Crockpot Rancho-Taco Chichen

Delish....

Y'all heard me say this before; this is one of my go recipes! No lie...I cook this just about every other week. I kick off my Sunday routine starting this in the crock pot. I usually start this right after breakfast and cook it slow. My sister introduced me to this recipe. I can't remember the original recipe name but I believe she came across it on Pin.  So I dubbed it the Crock Rancho-Taco chicken.

We eat it through the week; I make tacos with it. This recipe can be done in so many different ways. I've used the tortilla boats (find these at wally-world) and top it with black beans, tomatoes and cheese. Then bake them till cheese is golden. I do this with left overs because it's perfect for lunch.

Crock Rancho-Taco Chicken

• 1.5-2 lb. Chicken thighs (Chicken breasts are good too!)
• 1 pkg Fiesta Ranch season mix - fyi..most times I use regular Ranch season.
• 1 pkg taco season mix
• 1/2 C chicken broth

Place chicken in crock pot; single layer.

Sprinkle Ranch and Taco seasoning over chicken.

Pour chicken broth over. Cover and cook in crock pot on low for 6 hours of high for 3-4 hours. Pull apart and cook on low for a little bit longer; 1/2 hour. I like to pull it and let it cook low and slow while I start the rest of the dinner.

Here is a variation of this recipe I used the next day;

• Rancho-Taco Chicken
• 2 pkg Crescent Rolls
• Colby Jack cheese
• 1 egg

Heat oven to 350. Separate crescent rolls and place a spoon full of the chicken in the center of the dough.

Sprinkle with cheese. Place another crescent roll on top and seal with a fork.

Brush with egg and sprinkle with more cheese. Cook for 12-15 minutes, till golden brown. Its a wonderful thing!

Simple Man's Venison Dinner

Another favorite in our kitchen is a simple dish. It can be the go to meal during the week. We also do this when we camp. I have so many variations of recipes for Venison that I am trying to get together for this blog. I hope you enjoy them.

This recipe can be changed in so many ways to suit your taste. Sometime I use a soy sauce, honey marinade or a spice run marinade like, garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned meat tenderizer and salt & pepper with a little olive oil to coat. But by far the below marinade is our favorite. Again so versatile and good on really any meat. This is my main venison marinade or choice.

Simple Stir-Fry Venison Meal

• 1 C Zesty Italian Dressing 
• 1 T garlic powder
• 1 T onion powder
• 2 T Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 T Red Pepper flakes (add more for a meal with a kick)
• 1 LB Venison Stew cut meat
• 1-2 green peppers 
• 1 yellow onion

Mix all ingredients Italian dressing, garlic, onion, Worcestershire and red pepper flakes together in a small bowl. 

Pour over venison in a zip lock bag and marinade for a couple of hours or over night. 

Slice your onion and green peppers. Over medium-high heat, saute the green peppers and onion until slightly tender. Add the venison and continue to cook until med rare. About 10 min. This is great over rice or egg noodles. Enjoy! 

Rice Krispies with a Twist!!

Who doesn't love Rice Krispy treats! During the Holidays my house sings snap, crackle and pop constantly.

I make these gooey little treats through out the year for birthdays, Easter, Christmas, and any time I need a marshmallow fix. I like any kind but my favorite are the treats made with a added ingredients. The most popular in my house is this recipe. My secret ingredient is;

Yep, Luck Charms marshmallows! The added marshmallow makes this treat so good! The marshmallows don't melt and are perfect for a little extra sweetness! You may be asking, do you really pick the marshmallows out of the cereal??

Yes I do, These treats are the best when you use the Lucky Charms cereal marshmallows. I have used these marshmallows in the past. It's something about the size and quantity of the mallows you get from a box of Lucky Charms that make them the best!

Drizzle some chocolate or make pops out of them; they are so versatile. I hope you enjoy this recipe and will have some more goodies top post as we move closer to the Holidays.

