Beef Taco Soup

Beef Taco Soup is one of our favorite spring dishes from the slow cooker. Not too heavy; not too light. Just enough to keep the spring chill at bay, but not enough to overheat. This is similar to the black bean salsa soup, but there are some differences. And this version is more of a main meal soup while the black bean salsa is more of a side soup.

We like to eat this with corn bread or corn chips.

Ingredients:
1-2 pounds of lean ground beef (thawed)
1 can or bag of corn
2 cups chopped onions
1 bag of pinto beans or black beans
1 can of diced chili tomatoes (or regular)
2 cans of tomato sauce
2 packages of taco seasoning.
1-2 avacados (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
Salsa (optional)
Shredded cheese (optional)

Mix the ground beef, vegetables (except avocado), tomato sauce and seasoning in the slow cooker. Top off the crockpot with water. Cook in crock pot until beans are tender and the meat is done, about 4 hours on high and 6-8 hours on low.

Serve over corn bread or corn chips. Top with cheese, sour cream and avocado slices.

Slow Cooker Spaghetti

I’d always considered spaghetti a meal that was easy to throw together, and not worth the time it would take to cook. But then I got to thinking that maybe I could make it more like a gooey goulash. Turns out, I could. Here’s how I did it:

Ingredients:

1/2 package of angel hair pasta

Two cans of spaghetti sauce. I typically use Hunt’s tomato and basil flavor.

One can of Italian-style diced tomatoes
One can if Italian zuchini (Del Monte is the only brand I've been able to find)

One small can of mushrooms.

1 pound of ground beef, Italian sausage or pre-packaged meatballs.

½ pound of grated cheese

Cook the spaghetti on the stove in boiling water until it’s soft, but not mushy. Mix well the other ingredients in the slow cooker and allow to simmer while the spaghetti softens. After the spaghetti is soft, add it to slow cooker and stir. Add grated cheese to make it gooey.

It doesn't take long to cook. If you're in a hurry, set your crock pot on high, and the meal will be finished in about 90 minutes, depending of course on your crock pot's high setting. If you have all day, make sure the setting is low.

I discovered a variation on this recipe takes remarkably like Chef Boyardee canned spaghetti.

To the slow cooker add ½ a package of uncooked spaghetti, 2 cans of spaghetti sauce and prepackaged meatballs. Don’t add any extra water. Cook on low for about 8 hours. When finished, you’ve got homemade canned spaghetti.

A Texas Star

Did you know that the Texas will be 176 years old next week! March 2, is the celebration of the adoption of theTexas Declaration of Independence, declaring itself independent from Mexico. Even though state joined the United States a decade later, Texas Independence Day is still an official holiday in the state of Texas.

In celebration of this uniquely Texas holiday, I thought I’d share a quick little craft idea. This Texas Star is a variation of the rustic Valentine heart. I purchased this wooden star a couple of years ago in Canton for 50 cents at the same time I purchased the wooden heart. It too got stuck away in my craft stash. Fortunately wooden star cut outs are easy to find year round.

I painted the star a bright blue, using acrylic craft paint. I let it dry for about four hours. While that was drying, I used white acrylic craft paint on the pre-cut wood letters and bright red on the pre-cut heart I purchased at Michael’s. Once drive, about six hours, I glued the letters and heart to the star using wood glue. When the glue had set up, about two hours, I sealed the whole thing by painting it with a layer of white craft glue and let it dry overnight.

I put it on the fireplace as a reminder of holiday.

Easy East Texas Jambalaya

With Mardi Gras just around the corner, I’m in the mood for something a little Cajun so I set out to create an easy slow cooker jambalaya. Authentic jambalaya takes forever to make, and you have to stand over it – something I’m not a fan of doing. And I’m not a big fan of mixing meats, chicken with seafood and sausage and whatever else Cajuns toss in. I set out to create a jambalaya that was easy and appeasing to my pallet. I ended up with easy Cajun dish slow cooker with a little bit of East Texas influence.

