Italian Beef in the Sloooow Cooker. =)

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• 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon onion salt
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
• 1 (2.5 lb.) rump roast
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• 1. Mix the water, salt, ground black pepper, dried oregano, dried basil, onion salt, dried parsley, garlic powder, bay leaf and Italian dressing mix together in a medium size pot. Heat until boiling. Remove bay leaf!
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• 2. Put roast in crock pot, pour salad dressing mixture over. Cook on low for 8 hours.
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• 3. Shred meat and put on crusty roll! I'm using hoagie buns!

Ranch Pasta Salad!

This is SUPER simple and only 7 ingredients! My favorite go-to pasta salad for parties & picnics!

• 10-14 ounces Bow tie Pasta (also known as Farfalle)
• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise. DO NOT use Miracle Whip- too sweet!
• 1 cup milk.
• 3 TBSP. Ranch dressing mix.
• 1 (3 oz.) bag of Real bacon pieces
• 2 Medium size tomatoes, diced.
• About 1/2 cup sliced green onions.

1. Start off by boiling the water and cooking your noodles, follow box directions!

2. Mix together your mayonnaise, milk, Ranch dressing mix, diced tomatoes, bacon pieces, and sliced green onions!

3. Add your cooked, drained noodles to the mixtures, stir to coat. Toss in the fridge until cold. If mixture is too thick, add more milk. If mixture is too thin, add more mayonnaise. Just remember to let it chill for at least two hours before adding mayonnaise because it WILL thicken up after chilling for a bit!

Easy. as. Pie! =)

Cajun Chicken Pasta!

This is pretty close to the Nebraska Brewing Companies recipe. =)

The recipe says it only makes 2 servings, but it probably makes 2-4, depending on how much you plan to eat. =)

• 4 oz. of pasta; recipe calls for linguine, I used Penne. =)
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts.
• 3 TBSP. Cajun seasoning.
• 2 TBSP. butter.
• 1 red bell pepper.
• 1 green bell pepper.
• 1 green onion, chopped.
• 4 fresh mushrooms, sliced.
• 1 cup heavy cream. (heavy whipping cream in your dairy aisle!)
• 1/4 tsp. dried basil
• 1/4 tsp. lemon pepper
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Right off the bat, start boiling the water for the noodles. I don't know about you, but it takes me FOREVER to boil noodles. I'm just not skilled enough for that. ;) To get it to boil quickly, try a little bit of salt in it. Not too much, or your noodles will suffer!

1. Cut your chicken into bite size pieces, about 1/2-inch to 1-inch. Chicken is always easiest to cut when slightly frozen, so it doesn't move around on you. =) The best way to set up a cutting board that doesn't have rubber stoppers on it, is to wet down a thin dish cloth or even paper towels, wring it out so its damp, and put it underneath the cutting board.

2. After cutting the chicken, toss into a Zip Lock bag. Put the 3 TBSP. of Cajun season in with the chicken and toss to coat. Make sure everything is coated! Just tastes better that way. Set aside.

3. Wash your veggies! To clean the mushrooms, just take a damp paper towel and wipe all the dirt off! Slice your bell peppers into strips, and slice your mushrooms about 1/4-inch thick. You want them a little thicker than normal so they don't disappear into the rest of the food! Set veggies aside!

4. Heat up the two TBSP. of butter in a large skillet or pot. In this case I used a pot because I don't have a deep skillet! =)

5. After the butter is melted, put your chicken into your skillet and cook until browned on the outside. About 5 to 7 minutes.

6. Add the veggies to the chicken and cook and saute for about 2 to 3 minutes. You don't want them translucent, you want them still crunchy!

7. Add the heavy cream, dried basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder, and ground pepper! Take the spatula and stir it in, while scraping everything off the bottom of the pot!

8. Taste the sauce, if you feel like its missing something, add it! I always end up adding more Cajun seasoning... watch out though, it can get a little too salty/spicy!

9. By now the noodles should be done, so drain them and then put them in the chicken/sauce mixture. Toss to coat!

10. Serve hot! Parmesan cheese on top is optional!!=)

Home-Made Vegetable Beef Soup!

