A-1 and Dijon Steak CrockPot Recipe

Day 141.

Sometimes the easiest recipes taste the best. Which can be kind of a bummer when you put in a lot of time and effort chopping, mixing, and tasting.

oh well.

This tastes good. This tastes really good.

That pretty much sums it up.

The Ingredients.

--4-6 steaks, or a hunk of tri-tip you cut into 4-6 steaks because the internet doesn't know what tri-tip is (insert winks and smiles)

--2 T A-1 sauce

--2 T dijon mustard

--1/4 cup white wine

The Directions.

--combine the A-1 steak sauce and the dijon mustard in a little bowl

--paint the sauce mixture on all sides of each piece of meat

--place the meat into your crockpot

--pour in the 1/4 cup of white wine

cook on low for 6-8 hours.

serve with potatoes or rice or french fries or vegetables or something that you normally want to eat with steak.

The Verdict.

This couldn't have been any easier, and it tasted marvelous. The kids ate their servings eagerly. We had rice pilaf as a side dish, and poured the remaining sauce over the top. It was divine.

CrockPot Pineapple Chicken Recipe

Day 140.

This is a very simple dish--and chances are you have all four ingredients already! The sweetness of the pineapple works great with the salt from the soy sauce and the touch of spice from red pepper flakes.

The Ingredients.

--enough chicken for 4

--20 oz can of pineapple chunks

--1/4 cup soy sauce (Tamari wheat free or La Choy are gluten free)

--1 t red pepper flakes

The Directions.

plop the chicken into the crockpot. I used frozen breast tenders. Drain the pineapple, and add the chunks with the soy sauce and the red pepper flakes.

cook on low for 4-6 hours, or on high for 3-4.

The cooking time will depend on how thick your pieces of chicken are, and if they are frozen or not.

My frozen breast tenders only needed to cook on low for 4 hours.

Serve over rice, quinoa, or on a bed of fresh spinach.

The Verdict.

We ate this over spinach and ate outside. It was a hot evening, and we were in swimsuits. The kids had a ball feeding the guinea pigs any spinach that fell to the ground. I liked the flavor a lot, and the kids ate the chicken and picked at the pineapple. I did open a fresh can for them, though. Eating hot pineapple weirded them out. I added more red pepper flakes to my dish, and I can't remember what Adam did.

Our chicken was dry. I'm always a touch disappointed when I use the frozen breast tenders after using thighs for a while. The breast pieces just don't retain moisture the way the thighs do. I don't seem to remember this while I'm at the store, though.

CrockPot Mahi Mahi With Asparagus, Broccoli, and Spinach

Day 139.

It's been hot here. It's been hotter, but we are definitely having a mini heat-wave. The heat doesn't bother me too awful much at home, but it does when I'm out in the car or running errands.

Adam also just signed us up to run a half-marathon this summer. Which means I've got to go back to eating mostly light and lean foods for the next eight weeks or so.

Except for the days off.

Because I'm totally planning for those!

I had a long run planned last week, and I knew it was going to be hot. When it's hot, I'm not interested in eating too awful much, but knew I needed some protein.

After digging through the freezer, I found a neglected package of frozen mahi mahi with some sort of lemon-pepper marinade.

I had it for lunch with a bunch of fresh veggies; it hit the spot, it didn't heat or stink up the house, and I had enough good-for-me-food floating around inside to go for a proper run.

The Ingredients.

--16 of mahi mahi or other favorite fish

--> ours was seasoned already. If you have unflavored fish, rub with some olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, chili flakes, or other seasoning blend that you really enjoy.

--fresh somewhat-soft vegetables. I use broccoli, asparagus, and spinach.

--a touch of water, or lemon juice (about 2T)

The Directions.

Wash all your veggies, and put damp into the crockpot. Top with your fish. I squeezed the marinade out of the fish, because it seemed awfully oily.

I added 2T of water to the crockpot and cooked on LOW for approximately 2-3 hours. Mahi Mahi is pretty thick; if you are using thinner fish (such as tilapia) check after 90 minutes.

The Verdict.

I was very happy that I made this and ate it for lunch. I sort of forget about lunch a lot, and grab whatever is lying around, or pick at leftovers. I've also noticed the kids are more inclined to try new foods in the middle of the day, before the 4 o'clock crankies hit. My three-year-old ate this with me, and my six-year-old had it as an after school snack. The stars must have been in proper alignment or something, because there wasn't any fuss about having fish and vegetables as a snack.

