Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Time: 25 minutes prep - 8 hours cooking

Ingredients:

• 1 boneless beef chuck roast (3 pounds)
• 2 large russet potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 medium parsnips, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 large carrots, sliced thickly on the diagonal
• 2 large ribs celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, cut into chunks
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) beef broth
• 1 can (14-15 ounces) diced tomatoes

Directions:

1. Cut roast in half; place into a 5-qt. slow cooker. Top with potatoes, parsnips, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.
2. In a medium bowl, combine thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, pepper, broth, and diced tomatoes; pour over vegetables.
3. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaves before eating

Verdict:
This was good pot roast. Allison loved the meat and carrots. She wasn't big on the parsnips, but Dave and I enjoyed the different flavor they added. Pretty decent recipe as far as crock pot things go.

Pasta with Tuna Sauce

Source: allrecipes.com

Servings: 6
Total Time:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves crushed garlic

1 tablespoon capers

1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained

1 (16 ounce) package dry pasta

Directions

1. In a large saute pan, heat oil over low heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in capers, tomatoes, lemon juice, and parsley. Season with red pepper flakes to taste. Simmer gently for 3 minutes to thicken sauce. Fold in tuna, and heat through.
2. While sauce is cooking, add pasta to a large pot of rapidly boiling water; cook till just tender. Drain well.
3. Toss pasta with sauce, and serve.

Verdict:
This was pretty good. i think next time i'll use a different pasta, probably just spaghetti. But it was a really easy recipe using things i had on already in the pantry. (i used dried parsley instead of the fresh). And it was a good way to eat more fish. Allison thought it was chicken!

Easy Italian Chicken

Servings: 4
Total Time: less than 5 minutes prep; 50-60 mins cooking

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 bottle italian dressing
package of pre-sliced mushrooms

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bag and marinate for several hours. I use frozen breasts, combine everything in the morning before work, put in the fridge and allow breast to marinate and defrost all day.

Pour contents of bag into a foil lined (optional, but makes clean up easy!) baking dish. Bake on 350 for 50-60 minutes or until chicken is cooked.

Verdict:
This was really yummy and so so so super easy. This will definitely be a keeper in our house for weeknight meals.

Beef and Broccoli

Everytime I post a picture of the food I make, I really think, wow, I should use a better camera than my cell phone. But then I get lazy again. And really, who has time to break out the big camera when your yummy dinner is just sitting there waiting to be eaten.

So not the best picture, but this is so yummy!

Recipe source: canyoustayfordinner.com

Servings: 4

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound flank or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
• 1 pound broccoli florets, blanched or bag broccoli wokly
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tbsp water

Beef Marinade:

• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:

• 3 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

Directions:

1. Make the marinade: Stir together the beef marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the beef slices and stir until coated. Let stand for 10 minutes
2. Make the sauce: Stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside. 
3. Blanch the broccoli: Cook the broccoli in a small pot of boiling, salted water until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain thoroughly.  OR If you want to cheat (which is what I did): buy a bag of broccoli wokly florets that steam in the bag. I cooked it in the microwave for about 1.5 minutes.
4. Heat a wok over medium-high heat until a bead of water sizzles and instantly evaporates upon contact. Add the sesame oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and immediately spread the strips out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching). Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until no longer pink.
5. Pour in the sauce.
6. Add the blanched broccoli and bring to a boil.
7. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds.
8. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Verdict: 

This was super yummy and so super fast and easy. It took the rice longer to cook than it did for me to make this. And it's pretty healthy to boot. 

Per Serving (not including rice): Calories - 292 Fat - 17 Carbs - 10 Prot - 25 Fiber - 2

Chicken Dill Pasta

Source: Adapted from recipe at parents dot com

Time: 15 mins
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
Dressing
3 T white vinegar
2 T light mayo
1 T honey
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 c olive oil
a few shakes of dried dill

Pasta
8 oz rotini, farfalle or other pasta of choice
1.5-2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 tomato, chopped
1 cup peas, cooked
1/2 c feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:
Dressing: Whisk together all ingredients and set aside.
Pasta: Cook pasta according to box. Combine pasta, chicken, tomato, peas and feta. Drizzle with dressing and toss to combine.

Verdict:
I really liked this. Dave thought it was ok. Allison didn't like it. But since I really liked it and I'm that one that cooks, we'll have it again!

Asian Glazed Chicken

Source: Skinnytaste dot com

Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 2 pieces • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 5 ptsCalories: 213 • Fat: 4.7 g • Protein: 27.5 g • Carb: 12.7 g • Fiber: 0.4 g

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs - about 2 lbs
olive oil spray (I used my Misto)
1 cup water
1 tbsp Sriracha hot sauce (more or less to taste)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tsp sugar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp ginger, grated
2 tbsp chives or scallions, chopped
1 tsp sesame seeds

Directions:
1. In a heavy large saucepan, brown chicken on high for 3-4 minutes with a little spray oil.

2. Add water, balsamic, soy sauce, agave, garlic, ginger, hot sauce and cook on high until liquid comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes.

3. Remove cover and bring heat to high, allowing sauce to reduce down, about 8-10 minutes, until it becomes a thick glaze, turning chicken occasionally. (Keep an eye on glaze, you don't want it to burn when it start becoming thick) Transfer chicken to a platter and pour glaze on top. Top with chives and sesame seeds and serve.

Verdict:
This was really good. Dave said it was a little salty, but Allison and I thought it was yummy. Maybe next time i'd cut down on the soy sauce a litte - but probably not. This makes enough glaze to even use 10-12 thighs if you want leftovers. And bonus, it used all stuff I already had in the pantry, all I had to do was buy the chicken.

Roasted Red Pepper Chicken

Source: running mama blog


Servings: 2-4 depending on amount of chicken
Time: 15 minutes + 1 hour or more for marinating


Ingredients:
Thin Chicken breast fillets
Italian dressing/marinade (I used Kraft Sun Dried Tomato vinaigrette)
Jar of Roasted Red Peppers
Italian Cheese Blend


Directions:
Place chicken in ziploc bag and cover with dressing. Refrigerate and marinate for at least 1 hour.
Grill chicken until done.
While still on the grill, top with roasted red pepper slice and cheese. Cook until cheese is melted.


Verdict:
So easy and so yummy! A great summer chicken recipe. Definitely a keeper!