Crockpot Lasagna Soup

1 lb ground beef 
3 cups of beef broth
1/2 cup water
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 TB dried parsley
1 TB dried basil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1, 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1, 6oz can of tomato paste
1 cup V8
2 cups uncooked shell pasta
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
Optional topping- shredded cheese,cottage cheese or ricotta cheese

1. First mix together the can of tomatoes, and tomato paste in crockpot.
2. Next add broth, beef (raw no need to cook it), garlic, parsley, basil, onion, V8 and salt/pepper.
3. Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.
4. When 30 minutes are left of cook time, add in the 1/2 cup of water and noodles. Stir to combine.Turn crockpot onto high!! Put lid back on and continue cooking for 30 minutes or until noodles are tender.

* I got this recipe from familyfreshmeals I have a stovetop lasagna soup that I love but I really love the idea of doing anything in the slow cooker just because its so easy. And this soup did not disappoint it was great and the kids ate it up. I also loved that you don't have to cook the meat before hand. Making it that much more easy to throw in and go.

Garlic Knots

12 frozen Rhode's white dinner rolls thawed (you can also use the texas size rolls for bigger knots)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp garlic powder
Parmesan cheese (optional)

1.For the knots, thaw dinner rolls on parchment paper for about one and a half to two hours (until no longer frozen, but not risen). Roll each roll into about a 6 inch log, tie ends into a knot. Place each knot on a cookie sheet sprayed with non stick spray.

2.Cover rolls with a light towel and allow to double in size (about 3 hours).

3.Melt butter. Whisk in garlic powder and garlic salt. Brush most the mixture over rolls.Leaving some for after they are cooked.

4. Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove from over and brush on remaining butter mixture and also some Parmesan cheese if desired.

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

4-5lb beef roast
1 can beef broth
5-6 medium potatos diced
5 large carrots large diced
1 med onion wedged
1 packet lipton beefy onion dry soup mix
2 bay leafs

1. Cut up the veggies and add them to the slow cooker 

2. Sear the roast in some oil in a pan on all sides.

3. Add the roast to the top of the veggies then top with the soup mix,beef broth and bay leaves.

4. Cook on low for 8 hours or until veggies are tender

Cheeseburger Pasta

2 cups (6 ounces) uncooked rotini pasta 
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 1/2 cups onions, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pound 95% lean ground beef
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons Mayo
4-5 large Roma tomatoes, reseeded and diced
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 cups low fat cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup dill pickles, finely chopped

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. 
2.Boil the pasta in a large pot according to packaged directions until al dente. Drain and set aside. 
3.In a large skillet on medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and saute until onions are transparent. Add the garlic and stir about 30 seconds until fragrant. 
4.Stir in the ground beef and fully cook through until brown. Drain if needed. 
5.Stir in the seasoned salt, ketchup,mayo and mustard until well combined. Add the chopped tomatoes. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 2 minutes or until the mixture is thickened. 

6.Add the cooked and drained noodles to the meat and stir well. Pour into the prepared baking pan and evenly sprinkle the cheese across the top.

 

7. Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until cheese has melted. Remove from the oven and slightly cool before serving. Top with chopped dill pickle.

* I got this recipe from bakerette I think that I used a little to many noodles so my pasta was a little dry but other then that we all loved the flavor. I also didnt add the pickles only because I didnt have any. But I would add them for sure if I made this again.

Fajita Chicken Pasta

Salt and pepper
1 pound pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil 
1 1-oz. packet fajita seasoning
3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken tenders, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 small red, yellow or orange bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/4-by-2-inch strips
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
 
 
 1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook farfalle until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water, and return pasta to pot.
2. In a large skillet, warm oil over medium heat. Rub seasoning on chicken. Add to skillet and cook 4 to 8 minutes, turning once, until cooked through. Remove to a plate; cover.

