Slow Cooker Lasagna

This recipe showed up on my FB news feed (a friend had shared it) and I immediately shared it on my own timeline so I could go back to it.

It came from here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/candaceshealthyfriends (not sure if it's elsewhere online or not, I'm trying to give credit where credit is due). And it's SO EASY AND SO DELICIOUS.

1 lb ground beef

1 can/jar spaghetti sauce

6 uncooked lasagna noodles

1 1/2 cups cottage cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese*

Brown ground beef and drain.

Spoon about 1 cup of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of the crock pot. Mix the rest of the spaghetti sauce in with the ground beef.

Place 2 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce in the crock pot.

Spread 1/3 of the meat mixture over the noodles. Then spread 1/2 cup cottage cheese over the meat. Top with 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella. 

Add another layer of noodles, meat, cottage cheese and mozzarella, then do it again once more. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on the very top.

Cook on low for 4 hours. Do not cook longer than that, as it will get overdone.

*I actually used about 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. :)

Beef Pot Pie

Had to do something with starting to go freezer-burnt stew meat. Alex said "beef pot pie!" so I looked up a recipe on allrecipes.com and made it. I followed the recipe almost exactly (except I used 4 potatoes instead of 3), but next time I think I would mix the gravy in with the meat/veggies instead of putting it on top. However, it still turned out fantastic and I will most definitely be doing it again.

1 pound of beef, cubed

1 can (14 oz) beef broth

3 large carrots, diced

3 potatoes, cubed

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

3 tablespoons corn starch

1/3 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

2 9-inch refrigerator pie crusts

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, brown the pieces of meat on all sides. Pour in some water to almost cover*. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until meat is tender and falls apart easily (about 2-3 hours). Transfer meat to a large mixing bowl. Shred the meat and add salt and pepper to taste.

2. In another saucepan over medium heat,  pour in beef broth** and add carrots and potatoes. Cook until almost done, about 15-20 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350F.

4. When the carrots and potatoes are done, transfer to the large mixing bowl with the beef, leaving the liquid in the pan. Combine the peas in with the carrots, potatoes and beef.

5. Dissolve the cornstarch with the 1/3 cup of water. Pour into the saucepan of beef broth, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat. Cook for about 5 minutes.

6. Line a 9-inch pie plate with one of the pie crusts, following the package instructions. Place the beef mixture into the pie crust. Pour the gravy over top of the mixture, then cover with the other pie crust. Bake in the preheated oven until the crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes***. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

*I had to keep replenishing the water over the course of the 2 hours I cooked the beef because it kept evaporating (as water will do).

**Recipe calls for a 14 oz can of beef broth. I only had a 10 oz can. So I used the water that was left over at the end of the beef-cooking to make up the difference.

***My pie crust was not golden brown after only 25 minutes. In my oven at 350F it took 40 minutes. I would say put it in for 25 and then check it and add time accordingly, checking every so often.

Easy Chicken Casserole

I wanted to do something different with the chicken breasts I had taken out, so I made a casserole. It was really simple and turned out amazing. The crappy thing is, I don't measure anything, so these are just a rough estimate.

1 1/2 cups shell pasta
3 chicken breasts, cut into small bite sized pieces
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.

While pasta is cooking, cook diced chicken breasts in some olive oil in a large frying pan or skillet. When pasta is cooked, drain, and mix with the chicken. Add can of cream of mushroom soup and about 1/2 cup (or half the empty soup can) of milk and mix thoroughly until everything is creamy. Transfer to a casserole dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and then cover with shredded cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Garlic Potato Bake

Alex invented this "treat" as he calls it, the other night. He didn't put ALL the potatoes he made into this, he left some out (after step 1) for Charlie and I because we don't like tomatoes. He said it was absolutely amazing. I didn't get a picture, but will the next time he makes it for himself.

1 lb peeled potatoes
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 diced tomato
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Boil potatoes until they are cooked. Mash with butter, milk, salt and garlic powder.

2. Place potatoes in the bottom of a greased loaf pan. Top with tomato and parmesan cheese.

3. Bake in oven at 425F for 20 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

I have been wanting to make chocolate chip muffins for awhile now. Today, I found a recipe and tonight I made them.

O.M.G. These are so good. Amazingly so.

First, the website I got them at is http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/01/17/bakery-style-chocolate-chip-muffins/ She deserves all the credit, and you should read that post just because it's kind of awesome. And so are the pictures. Much better than mine. LOL.

3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional, I chose not to do it because I couldn't find coarse sugar at the store)

Preheat oven to 425F. Grease muffin tin (or line with paper cups) and set aside.

In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk eggs and sugar, then add milk, oil and vanilla and mix.

Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix together using a wooden spoon, until all the flour is off the bottom and there are no pockets of flour in the mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Spoon/pour batter into the muffin tin, filling all the way to the top. Sprinkle with the coarse sugar, if you're doing that.

Bake in the 425F oven for 5 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 375F and bake for another 13 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.

Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

Garlic and Brown Sugar Chicken

I wish I knew where I found this recipe, so I could give whoever came up with it credit. But alas, I found it somewhere online, copied/pasted it to a sticky and long forgot where it came from. Tonight though, I made it and holy toledo is it ever good! We will definitely make this again.

