Crockpot Baked Potatoes

I make out my meal plans every Sunday for the following week.

Then I write on a platter in the kitchen every meal for each day so the family knows the dinner plan for each day of the week.  Remember this post

When I look through my calendar for the upcoming week on Sundays, I always know which days will be fast food days (like tomorrow will be Subway because Ashlan has a soccer game in Richardson during dinner time), which days are crockpot days (when I know it's a busy evening with after school activities and I won't want to spend an hour cooking),  and the free evenings when I can actually take the time to cook a 2-3 course meal.

Tonight was one of those crockpot nights.

My platter read

Monday = Crockpot Baked Potatoes and Salad

Yes, you read that correctly.

CROCKPOT Baked Potatoes

I've done baked potatoes in the oven, in the microwave, and on the grill before.

But the crockpot way of cooking them was completely new to me.

I was going to try it!

(photo courtesy of Pinterest)

Here is what you do:

Buy however many baked potatoes you want or can fit in your crockpot

I only needed 4, so I bought 4 Idaho Potatoes (my crockpot will probably fit 8 total, though)

Scrub the potatoes well (leave skin on)

Wrap each potato in foil

*No need to poke holes in the potatoes*

Then place the potatoes in your crockpot, secure the cover, and cook ON LOW for 7-8 hours

I put these potatoes in at noon and pulled them out of the crockpot at 7:30pm 

when we got home from soccer (7.5 hours cook time)

These potatoes were superb!

I just unfolded the foil, sliced the potato down the middle, and squeezed it.

Then, of course, filled them with cheese, butter, sour cream, chives, and bacon bits (and whatever else you want to toss on yours)

Pinterest - this was a great idea!

Our conversation at dinner was

Brent - "How long did you cook these?"

Me - "Why? Are they over or under cooked?"

Brent- "No, not at all.  They are perfectly cooked!"

From now on I don't think my baked potatoes will ever see a grill, microwave, or oven again.

It's all about the crockpot!!!

#32 Cadbury Egg Bundt Cake

#32 Bundt Cake is Cadbury Egg.  

My favorite candy at Halloween is Candy Corn.

My favorite candy at Valentine's are the Sweet Heart Candies

And my favorite Easter candy is the Cadbury Egg!!!

So obviously, I am super excited about this bundt cake!

Shopping List

1 box of chocolate cake mix

2 small boxes of instant chocolate pudding

1/2 cup of veggie oil

1 1/4 water

 4 eggs

7 Cadbury Creme Eggs (the regular sized ones, not the mini size ones), roughly chopped

4 cups powdered sugar

1 stick butter, softened

3-4 splashes of  milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease (I use Pam) a 10 inch bundt pan

In mixing bowl, combine cake mix, puddings, oil, water and eggs with electric mixer.  Stir in 4 of your chopped Cadbury Creme Eggs.   Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cake rest on counter in pan 10 minutes.  Then, invert cake onto serving plate to finish cooling. 

To make the frosting, beat butter with powdered sugar and milk until creamy.  Stir in vanilla extract. Spread on cooled cake.  Top with remaining 3 Cadbury Creme Eggs roughly chopped.

Disclaimer ** 

Your fingers will get super sticky chopping up the cadbury eggs!  

But it's okay.  Just lick your fingers clean!

Simple Samoa Bars

My favorite Girl Scout cookie is the Samoa.

And one of my favorite cooking blogs is Let's Dish.

So when I came across this recipe for Simple Samoa Bars on her blog, 

I immediately turned the oven on and started mixing ingredients!

(photo courtesy of Let's Dish)

You'll need:

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter 
2 teaspoons vanilla 
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 (12 oz.) bag caramels, unwrapped
4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups coconut, toasted
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With an electric mixer, cream together sugar, butter and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Add the egg and beat until fluffy. Stir in the salt, then the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until well mixed. Press dough evenly into the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 inch pan.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the shortbread is set and just beginning to turn golden brown. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, combine the caramels, milk and and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a saucepan over medium low heat.  Cook and stir until the caramels are melted and the mixture is smooth.  Stir in the toasted coconut. 

Spread the coconut caramel mixture over the cooled shortbread base.  Refrigerate for at least an hour, or until the caramel layer is completely cooled.  Remove the bars from the refrigerator and cut into squares.

Melt the 2 cups of chocolate chips in the microwave at 50% power, stirring every 1-2 minutes until smooth.  Dip the bottoms of the cookies into the melted chocolate and set on wax paper.  Once all the cookies have been dipped, drizzle the remaining chocolate over the top of the cookies.

