My daughter Jenn passed this recipe on to me and I knew that I had to make it . It was super easy ( dump everything into the slow cooker) and so delicious . Also we went out to ski and came home to a delicious made meal which is probably the best part of cooking in the slow cooker. This is one of those recipes that you’ll make time and time again because it’s great for a group ( when that happens again) and great for just the two of us because I froze the leftovers for future meals.

I served over rice with a vegetable but this would be great on a big bun as well. Would be great with some cole slaw or corn bread.

Will most likely serve 6 depending on your eaters and if you have a lot of side dishes maybe 8 servings. You can adjust sauce and ingredients for less — for instance cut whole recipe in 1/2 . It is very saucy but you can probably do 4 lbs. of chicken easily. As well use 2 lbs. and cut all ingredients in 1/2. You’ll still want to cook for the same amount of time to fully tenderize chicken. Check liquid in slow cooker if you cut recipe and make sure it’s enough liquid for the chicken.

Enjoy! and thanks Jenn

Ingredients:

3.5-4 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts — you can mix in thighs with this as well I happen to have 3 packages of chicken breasts so I used that.

2 cups. BBQ sauce — I use Sweet Baby Ray’s Original since we always have that in the house and it’s rather delicious

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1/4 cup brown sugar packed — light or dark doesn’t matter

2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions:

Combine BBQ sauce , brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and crushed red pepper into the slow cooker — and mix to combine

Add chicken breasts and use a spoon and mix it all around

Cover and cook on low for 7 hours or high for 4 hours. Chicken is done when it easily shreds with a fork. I had on high for 7 and then shredded after it sat for a few hours on warm.

Shred Chicken and stir well to coat with BBQ sauce.

Serve and Enjoy!

This recipe is wonderful on so many different levels I don’t know where to begin. Firstly it comes together in under an hour , then there’s the one pot situation which is amazing, and the flavors are wonderful and the meal is delicious so what more could you want?

Good for families and good for the two of us since I froze 1/2 of it for another meal and have a little left over for lunch the next day. So it’s all good and easy and perfect .

We love pasta and this is just one more wonderful pasta dish.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 pound Italian Sausage , casings removed I used 1/2 Sweet and 1/2 Spicy –use whatever you like even chicken or turkey sausage would work well here. I can usually find it at the butcher in bulk so don’t have to remove from casing. It’s not a big deal to remove from casing.

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds — don’t omit

Pinch red pepper flakes — as big or small a pinch depending on how much you like the heat. You can put on the table so everyone can add more to their own

2 cloves garlic, minced

Kosher Salt app. 1/2 teaspoon and taste for salt towards the end

Freshly Ground Black Pepper — app. 1/4 teaspoon

4 cups Chicken Broth — 1 box

28 oz. Can Tomato Puree

2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste

1 box ( 16 oz.) Fusilli Pasta or any other pasta shape you like

1 cup shredded Mozzarella

Grated Parmesan for serving

Directions:

In a large deep pot — I use my trusty Le Creuset– it’s perfect– spray first with cooking spray — add the Tbsp.. of Olive Oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot add the bulk sausage and cook until it starts to brown up, app. 5 minutes. I then added the diced onions right in and cook until softened and translucent and the sausage is well browned, probably another 5 minutes.

Add the oregano , fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, garlic and the Salt and Pepper and stir to combine .

Add the broth, tomato puree and tomato paste and stir well and bring to a low boil. Add the uncooked pasta into the sauce , reduce to a simmer and cook , stirring occasionally until the pasta is al dente, app. 15 minutes. Mine was perfect after 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the mozzarella and taste for Salt and Pepper but I didn’t need anymore it was perfect. If you think it needs more seasoning add now.

Serve with grated or shaved Parmesan.

Enjoy!

I saw a recipe for Baked Greek Shrimp on the NY Times Cooking site by David Tanis and he was my inspo for this recipe. I made a few changes to the original to make it my own and I think it was wonderful . So thanks to David Tanis and the NY Times Cooking site which I absolutely love.