I don't expect a repeat of that performance any time soon, but I am happy that it occurred!

CrockPot Lamb Vindaloo Recipe

Day 138.

Have I mentioned how much I like Indian food? I love the depths of the flavors, the different spice combinations, the lean meat, and the heat.

I have really been liking spicy things lately.

When we reach for a menu from the take-out menu drawer (that's not weird to have a whole drawer devoted to take-out menus, is it?) we pretty much always go for the Indian place that we have on speed dial in the cell phone and who nicely have stored the credit card number.

Because I've found when you want food, you don't want to have to dig around for the credit card number. You want to sit on the couch and watch the cake decorating competition on Food Network (again) and have food brought to you.

or! You could put on a huge ol' pot of lamb vindaloo in the morning before swim lessons, before the birthday parties, before the Home Depot trip, before the IKEA run, and before you're tired and cranky and don't want to do anything except for becoming one with the couch.

The Ingredients.

--3 lbs boneless leg of lamb (unless you can find lamb stew meat)

--2 T dried minced onion (or 1 medium yellow onion, minced)

--6 cloves of minced garlic

--1/2 t clove

--1 t ginger

--1/2 t red pepper

--1 T ground coriander

--1 T cumin

--1 t cinnamon

--1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

optional:

--1 can tomatoes

--2 chopped potatoes

The Directions.

I opted to throw in tomatoes and the potatoes to create a bit more of a vindaloo stew. And didn't make any other sides, other than having corn tortillas available for scoopers.

--carefully trim the lamb, and cut into stew-meat sized chunks

--toss in your crock with all of the dry spices and onion

let it sit overnight in the fridge. This could be optional, but having the meat soak up the spice flavor is a part of making a really good vindaloo.

In the morning, put your crock on the counter and let it warm up a bit. It's never a good idea to put a freezing cold piece of stoneware directly into the heating element. Because your stoneware might crack.

And then you will email me. And I will feel sad.

Ad the 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar. Toss in the potatoes and the can of tomatoes, if you are using them.

* If you are NOT using the tomatoes, add 1/2 cup of water. *

Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

The Verdict.

Very tasty! There wasn't quite enough spice for me. I think I'm going to be brave and put in a whole teaspoon of the red cayenne pepper next time. Or maybe 3/4 of a teaspoon.

The kids mostly ate the corn tortillas we had as dippers, but did pick a bit at the meat. If the meat is separated from the sauce and cut up, there isn't much of a kick at all.

Adam and I ate it for lunch the next few days in a row, and found that the flavors were intensified the subsequent days.

very yummy; and this dish hasn't any heavy cream, which is good, so then I can eat more sweets!

CrockPot Apple Dumpling Recipe

Day 137.

This is why I need the free Wii.

Holy toledo, these puppies are yummy. I found the recipe eons ago on the Pioneer Woman Cooks website, and bookmarked them for some reason in my gluten-free folder. I have no idea why, except for maybe at the time I wanted to try and attempt them gluten-free.

I then promptly forgot all about trying to tweak the recipe.

It's been a hundred million degrees here the last few days, and sweating buckets makes me feel like a-little-something sweet. So I dug through the cubbards and fridge and found a way to make them. Gluten free. In the crockpot.

And they rock.

The Ingredients.

--2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls.

* Unless you are gluten free. If you are gluten free, use this recipe. I followed it to the letter except that I doubled it, used Pamela's, and used sour cream instead of cottage cheese. It is a delicious, moist, yummy dough that is perfect for so many things; I am positively giddy to have found it! (psst. chill your dough for at least 2 hours!) *

--2 granny smith apples

--1 stick of butter

--1 cup white sugar

--1 t vanilla

--1 t cinnamon

--1 cup Mountain Dew

The Directions.

Spray your crock insert with cooking spray.

If you are using the crescent rolls, roll out the little triangles and fill each one with an apple slice or two and roll it up.

If you are using the GF dough, do the same thing, but realize that it will be a bit lumpy and not quite as thin. It's okay. This dough recipe is beyond fantastic. Seriously.

Pile the crockpot high with all of your little dumpling guys.

Melt the stick of butter in the microwave, and stir in the cup of sugar, and the cinnamon and vanilla. Pour over the dumplings, making sure to get down in the nooks and crannies.