These bars are delicious!  

But after sitting in the refrigerator overnight, I realized they are even MORE delicious today!

So, if you love Samoa's and you've already eaten every box you ordered, bake these!

#31 Reese's Peanut Butter

Bundt cake #31 is Reese's Peanut Butter.  

This might be my husband's dream bundt cake.

For myself, I'm not a huge fan of peanut butter, but when you pair it with chocolate, I'm all over it!

Shopping List

1 box of chocolate cake mix

2 small instant chocolate puddings

1/2 cup veggie oil

1 cup water

4 eggs

1 cup Reese's peanut butter chips (see pic below)

2/3 cup butter, softened

6 cups powdered sugar

3-4 tablespoons milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup creamy peanut butter

Garnish with Reese's Pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease (I use Pam) a 10 inch bundt pan

In mixing bowl, combine cake mix, puddings, oil, water, and eggs with electric mixer.  Add in Reese's chips and stir.  Pour into prepared bundt pan.

Bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cake rest on counter in pan 10 minutes.  Then, invert cake onto serving plate to finish cooling. 

In a medium sized bowl, combine butter, powdered sugar and milk with electric mixer until creamy, add in vanilla and peanut butter and beat until blended.  Frost cooled cake and garnish with candy.

(you can find the PB chips on the baking aisle of your local grocery store.  Target has them, too)

All I'm going to say about this bundt cake is -

if you like chocolate and peanut butter together - BAKE THIS!

Sooooo goooood!

Oh, and the leftover Reese's pieces you don't use...

Just pour them in a bowl next to the cake.

No one in this house is counting calories, unfortunately...

Grilled Pizza Sandwiches

Grilled Pizza Sandwiches

Oh, Pinterest.  You won me over with this recipe!

It was SO QUICK to make,  full of flavor,  and the family ate their entire sandwich!

(photo courtesy of Pinterest)

For a family of four:

8 slices of bread (the thicker the better- I used Sourdough)
8 slices of part skim mozzarella cheese
4 tsp. of Parmesan Cheese  (all I had on hand was shredded, so that's what I used)
4 dashes of garlic salt
24 slices of pepperoni (you can’t go wrong with more here…)
butter
pizza sauce 

First, butter one side of each piece of bread, while the griddle or stove is heating up.  (I was torn between using the panini maker or the stovetop.  In the end, I picked stovetop)

Throw down one slice of bread butter side down on griddle or stovetop pan, then immediately begin building the sandwich up on top of it.

First layer it with a slice of Mozarella.

Top that with 6-9 slices of pepperoni

Next sprinkle a teaspoon of Parmesan and then a  dash of garlic salt.

Top all that with another piece of mozzarella cheese.

Top the whole thing off  with the final piece of bread butter side UP and by this time – it’s usually ready to flip.

Flip the sandwich over and continue cooking until golden brown. Serve with a side of pizza sauce (or spaghetti sauce) for dipping! Yum!

I made this dinner last night, which was Thursday night.  It's generally our busiest day of the week.

Between Kate having a Track Meet at 4:15, then Ashlan having soccer from 6-7, then getting Kate to band at 7:45 - I don't ever have enough time to whip up something worth sharing.

But I attempted this recipe last night in the midst of Thursday evening chaos, and it worked out great!!

Pinterest - I can't wait to make these again!

Snow Skiing

For Spring Break, we took a trip to Colorado to do some snow skiing.  

Brent and I had snow skied before, but it had been over 8-9 years since the last time we went.

The girls had never been.  Nor had Nick, but he opted out of joining us on this trip so he could spend Spring Break at his mother's house.

We took a late flight into Denver one evening, so we stayed overnight there before waking up the next morning and making the drive to the Vail/Beaver Creek area.

Ashlan is a lover of snow, so she was super happy to wake up the next morning in Denver and spot it snowing outside!

The drive from Denver to Beaver Creek was a scary one.  It took us hours.  The roads were awful, visibility was limited - and we were making this adventure in a rental car without 4W drive or snow tires.  Lovely.  Brent, our driver, was on edge every second of that drive!

We finally made it!  Let the fun in the snow and skis begin!

Kate took a full day of ski school and was ready to go after that.

We took her up the lift and the first 30 minutes was a big reality check for her.  

Those slopes are NOT like the bunny hill she just spent a day learning to ski on.

After some falls, tears, and claims "I"m going to die up here", she finally got comfortable, found her confidence, and off she went....  Honestly, after that initial 30 minutes of shear terror and tears from her, she was like a pro!  Off she went - greens and blues all the way. Mostly blues!!

