Creamy Ranch Chicken (Crockpot recipe)

1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
1 clove garlic, minced
2 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
1 envelope Ranch dressing mix
1 lb. chicken breasts (boneless skinless)
Egg noodles

Mix first five ingredients. Pour over chicken in a slow cooker. Cook on high 3-4 hours, or low 6-8 hours. Serve over hot egg noodles.

*I also added 1 can drained corn.

Crockpot Pasta & Chicken Sausage

Yay for easy dinners!

1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 box penne pasta
1 lb. chicken & asiago sausage (or whatever you prefer)

Pour about one cup of the spaghetti sauce into a crockpot. Pour pasta over sauce. Slice sausage over pasta. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over sausage, then fill empty jar 1/2 full, and pour over crockpot. Cook on high 1 hour, then low 1-3 hours, until done. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Two new recipes

Quick Tuna Noodle Salad

7 oz penne pasta
6 oz can tuna in water, drained
1 c cherry tomatoes, halved
3 oz mozzarella cheese, diced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; rinse under cold water. Pour into a medium bowl. Add tomatoes and cheese. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.

Add tuna to pasta mixture. With a whisk, mix lemon juice and olive oil. Pour over tuna mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Bacon Breakfast Casserole

8 slices bacon
5 slices wheat bread, torn into pieces
2 c shredded cheddar cheese, divided
6 eggs
2 c milk
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fry bacon, drain, and crumble. In a greased 9x13 baking dish, layer bread, 1 c cheese, and bacon pieces. Beat eggs, milk, salt & pepper together. Pour egg mixture over layers. Top with remaining 1c cheese. Bake 30 minutes, until lightly browned, edges are bubbly, and center is set.

Simple Salsa

This isn't my usual salsa recipe, but I had a serious craving for salsa tonight, so I figured I'd use what was on hand, and see what I came up with. Not too bad, very quick and simple.

1 can Ro-tel, drained
14-15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 c cilantro, minced
Juice of 1/2 a small lemon
Salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients. Chill before serving, if desired.

Oatmeal Cookie Cake

Unfortunately we haven't had anything wonderful this week. I tried a few new recipes, and didn't much care for any of them. Ugh. And I HATE throwing food away! Anyway, I made a treat for my husband today, and he'll be lucky to get any of it. ;)

Oatmeal Cookie Cake

3/4 c flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c butter, at room temperature
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 c uncooked oatmeal
1/2 c dried cherries (I used dried cranberries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg & salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

Beat butter with an electric mixer on low until smooth. Slowly pour in sugar in an even stream, mixing on high until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Pour in brown sugar, mixing until incorporated.

Beat in eggs, one at a time. Slowly beat in flour until incorporated. Stir in oatmeal, then dried fruit.

Pour mixture into a greased 8x8 baking dish, and bake for 50-60 minutes, until the center is set.

Alternately, freeze dough for up to two weeks for later use, or scoop batter out by the tablespoonful to make cookies (bake 10-12 minutes, or until edges are set).

Fast & Fresh Pasta

Thanks to Sara Snow!

1 lb. spaghetti
2 tbsp olive oil
28 oz. diced tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1/4 c fresh basil, chopped
2-3 tbsp capers
1 lb. fresh spinach, stems removed, chopped

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, saute garlic in olive oil over medium heat. Add tomatoes, oregano, basil and capers. Simmer 10 minutes. Add chopped spinach; cook until wilted. Toss with cooked pasta.

Serves 4.

Winter Vegetable Soup

This is a Trisha Yearwood recipe. (I love everything that we've had out of her cookbook!)

28 oz chicken broth
14 oz diced tomatoes
8 oz baby Lima beans (I used a 14 oz. bag)
3 red potatoes, peeled and diced (I used 4 potatoes)
12 oz creamed corn

Stir broth, tomatoes, beans and potatoes together in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in creamed corn.

I made this for lunch today, and served it with cornbread. Very simple, quick, and easy!