Mhmm, mmm, good!

When Fall comes around it means something exciting....you get to start making crock pot meals! I made a roast with potatoes and carrots in the crock pot last Sunday. It was so easy to throw all of the ingredients in the crock pot and let it cook all day while we went to Christmas Village to shop around!

Roast, Potatoes, and Carrots

Roast {I bought a shoulder}

2 large russet potatoes

1 bag of baby carrots
1 yellow onino
2 tbsp ranch dressing mix
1 envelope brown gravy mix
Italian Seasoning
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper

Dice the potatoes and onions.

While dicing the potatoes and onions, brown the roast on all sides in a skillet. 

 Add the potatoes, onions, and bag of carrots to the crock pot.

 Add the browned roast to the crock pot.

 Add ranch mix, brown gravy mix, Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt and pepper.

 Add about 6 cups of water. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. I turned the crock pot to Hi for a couple of hours towards the end.

 Wa-la! Crock pot roast, potatoes, and carrots. Green beans make a great addition. And Britt requested a biscuit to go with the meal as well!

 As I mention in my last post, my husband turns his nose up at sauteed or roasted squash! I found another way to get him to eat squash for dinner. I found a recipe for oven "fried" okra earlier in the year. So last week I got the bright idea to use the same recipe but substituted the squash in place of the okra.

Oven "Fried" Squash
2 yellow squash
Cooking spray
Yellow corn meal
White corn meal
Salt and Pepper
Cajun Seasoning
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder

First, slice the squash and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

 Spray the inside of a gallon-size ziplock bag {I was out of gallon ziplock bags, so I used a "keep fresh" bag I had in the pantry}. Add the sliced squash and spray more cooking spray. Shake to coat all of the squash. Let the squash sit for 10 minutes.

 After 10 minutes add the corn meal and other seasoning. Shake to coat all of the squash. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes.

 Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Put the squash on the baking sheet in a single layer. Spray the squash with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip each piece of squash over. Spray with cooking spray again. Bake for another 20 minutes.

 Chicken, oven "fried"squash, and lima beans.

 This next recipe is a childhood favorite of Britt's. I got the recipe from his mom {pictured below}. It is delicious!

First, boil the chicken {about 20 minutes}. I add a little bit of olive oil to help with the gross residue the chicken leaves when boiling. 

 After the chicken is finished boiling, chop it into 1 in pieces.

 In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the chicken, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, salt and pepper, and poppy seeds.

 Stir until all ingredients are mixed well.

 Add the mixture to an 11x7 baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

 Melt butter {I used low-fat butter!} in a small mixing bowl.

 Crush the ritz crackers in a ziplock bag.

 Add the ritz crackers to the melted butter and stir.

 Top the poppy seed chicken mixture with the ritz cracker mixture.

 Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes until bubbly.

 This meal is so hearty that we didn't even make a side to go with it. Britt went back for seconds, so I am assuming it was good!

 This past weekend Britt's parents and sister came to Birmingham to visit! We enjoyed a meal out Friday night and Saturday for lunch, but Saturday night I cooked while we watched the end of the Alabama v. Texas A&M game and the Auburn v. UGA game {if you want to call it a game!} Back in August when we were all excited about football season Britt bought me the Southern Living SEC Tailgating Cookbook. We found a lot of recipes that looked great, but never made any of them. Since we were eating dinner while watching football I decided that a recipe out of the cookbook would be fitting. I found a dip recipe and a potato salad that looked tasty. I was so busy cooking and trying to watch the football games that I did not have time to take pictures to show each step. The finished product is all I have to offer for these dishes!

Sausage, Bean, and Spinach Dip

I served the dip with Frito Scoops. I wonder if it was any good?

Grilled Blue Cheese-and-Bacon Potato Salad

 

Britt wanted fried chicken sandwiches to go with the potato salad. Unfortunately, I won't be sharing my recipe for fried chicken {my Daddy thinks it's the best and I'm going to keep it a secret}!

Here you go, fried chicken sandwiches and grilled blue cheese potato salad. 

Like I have said before, Sunday nights we like "good" meals {aka- not-so-healthy meals}! I found a "Skinny Girl Chicken, Broccoli, Fettucini recipe on Pinterest. I followed the recipe, but I added some not-so-skinny ingredients as well.

3 boneless chicken breast

2 cups roasted broccoli florets

8 oz. fettucini noodles

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp flour

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup plain FAGE greek yogurt

1/2 can cream of mushroom soup

about 1/2 cup light sour cream

1/4 cup milk

Salt and Pepper

Pinch of ground nutmeg

3/4 cup parmesan cheese

3/4 cup six cheese italian blend cheese

Parsley 

 First, chop the broccoli and roast it in the oven on 375 degrees F for about 25 minutes.

 While the broccoli is roasting, dice and cook the chicken in a skillet. Add onion and garlic powder.

While the chicken is cooking, cook the noodles according to package directions. When the noodles are done drain them. Do not rinse. 

 Mince the garlic and sautee it in the olive oil for about 2 minutes.

 Whisk in flour and stir for about 2 minutes.

 Add chicken broth, milk, greek yogurt, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, nutmeg, and salt and pepper. Whisk ingredients together. Bring to a low boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 3 minutes until the mixture becomes thick.

Add parmesan cheese {I added six cheese italian also} and stir until the cheese is melted. 

Once the cheese has melted add the chicken and broccoli. Stir to coat. 

Then add the noodles and stir to coat completely. 

 Here you go, a "skinnier"version of chicken, broccoli, fettucini alfredo. It was great...Britt had seconds so I know it was a success!

Garnish with parsley and serve. 

Check back next week to see what has been cooking in our kitchen!
"...nothing is too much trouble if it turns out the way it should." -Julia Child

-jess