Ingredients:

4 cups brown rice

1 small bag of dry red or pinto

1 ring of smoked beef sausage. I’m using Hillshire’s all beef

1 can of plain diced tomatoes
1 bag of PictSweet's seasoning blend. It has onions, bell peppers and red peppers.

Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning

Mix everything in the slow cooker and season to taste with Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning, Cook on slow until the beans are soft, about seven or eight hours.

Lentil Soup

Once upon a time, my mother and grandmothers would labor over roasts on Sunday. Every single Sunday. It was the “fancy” meal of the week where everybody gathered at the table. I love a good roast, but I'm basically lazy when it comes to cooking, especially the day after a StoneAge show… and I don’t remember the last time we ate at the table.

In trying to figure out quick soups I could make before we left for a show, I hit upon lentil soup.
It’s quick, easy and pretty inexpensive to make. And John says they're pretty good too! Just what we need to get us out of bed on Sunday after a night of rock and roll.

Lentil Soup

Ingredients:
1 package of dry lentils
2 cans of sliced carrots, drained (or one package of frozen sliced carrots)
1 medium onion finely chopped (or one package of chopped frozen onions)
1-2 rings of smoked sausage, any brand or flavor. I usually get Healthy Choice or Hillshire Farms, all beef.

Fill to the crock brim with water

Sometimes I’ll put this on low before we go to bed and it’s usually ready in six hours. Lentils cook really fast compared to other types of beans and legumes. If I forget to put it on the night before, I’ll set the slow cooker on high, so it's usually done in about three hours.

Rustic Valentine

Even though Valentine’s is just around the corner, there’s still time to create a one-of-a-kind Valentine for your true love, that be used for decorating year after year.

I purchased this wooden heart a couple of years ago in Canton for 50 cents, and stuck it away in my craft stash. I also have a stash of fabric cut outs, which includes multiple sizes fabrics. At this time of year, wooden and fabric hearts are easy to come by.

I painted the base of the heart a deep red, using acrylic craft paint. I let it dry for about four hours. Then I used fabric glue to attach the bigger of the two hearts to the wood. With fabric glue, make sure that you coat the entire surface that you want to glue down. Once you have the fabric heart placed where you want it, smooth out the bubbles. I just used my fingers to smooth out the bubbles and shape the heart. I let that dry overnight and then in the morning, I glued down the second heart, again using fabric glue and smoothing out the bubbles.

While I let the second heart dry, I painted pre-cut wood letters. For this project, I used a paint pen, but next time, I’ll use acrylic craft paint or maybe just spray paint. I set aside the letters to dry as well.

Once the letters were completely dry, about 12 hours, I used a fine-tip black Sharpie to outline the edges and paint the sides. While those were drying, I used the white pen to seal the edges of the fabric hearts and outline the wooden heart. Again, I waited 12 hours to let the paint dry. I used the black Sharpie to outline the fabric hearts. Once dry, I used fabric glue to place the letters. I sealed the whole thing by painting it with a layer of white craft glue.

Now I have a cute, rustic Valentine that I can use year after year.

While I love the result, the paint pen was difficult to control. I’d use fabric paint next time.

Traditional Beef Stew

There’s not a whole lot tradition in most of what I cook, but when it’s cold outside, and I’m in the mood for a hearty winter meal, nothing beats an old fashion beef stew. My mother and grandmothers used to make beef stew too, but they put in it stuff I didn’t like – or at least I didn’t think belonged in there. It was years before I realized that I could put whatever vegetables I wanted in a stew – which is basically what “stew” means.

Ingredients:

1 package of pre-trim stew meat, seasoned liberally with tenderizer.

2 cubes of beef bullion or 1 can of beef broth

1 large can of tomato sauce and 1 can of diced tomatoes

3-4 cans of vegetables (drained). I typically use corn, potatoes, peas, carrots and onions. I don't put green beans in my stew, though some people do.

