I don’t know about you, but as we get closer to Thanksgiving, I begin to focus more on clearing out my pantry and freezer in anticipation of preparing the biggest meal of the year. I tend to grocery shop less but still love to cook delicious meals for my husband and son. The Crock Pot is always on the counter and the oven is used less often.
As you know, chicken is a staple in my house and it is always on the menu several times per week. However, last month hubby went to the Dominican Republic for a mini vacation so it was just Tayair and myself. Instead of having chicken he suggested we try Smoked Turkey Sausage, so that is what we had for dinner the night hubby returned home.
Using the Smoked Turkey Sausage gave this meal more flavor than using plain chicken.
Most people don’t realize that you can put uncooked pasta in the Crock Pot, but for my money, it’s much better as it doesn’t get mushy and cooks up well.
Instructions:
Spray the inside of the Crock Pot with Cooking Spray, add Pasta, Diced Tomatoes and Smoked Turkey Sausage. Sprinkle on a little Italian Seasoning and pour in Alfredo Sauce. Add 1/4 cup of water to the jar, shake and then pour remaining sauce into Crock Pot.
Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours. If you prefer to use a red sauce like Marinara or spaghetti sauce as it works just as well.
I can’t believe that Crocktober is over, however, that is not going to stop me from cooking and posting my slow cooked meals. Thanks to my friends over at Jennie-O I received a package of Turkey Tenderloins so I decided to add a few ingredients to make this mid-week tasty treat for hubby and our son, Tayair.
Ingredients:
1 package Jennie-O Boneless Turkey Breast Tenderloin
1 package of frozen peppers and onions
1 small can of Pineapple Tidbits
1 bottle Hawaiian Style Barbeque Sauce
Cooking Spray
Instructions:
Spray inside of Crock Pot with Cooking Spray
Add 1/2 bag of frozen peppers and onions
Add Turkey Tenderloins
Add Pineapple Tidbits
Add remaining frozen peppers and onions
Pour entire bottle of Barbecue Sauce
Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours. Serve over pasta or rice and enjoy. However, because we had enough for leftovers, my son decided just to shred it and put on a whole wheat bun with coleslaw.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, have you started planning out your Turkey day recipes? If you need some inspiration, head over to the Jennie-O website for meal planning suggestions.
DISCLOSURE: I received the Turkey Tenderloins as a member of the Jennie-O Switch Circle. Recipe and all opinions are 100% my own.
Cooking in the fall is fabulous especially when you use a Slow Cooker or Crock Pot.
Last weekend I made a Slow Cooked Turkey Chili using Jennie-O lean Ground Turkey. This is one of the easiest weekend or weekday meals to prepare. The next day leftovers are equally good so make sure you make enough to have some!
I love any recipe that you can dump into the Crock Pot in the morning then come home to a fully cooked meal…and of course a kitchen that smell delicious!
Ingredients:
16 oz package of Jennie-O Lean Ground Turkey
14.4 oz package of frozen peppers and onions or Pepper Stir Fry
14.5 oz can of Diced Tomatoes
15.5 oz can of Black Beans rinsed in cold water
10 oz package of frozen corn
1 package of low sodium Chili Mix
Optional Ingredients: Cilantro, Green Onions, Cheddar Cheese, Sour Cream, and of course a little of Hot Sauce!
You can brown the Ground Turkey first in a little Olive Oil before placing in the Crock Pot, however, I prefer to use frozen Ground Turkey which allows it to thaw as it cooks with the other ingredients. If you brown the ground turkey first, cook on high for 2 hours, otherwise, on low for 4 hours.
This Turkey Chili can be topped with shredded cheddar cheese or sour cream and of course a little hot sauce. Hubby loves cornbread and served over rice.
I remember when I was growing up my grandmother always had to have “a little something sweet” after eating dinner. She believed everything in moderation and never over ate, but she loved her sweets. She would also proudly remind me that the most she ever weighed was 120 lbs, and that was when she was pregnant with her twins, my mother and uncle.
