Week 1

Happy New Year everyone! I will try to keep the "chit-chat" to a minimum each week and just post the menu and the recipes :) Enjoy!

Slow-cooker Herbed Turkey (or Chicken) Casserole (adapted from Betty Crocker's Slow Cooker Cookbook) 6 Servings

30 oz chicken stock (if I don't have any homemade on hand, I like to use the organic "Better than Bouillon")
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (I really should just make this from scratch, too)
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/8 tsp pepper (or several good turns of the pepper mill)
1 lb turkey breast tenderloins, cut into 1" pieces (I'm using chicken since I have it on hand)
1 med onion, chopped
1 med carrot, sliced
1 med celery stalk, sliced
1 1/4 cups uncooked wild rice, rinsed and drained.

In 3 1/2-6 qt slow cooker, combine stock, cream of chicken soup, marjoram and pepper, stir or whisk until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Cover and cook on high for 30 mins. Turn to low and cook 6-7 hrs or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.


Slow-cooker Lentil and Canadian Bacon Soup (adapted from Betty Crocker's book, again) 8 Servings

16 oz dried lentils (2 1/4 cups) sorted and rinsed
30 oz vegetable or chicken stock
6 oz sliced Canadian bacon, coarsely chopped
3 med carrots, sliced to 1/2" pieces
1 med onion, chopped
1 med stalk celery, sliced to 1/2" pieces
4 cups water
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients in large slow cooker, cover and cook on low 8-9 hrs. Stir well before serving.


Great Grandma's Squash and Beans (4-6 servings), vegetarian

EVOO (you'll see this a lot: Extra-Virgin Olive Oil) for Sauteeing 
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 med onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cans pinto beans, undrained
elbow macaroni, cooked to package directions
S & P (salt and pepper) to taste
Parmesan cheese

In large stock pot, saute the squash and onion in EVOO until beginning to soften. Add garlic and saute a min more. Add the beans w/their liquid. Simmer, covered, until squash is tender, usually about 20 mins, depending on how big you cut the pieces. Salt to taste. Ladel over hot cooked elbow macaroni, grate fresh Parmesan over the top and add cracked pepper to taste.


Chicken Enchiladas

1 recipe enchilada sauce from the Knitting Siren
Cooked chicken (breast or thighs are nice), shredded
large whole-grain flour tortillas (watch out for hydrogenated veg. oils)
grated cheese (I like pepper jack but cheddar or plain jack are fine, too, or you can go more authentic and use Mexican cheeses like queso blanco or asadero). 
Veggie like brocolli or cauliflower for serving, and/or a green side salad

This is not so much a recipe as a "just put it together". Make the enchilada sauce from my friend, Melanie's, site. It's the best. Really. Except I don't always add the sour cream. It's good both ways. Ladel some of the sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. I usually use a 9x12 and it makes enough for leftovers for our family of two adults, one preschooler and one baby. Heat the tortillas a bit to make them easier to manipulate (if they're cold they will usually tear as you try to fold or roll them). I do one at a time - heat tortilla, fill w/chicken, roll up, place in baking dish. Repeat until you have as many enchiladas as you want. Pour more enchilada sauce over the top, sprinkle w/cheese, and bake at 350 until hot and bubbly, about 1/2 hr.


Stuffed Acorn Squash 8 servings (I'm halving this one), vegetarian

1 onion, diced finely
3 garlic cloves, diced finely
3 celery stalks, chopped
EVOO for sauteeing
3 cups cooked brown rice
12 oz extra firm tofu, cubed (be sure to buy tofu and other soy products organic to stay away from GMO soy)
S & P to taste
4 medium acorn squash

Saute onion and celery in EVOO. Add garlic. Add tofu and cooked rice. Season w/S & P. Cut squash in half, remove seeds, and stuff w/rice mixture. Bake at 350 in covered glass dish about 45 mins or until squash is tender. To make it a bit easier to stand squash in dish, you can cut a little off the pointy end.