This is Greek Shrimp and not Italian mostly by the fact that obviously the Greeks don’t mind adding cheese to their seafood and I have to say it all tastes rather delicious.

I made it for the two of us this past xmas eve and this is what I did.

Ingredients:

2 large shallots, minced ( use a mini processor if you have one)

4 garlic cloves, minced

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes– drained

a nice size pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

1 1/2 lb. of large shrimp, peeled and deveined and tails off

app. 4 oz. of crumbled feta cheese or block that you crumble

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions:

I use my mini food processor and I mince the shallots and the garlic together. If you don’t have this little machine I suggest purchasing it it’s a life saver in terms of chopping and mincing garlic and onions. Put 4 Tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat . Add shallots and garlic, season with a little salt and pepper and cook till softened, about 5 to 8 minutes. Stir around to keep mixture from browning. Add drained can of diced tomatoes to the pan, season with salt and pepper to taste and add a large pinch of crushed red pepper. Cook stirring, until mixture is juicy and tomatoes have softened, about 10 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Put shrimp in a mixing bowl and add 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil, season shrimp with salt and pepper and stir to coat. I used about 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and a little black pepper.

Transfer tomato mixture to a shallow baking dish ( not metal) glass , ceramic or earthenware. Add shrimp in one layer over tomato mixture in one layer. Crumble cheese over surface and sprinkle with oregano.

I baked for about 15 minutes , you’ll want tomatoes to be bubbling and shrimp to turn pink and curl a bit and cheese has browned slightly. Put under broiler for the last 3-4 minutes till cheese browns up a bit. Remove from oven and let sit for a minute or so.

I cooked up some orzo and served shrimp over the orzo and it was perfect. Served with a nice light green salad as well.

I had some Butternut Squash in the house and usually I just roast with some olive oil and salt and pepper. This time I added a bunch of spices a little Maple Syrup and some fresh Orange Juice. It was very yummy . I am writing this up for 2 lbs. of butternut squash , feel free to cut this recipe in 1/2 . Please use pure maple syrup for this one and a fresh orange for the juice. This recipe would also be wonderful on sweet potatoes!

We loved it and it was a wonderful new side dish and one I will repeat often.

Now that you can buy butternut squash pre-cut there’s no excuse not to make this wonderful healthy vegetable more often.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

app. 2 lbs. butternut squash cut into 1 inch pieces ( pre-packaged is the way to go here)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons pure Maple Syrup–grade A is what I use

Juice of one fresh orange–app. 6 Tablespoons

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

I sprayed a large baking sheet with Cooking Spray — you must or use parchment or aluminum foil for easier clean-up . Just a little note– I used Bakers Joy cooking spray I find sometimes it works best on this type of recipe. I absolutely love this cooking spray for baking so why not for sticky gooey recipes? Clean up was a snap. (just saying)

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix together . I let it sit for a while before I roast, I find the oil and spices meld together nicely so if you have the time I would recommend doing this for maybe 15 minutes or longer.

Pour onto baking sheet. Roast in the oven until butternut squash is tender about 45 minutes, halfway through I removed and tossed .

Remove from oven when browned up and smelling delicious. (app. 45 minutes)

Serve it up.

This is one of those delicious easy to make super comforting soups. Of course I may have lost some of you with the Cabbage and if you hate it you hate it but if you’re willing to give it a shot this is a super cozy kind of soup which we can all use a little bit of these days. Made this for Joel and I and had 2 quarts left over for 2 more meals. Perfect dinner served with a nice green salad . I used pork sausage because that’s what I had in the house feel free to use chicken or turkey sausage whatever works best for you. I used a spicy italian pork sausage . I also used a frilly-edged Napa Cabbage . This cabbage is nice and soft and breaks down quickly . If using regular green cabbage you’ll have to cook a bit longer — probably another 15 minutes or so. Of course you can be flexible with your pasta , I used orzo but you can use any small pasta such as ditalini, mini elbows or mini farfalla .

