Vail Weekend Getaway

Mark and I went to Vail this past weekend to celebrate our 5th anniversary.  We were hoping for some great food and Vail certainly didn't disappoint.  This picture below was just before we headed up the mountain on the gondola.  You just can't beat the views!

Here are a couple pictures from our Sunday dinner there at Mountain Standard with a river view out on the patio.

These are coal roasted olives.  I've become a big fan of the Yelp app.  This was something that had me intrigued.  The saltiness of the olives is offset by some golden raisins and the roasted pine nuts really add the needed crunch to the dish.  Fabulous way to start the meal!

Mark ordered the special for the evening.  BBQ pork ribs on a bed of rice with pickled veggies to go with it.  He was a big fan of the combo of the rice with the pickles and pickled onion together.  The sauce on the ribs carried some heat with a sweet fresno chile sauce.

Thanks for stopping by!  A couple more fun dishes from the trip headed your way tomorrow!

Grilled Bread, Peppers and Mozzarella Salad

This recipe originally came from a pull-out of a Rachael Ray magazine over 5 years ago where it included one week of meals in a handy little booklet.  I’m proud to say that we did each meal over that week and this was is a keeper that we haven’t done recently.  We were looking for a side to go through grilled pork chops or dinner and this fit the bill perfectly.

 Let's Get Crafty!

Ingredients organized by what they get used with:

1/2 baguette loaf, sliced into 1 inch thick slices

4 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 peppers of your choice, we used a combination of partial peppers on hand of yellow, red and green.

8 oz mozzarella from the deli (the little mozz balls would be good here.  We use the little ball we need to cut up because I think some of the flavor of the garlic and butter soaks into it a little bit through the knife cuts. )

1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped right before adding to the bowl so the cut edges have less time to turn brown

Melt the butter and add the minced garlic.  Brush the mixture onto the baguette loaf slices and grill quickly on each side until toasted (set remaining aside because it will be needed again.)  Grill the peppers along with the bread- they will take just a couple extra minutes and need to be rotated multiple times.

 The love the color the peppers add

Rough chop the peppers and I like to put them in the freezer for just a couple minutes to help them cool so we don’t melt the cheese.  Once they have cooled, rough chop the grilled baguette slices and add to the bowl with the diced cubes of mozzarella cheese.

Add the remaining butter/garlic mixture to the bowl and mix to distribute.  Gentle stir the basil in.  My basil didn’t make it this year so we didn’t have fresh basil from the herb garden.  I used a stir-in paste from Gourmet Garden.  It’s supposed to be a one for one ratio but I only added a teaspoon to give it a try this first time.  After eating it – that felt like enough for me and I would probably always do less.

Put in the fridge for just 30 minutes or so and then it’s ready to serve.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you're having a wonderful day.

Smoky-Bacon Sloppy Joe Cups

This recipe and photo comes courtesy of my Father-in-law.  I know we'll be trying this ourselves very soon because Connor truly LOVES sloppy joes and I'm excited about trying them in a new way.

The original recipe comes from Kraft Recipes and can be found at kraftrecipes.com.  They make theirs "smoky-bacon" by using bacon cheddar cheese.  For this twist on the recipe we are using real bacon, regular cheddar cheese and green chiles instead of diced up red pepper.

Let's Get Crafty!
Preheat oven to 375

Brown 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

Add to the browned beef:
3/4 cup diced red pepper (or diced green chiles)
1/2 bunch green onions, sliced (I love the green onion idea!)

Then make 'em sloppy:
3/4 cup BBQ sauce - It's a Kraft recipe... so guess what they are suggesting :)
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 cup bacon cheddar cheese (or one cup of regular cheddar cheese and 4 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped)

1 can refrigerated biscuits
Separate the biscuits and lay out on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Using a 1/2 cup measuring spoon- press down in the center to make a well for the sloppy goodness.  Be careful not to push too hard and go completely through the biscuit.

Spoon the meat mixture into each of the wells and bake for approximately 15 minutes.  Sprinkle with another 1/2 cup cheese and return to oven for another 5 minutes.  After removing from the oven- sprinkle with the remaining sliced green onions.

Thank you for stopping by!  Have a great day.

BBQ Pork Pizza straight from the Camper Oven!

We made pizzas one night in our camper and they turned out wonderful.  Although this isn't necessarily a specific recipe... I wanted to share because I was so happy with how they turned out and I have a few tips we did that made them taste great!

These pizza crusts were already cooked (from a 4 pack we bought from Costco).  We like our crust to be crunchy- so I cooked them at 400 for about 15 minutes by themselves without any toppings.  I started watching it after 10 minutes.

We didn't have a pizza pan so we flattened out a foil baking dish we had on hand.  It worked perfectly.  

And for the best part... the toppings!  We had made a traditional cheese and pepperoni pizza for the kids and decided to mix it up some with what we had on hand.  We had some leftover pork loin that Mark had grilled before we left home.  I cut some up and added a little bit of spicy BBQ sauce.  We couldn't forget the cheese! (I'm a big fan of the cheese that includes some philadelphia because it melts so beautifully.)  For the people that love green chiles we added some to half.