Excuse the tupperware container, I was packing Jonathon's lunch for work. =)

• 1 lb. rump roast, cubed.
• 2 (26 0z. or family sized) cans condensed tomato soup.
• 4 cups water.
• 3 beef bouillon cubes
• 1 TBSP. Weber Roasted Garlic & Herb Seasoning.
• 1/2 tsp. Weber Beer Can Chicken Seasoning.
• 1 (12 oz.) bag frozen mixed vegetables.
• 3 cups Southern Style frozen cubed potatoes.
• 1/2 tsp. sugar.
• salt & pepper to taste!

1. Start by cubing the rump roast. 1/2 inch cubes should be about perfect.

2. Toss into your crock pot. Then mix in the tomato soup, water, beef bouillon cubes, and both Weber seasonings.

3. Cook for 4 hours on high setting.

4. Add the vegetables, potatoes, sugar and salt & pepper & cook for another 1.5-2 hours!

We did this in a regular pot for dinner because we were in a time crunch! The meat turned out a little tough because roast is meant to be slow cooked! So while thats an option, I highly recommend putting in a slow cooker! Or you could slow cook it on the stove by turning it to a very low heat and covering it.

NOTE: Also keep in mind that the longer the food cooks at a lower temperature, the more tender its going to be. The rule of thumb for slow cookers is if you're cooking it on the low setting, cook it for 8 hours. If you're cooking it on high setting, then it should be done in 4-6 hours.

EASY Sweet and Sour Pork!

I don't have pictures to go with this recipe. Its almost to easily understood to take pictures. That, and I had to get this done quick since Nolan was complaining about being hungry! =)

• 1 lb. pork loin, cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
• 2 handfuls of all-purpose flour.
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper.
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder.
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced and cut into thirds.
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced and cut into thirds.
• 1/4 of an onion, sliced.
• 1 jar of pre-made sweet and sour sauce.
• Pineapple chunks. (optional)

1. Mix together your flour, garlic powder, salt & pepper in a shallow dish or on a plate.

2. Take your cubed pork loin and toss it in the flour and use your hands to coat all the pork pieces with the flour, evenly.

3. Heat about 1.5 TBSP of oil in a deep pan or skillet. Or you can use a Wok, I just used a pot. =)

4. As soon as the oil is hot enough, gently place the pork pieces covered in flour into the oil.

5. Cook until slightly browned on the outside.

6. Add the sliced onions, red bell pepper and green bell pepper. Mix the veggies with the pork well, cook for about 3 minutes. Add the pre-made sweet and sour sauce. Toss to coat.

7. Continue to cook until the pork is done and the veggies should be done, but crisp!

8. At the end of cook time, you can add pineapple chunks if you want it to be a tad sweeter. Cashews would also be good with this, too!

9. Serve on top of rice.

I don't really like making the minute rice, but what ever is easiest for you! Friend rice would be good I'm sure, too!

Meatballs... Definitely NOT traditional!

Serves 4!

• 1 lb. lean ground beef.
• 3/4 cups crushed seasoned croutons.
• 1/4 cup chopped sweet onion.
• 1 egg, lightly beaten.
• 1 heaping teaspoon minced garlic.
• 3 TBSP. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 TBSP. prepared yellow mustard
• 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning

Once again, just the recipe will be at the very bottom if you scroll all the way past the pictures!

1. Take off all your rings and wash your hands, this recipe needs those and they're going to get messy! =)

2. Crush your seasoned croutons. You can use a meat mallet and

crush them, but I use a rolling pin so it doesn't poke holes in the bag!

3. Chop your onions. Don't make the pieces TOO big or your meatballs will fall apart easier!

4. Crack egg into a separate container and beat lightly. By doing it in a separate container, you're preventing the egg from contaminating the rest of the ingredients in the bowl!! Also, don't crack it on the edge of the anything, crack it on a flat surface, or the egg shells will get into the egg!

5. Add your ground beef, crushed croutons, chopped onion, beaten egg, minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, and Cajun seasoning to a large bowl.

6. Time to get your hands dirty!! Mix your ingredients together extremely well. Try not to mix TOO much, it can make the meat tough!

