Cracker Barrel Carrots

Whenever we go to Cracker Barrel, I may order different entrees, but I ALWAYS order their green beans and carrots for my side dishes. Their green beans are almost as good as mine, but I've never been able to cook carrots that tasty. Until now...I found this copycat recipe online and cooked some wonderful carrots for lunch.

Cracker Barrel Baby Carrots

2 pounds fresh baby carrots
2 tablespoons margarine
1 tablespoon brown sugar (I used Splenda Brown Sugar)
1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1 pinch ground nutmeg (optional)

Rinse carrots and place in a 2-quart saucepan. Pour in enough water to just cover the top of the carrots. Cover the pan with a lid, place on medium heat, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, until the carrots are tender when pricked with a fork.

When carrots are tender, pour off half of the water. Add the margarine, sugar, and salt and place the lid back on the pan. Cook until completely tender but not mushy. More salt may be added if needed. For a little flair, add a pinch of ground nutmeg.

Sour Cream Cucumbers

I found this recipe somewhere years and years ago and it has been a family favorite ever since. The original recipe calls for cucumbers and onions only; I've added the tomatoes and peppers.

Sour Cream Cucumbers

2 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 medium onion, sliced into thin rings (I use purple or sweet)
1 medium tomato, diced large
1/2 sweet bell pepper, diced (I use yellow to add a different color)
3/4 cup light sour cream
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 cup Splenda Granular
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, and peppers in a bowl. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over the cucumbers. Mix well and chill about an hour before serving.

Jean's Leftover Turkey Soup

My mother-in-law, Jean, wasn't a great cook. She could cook and everything was edible and good, but all her food was pretty plain. In her spice cabinet she had...salt, black pepper, and garlic salt. Really. She made really good egg noodles and tried her best to show me how to make that, but it didn't stick in my head. Lol! She did, however, show me how to make this soup from leftover turkey. And it is really good!

Jean's Leftover Turkey Soup

1 whole leftover turkey
1 box Uncle Ben's Brown and Wild Rice
4 stalks celery, sliced thin
15 ounce canned carrots, undrained
15 ounce canned corn, undrained
water
1 box chicken broth, optional
salt and pepper to taste

Place leftover turkey w/bones in stock pot. Cover with hot water. Bring to a boil, then cook on medium until meat falls off the bones. With tongs and a fork, separate the meat from the bones. Strain the broth. If you want a really rich soup, use this broth for the soup. If, like me, want a lighter soup, reserve 1 cup of the broth. You can still save the rest of the broth and freeze into ice cubes for other soups or to sauté vegetables in.

Very carefully go through the meat and shred, making sure there are no slivers of turkey bones. Place the meat in a Dutch oven and cover with water or use the box of chicken broth. Add the reserved turkey broth. (If you're using just the turkey broth, you may still need to add some water or chicken broth.) Bring to a boil. add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until done, about half an hour.

Note: If you don't want to use rice, use your own seasonings and just make turkey soup. Add more veggies! Barley would be good too! Be creative...have fun!

Fried Cabbage With Sausage

This is not my original recipe...it's from Pinterest. There were quite a few exactly the same or almost the same so I assume this is a common recipe somewhere in the country. Where I'm from in Louisiana, we had coleslaw, cabbage in soup, and smothered cabbage. I've been wanting to try something different and came across this recipe. I made it tonight and Bob and I had to make ourselves stop eating! It's DELICIOUS!!!

Fried Cabbage With Sausage

1 stick butter (I used half and will cut down even more next time; might even use veggie broth instead of any butter and just put a tablespoon of olive oil)
1 small head of green cabbage, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced into round pieces (I used 3 hot dog sized links)
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes or Rotel tomatoes (I used Rotel)
1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, to taste

Melt butter in LARGE skillet. If you don't have a mutantly large skillet, use a Dutch Oven. Add cabbage and onion and cook on medium high for about 5 minutes, stirring to keep from sticking to pan. Add remaining ingredients, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Pizza!

