Crockpot Chicken Parm

This was actually my first time making this recipe, and my first time using my new crockpot.  I've wanted to try slow cooker recipes for a while, especially since there are hundreds of great ideas on Pinterest.  I found this recipe to be fool-proof, and so good!  I think this is actually one of my new favorite meals. 

My adorable Hello Kitty crockpot!  It's just the right size to make a dinner for two. 

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
Dash of pepper
Dash of salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 jar of marinara sauce

Instructions:

Coat the bottom of the crockpot with the olive oil. In a bowl,  mix the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese.  In a separate bowl, whisk the egg.  Now, coat each piece of chicken in the egg, then into your breadcrumb mix until covered.

Place all the "breaded" chicken pieces into the crockpot and layer the shredded mozzarella on top.  Pour the jar of sauce in.  Put the lid on and cook on low setting for about 4 and a half hours.

I served this over penne which I cooked just before the chicken parm was ready.

Enjoy!

Pork Tenderloin

I love making pork tenderloiu.  It is such an easy, but filling, dinner.  Here is what I use on the pork to create the perfect combination of flavors.

Ingredients:

1 pork tenderloin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Dash of pepper
Dash of ground rosemary
Dash of ground oregano
1 tablespoon all-spice (personally, I love to substitute "Emeril's Essence" spice here; it has more of a zing to it.)

Instructions:

Completely coat the pork with the olive oil, rubbing it into the meat.  Next, distribute your mix of salt, pepper, and all-spice onto the pork, covering all sides with the spices.  I like to add a dash of rosemary and oregano to the top of the meat as well. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place the pork into an oven-safe casserole dish (the pork will produce a good amount of liquid while it cooks - be sure your dish has high sides.)  Don't cover your dish.  I find that baking it for about 50-55 minutes is perfect.  It's done when the center of the meat is white.  You can also press your thumb into the top of the meat, and if the meat does not sink down under your thumb, but feels tender, it's done.


This is the perfect meal, when paired with smooth mashed potatoes (or even roasted potatoes!)

Shoulder Roast

A roast is one of my favorite meals to cook.  Of course it is a wonderful dinner in the colder months but I can't resist cooking one every so often in the summertime.

I've made an eye of the round quite often, as well as a chuck roast.  This time I decided to make a shoulder roast.  It is not an expensive cut of meat, so this meal is definitely affordable as well.

Ingredients:

Shoulder roast (I made this 2.44 lb roast for two of us, knowing that we would have plenty of leftovers)
Coarse salt
Pepper
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup stock (preferably beef stock but chicken stock will work just fine)
Dash of Montreal Steak Seasoning

Instructions:

Rub the roast with olive oil, enough to lightly coat the meat.  Rub in the salt, pepper, and add a dash of the steak seasoning if desired.  Be sure to flip the roast over and rub all seasonings onto the other side as well.  Now, peel the cloves of garlic, snip each end off of each clove, and crush the cloves with the flat side of a knife.  Then, slice three slits into the top of the roast, and insert one clove into each slit. Place your roast, and the beef or chicken stock, into an oven safe dish. I cook my roast in a ceramic casserole dish; just be sure your dish has a lid.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cover your dish, and put in the oven for about  ten minutes. Then, reduce heat to 350 degrees for the duration.  For the size of the roast that I made, it took about an hour and 15 minutes to cook.

With the roast, I tossed together a salad with chopped romaine, heirloom tomatoes from the garden, croutons, shredded Parmesan and a homemade dressing.  The dressing was made with: 

The juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon Olive oil
Pepper
Salt
1 clove crushed garlic

Wisk the dressing together just before serving.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

*Guest post from Turtle's Mom*

This is the freshest zucchini bread we've ever made - the zucchini went straight from the garden into the bread!  Well, there were a few steps in between...

Ingredients:

3 eggs, beaten until fluffy
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Optional: 1 cup of nuts, or even chocolate chips

Instructions:

Cream the oil with the sugar, add the beaten eggs and vanilla.  Slowly add all dry ingredients, and fold in the zucchini.  Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Once cooled, you can wrap these in plastic wrap and seal them into a large Ziploc bag, to be enjoyed in the winter months.

*yields one large loaf or two smaller loaves*

Grating the fresh zucchini...

These disposable dishes are great if you want to make extra breads to freeze, or to give away to others.

 And here is the finished product, made in a variety of dishes! 

And here's what's been going on at my parents' house...

Fresh produce from the garden!

Meet Kurds, one of the free range Silkie chickens.  Isn't she adorable?

Ribs on the Grill

So here's what's been going on in the kitchen lately...

I made ribs for the first time last week, and they came out really well!  I bought a rack of pork ribs, and created an easy marinade mixture.  Nothing too fancy, but they were tasty!

Ingredients for marinade:

2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons of a smokey barbecue sauce (I like "Sweet Baby Ray's" sauce myself)
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
Dash of salt and pepper

We cooked these on the grill for a little over an hour, flipping them every 15 minutes and brushing the marinade on each time we flipped them.

If you like ribs, try this marinade!  Sometimes the best meals are the most simple ones!