4-6 chicken breasts or thighs (I actually used 3 chicken breasts)

1 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup vinegar

1/4 cup lemon-lime soda

2-3 Tablespoons minced garlic

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

2 Tablespoons corn starch

2 Tablespoons water

Rice or noodles, cooked

Red pepper flakes (optional) 

Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken in slow cooker (frozen or thawed, doesn't matter). Mix together brown sugar, vinegar, soda, garlic, soy sauce and pepper. Pour over chicken.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours (that's what I did). 

I actually skipped this next step and may try it next time, but may not because it was awesome without doing it.

Take chicken out of the cooker and pour remaining sauce into a saucepan. Place over high heat. Mix together corn starch and water, pour into saucepan and mix well. Let sauce come to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, or until it starts to thicken and turns into a glaze. Remove from heat and let sit for a minute or two.

Serve chicken over rice or noodles and top with glaze. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes if desired (I didn't do that either).

We had ours with basmati rice. It would definitely be good with pasta too. 

Sorry for the somewhat crappy picture. I just took a quick one with my phone.

1930s Era Chocolate Cake

I found this recipe on Pinterest (the website is here: http://tastycheapskate.blogspot.ca/2011/01/wacky-cake.html) and pinned it immediately because I wanted to try it. I was especially intrigued because it was something my sister can eat, as it has no eggs, no milk and no butter. It's even more intriguing because you don't mix it in a bowl first, you do it right in the pan!

When you have a toddler, the less cleanup of things like dishes, the better.


2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
6 tbsp cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt (I used about half)
2 cups warm water
2/3 cups canola oil
2 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract

In a 9x13 inch pan, mix all dry ingredients. Then add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly, until you have something that looks like this:

Bake in a 350F oven for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely and frost. You can use the frosting that's included on the website I got the recipe from, or you can do what I did and use a jar of betty crocker frosting.

The cake is VERY moist and chocolaty. I'm actually not a huge fan and probably won't be making it often. I kind of felt like I could taste the vinegar, and I didn't like that at all. I wonder if it would be possible to omit the vinegar from the recipe...

Homemade Lemonade

Something Alex has been doing lately is making lemonade. And OMG it's good. I think it's something from like the 1930s or thereabouts, but yeah. So easy, so good, and like with everything you make from scratch, you control what's in it.

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
5 whole cloves
1/3 of a cinnamon stick
2 tbsp zested lemon rind
1 cup lemon juice

1. In a pot, put all ingredients except for the lemon juice. Bring it to a boil and boil down about half.

2. Add the lemon juice, boil down again, this time about one quarter.

3. Strain and then let cool.

4. Pour yourself a glass of ginger ale (or water) with some ice. Add 2 tbsp of the syrup to the glass, stir and enjoy!

*The picture has the syrup itself, and what it looks like in a glass of ginger ale, which is my preferred way of drinking it.

Western Egg Muffins

I found this idea online, and made my own variation of it. I'm sure it's something some people have been doing for years, but it's a new idea for me, and it is definitely something I will make again.

10 large eggs
1/2 cup each of diced onion, green pepper, mushrooms and ham
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used marble)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.

2. Dice onion, green pepper, mushrooms and ham, and sauté in oil or margarine for about five minutes, until starting to get soft.

3. Break 10 eggs into a medium sized bowl and scramble. Add shredded cheese and sautéed veggies/meat, salt and pepper and mix well.

4. Pour mixture into muffin tins, about 3/4 full.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from tin to cool. Makes 12 "muffins".

These muffins can apparently be stored in the fridge or freezer for up to one week. Make sure to cool thoroughly, for at least 30 minutes, before putting into fridge or freezer. To reheat, just pop them in the microwave for a minute, but not too long, or they will go rubbery.

You can, of course, use whatever you want in the eggs. I just went with my standard "western" ingredients, but they would be good with other ingredients as well.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I have been itching to make sweet and sour meatballs for a couple of weeks now, so yesterday, I called up my mother and asked for her recipe. Made them tonight for us and a couple of our friends who we had invited for supper. The only one who wasn't a fan was Charlie, but that's because he's not a huge fan of beef (never has been). I will say, though, like everything else, he gave it a try (two bites) before deciding he didn't like them. Anyway, I will post the original recipe, but I doubled everything for tonight's meal as I was feeding more than just a couple of people.

1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp mustard
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 tbsp corn starch

Mix onion, ground beef and Worcestershire sauce. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on a broiler pan. Broil for 2 minutes each side.

Mix ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, pineapple juice and corn starch in a pot and bring just to a boil.

Add meatballs to sauce and simmer for 1 hour.

Alex's Pork Chops

Alex makes pork chops that are like ribs. It's the only way we eat them these days. So simple and so good.

Pork chops (we usually have pork loin chops, but whatever kind works)
Salt
Brown sugar

Sprinkle both sides of each chop with salt, then rub them with brown sugar. Arrange pork chops on a wire rack in a pan lined with tin foil. Bake in a 350F oven for 1 hour 30 minutes (45 minutes per side).