3. Cook bell peppers in skillet, stirring, until just tender, 8 minutes. Add chicken, pour in half-and-half and stir to scrape up browned bits. Cook 3 minutes, stirring, until thickened. Stir in Parmesan and cook 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Toss chicken mixture with pasta. Add some pasta water if mixture seems dry. Serve with Parmesan.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Gravy

2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 jar (12 oz) chicken gravy
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup
1 can sweet corn drained
Salt & Pepper to taste
cheese optional

1.Spray slow cooker with non stick cooking spray Add in chicken
2.Mix gravy and soup together and pour over chicken add salt and pepper to taste
3.Cook on low for 7-8 hours The last 30 min of cooking stir in the can of corn and mix well shredding up the chicken

4.Serve over noodles or with mashed potatoes and top with cheese

Macaroni Salad

2 pounds uncooked elbow macaroni
12 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
2-1/2 pounds fully cooked ham diced

1 package (16 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
3 cups sliced celery
1 large green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups mayonnaise
2 cups sour cream 
1T salad supreme  
  

1.Cook macaroni according to package directions. Rinse in cold water; drain and cool completely. 
2.Mix together the mayo,sour cream and salad supreme and set aside.

 3.Place pasta in a large bowl and stir in all remaining ingredients including the sauce. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

                


Yield: 34 (1-cup) servings.


 

Olive Garden's Lasagna Rollata Al Forno copycat

sauce
2 cups marinara sauce (I used garlic and onion flavor)
2 cups alfredo sauce( I used paul newman original alfredo)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup italian blend shredded cheese
1/4 cup chicken broth or water

filling
1 egg
15 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
1 (8 ounce) mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup asiago cheese, grated
1/2 cup romano cheese, grated
1 tablespoon italian seasoning, blend
salt and pepper, to taste

12-14 lasagna noodles (depends on the size of your pan)
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

1. Blend first two marinara ingredients together in a large saucepan. Add remaining ingredients and heat on medium, stirring frequently. The cheese will melt and the sauce will become creamy. Keep warm.
   
    
2. Set aside 1/4 of mozzarella cheese. Beat egg into a large mixing bowl and add all remaining ingredients, blending well. Keep refrigerated until you are ready to use.
   
    
3. Cook lasagna exactly according to package directions. Drain and rinse immediately with cold water so they are cool enough to handle.
4. When ready to make, spread about 1/4 cup of marinara sauce in a large 9x13 baking dish. Based upon the number of noodles in your 1 lb of noodles, divide the filling accordingly. Lay one lasagna noodle in baking dish and spread with filling along noodle. Loosely roll the noodle up, jelly-roll style.
   
    
    
5. Continue with each lasagna noodle until all noodles are rolled and arranged in baking dish. Cover each roll with remaining sauce, the remaining mozzarella cheese and top with Italian breadcrumbs. 
6. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.
    
   
   
   
   
    
    
    
   * I got this recipe from adayinthelifeofnacole I thought that it was pretty good. Mine needed more time to cook to get it melted all the way thru.

Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese

1 1/2 Cups Milk

1 12oz can of Evaporated Milk

1/2 Stick of butter or margarine

3 eggs

1 16oz block of cheese shredded (I used 1/2 block of White Cheddar and 1/2 block of sharp cheddar)

Dash of Salt

Dash of Pepper

1 Box of Penne Noodle

1.Cook your noodles on the stove till just barely done about 4-5 min.  You want them al dente because they will finish cooking in the crock pot.

2.Grease the bottom of your crock pot with butter or olive oil.

3.Pour in Milk, Evaporated Milk, Butter, and Eggs- Mix Well.

 

4.Mix in your shredded cheese.Add in your noodles and stir. Finally, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

 

5.Cook on low for about 2 1/2 hours.

 

 

* I got this recipe from serendipityandspice

Pumpkin Cake Bars

1 can 15oz solid pack pumpkin
4 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1T pumpkin pie spice
2tsp ground cinnamon
2tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt


Cream Cheese frosting of your choice homemade or store bought

1.In a large bowl, beat the pumpkin, eggs, oil and vanilla until blended. Combine dry ingredients; gradually stir into pumpkin mixture. 
2.Pour into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. 

