Crock Pot Ham with Pineapple

Ingredients
Spiral sliced ham
A can of crushed pineapple in own juices
3.5 cups of brown sugar


Directions

1. Rub one cup of the brown sugar all over the ham and let it marinade overnight.
2. Put the rest of the brown sugar at the bottom of your slow cooker. Add the ham and the can of pineapple. Cook for 8 hours on low. 

Picky PC's Paleo Chili

I love trying new things, but PC, as we know, is the picky one. I decided to try out the Paleo diet and convinced PC to do it with me. So, I will be making a lot of meals geared towards him so that he will be happy. Some of these ingredients are not typical of chili, but it is the only chili he will eat.

Here is what you will need for this recipe.

Cut up the meat and add chili powder, salt, and pepper to the meat and give it a good rub. Add your diced onions, mushrooms, and garlic and let sit with the meat for a bit.

Begin to heat your oil in a pan. Once heated, add your meat mixture to the pan and let the meat brown. 

Once the meat is browned, add your tomatoes, broth, and spices. Give it a good stir, cover, and let simmer for an hour and a half. 

Serve and enjoy!

Recipe:

Ingredients

1.5 pounds of skirt steak

3 (14.5 oz) cans of no salt added diced tomatoes, undrained

3 cups of fat free beef broth

2 cups of diced onions

2 cups of diced mushrooms

3 tablespoons of minced garlic

3 tablespoons of chili powder

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon of thyme

1 teaspoon of cayenne

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

Directions

1. Cut up your meat and add half of your chili powder, salt and pepper to it. Give it a good rub and then add your mushrooms, onions and garlic. Let sit for a bit so that flavors can marinade the meat.
2. Heat your oil in a pan and add your meat mixture. Let cook until your meat browns.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients. Give it a good stir, cover, and let simmer for an hour and a half.

Nannah's Sloppy Joes

When you think of sloppy joe's, Manwich probably comes to mind. While I may have had a can or two of Manwich in my day, my favorite kind of sloppy joe's is definitely my Nannah's. Not only is this sloppy joe recipe easy to make, it's also easy on the wallet. The sauce is so simple, I bet you have all the ingredients in your pantry. All you will need is a pound of ground beef, hamburger buns, ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. All together, this meal cost me just under $4 and it made 6 sloppy joes.

Start by browning your beef in a skillet on medium-high heat.

While your meat is browning, mix together your ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard.

Once your meat is cooked all the way through, turn your heat to low and add your sauce. Put a cover on it and let it simmer for several minutes. 

After letting simmer, give it a quick stir and it is ready to serve! You can serve it on the bun alone, with cheese like my dad prefers, with diced onions like PC loves, or with crushed Doritos which is my personal favorite. Enjoy!

Recipe:

Ingredients

1 pound of ground beef

2 cups of ketchup

1 cup of light brown sugar

1 tablespoon of mustard

Hamburger buns

Directions

1. Brown your beef in a skillet on medium-high heat.
2. Mix together ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard.
3. Once meat is cooked through, add sauce and cover. Turn to low to let simmer for several minutes. Serve on a bun once finished.

Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins

After carving pumpkins yesterday and baking the seeds afterward, I wanted to continue my pumpkin trend. I knew I had pumpkin puree in the cabinet, but wasn't wanting just the usual pumpkin bread. I needed something sweet. At the time, I was watching one of my favorite shows, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and Guy was making donuts with the chef. So what did I do after wanting both pumpkin and donuts? Googled "Pumpkin Doughnuts." I came across Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins recipe and had to make them. I tweaked them to what I wanted, but the same concept none-the-less. Like Martha Stewart stated, "These muffins capture the essence of doughnuts with their cake-like interior and sugar-coated exterior." Who wouldn't want to make them after wording like this? Best part about these is that you can individually freeze them. So a perfect and easy breakfast that's already made! All you have to do is heat them up and add the glaze! Helllllllloooo Fall!!! 

Here is what you will need for the muffins. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Add and mix all your dry ingredients in a bowl.

Add and mix your wet ingredients in a separate bowl. In another separate bowl, whisk your eggs and butter together. 

