Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

This was one of the EASIEST meals I've ever put together - just throw it in the crockpot and let it go. The results are AMAZING! (I took a picture, but it doesn't look great... so I'll try to get another when I make it again.)

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
Courtesy of: Betty Crocker


Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 8 hours 15 min
Makes: 8 servings

2 pounds beef stew meat
1 cup chopped onion
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of golden mushroom soup (used cream of mushroom)
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of onion soup (couldn't find - used cream of mushroom with roasted garlic)
1 jar (6 ounces) Green Giant® sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
6 cups hot cooked noodles or rice

In 3 1/2- to 4 1/2-quart slow cooker, mix beef, onion, soups, mushrooms and pepper.

Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 10 hours or until beef is very tender.

Stir cream cheese into beef mixture until melted. Stir sour cream into beef mixture. Serve over noodles.

Time Saver
Save time and tears. Use prechopped onions found in the freezer case of your supermarket. Thaw before adding.

Nutrition Information: 1 Serving
Calories 400 (Calories from Fat 280)
Total Fat 31g (Saturated Fat 15g, Trans Fat ncg)
Cholesterol 115mg
Sodium 810mg
Total Carbohydrate 12g (Dietary Fiber 1g, Sugars ncg)
Protein 24gPin It Now!

Sunshine Cupcakes

How stinking cute are these?!

Sunshine Cupcakes

Courtesy of Betty Crocker

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 min
Total Time: 2 hours 20 min
Makes: 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes
1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

Frosting and Decorations
Yellow food color
1 container (1 lb) Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting
Powdered sugar
48 large yellow, orange and/or red gumdrops
Betty Crocker® black decorating icing (from 4.25-oz tube)
Betty Crocker® red decorating gel (from 0.68-oz tube)

1. Heat oven to 350°F (or 325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 24 cupcakes, using water, oil and eggs. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

2. Stir 15 drops food color into frosting until bright yellow. Frost cupcakes.

3. Lightly sprinkle powdered sugar on work surface and rolling pin. Roll 4 gumdrops at a time into flat ovals about 1/8 inch thick. Cut thin sliver off top and bottom of each oval to make rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half crosswise to make 2 squares; cut each square diagonally in half to make 2 triangles.

4. Arrange 8 gumdrop triangles around edge of each cupcake for sun rays. Using small writing tip on black icing tube, pipe sunglasses on each cupcake. Using red gel, pipe smiling mouth on each cupcake. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Store covered in refrigerator.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Follow High Altitude directions for cupcakes on cake mix box.

Do-Ahead
Roll and cut sun rays ahead of time so kids can easily assemble the cupcakes.

Success
For brighter yellow frosting, use gel food color instead of liquid.

Nutrition Information: 1 Frosted Cupcake (Undecorated)

Calories 200

Calories from Fat 70

Total Fat 8g

Saturated Fat 2g

Trans Fat 1 1/2g

Cholesterol 25mg

Sodium 190mg

Total Carbohydrate 30g

Dietary Fiber 0g

Sugars 21g

Protein 1g

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Beans & Rice

Kim's Beans and Rice
Adapted from a Puerto Rican Recipe (thanks Claudia!!)

My oldest friend Claudia taught me this recipe (sort of) when we were in college - and it's evolved over time into one of our favorites...

1 medium onion, quartered

1 green bell pepper, quartered

2-4 cloves garlic (depending on size and preference)

1 large ham steak

3 cans pinto beans

1 can tomato sauce (small can)

salt & pepper

In a blender - add the onion, bell pepper and garlic blend until smooth... you may need to add a touch of water to get it blending. This mixture is called sofrito. (SO-Free-Toe)

Cut the ham steak into bite sized pieces, and add to a large soup pot. Brown the ham meat and render out some of the fat, about 5 minutes or so. Add 4-5 large spoonfuls of the sofrito to the pan and allow it to cook with the ham another minute or two.

Add the pinto beans and their juice into the pot along with the tomato sauce, add more sofrito to your taste preferences... John and I like a LOT of it. Then add salt & pepper to taste.

Serve over some rice - I've served it over brown rice and like it equally as well as white rice. Lately though I've been eating it without the rice - so it's good however you want to serve it.

You could serve with a salad and/or cornbread for a complete meal.

Enjoy!!

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Chicken With Creamy Spinach and Shallots

Chicken With Creamy Spinach and Shallots
Courtesy of Real Simple
Yield: 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
8 small chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)
kosher salt and pepper
4 shallots, thinly sliced
1/4 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
1/4 cup sour cream
2 bunches spinach, thick stems removed (about 8 cups)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes per side. Transfer to plates.

Spoon off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of the fat and return the skillet to medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until they begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in the wine and sour cream. Add the spinach, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, tossing gently, until the spinach begins to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with the chicken.

Nutritional Information
Calories 548
Fat 29g
Cholesterol 122mg
Carbohydrate 30g
Sodium 809mg
Protein 40g
Fiber 5g
Sugar 3gPin It Now!

Basic Vegetable Beef Soup

Basic Vegetable Beef Soup
Courtesy of John & Kim

1 pound ground beef (we use 90/10)
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
2 cans corn
2 cans cut green beans
3 cans diced tomatoes
1 clove garlic
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon celery salt
salt & pepper

In large stock pot, brown ground beef with the onion and garlic... season with salt & pepper to begin with. If you don't use 90/10 beef - you may need to drain off the fat before moving to the next step. Add in the green beans with their juice, corn with the juice, and tomatoes with the juice... add bay leaves and celery salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes.

We used to serve this with homemade cornbread, but aren't able to eat that in combination with the soup anymore.

This is a major staple of my diet - it is comfort food that doesn't have a whole lot of calories... while still having a good protein count.Pin It Now!

Sauteed Spinach

Sauteed Spinach
Courtesy of Kim

1 bag spinach leaves
1/2 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/4 to 1/2 cup white wine

(You could skip the olive oil and use 2-3 diced bacon strips instead, start the recipe by browning the bacon...)

In a large skillet, add the olive oil and turn the heat on to meduim. Add the onion and garlic and sautee for 2-3 minutes. Add the butter, spinach leaves, and wine - sautee until the spinach is wilted and the liquid is basically evaporated.

This is a staple side dish for me these days... it is also the spinach mixture that I used in my Chicken Roll Ups.Pin It Now!

Stuffed Strawberries

These look so dang good to me - I'm wishing I could rush out and buy a pastry bag at Target and make them this instant!

Stuffed Strawberries
Courtesy of Weight Watchers

Makes 12 servings

1 lb fresh strawberries
2 1/2 teaspoons Splenda sugar substitute (I used the brown sugar blend)
4 ounces fat free cream cheese (I used the 1/3 less fat)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

** You could add some chocolate shavings or chopped nuts for an extra kick... the possibilities are limitless!

1. Clean the strawberries and cut off the tops so that they are flat. Place them on a plate.

2. Make a hole at the top of the strawberries with a small knife.

3. Using a mixer, blend the cream cheese with the vanilla and Splenda.

4. Using a small spoon (or a pastry bag), put little dollops of the cream cheese in the strawberries.

5. Chill until ready to serve.

Or those of you not trying to loose weight - ummm... how amazing would this be if you dipped the strawberries in chocolate... yeah - I just hurt myself. YUM!

WW POINTS per serving: 0 (without my added tips)
Nutritional Information per serving:
21 calories
0.2g fat
0.8g fiber

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