Loaded Baked Potato Bar and Crockpot Chili

 Loaded Baked Potatoes

6 large baking potatoes (or as many as you need)

1 recipe crockpot chili or 2 cans chili, heated

shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, cilantro, chopped tomatoes, jalapenos, chopped green onions, diced white onions or any other desired toppings

salt and pepper

non stick cooking spray

Spray potatoes with non stick cooking spray. Coat with coarsely ground salt and pepper.

Oven Method: Poke several times with a fork, wrap in aluminum foil and cook at 350 degrees until centers are hot and tender, about 1 hour.

Crockpot Method: prick potatoes with a fork several times, wrap in aluminum foil and cook in the slow cooker for 3-4 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low.

Microwave Method: prick them with a fork and start with 6 minutes, checking them regularly to see if they are done

Cut open and slightly mash insides of potatoes (leave insides in potato). Top with desired toppings.

Crockpot Chili

3 C dry red beans

10 C water

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

2 Tbsp chili powder

1 (10 oz) can tomatoes with green chilies, drained

Place beans and water in a crockpot and let soak overnight. Let cook all day on low or until beans are tender. Drain off a majority of the water off of the beans. Cook ground beef, onion, and garlic in a skillet when fully cooked add to the crockpot. Add chili powder and tomatoes, stir and let cook on low until done about 1-3 hours.

 

For more wonderful recipes join Slowcooking Thursday

Chicken and Vegetable Casserole and Macaroni and Cheese

Chicken and Vegetable Casserole

4 C chicken, cooked and chopped

1 (15 oz) can green beans, drained

1 (15 oz) can corn, drained

1 C frozen peas, thawed

1 C frozen broccoli, thawed

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, grated

1 stalk celery, sliced

4 Tbsp. butter

1 C sour cream

1 C mayonnaise

Seasoning salt

In a large skillet melt the butter and sauté onion, carrot and celery until soft. In a large bowl combine everything and pour into a casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until heated through. 

Macaroni and Cheese

½ lb. elbow macaroni

1 T. butter

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dry mustard powder

1 T. hot/ warm water

3 C. grated cheddar cheese

1 C. milk

½ C. seasoned croutons, crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain thoroughly. Stir in butter and egg; mix mustard and salt with water and add to macaroni. Add cheese, reserving enough to sprinkle on the top. Pour into a greased 2 quart casserole dish, add milk…do not stir it in but distribute evenly, sprinkle with cheese and croutons. Bake for about 45 minutes or until set and the top is brown.

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken pieces, cut into bite sized pieces

2 (10 oz) cans cream of chicken soup

1 soup can water

3 C frozen mixed vegetables

1 can premade biscuits, cut into quarters

Place chicken, soup, and water in the crockpot and cook for 5 hours. Add frozen mixed vegetables and cook 30 minutes more. Add biscuits and cook for 30 more minutes or until biscuits dough is cooked through.

For more wonderful recipes check out Tuesdays at the Table

Polish Sausage Stew

Polish Sausage Stew

6 potatoes, peeled and diced

1 lb. polish sausage, sliced

1 onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 (15 oz) can green beans, undrained

Seasoning salt to taste

Place everything in a crockpot, cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until done.

For more wonderful recipes check out Tasty Tuesday

Happy Homemaker Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods:
It's hot....I'm so tired of it. Can we please just have fall now?


Things that make me happy: Decorating for Halloween

Book I'm reading:
none


What's on my TV today: 

nothing

On the menu for dinner:
Chicken and Vegetable Casserole and Macaroni and Cheese


On my To Do List:
Clean the bathrooms

Homeschooling

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Crockpot Potato Soup

In the craft basket:

Still working on the lap blanket. I made a horrible boo boo and had to undo over half of it.

Looking forward to this week:
The bee people getting rid of the bees in the barn.  Don't get me wrong I love bees, I am just highly allergic so it's gotten so bad I can't even go in the backyard anymore.


My favorite blog post this week:
I really liked this post At Attention, it reminded me that I can't multitask ALL the time. I don't want to be that kind of mom.

Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):
Beverly's Back Porch


No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

Lesson learned the past few days:
No deep lessons for today


On my mind:
Getting my work done and my housework caught up

Menu Plan Monday

Sunday

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings with Mixed Vegetables

Monday

Chicken and Vegetable Casserole

Macaroni and Cheese

Tuesday

Loaded Baked Potatoes

Salad

Wednesday

Crockpot Polish Sausage and Potatoes

Cabbage and Tomatoes

Thursday

Crockpot Split Pea Soup

Salad

Bread

Friday

Crockpot Pot Roast

Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Peas

Saturday

BBQ Beef Sandwiches

Coleslaw

For more wonderful menus check out Menu Plan Monday

Nacho Bar

This is one of the easiest dinner I make when I am tired. I just line everything up on the counter and let everyone help themselves.

Nacho Bar

3 C dry pinto beans

12 C water

1 lb. ground beef

1 ½ C salsa

2 C sour cream

¼ C taco seasoning

Cheese, as needed

Olives, tomatoes, green onions, jalapeño slices, cilantro, diced onions, extra cheese, and any other favorite nacho toppings

Tortilla chips

Soak beans covered with water overnight. Drain off water used to soak the beans and add 12 C fresh water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook beans for 2 ½- 3 hours or until they are tender. When done set aside. Cook ground beef in a large skillet until cooked through. Add salsa and drained beans to taste. If you have any leftover beans they can be frozen in 2 C portions with a little bit of bean juice from the pot to avoid any waste. Pour ground beef/bean mixture into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. In a bowl combine sour cream with taco seasoning until well combined. Spread sour cream mixture evenly over beef mixture. Top with desired amount of cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. In the meantime set out bowls of toppings and a large bowl of tortilla chips. Have everyone make their own nachos.

Roast Turkey, Mashed Potatoes with Giblet Gravy, Dressing, Broccoli with Cheese Sauce, Baked Cranberry Sauce

Roast Turkey

1 turkey

1 onion, quartered

1 carrot, cut into chunks

1 rib of celery, cut into chunks

1 apple, quartered

Oil as needed

Salt and pepper to taste

Defrost turkey in the refrigerator. It usually takes 5 hours per pound to thaw fully. Remove  giblets, neck, and other parts from inside of turkey. Place parts in a bowl and put into the refrigerator for using to make gravy. Wash turkey and pat dry with paper towels. Place onion, carrot, celery, and apple in the turkey’s cavity. Place in a roasting pan, breast side up. Drizzle with oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover roasting pan tightly with foil. Place roasting pan in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven down to 250 degrees and cook for an additional 20 minutes per pound. When turkey is done it should be between 170-180 degrees in the thigh area when measured with a meat thermometer. No basting is necessary. 

Mashed Potatoes

12 potatoes

8 Tbsp. butter

Milk

Adobo seasoning to taste

Peel potatoes and quarter. Boil in enough water to cover potatoes until potatoes are tender. Drain. Mix all ingredients except milk and mash with a potato masher or large fork. Add enough milk to make potatoes creamy.

Giblet Gravy

Parts that came out of the turkey, neck, giblets, etc

1 stalk celery with leaves

1 small onion, minced very, very small

Drippings from the turkey pan

¼ C flour (more or less)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Rinse the turkey parts and place in a medium saucepan with the celery and onion, cover with water and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until everything is tender. Remove all the turkey parts except the neck and finely chop. Discard the neck. Strain the broth and discard the vegetables, reserve the broth. Pour pan drippings in a large measuring cup, skim off fat and save. Pour ¼ C of the fat into the saucepan, discarding remaining fat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Add 1 ½ C. reserved broth to the saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Stir in chopped turkey meat. Serve.

Dressing

20 slices bread (about a pound), cubed

1/2 C butter

4 stalks celery, sliced

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced 

2-2 ½ C chicken broth

1/4 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp sage

Place cubed bread into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Set aside. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the celery, onion and garlic, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Pour the boiling mixture over top of the bread in the casserole dish.  Stir to combine.  Bake at 325 degrees for 25 to 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and crispy.  

Cheese Sauce

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1 cup milk

1- 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add flour and stir constantly for 1 minute. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. After milk is blended, cook several minutes until slightly thickened. Add cheese to taste and melt. Serve on top of steamed broccoli.

Baked Cranberry Sauce

1 lb. cranberries

1 C coconut

1 C orange marmalade

1 C sugar

½ C water

Nonstick cooking spray

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Spray a 2 qt casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and pour mixture into casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cranberries are tender. Chill until ready to serve.

For more wonderful holiday recipes visit Tuesdays at the Table