Crock pot recipe number 1.

I went flipping through one of those old home church recipe books yesterday for an idea for dinner.  I came across lasaugna in a crock pot but ended up having to alter it a bit because I didn't have everything for it. 

Basically this is what I did:

Browned the meat and then combined the sauce with it. 
The recipe said to break up lasaugna noodles and place in the bottom of the crockpot.  I just used ziti noodles instead.
Layer the noodles, meat and cheese like you would normally with lasaugna or ziti. *with the first layer of noodles also add 1/3 cup of water*
Put the crockpot on high for 3 hrs or low for 5 hrs (maybe a little longer, not all crockpots seem to be created equally) and cover.


I threw this together Sunday after we got home from church and it was finished by dinner time! I didn't have to worry about throwing something together and it taking time away from my family.  It took 15 minutes to prepare and BAM! Sunday dinner.

Thanks Betty Crocker!

My sister-in-law bought us the wedding version of the infamous red Betty Crocker Cookbook for our wedding present.  I've dabbled with a few recipes in the past but here recently I've started searching for quick, easy and healthy meals for the family.  Seeing as we all get home around 6pm and the girls go to bed between 7:15pm-7:45pm.  That doesn't leave a lot of time for cooking and eating and bathing and brushing teeth and...you get the picture.
I was flipping through the cookbook the other night and found the Wild Rice & Beef Casserole.  I'll give you what the recipe calls for and then tell you how we modified it and plan on modifying it even more next time for quicker cooking. 

1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef

1 package (6.2 oz) fast-cooking long-grain and wild rice mix

1 can (10.75 oz) condensed tomato soup

1/4 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)  

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 2-quart casserole with cooking spray.In 10-inch skillet, cook beef over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain.Meanwhile, make rice mix as directed on package—except omit butter. Stir rice mixture, soup, milk and pepper into beef. Spoon into casserole.
Cover and bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered 5 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and mixture is hot.

*Here's how we altered it and plan on altering it next time*
Instead of beef we used fresh pork sausage.  I think it would have been too plain with just hamburger meat.
We didn't use Cheddar cheese.  We just used whatever was in the refrigerator.  I think it was the taco mix kind?   
Next time I will prep the night before.  Cook the meat and maybe even the rice so I can just throw it together as soon as we get in the door and it will be done 30 minutes later.  I also might throw some corn or peppers in there to get some veggies in.  The possibilities are somewhat endless!

Try this. You'll love it.

We are very blessed to have found a great church home with friends that just kind of came with the package.  Our community group tries to get together as much as we can.  This week we had family dinner and we volunteered to host.  I made the decision I would try and make baked ziti.  I had never tried it before and figured friends were the best guinea pigs so I went for it.  I found a really easy recipe here but I'll lay it out for you after the pictures too.  We had a great time and everybody loved it.  Even Josh, who I call (lovingly), my toughest critic.  And of course Teagan chowed down, ate more then I did and had a ziti grin from ear to ear.  I didn't take a picture. Fail.  

But I did manage a picture of the finished product before we chowed down! We also had a great home-grown lettuce salad that almost looked too fresh and green to eat!

Ingredients


1 pound dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream (I left this out. I hate sour cream. Not really sure what the point was but it was great without it)
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (I used more and just sprinkled as much as I wanted on the top)


Directions


1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2.In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
4.Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.