Yummy Beef Nacho Casserole.

I've started scheduling our meals every week.  What I will make, what I need to make it and what day I will make it.  I have it in a nice little notebook.  I make the schedule once a week.  We are on week two of this and it's going really well.  I'll share my notebook how to later. Also, I am beginning to love casseroles as much as the crockpot. Super easy stuff is how we roll in our house! 

Last night we had Beef Nacho Casserole.  I found the recipe on Recipe.com it was so yummy and super easy to make! Teagan even sprinkled the cheese on top for us!

What you need

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 pound pre-sliced sweet peppers (about 1/2-inch-wide-strips
1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

2 tubes (10 ounces each) refrigerated pizza dough

1 jar (16 ounces) medium-hot salsa
3 cups shredded taco-cheese blend

1 can (2.2 ounces) sliced black olives, drained (about 1/4 cup)

3 large scallions, trimmed and sliced

 

What you do

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

 

In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add peppers, ground beef and garlic salt; cook, stirring to break up clumps of beef, until the peppers are soft and beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain off any excess fat from skillet.

Remove pizza dough from tubes. Cut the dough crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide slices, then cut each slice into quarters.

In large bowl, toss together dough pieces and salsa. Add cooked meat mixture, 2 cups of the taco-cheese blend and olives. Scrape mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup taco-cheese blend over the top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle scallions evenly over the top. Bake an additional 5 minutes.

 

What I did differently

 

I used 1 red pepper and 1 green pepper.
I just sprinkled the garlic salt, I may or may not have used a 1/2 teaspoon
I started to cut the pizza dough in nice little 1/2 inch pieces. That took too much time so Teagan and I tore them into pieces instead.  We also only used 1 pack not 2.
We didn't use the olives because nobody in our house likes them.

 

 

Let me know if you try it!! I hope you like it!!

Chicken and Rice Soup

I am slowly falling in love with my crock pot. It is steadily making my life SO MUCH EASIER.  Like last night.  I tried this Chicken and Rice soup recipe and adapted it.  Basically I made an adaptation of an adaptation and ran with it.

Here is the recipe from the blog Pearls, Handcuffs and Happy Hour (a blog I have started going to A LOT for recipes).  Afterwards I'll let you in on what I did differently.

What you need:

1 rotisserie chicken

1 box {32 oz.} chicken broth

1/4 cup lime juice (2 limes)

1 cup salsa

1 can diced tomatoes with onion

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen chopped veggies (celery, green pepper, and onion)

2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

1/3 cup Mexican cheese

1-2 boil-in-a bag bags of rice

What you do:

First up, bring chicken broth, lime juice, and salsa to a boil.

Add in the diced tomatoes, frozen corn, and frozen chopped veggies. I definitely let the frozen items thaw out before I tossed ‘em in. Cook on medium high heat for about 10-12 minutes, reduce to low and add the shredded chicken. Cover and let simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook your rice. I’m a cheater and I always use the boil-in-a-bag version. I boiled 2 bags for this recipe. Drain and return to pot. Now take a spoonful{ish} of rice and dump it into your bowl.

Spoon a very generous helping of the soup mix on top of the rice. The more rice you add, the thicker your soup will be, so proceed with caution.

What I did differently:

First off I put all of the ingredients, other then the rice, in a crock pot and let it cook over night on low. 
I did not use the can of tomatoes/onions.  I just diced a little bit of onion instead. 
I used an Archer Farm (Target) brand salsa.
I used frozen peppers (red, yellow and green) instead of frozen celery, onion and peppers.

 

It was SO good! And when you add the rice you have plenty enough for lunch the next day!

 

Crock Pot phenomenon

I'm still a work in progress when it comes to the crockpot phenomenon.  I have made my first really good meal in one.  I found the recipe on About.com after googling crock pot pork loin recipes.
Teagan asked for seconds on this one so I am marking it up as a successful meal.  One that we will put on our recipe list!

Once again, I did make some changes.  I'll give the original recipe and then tell you the changes I made.  In trying new recipes I've realized that I don't always have to make it like the recipe says.  I can almost always alter it with what I do have.

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Pork Loin

Cook Time: 9 hoursIngredients:

• 1 boneless pork loin roast, 4 to 6 pounds
• 1 clove garlic, halved
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/3 cups brown sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:

Wash pork roast, trim excess fat, pat dry, and rub with garlic halves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then prick the roast all over with a fork or skewer.In a cup or bowl, combine 1 cup of the brown sugar, the mustard, and vinegar. Rub all over the roast.
Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours. Pour off the excess juices.
combine the remaining 1/3 cup brown sugar with cinnamon; Spread the mixture over the top of the roast. Cover and continue cooking on LOW for 1 hour longer. 

What I did differently:
I didn't have balsamic vinegar, I had Apple Cider Vinegar so I used that instead. 
Also, I forgot to prick the pork but it was crazy juicy anyway.  Like fall of the nonexistent bone juicy.
I also added some onion and apple slices just for added flavor.