Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff!

Several weeks ago my blogging friend, Darlene of Darlene's Days tried a Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff recipe. Her family loved it and after reading her rave reviews on her blog, I decided to make it for dinner that night.

I didn't have any stew meat or the right canned soup so I made a few adjustments and incorporated some of Darlene's suggestions and it came out PERFECT!

You can click here for the original recipe and the recipe I am listing below is the one I've adjusted and will continue to use.

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:
1 pound of sirloin steak (2 steaks), fat trimmed off and cut into strips
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil or just enough to cover the bottom of the pan
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 small can of sliced mushrooms
1 packed of French onion soup mix
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup water
4 oz. cream cheese
Sour cream for top, optional
egg noodles or white rice

Directions:
1. In a medium saute pan, heat olive oil on an almost high setting. When the oil is hot and rippling, add the steak and onions. Sear the steak on all sides to give it a dark brown color on the outside. Do not cook it through. You just want to seal in the juices.
2. After the meat and onions are seared, place them in a slow cooker and add the soup, mushrooms, package of soup mix, Worcestershire sauce and water. Stir well to combine.
3. Cook on low setting for 8 hours or high setting for 5 hours.
4. Stir in cream cheese just before serving.
5. Serve over cooked egg noodles or white rice.

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Scalloped Potatoes & Ham!

Yum! This is the ultimate comfort food!

I try not to make it too often because it's not that great for the hips or the arteries!

The recipe below is my got to scalloped potatoes & ham recipe. I have another one for the slow cooker but this one is way more delicious!

I do have to admit here that don't always follow the recipe exactly. I like mine saucy so I end up putting in more milk and cheese to the roux. The picture below is when it came out really saucy but it was perfect after I let it sit a while. Also, if your family likes onions, feel free to chop up a medium one and throw it in with the potatoes and ham.

Scalloped Potatoes & Ham

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 cups milk
3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
5 cups potatoes, washed & sliced
3 cups ham, cooked and diced

Directions:
~Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
~Put sliced potatoes and diced ham in a large bowl and set aside.
~In a large sauce pan, melt butter over low to medium heat. Then whisk the flour in and continue to whisk and cook for about 1-2 minutes. It will be dry but it's important for you to cook off the raw flour taste and allow the butter and starch granules to mix.
~Remove from the heat and slowly mix in the milk.
~Return the pan back to the heat and cook until it's a thick and bubbly white sauce.
~Remove from heat and add in the pepper and cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese melts.
~Add white/cheese sauce to potatoes and ham and mix well.
~Put into a well greased 9 x 13 baking dish and cover with foil.
~Bake covered for 30 minutes.
~Uncover and bake for 1 hour more.
~After you remove it from the oven, let it sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

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Homemade Pizza!

Homemade Pizza. Is there anything better?

It has become our family tradition that we have pizza on Fridays. I try my best to make it homemade pizza too! It's a memory I want for Allison.

I'll be honest. It's not as hard as you may think. Well, not as long as you have a food processor to do the mixing of the dough...or you can do it by hand if you like. You know me though, I like it easy and the food processor makes it easy!

This recipe will make two 12" pizzas. I usually make one small one for Allison and with the rest of the dough, I make a 14" pizza or a rectangle cookie sheet pizza.

Homemade Pizza

Ingredients:

2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast or (1 .25 oz.) package

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup of warm water at 110 degrees

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for non-stick)

1 teaspoon salt

Pizza sauce

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Desired toppings (pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, black olives, green peppers, banana pepper rings, ham, sausage, etc.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450F.

2. In a cereal sized bowl (make sure you bowl is big enough because it will grow to almost double in size), dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until the yeast has been activated and creamy, usually about 10 minutes.
3. In a food processor using your dough beater/blade, put in flour, salt & oil. Carefully add yeast mixture, beat until well blended and forms a ball. Remove dough and place in a lightly oiled bowl double the size of your dough. Cover with lightly oiled wax paper. Let rest for 10 minutes until it almost doubles in size.
3. Gently press the dough down with your lightly oiled hands. Split in half and place on lightly oiled pizza pans. Spread out dough to the edges with your fingers. Let rise again for about 10 minutes.

