Here is an outstanding and super easy recipe that an idogger gave me a few years ago. In the winter months we make it at least once or twice a month.

Chewbecca’s  Italian Beef Sandwiches

5 lb. roast (or smaller)
2 jars of cherry peppers
one onion (I don't usually do anything but cut off the ends of the onion)
3-4 cloves of garlic (it's really up to you how much garlic you add)
Italian seasoning

Directions: Put roast in your crock pot. Open up and pour in your two jars of cherry peppers. Add onion, garlic cloves (pressed or minced). Fill the rest of the way until right above the roast with water. Sprinkle Italian seasoning completely over the top of the water (until you can't see the roast).
Cook on low for 8 or more hours. two hours before you are ready to serve and eat, take a slotted spoon and pull out all of the cherry peppers and de-stem them. Put them back in the crockpot. Also, when you're ready to eat, take out the roast and shred it up.

And here is one we recently tried in the crockpot that I think is a keeper. the meat is so good and actually rather than having it in burritos, I like using the meat in tacos or even in Mexican omelette's. It really makes my egg beater omelette's feel decadent!   It is a little too bland for my taste so next time I am putting in a little bit of canned jalapeños. Last time I did add in some green tabasco and it helped a lot.  The best part about this recipe is that it couldn't be easier to make the meat. 

Slow-Cooker Beef-and-Bean Burritos  
Ingredients

• 1  (2-pound) London broil
• 1  (1.25-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• Cooking spray
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1  tablespoon  white vinegar
• 1  (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles
• 1  (16-ounce) can fat-free refried beans
• 12  (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
• 1 1/2  cups  (6 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 1/2  cups  chopped plum tomato
• 3/4  cup  fat-free sour cream

Trim fat from meat; rub seasoning mix over both sides of meat. Place meat in an electric slow cooker coated with cooking spray; add onion, vinegar, and green chiles. Cover with lid; cook on low-heat setting for 9 hours. Remove meat from slow cooker, reserving cooking liquid; shred meat with two forks. Combine meat and reserved cooking liquid; stir well.

Warm beans and tortillas according to package directions. Spread 2 tablespoons beans down the center of each tortilla. Spoon a heaping 1/3 cup meat mixture on top of beans. Top each with 2 tablespoons cheese, 2 tablespoons tomato, and 1 tablespoon sour cream; roll up.

Shelly, I've made that Italian beef and it really is super.  But now I have a silly question.  Why do you have to take the peppers out, de-stem them and put them back in?  Wouldn't it be easier to just take the stems out before you put them in the pot in the first place, or is there a reason for doing it that way?

Joyce

Shelly - those both look good. I'm all for any recipe that you can get London Broil to be tender. It's a lean cut and inexpensive. I will definitely try that recipe.

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Shelly, I've made that Italian beef and it really is super.  But now I have a silly question.  Why do you have to take the peppers out, de-stem them and put them back in?  Wouldn't it be easier to just take the stems out before you put them in the pot in the first place, or is there a reason for doing it that way?

Joyce, TBH,  I dunno why!  I imagine it is because after cooking them the stems pull out so easily? I am not sure. Maybe next time I will try it to see if I can pull out a couple first?  I ALWAYS have to make sure I have equal numbers of stems and peppers because if not, then that may mean that a stem is stuck in the meat and there is nothing worse than biting into a yummy sandwich straight into a stem!

Cathy, I am totally with you. I don’t like London broil at all, but if you cook it to death it is great to use and so inexpensive. It cost me about $10 to make that whole meal and I had enough leftover meat to use for 3 additional meals.   

jjsmom06

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Shelly, I've made that Italian beef and it really is super.  But now I have a silly question.  Why do you have to take the peppers out, de-stem them and put them back in?  Wouldn't it be easier to just take the stems out before you put them in the pot in the first place, or is there a reason for doing it that way?

 

 

 

Joyce, TBH,  I dunno why!  I imagine it is because after cooking them the stems pull out so easily? I am not sure. Maybe next time I will try it to see if I can pull out a couple first?  I ALWAYS have to make sure I have equal numbers of stems and peppers because if not, then that may mean that a stem is stuck in the meat and there is nothing worse than biting into a yummy sandwich straight into a stem!

 

Stems hold a *lot* of flovor, so if you cook with stems, you get all the flavor. They're not the easiest to eat thou!

Crab Bisque with Sherry and Puff Pastry

This is a really easy soup to make, but I have no idea what the ratios are since I don’t measure anything, so what I have written down are pure guesses. I make it different every time.  I recommend doing it by taste and tasting all the way through the process and adjusting it to your liking.

