Crockpot Mississippi Chicken Thighs ****

We're big fans of the Crockpot Mississippi Roast, and we all love us some chicken thighs.  When this one popped up on my Pinterest board, it was basically a no-brainer that I would have to try it.  And I am so very glad that I did!  We all practically inhaled our dinner plates.  It was that good.  My local grocery store very rarely has the Au Jus packets, so I typically just use the brown gravy ones.  The Au Jus is definitely my preference when it's in stock, though.  There's nothing special about the recipe, but it's one of those that tastes like it takes a lot more effort than it actually does.  Always a good thing, lol.  I'm definitely going to be making this one again.  The kids have already requested that it go back on the menu for next week! 😊

CROCKPOT MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN THIGHS
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ RecipesThatCrock)

3 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
1 envelope Ranch Dressing Mix
1 envelope Au Jus Gravy Mix or Brown Gravy Mix
1/2 Stick of Butter (1/4 Cup)
6 Pepperoncinis

Lay chicken thighs in the bottom of your slow cooker.
Sprinkle mixes on top.
Slice butter and place evenly on top.
Add peppers.
Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Pepperoni Lasagna ****

We have been firmly entrenched in baseball practices, school programs, and activities for about 2 months now.  Needless to say, I rarely get to cook, and when I do, it's always old T&T simple recipes.  That said, I finally had a day today where we had nothing to do after work and school.  Yay!  So to celebrate, I made this old family favorite.  In the old days (back before we were in so many sports and activities!), I used to make this a couple times a month.  It's a bit labor-intensive, but no worse than any other homemade lasagna.  Because of the time it takes to prepare, though, I just never really have the chance to make it anymore.  When we finally got some down time, I knew it was the perfect time for this one.  And boy, was I right!  The kids really didn't even remember how much they used to like it, so it was basically like a brand-new recipe again.  They devoured it and both asked for seconds! 

As a side note, I've also successfully tried this in the crockpot.  Click here to check out that review.

PEPPERONI LASAGNA
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar.com)

1-1/2 lbs ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2-1/2 cups water
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
2 eggs
1 (12 ounce) carton small curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
8 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
1 (3 1/2 ounce) package sliced pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz.)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Add water, tomato sauce, tomato paste, bouillon and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
In a bowl, combine eggs, cottage cheese and sour cream.
Spread 1/2 cup meat sauce into a greased 13x9-inch baking dish. Layer with four noodles, the cottage cheese mixture and pepperoni. Top with remaining noodles and meat sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
Cover and bake at 350*F for 35 minutes.
Uncover; bake 10 minutes longer or until heated through.
Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.
*Amy's notes: I subbed ground turkey for ground beef and garlic powder for garlic salt. I also only cooked the sauce for 20 minutes, as opposed to 30.


Previous reviews:3/8/10 ~ I don't even know where to begin in describing how good this was! First of all, it's been ages since I've made a homemade lasagna, so you have to take that into account, lol. Even still, this was amazing. I had fears that the pepperoni would make it too salty, but it really just added an extra little zing of taste to each bite. The boys are not pepperoni lovers at all, but my 6-year-old even asked for thirds (which he did not get, obviously)! The cheese layer is perfectly baked, and the eggs actually add another dimension of flavor to it. It takes forever to throw together, but it is SO WORTH IT!!! I will be making this again and again. I'm thinking I could start putting it all together the night before and then just throw it in the oven when I get home after work. The only change I made was to use garlic powder instead of garlic salt. With the pepperoni and then the addition of salt already, I thought the garlic salt would be overkill. Oh, and I subbed ground turkey for ground beef, as usual. I also used the tiny pepperonis instead of the regular-sized ones, so there was at least a little bit of pepperoni in every bite.

Crockpot Chicken and Spinach Alfredo Tortellini ****

This is nothing special, but we all absolutely loved it.  I've made it twice now, and each time, it just seems to get better.  I love how simple it is, and you can use so many different add-ins to mix it up.  We like it as-written, though.  We're pretty plain-Jane when it comes to this one.  You could definitely use thawed chicken and just go for a shorter cook time.  My crockpot tends to run hot, so using frozen breasts gives me a little extra time to play with before supper.  I typically come home on my lunch break and throw everything in the crockpot, so I really need about a 6-hour cook time, if it's going to be ready to eat (and not overcooked or just warm) when we walk in the door after a full day at work and school and activities.  This one just works perfectly for us!

CROCKPOT CHICKEN AND SPINACH ALFREDO TORTELLINI
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

4 frozen chicken breasts
2 jars Alfredo sauce
1 bag fresh spinach
3-4 cups refrigerated cheese tortellini

Place chicken, sauce, and spinach in crockpot.  Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or HIGH for 4 hours (until chicken is fully cooked).
Once chicken is fully cooked, prepare tortellini on stovetop as directed.  Shred chicken in sauce.  Combine cooked tortellini and sauce and serve warm.
Note: You can also add the uncooked tortellini to the crockpot and cook on HIGH for 15 minutes.

Yummy Pork Steak ***

This is an older recipe, but it's been a couple years since I've made it.  I was really craving pork steaks, so I pulled this one out of my old files.  I usually do mine on low for about 6-7 hours (my crockpot runs hot).  I also prefer the dry onion mushroom soup, but the flavor is basically the same.  Still a winner for us!