This pizza was a reminder to me to look at what's hanging out in your fridge that could be turned into a quick and easy meal.  Whether at home or camping!  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Spicy Shrimp Tacos from Rachael Ray

These are absolutely awesome!  They are Spicy Shrimp Tacos from the Rachael Ray magazine from July/August 2017 (page 87 if you happen to have it handy and want to see the original.)  I followed her recipe pretty true to form.  What caught my attention was the green garlic sauce.  It's unlike anything I've tried before and I think the tang that comes from it really takes it from being a "normal" shrimp taco to the next level.

Let's Get Crafty!
Get your shrimp marinating:
1 lb medium to large uncooked shrimp (about 18), deveined and shells removed
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon EVOO
Mix all together and set aside while you do the green garlic sauce.

For the green garlic sauce - throw everything into a blender and puree:
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup parsley tops (the recipe said this or cilantro)
Juice from 2 limes (about 1/4 cup.  Go fresh here... it makes a big difference)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic

Let's cook the shrimp:
This is straight from Rachael Ray:
Cook the shrimp, turning occasionally, until just opaque in the centers and browned at the edges, about 2 minutes.  Add a few dashes of cayenne sauce to the shrimp (we didn't do this because the kiddos wouldn't like it but it would be tasty!) and douse with lime juice.

I used a Pampered Chef grilling pan to cook the shrimp and it worked awesome.

We didn't grill our corn tortillas this time but I like that idea and want to try it next time.  We warmed them slightly in the microwave to help them bend easily without breaking.

Load them up with different toppings.  We used: cabbage, radish, and avocado.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you have a great rest of the day.

Throw It Together Pasta Salad

This is an easy pasta salad that I threw together on a Sunday afternoon to have for lunches and as a ready to go dinner side dish early in the week.  I've been using veggie pasta here lately to try and sneak more veggies into the kids and it's a jackpot when it's quick and easy to make and they like it. Just look at these colors... add to that the colored pasta and it's a gorgeous dish.

Let's Get Crafty!
Make the ranch dressing:
3 Tablespoons of ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup fat free greek goddess yogurt
1/2 sour cream
Stir all together and put in the fridge to combine while making the pasta

Cook 1 pound of pasta according to the directions
Be sure to get in ice water when done to stop the cooking process

While the pasta is cooking - cut up your veggies:
Whatever you have on hand will work.  We used: peas, black olives, carrots, tomatoes and yellow pepper.  Ham steaks were on sale at the store, so I had one ready to use and cut that up to add some protein to the mix.

Mix everything together and refrigerate.  
It's nice to give it a couple hours in the fridge, if possible, to help everything come together and get cold.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great rest of your day.

10 Crock-Pot Freezer Meals

Good Morning!  These are the 10 Crock-Pot freezer recipes that I've posted over the last few days in one big post.  Most people liked the idea of having multiple blog posts but a few wanted one big post.   

Full disclosure! In the picture above I have two recipes of zesty chicken and didn't do the scalloped potatoes and ham.  Mostly because we love the zesty chicken and because I forgot the ham and didn't want to go back to the store.  

If you missed my tips and tricks to Crock-Pot freezer meals - please sneak back to Part 1 of 4 to take a quick look.  Part 1 also explains where these recipes came from and how I like to pick my freezer meals.

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Thank you so much for stopping by!  I would love to hear your favorite recipes and any tips you have to share. 

Let's Get Crafty!
Mongolian Beef with Rice

Ingredients for the freezer bag:

2 lbs. stew meat

2 tsp. olive oil

1 onion, thickly sliced

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup soy sauce (I used reduced sodium)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. fresh minced ginger

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

Dump all ingredients except the meat into a labeled freezer bag, seal and mix up.  Add stew meat once sauce ingredients are mixed well.

Day of the Meal:

Cook on low 8 hours (you may want to add a little more water to the crockpot if it’ll be longer)

Make the rice 

Add a veggie side - It would be perfect with broccoli

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Ingredients for the freezer bag:

3-4 chicken breasts

12 ounce bottle of hot sauce (Red’s hot wing sauce)

1/2 package of dry ranch dressing (1 ½ Tablespoon of my Costco pack)

All ingredients mixed in one gallon freezer bag.  Done and Done!

Day of the Meal:

Cook on low for 8 hours

In the last 30 minutes of cooking add 2 tablespoons of butter and shred chicken.

Serve with tortillas, lettuce and cheese to make the wrap at time to eat

Ranch Tacos

Photo credit to my Sister-in-Law Amie for taking

many of the pictures as she made the meals! Thanks!

Ingredients for the freezer bag:

1 taco seasoning packet

1 packet of ranch seasoning

2 lbs boneless chicken breast

1 can rotel (mild for the kiddos)

¼ c of olive oil

¼ c water

Dump all ingredients except the meat into a labeled freezer bag, seal and mix up.  Add chicken breast once sauce ingredients are mixed well.

