Weekly Recipe: Cashew Chicken

I have such a hard time picking just one thing from each week - I could do this almost daily, but I won't put you through that. Last week's fave was a modified version of Rachael Ray's Chipotle Cashew Chicken. Since you know how much I don't like to go to the store when I am making dinner, here is what I did with what I had:
I made regular rice (wasn't in the mood to make it all fancy like).

I wanted to make some kind of chicken - and I had cashews, so I thought I would do with what I had for the rest of it. For the chicken, I didn't have: steak seasoning, bell pepper, water chestnuts, or chipotle peppers (I know, what is the point of making Chipotle Chicken if you don't even have chipotle peppers). Other than that, I did what it said - plus adding salt & pepper (instead of steak seasoning). Our version was much more simple, but tasted pretty darn good. I didn't mind not actually having the heat that the chipotle peppers would have brought to the table - so I guess we will just have to call it Cashew Chicken. Oh, and DS loved it (maybe it was the honey and pure maple syrup).

Weekly Recipe: Hootenanny Pancakes

My favorite meal of the day is generally breakfast. I am not a big fan of cold cereal - it just doesn't fill me up. This week I will share with my dh and ds's favorite Saturday morning breakfast.
Hootenanny Pancakes
1/2 cube Butter (1/4 cup)
1 cup Milk
1 cup Flour
6 eggs
1/2 tsp Vanilla
dash of Salt
Turn oven to 400. Put butter on cookie sheet and melt in oven. Put rest of ingredients in blender and mix well. Pour into cookie sheet of melted butter. Bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and beginning to golden brown. Top with your favorite pancake topping.
These pancakes are handy because you are not standing at the griddle feeding the rest of the family before you can finally sit down and eat. You put the in the oven, clean up, then everyone sits down together for breakfast.

Weekly Recipe: Crockpot Chicken w/ Black Beans

For this week's recipe, I think I will post a simple crock-pot sensation - super easy. Oh, and yes, we eat a lot of chicken . . .
Crock Pot Chicken (for Burritos or Salad)
4 Chicken Breasts
1-2 cups Salsa
1 or 2 cans Black Beans (drained)
Spray the crockpot with Pam, then put in the chicken breasts. Set it on low for a few hours, until it is cooked through. Remove it from the crockpot, shread it with 2 forks, put it back in the crockpot, then add the salsa and the black beans. Cook on low for another 30-45 minutes.
Makes excellent filling for burritos/tacos (just add cheese, lettuce, avacado, tomato, etc.).
Also makes good chicken salad.

Beef Stew

For you Dancing Queen. Again, I don't have a recipe, but here's how I do it.
Brown the stew meat in a tad bit of oil in the bottom of a pot (I like to use cast-iron, but use whatever you have). Add salt & pepper, onions, carrots, celery, and whatever veggies you like. Saute them a little with the beef. Then I add stewed tomatoes - chopped or whole, however you like them. Add water (or broth) for the liquid. Then add potatoes. Cook until they are done, or however long you like. Near the I like to add frozen green beans and peas and cook a little longer (I guess it depends on how well done you like them).

I just realized after writing this post that you wanted to do it in a crockpot. Sorry, but it is easy to remedy. You still have to brown the meat, and if you add the veggies to that it adds a lot of flavor. Then put it in the crockpot before you add the tomatoes, water, and potatoes. Then cook in on low for as long as you need to - I would just wait to add peas until near the end.

To season it, the salt and pepper is often times enough, but if you want something more, just throw in whatever you like - thyme, parsley, whatever you feel like at the moment (I know I am a flake, but I do what sounds good at the time).
Good Luck!! I love soup this time of year.

Recipe of the Week

You all know how much I love food -- and making food, so I though I would add a weekly post letting you know my favorite recipe from the week. Here's last week's:
Since I worked all day almost everyday last week, we didn't have very good food (we ordered pizza, ate leftover pizza, etc.) But, I did make dinner on sunday. I was inspired by our trip to Mexico where they had the best Chicken Tacos. Not having a recipe, of course, I thought I would wing it. They were pretty good. I will definitely make them again. Here's what I did (sorry I didn't measure anything!):
Chicken Tacos
Chicken Breasts
Olive Oil
Crushed Garlic
Mexican Oregano
Paprika
Ground Cumin
Corn Tortilla's
Put (in this order) olive oil (just pour some in), garlic, chicken breasts (how many are eating??) in a crock pot. Sprinkle oregano, paprika, and cumin over the top. Cook on low for about 4-5 hours. Remove from crockpot. Shread it with a couple of forks. Warm the tortilla's on a hot (ungreased) griddle so they are easy to manage (sometime I spray them with a water bottle before heating them - it really softens them up). Roll some chicken up in it (like a taquito). Fry in about a 1/4 inch of oil (seam side down of course). Then roll it around to get all the sides (not too soon though, or they come unrolled). Let drain on a paper towel covered plate. Then serve -- we like them with guacamole, black beans, and salsa. Serve rice too, then you have a meal!! Oooh, and brownies for dessert :)
That was our Super Bowl Sunday Meal. What was yours?