Pot Roast

Pot Roast was a staple growing up.  I'm not much of a meat lover, so I could do without the roast...but I've never actually done that.  I love the potato, onion, carrot mixture.

1 chuck roast
1 onion
2c. carrots
6c. potatoes
3 beef bouillon cubes
salt/pepper to taste

1. Sear the outside of all sides of the roast in a pan.  I don't always do this, but it is better this way.
2. Dice the onion, carrots, and potatoes.
3. Put half of the mixture in the crockpot.
4. Put the roast in the crockpot.
5. Add remaining vegetable mixture.
6. Place each bouillon cube on the meat.
7. Add about 1/4c. or less of water.  Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste.  
8. Let cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until the meat is completely cooked.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know there is an easy way with just a spice cake mix, pumpkin, and chocolate chips...but I have plenty of ingredients to make it homemade (and cake mix prices are going up).  So I found this here at utah deal diva. I thought they were way good, and it felt good to actually make it from scratch!  You can't really go wrong with this recipe, but I decided to add a little extra (1/3c) flour than it says below.

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 TBSP vanilla extract {tablespoon!}

1- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Mix pumpkin, sugar, oil and the egg until well blended. Add the spices. Slowly mix in flour and remaining ingredients.

Drop large spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet. Don't bother making them look pretty- the cookies will puff up a bit and even out any rough edges.

Bake at 365 degrees for 11-13 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. Cool & enjoy! These are wonderful warm, right out of the oven.

Chicken Enchiladas

I love enchiladas.  I got this recipe from my sister, Robin, and make it all the time.  Its a keeper!

3C.  shredded cheese

1.5 lbs shredded chicken

1T chili powder

¼ C. lime juice

1/3 C. honey

½ t garlic powder

20 oz. green enchilada sauce

1.       Mix together chili powder, lime juice, honey, garlic powder, and green enchilada sauce

2.       Place cooked shredded chicken in the above mixture to marinade (not for long…just soak up)

3.       Wrap mixture into tortillas with some cheese also.

4.       Place in a pan and top with extra sauce and cheese.

5.       Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes

Tortillas

My sister, Erin, is a really good cook so I got this recipe from her.  It was so easy!  I love just regular quesadillas, tortillas and cheese.  But I used these to make Chicken Enchiladas and Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas :)

5 c. flour (I love using the pastry flour, but i would guess all-purpose works too)
1/2 c. oil (I used olive oil b/c it's healthier)
2 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 c. HOT water

Combine flour, salt and baking powder. Mix in oil. Then mix in hot water (hot water makes it mix better). Stir to form a ball, then knead to bring everything together. Sometimes I add a little more hot water...it will get really sticky at first until you knead it into the dough. The dough should be very soft but not sticky. Tightly cover bowl and let sit for 1 hour. Break into ball (I get about 25 tortillas from these amounts), cover with plastic wrap or towel and let sit for at least 3o minutes. This is the key...the first time I made them I started rolling and cooking right away and when I got to the last tortillas they started doing the bubbling so LET THEM SIT. Take a ball, roll it out to tortilla size. It will be very thin. I do this on my silpat. Cook over medium heat on the stove for 20 to 30 seconds per side. If anything under cook them so they remain pliable.

Pumpkin Cornbread

I need to use up the rest of the can of pumpkin I have.  And since it has decided to turn Fall abruptly here, I thought this cornbread recipe would be perfect!  This was delicious...really.  Even though its only a 8x8 I found myself still needing to give some away cause it makes so much.  I did find my way around the molasses...I just added an extra 2 T brown sugar instead.  It is definitely a must make again.

 

• 1 cup Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ½ Tablespoons Ground Cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Nutmeg
• ½ cups Brown Sugar
• 1 cup Cornmeal
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1 cup Pumpkin Puree
• ¼ cups Olive Oil
•  1 Tablespoon Molasses

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and grease an 8×8″ baking dish.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, spices, brown sugar, and cornmeal.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs, and then stir in the pumpkin, oil, and molasses.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined, and then pour the batter into the pan, smoothing out the top as much as possible.
Bake 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

I LOVE taco salad, but we can't finish off an iceburg lettuce with just the two of us.  And since I hate making salads...I will try this soon!

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches
Source: Sweet Treats and More

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 to 1 cup of your favorite Caesar dressing (I like Cardini's and Brianna's Asiago Caesar)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley (if you don't have fresh use around 2 teaspoons of dried parsley)
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
12 slider buns or 4-6 regular sized hamburger buns

1. Place chicken in a 3-4 quart slow cooker with 1-2 cups of water, cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours.

2. Remove chicken from cooker using a slotted spoon and drain the water from the slow cooker. Place chicken on a cutting board and pull chicken into shreds, discarding any fat.

3. Place chicken back in the cooker and pour dressing, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and pepper over the top. I really make sure that I discard any fat pieces so by the time I was done I only used about 1/2 cup of dressing but you make need more if you have more chicken. Stir until mixed evenly. Cover and cook on high heat for 30 minutes or until mixture is hot.

4. Spoon 1/4 cup mixture onto each slider bun if you are making sliders or more for regular sized buns. Top with extra shredded Parmesan cheese and lettuce to serve.

Snickerdoodle Sheet Cake

I love chocolate sheet cake, so I tried this out for a ward even one time!  I found it here on sweet treats.  Another plus: no special ingredients!  I think i always have these things.

Snickerdoodle Sheet Cake

source: Always With Butter

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cinnamon

2 sticks softened butter

1 3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups milk

Heat oven to 325.

Butter and flour an 18 x 24 in sheet cake pan {or two round cake pans for layer cake}. Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla.

Alternating, add dry mixture, then milk in three batches.

Bake for 30-35 minutes.  Let cool completely before frosting.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream
source: Always With Butter 

1 1/2 stick softened butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 cups powdered sugar

3 tbsp half and half (milk will work too)

Mix butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Alternating, add powdered sugar and half and half.  Frost cake.