New Mexico-style pot roast

This was absolutely delicious!!  Just a twist on a classic, and we really enjoyed it.  This serves 6, but I made a double recipe so the picture is more accurate for a larger group.  :-) 

1 3 lb beef chuck roast
1 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 15 oz jar red enchilada sauce
2 cups low sodium beef broth (I used the meijer naturals beef broth concentrate)
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 small chayote squash, also cut into chunks  (meijer does carry this mexican squash, but I have yet to see it there.  They are always out, so you can use summer squash in it's place)
1 15 oz can hominy, drained

Rub the roast with olive oil, salt and pepper.  place in a roasting pan, or stock pot.  Add the broth and enchilada sauce.  Cover and cook at 250 for 8 or 9 hours.  At this time add the sweet potatoes, squash and hominy and continue cooking for another 3-4 hours.  I cook my roasts this long to make them fork tender.  You can adjust cooking time if you want. 

Award Winning White Chicken Chili

This is an awesome easy chili recipe passed on to me from "Mom Dyk".  Mom Dyk is my husbands 2nd mom so to speak.  When he moved here from the other side of the state and became friends with Scott, she sort of took him in too.  He doesn't have any family in the area, so he ate Sunday dinners there, and holidays, etc.  Once we met, she let me into the circle too.  :-)  I love this recipe because you really just put it all together and let it go in the crock pot.  I now call this "award winning" because it recently won a chili cook-off!  I really couldn't believe it.  If I was trying to win, I would have done some super special chili with a secret ingredient, but it was a fundraiser for the Porch Steps, which is a clothing closet at our church.  We were raising money to buy winter coats and accessories.  Everyone got to eat lots of chili, and then pay to vote for the winner.  I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do.


2 lbs chicken cooked and cut into bite sized pieces or shredded
48 oz great northern beans
16 oz salsa (mild, med. or hot--your choice)
2 tsp cumin
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
4 oz can of chopped green chilis
1/2-1 lb of cheese.  (I like to use a blend, but whatever your favorite is)
oregano (optional)
sour cream (optional)


Put it all in the crock pot and let it go!  You can start it in the morning before work and cook it on low.  Or, start it later in the day and put it on high to get it simmering. 

Sloppy Joes

This is a fabulous home-made sloppy joe recipe I got off of zaar.  It has a ton of flavor, and natural ingredients that most ppl already have in the house. 

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
3/4 cup ketchup
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs mustard
2 tbs vinegar
2 tbs worcestershire sauce
1 small onion

1.  Cook meat slowly inskillet with salt and onion.
2.  Meanwhile, make sauce by mixing together all other ingredients and cooking slowly over low heat for 15 minutes.
3.  Drain, and add meat
4.  Let simmer for at least an hour, stirring from time to time, to let meat absorb the sauce. 
5.  Serve on hamburger buns.

Puffed Oven Pancake

My husband can cook and bake really well. He attempts things that I find intimidating, like bagels. I think he's especially great at breakfast. He's much better than me at pancakes, for example, and he can do the perfect eggs. Here's a recipe we like alot, but I've never made it, it's always him. And, it's delish!!

2 TBS margarine or butter

3 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

1/4 tsp salt

apple raisin sauce

powdered sugar

Place butter in a 10 inch ovenproof skillet. Place in a 400 degree oven for 3-5 minutes or butter melts. In a bowl beat eggs with a rotary beater till combined. Add flour, milk and salt. Beat till smooth. Immediately pour into the hot skillet. Bake about 25 minutes or till puffed and well browned.

Meanwhile prepare the apple-raisin sauce. Sprinkle pancake with powderedsugar and cut into wedges. Serve with sauce. Serves 6.

Apple Raisin Sauce: In a skillet combine 2 large cooking apples, peeled, cored, and thinly silecd; 3/4 cup apple juice or water, 1/3 cup raisins, 2 tbs sugar and 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon. Simmer, covered, till apples are just tender. Stir together 2 tbs cornstarch and 2 tbs cold water. Add to apple mixture. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Stir in 1 tsp butter. Keep warm. Makes 2 cups.

                                                                              

Chicken Stock

One blogger friend has inquired about how to make your own chicken stock. I use alot of whole chickens for my cooking group, so everytime I have that opportunity, I make stock, then freeze it for future uses. There are lots of recipes, but here's how I do it:

Put 1 whole roaster chicken in a stock pot and cover with water. Add a carrot, celery stalk, and half an onion as well as salt and pepper to taste. The veggies are pretty much in a couple pieces, not chopped. Bring the water to a boil, and let the chicken simmer until done. Remove the veggies and chicken. After cooling and skimming the fat I bag it up. I usually bag it in 2 cup portions. Most recipe's call for 1 can of chicken broth which is about the equivalent.

You can also make stock using a left over chicken. Use the bones and what's left. Make sure there's at least some meat left on the bones. Let it simmer for a few hours.

Beef Roast

This was my favorite meal growing up. Whenever I asked my mom for the recipe she always told me something different, so I wasnt' quite sure how she did it so good, or maybe that was the secret that it was different each time. Being single at the time, I really didn't make this very often as it feeds alot. That would explain why I couldn't remember the recipe. My mom passed away right before I got married, so again, the recipe is something I didn't take with me into the marriage. Luckily for my family I've come a long way from then.

I still experiment with spices and flavoring, but basically the secret to a fork tender, fall apart kind of roast is to cook it for a really long time on a low temp. This was SO delicious!! You can do roast in the crock pot, but I have had much better results in the oven. And it really is low maintenance, just put it together and let it go in the oven. I don't ever make them in the crockpot anymore.


1 (2 1/2-3 1/2) chuck roast
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs worcestershire sauce
1 packet meijer naturals beef base concentrate
1 tsp dried basil crushed
2-3 medium onions (1/2 cup chopped, rest in wedges)
8 potatoes
1 lb carrots

Preheat oven to 250.


1. place chopped onions in the bottom of a dutch oven or roasting pan
2. place meat on top.
3. mix worcestershire sauce, beef base, salt and pepper, and basil with 3/4 cups water and pour over roast.
4. Place the rest of the onions on top of roast and on sides.
5. Place potatoes around roast and carrots on top. (or however you can fit it all in)

Bake for 12 hours. DELICIOUS!!

Drumsticks with Sesame and Ginger

4 tbs soy sauce

4 tbs honey

4 tsp toasted sesame oil

2 tsp grated fresh ginger (you can use ground ginger, just use a little less)

8 chicken drumsticks, skinned

sesame seeds

1. Combine the soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and ginger in a zip lock bag; add the chicken. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag. Turn to coat the chicken. Refrigerate, turning occasionally, 2 hours before using, or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 400. Line a roasting pan or shallow baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray.

3. Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the excess marinade. Sprinkle the drumsticks with sesame seeds. bake until cooked through, about 30 minutes.

I like to serve these with rice. I use a short grain brown rice which has alot more nutrients than a white rice, but because it's short grain it's sticky like the chinese restaurant type. Yummy!!

2 drumsticks is 4 ww points. This comes from a ww cookbook called 5 and under. I've used quite a few recipe's from it and have been pleased.