Dirty Rice ****

I made this for the third time tonight, and we still love it!  My 7-year-old has actually requested that I make it again tomorrow night.  And this is coming from a boy who claims to hate red and green peppers!  He cleaned his entire plate!  I really do need to make it more often, since it's so easy and so good.

DIRTY RICE
(Mommy2Serena ~ TheRecipeReview.com ~ Adapted from Allrecipes)

1 lb hot sausage
1 onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 cup white rice
2 cups beef stock

In a skillet, over medium-high heat, cook sausage, onion, red and green pepper until the sausage is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Add the cup of white rice and two cups of beef stock and stir well. Bring this to a boil, put a lid on the skillet, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20-25 minutes.
*Amy's notes: I like to double everything but the meat and veggies.  I also sub turkey smoked sausage and roasted red peppers.

Previous reviews:
1/24/11 Wow, we LOVED this one! The kids said it tastes kind of like Granny's jambalaya, and it kind of does. She makes the Zatarain's package and adds a lot of extra white rice to it, to give it less of the heat. This has no heat at all, which makes it perfect for the kids! Dh and I loved it too. You honestly cannot beat how easy and quick this was to throw together. My only complaint is that, as is, it really only makes about 4 servings. I normally make 6-8 of everything, so that we'll have leftovers for lunches and such. I ended up doubling the rice and beef stock mixture, and it was perfect for us. I also subbed the beef boullion dissolved in water for the beef stock, turkey smoked sausage, and roasted red peppers. Sadly, we were in such a hurry to get to the kids' practices that I didn't have time to take a pic. I'll have to do that the next time I make it - because there WILL be a next time. :) Love, love, love this bad boy!!! 

Kramer Crockpot Chicken Tortellini ***

As usual, there were plenty of "wows" around the table for this one. Initially, I was worried about the celery and carrots, but the kids actually had fun trying to guess what all was in it. It tastes almost like a thick chicken noodle soup. Dh said it reminded him of the flavors in a chicken pot pie. I like to use the pre-cut matchstick carrots.  I also usually put in all of the chicken broth from the can and use a 20-oz pkg of refrigerated tortellini.  This time, I had a bunch of sliced mushrooms that would have gone bad soon, so I threw them in.  WONDERFUL addition!  I'm going to do that one from now on!

KRAMER CROCKPOT CHICKEN TORTELLINI
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of celery soup
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced celery
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1 cup chicken broth
1 (12 ounce) package spinach and cheese tortellini

Place everything but tortellini in your crock pot and cook on low all day (6-8 hours) or on high for 3-4 hours.
Either cook tortellini according to package directions and mix in before serving, or place uncooked tortellini in crock one hour before serving and turn it up to high setting, but stir gently often.
* Amy's notes: I use the full can of chicken broth and a 20-oz pkg of refrigerated tortellini.  I also like to add a cup or two of sliced mushrooms.

Grilled Cabbage ***

This was so good!  My kids even ate half a wedge each.  I was shocked.  I threw it on the grill with the brats, and it was absolutely wonderful to cook the entire meal without heating up the house.  My only complaint is that I think my cabbage must have been larger than the OP used.  Even after cooking 50 minutes, the inner parts of the wedges were still just a tad to crisp.  That's easily remedied, though.  Next time, I'll cut the head into 6 wedges instead of 4.  I also used turkey bacon this time, and I really don't think it was the best choice.  I didn't get that smoky flavor that a lot of the reviews mentioned.  I'm going to try it with regular bacon next time.  And there will be a next time.  :-)

Photo courtesy of Food.com

GRILLED CABBAGE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Food.com)

1 head cabbage
4 teaspoons butter
4 slices bacon
     Spice mix:
     1 teaspoon salt
     1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
     1/4 teaspoon pepper
     2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Cut cabbage into four wedges.
Place each wedge on a piece of doubled heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Spread cut sides with butter.
Mix spices together in a small container and sprinkle all of the mixture equally over each wedge.
Wrap bacon around each wedge.
Fold foil around cabbage, sealing each wedge tightly.
Grill cabbage, covered, over medium heat for 40 minutes or until the cabbage is tender, turning twice.

Slow Cooker Creamy Tacos ***

We loved these.  I followed the suggestion of adding a can of corn and a can of pintos.  That made it come out a little less "creamy" and a little more "runny" than it would have otherwise, but the flavor was delicious.  I'm thinking next time I'll just drain the tomatoes some.  That should help with the runny part.  It was our first time to use the cooking creme, and I have to say, I am definitely a fan.  The kids and I had ours in taco shells with shredded cheese.  I added black olives to mine.  Dh had his on top of tortilla chips, kind of like chicken nachos.  I'm thinking I may do that next time as well.  This will definitely be made again.  It took me all of 5 minutes to throw it all together.  I used b/s breasts and then shredded them after they cooked.  Mine weren't frozen, but since they weren't shredded, they still took about 6 hours to cook.  I just wish I'd remembered to take a picture of it!

