crock pot roast (a la robin)

so the best thing i ever bought with my wedding money (wink, wink) was the fix it and leave it 5 ingredients only recipe book from costco. it is amazing. and it only calls for 5 ingredients! none of these exotic things that you have to search for! it has been fantastic. i highly recommend it.

just last sunday i made my own roast recipe (it's not hard, honestly!).

the night before i cut up potatoes, onions and carrots. i then added olive oil to a large freezer ziplock back. i added salt and pepper and garlic salt. then i added the vegetables and mixed them around and placed them in the fridge over night.

in the morning i added my roast and the vegetables. some more salt, pepper and garlic and about 5 hours later on low we had an amazing feast. i think it really made it more flavorful to leave the vegetables marinating overnight (although i was just going for fast on sunday morning! not necessarily tasty!) the carrots were slightly undercooked and crunchy... my dad reminded me i should have added a cup of water! so there you go... my super easy crock pot invention! ha ha. i know you are all uber impressed.

p.s. catherine just might kill me but i am in charge of making fancy schmancy cupcakes for a bridal shower next month so if anyone has a killer recipe please let me know! i found the magnolia recipe already and may test it out!

This is a good chance for me to try some new crock pot recipes, I love using it but don't have a lot of great ones.

I already posted my best crock pot recipe, with the mexican stuff. If you want to check it out the labels are crock pot, pork, or mexican. It's called Chalupa Mix.

Italian Crockpot Chicken

This is one of the easiest crockpot recipes I know. The nice thing is the ingredients are things I always have on hand, and because it doesn't take long to cook, you can decide to make it in the afternoon when you're trying to come up with what to make for dinner.

4-5 chicken breasts (I like to cut them into strips)
1 8oz pkg. cream cheese (I usually only use 1/2, I like it less creamy)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian dressing mix

Place chicken in crockpot. In a saucepan, place cream cheese and soups. Heat until melted, then add Italian mix. Pour over chicken. Cook on low 3-4 hours (depending on your slow cooker). Serve over rice.

Barbara

Chicken Casablanca

Okay, I am such a loser - I haven't contributed to this blog in almost 2 months. Sorry! I will try to be better.

This recipe is straight out of the Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook. I would have never tried this recipe if a friend hadn't told me about it (some of the combinations of ingredients might sound a little different) but it is actually really, really good. The cinnamon and cumin give it such a great flavor, and I like it because it's a little different from your basic meat and potatoes crockpot recipes. If you want some more spice, add a dash of cayenne pepper too!

Barbara

2 tbsp oil
2 small or 1 large onion
1 tsp ground ginger
3 garlic cloves
3 carrots, diced
2 large potatoes, diced
2 1/2 - 3 lbs skinless chicken pieces
1/2 ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp raisins
14 1/2 oz can chopped tomatoes
2 small zucchini, sliced
15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained

1. Saute onions, ginger, and garlic in oil in skillet. Transfer to slow cooker. Add carrots and potatoes

2. Brown chicken in reserved oil. Add chicken to slow cooker. (I usually skip browning the chicken - it works both ways.)

3. Combine seasoning in separate bowl. Sprinkle over chicken and vegetables. Add raisins and tomatoes.

4. Cover. Cook on high 4-6 hours, low 8-10.

5. Add sliced zucchini and beans 30 minutes before serving.

6. Serve over rice or couscous.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

I know we've moved on but I just tried this recipe tonight and it is awesome! There are couple twists from your usual cookie recipe.

2 eggs
1 c butter
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla

Mix on high for 4 minutes. Add:

3 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Mix again, just until the flour is blended. Add and mix by hand:

1 1/2 bags milk chocolate chips
1 c chopped walnuts

Bake at 290 for 20-25 min. until they are just barely starting to brown.

new category for June 16th

CROCKPOT/SLOW COOKER is our new category. This should be a good one, it is so nice to be able to make dinner in the morning when the day seems relatively sane. It doesn't necessarily have to be dinner, just anything you cook in it. Here we go again!

famous tanner sugar cookies

well, they aren't famous here yet... but they will be.

ingredients:

• 1/2 C shortening (i like to use the shortening bars, less messy and easy to store)
  
• 1 C flour
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 egg
• 2 T milk
• zest of 1 lemon (this is the secret ingredient that makes these cookies AMAZING!)
  
• cream ingredients, add:
• 2 C flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt (+pinch more)
• 1/2 t baking soda
  

i like to roll a little ball of dough in my hand and place it on the cookie sheet. i then use the bottom of a glass cup, dip the bottom in a bowl of sugar and then use that glass bottom to press the round ball of dough into a flat round cookie. hopefully this makes sense! it's easy, it's quick and no need for cookie cutters!

here is the next secret: set your timer and only cook them for exactly 5 minutes @ 375. i know they'll look kind of pale and undercooked, but leave them on the cookie sheet until the next batch comes out. they'll keep cooking a little on the sheet and then you can put them on a cooling rack. this makes for perfectly soft sugar cookies!

four in one cookies

i'm not sure exactly why these are called four in one since there are really three big ingredients (oatmeal, coconut and chocolate chips) so realistically it should be three in one... but hey, i didn't write it! this has been a tanner favorite for a very long time.

ingredients:

• 1 c. shortening
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 3/4 c. flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 1/2 c. oatmeal (i add more)
• 1 c. coconut
• 1 pkg. chocolate chips

pretty simple, mix them up and bake them for 6-10 minutes on 350.

HuGe & aMaZiNG TRiPLe CHoCoLaTe CHiP CooKieS

4 1/4 C. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 C. soft butter
1 1/4 C. sugar
1 1/4 C. packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tbs. vanilla
1 C. milk chocolate chips
1 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 C. white chocolate chips

*heat oven to 375

combine flour, baking powder, and soda... set aside

beat butter and sugars together until creamy
beat in eggs and vanilla

gradually add dry ingredients
stir in chips

drop by level 1/4 C. about 2 inches apart
bake 12 to 14 minutes until golden brown
cool on sheet for 2 minutes and move to a wire rack

last chance to post cookies

yum, yum, yum... I want to try all of the ones that have been posted, but I am moving on tuesday and so I haven't been baking much. I do plan on gaining 50 pounds when we move in our new house from trying all these desserts. :)

On saturday we will have a new category, so if you haven't posted one yet - here's your chance.

(for you ladies that check this blog often, but haven't posted, START POSTING!) we would love to have your recipes, or at least your comments.