Ashlan did a full day and an additional half day of ski school.  By that time, we felt confident she was ready to go up on the lift with the rest of the family and try the big slopes.

It started out rough.  She was scared and uncomfortable.  Again, those big slopes are a lot different from those ski school bunny hills.

After taking her 1.5 hours to get down the mountain (slowly plowing the entire way), my patience was shot.  I thought this ski trip was over for her.  I wasn't about to take her back up the lift and put myself through that torture again.  I know, I know....I hear you now..."what kind of mother is she!!"

But seriously, it was hard.  But her daddy was so incredibly patient with her (opposite of me) and wanted her to succeed so bad at skiing.  He wasn't about to give up on her.  So after spending some time down at the bottom of the mountain regrouping and trying to build up her confidence (and yes, Brent trying to help me find where I store my additional patience), we headed back up the lift.

This time it only took 45 minutes for her to get down the mountain.  HUGE improvement.

And from then on, each run down the mountain got better and better.  By the end of the trip, Ashlan was able to ski down that mountain in 20 minutes!    This mama was super thrilled for her...

But all the credit goes to Brent...He was a rock star at being patient with her and working with her..

Here she is relaxing after a long day of skiing fun. 

Our last evening of the trip, we ventured over to Beaver Creek Village to do some shopping.

Props to my girls for making this Spring Break trip an incredible one!

Thumbs up to Kate for rocking the slopes like a pro on her first time ever to snow ski.

Thumbs up to Ashlan for challenging herself and never giving up!

And double thumbs up to my husband for taking us on this trip 

and being the always amazing, loving father to his girls!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I'm not a huge casserole fan, but generally they are easy to make and fulfilling.

When I saw this recipe on Pinterest, I didn't hesitate to pin it.  It's an interesting casserole...Different.

It's like when I made the Eggs Benedict casserole.  A casserole, yes...but different.  Not your typical cafeteria line casserole.  I like a fancy casserole is what I guess I'm trying to say.

*Oh, and I like Chicken Cordon Bleu*

(Photo courtesy of Pinterest)

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cooked and diced
• 8 oz ham, finely chopped*
• 3 oz freshly, finely grated Swiss cheese (3/4 cup)  (I only had shredded on hand, so I used that)
• 1 oz freshly, finely grated Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup)  (again, I used shredded)
• 3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sauce
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice, preferably freshly squeezed
• 1 tsp prepared yellow mustard (if you like Dijon mustard you can use that instead)
• 3/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt, and then to taste
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place diced chicken in an even layer in a buttered 11x7 baking dish, set aside. 

• To prepare sauce: in a mixing bowl (I just mixed it all in the liquid measuring cup after measuring the milk out), whisk together milk, lemon juice, prepared yellow mustard, onion powder, 1/2 tsp dried parsley, dried thyme, salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and garlic powder. 
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, once melted whisk in flour and cook stirring constantly for 1 minute. 
• While whisking, pour in milk mixture, then cook stirring constantly until mixture just begins to gently boil and has thickened. Remove from heat, stir in sour cream. 

• 
  
• Pour mixture evenly over chicken and use a spatula to spread into an even layer. 
• Sprinkle ham over sauce then sprinkle grated Swiss and Parmesan cheese evenly over ham layer. 

(I bought the bag of pre-cut ham)

• 
  
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together Panko bread crumbs, 1/2 tsp dried parsley, 1/8 tsp pepper then pour in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and toss bread crumb mixture to evenly coat. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture evenly over cheese layer. Bake casserole in preheated oven for 30 minutes until golden brown on top. Serve warm.
• 
  

 

My plate.  

Casseroles aren't meant to look pretty.  

It just better taste good...and it did.

Verdict - 

This was worth it, Pinterest.  It tasted JUST LIKE Chicken Cordon Bleu (just a different version of serving it)  I served this with a simple caesar salad, ya know, like the kind you buy in a bag at the store.  I get real fancy with my salads like that... 

I'll keep this recipe pinned.  I may just make it again one day.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Enchiladas with Avocado Cream Sauce

Cilantro Lime Chicken Enchiladas with Avocado Cream Sauce

I am a sucker for a good enchilada recipe. I'm sure I have more enchiladas pinned on Pinterest than I do soups/stews.

When I saw this recipe weeks ago, the green avocado cream sauce caught my eye.

It just looked like it would taste good.

