Crockpot Sweet&Sour Chicken

This one is becoming a fast favorite around here with the guys. I love any dish that can be made in the crockpot. For one thing it is a great time saver for any busy mom, and secondly, I LOVE the smell of food cooking all day, it makes the whole house smell good and gives it a homey feel.

3 Tablespoons butter, melted

3/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup white vinegar

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 1/2 cup chicken broth

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can pineapple chunks, undrained

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Place chicken in crockpot. Combine all ingredients except pineapple and cornstarch. Cover and cook on low 5-7 hours. Drain pineapple, add chunks to crockpot. Stir in the cornstarch into the pineapple juice, then pour into crockpot and cook on low for another 15-20 minutes until slightly thickened. This sauce is great served on rice along side the chicken!

A New Favorite

This recipe is not the healthiest, simplest or even vegetarian as most of the ones I post here are, but it is just too good not to share! I will occasionally make dishes with chicken or turkey to please my meat eating husband and kids. Sometimes I will even eat one of these dishes myself. This one I am about to share is one such dish. It is too yummy for even me to resist!

My young son LOVES Panda Expresses Orange Chicken. I have tried several recipes and they've all been flops, until I found THIS one. This is very similar, but even better than Panda Expresses. It is more along the lines of P.F. Changs or The Iron Wok.

Because the chicken is coated and fried, it is a bit time consuming to make. I usually avoid such recipes, but I get requests from the kids and husband at least once a week for this one! I suggest making it on weekends when you have time, or make a couple of batches of the meat and freeze some for the next time.

Enjoy! We sure do!

Provolone, Tomato, and Fresh Basil Pizza

I got this recipe off the back of a package of Provolone Cheese that I recently bought. It was surprisingly quite good. My husband and I both really enjoyed it, while the kids ate it, but I have to admit they weren't quite as thrilled as we were.

3 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Homemade or Refrigerated Pizza Dough(I made homemade following the directions that came with my bread machine, super easy and yummy!)

1/4 Cup Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese

120z Sliced Provolone Cheese

5 Roma Tomatoes, Sliced thin

Salt and Pepper

Fresh Basil Leaves, Chopped

Coat a pizza pan with olive oil and spread dough out evenly to all edges of the pan. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and top with the sliced provolone cheese. Place tomatoes on top and sprinkle with salt, pepper and fresh basil. Bake in preheated 425 degree oven until crust is golden brown(about 15-20 minutes)

Open Face Tomato and Cheese

This is such a simple recipe, but so very yummy! It is often enjoyed around here for lunch, although paired with a green salad makes a nice light supper as well.

To make four: I use four slices of bread. Homemade really improves the overall flavor of this, and of course if you can, use whole grain. I shred about 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese. Slice 1-2 tomatoes depending on size. You will also need to prepare a mayo mixture of about: 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, and 1 teaspoon dried basil.

First spread a thin layer of the mayo mixture on each slice of bread. Then add sliced tomato, and top with cheese. Easy!

Next, bake on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray, at about 400 degrees for about 10 minutes until cheese melts and is just turning golden.

Enjoy!

Apples, Apples, Apples!

Someone from church blessed my family with a HUGE bucket full of delicious apples last week. Not wanting any to go to waste we quickly started making everything we could think of that required apples. We of course made fresh apple juice and dried some in our dehydrator.

The kids wanted an apple pie, which presented a problem for me: I SUCK at making pie! I make the best cookies(in my not so humble opinion) pretty good cakes, bars and other sweet treats, but pie, nope. It seems to be the crust that gets me every time. Even my dear sweet grandmother thought I was a hopeless case when it came to making pie.

But guess what? I made THE BEST apple pie ever, crust and all! How you wonder? This SITE had step-by-step directions. I wish I'd found this years ago. I HIGHLY recommend it!

Next we were off seeking an applesauce recipe. It's not that I can't make it, I just never had before. Being a bit tired from all of the other treats, I was seeking something I could hopefully make in my crock pot and came across THIS recipe. All I can say about this one is YUM and YUM again! It wasn't quite like the mushy baby food substance you buy in the store, but almost like an apple pie filling. It was beyond yummy served on vanilla ice cream and makes an excellent pancake topping! I will be making this again for sure!

I never knew there was so much you could do with apples! Too bad my own tree didn't survive our billy goat! I will have to plant another soon!

Pumpkin Buns

These are so tasty! I got this recipe from Octobers Family Circle. They are very much like cinnamon rolls but with the added flavor of pumpkin, yum!!

Pumpkin Buns

1 envelope active dry yeast(about 2 1/2 tsp)

1/4 cup warm water

1 tsp plus 2 tablespoon granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup(1/2 stick) butter

1 can (15 oz) solid pack pumpkin

5 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

Filling:

1/2 cup(1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Glaze:

2 cups confectioners' sugar

3 tablespoons milk

Sprinkle yeast over warm water in large bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of the granulated sugar; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Beat in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, the eggs, butter and pumpkin.

Gradually add 5 cups of the flour and the salt, scraping side of bowl, until soft dough forms. Turn out onto floured surface and knead remaining 1/2 cup flour into dough, adding more if sticky. Knead for 10 minutes, until smooth. Dough will be soft.

Grease a bowl; add dough. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 1/4 hours.

Coat two 13x9x2 inch baking pans with nonstick cooking spray.

Make Filling:

Mix butter, granulated and brown sugars, and cinnamon in a bowl.

Punch down dough. Roll out half onto a lightly floured surface to form a 16x10 inch rectangle. Spread with half the filling. Starting on one long side, roll up jelly-roll fashion. Pinch seam to close. Repeat with second half of dough and filling.

Cut each log crosswise into 12 generous 1 inch pieces. Arrange 12 pieces, cut-side down, in each prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap; let sit in a warm spot until buns double in size, about 30-45 minutes.

Heat oven to 350. Uncover pans and bake buns until they are golden brown and bubbly, 28-33 minutes.

Glaze:

Blend Confectioners' sugar and milk. Drizzle over buns(about 1/3 cup per pan) serve warm.

I made the dough on the dough setting of my bread machine, and saved much time! I highly recommend doing so. Just add wet ingredients first and yeast last.

Teriyaki Boca Burgers

These are so good, I can't get enough of them! I've had them several times the past few days for lunch and dinner both!

You can do these on the grill or stove top. I find both Boca Burgers and Sunshine burgers taste much better either of these ways versus the microwave, where they come out kind of soggy and tasting like the school cafeteria burgers of the 70's and early 80's.

For Each Burger:

Boca Burger Patty

pineapple slice

teriyaki sauce(about 2 tablespoons)

Swiss Cheese slice

red onion slices

lettuce

tomato slice

buns(I like whole wheat)

While the burger is grilling or frying I also am grilling or the pineapple slices and red onion slices. Once the Boca Burger begins to thaw I add about a tablespoon of teriyaki sauce on each side. When the burger is almost done I add the red onion slices and top with the swiss cheese until it melts. Serve on bun with lettuce, tomatoe, and a little mayo.

You can add other condiments, but this is SO good you don't want to add too much to take away the flavor. Even my picky meat eaters will eat a Boca Burger served this way!