Then add 1 cup of Mountain Dew, the same way---pour it over the top. It will make a delightful bubbly sound!

Prop lid open with a wooden spoon or chopstick and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or until the dough is brown and cooked through.

The Verdict.

Delicious, moist, and gooey. They were very, very sweet. The kids (those nutty kids) couldn't eat their whole serving because of how sweet they were.

Adam and I didn't seem to have that problem.

I liked them even better the next morning cold.

Have I mentioned how beyond stoked I am to have this basic gluten-free dough recipe that I can fool around with? I'm thinking overnight pull-apart rolls, cinnamon buns, crescent rolls for Thanksgiving...

eek! I'm so excited!

OH! and I haven't had Mountain Dew in years. I couldn't waste the bottle, so I finished it. LOL, I was instant-messaging with Laura and was so hopped up on caffeine and sugar I could hardly type.

CrockPot Garlic Baked Potatoes

Day 136.

Happy Slow Cooking Thursday! Grab yourself a cup of coffee and go visit Sandra's blog and read all of the other slow-cooking contributions.

These potatoes are so easy, and are so wonderful. All it is is a big baked potato with garlic shoved in it. They are a snap to make, and if you can find fresh garlic already peeled in a bag, all the better.

The Ingredients.

--4 big brown potatoes

--2 T melted butter

--2 T olive oil

--salt and pepper

--8 or so garlic cloves

The Directions.

Peel the garlic and cut it into long slivers.

Wash your potatoes, and pat dry. Carefully cut slits into each potato about 1/2 inch thick almost do the very base. The potato should start to separate a bit like an accordion.

Shove as many garlic slices as you can in each slit of each potato.

Nestle the potatoes into your crockpot. I used an oval 6qt Smart Pot, and the potatoes didn't fit all the way down to the bottom, they kind of were halfway on each other. It doesn't seem to matter.

Liberally salt and pepper. Combine the melted butter with the olive oil and drizzle over the top of each potato, trying to get some in the garlic-filled slits, if you can.

Cover and cook on high for 2-4 hours or on low for about 6. They are done when the potatoes reach desired tenderness.

Top with sour cream.

The Verdict.

This is a beautiful side dish to any meat dish, or a wonderful lunch all on it's own. The potatoes were not too wet or slimy as I feared, and the garlic roasted perfectly in the slits.

The kids ate the sour cream off of theirs, and maybe tried the potato. I wasn't watching them too carefully.

All in all, I would definitely make these again.

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You can WIN a FREE Wii

which is just so much fun to say, so I think you should click on over and enter. Jenny is holding a contest to win a free wii fit which we all are going to need because I made these apple dumpling thingies that called for way too much sugar and way too much butter that I'm going to post tomorrow.

and don't forget to visit Sandra!

CrockPot Fried Chicken Recipe

Day 135.

My friend LuAnn has this awesome oven-fried chicken recipe that she makes to bring to picnics. I vividly remember standing at a picnic bench shoveling little chicken drumettes and wings in my mouth--and not caring who was watching-- at a first birthday party.

They were so very good.

I was so excited when I finally got the recipe, and was eager to test it out on my own.

It has MSG in it.

I just can't do it. I can't knowingly put MSG in something. Which sucks, because man, those drumsticks were the best.

I tried to create my own version (minus the MSG) over the weekend. They were good, but not as good.

The Ingredients.

--18 thawed drumsticks (or however many will fit nicely into your crockpot)

--1/4 cup butter

--1/4 cup flour (I used Pamela's)

--2 t seasoned salt

--1 T Italian seasoning

--1 t onion powder

-- 1 t paprika

--1/2 t black pepper

The Directions.

--combine all the spices and the flour in a freezer bag or in a shallow dish. Dredge each chicken piece well, and plop into your crockpot. I used the shallow dish method, because we were out of freezer bags.

--when all the chicken is in the crock, pour 1/4 cup of melted butter over it.

--cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 8-10.

The Verdict.

They needed more salt. I am such a chicken (ha! chicken! so didn't plan that...) when it comes to salting food. I used 2t of seasoned salt, but I probably could have used a whole tablespoon. And maybe some more onion powder.

The pieces of chicken on top and near the sides of the crock got a bit crispy, which was a nice surprise. We've all been munching on the drumsticks for lunch the past few days. I like them better cold, the kids like it heated and chopped up with barbecue sauce.