Rice Krispy Treats with a Twist

• 6 cups of Rice Krispies
• 1 bag of regular marshmallows or 6 cups of mini marshmallows
• 3 T of better
• 1 t of vanilla extract
• The Marshmallows from 1 box of Lucky Charms cereal (if you use the cereal mallows mentioned in the link above then use 2 C)

Melt butter in a sauce pan over low heat. Add the marshmallows and continue to melt over low heat. Line a 9x13 pan with wax paper and spray with oil; set aside. 

Once melted, pull from heat and add vanilla and rice krispies and mix well. 

Then add the Lucky Charms mallows and mix well. 

Move mixture to the greased 9x13 pan. spread and let cool completely. 

Once cooled you can pull the formed krispies out of the pan, paper and all. Lay on a flat surface and cut into pieces using a bread knife. I find this knife gives you the cleanest cut. Any other knife and the gooey krispies will end up sticking to the knife. Enjoy!

Fall Harvest Chex mix

Our favorite time of year is here! Cooler temperatures, Halloween, Turkey and the big guy dressed in red! Even with the loss of an hour of day light we still enjoy the outdoors the most. Summer time takes us to the water and the fall time takes us to the farm. Check out my other blog; Just me to see how our Halloween was. Anyway, digressing there....

Holiday season seems to start earlier and earlier every year, or the years just go by faster and faster. Starting with Halloween, we love to spook out the house and get ready to scare the kiddies, I also love making lots of sweets. They are easy to do and I always have something to take to a party or to pull out for our weekend bonfires. This chex mix is a good mix of sweet and salty.

The recipe makes 3-4 gallon size zip bags! Please comment and tell me what your favorite Chex mix is. I love seeing all the different varieties and getting great ideas for my next batch!

Sweet & Salty Chex mix

• 1 box Honey Nut Chex
• Any type of nut; I used sliced Almonds for this batch
• Stick pretzels
• Chocolate M&Ms
• Chocolate covers raisins
• White Candy coating 

Start by mixing the dry ingredients. I used 2 really big bowls.

You will need a large surface to lay out the chex mix to dry. I have a flat surface oven so I lay out parchment paper to cover the stove.

Heat up the candy coating per the directions on the package. The coasting I used took approximately 3 min. to heat in the microwave.

Once fully melted, evenly divide the coating between the 2 bowls and coat well. Then pour out over your surface for drying. The mix will be completely dry in 1/2 hour. Then break apart and store in air tight containers. I use gallon size zip bags for my storing,  

Drip Beef!

First off; Sorry for the delay in posting. It has been a busy month. We are enjoying the cooler weather and outside on the farm more. This means i can create more crock pot meals so that i can spend more time outside enjoying nature. I have lots to post to my other blog, Just Me so check it out.

This is a favorite from one of my favorite bloggers and Food Network personalities, Ree Drummond. I found this recipe on her blog, The Pioneer Woman  and have made it multiple times for my family. The recipe is here.

As the weather gets cooler I start using my crock pot more. This is a recipe with a short list of ingredients. It is so easy to put together, you throw all the ingredients in  the crock and forget about it for 6-8 hours. I love the way it smells through the house.

You can put this beef on just about anything you like. I love as a sandwich; add some provolone cheese. Use the dripping from the crock pot as a dipper..mmm..mmm good! I decided this Sunday I would make some of my home made mac & cheese and some Texas toast to finish off this dish. Below are both recipes for your enjoyment.

 Drip Beef

• 2-3lb. Chuck Roast 
• 1 Can of beef consomme OR beef broth
• 1 jar of pepperoncinis
• 2-3TB Italian Seasonings
• Water

Putting this together is not really a exact science. I might use a little more or less of each ingredient. It just depends on the size of the Chuck roast I find. Most cases I use a 3lb chuck; which fits very nicely in my crock. 

Put your chuck in the crock then pour the consomme or broth over the meat. Next add some water. I fill the can about 1/2 way and pour over the beef. Then add half the jar of pepperoncinis and then sprinkle with the Italian seasons. 

Cook on low for 6-8 hours. You'll know when it is done, it will pull apart easily and the stems of the pepperoncinis will fall off the pepper. This alone is delicious! Put on rice or make tacos with it. YUM!