4. After dough has risen, spread dough with pizza sauce and place in preheated oven until the crust begins to get a very light brown color.

5. Take pizza out and cover with cheese and desired toppings either under or on top of the cheese. Place pizza back in oven until the cheese is gold and bubbly and crust is a darker brown color.
6. Let sit for a few minutes before cutting.

Tips:

~Your oldest, darkest, well-seasoned pans make the best crust. I bought a new one and hate it! It just doesn't get the pizza crust as crispy on the bottom as we like it. I need to season it a bit before I use it again.

~To lightly oil the bowl for the dough, wax paper and my hands, I use a non-stick spray.

~If the dough is springing back when you are trying to spread it out on the pan, place it in the heated oven for just a minute and try again. This usually works and makes it easier to work with.

~I use Ragu Pizza Sauce in the jar but sometimes I take a can of diced tomatoes and crush them then mix them in with the sauce.

~Sometimes I sprinkle olive oil on the crust under the sauce for added flavor...learned this from Allison's Grandma who makes the best homemade pizza.

~To make your pepperoni less greasy, layer it on a paper towel in the microwave and zap it for just a few seconds. Remove it from the oven and pat dry with more paper towels.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!

Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup!

Since today is the first day of Fall, it's time for some warm comfort food.

There was a request on Facebook for a potato soup recipe and it got me to thinking that it's the perfect recipe to share on the cool first day of Fall.

First let me say that I'm very picky about my potato soup. I like it creamy and rich and cheesy. I developed this recipe after trying many versions. I hope you like it.

Cindi's Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:

6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped (6 cups)
2 1/2 cups of water
1/2 cup chopped onion
10 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 stick butter
1 12-ounce can (1 1/2 cups) evaporated milk
6-8 slices of American cheese

Directions:

1. In a 3 1/2 or 4 qt crockery cooker, combine potatoes, water, onion, bouillon and pepper. Slice butter into tabs and layer it on top of previous mixture. Cover, cook on low-heat setting for 7 ½ - 8 hours or on high heat setting for 4 to 4 1/2 hours.

2. Stir milk into soup and add 6-8 slices of American cheese. Stir until cheese melts. Cover, cook on low-heat setting for 1 hour more or high-heat setting for 30 minutes more. Mash potatoes slightly with a potato masher. Makes 6-8 side dish servings.

Top with shredded cheddar cheese and bacon bits.

**If it’s too thick for you, you can thin it out with any milk you have in your refrigerator.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!

***Edited to link up to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace and Tuesdays At The Table at All the Small Stuff.

Chicken Noodle Soup!

I'm sure everyone has a their own recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup and here is mine. This is how my Mother makes it and I saw no need to change it so I make it the same way. This is one of those recipes that there really isn't any measurements for the ingredients. You just sort of throw it in the pot as you go for the size of your family. I must think I'm feeding the Osmond's because I always seem to make a huge batch. That's okay, we always seem to eat it all...even if I have to share it with the neighbors.

Here are the participants: chicken, chicken broth, chicken bouillon, egg noodles, potatoes, carrots, parsley, black pepper and just imagine there is a can of green beans there. I forgot them until all the pictures were taken and the cooking was done.

First, put a big stock pot on the stove of water and get it boiling.
Once it's boiling, put your chicken in the hot bath. I use two boneless, skinless chicken breasts from Market Day. I also throw some other chicken in later but we'll get to that. You can turn down the heat once it starts to boil again.
While the chicken is cooking, I peel and dice the potatoes and slice the carrots. I use baby carrots because that's all I ever have in the refrigerator but you use what you like.
The chicken in the hot bath is probably done by now. Take it out, cool it and shred or dice it into bite sized pieces and set aside. Here's the other chicken I was talking about. I pulled this from my freezer. We love those rotisserie chickens from Sam's Club and the grocery store but there is always chicken left over. I clean the chicken off of the bones and use my "Seal a Meal" a.k.a. my "suck & seal" to save them for later use. I use the chicken for soup, pot pie, casseroles and anything else I need. The seasonings add such a special flavor to soup and pot pie, I like using it for them best.
I strain the chicken water and discard some of it. The chicken breasts don't really add a lot of flavor so that's where the broth comes in. I add it to the pot to get the desired liquid level in my pot. This is where I also add some chicken bouillon cubes. This is sort of a taste and see kind of thing. Be careful you don't add too many. You can always add more at the very end if you feel it needs it. Now you can add the potatoes and carrots to the broth. Cook these until they are a little al dente. They will cook more by the end of the recipe. You don't want them to be mush by the end.
Now it's time to add the chicken back into the pot.