Classic Herb Stuffing

2 sticks butter
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 tsp thyme
1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
12-14 cups unseasoned bread cubes.
4-5 cups chicken broth

 1.Preheat oven to 375°F. Melt butter in large skillet on medium heat. Add celery and onion; cook and stir 5 minutes. Stir in thyme, poultry seasoning, seasoned salt and pepper. 
2.Place bread cubes in large bowl. Add celery mixture and broth; toss gently until well mixed. Spoon into lightly greased 13x9-inch baking dish. 
3.Bake 35-45 minutes or until heated through and lightly browned.

* The amount of bread and broth really depends on what type of bread you use and how thick it is. I used pretty thin bread and so I ended up using about 14 cups of bread and about 4 cups of broth but just go by how it looks you want it to be well moist but not soggy.

Turkey Gravy

2 1.2oz size packages turkey gravy mix
1/4 cup flour
2C water
2-3Cups turkey pan drippings

1.Place the turkey gravy mix and flour into a saucepan, and gradually whisk in water, then turkey drippings until the mixture is smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often, reduce heat to low, and simmer the gravy until thickened, about 10 minutes.

* I loved the fact that this made a lot of gravy and had great flavor. I used low sodium gravy mix packets and also ripped up some of the turkey meat and added that to the gravy at the end with the drippings. 

Roast Turkey

12-15 lb thawed turkey
2T poultry seasoning
1T paprika
1T seasoned salt
2tsp garlic powder




1tsp ground black pepper
3/4 tsp nutmeg
6 bay leaves
1T olive oil
1 stick butter cut into tablespoon size slices
1 large onion cut into wedges
4-5 stalks of celery cut in half
2-3 cloves fresh garlic

1.Place oven rack in lowest position. Preheat oven to 325 degrees . Place roasting rack in shallow roasting pan. Mix sage or poultry seasoning, paprika, seasoned salt, garlic powder, pepper and nutmeg in small bowl. 
2.Rinse turkey; pat dry. Place turkey, breast-side up, in prepared pan.  Separate the skin from the flesh and slid the butter all over the turkey under the skin . Do this on the breasts,thighs and legs.Sprinkle about half of the seasoning mixture inside of turkey. Stuff with onion,celery.garlic and bay leaves. Brush turkey breast with oil. Spread remaining seasoning mixture over entire surface of turkey. Add 3/4 cup water or chicken broth to pan. Cover turkey loosely with heavy duty foil. 

3.Roast 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil. Roast 2 to 2 1/2 hours longer or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees (175 degrees F in thigh), basting every 40-45 min if possible with pan juices. Remove turkey from oven. Let stand 20 minutes. Transfer to platter or carving board to slice. 


* This is the first time that I have made a turkey this was in a roaster pan and we all loved it. We thought that it was the most tender and juicy turkey that we have had. I will defiantly make my turkeys this way from now on. My turkey needed more time then is stated in the recipe so I would go by what a meat thermometer says for sure to know if your turkey is done all the way.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Kit Kat Cake

Devils food cake mix (plus the ingredients to make it on back oil,water,eggs)
Chocolate Butter cream Icing
Kit Kats(to go around the whole outside I used 21/2  king size packs)
Chocolate dipped strawberries


1. Make cake mix according  to the instructions on the back of the box and bake according to the double layer 8"cake.

2. Once completely cooled add a layer of frosting to the top of one of the layer cakes and add the other cake to the top making it a layer cake. From the top and sides of the cake completely smoothing out the frosting as much as possible.
 3.While the frosting is still a little wet. Add the kit kats all the way around the cake.
4.Its up to you on how many chocolate dipped strawberries you want to add to the top. I decided on just doing a few big ones to the middle.
5. Using a double broiler dip your strawberries and let set up on a sheet of wax paper. When completely set up and hardened add the strawberries to the cake.
6. I also added a ribbon to the outside of my cake to help hold it together. I think that it would have been fine without it but I think that it added a super cute touch to the cake.