Crockpot Roast

So many of you have written me asking for more simple crockpot recipes. I was shopping at Vons today and they had roasts on sale. I bought one. This is a very simple recipe that comes out great:

1 roast
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup mix

Place the roast in the crockpot. Sprinkle the soup mix on top of the roast. Cover with mushroom soup. Depending on the size of your crockpot, you may want to add a bit of water.

You'll have a nice gravy, so try serving with mashed potatoes.

Note: if the roast does not quite fit in your crockpot, cut it in half and see if it fits in two pieces.

Audrey :)

Asian Broccoli-Noodle Salad

2 packages ramen noodles, chicken flavored (set aside flavor packets)
1 bag broccoli slaw
1 cup toasted sunflower seeds
1 cup toasted slivered almonds

Toss together. Then add dressing:

1 seasoning packet from ramen noodles
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar

Mix together and pour over salad. Chill before serving to allow flavors to mix.

Audrey :)

Broccoli Soup

Keeping in mind that I live in Santa Barbara, it's been cold lately. When I have ice on my windshield in the morning, I know it's cold!!! This is a very simple broccoli soup recipe:

1 1/2 pounds of broccoli
7 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Chop broccoli into small chunks. Bring the broth to a boil and add the broccoli. Simmer about 10-12 minutes. Broccoli should be soft. Puree about half of the soup. Once pureed add back into pot and then season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Right before serving, make garlic bread. Cut bread into quarters and add one or two quarters to each bowl of soup.

Audrey :)

Avocado Bread

I want to share one more recipe from my mom's collection:

2 cups sifted flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Sift these ingredients together into a bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine:

1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup mashed avocado
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix the two bowl together only until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour.

Audrey :)

Black Cherry Jell-O Mold

I'm visiting my mom and decided to post a recipe from my childhood. My mom used to make this quite often and to this day I love it:

2 family size black cherry jell-o
1 cup sour cream
1 - 8 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Prepare one of the packages of jell-o according to box directions. Pour into 13x9 casserole dish. Chill until firm.

Prepare second box of jello and chill. Mix together the nuts, sour cream and pineapple. Spread sour cream mixture over the first package of jello and chill. When the second package of jello begins to firm, pour over the sour cream mixture and chill entire casserole. Serve when chilled.

Audrey :)

Happy Holidays

To those who celebrate today, I wish you a wonderful holiday.

To those who don't celebrate today, I wish you a pleasant and happy day.

Audrey :)

Lemon Loaf

Have I mentioned I have a lemon tree? I'm always seeking new lemon recipes. This is a fairly simple lemon bread that comes out great:

1 stick of butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups light cream
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon lemon extract
1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds (optional)

Cream together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat at high speed 4-5 minutes. Beat in lemon peel, lemon extract, baking powder and salt. Reduce speed and add in cream and flour. Hand stir in the almonds.

This should be enough for two loaf pans. Bake 52-55 minutes at 350 degrees.

Note: Lemon extract is very strong. If you use lemon juice, use at least double the amount of liquid.

Audrey :)

Orange Bars

I love lemon bars!! Did you know you can take your favorite lemon bar recipe and turn them into orange bars?

Simply substitute orange juice and orange peel for the lemon juice and lemon peel.

Here's a recipe:

1 cup butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cups flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
5 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon orange peel
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt

Blend together the powdered sugar, salt and 2 cups of flour. Once a dough is formed, press into 9x13 baking pan. Bake 15-18 minutes at 350 degrees. Should be golden.

Lightly beat the eggs. Mix with orange juice, orange peel, granulated sugar and remaining flour. Mixture should be smooth. Pour over the baked crust. Bake about 25 minutes at 325 degrees.

Audrey :)

Food Poisoning

I've been certified as a food handler for many years now. This just means, I've taken the courses and tests to be able to work in a commercial kitchen. I know the laws and rules here in the state of California.

I also know how food bacteria grows and how many days leftovers are good for. I can and do throw out leftovers once they've hit their end date. I'll also throw away perishable food that has been sitting out too long.

This last week I was out of town and eating food prepared by others. Yesterday afternoon I came down with food poisoning. I really am careful about what I eat and am bummed that something I ate gave me this dreadful poisoning.

Thankfully, I know by tomorrow, I'll be feeling better again.

Audrey :)

Pizza Dinner

Both of my girls love pizza. Ok, I admit it, so does their mom :) Create your own pizza at home, allowing everyone to have their own toppings. Start with either an english muffin or bagel. Spread either marinara sauce or pizza sauce on the bread. We sometimes have a hard time finding pizza sauce, so we'll use marinara sauce. Now put on your favorite toppings. I love pineapple. My younger daughter loves mushrooms and onions. My older daughter usually prefers plain cheese. You can put anything you want on your pizza. Place under the broiler at a low temperature. I do this so the bread heats through thoroughly. Now everyone has their own favorite pizza.

If you like BBQ chicken pizza, spread BBQ sauce on the bread, then add left over chicken, chopped.

What's your favorite pizza?

