Easy Cafe Rio

From Tammy...

3 lbs pork or chicken-cook in crockpot with 1 cup of water in slow cooker for 6 hours. Shred meat then add:

1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 C Kraft Spicy Honey BBQ Sauce
3/4 C Ketchup
1/3 to 1/2 C white sugar

Mix and cook for an additional hour. Serve over romaine lettuce or in a taco shell. Top with your favorite toppings.

Pork Chile Verde

3 lb. Pork Roast

Mrs. Dash hot n spicy seasoning
1 to 2 cans each of cream of chicken, cream of mushroom soup (same amount of water, using the cans)
1 can of stewed tomatoes(diced)
1 jar of chile verde sauce

Sprinkle roast with Mrs. Dash seasoning. Brown roast in a little olive oil in a pan on the stove. Put the roast in the crock pot. Then pour the rest of the ingredients over the roast and cook until meat falls apart. (8-9 hours on low) Shred, use in burrito's with shredded cheese and sour cream. This is super good. I felt like there was a bit much soup mixture. I would do 1 can each next time.

Brown Rice Bowl

This recipe is super healthy, easy and yummo!! Below is a serving for one. Everything in red is what I do to cook it for my whole fam.

½ cup cooked brown rice (6 cups)
2 oz. grilled chicken breast, diced (3 chicken breasts cooked in a little bit of olive oil and seasoned with Real Salt onion flavored)
1/3 cup corn niblets (16 oz. frozen corn heated)
1/3 cup cooked peas (16 oz. frozen peas heated)

Sundrenchers Asain Salad dressing or Teriyaki Sauce

Combine rice with chicken, corn, & peas. Then toss with sauce of choice. It is actually good without the sauce, but I love sundrenchers and it gives it an added asian twist. Sundrenchers is sweetened with agave and everything in it is organic. I have found it at Fresh Market and Good Earth. Add 90 calories for 1 1/2 TBS. to the calories below if you use it for your sauce.

One serving: 318 calories, 25 grams protein, 45 grams carbs, 35 grams fat, 7 grams fiber

Potato Chowder

From Mandy F....

2 can cream of potato soup

1 can corn

1 package sliced ham, diced

Add altogether and simmer for 30 minutes or so. Add salt & pepper and serve.

Oven Roasted Chicken

From Mandy F....

2 Chicken breasts, cut into tenderloin size pieces

10 Carrots stick, cut lengthwise

3 Potatoes, 1 inch cubes

1 packet French onion soup mix

1-2 tbsp oil

Add everything to a large Ziploc bag, or add half and half the seasoning

mix and do in two batches. Spray pan and add to 9x9 pan. Put in oven at

425* for 45 minutes.

BBQ Beef Sandwiches

From Mandy F....

Any kind of left over beef from a roast or cooked steak

BBQ Sauce

Buns or rolls

(So I have to add that my all time favorite BBQ sauce is "Sweet Baby Rays" - Angi)

Easiest Slow Cooker French Dip

From Mandy F....

· 3 pounds beef sirloin roast

· 1 (1 ounce) packet dry au jus mix

· 1 cup water

· 8 (1 ounce) slices provolone cheese

· 8 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise

Place the beef roast into a slow cooker. Stir together the water and au jus mix; pour over the roast. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours. Remove the roast from the slow cooker and shred or slice. Open the hoagie rolls and top with beef and provolone cheese. Serve with small bowls of the hot au jus from the slow cooker.

Saucy Mexican Chicken

From Mandy F....

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 small breasts)

1 jar (16 oz.) Chunky Salsa

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed

1 cup 2% Milk Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Cook chicken in nonstick skillet on medium-high heat 4 min. on each side or until browned on both sides. Add salsa and beans. Bring to boil; cover. Simmer on medium-low heat 5 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF). Top with cheese. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken

·

From Mandy F....