As a vegan, I can't just go to the supermarket and pick up a pizza when I want one...they all have cheese. So I've been looking for a recipe for whole grain pizza dough and haven't been able to find one. Maybe because I'm actually to lazy to kneed dough and make one myself. LOL! Which brings me to my new discovery! Pre-made pizza crust!!! Yes, I know they have them in supermarkets everywhere, but they are not whole grain or vegan. Thanks to the wonderful people at Earth Fare yesterday, I found one! Yay! So of course, last night we had pizza...oh so good! The vegetables I have listed are the ones we wanted...feel free to put whatever you want on yours.

Pizza

1 California Style Pizza Bread
pasta sauce
1 tomato, very thinly sliced
baby spinach
kale
1 onion, very thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, medium diced
fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
Italian Seasoning

Preheat your oven to 450F. Place pizza crust on baking sheet. Spread a generous amount of pasta sauce over the bread then pile on your vegetables. Bake for about 10 minutes. This pizza is very filling since the crust is whole grain (sprouted wheat berries). Enjoy!





Pizza Bread Front

Pizza Bread Nutritional Information

Loretta's Beets

I grew up eating this dish. I think she invented it because everyone just called them Mom's beets. Of course, as a good southern cook, my Mom used "good and plenty" oil for sauteing! I'm also a good southern cook, but I saute in water. It's still tastes just as good! I was getting the beets prepped this morning to get them boiling and I realized that Mom never used the beet greens; she just threw them out. Since Bob and I became vegan I have been trying to incorporate greens into our meals as much as possible (I have started actually craving greens! Who'da thunk it!) So I added them and they were great! They will not be a permanent addition to this dish!

Loretta's Beets

3 medium beets
3-4 small to medium russet or red potatoes
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper, to taste

Beets: Cut the stems off of the beets, leaving about an inch of the stem attached to the beets. Put in boiling water and boil on medium-high until a fork can be easily inserted. Rinse in cool water until cool enough to peel; the skin will just slide right off. Cut off the stem end and root end. Dice into large diced pieces and place in bowl.

Potatoes: Scrub well and poke holes with a fork. Place in microwave and bake until fork tender. Cut into large diced cubes and place in bowl. (You can boil the potatoes, but then you lose some of the nutrients from the skin into the water)

Beet Greens: Remove greens from skin and tear into smaller pieces. Rinse and dry.

Onions: Put the water and the onions in a skillet on medium-high heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Saute until onions are tender and starting to turn golden. Add beet greens and cover. Cook a few more minutes to let the greens wilt. Stir. Add to bowl of beets and potatoes. Stir and check seasoning. Serve warm.

This makes 4 regular or 8 wls servings.

Spinach Stir Fry

Since Bob and I started eating vegan, I've been looking for different ways to incorporate leafy greens into our meals other than as a dinner salad. We love salad, but everyone needs variety! I decided to make a stir fry the other night and just started throwing in different things that I thought would taste good. And it did!

Spinach Stir Fry

1 bag baby spinach, rinsed and dried
1/3 cup shredded carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can water chestnuts, drained
1/2 onion, sliced thin
1 medium bell pepper, whatever color you want, sliced (I used frozen sliced mixed peppers)
2 tablespoons raw cashews (or almonds, peanuts, etc.)
Low Sodium Soy Sauce
4 ounces whole grain spaghetti noodles (or rice noodles) (I use Hodgson Mills)
salt, pepper, and ground ginger, to taste

Water saute the carrots, garlic, water chestnuts, onion, and bell pepper until veggies are tender-crisp and water is almost gone. (Water sauteeing is putting a little water into your skillet and sauteeing your veggies this way and not using oil) Add seasonings and soy sauce and continue to saute veggies. When veggies are cooked, add spinach and nuts. You may add more soy sauce, to taste. Let spinach wilt slightly and serve up!

Note: Add other vegetables you like, these are just what I wanted in mine. Also, try adding a teaspoon or so of peanut butter before you add the spinach. Let it melt, then add the spinach and nuts. If you don't want to use pasta, this would be great with barley or even quinoa!

Fran's Eggplant Casserole

Before I retired I worked in an all female accounting office. We all loved to cook and some loved to bake so we had potluck office meals fairly often. This dish started out as a simple casserole of my boss, Fran. As the recipe got passed around, almost everyone added something to it or made a variation of it. So it ended up being a potluck dish! I love it and every time if cook it, the house smells wonderful!