(picture courtesy of pinterest)

Ingredients

• • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• • 1 medium white or yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• • 2 poblano peppers, stemmed and thinly sliced
• • 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced  ( I forgot to buy this, so I made recipe without it)
• • 8-10 flour tortillas
• • 4 cups shredded cooked chicken(rotisserie works best)
• • 2-3 cups Monterrey Jack cheese
• • optional garnish: fresh cilantro, sour cream, and/or shredded cheese
• Avocado Cream Sauce Ingredients:
• • 2 Tbsp. butter
• • 2 Tbsp. flour
• • 2 cups chicken broth
• • ¾ cup sour cream
• • ½ tsp. cumin
• • ½ tsp. salt
• • ½ tsp. garlic powder
• • ¼ tsp. pepper
• • 2 California avocados, peeled and pitted
• • ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• • juice of one lime

Instructions

1. First make the avocado cream sauce:
2. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the flour, whisking until golden and bubbly, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Slowly whisk the broth into the flour mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the sour cream, cumin, salt, garlic powder and pepper, whisking if necessary to remove any lumps.

Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a blender or food processor. Add avocados, cilantro and lime juice, and pulse until smooth and well-blended. (Be very careful blending hot liquids — the heat will expand! So be sure to remove the lid occasionally so that the heat can escape.)

Season with additional salt or pepper if needed.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, poblano and jalapeno, and saute for 5-6 minutes until the onions are cooked and translucent.

Remove from heat.

To assemble the enchiladas, place a tortilla on a flat surface.

Spread a tablespoon or two of the avocado sauce down the middle of the tortilla. Then layer on some of the vegetable mixture, shredded chicken and cheese.

Carefully roll the tortilla and place it seam side down in the baking dish.

Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Drizzle the top with about half of the remaining avocado cream sauce, then cover the dish with foil and bake for about 20 minutes, or until tortillas are heated through and begin to harden.

Remove from the oven, then serve individual enchiladas drizzled with the remainder of the avocado cream sauce. You can also garnish with additional cilantro, cheese, and/or sour cream.

So, here is my final product.  

I don't know.  

I thought about whether to post this recipe or not.  

But then I thought about my series title, Pinterest Told Me to Cook It.  

My pre assumption with recipes on Pinterest is that they are good.  Out of all the recipes in the WORLD, when you think about it, the ones that actually make it on Pinterest have GOT to be good, 

right?  Pinterest TOLD me to cook it.  So after some thought, I figured whether any Pinterest recipe is delicious or not, I will share my opinion about it...

That being said...I thought this recipe was missing something.  For an enchilada, it really lacked in flavor.  I will delete this pin off my Food board.  I was so eager and intrigued about the avocado sauce...yet, in the end, I was disappointed.  Not to mention, I like pretty food.  Look at my picture above...there is nothing pretty about that enchilada.  So when you top off a flavor lacking entree with the look of a gross mess....It's a bomb.

Sorry, Pinterest...you told me to cook the wrong thing.

#30 Strawberry Shortcake

#30 is Strawberry Shortcake

Ashlan asked specifically for this flavor of cake.

She loves strawberry shortcake so I found a recipe for a 

Strawberry Bundt Cake, then added the whipped cream into the frosting myself.

Shopping List

1 box of strawberry cake mix

2 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding

1/2 cup of veggie oil

1 1/4 cups frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed (you know..the kind in the freezer section that you put on strawberry shortcake)

 4 eggs

1 can strawberry frosting

tub of whipped cream

**Before we get started, let's chat about the strawberries...you buy the frozen kind but then thaw them out for this recipe.  When you pour it into your measuring cup to get the correct amount, you'll get big chunks of strawberry in there too.  That's fine!  The strawberries will mix up in the batter and create great flavor and a little bit of texture.  So, don't worry about just using the strawberry juice, use everything.  It's delicious!**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease (I use Pam) a 10 inch bundt pan

In mixing bowl, combine cake mix, puddings, oil, strawberries and eggs with electric mixer.  Pour into prepared pan and bake about 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cake rest on counter in pan 10 minutes.  Then, invert cake onto serving plate to finish cooling. 

Mix strawberry frosting with as much whipped cream as you want.  Then spread on cake.

You'll notice that this cake bakes a little longer than my other bundt cakes.  Because you're using the strawberries instead of plain old water, I've learned to let the cake bake a little longer (usually they only bake 40-45 minutes).  Keep an eye on it and use the toothpick to determine if it's ready to come out of not.

*Even though this is a very good cake, next time I will use a box of white cake mix versus the strawberry. *