Audrey :)

Blueberry Dump Cake

Have you ever made a dump cake? They are the easiest things in the world to make:

1 box yellow cake mix
4 cups of blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the blueberries, sugar and cinnamon. Pour into a 13x9 casserole dish. Now take the dry cake mix and pour over the blueberries. Do not mix or stir, just pour it over. Finally, pour the melted butter over the top, covering the whole cake. Again, do not mix or stir. Bake for 30 minutes or until light brown.

I'm not a strawberry person, but many people have tried this with strawberries also and loved it.

Audrey :)

Lemon Bread

We have a lemon tree. Lemon bars are great, but they are high in calories. So instead we love to make lemon bread.

1 1 /2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 stick of butter, melted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Peel from one lemon
juice from one lemon

Combine the baking powder, flour, salt, sugar and lemon peel in a bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl beat the eggs, milk, lemon juice, butter and vanilla together. Once mixed add this mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix lightly.

Pour into loaf pan and bake about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. The original recipe calls for a lemon glaze on top. I've never put a glaze on. The bread is delicious without.

Zucchini Casserole

This was absolutely delicious. I will be making this again very soon:

Here is the original recipe:

• 1 C. mayonnaise
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 egg
• Dash salt and pepper
• 1 C. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 C. parmesan cheese
• 3 medium zucchini, diced, no need to peel

found at http://www.recipe4living.com/recipes/easy_cheesy_zucchini_casserole.htm

Mine looks a bit different because I used my Quick Chef to chop the zucchini.

I did use the one cup mayonnaise, but since I didn't have an onion in the house, I used onion flakes. I also used 6 smaller zucchini and took the skin off. I didn't measure the parmesan, I just sprinkled it on top before baking.

Two of us polished it off between dinner and lunch the next day. This is for sure a keeper recipe.

Audrey :)

Holiday Baking

Are you baking for the holidays? We try to use boxed mixes and add to them. For example, my daughter made Duncan Hines Brownies. She used their mix but added in chocolate chips. You can also use lemon cake mixes to create the lightest lemon cookies I've ever tasted:

1 box lemon cake mix
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Mix it all together until well mixed. Create balls and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes at 375 degrees. These come out looking like crinkle cookies, but they're lemony!!

Audrey :)

Red Velvet Balls

Last week I tasted something that was wonderful!! They were little chocolate covered cake balls. They were amazing. I knew I had to try making them myself. They were actually incredibly easy.

Start with a box of Red Velvet cake mix and bake according to package directions:

This is what it looked like before going into the oven. I removed it from the oven and allowed it to cool about an hour. Take the cake and literally crumble it into a bowl.


Mix the crumbled cake with one can of cream cheese frosting. The directions said to mix with your hands. I used a spoon and some elbow grease and it mixed together just fine.

Next, make small balls and put them on a cookie sheet. The directions said you'd get 40-50 balls from one box. I got just over 40. Once you make the balls, refrigerate for a few hours.

Once they've set, it's time to cover them in chocolate. I used the chocolate pieces used in candy molds. I mixed it with a bit of oil to thin it out a bit. If I had Crisco sticks at home, I would've used that, but I only had oil, so I mixed in some oil. Dip the cake balls in the melted chocolate, place back on the baking sheet and then refrigerate to set.

Here is my "taste plate." They were delicious.





Next time I'm going to try this with crushed Oreo cookies. Yum!!!

Audrey :)

Chicken Stroganoff

I'm not usually a fan of mushrooms, but I love chicken stroganoff. This dish is made in the crockpot and served over pasta. We recently began buying Buitoni brand pasta and we love it!!

2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
16 ounces sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix

Place chicken in crockpot. Mix sauce ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Once done, I tear into strips and heat up another can of mushroom soup and heat through. I now have enough sauce to pour over the noodles.

Audrey :)

Cheesy Chicken (Crockpot)

Winter is here and that means my crockpot gets used more and more. This is such a simple recipe to create, but really yummy!!

About 2 pounds of chicken, white meat or dark
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can cheese soup
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, or 1 clove of garlic minced

Mix together the sauce. Dip the chicken in the sauce, then place chicken in crockpot. Pour sauce over chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Audrey :)

Meatball Casserole

This recipe calls for premade/precooked meatballs. I buy them at Trader Joe's.

1 - 16 ounce package of meatballs
2 cups three-cheese pasta sauce
8 cheddar-garlic biscuits (these are often in the freezer section)

Cut meatballs in half and place on the bottom of a square casserole dish. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and cook for 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Add the biscuits on top and cook an additional 25 minutes. Biscuits should be golden brown.

Note: You can also use the Pillsbury flaky buttermilk biscuits.

Audrey :)

Easy Salmon Caesar Salad

This is a simple way to throw together a great looking and great tasting salad:

1 caesar salad kit
1 small bell pepper, red or yellow, cut into strips
1 small cucumber, quartered lengthwise, then sliced
6 ounces smoked salmon, canned works fine
3 lemon wedges

Toss everything except the lemons in a bowl. Right before serving squeeze lemon on each salad. I actually tend to put the salmon on top for the color.