Fran's Eggplant Casserole

1 whole eggplant, peeled and sliced thin
3 zucchini, scrubbed and sliced
3 yellow squash, scrubbed and sliced
6-8 ounces sliced mushrooms, canned or fresh
1 bell pepper, chopped (use any color you want)
15 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
Parmesan cheese (non-vegan), optional OR
nutritional yeast (vegan), optional

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray cookie sheet with Pam, spread eggplant slices, and spray slices with Pam. Bake for 15 minutes to help tenderize the eggplant.

Prepare the other vegetables and place in oven-proof casserole dish. When the eggplant is ready, place in casserole dish and mix with the other vegetables. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a dash of red pepper. Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast, if using. Cover and bake at 350F for 1 hour, until vegetables are tender.

Notes: 1. You can use flavored diced tomatoes and any other seasonings you wish to vary the dish. For example, use basil, oregano tomatoes and Italian seasoning (my favorite), or chili powder and Rotele tomatoes for Mexican, etc. Greek would be good too!
2. This is easy to make in the crockpot. Place all ingredients in the crockpot, stir, cover, and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Salad Tip

Ever want a salad and are too busy or tired to make one so you end up not having one? Yeah, me too. I just recently learned of this tip and thought I'd pass it on. Why didn't I think of this before? Duh!

Rinse and spin (or dry) your lettuce or spinach. Put whatever amount you want in a ziplock bag. Cut up some tomatoes and add to bags. Peel and cut some cucumbers and add to bags. Add whatever else you always have in your salad (except the dressing or anything that will get soggy, like croutons). Roll up the baggie and squeeze all the air out then zip closed. Refrigerate, and when you want a salad, voila, it's all ready for you to add dressing and eat!

Chicken Packets

Here's a great idea I read about a long time ago on a wls forum and forgot about until last week. I made some up Saturday and cooked one today. Oh yummy! I did some packets with fish too!

Chicken Packets

Chicken tenderloins or breast pieces (no need to defrost if frozen)
Vegetables (onions, peppers, squash, carrots, etc.)
Salt and pepper to taste
Other seasonings to taste
Heavy duty aluminum foil

Lay a sheet of aluminum foil on the counter. Place a chicken tenderloin and your vegetables in the middle. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and/or whatever other seasoning you want to use. I used Montreal Chicken on some, dry Italian dressing mix on some, and Southwest Sweet and Smoky Chicken on others. Fold aluminum foil over on all four sides and label. Put your packets in the freezer. To cook, just throw on the grill until done. I put mine on indirect heat until almost done then moved it over to direct heat for a couple of minutes. I also used one of those baskets that you put hamburger patties in, close the basket and then flip the basket instead of the burgers. That worked really well. I was able to remove it from the grill to check for doneness. Hey! You could also make a packet of just vegetables (hmmm...marinated veggies!) ready to throw on the grill! This is not necessarily fast, but it sure is easy...like when you get home from the gym and don't feel like cooking!

15 minutes from frozen packet to cooked and ready to eat! I cooked the fish on direct heat and high.

Avocado Salad

Last summer avocados were so expensive I didn't get any. And I love avocados too. It was very sad. But I've already found some for $1.00 each! Yay! Avocados in the house! Bob and I love avocados just cut up with a little lemon juice, salt and pepper. But this salad is great and is a favorite here! This recipe makes quite a bit so you can munch on it for several days.

Avocado Salad

2 ripe avocados
2 tomatoes
extra sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Cut avocados lengthwise all the way around. Twist the two halves and pull apart. You can either spoon out the pit or cut slightly into it with your knife and turn slightly. The pit will come out with the knife. Cut diamonds in the avocado, being careful not to cut through the skin. Insert a kitchen tablespoon and pull out the chunks. Place in a large bowl. Repeat for the second avocado. Cut the tomatoes into large diced pieces and place in bowl with avocados. Add the cubed cheese.

Add two teaspoons fresh lemon juice or two capfuls of lemon juice. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Stir to mix and chill for about an hour.

Chicken Fajita

I love fajitas. Yummy yummy yummy! But if you get them at a restaurant they are loaded with fat, calories, and sodium. So let's make our own and eat great fajitas the healthy way!