Enjoy this most satisfying soup which is just perfect on a cold wintery day or night.

Stay safe folks.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 pound Italian sausage, mild or spicy remove casings

2 cloves garlic minced

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper, start with a pinch , plus add more to taste

1/4 cup Tomato Paste

1 large Napa or Savoy Cabbage, trimmed , quartered and thinly sliced

4 cups Chicken Stock

4 cups Water

1 cup Orzo

1 -2 Parmesan Rinds

*grated Parmesan for serving

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed Dutch oven type of pot.( Le Creuset works well here) over medium heat.

Add sausage in a single layer and break up into smaller pieces, stirring occasionally until sausage is cooked through and no longer pink. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon, leaving the rendered fat in the pot.

Add the chopped onion and several big pinches of kosher salt and black pepper. Saute the onions for about 5 minutes then add the garlic and continue cooking for a few minutes. Lower the heat and add the tomato paste and continue to cook stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pot. Onions will start to caramelize in about 3 minutes.

Add the cabbage, chicken stock, water, orzo , Parmesan Rinds, and add another big pinch of kosher salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 15 minutes. Continue stirring so pasta doesn’t stick to bottom of pan. Add sausage and continue to simmer for about 15 more minutes or until pasta and cabbage are tender.

Remove an discard rinds. I couldn’t find one of my rinds and it is no big deal. If you use larger ones they’re easier to find. You may find when you spoon out the soup!

Taste for Salt and Pepper

I then turned off heat and let soup sit on the stove till we were ready to eat dinner. I brought to a low simmer and served in bowls with grated Parmesan.

If you do freeze you’ll probably need to add some water/stock to it because it will thicken up considerably.

Here’s the thing– I love Stuffed Peppers but it’s a lot of work to make. This soup satisfied my yen for Stuffed Peppers without all the work. It’s really delicious and this is how I made it. I actually used a whole package of Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice which worked perfectly. I also used ground beef but obviously you can use ground turkey or chicken as well. I just wanted to stay as true to the recipe for Stuffed Peppers as possible. Of course you don’t need to sprinkle the cheese on top but it added another layer of flavor .

Enjoy this hearty and easy meal in a bowl.

Paired with a green salad and some nice crusty bread it’s perfect.

*probably 6 -8 servings and you can freeze leftover soup.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

4 medium green bell peppers, diced. Mine were giant so I used 3

1 medium yellow onion, diced

Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper or use coarsely ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

4 cups Beef Broth

14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

14.5 oz. can crushed tomatoes

3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 package Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice you obviously don’t have to use ready rice but I did and I used Jasmine. Any Rice will do and if you don’t want 2 cups use 1 cup rice– you’ll want the rice cooked so if you have leftover rice use it!

Shredded Chedder for topping and serving

Directions:

In a large soup pot ( think Le Creuset) a heavy stock pot which will be large enough for this soup. Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the diced peppers, onion, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper ( app. 1/4 teaspoon) you’ll get another chance at seasoning so just start out small. Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are soft. Approximately 10 minutes.

Add the ground beef and cook breaking up the beef as you stir with a large wooden spoon. Cook till no longer pink , approximately 5 minutes.

Add the minced garlic and oregano and cook for a minute or two. Add the 4 cups beef broth, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, Worcestershire Sauce, and add a little more kosher salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil . Reduce heat and simmer until all flavors are blended. I like my soup to simmer for a long time. At least a half hour and preferably longer. If you find it too thick add a little water. Mine was perfect and sat on stovetop for a few hours. Second hour just sat on warm.

Before serving I heated to a boil, brought back down to a simmer and added rice until warmed through. Taste for S and P but should be fine.

Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with some Chedder .

I held my breath because I wasn’t sure about Joel’s response to soup but he totally enjoyed and ate a big bowl.