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

· 1/4 cup honey

· 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

· 1 teaspoon steak sauce

· 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Preheat the grill for medium heat. In a shallow bowl, mix the mustard, honey, mayonnaise, and steak sauce. Set aside a small amount of the honey mustard sauce for basting, and dip the chicken into the remaining sauce to coat. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill chicken over indirect heat for 18 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, or until juices run clear. Baste occasionally with the reserved sauce during the last 10 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent burning!

Muffin Pizza

From Elle...

English Muffins

Pepperoni, canadian bacon, pineapple, (or whatever your fav toppings are)

Pizza sauce

Mozzarella cheese (or cheddar/mozz mix)

Open up English Muffins and spread pizza sauce on. Top with your favorite pizza toppings and cheese. Place on a baking pan. Then pop them in the oven on broil to warm them and melt the cheese.

Chicken Rolls

From Bethany...

2 pkgs Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

1 can chicken (or you can cook and shred your own)

1 pkg cream cheese

salt and pepper

Anything else that seems good. (Diced green chilies, sundried tomatoes, chopped kalmata olives, etc.)

Mix chicken, cream cheese and salt and pepper and anything else you want to add until well blended. Roll out crescent rolls and separate. Place about a two tablespoons of chicken mixture in the center of each crescent. Roll the dough around the chicken trying to seal it closed. Place on grease cookie sheet and bake according to instructions on roll package. Eat.

French Onion Soup

From Bethany...

(I like to make this one when I have leftover French bread that is a little too hard)

Lipton Onion Soup Mix

French Bread (a day or two old is best)

Cheese (Swiss is the standard but I have used all kinds, sliced or shredded based on what's in the fridge)

Make the soup following the recipe on the box. Pour soup into oven safe bowls. Put slices or chunks of bread on top of soup (chunks are good for kids). Put cheese on top of bread - slices work best. Broil the entire bowl until the cheese bubbles. Eat.

Creamy Italian Chicken

From Jen H....

3 boneless chicken breasts

1 pkg of Italian Salad Dressing Mix

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cheddar cheese soup

Place chicken breasts in crockpot, sprinkle Italian Salad Dressing Mix over chicken, add cream of chicken and cheddar cheese soup. Cook on low for 5-6 hrs.

Calzones

From Jen H....

Rhodes Frozen Roll Dough

Ragu Pizza Sauce

Cheese

Misc Toppings (pepperoni, canadian bacon, pineapple, olives, ect...)

Take Rhodes frozen roll dough (2 rolls will make a good size calzone)--rise as many rolls as you want and place on cookie sheet to let rise. Roll out dough. On one half of rolled dough spread pizza sauce, cheese, and then pizza toppings. Fold over top half onto bottom half. Pinch together edges. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Dutch Oven Fried Chicken, Wrapped in Bacon

From Shandi...

12" dutch oven 18-22 coals under, none on top, lid off.
1-1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts (about one piece per serving)
1 lb thick-sliced, peppered bacon (you can use thin, unpeppered, if you must)
Salt
Juice of 2-3 lemons
Wooden skewers

Thaw chicken breasts or tenderloins, light up the coals. Then slice chicken breasts into thirds (which is why tenderloins would be easier) in such a way as to have them be shaped in long, thick strips.

Pick up a skewer, and a strip of bacon, and poke through one end of the bacon strip. Then skewer through the chicken piece, so the skewer runs through the length of the chicken and comes out the other end. Wrap the bacon tightly around the chicken to about half way, until the strip runs out. Then, stick another piece of bacon on the skewer on the other end, and wind it tightly back to the middle. Shape it a bit with your hands and it will stay pretty well. Then place chicken in dutch oven.

By then, the coals are hot, so pour a bunch of them out of your chimney and onto your little dutch oven table. Put the dutch oven on top, and soon they will start frying. This is really so simple, because really, you use the dutch oven as if it were a skillet.

Before long, it will be crackling and sizzling. Bit by bit, turn them with a short set of tongs (don't use, please, the same tongs you use for the coals!). Let them cook pretty well on each side before turning them, because that helps the bacon to stay in place. If your impatient some of the pieces will unravel a bit.