Chicken Fajita

2 chicken tenderloins (defrosted if frozen)
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced thin
1/2 onion, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, minced
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
1 Flatout Flatbread
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons salsa
1 tablespoon taco sauce
2 teaspoons olive oil
Mrs. Dash Southwest Sweet 'n Spicy Seasoning

Preheat oven to 400F. Lay the flatbread on a cookie sheet or flat griddle. Place in the oven and warm for about 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Heat the oil on medium low to medium in a skillet and start cooking the chicken. Sprinkle Mrs. Dash seasoning on the chicken, add the bell pepper, onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder and garlic and continue cooking. You can sprinkle some more Mrs. Dash if you want to. Continue cooking until the onion and bell peppers are soft.

While the chicken mixture is cooking, mix the sour cream, salsa, and taco sauce. You can change the ratios to make it thicker or thinner, add some Mrs. Dash, etc.; it's all up to you.

When everything is ready, place the flatbread on your plate and spread the chicken mixture on it. Drizzle the sour cream mixture over the chicken. Roll up the flatbread, cut in half and enjoy!

Note: If you want to eat this with a fork, drizzle some of your sour cream mixture over the top for even more flavor!

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Sometimes you want something Italian and a few spoons of spaghetti sauce for dinner just won't cut it. I give to you...Baked Eggplant Parmesan! So yummy delicious it will put an end to all your Italian cravings!

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

1 medium to large eggplant, pared and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 cups tomato-herb sauce (I used Hunt's Mushroom pasta sauce)
3/4 cup Italian seasoned dried bread crumbs
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Spray a baking sheet with Pam. Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, until tender. (Note: If you think eggplant has a bitter taste, place them in a colander, salt well and let them sit for about 15 minutes. Rinse, pat dry, then bake as above.)

Spray an 8 inch baking dish with Pam. Spread about 1/4 of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Place eggplant slices, then bread crumbs, then cheese. Repeat layers, ending with sauce. Cover and bake for 40 minutes, until cooked through and bubbling.

Increase oven temperature to 400F. Uncover dish, sprinkle a little more cheese then the Parmesan cheese. Baked, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, until the top is nicely golden brown and crisp.

Butternut Chicken Marinara

Bob and I have been watching The Biggest Loser from the beginning of the series on Netflix streaming. Mark Kruger from season 5 prepared this dish for his family after he was sent home. I tweaked it just a bit to suit our tastes and made it for dinner tonight. Bob, who's not that big a fan of squash, loved it!

Butternut Chicken Marinara

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into small/medium chunks
8 chicken tenderloins, cut into pieces
1 large purple onion, sliced
salt and pepper
Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon olive oil
Pam spray
1 jar/can marinara sauce (I use cheapo Hunt's Traditional spaghetti sauce)

Spray Pam in a large skillet. Add chicken, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cover and cook on medium heat until almost done. Uncover and finish cooking the chicken. When chicken is done, take out of the skillet and set aside.

Spray more Pam into the skillet.  Add onions and squash. (You will probably not use all the squash...just save and freeze or cook tomorrow) Add the olive oil, cover and cook on medium-low heat. Add a little water if needed to help the squash cook. When the squash is cooked, uncover and let it saute a bit. Add the chicken back into the skillet and let everything cook together for a couple of minutes. Pour in the marinara sauce and stir. Add Italian seasoning, cover and cook until sauce is cooked.

Note: I tasted this before I added the marinara sauce and it was amazing! If you want to eat it like this, let the chicken and squash mixture saute a little longer.

Charlie's Corn Salad

Need a side dish for a dinner of steamed fish or a grilled hamburger steak? I present to you...corn salad! It's also great as a salad topper! Yum!!! Charlie is a former co-worker of Bob's. He brought this dish to a Christmas dinner and Bob liked it so much he got the recipe.

Charlie's Corn Salad

1 can corn, drained
1/3 medium green pepper, diced
1/2 small onion, diced (or 2-3 green onions, chopped thin)
1 medium tomato, diced
1/3 cup Italian salad dressing (I use Roasted Red Pepper with Parmesan)

Mix all ingredients, cover, and refrigerate for several hours so flavors can blend.