I haven’t seen 120 lbs since the birth of our first son, but I also believe everything in moderation. Sunday dinners are my favorite meals to cook and sometimes I too like to have “a little something sweet” after eating.
Recently while looking through the clearance racks at Walmart I found these Welcome Home Brands Mini Baking Pans. They are made from oven safe paper and are a perfect size for “a little something sweet” dessert.
I cooked chicken and collard greens for dinner and then decided to make some Jiffy Banana muffinsusing the mini Baking Pans instead of a muffin tin. Following the box directions I filled each mini pan with 1/2 batter without pre-greasing which wasn’t necessary. After putting them on a baking sheet, they were placed in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.
The mini banana loaf removed easily from the pan, there was no scorching and the bread was delicious, which was made a little more so when topped with banana slices and cherry sauce – just “a little something sweet!”
How about you, do you like to have “a little something sweet” after dinner?
Don’t forget to come back at 6:00 p.m. for the #WWDParty!
Today’s Friday Foodie Feature comes with a warning!
I decided to make Duncan Hines milk chocolate brownies in a bowl instead of a pan. I followed the directions on the box, however, since I baked them in Pyrex bowls they should not have been filled to the top!
Spray the bowls with non stick cooking spray, pour in the batter but DO NOT OVERFILL, otherwise the insides will not be done in the amount of time stated on the box.
I eventually scooped the partially baked brownies out of the bowls and put them into a baking dish to finish cooking.
It was Malik who asked if there were supposed to be gooey on the inside. So before realizing they were not completely done, I had topped each with a few scoops of Duncan Hines cherry topping and a few whooshes of Reddi Wip Cream.
This delicious dessert looked wonderful and after completely baking tasted just as good!
Have you ever had any cooking failures?
Don’t forget to come back at 6:00 p.m. for the #WWDParty
For the past several weeks, Route 495 in Wilmington has been shutdown and this has added an additional 30 minutes to my daily commute. Now that I am getting home later, I’m trying to come up with fast and easy dinner recipes.
I found one online for a Chicken Tamale Skillet Pie, but changed it up a bit to use what I already had in the kitchen.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a cast-iron skillet brown the ground turkey on medium high heat for 10 minutes or until brown. Add a can of Cream Style Corn, a can of Ro*Tel tomatoes and ground cumin.
Cook for 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated, remove from heat, add a few sweet peppers then top with cheese.
Cover with crescent rolls and put into oven to bake for approximately 20 minutes or until dough is golden brown.
Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
This was a great meal and my men loved it, the next time I am going to use shredded chicken.
Do you have any quick and easy dinner recipes that you can share?
Hello friends and Happy Fri-Yay! A few weeks ago before the summer heat began to sizzle I made Fajitas with Perdue Chicken Breasts. This easy breezy recipe was not only fun to make but filling enough for hubby and my mini men.
The ingredients used are staples that I normally have in the pantry and refrigerator because Mexican food is quite popular in our home.
I also like to keep packages of frozen peppers and onions because they are perfect for recipes such as this as well as add-in’s for Crock Pot meals. I used a mixture of both fresh and frozen onions for the Fajitas.
DIRECTIONS:
Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken strips, stir and cook for 3 minutes or until lightly browned.
Remove chicken from skillet and add remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet. Add onion and peppers; cook and stir 3 to 5 minutes. Return chicken to skillet, add water and Seasoning Mix; cook and stir 3 minutes or until heated through.
Spoon chicken/onions/peppers onto warm tortillas, add any options, if desired.
What is your favorite chicken dish?
To become a member of The Perdue Crew and receive more delicious recipes, chances to win prizes and money saving coupons click on the pic!
Sitting here at the kitchen table, cutting out coupons and watching the rain fall I decided to fire up the iPad and read my emails (multi-tasking to the max). After reading a new comment from Kirsten Womack I decided to repost the Kale and Black Eye Pea Soup recipe as a twist on my traditional New Year’s Eve dinner.