SLOW COOKER CREAMY TACOS
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ A Year of Slow Cooking via BlogHer and Kraft)

2 pounds chicken breast pieces (mine were frozen solid)
1 (14.5-ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes (you can use garlic-seasoned, or plain in a pinch. I wouldn't do tomatoes with chiles if feeding kids)
1 (10-ounce) container PHILADELPHIA Cooking Creme--- Santa Fe flavor
taco shells or corn tortillas
1 cup frozen corn, or 1 can corn, drained (optional)
1 can black or pinto beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
optional fixins': sour cream, avocado slices

Use a 4-quart slow cooker (if adding the optional add-ins, a 6-quart might be a better fit).
Put the chicken into your cooker. Add the entire can of tomatoes. Scrape out all the Cooking Creme (lick the container. It's GOOD!)
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until chicken shreds easily with a fork. Stir well and serve in taco shells or corn tortillas with your favorite toppings.

Slow-Cooked Parmesan Chicken ***

This is an old recipe from my 2009 files.  I needed something quick to make (due to having to grocery shop and cook dinner on my lunch break, lol) that I could have ready when we all got home from baseball.  Obviously, I needed something with a long cook time.  Anyway, we loved it this time around too.  The kids devoured theirs.  I used brown rice, which works pretty well in this, considering that it cooks for so long.  I think it would be excellent with wild rice, though.  I'm thinking of trying that next time.  Instead of using six breast halves, I used three full breasts.  I really think that worked in my favor, since it kept the chicken from drying out.  It was amazingly tender.  I also hated the idea of dirtying an extra dish, so I just mixed everything in the crock, put in the chicken, put a dab of butter on each, and then spooned the topping over it.  I let it cook about 8 hours, which seemed perfect.  When we were ready to eat, I just shredded the chicken and stirred it all up.  Easy peasy.  :)

SLOW-COOKED PARMESAN CHICKEN
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
1-1/2 cups milk
2 cans (10-3/4 oz each) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom
1 cup converted long-grain white rice
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 tsp butter OR margarine
Pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Mix the dry onion soup, milk, mushroom soup, and rice in a medium bowl.
Put chicken in bottom of greased slow cooker. Place 1 tsp of butter on each breast. Pour soup mixture over all. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours.

Creamy Vegetarian Lentil-Mushroom Soup ***

Oh man, I love this one.  There are so many yummy veggies in it, and my kids don't hardly even notice that they're eating them!  I always double the recipe, but that means it has a longer cook time too.  It would do fine with the 10-12 on low, but when I do it on high (which is what I did today), I have to do about 7 hours.  If possible, I add leftover shredded Boston Butt, which was divine.  We ordered one from a fundraiser over the weekend, and my first thought was that I had to make this again.  One time, I just added some cubed ham.  It wasn't as good as the BB, but it was still pretty yummy.  The biggest bonus is that my kids always lick their bowls clean!  I normally just add 8-12 oz of sour cream directly to the crockpot at the end, instead of putting it on each serving.

CREAMY VEGETARIAN LENTIL-MUSHROOM SOUP
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar)

1/2 lb dry lentils (1 1/4 cups)
2 medium carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup mushroom, sliced
1 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup snipped parsley
4 cups water
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 teaspoons instant vegetable bouillon granules (or 2 cubes)
sour cream

In a saucepan, saute onions, mushrooms, garlic, and celery till just slightly browned, about 10 minutes.
In a 3 1/2 or 4 quart crockpot, combine the lentils, carrots, onion, garlic, mushrooms, celery and parsley.
Stir in water, mushroom soup, and bouillon.
Cover; cook on low 10 to 12 hours or high 5 to 6 hours.
Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream.
4 servings.
*I always double the recipe and add 8-12 oz of sour cream directly to crockpot at the end of cooking.  When doubled, it can go 10-12 hours on low or 7 hours on high.

Grape Salad ***

I got this recipe from a coworker years ago, and I'm still crazy about it.  I crave grapes all summer long anyway, so it's a perfect way to curb the cravings.  The kids love this one too.  The first time I made it, I worried that it would be too sweet, but the cream cheese and sour cream really tamper down the sweetness.  I've also subbed low-fat and fat-free sour cream and cream cheese, and it's still delicious.  This is one of my favorite things about summer!

GRAPE SALAD
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

3 lbs grapes (any color or mixture)
½ cup sugar
1 (8-oz) Philadelphia cream cheese (softened)
1 (8-oz) sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup walnuts or pecans

Mix sugar, cream cheese, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth. Fold the grapes into mixture. Mix brown sugar and nuts in separate bowl – put on top of grape salad and refrigerate for at least one hour.