Start to add your wet and dry ingredients to the butter and eggs bowl. It's a lot easier to put in a little of each at a time while mixing. 

Once your batter is mixed, distribute evenly into a greased cupcake pan. Cook for 30 minutes. They will make about 16 muffins.

While letting cool, melt butter into a bowl. Add sugar and cinnamon into another bowl. Dip your muffins into the butter and then the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Enjoy!

Recipe:

Ingredients

3 cups of flour

1 1/2 sticks of butter

2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice

1/4 cup of milk

1/4 cup of vanilla greek yogurt

1 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree (from a 15 oz. can)

3/4 cup of light brown sugar

2 eggs

Glaze: 1/2 stick of melted butter, 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease your cupcake pan.
2. Mix your dry ingredients into a bowl. 
3. Mix your wet ingredients, excluding butter and eggs, into another bowl.
4. Whisk together eggs and butter in a separate bowl.
5. Start to add your wet and dry ingredients to the butter and eggs bowl. Alternate mixing in wet and dry ingredients to the butter and eggs. 
6. Once completely mixed, add to the cupcake pan filling a third to half way full. Cook for 30 minutes.
7. In two bowls, melt butter in one and combine cinnamon and sugar in the other. After the muffins have cooked, dip into the butter and then the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Crock-Pot Jambalaya

With high temperatures only reaching the low 50s this weekend, I thought we could use something to warm us up. 50 degree temperatures may seem warm to my Chicago friends, but after a week of temperatures in the 90s, this was quite a cool down.

Here is what you will need. This may seem a bit much for the recipe, but I was making a bigger batch.

Dump everything but the shrimp and the rice into the Crock-Pot. Cook on low for 8 hours. 

Take some of the juices from your Crock-Pot to save to make your rice.

Here is what is looks like with half the time surpassed. 

With about 45 minutes to an hour left, cook your rice with the juices rather than water according to the box. You can also choose to cook the rice in the Crock-Pot, but I feel its safer to add at the end.

With about 15 minutes left, take out the bay leaves and add the shrimp.

Stir in your rice that you have cooked. You can let it sit and cook with the mixture for several more minutes or serve right away.

Cornbread is a great side to this dish.

Recipe:

Ingredients

2 pounds of medium shrimp, tail off

2 pounds of chicken, cut into bite sized cubes

1 pound of andouille sausage, sliced and halved

4 cups of instant rice

2 cups of reduced sodium chicken broth

2 (28 ounce) cans of diced tomatoes

2 medium onions, chopped

2 stalks of celery, diced

2 green bell peppers, diced

2-3 jalapeno peppers, diced (leave seeds)

1 1/2 tablespoons of creole seasoning

1 1/2 tablespoons of oregano

1 tablespoon of hot sauce

3-4 bay leaves

1 teaspoon of thyme

2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Add everything to your Crock-Pot but the rice and shrimp. Save some of the juice to use for your rice. Cook on low for 8 hours.
2. With about 45 minutes left, use juice you saved and make your rice with it instead of water. Follow directions according to box.
3. Remove the bay leaves and add shrimp with 15 minutes left. 
4. Once the 8 hours is up, stir in the rice and serve.

Oven Fried Zucchini Chips

It is hard to believe that these are good for you. They are so addicting and perfect by themselves or dipping in ranch. I even got my picky fiance, who hates zucchini, to like them. Looks like this dish will be a new normal around the house. This simple recipe calls for zucchini, Italian breadcrumbs, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, salt, flour, and milk. 

Start by cutting your zucchini into slices about one half inch in thickness or smaller.

Cover each piece in flour.

Dip it into the milk.

And finally, cover the zucchini in the breadcrumbs. If you can, try and pack down the breadcrumbs on both sides as much as you can. I added parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and salt to my Italian breadcrumbs. 

Place the zucchini on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. I like to spray just a little bit of cooking spray on top of them as well to give it an extra crunch. Place in a 425 degree oven and cook for 30 minutes. Watch for the tops to turn to a golden brown.

Enjoy by itself, with ranch, or with whatever sauce your heart desires.

