Mississippi Roast

1 chuck roast
1 pack of Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix
1 pack of McCormick Au Jus gravy
1 stick of butter
5 pepperoncini peppers

Place roast in crockpot, cover in ranch dressing mix.  On top of ranch dressing mix, cover with au jus gravy mix.  Place stick of butter on top of roast.  Place peppers on the roast around the stick of butter.  Do NOT add any water.  Cook on low 8-10 hours.

Butter Pecan Sweet Potatoes

4 medium sweet potatoes olive oil
course salt
1 T. butter, cut into small pieces
1 T. light brown sugar
1/4 c. pecan pieces
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel potatoes and halve lengthwise; slice crosswise 1/2 inch thick. On a baking sheet, toss potatoes with olive oil (I like to put mine in a ziploc bag and shake it); season with salt.

Cook until potatoes are tender, tossing occasionally, 25-30 minutes.

Sprinkle with butter, brown sugar, pecan pieces and cayenne pepper, dividing evenly. Bake until sugar is carmelized and hard, about 10 minutes. Toss gently; serve immediately. Serves 4.

Crockpot Cube Steak and Gravy

This isn't a "pretty" dish, but those are usually the one that taste the best!  This could easily be cut in half to serve 2. 

Cube steak (I used a family size pack)
2 cans (10.75 ounce size) cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope onion soup mix
3/4 cup water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix water, soup, and soup mix until blended.  Pour half in crockpot, add steak, pour other half of soup mix over steaks.  Cook on low 8 hours. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes, or with your favorite side dishes.

Southern-Style Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken:

1 large fryer chicken (4-5 lbs.), neck and gizzards removed

1 large onion, peeled and cut in half

3 carrots, cut into large pieces

3 stalks of celery, cut into large pieces

Kosher salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Dumplings:

3 cups cake flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

4 1/2 tbsp. shortening

1 cup milk

For chicken:

Place the chicken, onions, carrots, and celery in a large stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so water maintains a gentle simmer. Cook chicken for 1 hour or until cooked through (about 165 degrees). About 30 minutes after you start cooking the chicken you can start making the dumplings or you can wait until the chicken is fully cooked.

Once chicken is done, remove from the broth and let cool. Remove chicken from the bone (this shouldn’t be hard, it should be falling off pretty easily at this point) and shred into medium-sized pieces, discarding bones and skin.

Pour the chicken broth through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheese cloth (I improvised and used a coffee filter), discarding vegetables. Reserve 6 cups of the broth for the dumplings. Refrigerate or freeze the rest to use in for another recipe. 

For dumplings:

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles small peas.

Add milk — 1/4 cup at a time, you may not need a full cup — and stir until a ball of dough just begins to form, being careful not to over-mix. 

Roll out the dough onto floured surface that you don’t mind cutting on. Roll about ¼ inch thick. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut dough into rectangles about 1 inch wide by 3 inches long. Place strips on wax paper and allow to harden up a bit, about 30 minutes.

In a large pot, over medium-low heat, bring broth to a gentle simmer and drop in dumplings. Cover and allow to cook for 6-7 minutes. 

Reduce heat to low and add chicken. Allow to cook until thickened, approximately 15-20 minutes, or longer. Season generously with salt and pepper.  serve hot.

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

1 whole Tyson chicken
1 bottle of favorite BBQ sauce
1 onion, peeled and quartered
1 lemon, quartered
1 can of Coke

Place chicken in crockpot.  In separate bowl, mix soda and bbq sauce, pour over chicken.  Add onion and lemon to the crockpot.  Bake on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve with corn on the cob and potato salad.  Summer dinner in the crockpot. Who knew?

Too Easy Lemon Bars

I love easy recipes with minimum ingredients.  This one was too simple not to share. 

1 box of angel food cake mix
1 can of lemon pie filling

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix both ingredients together, pour in greased 9x13 pan, bake for 20 minutes.  As they are cooling, sprinkle with powder sugar.  Slice and serve.

Cajun Chicken Alfredo

4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts - thin sliced
1 ½ Tbs. Cajun blackening spice
2 Tbs. butter, divided
1 Tbs. olive oil (or more if needed)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 C. (1/2 pint) grape tomatoes, halved
¼ C. chicken broth or dry white wine
1 ½ C. half and half
2 C. good quality, freshly grated Italian cheeses (I like a blend of Asiago, Parmesan, and Fontina.)
1 tsp. kosher salt (or more, to taste)
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper (or more, to taste)
1 pound cooked fettuccini
Pinch of ground nutmeg, for serving
Chopped parsley, for serving

Cook fettuccini “al-dente” according to package directions, stirring often. Drain, and rinse with hot tap water, to keep pasta from sticking. Drain again.

Chicken:
Preheat oven to 350.  Rinse chicken breast in cool water, and pat dry.  Sprinkle a heavy amount of blackening spice on both sides of each chicken breast, pressing to adhere.  Heat 1 Tbs. of the butter, and the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, until butter begins to brown.  Place chicken in the pan, and sear on one side, until it is very brown, about 3 minutes. Flip chicken and sear the other side until very brown, about another 1 ½ minutes. Work in batches so as not to crowd the pan.
Place browned chicken onto a rimmed baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside.  Remove chicken from the oven and thinly slice against the grain; set aside.

Sauce:
If the skillet looks dry, add a bit more olive oil. Re-heat the skillet over medium heat.  Pour in the dry white wine (or chicken broth) into the skillet to deglaze the pan—whisk all of the delicious brown bits off the bottom of the pan. (1-2 minutes)  Add the garlic and tomatoes to the pan and sauté to soften and lightly caramelize, stirring occasionally. (1-2 minutes)  Reduce heat to medium-low and pour the heavy cream to the pan with the tomato mixture, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
Add the salt, pepper, and the remaining tablespoon of butter.

Continue to stir the cream mixture while it simmers for 3-4 minutes. The cream will reduce slightly.
Remove from heat. Add the grated cheeses to the cream sauce. Stir constantly until all the cheese has melted, and sauce is smooth. Taste sauce and adjust seasonings if needed. 

Pour the fettuccini onto the sauce, and top with the sliced chicken.  Toss the pasta and chicken into the sauce with tongs, until well combined.  Turn tossed pasta into a large serving bowl.
Sprinkle with a pinch of nutmeg, and a bit of chopped parsley.  Serve immediately.