Walking Taco Casserole

This is not your typical “low and slow” crockpot recipe.  This is a 45 minute to an hour recipe.  So, yesterday I hadn’t really thought about what I was going to make for dinner all day.  It was an hour before the fiancé was getting home from work and I had to think fast.  I used my small Nesco roaster for this recipe.  It has temperature settings from 150 to 400 degrees.  And in case you are wondering why it’s called “Walking” Taco Casserole… Well, Walking Taco Salads are usually made on camping trips.  You build a taco salad inside a small bag of fritos (or doritos) and eat it out of the bag around the campfire!  You can “walk” around while eating the taco salad.  But this is made casserole style!  Sorry I don’t have a picture.  I am bad at remembering to take a picture before we dig in to the meal.

Walking Taco Casserole (Serves 4)

1 pouch of Knorr Spanish Rice (or Mexican rice or dirty rice)

2 cups of water

1 cup of tomato product (or enchilada sauce, salsa, taco sauce, or tomato sauce)

1 lb ground beef (or chicken or turkey)

1 package of taco seasoning (or burrito seasoning or fajita seasoning)

½ bag of chili fritos (or doritos)

1 cup of shredded cheddar

Taco Fixings optional: guacamole, taco sauce, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, black olives, onions, etc…

The Directions

Set small Nesco roaster to 300 degrees.  Add rice, water, and tomato product.  Stir and then cover.  Meanwhile, brown the ground beef.  Drain the fat after browned.  Add 4 tablespoons of water to beef and taco seasoning.  Mix well.  Then add to Nesco roaster, stir, reduce heat to 250 degrees.  Let simmer in roaster for 30 minutes or until rice is tender.  Check at 15 minutes and 30 minutes and add more water or tomato product as needed to keep rice mixture saucy and not pastey.  Add fritos and lightly push into rice mixture.  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Let cook for another 15 to 20 minutes.  Serve with your favorite taco fixings.

The Verdict
Another successful Nesco dish.  I slathered on a lot of sour cream and taco sauce.  The only thing that could have made this better was guacamole!!!  Next time I make this I might add softened cream cheese to the mixture to make it creamy.  This easily could have been baked or made as a skillet dish in a frying pan, but I love using my Nesco and crockpot!

Crockpot Tuna Noodle Casserole

I am leery about cooking noodles in a crockpot.  I am so afraid they will get mushy.  I have about a 50/50 percent success/failure rate when it comes to noodles in the crockpot.  LOL!  A few weeks ago I tried to make an Asian inspired shredded pork meal and threw in a package of Teriyaki Knorr noodles into the crockpot.  It was a disaster.  The noodles turned to a grainy mush.  Not sure if I over cooked them or if it was just that certain kind of noodle from a pre-packaged noodle mix.  Yuck!  But I have also made a pizza casserole and creamy chicken and noodles and turned out yummy!  So when I came across this recipe I was a bit skeptical but decided to try it and it turned out great.  This picture is the ingredients before it was cooked.

Tuna Noodle Casserole (Serves 4)

8oz pasta (I used rotini)

2 Tbsp butter

1 cup onion, chopped

8 oz sliced mushrooms (optional)

2 Tbsp flour

1 cup of chicken stock or broth

2 cups milk (I used 2%)

6oz cream cheese, softened

¼ cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated

12oz canned tuna, drained

½ bag of frozen peas (optional)

½ tsp garlic pepper

1 tsp lemon pepper

French fried onions

Salt & pepper to taste

The Directions

In a medium sized pot, bring heavily salted water to a boil and boil noodles for 4 minutes.  Drain immeditaly and set aside.
In a sauté pan, melt butter and sauté onions and mushrooms on medium low heat until onions are tender and translucent.  Add flour and constantly whisk for 1 minute.  Turn up the heat to medium high.  Add chicken stock and milk.  Boil and whisk for 2 minutes.  Turn off heat and add cream cheese and parmesan cheese.  Stir to melt.  Add noodles, seasonings, peas, and tuna.  Stir to coat noodles. 

Transfer to a crockpot.  Cook on low for 2 hours or high for 1 ½ hours.  Stir once half way through cooking.  Add French fried onions 30 minutes before serving.