And a hand full of parsley, some black pepper to taste and a can of drained green beans.
Bring the pot back to a boil.
Next it's the egg noodles turn to jump into the pot. I add about 3 cups of big egg noodles to my pot because we like a lot of noodles. After I add the noodles, I turn the pot off and cover it with a lid. Let it sit until the noodles are done.. The noodles will cook perfectly and the soup will not be boiling hot for dinner.
Yum! Doesn't that look good. Just imagine the green beans are in there! I know potatoes aren't usually in chicken noodle soup but we like it....especially Curtis. They break down a little and make the broth a little thicker. Also, as with most soups, it's better the second day!

As I stated earlier, this recipe is hard to write out since it all depends on how much you want to make or what you have on hand. I'm speaking of the chicken since I use both raw and cooked. You can also cook whole pieces and use that. My advice would be to use the above instructions as a guide when making your soup. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Cindi's Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

Chicken

Chicken Broth

Chicken Bouillon cubes

Potatoes, peeled and diced

Carrots, sliced

Can Green Beans, drained

Dried Parsley

Black Pepper

Egg Noodles

Directions:

~Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add chicken and cook chicken until it's done. Remove from water to drain. When cooled, shred or dice and set aside.

~Strain water and discard part of it. Add chicken broth and bouillon cubes as needed.

~Cook potatoes and carrots until almost done.

~Add chicken back to pot.

~Add parsley, black pepper to taste and green beans.

~Bring pot back to boil and add egg noodles. Turn the heat off and cover until the egg noodles are done.

Thanks for visiting my kitchen!

Crock Pot Swiss Steak!

I tried a new recipe for Swiss Steak in the Crock Pot or slow cooker. Although Curtis liked the recipe I used previously, I thought the tomato flavor overpowered the dish. This new recipe is just perfect for me. I put it in the Crock Pot on Thursday because I wasn't sure how long I was working that day. I wanted to have dinner ready for them just in case. Good thing I did too because I didn't get home until after 7:00. Part of my new healthier eating is not to eat after 7 pm so I had something little for dinner earlier. However, when I got home the house smelled so good from the Swiss steak cooking all day that I had to have a little. This picture is of my little. I must have said "Mmmm" ten times while I was eating this. Curtis had 2 1/2 helpings and Allison loved it too. Next time I'm going to try fat free gravy in it. I wanted to this time but the store didn't have any. The only change I made in their recipe was to dredge the steaks in seasoned flour before browing in the skillet.

Crock Pot Swiss Steak
(adapted from Betty Crocker)

Serves 6
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds beef boneless round steak
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon peppered seasoned salt
6 to 8 new potatoes, cut into fourths
1 1/2 cups baby-cut carrots
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cups petite diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained
1 jar (12 ounces) beef gravy
Chopped fresh parsley, if desired
Directions:
1. Mix flour and seasoned salt together.
2 Cut beef into 6 serving pieces. Dredge through flour mixture. Spray 12-inch skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Cook in skillet 6 to 8 minutes, turning once, until brown.
3. Layer potatoes, carrots, beef and onion in 4- to 5-quart Crock Pot or slow cooker. Mix tomatoes and gravy; spoon over mixture in slow cooker.
4. Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 8 hours or until beef and vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with parsley.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 8 hours

Thanks for visiting my kitchen!

