Crockpot Lasagna

This was so easy! It's hard to get that "lasagna" shape when serving (so it's just a bowl of noodles, beef & Italian cheese) but it tastes pretty damn good!

I also really need to start taking pictures of the whole set-up/cooking process.

1 package of ground beef (I used 93% lean and the meat is still moist, not dry at all!) - this package was roughly around 2lbs, btw
2 jars of pasta sauce (I used Prego Tomato, Onion & Garlic)
Ricotta cheese
1 package of shredded Italian cheese (I used Italian Blend)
Lasagna noodles, *uncooked*
Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste (I used to season the beef)

Brown the beef in a skillet, season to taste. Drain off excess grease. Mix in jars of pasta sauce.

For the crockpot, I suggest spraying with non-stick spray...I didn't have any, so I just took a towel and rubbed a bit of vegetable oil all along the sides.

Cover the bottom of the pot with the beef/pasta sauce mixture.
Layer lasagna noodles (I had to break mine up a bit to make them fit).
Spread ricotta cheese. I admit it was hard to spread this smoothly.
Sprinkle Italian cheese(s) on top of ricotta.
Top with more beef/pasta mixture and repeat.

I made 2 layers using all ingredients, then once I ended with the beef/pasta mixture, I added more lasagna noodles then topped with the remaining beef/pasta sauce mixture. The crockpot was about 2/3 full.

Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours, then about 5min before serving sprinkle some more Italian cheese(s) on top.

So yummy!

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....and a simple dessert....microwave cinnamon apples!

Okay, the moment I saw this, I had to try it.

Cinnamon apples = fall. It's not very fall-ish in Texas right now, which makes me sad. Fall is my favorite season.

1 apple (I used a Gala apple for this because that is what I have on hand, but you can use whatever apple you like!)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp corn starch (I used all-purpose flour because that's all I have on hand)
1 spoonful of sugar (I just used regular granulated sugar...but if you would rather use Stevia or Splenda or something, go right ahead!)
1 tbsp water
Raisins (optional)

Slice your apple. I'm lazy and use an apple slicer. Best thing ever. You can choose to leave the skin on or peel it off...I left it on, but I think next time I will peel them. Throw everything into a bag and shake/mix around until everything is evenly coated. Open the bag a bit to vent, place in the microwave for 2 minutes and viola! They're done :) Easy clean-up, too...just throw away the bag! But be careful, because the bag will be VERY hot and be careful of steam burns!

This would be amazing with some vanilla ice cream.... :)

Hainanese Chicken Rice

My apartment smells HEAVENLY right now!!!

This is a Hainanese Chicken Rice recipe, adapted from HERE.

Although the name is of Chinese origin, this is considered to be Singapore's national dish. It's so simple!

Of course, I can't get a true "kampong" chicken (a chicken from a village) and I honestly do not have a pot big enough to boil a whole chicken. So instead, I bought a $5 rotisserie chicken from Walmart lol. I carved out all of the breast meat and cut it into smaller chunks. You could use the leg meat if you want, but I prefer all white meat.

1 chicken
3 cups of Jasmine rice, uncooked
3 cups of chicken stock (I used Swenson's 30% Reduced Sodium Chicken Stock)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 slice of ginger, minced
matchstick carrots, diced (I just grabbed a handful from the bag lol)
vegetable oil
salt & pepper to taste

Take the Jasmine rice and rinse a couple of times, then soak in water for at least 10 minutes. Drain and try to get as much liquid out as possible.

While my rice was soaking, I went ahead and minced the garlic and the ginger. I heated a pot with some vegetable oil and added the garlic and ginger and stir-fried on medium-high heat. OMG the smell was amazing and SO FRAGRANT!! Just be careful not to burn them, which I have a tendency of doing...but today, I was successful! Yes!

Once the garlic and ginger are fragrant, add the rice and stir fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the stock and carrots. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and cover for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, take put the pot aside (with the lid still on) and let it sit for another 5-10 minutes. Refrain from opening the lid, because this the heat/steam is crucial to the cooking process for the rice!

While I was waiting, I sliced up the chicken breast. Once the rice has "rested" go ahead and add your chicken and you're ready to go!!!

This was soooooooooo delicious!!! I'm sure it would taste even better if I cooked my own chicken and made my own stock, but for my adaptation this was VERY tasty. The rice was perfect, the carrots were tender (I was afraid they would be underdone...probably so if I used larger chunks) and the rotisserie chicken compliments the rice very well. I highly suggest you try this!

Military Monday blog hop!

:)

Because I work night shift, my sleeping schedule is constantly messed up.
Especially when my manager happened to split up my shifts this past week. I'd rather just do my three in a row and be done with it.
I woke up at 0300...I was wide awake! So I lazed around, added about another 230967203690276 pins (at least it feels that way!) then at 0730 I prepped the ribs for the crock pot.
...Though they aren't really ribs because only like 3 of them actually have the bone lol. They're more just like chunks of meat.
I trimmed some fat, seasoned with salt and pepper and threw them in the crock pot with a whole bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's honey BBQ sauce. Put the pot on low. The ribs have been braising for about 9 hours and I took a little taste and they are AMAZING. So tender they literally fall apart and melt in your mouth. Mmmm.
Now to wait for hubs to get home. It's so hard resisting the urge to eat a bunch of ribs now!

pot roast!

I'm making this for dinner :) I finally bought a crock pot, and I think it was one of the best decisions ever. The roast smells wonderful and I snagged a carrot for a taste test...it tastes so good!

And I barely had to do a thing! I was at Walmart and saw a "pot roast kit" - came with the meat, seasoning packet and vegetables. It's a pretty good portion, too, at least for hubby & I. It cost roughly around $15. Just followed the instructions, placed the crock pot on high and let it do the work. It's been on high for about 4 hours and the meat is now cooked to medium (using a meat thermometer) so now I put it on low. Hopefully it will continue to tenderize without overcooking it. Hubs will be home in 2-3 hours :)

I have been on such a cooking/baking streak! Monday I made chicken parmesan along with those mint oreo brownies...though I forgot to buy bread crumbs so I had to make do with the stale bread I had on hand lol...yesterday I made cheddar-pepperjack mac n cheese and today is the pot roast!

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Roast nom nom.

Making this for dinner!! Trying out a high-temp roast...made a spice rub of salt, cracked black pepper, garlic powder, thyme & some rosemary. For a side I'm just making some mashed potatoes and gravy. I hope this turns out decent because I wasn't "blessed" with mad cooking skills. Kind of odd when you're the daughter of an executive chef!

As long as it comes out good and makes hubby happy, I will be happy :)

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