The Verdict
This turned out great, though as you can see from the picture there are no mushrooms or peas this time.  My fiance hates peas & mushrooms...he is missing out!  I didn’t even miss the lack of “cream of …” soup.  And it is a versatile dish.  If your family doesn’t like mushrooms or peas, you can omit those and it won’t compromise the flavor.  You could also substitute the lemon pepper and garlic pepper for dry Italian or Ranch seasoning.  You could also substitute the canned tuna for canned chicken.  If you don’t have French fried onions, you could also use crumbled ritz crackers or potato chips.

I definitely recommend partially cooking the noodles, especially the thicker ones like rotini.  It gives the noodles a head start to soaking up the milk and to finish cooking.  If you only cook the noodles for 3 minutes, I would think that would give you an extra half hour or so in the crockpot if you have to leave the house for errands.  Don’t leave the crock pot on for more than 3 ½  hours or you might end up with mushy noodles.

 

 

 

 

Cheesy Jalapeno Ranch Chicken and Rice

I kind of threw this recipe together as I was at the grocery store trying to figure out what to make for supper. As my daughter said, “It’s del-wish-us”! I did do the chicken and rice in two separate crockpots because I decided to do rice after I had already had the chicken in the crockpot for a while.  I am sure there is a way to do it all together.  One of these days I will try it and figure out the chicken broth/cream of chicken to rice ratio.  Unfortunately, my picture doesn't do the dish justice.

Cheesy Jalapeno Ranch Chicken (Serves 4)

4 chicken breasts

1 can Campbell’s cheesy soup

1 can Campbell’s cream of chicken

1/2 can chicken broth (use the rest for the rice)

1 package dry ranch (save 2 tsp for rice)

4 oz cream cheese (at room temp)

1 Tbsp pickled jalapeno (finely diced)

½ cup shredded cheese (I used the pizza blend)

The Directions

Put the 1^st 5 ingredients into a crockpot and stir.  (I actually heated the soups, broth, and ranch on the stove in a pot, brought it to a boil, then poured it over the chicken breasts in the crockpot, but you don’t have to do that).  Cook on high for 3 – 4 hours or low for 4 – 5 hours. 20 min before serving, “temper” in cream cheese and stir in jalapenos (more or less depending on your heat tolerance).  Sprinkle cheese on top.

Serve over Ranch Rice.

Ranch Rice

1 cup uncooked Arborio rice (no substitutes)
3 Tbsps olive oil or grapeseed oil
1/2 cup white wine (cooking wine will do)
3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth (reserve ½ cup of broth to mix in later)
2 tsp dry ranch
1/4 tsp white (or black) pepper

The Directions
In a second crockpot toss the uncooked Arborio rice with the olive oil in your crockpot, add the seasonings, broth and white wine.  Stir to mix flavors.

Cover and cook on high for 1 ½ hours, or until the rice is tender.   Check after 1 hour, stir, and add more broth if needed.

The final product will be very creamy and have a porridge-like consistency.

The Verdict
This was yummy, creamy, and a little spicy.  This was a winner in my household because both my fiancé and my daughter loved it.  However, I did take a little chicken & sauce out before adding the jalapeno’s for my daughter.  The rice can be cooked on the stove it you don’t have a second crockpot.

This crockpot recipe is so versatile and flexible.  If you want an Italian spin, instead of ranch add dry Italian dressing.  Do the same to the rice and add a little lemon juice.  Also, add some artichokes and/or sun dried tomatoes to the chicken.  If you want a Mexican spin, use Campbell’s Fiesta Cheesy Soup, a little taco seasoning, and a can of salsa or Rotel instead of the broth.  For the rice, instead of the ranch and wine, add salsa or lime juice and cilantro.

Parmesan Risotto

Creamy risotto in a crockpot?  No constant stirring?  Yah right!  I saw this recipe on another blog and thought; no way can you make risotto in the crockpot.  I tried the recipe and yes, you can make risotto in your crockpot!  Serves 4 – 6 depending on serving size.  I suppose you could cut the recipe in half if only for one or two people, but then you will have to pay attention to cooking time, probably 1 ½ hours???

