In Which I Imitate Pioneer Woman and Almost Burn My House Down

We've been in a serious food rut.

Same old, same old - baked ziti, chili, spaghetti, beans and rice, quiche.

Rinse. Repeat.

It was time to break out, I tell you!  In a moment of inspiration, I revisited two of my favorite things: my crockpot and The Pioneer Woman.

First, let's revisit the crockpot.  Remember my recipe series?  OK, so it was "kind of" a series.  But there were some yummy recipes I was posting for a time.  Well, here's another one for you.

I just want to warn you.  It involves (looking around furtively). . . . 

Beer.

OK.  That's done now.

May also recommend that when you go to purchase said ingredient, you do NOT visit the convenience store across the street from your church.  Just in case you run in to one of the pastors of your church.

Which I didn't.

But I could have.  And that would have been a GREAT story for the blog.

Kinda like the time our Pastor Emeritus showed up at our house for a visit, unannounced, and I came upstairs to see who it was.

In my jammies and bathrobe.  

True story.

At this point, you're wishing I would just get on with the recipe.

Me too.  So here it is!

Pulled Beef Sandwiches 

(by romeacademy from the WTMBoards)

2-3 lb. chuck roast

1 packet of Italian Good Seasonings Dressing Mix

1 12-oz. can of beer (I used Miller Lite, cuz I don't know any better!)

Cut the roast into 4-5 pieces.

Sprinkle the dressing on top.

Pour the beer over all.

Cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4.

Pull meat out and shred.

Hot.  Steaming.  Ready for the sandwiches!

Pile the meat in a nice, fresh roll.  Delicious!

Not Portuguese rolls.  But close enough!

But, really, the best part of the meal was "Crash Hot Potatoes" from The Pioneer Woman.

Oh. My. Stars.

You. Must. Make. These.

I'm not going to reprint the recipe - you can go to PW's site for it - but can I just brag a bit and tell you that my own Marlboro Man made these - almost all by himself?

Can I just give you a teensy-weensy bit of advice? 

Do not - repeat - do NOT bake these on a regular cookie sheet.  Like this:

And if you decide to ignore my warning, and the olive oil drips down onto the bottom of your oven (my mother is cringing right now),

and you see flames?

Well, I warned you.

My kids thought it was cool.

Anyways.

You should have heard the chorus of "Ooohs" and "Aaaahs" when they were served!

Heaven in a potato.  Seriously.

Even the potato hater in my family said they were, and I quote, "Pretty good."

Top it off with some fudge that your amazing sister-in-law sent your from snow-covered Connecticut?

Food rut officially. Over.

Now I'm off to clean my oven.

It's Legal. . . .and It's Delicious**

Well, folks - when the cat's away, the mice will play. . . . . . with their crock pot, that is!

Y had to work tonight, so for dinner I whipped out a recipe from a great cookbook I got from the library:  "Brinner" French Toast Casserole.   Breakfast for dinner - how fun!

First step:  Spray the inside of your crock pot with non-stick spray.  

Cube a loaf of cinnamon-raisin swirl bread, layer it inside with pats of butter.

(Good thing I went to Aldi's this morning!  It's a bargain at only $1.19 a loaf.)

Next:  The egg mixture.  8 eggs, whole milk, half-and-half, some syrup, a bit of cinnamon.

Pour over the bread cubes.  Smush 'em down a bit, so they get nice and soaked.

Mix together butter, brown sugar, and oats.  Sprinkle this topping over the bread mixture.

. . . then, let the Crock Pot do its magic!  3 hours on high, let it sit for 15 minutes, and. . . .

. . . yummy, cinnamon, easy, French toast flavor!

I served it to the kids with bacon & canteloupe - and there was just a smidge left for Y to have a sample.  A hit!  The only down side - I can't see myself making this for a Sunday breakfast, since I'd have to wake up at 5 to start it.  Might go on our Thanksgiving Day breakfast menu, though!

**Editor's note:  I must explain the title to this post, which was suggested by my kids.  About 6 years ago, my kids interviewed my brother and sister-in-law, who were living in Kabul at the time.  During the interview, Nathaniel found out that there was a Burger King at the military base just outside of the city.  The following is a transcript of the interchange that followed:

"And sometimes, we go on Operation Whopper. . . .we seek out a hamburger!" (my bro)

"Is that legal?" asks wide-eyed Nathaniel.

"It's legal. . . . . and it's DELICIOUS!"  (my brother's amused reply)

Since then, it's been a family joke.  And now. . . you're in on it!**

Crock Pot Monday: Sour Cream Pork Chops

Yes, it's yet another installment in. . . . . . . Adventures in Slow Cooking!  

Today started our regular fall schedule - and Monday is our busiest day of the week.  No problem, thinks I!  Time to whip out. . . . . 

Sour Cream Pork Chops (from Allrecipes.com)

First step:  dredge the pork chops in flour, and brown in a bit of oil

Second step:  Ignore the dog, sitting pathetically at your feet, drooling over said pork chops.

Third step:  Put pork chops in slow cooker, and top with sliced onions.

Fourth step:  Add 2 c. of chicken boullion.  (Hint:  I have fallen in love with "Better than Boullion", it's a chicken base with NO MSG.  Yummy!)

Let cook for 7-8 hours.  I used boneless chops, so mine only needed about 6 hours.

Fifth Step:  Take these sweet girls to ballet.

Sixth step:  Convince your husband to finish the recipe, because you realized you won't be home in time to finish the recipe.

Only kidding.  Kind of.  Here's what he did:  Remove the pork chops from the crock pot.  Mix together 2 T. of flour and 8 oz sour cream, stir into crock pot, cook on Hi for 10 minutes.  Make a bunch of egg noodles. . . ..  .

And serve the yummy pork chops for dinner!

And the reviews:

Taste:  ALL of my kids gave it a HUGE thumbs up!  Y. even commented how good they were . . . do you think it was because he helped?  ;-)

Ease of prep:  OK, really it was pretty easy.  HOWEVER - I'm spoiled after that tortellini recipe!  Seriously, I will make these again - but NOT on a Monday night, when I don't have any time to fool with making a sauce in the 30 minutes between when I get home and the boys leave for Boy Scouts.

Overall?  We have a winner!  Definitely adding this one to my permanent menu.

Stay tuned for our next installment. . . . . Slow Cooker French Toast Casserole!  Who's coming over?

Crock-Pot Thursday: Tortellini Bake

. . . and thus begins a new series, in which I experiment on serve my family a different crock-pot recipe once or twice a week.  Interested?  Read on.

First up:  Tortellini Bake, submitted by prariegirl (from the WTM message board)

The hardest part of this recipe was finding the frozen tortellini in our newly messed-up remodeled Wal-Mart.  Of course, the fact that I was chatting on the phone with an old friend, dispensing homeschooling advice, did NOT help my powers of concentration.  After about 4 passes through the frozen food aisle, I located the desired item:

3 bags - about right for our large-ish family.

And here's the recipe - if you can even call it that!

Drag your slow cooker out from the back of the cupboard.  Dust it off.

Put one bag of tortellini inside.  Cover with some spaghetti sauce (I didn't measure.  It was enough to cover, but I could still see the tortellini).

Top with about 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese.  Repeat layers.

Turn the slow cooker on low.  Go outside, work in the garden, clean your house, read a book - whatever you want for about 2 hours.

Serve with a large tossed salad to hungry, happy family.

I have to say - for my first entry in the  Great Crock Pot Experiment of '10 - this is a keeper!

Enjoy!