7. Fill up large pot with spaghetti sauce, enough to cover the meatballs.

8. Mold the meatballs in 1.5 inch balls.

9. Gently drop the balls into the sauce, stir to cover individual meatballs.. GENTLY!

10. Cook on medium-high heat for 30 minutes, then medium-low for 15 minutes. Stirring while cooking, but remember to stir gently. These will break very easy!

11. After 45 minutes they should be cooked through. Serve with your favorite pasta! =)

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1. Take off all your rings and wash your hands, this recipe needs those and they're going to get messy! =)

2. Crush your flavored croutons. You can use a meat mallet and crush them, but I use a rolling pin so it doesn't poke holes in the bag!

3. Chop your onions. Don't make the pieces TOO big or your meatballs will fall apart easier!

4. Crack egg into a separate container and beat lightly. By doing it in a separate container, you're preventing the egg from contaminating the rest of the ingredients in the bowl!! Also, don't crack it on the edge of the anything, crack it on a flat surface, or the egg shells will get into the egg!

5. Add your ground beef, crushed croutons, chopped onion, beaten egg, minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, and Cajun seasoning to a large bowl.

6. Time to get your hands dirty!! Mix your ingredients together extremely well. Try not to mix TOO much, it can make the meat tough!!

7. Fill up a large pot with spaghetti sauce, enough to cover the meatballs.

8. Mold the meatballs in 1.5 inch balls.

9. Gently drop the balls into the sauce, stir to cover individual meatballs.. GENTLY!

10. Cook on medium-high heat for 30 minutes, then medium-low for 15 minutes. Stirring while cooking, but remember to stir gently. These will break very easy!

11. After 45 minutes they should be cooked through. Serve with your favorite pasta! =)

NOTE: You CAN bake these for a different cooking method. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30-45 minutes in a glass baking dish.

OR You can saute these in 1 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil and 1 TBSP. butter.

Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole!

This is the recipe from the Top Secret Restaurant Recipes cook book by Todd Wilbur!
The ONLY recipe of this that I have found that almost EXACTLY matches the taste of the restaurant recipe!

If you don't want to see pictures and description on how to do the recipe, scroll ALL the way down and the recipe will be at the bottom. =)

• 1- 26 oz. bag of country style has hash browns (the shredded kind).

• 2 cups shredded Colby cheese.

• 1/4 cup minced onion.

• 1 cup milk.

• 1/2 cup beef stock or canned broth.

• 2 TBSP. butter, melted.

• dash of garlic powder.

• 1 tsp. salt.

• 1/4 tsp. ground pepper.

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

2. Mince your onions.



3. Combine the hash browns, cheese and onions in a large bowl.



4. Combine the milk, beef stock, the melted butter, garlic powder, salt and pepper in another bowl. Mix until well blended, then pour the milk mixture over the potato mixture. Mix until its AAALLLLLL blended!



5. Put the bowl in the microwave and heat at 2 minute intervals, stirring in between each, for a a total of 8 minutes or until the cheese is melted.



6. Pour into a 9 x 9 inch baking dish.





7. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until the surface of the hash browns is dark brown.



Okay, so its not exactly DARK brown on the top, but it cooked for an hour and tasted PERFECT!! =)

NOTE: In the restaurant, the is melted inside an oven safe skillet on the stove top, and then the entire skillet and contents is put in the oven to bake. You can do this at home just as easy. I think your best bet is to use a cast iron skillet, just like they use in the restaurant!

Full Recipe- no pictures.
Still using the previously written ingredients.

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mince the onions.
3. Combine the frozen hash browns, cheese and onions in a large bowl.
4. Combine the milk, beef stock, melted butter, garlic powder, salt and pepper in another bowl. mix until well blended , then pour the milk mixture over the hash browns... mix well!
5. Put the bowl in the microwave and heat at 2 minute intervals, stirring in between each, for a a total of 8 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
6. Pour into a 9 x 9 inch baking dish.
7. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until the surface of the hash browns is dark brown.

I paired this with pork chops & green peas. The restaurant pairs this with chicken fried steak & corn. Either way is extremely good! =)