2-3 tablespoons of corn starch to thicken the broth.

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker. Simmer until the meat flakes apart. The longer and slower the stew simmers the more tender the meat will be, usually 8-9 hours.

Black Bean Salsa Soup

When I have a little more time to cook, Black Bean Salsa Soup a great little side dish for fajitas or tacos.

Ingredients:

1 bag of dry black beans 

1 large jar of salsa (I use Sam's Choice Southwest Salsa)

2 cans of corn (drained)

1 20 oz can of diced tomatoes (I use either regular or chili from Aldi’s)

1 20 oz can of tomato sauce (also from Aldi’s)

1 small bag of frozen onions

2 packages of taco mix

1 tub sour cream (optional)

Shredded cheese (optional)

1-2 avocados (optional)

Combine everything in a crock pot and cook until the beans are done, about 8 hours on low.

Top each bowl with sour cream, cheese and avocado for a more hearty dish.

Easy Chicken and Rice

Chicken and rice is one of my favorite comfort foods. Whenever I was sick, my mother would bring out the Campbell’s soup, the gold standard in “sick food.” But even when I was sick, canned soup just didn’t taste right. When I got into slow cooker cooking, I wondered if I could do any better. Turns out I can – and you can too with this really easy recipe.

Ingredients:

2-3 cans of chicken broth

2 cans cut carrots, drained

4 cups of instant rice

1 medium onion coarsely chopped (or two cups frozen chopped onions)

3 large boneless chicken breasts. I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I cube or rather chunk the raw chicken,

Combine everything in your slow cooker. (Make sure you have a good, reliable appliance. I like personally like the Rival brand.) Top off the crock with water. Salt & pepper to taste. Simmer until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Let it simmer for about eight hours.

How I discovered slow cooker cooking and Chicken Corn Chowder Slow Cooker Style

When my husband and I first got together 20 something years ago, our busy life with three kids left very little time to cook. I really didn’t like to cook much back then, but we had to eat. Since I worked full time, everything had to be quick and easy, and ideally, ready when I got home.

It was during those years in a cramped house Garland that I mastered the art of the casserole – or at least I thought I had. On Sundays, while John and the kids were watching football, I’d dutifully trot off the local grocery store to buy enough for the next week’s meals. When I got home, I’d make five casseroles and freeze them for the next week.

For the 1990s, I was being pretty creative: a meat, either chicken or ground piece; a starch, either some sort of noodles or rice; a can of some sort of vegetable, and a sauce, cheese, tomato and if I really got crazy, alfredo. After school, one of the kids would dutifully put the casserole in the even so it’d be ready when I got home from work. A quick salad and voila – dinner. I thought I had it down! After two or three years of this, my family began to revolt and would sneak down to the fast food places a few blocks away for dinner. To this day, none of my kids will eat a casserole of any sort – even as a side dish.

But still, I had to cook and I like having dinner ready when I got home. One year, in my mother’s longstanding quest to outfit my kitchen with useless appliances, she happened to give me a slow cooker. And I immediately put it to use. At first meals were the traditional roast and vegetables or dried beans, but eventually, my creative side took hold and I discovered there were soup meals beyond pinto beans and ham.

The following is one of my favorites - Chicken Corn Chowder.

Chicken Corn Chowder Crockpot Style

What you’ll need:

·         1 lb Velveeta cheese

·         4 boneless chicken breasts

·         1 can of chicken broth

·         1 can of cream corn

·         1 can of corn

·         1 cup chopped sweet bell peppers (red, yellow, orange and/or green)

·         ½ cup chopped onions

Directions:

Set the slow cooker on high. Melt the Velveeta in the slow cooker.

Brown the chicken breasts just enough so that there’s no more pink. Chop after it’s done.

Once the cheese is beginning to soften, add the can of chicken broth and the cream corn. Stir occasionally to help break up the cheese.

Add the chicken, the onions, peppers and corn.

Cook for 2-3 hours.

Excellent with corn bread!