do its - EAT!!! We all have favorite recipes in this huge family of ours and I would love to circulate them.

My mom was diagnosed with Celiac disease last year so now she has to be completely gluten free. She has some great recipes as well and if you would like some let me know.