My Ba Ba's Halupki a.k.a. Stuffed Cabbage

If you are a reader to my first blog, I know you have already seen this recipe. Please bear with me because when I was deciding what recipe to share to post on my new blog first, this immediately came to mind. First, because it's my favorite food and I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Second, because with the weather getting warmer and it's definitely comfort food. And lastly, it tops the list of most searched items on my other blog. So it was a no brainer to share this. Now before you look at this recipe, some of the pictures are blurry. I am not a photographer, but I am working on that. So in the meantime, I'm sorry. I also will probably not be sharing step by step pictures of all my recipes. I will do it if I feel it's necessary to help you in the cooking process or if the mood strikes me. Who knows. You'll just have to stay tuned to find out. Now...onto the recipe!

This recipe if from my Ba Ba (my Polish/Slovak Grandmother) and the entire recipe is printed below but I'll start at the beginning here.

The participants: 1 large head of cabbage or 2 small, 2 lbs. of ground beef, 3 cans of tomato soup, ketchup, 2 eggs, minced dried onions, rice (not instant), salt and pepper.

Take a big stock pot out of your cupboard and fill it 2/3 full with water. Place it on a big burner and turn it on high.

While that's boiling, grab your head of cabbage or cabbages. Take off those ugly dirty outside leaves. If you take off some of the dark green ones too, that's okay. They tend to be a little bitter.

Now go and grab a sharp knife. BE CAREFUL...don't cut yourself! I grabbed one of my new Chicago Cutlery that I received for my 15th anniversary at work last year. See, it's all shiny and new looking! Anyway, you'll need to cut out the core. Just keep putting your knife in and out until you make it all the way around.

See this is what it looks like. You want to do this so it makes it easy to peel off the leaves. They won't be attached to anything and will fall right off.

Now place the cabbage in the water. Wait! Do it carefully! That water is getting hot! I turn the head around to get some water in the hole that you cut out.

Now let's go and get started on the insides of the Halupki. Grab your favorite big bowl. I picked my Ba Ba's Pyrex one...it's my favorite. Break both pounds of ground beef up and place it in the bottom of the bowl.

Next let's throw in some minced dried onions. I put 2-3 tablespoons in the written recipe but as you can see, I use the palm of my hand and just throw them in. I'm sure some of you are thinking that fresh onions would be better here and if you want to use those, have at it. I know the juice of the onion is probably the best part but I personally like the hint of onion that dried onions offer. I don't want my Halupki being overpowered by fresh onions. Anyway, this is easier and this is how my Mom did it so that's how I'm doing it!

Don't forget to check on the cabbage! When it comes to a boil, turn it down so it barely keeps boiling. Mine came to a rolling boil because I was too busy trying to be a photographer!

Add your two eggs. Are you wondering how I took this picture? I used my chin to press the button. No really, I can not tell a lie! I used Curtis...he's my sweetie.

I know this is blurry but can you see that I added the salt and the pepper? I know, I'm bad. I don't measure those either. I can tell you this. I add more pepper than salt. I barely use salt in anything I cook.
Now throw in that cup of rice. I did measure this as you can see. I usually mound my cup but this time I threw in a little more than a mounded cup. There was about an 1/8 of a cup left in the container and I figured what was the point of letting them sit in the container all by themselves.
Check your cabbage. Can you peel any of the outer leaves off yet? You might only be able to get a couple but that's okay. Just put them in a colander in the sink to drain and cool.
Ya baby! Come to Ma Ma!
Let's get back to the mix. Add 1 can of tomato soup. I only ever use Campbell's but be brave and go for whatever brand you want. I'm a chicken when it comes to my tomato soups so I'll stick to Campbell's, thank you!