This Sunday I decided to go overboard; just a little and serve it on home made Mac & Cheese and Texas toast. Well, not really Texas toast. I took a loaf of Italian bread and sliced it thick like Texas toast and toasted it in the over with some butter and garlic seasons. 

My Mac & Cheese

• 2 1/2 cups of uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t of pepper
• 3 cup milk 
• 5 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese - divided
• 2 Tb of Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 paprika

Preheat the oven to 350 and cook the pasta according to package directions.

In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until thickened.

Reduce heat. Stir in 3 cups cheese and Worcestershire sauce until cheese is melted.

Drain macaroni; stir into sauce. Transfer to a greased 10-in. ovenproof skillet. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes. Top with remaining cheese; sprinkle with paprika. Bake until bubbly and cheese is melted, 5-10 minutes.  This recipe makes enough to feed 8 easily. 

Old Family Favorite

Sausage & Cheese English Muffins

This is a old time favorite in my house. My husband grew up eating these little breakfast muffins and now I am addicted to them. They are so easy to make and freeze very well.

I make them often just to have on hand during the week and are excellent for vacations. If you are like me, I like to make as much prior to a vacation so I don't have to put much thought into the cooking and preparation and can enjoy my family R & R.

This recipe is so simple and only has 5 steps to prepare. On Sundays I make these for the coming week and it takes about 20 minutes to cook, prep and then freeze. The below recipe will make 12 sausage muffins. You can use 2lb of sausage and 1 large Velveeta cheese block to double it.

1 lb Pork Sausage
1 small block of Velveeta Original Cheese
1 package of English muffins
1/2 tsp of garlic powder

Cook the poke sausage in a saute pan, then drain. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Cut the Velveeta cheese into cubes and then add to drained sausage and mix till melted
Cut the English muffins in half and place on a baking sheet
Spoon the sausage and cheese mixture evenly over each muffin
Bake for 10 minutes.

You can dive right in and eat a few or let them cool completely before you put them in the freezer. Once frozen, put them in a zip bag for storage and enjoy through the week!

When you need a morning snack, grab one and put it in the microwave for about 40 seconds and enjoy.

Stawberries!!

 

Who doesn't love strawberries? We look forward to picking them every year. Living in the South they are always sweet and juicy!
 
I make strawberry salads, salsa and eat them as they are. My daughter can hardly to wait till we get home from the local farm before she wants to snack on them. My favorite use for strawberries is in salads. They add a just enough sweetness and texture to spice up a salad. In our house salads are with almost every meal. Here is a quick and easy salad I do with strawberries.

• Use any type of salad; I used a spring mix.
• Chop up some strawberries
• Throw in some gorgonzola cheese; any type of crumbly cheese will work. I have used blue cheese crumbles, feta and goat but my favorite is gorgonzola
• Pecans or almonds. The Honey glazed pecans are awesome! I can find them at my Walmart by the nut section in the produce isle.
• I use a strawberry vinaigrette to lightly coat. Any balsamic dressing would work. Enjoy! 

This year I have been seeing dehydrated strawberry recipes all over Pinterest so I decided to take a try at it. I have a dehydrator; serval to say the least but I mainly use them for Venison. I decided to do something different, I used a recipe that called for oven dehydrating at 210 degrees for 4 hours. They are a nice healthy treat; not too chewy or to dry.
 
First you start with a fresh picked strawberries from the garden or from the grocery. Slice them about 1/4 inch; I used a egg slicer to cut mine to make sure I got them all the same size.
 

 

Line your baking sheets with parchment paper and lay the strawberries in a single layer.

 

 

Place them in the over set at 210 degrees for 4 hours. Vent to oven by leaving the door open enough to allow the moisture to escape and turn on your hood fan.
 
I checked my strawberries every hour; you'll want to watch them and you might need to cook them longer than 4 hrs depending on your over and location.
 
This is the strawberries at the halfway mark; 2 hours.
 

 

Once they are dry pull them from the oven and let them cool completely before you store them. I used a mason jar but they can be stored in a Tupperware or zip back. I keep mine in the pantry where there is not too much light. We eat them within a day or so but I would guess they would hold for a week or so if you can make them last that long. :)