Stuffed Peppers

We love stuffed peppers and I had been getting the ones already made at Publix. But sometimes I had trouble with them...they're all ground beef, no filler or vegetables. Really heavy for Prissy Pouch. So the other day I saw some really pretty green peppers at the store and decided to make up my own stuffed pepper recipe. So tonight that's just what I did!

Stuffed Peppers

2 medium green peppers
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup beef broth
1/2 pound lean ground beef (you can also use ground chicken or turkey)
1/2 cup mixed vegetables (you can use any vegetables you like...I used frozen zucchini, yellow squash, and sliced mixed peppers)
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used Sargento reduced fat Mexican blend)
salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin
ketchup
8 oz tomato sauce, optional
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 350F.

Quinoa: Using the beef broth in place of water, cook quinoa according to package directions. Fluff with a fork and let sit for 15 minutes.

Beef Mixture: In a sauce pot, brown ground beef (covered) until about halfway cooked. Add vegetables and seasonings to taste. Re-cover and continue cooking until ground beef is fully cooked but still very moist and vegetables are soft. Using a wooden spatula or spoon, chop up the vegetables to make stuffing the peppers easier. Remove from the heat. Add cheese and quinoa and about 1-2 tablespoons ketchup. Mix, then taste seasonings. Add seasonings if needed.

Peppers: Rinse and dry peppers. Cut tops off and take out flesh and seeds. If the peppers don't stand up straight, cut a thin slice off the bottom until they're relatively upright. It doesn't matter if you cut through a little. Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil in a glass pie plate or small, shallow baking dish and use a paper towel to wipe the olive oil around the pie plate. Use the oil now on the paper towel to wipe the outside of the peppers. Place the peppers in the pie plate and, using a teaspoon, put the meat mixture into the peppers. Press down lightly after every couple of spoonfuls to get rid of air bubbles. Stuff until you have a rounded top on the pepper. Drizzle a little ketchup on the top of the meat mixture. You can put more, less or none...it doesn't matter! Pour the can of tomato sauce around the peppers and sprinkle some seasoning over the sauce. You really don't need the tomato sauce...I use it because Bob likes it that way. Bake at 350F for about 45-50 minutes. Serve immediately.

Note: If you use ground chicken or turkey, you can use chicken or vegetable broth instead of beef broth to cook the quinoa. You can also make this vegetarian if you want to. Use more vegetables to have the same volume. Steam them with the seasonings then chop and add the cheese and quinoa.

Collards

I'm as Southern as Southern can be. But I never cared for collards. Shhh...don't tell anybody! They might take my Southern membership card away! But weight loss surgery can be a funny thing; you don't like what you liked before and you like what you didn't like before. Sometimes I feel like John Travolta on Welcome Back Kotter..."I'm so confused!" LOL!!! One day I wanted some collards. But I had tasted some after my surgery and still didn't care for them. I decided to fix them like German Red Cabbage. Oh my goodness...they were so good! I cook them all the time now. So here's the recipe. Try them out even if you like Southern collards. You might like these too!

Collards

4-5 ounces cubed ham
1-16 ounce bag frozen, cut collards
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 apple, cored, diced large
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons red cooking wine
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons Splenda brown sugar
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

In a Dutch oven, saute the ham until it has a light sear. Add the onion, collards, and apple to the pot. Saute, uncovered, until the collards start to defrost a bit. Add the remaining ingredients and cover. Cook, over medium to medium-low heat, stirring now and then, until all is tender, about 1/2 an hour or so.

Notes:
1. The original recipe calls for bacon, sauteed until clear. We don't like bacon so I use ham.
2. If you use fresh collards, you'll need to cook for about an hour.

Steamed Broccoli

Okay, now don't just quickly scroll over this recipe! Caught you just in time, didn't I? I, too, have always thought broccoli was totally disgusting. Didn't even like the smell, especially if it was steamed. Then I had it roasted. Whoo boy! That stuff was good! Then I started thinking about how to steam broccoli so that I would like it. I mean, it's just so darned good for you, it's a shame so many of us don't like it. I bought a bag of fresh, cut up broccoli at the grocery store a week or so ago meaning to roast some. Just never got around to it...you know how that goes. I decided to try steamed broccoli with my chicken for lunch. D.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s! Here's what I did.