Key ingredients are:

 
*Butter ( a couple tablespoons)

 *Diced Onion (maybe ¾ a cup or more)

 *Minced Garlic (a Tablespoon or more)

 *WHITE Canned Crab (1- 2 small cans depending on how much crab flavor you want)

 *Chicken stock or better than bouillon lobster based paste diluted in water (depending on how fishy you want it.  Here is the base I am talking about http://superiortouch.com/btb.htm )

 *Canned campbells tomato soup (or tomato bisque if you can find it) FAMILY sized can if they have it, or 3 regular sized cans

 *Diced fresh tomatoes

 *Whipping Cream ( ½ a cup or more)

 *Sherry ( I prefer dry sherry)

*Pepper

 * Pepperidge Farms Frozen puff Pastry  SHEETS

SOUP-

Sauté onions in butter and when soft, add drained canned crab and sauté for a couple more minutes, add fresh tomatoes and stir for one minute. Add canned soup and then fill can ¾ the way full with stock/ broth. 

Simmer soup for 20 minutes or more. Then stir in whipping cream and turn off heat. Sherry can be added at this time, or you can add directly into each bowl or on top of puff pastry.

PUFF PASTRY-

Another little thought on those pepper stems.....those buggers are HOT and can really cause some major discomfort if you work them while they are raw.  As I recall, the stems and seeds of peppers are where most of the "fire power" hangs out.  I remember some real pain when I cleaned peppers for my very first batch of salsa verde...no gloves like a dummy.....youch!

 I found this great recipe website through another forum: http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/index1.htm

It's all about fast, CHEAP, easy recipes from scratch. With a focus on benig nutritious - they include nutrition info for a lot of the meals. It's pretty neat!

glenmar

Another little thought on those pepper stems.....those buggers are HOT and can really cause some major discomfort if you work them while they are raw.  As I recall, the stems and seeds of peppers are where most of the "fire power" hangs out.  I remember some real pain when I cleaned peppers for my very first batch of salsa verde...no gloves like a dummy.....youch!

Glenda, the peppers in that recipe are cherry peppers and I didn't notice any *heat* at all.  They're more flavorful than a bell pepper but not the least bit hot ... at least the jars I got weren't.

Joyce

In a mindless chatter thread, someone asked my recipe for crockpotted pork spare ribs and I pm her the recipe but I can share it here, too.

First, get some pork spare ribs.

Second, have a crock pot. We have 3. One of them, by Rival, is a barbecue style crockpot. It is rectangular and has removable racks that sit in a stoneware that comes out for cleaning. But you can use a regular crockpot if you cut the rack of ribs into sections.

I used a rub and a home made barbecue sauce. I made my own rub.

the rub

2 - 3 tablespoons brown sugar

1-2 teaspoons cajun seasoning

1 teaspoon ground black pepper or some freshly ground black pepper.

You can adjust the rub depending on your taste. Add more brown sugar if you like sweet or add more cajun seasoning if you like it a little spicy. The cooking will sweeten the spice.

Sift together, preferrably with a whisk. Rub on the ribs.

The barbecue sauce is a family recipe from DW's mother.

I use a regular sauce pan. It's easier to stir and pour out the sauce than using a skillet.

I have been working on a cookbook for my brother and his new fiance so I have a few of our favorites typed up.  I am all about casseroles but these are both soup/stew and my hubby loves when I make either.  I don't do a lot of measuring so where you see actual measurements, it is basically an estimate or was taken from a recipe that has been adjusted.  Almost everything I make creates leftovers so I plan ahead to only cook a few times a week.

Speedy Chili

1.  In a large nonstick saucepot, sauté the beef and garlic over medium heat until browned, about 4-5 minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes.

Sarah’s Chicken Soup

1. In a large nonstick saucepot, add olive oil, garlic and chopped onion.  Saute for a minute.  Add squash and zucchini and mushrooms and continue to sauté.  Then add bag of mixed vegetables.  Stir and cover for a few minutes until mushrooms start to cook.
2. Add diced tomatoes, and artichokes and 4 cans of broth, lemon juice from 1-2 lemons and herbs listed above.  Stir, cover and bring to a boil.
3. Add cubed chicken, stir, cover and bring back to a boil.
4. Add stuffed pasta.  Stir, cover and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to low.
6. Add spinach and 2 more cans of broth.
7. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes on low.

ETA: I keep fixing the format but it won't stick. Sorry.

Here are a few of our favorite casseroles that I already have typed.

I give up!  That is so annoying!

ok, i dont have time right now, but i will post some recepies when i come back home later. most of my recepies are very very simple though.

Thanks Joyce, I guess I need to read more carefully!

ok, since i am really tired, i'll start off with a simple one:

janet's pesto sandwich:

2 slices of whole weat bread

2 slices of either cooked ham, or turkey, or something of the like

1 egg

pesto

cream cheese of your preference

toast the bread slices, smear them with cream cheese, nice and thick, then each a layer of pesto, on top of that your ham, then fry your egg sunny side up and use it as a middle layer. if you like you can also add a few lettuce leaves..

trust me, it's delicious!