Slow Cooker Refried Beans

I am always looking for ways to stretch my dollar.  Isn't everyone these days?  And seeing as how I'm married to a Committed Carnivore, and meat isn't exactly cheap, I'm always on the look out for alternative protein options to add to our meat entrees.  Either as a filler, or as an additional side dish.

I frequently turn to beans for help with this.  Beans are a wonderful source of protein AND are super cheap!!  Now normally on Taco Nights, I'll rinse off a can off black beans (always rinse first; have you seen that preservation sludge??) and add those to the pan of simmering taco meat.  It crosses my mind to pick up a can of refried beans but I always forget, PLUS they can be pretty fattening.

From now on though, refried beans will be a regular attendee for Taco Night, all thanks to this fantastically EASY recipe!!

Slow Cooker Refried Beans
Recipe slightly adapted from 100 Days of Real Food
Prep time: 5 minutes   Cook time: 8 hours

1 medium-ish onion, peeled and halved
2 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed
1 chipotle in adobo sauce, seeded and chopped (leave the seeds in if you like more heat)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Generous pinch of cumin
6 cups water

1.  Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.  Cook on LOW for 8 hours or overnight while you are sleeping.  Although if you can sleep through the perfume of these beans cooking then you have super human sleep strength and I'd like you to teach me your secret.

I think this bag was about a $1.50.  I used half for this recipe.

All that delicious flavor about to come together and work magic.

2.  Remove the bigger onion chunks; drain and reserve the excess liquid.  Mash remaining beans with a potato masher, adding as much of the reserved liquid as you like until you reach your desired consistency.

All cooked!

I left mine a little thicker, more like mashed potatoes.

Ok so about halfway through the cooking time, I pretty much decided that, if by some freakishly weird reason, this would not taste good I would still make it again just for the AMAZING AROMAS wafting from beneath the lid of my slow cooker.  Truly, this smells FABULOUS.  And the taste?  Wow.  You will not get this flavor from any can!!  These are creamy, a little smokey and just a hint of heat from the chipotle.  I'm pretty sure that my bean to meat ratio on Taco Night was about even. In fact, I have a little bit of beans left and I'm thinking a bean-cheddar quesadilla will make for a pretty darn tasty lunch on this snowy day!

This Week's Menu

There's a crap-ton of snow on the ground.  It's cold, and wet, and heavy as hell.  It's also hilarious to watch my older son teach my younger son how much fun it is to play in it.


I need to make sure that I'm stocked up on hot chocolate fixings for post-snow-play warm-ups before I get groceries for my meals this week!

• Thursday: I happen to a surplus of tortillas in my pantry, plus a stash in my freezer.  Because apparently you can never have too many tortillas?  Taco Night it is! And there's a New Recipe! slow cooker refried beans recipe I want to try anyway.

• Friday: Pizza and popcorn.

• Saturday: New Recipe! Sesame Chicken with Broccoli
  

• Sunday: New Recipe! Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

• Monday: Leftovers

• Tuesday: Chili

• Wednesday: Mexican Chicken, corn, and rice

Happy planning!!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Every year for our birthdays, Mom would let us choose whatever we wanted for dinner.  Didn't matter what it was, she would make it for our Birthday Dinner.  I don't think my brother ever chose anything but Swiss Chicken.  When I was very little I usually asked for "roast beast" with mashed potatoes.  But later I remember asked for chicken pot pie.

Mom did not like to make chicken pot pie.

Don't get me wrong we all loved to eat this heavenly concoction of comfort food!  But the recipe my mom used was a seriously From Scratch Recipe and it was pretty time-consuming.  She lovingly labored over making the crust, chilling the crust, rolling out the crust, and setting it in the pan.  Sometimes she'd even do a lattice top.  She'd poach a couple of chicken breasts, chop up the meat, and then get started on the filling for my beloved birthday dinner.  Whew!!

My little dino-lover got a stegosaurus pastry.

And as much as I loved and still love this pie, I like to think that if I'd truly realized all the work that went into this one dinner, I would have asked her to look for a soup recipe like this one instead.

I thought my little Padawan would appreciate a TIE fighter pastry.

Exact same flavor. SO. MUCH. EASIER!!

Chicken (or Turkey) Pot Pie Soup
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home Magazine
Prep time: 20 minutes   Cook time: 30 minutes

2 tbsp butter
1 cup peeled, diced potatoes (about 1/2" little cubes)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, diced
1/2 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups chicken stock
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken or turkey 
1 cup-ish frozen peas
1 cup-ish frozen corn
Prepared pie crust [This could be store-bought or a secret family recipe. Whatever YOU prefer!]

1.  In a Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Add the potatoes, onion, and carrots; cook and stir until the onion is tender, 5-7 minutes.

To keep this soup quick-cooking, do a smaller dice on your veggies.

Potatoes chopped but have to wait?  Keep them in a bowl of cold water to prevent oxidizing.

2.   Stir in the flour and season with salt and pepper; let the flour toast a few minutes.  Gradually whisk in the chicken stock and milk.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for about 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Stir in the remaining ingredients and heat through.

Toasting the flour so the soup doesn't taste like flour.

I used leftover Christmas turkey for this actually.

Dump. Stir. Done.

3.  Preheat the oven for 425.  While the soup simmers and oven heats up, roll out your preferred pie crust to your desired thickness.  I like a thicker pastry for this so mine was about 1/4" thick.  Using cookie cutters, cut out pieces of dough and lay on a baking sheet. You could use a round cutter, heart shape, star shape, or completely embrace whatever dorkiness lies within you and your family and have some fun with the shapes.  In my house, that meant making train, dinosaur, and Star Wars shaped pastries.