Day of the Meal:

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Tortillas, lettuce, cheese and salsa to make the wrap at time to eat

Beef Tips

Ingredients for the freezer bag:

2 lbs stew meat, diced

1 packet Dry Onion Soup Mix

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 14 oz. can beef broth

Dump all ingredients except the meat into a labeled freezer bag, seal and mix up.  Add stew meat once sauce ingredients are mixed well.

Day of the Meal:

Cook on Low 8 hours

Side Ideas: Mashed potatoes or rice and some green beans or a side salad

Cranberry-Mustard Pork

Ingredients for the freezer bag:

One (3-4 pound) pork roast (loin, shoulder, butt),

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon brown or Dijon mustard

1 diced onion

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I only do a pinch because Mark doesn’t like it)

zest and juice of 1 orange

Day of the Meal:

Cook on low 8-10 hours

Serve with: mashed potatoes or rice, steamed broccoli

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients for the freezer bag:

2 pounds stew meat

1 pound sliced mushrooms

1 diced onion

1 can low sodium beef broth

Dump all ingredients into a labeled freezer bag, seal and mix up.  Done and Done!

**You might notice the mushrooms are missing... that's the beauty of this!  You can mix it up for what works for you and your family!  Don't like mushrooms?  Don't put them in!**

Here's mine with the mushrooms.  I love the flavor they add to the sauce and they stand up to the cooking time well.

Day of the Meal:

Cook on low 8-10 hours

Extra directions for cook day: Add 1 cup water to slow cooker before cooking. Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream before serving (do not add freeze with other ingredients or add at beginning of cooking time or it will curdle)

Serve with: rice or noodles

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Ingredients for the freezer bag:

1 large bag of frozen potatoes

1 can cream of potato soup

1 can of water

1 ham steak, cubed

4 oz cheddar cheese

Dump all ingredients except the potatoes into a labeled freezer bag, seal and mix up.  Add potatoes to mix with the other ingredients.  (I put everything in together the first time I made this and it’s hard to get it evenly distributed with the potatoes taking up so much room.  The easiest way might be to go ahead and dirty a dish to get it all evenly distributed without breaking the bag.  Generally I don't like to do that... this recipe might be the exception.)

Day of the Meal:

Cook on low 8-10 hours

Serve with broccoli or another side veggie

Zesty Chicken

Ingredients for the freezer bag:

3-4 chicken breasts

1 10oz Can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 Package Cream Cheese cubed

1 Package Zesty Italian Dry Dressing Mix

Dump all ingredients into bag and mix.  Done and done!

I made two of these... it's my favorite!

Day of the Meal:

Cook on low 8 hours

Serve with rice or noodles and a side salad

Crockpot Cranberry and Green Beans

Ingredients for the freezer bag:

1 pound frozen green beans

15oz can of whole cranberry sauce

1 packet of onion soup mix

2 pounds of meat (I used chicken breasts for one bag and a pork roast in the second bag)

Dump all ingredients into one freezer bag.  Done and Done!

Day of the Meal:

Cook on low 8 hours

Serve with rice or noodles and a side salad

Crockpot Honey Dijon Pork or Chicken

Ingredients for the freezer bag:
1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground thyme

2 pounds of meat (chicken and pork are both delicious)

Dump all ingredients into one bag.  Done and Done!

Day of the Meal:

Extra directions for cook day: Add ½ cup water to the crockpot

Cook on low 8 hours

Grocery list to make each meal once: 

(Don't forget the gallon freezer bags and permanent marker if you don't have them on-hand.)

Meat

6 lbs chicken breasts

6 lbs stew meat

One (3-4 pound) pork roast (loin, shoulder, butt),

1 ham steak, cubed

2 pounds of meat (chicken and pork are both delicious)

2 pounds of meat (I used chicken breasts for one bag and a pork roast in the second bag)

Veggies/Produce Section

3 onions (1 sliced and 2 diced)

1/2 tsp. fresh minced ginger

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

Zest and juice of 1 orange

1 pound sliced mushrooms

Condiments/Dressing/Miscellaneous

12 ounce bottle of hot sauce (Red’s hot wing sauce)

1 and 1/2 package of dry ranch dressing

1 Package Zesty Italian Dry Dressing Mix

2 packets Dry Onion Soup Mix

1 chicken taco seasoning packet (I’m going to use regular taco seasoning)

1/2 cup soy sauce (I used reduced sodium)

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon ground thyme

Dairy

4 oz cheddar cheese

1 Package Cream Cheese cubed

Canned Goods

1 can rotel (mild for the kiddos)

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 can Cream of Potato Soup

1 10oz Can Cream of Chicken Soup

2 cans beef broth

15oz can of whole cranberry sauce

Frozen Foods

1 large bag of frozen potatoes

1 pound frozen green beans