Hamburger Stew

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced celery
3 c. water
3 medium carrots, peeled & slices
3 medium potatoes, peeled & diced
1 cup chopped cabbage (optional)
28 oz. can tomatoes
1/3 cup barley
1 beef bouillon cube
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. basil
1 16 oz. can great northern beans (any white or red bean will work) (I didn't drain them but added juice with beans)
Brown ground beef. Add onion & celery and cook until soft. Add remaining ingredients & simmer until barley is tender about 45 min.

I made this tonight & it is so delicious. I'm going to make a big batch & freeze it in small containers for lunches. Only about 150 calories per cup. I only used 1/2 lb of ground beef and it was good. You could use small macaroni, rice or other grains in place of barley. I added the beans, cabbage & barley to the recipe so you can change things up depending on what you have.
Also would be good in a crock pot.

Crockpot Chicken Burritos

Ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts
2 cups salsa
2 cans beans, any kind

Drain and rinse beans. Place chicken, salsa, and beans in crockpot and cook for 5-6 hours. Shred chicken and return to crockpot. Cook another hour. Serve in warm tortillas with cheese, sour cream, more salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.

This is super easy, and pretty good too. It doesn't really taste too salsa-ish, which surprised me. My kids both liked it.

Caribbean Sweet Potato and Bean Stew

This one is really good! It's super easy. If you're feeding more than 3 boys aged 22, then double the recipe. It served a perfect amount for the three of us!

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (1 inch cubes)
2 cups cut green beans
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz.) vegetable or chicken broth
1 small onion, sliced
2 tsp. Caribbean jerk seasoning
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 cup slivered almonds (optional)

Put it all in the crock pop (except almonds) and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Garnish with almonds. Easy as that!

French Dip Sandwiches

We love this recipie at our house and have it often! It's easy and fast and makes the house smell sooo good!

SERVINGS: 8
CATEGORY: Sandwich
METHOD: Slow Cooker
TIME: Prep: 15 min. Cook: 5 hours

Ingredients:
1 beef chuck roast (3 pounds), trimmed
2 cups water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf
3 to 4 whole peppercorns
8 French rolls, split

Directions:

Place trimmed roast in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Add the water, soy sauce and seasonings. Cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours or until beef is tender. Remove meat from broth; shred with forks and keep warm. Strain broth; skim of fat. (If you trim it you shouldn't have to do this.) Pour broth into small cups for dipping. Serve beef on rolls.

Yield: 8 servings.

Pork Carnitas

This is a family favorite! And it's nice for when the missionaries come over because it's easy and makes quite a bit! I also have quite recently discovered it tastes great with Dean's Creamy Tomatillo Dip that's listed on this blog under Appetizers. (The leftover meat and sauce are also great in scrambled eggs!!)

One quick note: The recipe calls for red wine vinegar - last night I used half balsamic vinegar and half beef broth and it turned out about the same.

Ingredients:

3 lb. pork loin roast
2 to 3 cups red wine vinegar (enough to cover meat)
3 to 4 Tblsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 cup minced onion
Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Combine vinegar, red pepper, onion and spices for marinade. Cover meat and marinate overnight. Next day, discard marinade and roast meat at 350 until tender or in a slow cooker. (I actually find that if I cook the meat with about a 1/2 - 1 cup of marinade, there are enough drippings for the green chile gravy!) (If you want to add a little heat, add a few red pepper flakes to the meat the last hour or so of cooking.) Serve with fried potatoes, tortillas, green chile gravy, spanish rice, tomatillo dip, tomatoes, cheese, or whatever else sounds good.

Green Chile Gravy

Warm meat drippings on stove. Add onion to taste and flour to thicken (I'm sure you could use corn starch too.) Stir in 1 can diced green chilies. Simmer until thick. (You could also use 1 cup chicken bullion if there are not enough drippings.)

My Favorite Chili

I mix up all the ingredients the night before. Then I put it in my crock-pot first thing in the morning. The flavors mix better that way. If you want it hotter, add more red pepper. I have cut back the amount listed on the recipe because I have kids who won't eat it hot.

2 lb beef, cooked
1 46oz can tomato juice
1 29oz can tomato sauce
2 15oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 15oz cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (red pepper)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup brown sugar

Combine all ingredients and let cook in crock-pot on low for 8-10 hours.

Dean's "Step Aside, Relief Society" Spaghetti Sauce

I realize that everyone has their own recipes for this, but this is one I sorta made up on the spot today, and it worked great. To celebrate my triumph, I decided to blog it.

2 - 6 oz. cans tomato paste
2 - 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1- green bell pepper, chopped
1 - white onion, chopped
3 - cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 - 6 oz. cans sliced black olives, undrained
1 - 8 oz. can mushrooms, undrained
1 - tbsp. basil
1 - tbsp. oregano
1 - tbsp. thyme
1 - tsp. crushed red pepper
1 - cup water
1 - tsp. salt

Put all ingredients in crock pot and simmer on high for about 4 hours. I spend about the last 20 minutes without the lid on the crock pot. Serve over noodles.

Sweet Pork for Burritos

Okay, I know that this one didn't go over too well over the summer, but I think I made a couple worthwhile improvements that turned out great! (Anyway, the Elders and Sisters liked it. But since they like everything, my roommates and Nancy also liked it.) Goes great with the creamy tomatillo dip!

3 lb. Pork Roast

16 oz. salsa

12 oz. NON-diet cola

2 cups brown sugar

1 packet taco seasoning

6 oz. can green chilies

Okay, so here's the gist. Put the thawed pork roast in the crock pot and cover with water. Cook on high for 5 hours. (I like to salt the water a little. It cooks hotter and adds a little more flavor.) Drain the water after 5 hours. Cut pork into smaller pieces. (I find just chopping with a plastic spoon works great.) Puree salsa (I like to do a little more). Add cola and brown sugar. Mix and pour over roast. Cook on high another 3 hours. During the last hour, add green chiles and taco seasoning. (I want to experiment with also adding onions and bell peppers.) Shred with a fork and serve on burritos.

Stroganoff

This is actually Uncle Cliff's recipe but one of my families favorites. It works great in a cock-pot or stove. And it makes the whole house smell so yummy!!

Brown 1-1 1/2 lbs. stew meat with chopped onion. Season with:
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. basil
2 beef bouillon cubes
Simmer with 1-2 cups water for several hours until tender. Mix 1 can cream of mushroom soup and 1 cup sour cream into mixture. Heat but don't boil. Serve over rice or noodles.