Audrey :)

Steak In the Crockpot

I was at the store last week. They had a cut of steak on sale, so I bought it. I was concerned that this lower quality meat I bought would be tough. So I decided to cook the steak in the crockpot:

This is how it looked before cooking. Though the photo doesn't show, the meat did have lots of large bones in it.

I like the taste of potatoes, so I put about 15 tater tots on the bottom of the crockpot. I poured in a can of beef broth, a little bit of diet coke and some onion flakes. I put it on low for about 7 hours.

It came out WONDERFUL. What you see on top of the steak are the shreds from the tater tots. They completely came apart, but that was fine, they added flavor to the meat. I would absolutely make this again!!

Audrey :)

Taco Pizza

Have I mentioned how much I love mexican food? Anything mexican, I tend to love:

8 ounces ground beef
1 medium sweet pepper, chopped
1 - 11 ounce package refrigerated corn bread twists
1/2 cup salsa
2-3 cups shredded cheese

Brown the meat with the pepper, drain and set aside.

On a pizza pan, unroll the corn bread. Do not separate, just unroll. Fit into pizza pan. Spread salsa on top of dough. Next, spread the meat mixture on top. Finally, top with cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Audrey :)

Holiday Meals

This time of year, many people get so busy in their kitchens making meals and baking that it become unenjoyable. I remember one year we baked so many cookies, my house smelled like sugar for 3 or 4 days.

This year try taking a few "short cuts"

1. Buy cookie mixes but add in M&M's or Reese's Pieces or even chocolate chips.
2. Buy boxed stuffing mix, but sautee your own onions, celery and carrots to add in.
3. Buy boxed mashed potatoes, then substitute milk or mocha mix for some of the water called for. Also, add in chopped chives or bacon bit.

Taking these short cuts will save you time in the kitchen and might make all of the holidays cooking more enjoyable.

Audrey :)

The Outcome

Tonight I made the chicken a la fruit. It came out ok. Keep in mind I make new recipes every single week, so in order for a recipe to be one I'll make again, it has to be excellent, not just "ok" The cooking time said 6-8 hours. I cooked it 8 hours on low which was a little bit too long. If you make this dish, cut the time down to 6 hours. I also added a bit of water to the mixture as I was worried there wasn't enough liquid from the original recipe:

I also made this spinach and artichoke casserole. This recipe is one we'll make over and over again. It's delicious.





Here is how my plate looked for dinner:


My daughter took the casserole and grabbed some chips and ate it as a dip. Did anyone else try the chicken dish?

Audrey :)

Broccoli Corn Bread Casserole

We love to buy the Jiffy Corn Bread mixes when they're on sale. This makes a great side dish with fish, poultry or beef:

1 box corn bread mix
3 eggs
10 ounces frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the eggs and corn bread mix. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes. Cut into squares.

Audrey :)

Ranch Potato Wedges

My kids love potato wedges. Usually I use onion soup mix with a bit of oil. You can also use ranch salad dressing mix:

3 potatoes
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut potatoes into wedges. We've done both skin on and skin off. Coat the potatoes in a bowl with the ranch dressing. Line up on a greased cookie sheet. Lightly spray the potatoes with cooking spray. I use butter flavor. Cook 20 minutes, toss with metal spatula and cook for another 20 minutes.

Audrey :)

Chicken A La Fruit (crockpot)

I love sweet things. I was on the web looking for another chicken recipe to try and found this recipe. It sounds delicious. I won't be able to try it until this weekend, but wanted to share it here:

CROCKPOT CHICKEN A LA FRUIT

1/2 cup crushed pineapple
2 Tbs lemon juice or juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbs soy sauce
3 mashed peaches
1 whole chicken -- cut up

Spray your crockpot with non-stick spray.

Mix pineapple, lemon juice, soy sauce and peaches in a large bowl. Dip chicken in the sauce and place in your crockpot. Cover with remaining sauce.

Cook on low 6-8 hours.

I got the recipe here http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?grpId=3659174697251001&articleId=281474977364027

If anyone tries it before this weekend, let me know how it comes out.

Audrey :)

Crockpot Applesauce

With winter here, I'm using my crockpot more and more. This is a fun recipe to make your own chunky applesauce.

8 baking apples
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel the apples, cut into chunks. Pour everything in the crockpot and mix. Cook on low 8-10 hours. It's fun to make this overnight and wake up to the wonderful smell in the morning.

Audrey :)

Nacho Casserole Appetizer

Everyone who knows me, knows I love mexican food. I don't eat it as often as I'd like as I do try to count calories, however a few times a month is just fine :)

1 pound ground meat
4 ounces refried beans
2 ounces chopped onions
7 ounces tortilla chips
4 ounces grated cheddar cheese
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon, dried mixed herbs

In a frying pan, brown the meat with the herbs. Drain grease. In a casserole, spread the beans on the bottom. Sprinkle with onions and then top with beef mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. While still bubbling hot, sprinkle cheese and bell pepper on top. Serve with chips.

For a cute look, tuck the chips around the casserole dish when serving.

Audrey :)