Chili Cheese Coney Anyone?

There's nothing original or special about this recipe, if it can even be considered a recipe, but...I wanted to share it because I get such complements on the chili and kids absolutely love this dish. It's great for a quick weeknight meal.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1-14 1/2 oz. tomato sauce
14 1/2 oz. water
2-14 1/2 oz. can Bush Chili Beans
1 pkg. McCormick brand Chili seasoning mix
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Ball Park Beef Franks
Buns

Directions:
1) Brown ground beef in large skillet on med-high heat. Drain fat.
2) In large pot, stir in tomato sauce, water, chili beans, seasoning mix, and ground beef. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer for at least 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3) Heat 1-2 hotdogs in microwave for 30 seconds.
4) Add chili and cheese to hotdogs to taste.

Slow Cooker Heaven

Another slow cooker success, if I say so myself. If you want to be worshipped by your family and your co-workers (it's a potluck winner) and you want time to post to your blogs, this is the recipe for you. Everytime we have potluck at work, my co-workers request this dish. It's easy and delicious.

Ingredients:

5 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 1 tsp. ground black pepper

1-9x9 inch pan cornbread, cooled and crumbled

2 tsp. dried sage

8 slices day-old bread, torn into small pieces

2-14.5 oz cans chicken broth

4 eggs, beaten

2-10.75 oz cans condensed cream of chicken

1 tsp. salt soup

2 tbs margarine

Directions:

1) Place chicken in a pot with water to cover, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Cool, and cut into pieces. ( or use leftover chicken from another meal)

2) In a slow cooker, stir together chicken, cornbread, bread, eggs, salt, pepper, sage, chicken broth, and chicken soup. Stir until well blended. Dot with margarine.

3) Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. Remove lid and fluff with fork. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

This recipe was adapted from http://www.allrecipes.com/, submitted by Mindy McCoy.

Taco Chicken Nuggets

You know I am always looking for great dinners that are quick and easy for a weeknight meal. I found this recipe on http://www.recipezaar.com/ submitted by Junebug. This one was a winner. The taco seasoning and picante sauce added great flavor and the chicken was very moist.

Ingredients:

1 c. breadcrumbs

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 egg

2 tbs. melted butter

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into nuggets

picante sauce

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 375 degrees

2) Mix breadcrumbs, taco seasoning, and butter

3) Dip nuggets into egg, then into crumb mixture, coating evenly

4) Place on an ungreased cookie sheet ( I used a baking stone) and bake 15-20 minutes, until

chicken is done and coating is crisp.

5) Serve with picante sauce

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

You can't beat this dish. I know, everyone has a favorite way to make pot roast. But, this one is so easy and delicious, I couldn't help but post. This morning, I added the ingredients to the slow cooker, went to work, and this evening walked in the door to dinner. It could not be simpler. The pot roast is fork tender and the potatoes and carrots are tender and delicious.

This time, I added the potatoes first, in a layer on the bottom of crock, then placed the roast on top. I loved the way the potatoes turned out this time. They weren't as brown as when they cook on top of the roast and they were very moist.

Ingredients

3-4 lbs. chuck roast
6 Idaho or russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1-1lb. bag baby carrots
salt and pepper, to taste
water, to cover

Directions

Peel and quarter potatoes and add to crock as first layer. Season both sides of roast with salt and pepper, then place on top of potato layer. Next, add carrots and just cover with water.

Cook on low for 8 hours. Enjoy!

Great dinner with little effort!

Pizza Meatball Subs

Yummo, pizza meatball subs. These are always a hit and rarely are there leftovers. They're quick and easy and would be great for dinner or a potluck. Because I have a few who rarely eat sandwiches, I also made spaghetti noodles so that everyone could decide which they wanted, subs or pasta.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 egg
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1-2 tbs ketchup
Salt and pepper, to taste
Dash of Italian seasoning
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4- inch cubes
Spaghetti Sauce
Hoagie rolls, split

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a shallow baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. In a large bowl add ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Mix thoroughly. Shape into 1-inch balls. Push in to the mixture a cube of cheese. Reshape the meatball. Place onto lined baking sheet. Do this until all of the meatballs have been formed. Bake in the oven until browned, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Split hoagie rolls, lengthwise, add 3-4 meatballs, depending on size of roll, cover with a layer of your favorite spaghetti sauce, and enjoy.

If you'd like, you can also use these meatballs in your favorite spaghetti sauce and cover spaghetti noodles.

Source: I adapted the original recipe from http://www.foodtv.com/ (Food Network)

Scramblewiches

I hit the cookbooks the other night looking for a new dinner recipe. I found this one in my Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats. It was an absolute hit with the kids, especially. There were no leftovers! I think Dakota even came back for thirds! I made the recipe as written but I think the next time I will make a few variations on the ingredients. This recipe seems to lend itself to that. My pictures weren't very good but I plan on making it again very soon and I'll add some pics then! This recipe serves four so I doubled it for my family.....:)

Ingredients:
1 Baguette (day-old is fine)
2 tbs unsalted butter
1/2 lb. deli-sliced ham, smoked turkey, pastrami, or corned beef
8 large eggs
A splash of milk
1 tsp hot sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 deli slices of Swiss cheese (halved lengthwise to fit bread), or 8 slices of Cheddar (2 squares per bread), or 6 slices of Provolone cheese (1 1/2 slices per bread, cut to fit)
Chopped fresh chives or flat-leaf parsley, to garnish (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Farenheit.

Crisp the bread in the low oven, split it lengthwise, and hollow it out. Cut each bread in half again, across, making 4 boats. Switch the broiler on.

Heat large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add butter and melt. Add the meat and cook, separating the pieces, for 3 minutes, or until brown at the edges. In a bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Add to the meat and scramble, keeping the eggs a little soft. They will continue to cook in the oven.

Divide the eggs among the bread and cover with the cheese. Melt the cheese under the broiler. Take out as soon as cheese softens and melts. Do not brown or allow cheese to bubble. Garnish and serve.

That being said....I used smoked turkey and cheddar cheese and omited the garnish. I removed the turkey and drained the grease before adding the eggs to the skillet. Then I added the turkey back to the egg mixture and continued. Also, it took quite a while to hollow out 2 baguettes (remember I doubled this recipe) and although the kids liked it, it was pretty crisp. I think that next time, I will use hoagies instead of the baguettes, crisped in the oven. I might even try Velvetta, instead of the cheeses already mentioned in this recipe.

You can try this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!!