Whenever I deviate from my Preferred Crust Recipe, it never turns out quite right.
But I still managed to get some shapes cut out.

4.  Bake the pastries until golden.  The time will vary depending on the thickness of the dough.  For thinner (1/8") pastries, about 10 minutes.  For thicker (1/4") crust, more like 15-17 minutes. Serve the soup topped with your fun-shaped pastries.

FUN!!

For you Thomas-aficionados out there, yes that is Percy.

I'm not sure who got the bigger kick out of the pastries: my kids or my Star Wars-loving husband who also got a TIE fighter on his soup.  It definitely added a fun element to dinner!  The soup itself is this thick, creamy, comforting bowl of goodness that warms you, heart and soul.  The pastries are flaky, but crunchy enough to  resist turning into a soggy mess. 

I think I found my new birthday dinner!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Anyone else dealing with a serious junk food craving?  Yeah, me too.  For me, that often means chips and some kind of dip, usually of the Mexican variety.

But sometimes I want something a little hot, a little spicy, a little creamy and comforting.

Had to snap a quick pic on my phone before we ate it all!

Like this.  Yeah, this'll do.

Buffalo Chicken Dip
Recipe adapted from Food Network Magazine
Prep time: 10 minutes   Cook time: 20 minutes

8 oz (1 brick) cream cheese OR neufchatel cheese, softened

1/2 sour cream

1/2 cup Frank's RedHot sauce

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4-1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 425.

How can a recipe be bad when it starts with cream cheese and sour cream?

2.  In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce. Fold in the shredded chicken.

Shredded chicken soaks up all that creamy, spicy cheesiness.

2.   Spread in a small, greased baking dish, sprinkle with shredded cheddar and blue cheese crumbles and bake for 20 minutes, until hot and bubbly.  Serve immediately.

You can wait until after it's baked to top with the crumbles too.

I love that you can eat this with pretty much whatever you want: celery or carrot sticks, crackers, or (my fav!) tortilla chips.  This dip is an awesome crowd-pleaser.  Or if you've had a rough week or just the blahs lately from the NEVER-ENDING winter, there's nothing quite like hot, melty, spicy chicken and cheese with an ice cold beer for dinner.  Just sayin... ;)

This Week's Menu

Every time I dwell on how difficult it is to travel, by myself, with two small children, I'm going to think about my living and sun rooms.  While we were gone last weekend, Rob painted those rooms a GORGEOUS warm yellow.  I feel like I'm sitting in sunshine, even when it's gray and snowy outside!  Love, love, LOVE the fresh paint in our main living space.

And planning meals is SO MUCH EASIER when I'm happily in love with the space around me!

• Thursday: Polla alla cacciatora, rice, and steamed veggies

• Friday: Pizza and popcorn.  A couple weeks ago Gavin responded really well to one of my childhood favorites, The Dark Crystal.  I think maybe we'll continue the fantasy-bent with Labyrinth.

• Saturday: Swiss Chicken, steamed broccoli, and rice
  

• Sunday: Cheeseburgers (maybe with some pepper jack tucked inside the patties?), twice-baked potatoes, and tossed salad

• Monday: Date Night!!!!!

• Tuesday: Leftovers

• Wednesday: New Recipe! Chicken (or turkey because I have those leftovers too) pot pie soup

Happy planning!!

Strawberry Yogurt Muffins

I am always on a quest for easy, tasty, HEALTHY breakfast items that could be enjoyed at home OR quickly grabbed as we race out the door.

Bingo!!

Strawberry Yogurt Muffins
Recipe from The Dashing Dish
Prep time: 10 minutes   Cook time: 25 minutes

2 1/2 cups oats
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup strawberries

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with silicone or foil liners, (or just use a silicone muffin pan).

2.  Place all of the ingredients (except the strawberries) in a blender or food processor, and blend until oats are smooth. Pour mixture into a medium sized bowl, and stir in strawberries.

3.  Divide batter among cupcake liners, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Not only are these easy to make (dump in the FP and push a button),they are CHOCK FULL of healthy ingredients that I always keep around anyway!  And you could really use any fruit you happen to have on-hand.  I still have some strawberries from our jam adventures last summer, but blueberries, peaches, raspberries, or cooked apples would all be good.  If you're using a frozen fruit, just be sure to that them out first before stirring them into the batter.

Baked Chicken with Parmesan Crust

In between massive mouthfuls of food, Gavin kept repeating variations of how much he liked this and that I should make this again.

Need I say more?

Baked Chicken with Parmesan Crust
Recipe slightly adapted from Food Network Magazine
Prep time: 10 minutes  Cook time: 20 minutes

2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp dried thyme 
Salt 

Pinch of cayenne pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 8 ounces each)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup panko
Cooking spray

1.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. 

2.  Mix the mustard, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the cayenne in a medium bowl. Add the chicken breasts and turn to coat completely; set aside.

There's just enough to lightly coat the chicken.

3.  In a medium shallow bowl, combine the Parmesan and panko. Dredge the chicken pieces in the panko mixture, coating evenly and heavily, and pressing the coating into the meat.

Crunchy!!

4.  Put the chicken on a rack set over a baking sheet, spray with a quick burst of cooking spray and put the sheet in the middle of the oven. Bake until the chicken is golden and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before cutting or serving.

Golden crusty perfection.

Yes, this is yet another variation on Chicken Parm.  But I really, really like this one!  I love when the breading process is simple and minimal.  I love baking instead of frying.  And I really love when my kids pretty much do a happy dance in their chairs in between bites.  This one's a winner!!