After they've been cooking on a couple of sides, get out the lemons. (you can use a bottle of lemon juice but it's better with real lemons) Splatter some juice over the chicken pieces. This will set up new waves of sizzling, and a lucious new wave of smells, to mix with the bacon, the chicken, and the pepper. Finally, after 20 to 30 minutes, it's done.

It was way, way delicous, and it was so simple. You can't go wrong with this one.

Pork Roast Fetish (2 meals in 1)

From April...

3-4 lb. Pork Roast

(1st Meal)

Can of Beans (Black, Pinto, etc.)

Can of Corn

Equal parts Salsa and Brown Sugar

Tortillas

(2nd Meal)

BBQ Sauce

Swiss Cheese

Rolls

Put roast in crock pot with 2-3 cups of water. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Drain the water then shred the roast and split it in half. Mix beans, corn, salsa and brown sugar with one half and warm. Then save the other half for tomorrow to add BBQ sauce and make a sandwich with swiss cheese.

(This sounds so good. I can't wait to try it. Seriously my mouth is watering just typing this. Who thinks of these awesome recipes? -Angi)(K I have tried it and loved it! Super easy and tasted wonderful)

Turkey Tacos

1 lb. Ground Turkey (browned and drained)

1 16 oz. Jar of Salsa

1 pkg. Taco Seasoning (1/4 cup)

Taco Shells (whole wheat or white)

Toppings

Combine all 3 ingredients in a Crock Pot. Cook on high 4 hours, low 8. (My Crock Pot cooks hot so I usually do 4-5 hours on low.) Serve in soft taco shells and top with sour cream, cheese, olives, lettuce (or whatever you like). Super simple, healthy, and way YUMMO!

Peppercini Roast Sandwiches

3 lb. beef roast

1 pkg dry zesty italian dressing

1 16 oz. bottle whole peppercinis (find them by the pickles)

Hard rolls

Put roast in crockpot, pour the whole bottle of peppercinis and juice on top. Sprinkle dressing packet over top of roast. Cook 8-9 hours on low. You can cook over night. The longer you cook it the more tender it will be. When done take the roast out and shred it. Take the peppercinis out and throw them away unless you like a little bit of spice than you can cut them up and use them on your sandwiches. Add shredded beef back to crockpot to soak in the juices. Serve on toasted garlic buttered hard rolls with the yellow sauce.

Yellow sauce:
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup mustard ( I actually only use about 1/8 cup)

Hamburger Stroganoff

This is what we make when we don't know what to make.

My favorite recipes are the ones with 5 ingredients or less.

1 lb. Ground Beef (browned, seasoned with dried onion flakes, and season salt)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup - 1 cup Sour Cream (I like less, Matt likes more)

Wide Egg Noodles or Rice

Start cooking rice or noodles than brown the beef. Drain ground beef than add soup, cooking on medium. Cook until it's heated through. Then add desired amount of sour cream. Cook for an additional minute or two than serve over rice or noodles.

Crock Pot - It is a special treat when I cook it in the crockpot. Which doesn't happen very often because this is usually a last minute meal idea. Brown and drain the ground beef, add to crock pot. Mix in soup. Then for a special treat add a chopped up small yellow onion. YUM! After it cooks all day it is sweet and yummy and tastes oh sooo good. Sometimes I add mushrooms but the kids don't love them. Cook on low 5-6 hours. Serve over Noodles or Rice.

Poppy Seed Chicken Over Rice

This is a HUGE family favorite.

3 Chicken Breasts boiled and shredded (I use my homemade canned chicken. Yummy and easy!)

1 cup Sour Cream

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

Mix above ingredients together and put in a casserole dish.

1 1/2 cup crushed Ritz Crackers

1 Tbs. Poppy seeds

1 cube of Butter

Mix above ingredients together and sprinkle on top. Bake @ 350* for 30 min. Serve over rice. My family gobbles this up!