Parmesan Risotto

1 1/4 cup uncooked Arborio rice (no substitutes)
1/4 cup olive oil or grapeseed oil
1/2 cup white wine (cooking wine will do)
3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 tsp dried onion flakes
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp white (or black) pepper
2/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese (to add at the very end)


The Directions
Toss the uncooked Arborio rice with the olive oil in your crockpot, add the seasonings and garlic, pour in the broth and white wine.  Stir to mix flavors.

Cover and cook on high for 2 hours, or until the rice is tender.

Stir in the shredded cheese and leave uncovered for about 15 minutes to let a bit of the moisture escape.

The final product will be very creamy and have a porridge-like consistency.

The Verdict
This was yummy & creamy and…did I say yummy!  I can’t believe how easy this was to prepare, throw in the crockpot and forget about it.
I made grilled salmon with this but it would also make a good accompaniment to chicken parmesan.

I have to give credit where credit is due: I got the original recipe from http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/02/creamy-crockpot-risotto.html , but of course made a couple modifications to make it my own.

Pizza Pasta

Once again, another almost 80 degree day, but I can't wait to make another crockpot meal.  Since the recipe time is anywhere from 2 to 4 hours, this would be a great recipe to throw in the crockpot before church on Sunday or maybe while you are running errands on a Saturday afternoon.  Serves about 4. 

Forgot to take a pic before we dug into it!

½ lb of rigatoni

½ lb of hamburger

½ lb of Italian sausage

1- 24oz can/jar of spaghetti sauce

1 ½ cup water

½ small onion, chopped

1 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

4 oz. pepperoni, chopped

2 cups shredded mozzarella

½ cup shredded Parmesan

Optional: any of your favorite pizza toppings (green/black olives, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms,etc.)

Cook hamburger, sausage, onion, and garlic on medium heat until hamburger is browned, crumble.  Throw everything into a crockpot (except cheese) and stir well.  Cook on low for 3 -4 hours or high for 2 hours (depends on the settings of your crockpot).  Stir once, half way through cooking time to make sure there is enough liquid/sauce, add more water (or sauce) if needed.  15 minutes before its ready, add both cheeses to top of pasta and cook until cheese is melted & bubbly.

Resist the urge to constantly open the lid of your crockpot to “check on your food” or to stir.  Every time you open the lid it releases a lot of heat & moisture.

Serve with a tossed salad and garlic bread.

VERDICT:  Another yummy recipe.  I got rave reviews immediately from my family.  I may have overcooked the pasta just a bit so maybe taste test your pasta 3/4 of the way through the time mentioned above.  There is some pre-cooking to do, but this was so easy to throw together.   You can always freeze cooked hamburger/sausage so it is readily available. 

 

 

Mexi-Shredded Chicken & Rice

Fall is approaching and so is casserole & crockpot season (insert super excited-ness here)!!!  Even though summer is closing in on us, it is still 80 degrees out.  However, I was too excited to try this recipe to wait for cooler temperatures.  Plus, the stove part of my oven broke so I will be using my slowcooker frequently till I get a new oven :-)  Here is my first recipe...

 

2 pounds chicken (your favorite parts, skin & bone doesn't matter because you will be removing it later)

 

1 package taco seasoning

 

1 1/2 cups salsa (I used Mrs. Renfro's Mild Salsa)

 

1 can cream of chicken

 

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 cup of sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

 Cooked Spanish rice or chicken flavored rice

Mix taco seasoning, salsa, cream of chicken, and chicken stock in bottom of crock. Put chicken in and cover chicken with the mixture. Cook on low for aprox. 5 hours. Remove any bones or skin, shred chicken.  Put chicken back. Add sour cream and mix together. Top with cheese. Heat for aprox. 15-20 more minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve over spanish rice and enjoy!

 

Now, I have to give credit where credit is due.  Although I changed up the recipe a bit, the original recipe came from: http://www.crockadoodledo.blogspot.com/search/label/CHICKEN

VERDICT:  Yummy!  This dish was awesome!  We had some leftovers so I will be freezing those and using in another upcoming recipe.