Slow Cooker Creamy Ranch Chicken

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (10.75 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry ranch dressing mix
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon oregano
1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese

Directions:
Spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.  Place chicken breasts inside slow cooker.  In a small mixing bowl, combine cream of chicken soup, ranch dressing mix, chicken broth, garlic powder, parsley flakes, paprika, and oregano.  Pour evenly over chicken breasts.  Cover and cook on low for 4-5 or high for 2-3 hours.  Remove chicken and stir cream cheese into the sauce until smooth.  Put chicken back in the slow cooker and serve over cooked egg noodles or rice.  Drizzle with extra sauce.

Slow Cooker Continental Beef

Ingredients

1 cup onion ( diced )
6 tablespoons butter ( or light margarine )
2 pounds beef rump roast ( cut into cubes )
8 ounces tomato sauce 

1 can diced tomatoes

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 bell peppper- chopped, optional
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon sufar
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic ( minced )
1 cup low fat sour cream

Directions

Optional:

Saute onions in butter. Remove from pan and brown beef cubes. 

 Place beef, onions, tomato sauce, Worcestershire, sugar, paprika, salt, pepper and garlic in slow cooker. Cook on low 6-8 hours or until beef is very tender. Add sour cream to beef mixture just before serving. Stir until smooth and heated through. Do not boil. Serve over cooked egg noodles. 

Freezer Meal: Coconut Chicken Curry

IN THE BAG- 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts/thighs, 2 lbs of chopped butternut squash, 2 cups onions, chopped, 8 minced garlic cloves, 1 oz fresh ginger, 2 Tbsp curry powder, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cumin, dash coarse salt

TO COOK- Add the contents of the bag and a can of coconut milk to a slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours. 25 minutes before serving, add another can of coconut milk and a bag of frozen peas.

TO SERVE- Serve with rice. Garnish with chopped cashews and cilantro.

Freezer meal: Braised Peanut Chicken

IN THE BAG- 2 cups onions, 2 cups carrots, 2 cups zucchini, 1 cup red pepper, 1/2 tsp grated lime peel, 2 Tbsp lime juice, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp flour, 4 garlic cloves, 2 lbs. cubed boneless, skinless chicken breasts/thighs.

TO COOK- Dump contents of bag in slow cooker. Cover with 3/4 cup chicken broth and 3 T peanut butter (whisked together). Cook on low for 5-6 hours. For the last five minutes, add in 1 can of coconut milk and 1 bag of frozen peas.

TO SERVE- To make it spicy, add 1/2 teaspoon of red curry paste before serving (I kept ours not-spicy for the kiddos). Garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro. Serve over rice.

Cilantro Lime Chicken with Black Beans

Recipe:

6-8 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
4 Tbs Olive Oil
2+ Limes, juiced (I like a little more lime then the recipe calls for)
1 large bag of Frozen Corn (or two smaller bags)
4 minced Garlic Cloves
1 finely Chopped Red Onion
2 cans of Black Beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp Cumin or Chipotle powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

Take ingredients and split everything into two containers. Mix bag by shaking, seal, label and put in the freezer. Cooking instructions: Cook in Crockpot on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours. Serve with hot tortillas and dress with sour cream, guacamole, and/or cheese.

Crock Pot Mongolian Beef

Ingredients

• 1 lb. stew meat
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, thickly sliced
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. fresh minced ginger
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce 

Instructions

1. Freezer directions- dump all ingredients into a labeled freezer bag, seal, mix up, freeze flat. It's as easy as that!
2. When you're ready to cook- take the bag out of the freezer the night before and let it defrost in the fridge. The next morning dump the bag into the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. If you're going to be longer just add a bit more water so it doesn't dry out. Serve with fresh slice green onions and rice. Yum! 

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

Ingredients

• 2.5 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs would be fine too)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup honey
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons diced onion
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tablespoons water
• Sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray.
2. Season both sides of chicken with lightly with salt and pepper, and place in the bottom of slow cooker.
3. In a small bowl, add honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes and stir until well combined. Pour over chicken.
4. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through.
5. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Dissolve 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in 6 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce.
6. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened.
7. Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving.
8. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles.

Sweet Hawaiian Chicken

1 cup Pineapple Juice

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/3 cup Light Soy Sauce

2 lbs Chicken tenderloins; in chunks

Original recipe makes 4 Servings.
Place all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is fall-apart.

Katie's African Peanut Stew

Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds chicken legs, thighs and/or wings
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large yellow or white onion, sliced
• A 3-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• 6-8 garlic cloves, chopped roughly
• 2-3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 15-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup roasted peanuts
• 1 Tbsp ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
• Salt and black pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

Method

1 Heat the vegetable oil in a large soup pot set over medium-high heat. Salt the chicken pieces well, pat them dry and brown them in the oil. Don't crowd the pot, so do this in batches. Set the chicken pieces aside as they brown.
2 Sauté the onions in the oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring often and scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté another 1-2 minutes, then add the sweet potatoes and stir well to combine.
3 Add the chicken, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, peanut butter, peanuts, coriander and cayenne and stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer and taste for salt, adding more if needed. Cover the pot and simmer gently for 90 minutes (check after an hour), or until the chicken meat easily falls off the bone and the sweet potatoes are tender.
4 Remove the chicken pieces and set them in a bowl to cool, until cool enough to touch. Remove and discard the skin if you want, or chop it and put it back into the pot. Shred the meat off the bones and put the meat back in the pot.
5 Adjust the seasonings for salt and cayenne, then add as much black pepper as you think you can stand—the stew should be peppery. Stir in the cilantro and serve by itself, or with simple steamed rice.

Hoffmeister House dressing

Hoffmeister House salad dressing (it's like a honey mustard)

1 cup oil (we use 1/2 olive and 1/2 canola)

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp celery seed

*Place contents in a jar and shake well!

Sweet Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup cornmeal 1/4 cup white sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 egg, lightly beaten 1 cup sour cream 1/3 cup milk 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish.
2.	Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix egg, sour cream, milk, and butter in a small bowl. Fold egg mixture into flour mixture until just moistened; pour into prepared baking dish.
3.	Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.