Inevitably Keely

I got this recipe by Sandra Lee out of her slow cooker recipes cookbook (which I'm really looking forward to using more). She lists specific brands to purchase, but I didn't follow that - and it consider this meal a success. California Black Bean Chili : 1-1/4 lbs. ground turkey 2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, drained 1 can (7-ounce) diced green chiles 1 can (14-ounce) diced fire-roasted tomatoes 1 can (8-ounce) tomato sauce 3 cups diced zucchini (I omitted since Daniel is not a fan.) 1 cup frozen chopped onions (WOW! I loved not having to chop onions.) 1 packet chili seasoning mix (Chose to use a Tex Mex mix, you know since my hubby is from TX.) 1 tbsp. chili powder 1 tsp. crushed garlic (Here I did listen, Christopher Ranch - good stuff.) Salt and pepper Diced avocado or guacamole, for garnish (I did the diced - Don't skip it, it really makes this recipe.) Directions: In a large skillet, brown ground turkey, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper. Drain an...

I'm telling you, I was not looking forward to cooking this weekend. I woke up today feeling tired and not in the mood to go to the grocery store let alone do even the slightest bit of prep work. Well, there was no getting out of going to the grocery store - we needed stuff! But I did manage to find this little recipe on the internet. I'd actually picked out something even more simple, but this one sounded good to Daniel so I decided to make it. Sooooo SIMPLE! Combine the following in your Crockpot: 1 can black beans, drained 1 can corn 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa (I used a cup here) After stirring, add: 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1/2 cup more salsa Cook on low for 3 hours. Add 1 block of cream cheese & cook for one more hour. Serve over rice with flour tortillas. I had my doubts about this one since it was not looking so appetizing when I checked on it. I was so worried I thought we might have to repeat our Valentines dinner: But it turned out pretty darn good....

Ingredients: 1.5 lbs Sirloin steak 2 Medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces 2 Cups frozen cut green beans ( I omitted because Daniel is not a fan .) 1 Small onion sliced and separated into rings 1 16 oz. jar thick and chunky salsa* 1 14 oz. can beef broth 1 Tspn. dried basil 2 cloves garlic, minced Shredded Monterey Jack or Mexican blend cheese I also added a dash of some cooking wine and a few shakes of some garlic salt... and about 8 oz. of another salsa I love that has fire roasted chilies in it. I'm going to keep the name under wraps and call it my "secret ingredient". Prep: Cut meat into 1-inch pieces. In a slow cooker place potatoes, green beans, and onion. Add meat. In a medium bowl stir together salsa, beef broth, basil, and garlic. Pour mixture over items in cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours (or on high for 4-5 hours). Sprinkle each serving with cheese. This has got to be the best damn soup I have ever had and the fact that I made it makes it even mo...

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes 1/2 pound andouille sausage, diced (I chose to slice instead of dice) 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes 1 medium onion, chopped 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth 1/4 cup white wine 1 tsp chopped garlic 2 teaspoons dried oregano 2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning 1 teaspoon hot sauce 2 bay leaves 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1 pound cooked shrimp 2 cups cooked rice - Combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, chicken broth and white wine. - Stir in oregano, Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, bay leaves, thyme and garlic. - Cover, and cook on LOW for 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours. - 30 to 45 minutes prior to serving, stir in the shrimp. - Discard bay leaves. - Spoon mixture over cooked rice- or stir in the cooked rice 15 minutes prior to serving so the flavor is absorbed. I've got to tell you, I was freaking out with this one. I just could not believe that I wasn't supp...

Well, today is the first installment of The Crock pot Challenge! I made Chili! I got up at 9 this morning (have I mentioned how awesome Zoe is with her late mornings?) and got going. Of course, I had to actually take the crock pot out of the box first. Therein I found a lovely wedding card... for someone else: apparently, the bride and groom got multiple crock pots! Either that, or they were as afraid to use it as I had been. Too bad they weren't notified of our little challenge group - it would have offered them recipes and support from like minded people. Too bad, so sad. Well, not really. Any who... After Daniel washed the new pot for me, I got to work chopping onions and browning meat. Onion chopping took less than a minute (oh, food processor how I love thee). Meat browning took ten minutes. I threw both in the pot, added the other ingredients, set it and then had a nice chat with my Dad on the phone. I decided I wanted to add some beer even though the recipe I used doesn'...

So Supa and I got to talking the other day about how we need help with our Crockpot/Slow-cooker recipes. I'm scared to death of my crockpot because of all the tales of recipes gone bad and she's had lots of recipes go bad. Very, very bad. So the Challenge was created. And Supa made us a badge!!!! HERE'S THE SKINNY (BA HA HA!): One recipe per week Take a picture Share the recipe on your blog (provide a link) or under pic Discuss. Post on Sundays... if you can Go on. Join . Invite your friends who are dynamo's* (or not) in the kitchen. Help some mutha's out. Please. * It has been brought to my attention that some people don't like Crockpot's. If you've got other means to do some slow-cookin', then by all means join the challenge! I'm all about the easy right now and if you can show us other ways to do it, then PLEASE** join. I know I could use all the help I can get. ** But no pressure! Seriously and honestly! It's supposed to be fun AND save ...