The cooking and eating of Black Eye Peas and Collard Greens is a New Year’s Day tradition deeply rooted in the African American culture. I have for many years always had a big pot of Black Eye Peas and Collard Greens simmering on the stove top while chicken wings were being deep fried on the side. It’s tradition to eat a little of each immediately after kneeling in prayer on New Years Eve for good luck and prosperity heading forward.
This year will be no exception, however, I may use the Crock Pot to cook them both together not only for the added luck but because it will make for an easier clean up.
We also send one of our sons outside with money in his pocket and then have him be the first to walk through the front door. This is not an African American tradition it’s just something fun to do!
What are your New Year’s Eve Traditions?
REPOST from 12/13/13
Today’s Friday Foodie Feature is Kale & Black Eye Pea Soup
Sunday I purchased a container of CutnClean Kale from Safeway to be used in my salads for the week. However, after hearing the weather forecast for more snow I decided to use it to make a Crock Pot soup with Black Eye Peas.
In the winter, my grandmother used to make the best homemade vegetable soups using ingredients she already had in the refrigerator, freezer or pantry. So in keeping with tradition I used some leftover celery stalks, an onion, garlic, carrots and Bouillon cubes to make this soup.
Ingredients:
Dry Black Eye Peas – 1/2 bag
Kale – 1/2 package
Celery – diced
Carrots – diced
Onion – diced
Garlic – diced
Bouillon Cubes (2)
Water
Olive Oil
Black Pepper
Smoked Turkey Necks (optional)
Mama Midget (yes that was her name), never used measuring cups or spoons so neither do I especially when using the Crock Pot. I just throw in what I have or think is enough.
Rinse and drain 1/2 bag of dry Black Eye peas
Add 2 Bouillon Cubes to 3 cups of hot water
Pour Olive Oil into Crock Pot just enough to cover bottom
Chop onion, garlic, carrots and celery and add to Crock Pot
Add Kale and sprinkle with Black Pepper
Pour in Bouillon Stock, adding more water to cover all ingredients if necessary
Stir and if desired add Smoked Turkey Legs or Necks
Cover and cook on low 8 hour, high 4 hours – depending on Crock Pot model. Don’t forget to make some Skillet Corn Bread!
What happens when it’s Friday night and you don’t feel like cooking, ordering pizza or going out and a bowl of cereal just won’t cut it? In our house when that happens we head straight to the garage and to the freezer. There is where I try to keep microwavable meals and snacks specifically for those occasions and last Friday night it was Lean Pockets Pretzel Bread Sandwiches.
I am not a big proponent of frozen meals & snacks because of the excessive sodium some of them contain but these Lean Pockets brand sandwiches are only 250 calories with 650 mg of sodium which isn’t a lot compared to others that contain well over 1000 mg of sodium.
The Lean Pockets Sandwiches were filled with Spinach and 3 Cheeses, Fontina, Romano and reduced Fat Mozzarella. I zapped one in the microwave for 2 minutes 30 seconds in the crisping sleeve then cut it in half. It didn’t seem like it had a lot of filling and could have had more spinach, but to my surprise it was quite good and hit the spot. The soft pretzel bread encased a flavorful mix of spinach and cheeses that paired well with my glass of Friday night wine!
Speaking of wine, I want to reintroduce my “play cousin” Cook E doe Face. She is a down to earth YouTube Vlogger who will have you in stitches as you watch her create some delicious dishes and “knock you on your butt cocktails”.
Cook E de Face is from Philly and I fell in love with her atty-tud (Philly slang) from the very first video I watched. In today’s world it is so easy to get caught up in the negativity but you know me, I like to keep it light. Cook E doe Face has me laughing out loud and reminds me of my own New York cousins. If it were left up to me she would definitely have a show on the Food or OWN Network!
 "Lean Pocket Sandwich in Crisping Sleeve")
 "Lean Pocket out of the microwave")
