Chicken Beef Stew

While we were making candy on Saturday, my daughter was making a crock pot stew. She used

- a bag of small potatoes
- half a bag of baby carrots
- a chopped onion

She placed them all in the pot with a package of stew meat, 1/2 cup of water and sprinkled some Durkee Grill Creations steak seasoning on the ingredients.

After slow cooking for about 3 hours, she added a can of cream of chicken soup and cooked for another couple of hours. You would be surprised at how good it was. A very unique flavor.

It can't get easier than that!

Chocolate Dipped Cream Sandwiches

To make these, you will need:

* Melted chocolate
* Butter cream filling (or marshmallow cream)
* Mini or Regular Vanilla wafers


I have a little Chocolate Heaven fondue pot that looks like a little crockpot. I bought a tub of milk chocolate and dark chocolate discs and some white drizzle chocolate and some butter cream filling, all from The Chocoley Company (chocoley.com). I filled the pot with half milk chocolate and half dark. When using a fondue pot, it melts better when you stir the chocolate discs often and long.

Make small balls with the butter cream filling and place between two wafers and dip into the chocolate. Place on a lightly buttered platter or wax paper and allow to dry completely. If necessary, you can put them into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.



If you have remaining chocolate, you can pour it into candy molds and decorate it after it has hardened enough to handle. I used the bottle of white drizzle chocolate and red and green sprinkles for decorating.

It's easy but time consuming so set an afternoon aside to do this. It's a fun thing to do as a family activity.

Sirloin Tip side Steak

I had some small sirloin tip side steaks and the last time I bought them, they cooked up very tough. I didn't plan to ever buy them again and wondered what in the world people do with them. I found some in the freezer and, of course, I decided to just put them in the crockpot.

I sliced some potatoes and put them on the bottom with about a half cup of water and put the little frozen steaks on top. I couldn't believe they came out out tender!

Caution: This is not an all day crockpot event. They are ready in about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. So, it would be better to have someone at home to turn the crockpot on or set it on a timer.

Chili in the Crockpot

This is a great dish to serve on a cold, winter night or when you just can't think of anything you want to eat for supper tonight. Plan ahead a little and you can have leftovers to keep on hand for weeks to pull out on those nights that you are just too busy to come up with a meal.

o 1 to 2 pounds ground beef or ground chuck, browned and drained
(unless it's VERY lean; then you can put it directly into the pot)
o 1 or 2 cans dark red kidney beans
o 2 cans 14.5 ounces) whole or diced tomatoes
o 1 can of tomato sauce or 1 small can of tomato paste
o 4 to 5 tablespoons chili powder
o 1 clove garlic or 1 teaspoon minced garlic
o 2 teaspoons salt
o 1 teaspoon pepper
o 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional)
o 1 tablespoon olive oil
o 1 large onion, coarsely chopped

If you like less meat than vegetables, use only 1 pound of ground beef.

If you like more meat than beans, use 2 pounds of ground beef and 1 can of
of tomatoes.

You can also add a teaspoon of italian spices.

The recipe if very flexible and can be adjusted to suit your individual taste.


Preparation:

Brown ground beef in a skillet and drain.

Put all ingredients into the crockpot.

Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Note: Add chopped, green peppers for added flavor or hot chopped peppers for a spicy boost.

Try some grated cheddar or mozzarella cheese sprinkled on top.

The following night, you can plan for hot dogs to be the menu item and use your leftover chili!

You can double the recipe and place full meal (or individual portions) into freezer bags and freeze to use later on those cold, winter nights or when you need something quick for dinner.

If you don't have a crock pot, you can use the stove top method, simmering ingredients for about 45 minutes to an hour. Make sure the onion is tender.

-OR- you can mix all ingredients together and put into a large microwave safe dish (glassware with cover, preferably) and microwave for 8 minutes on high. Stir and let stand for 10 minutes; then microwave on high for another 5 minutes. This method would be a better option when cooking a smaller amount of chili.

*Serving suggestions: Garlic toast or corn muffins and salad or slaw.

Crockpot Baked Potatoes

There are 2 kitchen appliances that I don't think get used to their full potential in most households. One is the microwave oven; the other is the crockpot.

I have a full-time job and I'm a lazy cook. I love to use both. One is quick and the other is slow but can have dinner ready by the time I get home!

My husband loves baked potatoes but he doesn't like them in the microwave. The stove heats up the house and uses so much electricity. Usually, I compromise and partially cook them in the microwave and then wrap them in foil and place them in the oven. The other option is the crock pot. They come out fluffy and tender, better than in the oven.

Crock Pot Baked Potatoes

Wash the potatoes and coat them with oil to keep the peel moist (I prefer olive oil). Place them in the bottom of the crockpot. If they are really big, you can cut some criss-crosses about a fourth of the way through to help them cook more evenly.

That's it! Cook on high power for the potatoes to be ready in a 1 1/2 to 2 hours or medium for 3-4 hours.

If they cook too long, their color will change but they are still good to eat.

You can use any kind of potato, even sweet potatoes. Try it!