Recipe:

Ingredients

1 large zucchini or 2 small ones

1 1/2 cups of Italian breadcrumbs

1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

1 teaspoons of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of flour

1/3 cup of milk

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Cut your zucchini in slices of one half inch in thickness or smaller. 
3. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, salt, and garlic powder.
4. Dip zucchini in flour, then to milk, then to breadcrumbs. Pack down as much breadcrumbs onto the zucchini slice as you can. Place on baking sheet. Repeat until all of the zucchini is covered.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until they turn golden brown. 

Homemade A-1 Mushroom Soup

I recently decided to be a vegetarian(No worries, I will still be posting regular recipes). I realized that I was not incorporating enough vegetables in my diet, so I thought it was time for a change. I am not taking it to the extreme, because as you'll see, I am using chicken broth in this soup. So after my decision, I started looking for recipes that wouldn't completely be drab. I came across this mushroom soup recipe on Pinterest and immediately knew that that was something I would be making very soon. I put my own spin on this recipe, because I always like to jazz things up.

Here are the things you will need. 

Start by finely chopping mushrooms so that you will have about two to two and a half cups.

In a sauce pan, heat up a tablespoon of oil. 

Once the oil is heated, add a tablespoon of butter and lightly saute your garlic on low heat.

 Add the mushrooms, thyme, A-1 sauce, bay leaves, and the barbecue seasoning. Stir and cover for 5 minutes on medium heat.

Add the chicken broth. Let simmer for 10 minutes. After time has surpassed, lower your heat and add your flour mixture. Add a dash of nutmeg and salt to taste. Continue to stir until the soup thickens. If you want a thicker consistency, make a little bit more of the mixture and add.

 

Add the milk, stir, and bring to a simmer. Once brought to a simmer, turn off heat. Remove the bay leaves and serve. Top with some pepper and mozzarella cheese.

Recipe:

Ingredients

2.5 cups of finely chopped mushrooms

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of butter

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

1 tablespoon of dried thyme

2 bay leaves

1 cup of vegetable broth

1 tablespoon of A-1 sauce

2 tablespoons of flour dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water

1 cup of whole milk

Dash of barbecue seasoning

Dash of nutmeg

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Shredded mozzarella cheese 

 Directions

1. Heat oil in sauce pan.
2. Add butter and lightly saute the garlic on low heat.
3. Add the mushrooms, thyme, A-1 sauce, bay leaves, and the barbecue seasoning. Stir and cover for 5 minutes on medium heat.
4. Add the chicken broth. Let simmer for 10 minutes. 
5. Lower your heat and add your flour mixture. Add a dash of nutmeg and salt to taste. Continue to stir until the soup thickens.
6. Add your milk, stir, and bring to a simmer. Once brought to a simmer, turn off heat. Remove the bay leaves and serve.
7. Top with some pepper and mozzarella cheese.

Crack Snacks (People Puppy Chow)

I usually like to make this in winter, but decided to try it out for the first Fall instead. I like sending goodies to PC's work for his fellow employees, and I know this would be perfect to bag up for him to take. Hopefully his coworkers enjoy it just as much as I do! 

Here is what you will need for this recipe.

Start by putting your butter, peanut butter, and chocolate chips in a bowl. You can either microwave or use a double boiler to melt it. (I used the double boiler because I always seem to burn the chocolate in the microwave.)

Once it starts to melt, continue stirring so it doesn't burn. After it is all melted, remove it from the heat.

In a separate bowl, pour some of the cereal into it. 

Start to fold the chocolate into the cereal until well coated.

In a big brown paper bag(or any inclosed bag), put some of the sugar at the bottom. 

Add the chocolate covered cereal. Close up and shake until the cereal is fully coated. 

Continue the past few steps until all your cereal is choc-lafied and sugar coated. 

I bagged it up in snack sandwich bags. These are perfect for party snacks or bake sales!

Recipe:

Ingredients
12 ounce box of toasted rice cereal
1 cup of peanut butter(about half a jar)
1/2 cup of butter
12 ounce bag of milk chocolate chips
3-4 cups of powdered sugar


Directions

1. Melt butter, peanut butter, and chocolate chips.
2. In a separate bowl, fold cereal into chocolate mixture until well coated. 
3. Combine coated cereal in a bag with powdered sugar. Shake until the cereal is well covered with the powdered sugar.