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

We were getting sick of banana or carrot muffins. So I looked up recipes for oatmeal muffins (preferably oatmeal WITH something else) and came across this recipe. Decided to give it a try tonight and they are quite yummy. They taste like apple crisp in muffin form, if that makes sense. They haven't passed Charlie's taste test yet, as he's in bed, but Alex and I like them.

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I used all purpose because I don't buy whole wheat flour, ever)
1 1/4 cups oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup buttermilk (recipe called for low-fat, but I couldn't get that, so I used regular)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbsp canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup raisins (optional...and I hate raisins so I left them out)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cases or spray with a nonstick cooking spray

In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, combine applesauce, buttermilk, sugar, oil and egg. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add applesauce mixture. Stir until just moist. If putting raisins, fold them in at this point. Spoon evenly into muffin cups.

Bake 16-18 minutes.

Adventures in Feeding a Toddler

The good thing about doing baby-led weaning is that my son just ate whatever we ate, and I didn't have to spend time (or money) making (or buying) baby food.

The other good thing is, this has made for a not-picky child. He will eat just about anything we put in front of him. There are some things he refuses to eat (or won't eat very much of) but for the most part, he's not picky, which is great.

Except.

He's two (just about). He's a toddler. And he has these days where he wants none of it. Thankfully, we know that if he skips a meal, it won't kill him (and he will get hungry later on and eat something) but it's still frustrating (and wasteful) trying to figure out what (if anything) he will eat in those moments of "i'm going to throw anything they give me on the floor because I'm a toddler" that he has.

We do admittedly give him more fish sticks and chicken strips and KD with hot dogs than we probably should. However,  he eats more fruit and veggies than we do, and we try to make sure he gets as much of a balance as possible. We cook most things from scratch, which means we spend a decent amount of time in the kitchen preparing meals every day.

It can be upsetting when we spend time making a delicious meal and all he'll do with it is throw it on the floor. We try not to take it personally, but it's HARD. A happy day is when we make something and he devours it like it's the best thing ever.

And these days, those times are kind of few and far between. But that's the joy of trying to feed a toddler.

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

I got a craving for chocolate cake...and this recipe definitely satisfied it! I think I might have mixed it too much, as it didn't turn out quite as light and fluffy as it was supposed to, but it's still very yummy. Alex thinks it needed some canola oil or more butter, to make it moister. And it makes a huge amount. the recipe says it makes 1 two-layer 9" round cake. I put most of it in my casserole dish and then made nine cupcakes...and I should have made more cupcakes instead of putting so much in for the cake. The picture shows six of the cupcakes and the cake. I used store bought vanilla frosting and mini chocolate chips (semi-sweet) to decorate the cake/cupcakes.

2 cups boiling water
1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour whatever pan(s) you plan on using for the cake.

In a medium bowl, pour the boiling water over the cocoa powder. Mix until it's smooth. Set aside and allow it to cool to room temperature. (To avoid lumps, pour a bit of the water over the cocoa and mix until it's a thick paste. Once it's smooth, add the rest of the water and whisk.)

In a large bowl, cream the butter until it's soft enough to beat easily. Gradually add the sugar, beating the mixture between each addition until it's light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating the mixture thoroughly each time. Incorporate the vanilla.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three steps, alternating with the cocoa mixture. Mix until the batter is just smooth.

Transfer to pan(s) and bake the cake in the preheated oven until a tooth pick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

*The cupcakes took 20 minutes. The cake, because it was so deep, took 45 minutes. The recipe says if you use two 9" round pans, it should take 25-30 minutes.

Taco Dip

I just invented my own taco dip. It doesn't look great, but it's absolutely delicious and Alex and I both love it.

1 lb ground beef
1 cup water
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 cup of cream cheese, softened
Approx. 325 mL mild salsa*
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, brown ground beef, drain. Add water and taco seasoning, cook until almost all water is gone. Add cream cheese, salsa and shredded cheese and mix well. Continue mixing over heat until cream cheese and cheddar cheeses are melted and mixed thoroughly. Remove from heat and let sit for a few minutes. Serve with nacho chips.

*I used about half of a large jar (650 mL) of salsa. So one small jar or half a large jar will do.

Alfredo Casserole

First post of 2013! I hope everyone had a great holiday season and is getting back to normal. I cheated a bit with this recipe (used a bottled sauce instead of making one from scratch) but it was seriously awesome.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into small bite sized pieces
5 large mushrooms, chopped
2 1/2 cups of pasta (I used small shells, but other pasta would work too)
1 jar  (410 mL) of Classico Alfredo and Roasted Garlic sauce
1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a pot, cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook diced chicken in olive oil until white on all sides, then add mushrooms and cook another 3-5 minutes.

When pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the chicken/mushrooms and stir. Then pour in the jar of sauce and mix thoroughly.

Transfer mixture to a casserole dish and cover with shredded cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Let sit 3-5 minutes before serving.

*One thing we noticed after baking was that the sauce had gotten really thick and kind of dry. So I would recommend either using two jars of sauce, or just one jar of sauce but adding 1/2 cup water as well, to keep it saucier.