YUMMY PORK STEAK
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar.com)

3 lbs pork steaks
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

Put pork steaks in bottom of crockpot or slow cooker.
Sprinkle onion soup mix over steaks.
Pour soup over the top.
Cover.
Cook on high setting about 4 hours.

Previous posts:
11/8/10 ~ Well, I boo-boo'd, and I accidentally bought pork chops instead of pork steak.  On top of that, I bought bone-in chops, which I hate.  So, being the industrious mama that I am, I deboned those suckers and threw them in the pot anyway.  They were really good.  It's way better with the pork steaks, but it left the chops so tender, and the sauce, simple as it might be, is really yummy.  The little ones were going on and on about how much they loved it, which is always a good thing in a house with kids who think every night should be take-out, lol.

Crockpot Corn & Crawfish Bisque ***

I found this one in an old cookbook.  We adore crawfish, so we tend to try a lot of new ways to work them into our menus.  The recipe below is doubled from what was posted in the cookbook.  It's me and three me/boys in our household, and the 3-5 servings that was listed in the original recipe would NOT have held up for us, lol.  I also like to have quite a bit left over for their lunches, now that the teenager prefers to take leftovers like his dad instead of sandwiches.  The original recipe had a full stick of margarine (so it would have been two sticks for my version), but I cut it down to just 2 tablespoons.  Honestly, I think you could skip it altogether.  I don't really see a need for it at all.  That's why I just put "optional" in the recipe below.  The original recipe also said to use cayenne pepper, but I went with the Cajun seasoning instead, so that it would have that Cajun-ish flavor to it.  Anyway, we all loved this.  We had it on a cold and icy night with some crusty rolls, and it hit the spot just perfectly.  Now I just wish it would go back to being cold so that we could have it again.  Ha!

CROCKPOT CORN & CRAWFISH BISQUE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ an old cookbook)

4 cans cream of potato soup
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
8 oz cream cheese
2 pints half-and-half
2 pkgs frozen crawfish meat, thawed
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning (to taste)
2 Tbsp margarine (optional)

Add all ingredients in crockpot and cook on high heat for 3-4 hours or low heat for 6-7 hours.
Stir until well-combined.

Slow Cooker Chicken Fajita Pasta ***

We all really enjoyed this one.  It wasn't one of our favorites or anything, but it was quick to throw together and tasted pretty good.  I used angelhair pasta, just because it's our preference.  I also just threw in a frozen bag of fajita blend peppers and onions, to cut down on the prep time.  Mine cooked on high for about 6 hours, and it was perfect.  It kind of reminds me of my mom's recipe for Chicken Spaghetti, without the rotel and Velveeta.  I can't stand Velveeta, so this definitely played in its favor for me.  I would definitely make it again, but I think that next time I'll add in a can of diced green chilies.

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN FAJITA PASTA
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ MyHeavenlyRecipes)

1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
1 Onion, diced
1 Can Diced Tomatoes, drained
1 TSP Ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt & pepper, to taste
5-6 chicken breasts
2 Cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 Box Barilla Spaghetti or Angel Hair, cooked and drained
2 cups Cheddar Cheese, grated
3/4 C Chicken Stock (or water)

Place onion, bell pepper, cumin, garlic powder, salt, pepper, chicken, mushroom soup and 1 cup of grated cheese together in a crock-pot. Stir to mix ingredients. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or until chicken is fully cooked.
Remove chicken breasts from the crock-pot, dice and return to crock-pot. Pour in cooked spaghetti, tomatoes and remaining cheese. Using a pair of tons coat the pasta in sauce and melt cheese, adding in a few splashes of chicken stock (or water). Cook another 20-30 minutes on low and serve.
*luckymommy/Amy's notes: I used a bag of frozen fajita blend peppers.  Next time I'll add a can of green chilies.

One Pot Crawfish and Shrimp Creole Pasta ****

This one was basically inspired by what we were craving tonight, lol.  It was such a winner, though.  I'm so ridiculously far behind on my postings, but I wanted to hurry and get this one down before I forgot how I did it.  We all know how that can be!  I love that it only uses the one soup pot on the stove, though, and even the noodles cook right in there.  It's super easy.  Plus, everything starts from frozen, meaning that it's easy to throw together at the last minute (which is where a lot of the inspiration came from tonight - ha!).  The kids are on Spring Break this week, and they're already asking if they can have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

ONE POT CRAWFISH AND SHRIMP CREOLE PASTA
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 package frozen crawfish tails
1 package frozen extra small shrimp (precooked and deveined)
1 package frozen fajita blend peppers and onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
16 oz box angelhair pasta
5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 tsp Creole seasoning (we use Tony Chachere's)

Pour olive oil into the pot. Add frozen crawfish, shrimp, and peppers and onions.  Sprinkle with Creole seasoning. Cover and cook on medium heat until veggies are tender and everything is well-thawed, adding mushrooms and garlic about halfway through (about 10 minutes total).
Remove lid and let some of the liquid cook out, stirring occasionally to keep everything cooking evenly.
Add the dry pasta to the pot.  Pour in the chicken broth, cream, and Parmesan. Stir until everything is well-combined.  Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, keep covered and bring the heat down to a simmer for 10 minutes (stirring every couple of minutes).
If it's still soupy at the end (mine wasn't), you can either continue cooking, to cook out some more of the liquid, or you can add a bit of cornstarch to thicken it up.