Holiday Favorite's and Candy Making!

Thursday November 19th at 6:30

Host: Amy

Cost: $3

Amy is going to share with us her secrets of making pie crust and her candy making skills! Please bring your favorite holiday dish to share with the group for dinner and then for dessert we'll satisfy our sweet tooth with Amy's "sweet" culinary skills.

Please RSVP in the comment box with your name.Thanks!

(If you have recipes to share don't forget to bring them or e-mail them to me to post on our blog!)

Crockpot

I (Melissa) highly recommend the cookbook: 101 Things To Do With A Slow Cooker and the blog: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ It’s called A Year of Slow Cooking and has some fun things on it. Make sure and check the reviews and comments on the recipes because some of her attempts didn’t turn out so well but some are really yummy like the Pasta Fagioli which tastes like one of the Olive Garden soups.

Bodacious Bean Dip (crockpot)

1 can refried beans
½ cup green onion
1 ½ teaspoons taco seasoning (whatever spices you like in your taco meat)
½ cup cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients except cheese and put in 2 to 3 ½ quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for 30 minutes and then on low heat for another 30 minutes, or on low heat for 2-3 hours. Add cheese the last 30 minutes (I think it would be fine if you added the cheese at the beginning. You really just need everything to get warmed up.) This is great with tortilla chips or as a filling for bean burritos.

(compliments of Melissa)

Barbecue Meatballs (crockpot)

Grease slow cooker to make clean up easier. Put in however many frozen meatballs you want (I use Costco’s frozen meatballs). Squeeze in enough barbecue sauce to coat all of the meatballs. Add a little more sauce so it isn’t too dry, you will use ½ to a whole bottle depending on the amount of meatballs you use. Turn the crockpot on low for 3 to 4 hours. You can add dry or fresh chopped onions to this or substitute cocktail sausages for the meatballs. We like these on hoagie rolls with provolone cheese. You can also substitute spaghetti or marinara sauce for the barbecue sauce.

(compliments of Melissa)

Pepperocini Roast (crockpot)

1 beef rump round roast (or whatever is cheapest)
1-2 Tablespoons minced garlic (depends on taste)
1 jar pepperocinis

Dump everything into the crockpot and set it on low. I usually put my roast in straight from the freezer at breakfast time and it is ready for dinner. 8-10 hours. One hour before time to eat, take the lid off of the crockpot and shred the meat with two forks. This allows the juices to penetrate better.

We love this on a pita with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes and muenster cheese. Yum! I use the leftover meat to make a goulash. I just reheat the meat in a pan. Add some sour cream, a little milk, season salt, and pepper. It is really yummy over noodles.

Erika’s Cream Cheese Chicken (crockpot)

5 Frozen Chicken Breasts (or 4 or 6)
1 package of Italian Salad Dressing Mix
¼ cup of water

Put in crockpot and cook on high 5-7 hours. About 30 minutes before dinner add 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can cream of chicken soup, and 1 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese (cubed). I also like to add 1 can of mushrooms drained. Serve over rice.

(compliments of Melissa)

Triple Chocolate Mess (crockpot)

1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 small box chocolate instant pudding
2 cups sour cream
1 small bag chocolate chips
¾ cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup water

Grease crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. Mix all ingredients until smooth and pour into crockpot. Cook on low for 5 to 7 hours. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Some notes on this recipe: I have the same recipe in another book that calls for 1 cup sour cream and 1 cup chocolate chips. I made it with less sour cream and cooked about six hours the first time. It was very cake like. I like it better a little less cooked and more moist so I add the two cups sour cream and bake closer to 5 hours. Also, the other recipe notes to mix by hand and not with a mixer. I don’t know why.

(compliments of Melissa)