Steamed Broccoli

2 ounces fresh broccoli florets

salt, to taste

Tony Chachere's, to taste

Take out your handy dandy microwave steamer (or whatever kind you have) and put a little water in the bottom. Place broccoli in the steamer basket. Sprinkle a little salt and some Tony Chachere's, put the lid on and pop into the microwave for about 3 minutes. Less time if you like yours al dente. I'm from the South; we cook our veggies to death! "If it ain't hangin' limp from the fork, it ain't cooked 'nouf!" My broccoli was not hanging limp, but wasn't al dente either! Try different seasonings until you find one you love on steamed broccoli. Have fun! Play with your food!!!

Black Bean Quinoa Salad

So you just got invited to a barbeque and you've been asked to bring a pasta side dish. Hmmm...you're supposed to cook something you don't get to eat? Ha! I don't think so!!! I've been making this salad for a while and was really surprised when I noticed that I haven't posted it yet. It's good when you first make it, but if you can, make it the day before or even that morning for dinner. The flavors blend so deliciously if it's allowed to sit in the fridge for a while!

Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wa) is actually a seed, but a lot of people think it's a grain, so who am I to tell them different? You can find it in just about any grocery store now. One brand is Red Mill, another is Ancient Harvest. It seems that every store puts quinoa in a different place, so if you don't find it in the health food sections with the grains, try the "gourmet" area. Or pretend you're me and have a clerk find it for you. That'll teach 'em for not putting a product where I think it should go! LOL!

FYI - This is another recipe that lets you decide how much of certain ingredients you want to use. For instance, if you don't care for corn, don't put much, or any. Substitute...play with your food!

Black Bean Quinoa Salad

2 cups water
1 cup quinoa (red quinoa is great in this salad, but more difficult to find)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
cheddar cheese, shredded or cubed
frozen corn (you can defrost if you want to, but not necessary)
frozen sliced sweet peppers (can use fresh)
Roasted Red Pepper Italian Dressing (or any other Italian dressing)

Follow the package directions for cooking the quinoa. The ratio is 2:1 water to quinoa, so you can make as much or as little as you like. When it's all cooked, the package usually says to fluff and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. I don't want any of my cheese to melt, so my quinoa sits in the freezer to get nice and chilled. When the quinoa is chilled, add the rest of the ingredients except the dressing, and stir. At this point the quinoa is still able to absorb a little liquid and you don't want dry quinoa salad, so pour in a little more dressing than you think you really need. By the time you're ready to serve, it will be all absorbed and just right. Stir, fluff, and serve!

Well, it's tomorrow and I glanced at this and realized that I didn't include a photo! I'll just have to make it again really really soon so I can take a picture! Darn!!! LOL!

Chicken Stew

I had plans the other afternoon and knew I wasn't going to feel like cooking when I got home. So my first thought was...crockpot! What else?!? So look through my cookbooks. Here's a good one...nope, don't want that. There's a good one...don't have all the ingredients. {sigh} What to do? I know! I'll pretend I'm my Mom and dump stuff into the crockpot and see what comes out! Well, what came out was chicken stew! So delicious that I just have to share it!

Chicken Stew

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (can be frozen)
frozen corn
frozen baby carrots (or fresh)
onions (frozen or fresh)
frozen sliced mixed peppers
2 cups chicken broth
1 envelope beef bouillon (I use Herb-Ox sodium free)
1 capful of Kitchen Bouquet
salt, black pepper, garlic powder to taste

Place chicken in the crockpot then put vegetables on top. If you want different veggies or more veggies, go for it! These are what I had in the freezer, so that's what went in the stew. Add the chicken broth (I just made mine from a couple of packages of chicken bouillon), the beef bouillon and the Kitchen Bouquet. Stir.

Set crockpot for high for 1-2 hours, then turn down to low for the rest of the day. When you're ready to eat, if you want to thicken the gravy, turn the crockpot up to high and add a little cornstarch (mixed in cold water). Stir while it thickens. We enjoy juicy gravies, so I didn't thicken mine.