Baked Cheddar Chicken

Baked Cheddar Chicken
Chicken:
4 chicken breasts
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 c milk
2 c grated cheddar cheese
1-2 T parsley
Sauce:
1- 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
heaping 1/4 c sour cream
2 T butter

1. Preheat oven to 400* and grease a 9x13 pan.
2. Cut chicken breasts into 2-3 strips each; grind crackers in a food processor with salt and pepper.
3. In three separate shallow pans place milk, cheese, and cracker crumbs; dip chicken in milk, then cheese, then crumbs.
4. Place chicken in pan and sprinkle with parsley.
5. Cover pan with foil and bake for 40 minutes; remove foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
6. In a small saucepan, heat soup, sour cream, and butter until warm; drizzle over chicken just before serving.

Mini Pizzas

Mini Pizzas 
24 oz can pasta sauce
5 burrito-sized tortillas
1-2 c cheese (mozzarella or Cheddar)
pepperonis (opt)

1. Preheat oven to 425* and grease the cups of a muffin tin.
2. Pour pasta sauce in to a bowl and rinse out the can; use the top of the can to cut out circles in the tortillas (you should be able to get about five circles out of each tortilla).
3. Place one tortilla circle in each of the muffin cups and push down the center; spoon a heaping tablespoon of sauce in to each tortilla bowl.
4. Top with cheese and pepperonis; bake for 15 minutes.

Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes

Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
5 lb potatoes
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 c chicken broth
3 T butter, separated
1 c [light] sour cream
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/3 c milk
3 oz [light] cream cheese

1. Wash and cube potatoes (you can peel them also, but I like the skins in there for texture); throw them in the slow cooker with the garlic, chicken broth, and butter.
2. Cook on high for 4 1/2-5 hours; add remaining ingredients and roughly mash together.

Texas Brownies

Texas Brownies
1 c chopped pecans
1 c butter
1/2 c chocolate chips
2 c sugar
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c cocoa
4 eggs
1 t vanilla
3/4 t salt
1- 10.5 oz bag marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 350*; place pecans on a cookie sheet and bake for 9 minutes. Keep the oven on.
2. In a large microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter and chocolate chips together stirring every 30 seconds until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
3. Whisk in sugar, flour, cocoa, eggs, vanilla, and salt; pour batter in to a greased 10x15 jelly roll pan.
4. Bake for 20 minutes; top with marshmallows and bake for another 9 minutes, until marshmallows are golden brown. Meanwhile make the frosting recipe that follows.
5. Drizzle frosting over marshmallows and sprinkle with pecans.

Frosting
1/2 c butter
1/3 c cocoa
1/3 c milk
2 c powdered sugar, sifted
1 t vanilla

1. In a medium pan, heat butter, cocoa, and milk over medium heat until butter is melted; stir constantly for another 2 minutes until it starts to thicken up.
2. Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla.

Mediterranean Couscous

Mediterranean Couscous
1 1/2 c water
1 t + 2 T olive oil
1 c uncooked couscous
juice from 1 lemon
1 t salt
pepper, to taste
1 c cherry tomatoes, halved
5 T diced kalamata olives
5 T chopped parsley
1/2 c feta cheese

1. In a medium pot, bring water and 1 teaspoon oil to a boil; stir in couscous.
2. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 2 minutes; uncover and fluff with a fork.
3. In a small bowl, whisk remaining oil with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
4. To the couscous, add tomatoes, olives, parsley, and feta; toss in dressing and serve warm.

Don't Peek Chicken

Don't Peek Chicken
4-6 chicken breasts
1 box Uncle Ben's Original Long Grain & Wild Rice
1- 1 oz pkt ranch dressing mix (not ranch dip mix)
1- 10.75 oz can cream of celery
1- 10.75 oz can cream of mushroom
1 1/2 c water

1. Preheat oven to 350* and grease a 9x13 pan; arrange chicken in the pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix rice (and seasonings), dressing mix, soups, and water; pour over chicken.
3. Cover with foil and bake for 2 1/2 hours. Don't peek! (hence the name...)

Pot Roast

Pot Roast
2 T olive oil
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 lb (or about 10) carrots, roughly chopped
3-5 lb chuck roast
salt and pepper
3 c beef broth
2 t rosemary
2 t thyme

1. In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat; add onions and, covered, brown.
2. Remove onions to a plate and set aside; add carrots to pan and heat for about 2-3 minutes, covered, until browned. Reserve the carrots with the onions.
3. Generously salt and pepper roast; turn burner up to high heat. If needed, add some more olive oil to the pan before adding the roast.
4. Sear roast for about a minute on each side until it's brown all over; place in slow cooker.
5. Combine broth, rosemary, and thyme in a small bowl.
6. Deglaze the pan by adding about cup of broth mixture (it may smoke a bit) and scraping the bits off of the bottom; pour contents over roast.
7. Add vegetables to slow cooker and then pour in remaining broth mixture.
8. Cook on low for 8 hours, or until fall-apart tender.