Again, you'll see me using no measuring device here. I know, I know, I'm a naughty girl. Throw caution to the wind and just squirt! But be sure you are using Heinz ketchup! Hey, what did you expect from me? I'm a Pittsburgh girl! There is NO other ketchup!
Now mix everything together really well.
Oh heck! It's my dinner! I'm using the best utensils God gave me...my hands! Don't worry, I washed them before touching the raw meat...and BELIEVE ME...I washed them well afterwards with anti-bacterial soap. You should too!
Here it is. The finished mix. It's going to be a little wet than you probably expected but that's good. If it was a dry mixture, you would have hard little meat/rice balls inside. You need the moisture because the rice will suck it all up.
Hey! Wait! What is this? We are making Halupki...not Stuffed Peppers!
Okay, okay, I confess! I'm making them for Curtis. He's not really as crazy about Halupki as I am. He's crazy over stuffed peppers so I thought I would be nice and make him his favorite.
I'm taking a side road here. When you make stuffed peppers, just take the pepper and cut the top off. Take the insides out and wash the pepper inside and out. Fill it with the mix and voila! You've got stuffed peppers!
Let's get back on track here. It's hard to see in the picture but the leaves have this big thick vein where it was attached to the core. You will need to thin it out or it's very tough. Just grab a sharp knife and BE CAREFUL! Can you tell I'm afraid of people getting cut here?
See how easy this is? Don't cut the vein out altogether or you won't be able to assemble the Halupki. Oh, please ignore the fact that I'm cutting towards myself. You know you are not supposed to do that, right? Also did you know that a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp knife? Yup, it is. When you use a dull knife, you need force behind the knife to cut through something and a sharp knife will glide through the item you are cutting. There. That's the extent of my culinary knowledge for the day! Are you impressed?
By the way, this would be a good time to preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
My little pile of veins. I don't know why I took a picture of this. I guess I'm just odd.
Now it's time to get assembling, baby! Open a leaf and set it down on the counter/plate/cutting board...whatever your little heart desires...with the vein part towards you. Place a little bit of the mixture on the end over the vein. Next fold the right and left sides in towards the center and....
.....ROLL! ROLL! ROLL!
After you roll them, place them in a roaster with the seam side down. I guess you could use a covered casserole or something else that's big. This recipe will make a good amount and you also want space for the sauce/juice. He he he. Look what I did with the stuffed peppers. I make a little square pan thingy with triple layers of heavy duty aluminum foil. I didn't want that yucky stuffed pepper juice dancing with my yummy Halupki juice.
Next cover the little pretties with 2 cans of tomato soup. Now let's get that ketchup bottle again and squirt some more over the top. Please don't ask me how much...I don't know. I just kind of squirt in a zig-zag fashion. Technical isn't it? Oh, and here is where you want to pour about 3/4 of a can of water over the whole thing. I toss the water back and forth between the three empty cans of soup so I can rinse out all the goodness still left in the can that scraping didn't get.
Now cover the roaster and put it in your preheated 350 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours.
Oh my! Looky what we have here! Yum! I need to make these more often!

Cindi's Family's Halupki (Stuffed Cabbage Rolls) Recipe

1 large head of white cabbage or 2 small (I like two small because the cabbage is more tender)

2 lbs. ground meat

1 c. white rice (not instant)

3 cans tomato soup

2 eggs

salt & pepper (a few shakes of each)

2-3 T. dry minced onion

ketchup

~Cut core out of cabbage head and cover with boiling water in large stock pot. Boil cabbage until leaves begin to fall off the head with a little help from you. I stand at the stove and peel one leaf off at a time. Drain leaves. With a sharp knife thin out veins along the spine of each cabbage leaf. Do not cut the vein out.

~Mix together ground beef, rice, 1 can of tomato soup, eggs, minced onions, salt, pepper and not quite a 1/4 cup ketchup.

~Assemble cabbage rolls. Lay the leaf with the vein part towards you, put a little of the mixture on top of the vein, fold in the sides and then roll. There is no set amount to put in each leaf because the size of the leaves vary. Place in roaster with the seam side down. I place the larger ones around the outside of the roaster. I also cut up the remaining cabbage in approx. 1 inch squares and place on top.

~Pour the remaining tomato soup (2 cans) over the top of the cabbage rolls. There is no measurement to this but squirt ketchup over the rolls in a sporadic fashion. Not too much...don't cover the entire top...kind of like if you were putting chocolate syrup over a sundae. But make sure you put enough on it because it adds the "tang" to the tomato soup. Next pour a little more than 3/4 of a can of water over the entire mixture.

~Cover and cook for 1-1/2 hours at 350 degrees. If you make more than 2 pounds of ground meat, you'll need to cook it longer.

Thanks for visiting my kitchen!