Extra Creamy CrockPot Mac and Cheese

 

Spend With Pennies
Serves 6

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
10 ½ ounces condensed cream of chicken soup
3 cups cheddar cheese shredded
1 cup Gruyere cheese shredded
½ cup mayonnaise (or cream cheese0
½ cup sour cream regular or light
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
½ teaspoon pepper

Boil macaroni noodles according to directions to make them very al dente. (I cook them for at least 1-2 minutes less than directed on the bag. Mine boiled for 5 minutes). Drain and rinse under cold water.

Combine all ingredients in a 4qt slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 3 hours, stirring once or twice.

Optional- you can mix everything and then put in a oiled casserole dish

 350 degrees for 30 min

One time I made pasta the night before and then made sauce separately and then next day combined and warmed them up together

Creamy Enchiladas

 Taste of Home

1/2-1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
5 cups diced cooked chicken
20 flour tortillas (6 inches), room temperature

1/2 stick butter with 1/2c flour add broth or milk or (2 cans of cream of condensed soup)
2 cups sour cream
1 cup 2% milk
2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chiles
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 can of green chile sauce to pout on top of enchiladas

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, water, onion powder, cumin, salt and pepper until smooth. Stir in chicken.
2. Place 1/4 cup chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in 2 greased 13x9-in. baking dishes. In a large bowl, combine soup, sour cream, milk and chiles; pour over enchiladas.
3. Bake, uncovered, 30-40 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with cheese; bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Chloe's Cheescake

 Sugar Spun Run

I made and cooked this  recipe on a sunday and had it sit in the fridge till chloe's bday on a Wednesday.

Graham Cracker Crust¹

• ▢1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (170g)
• ▢2 Tablespoons sugar
• ▢1 Tablespoon brown sugar (can substitute white)
• ▢7 Tablespoons butter melted

Cheesecake

• ▢32 oz cream cheese² (4pkgs) softened to room temperature (910g)
• ▢1 cup sugar (200g)
• ▢⅔ cups sour cream (160g)
• ▢1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢⅛ teaspoon salt
• ▢4 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten

Recommended Equipment

• ▢
  9" Springform pan
• ▢
  Mixing bowls
• Amy's thoughts........... (I did end up putting the Springform pan in an oven proof crockpot bag and then i put the springform pan
• in a 9x13 pan full of water. Looks like is wasn't necessary, but my friend Dayna strongly recommeded it.  The cheesecake took forever to cook. It said cook 75 min, but I'm sure I cooked it for at least 1 and 1/2 hours, possibly close to 2 hours. It kept being so jiggily. Finally I looked up another opinion and one chef said with a thermometer check the internal temperature it should be 150 degrees. B/c I cooked it so long the whole top was golden brown, Id rather have golden brown color than food poisioning. It turned out suprisingly super duper delicious. I definitely will use this recipe again.)
• Next time I want to get 10 or so strips of aluminum foil and  place them in the springform pan first  (to help the whole cheesecake come out easily when its all done and cooked)
• I Used a 8'' springform pan b/c thats all i had available to use and i filled the cheesecake to the brim top and I poured the leftover batter into a glass measuring cup and let it cook and we ate that too.)

• Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325F (160C).
• Prepare Graham Cracker crust first by combining graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and brown sugar, and stirring well. Add melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well.
• Pour crumbs into a 9” Springform pan and press firmly into the bottom and up the sides of your pan. Set aside.

Cheesecake

• In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl (using a hand mixer) add cream cheese and stir until smooth and creamy (don’t over-beat or you’ll incorporate too much air).
• Add sugar and stir again until creamy.
• Add sour cream, vanilla extract, and salt, and stir until well-combined. If using a stand mixer, make sure you pause periodically to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula so that all ingredients are evenly incorporated.
• With mixer on low speed, gradually add lightly beaten eggs, one at a time, stirring just until each egg is just incorporated. Once all eggs have been added, use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl again and make sure all ingredients are well combined.
• Pour cheesecake batter into prepared springform pan. To insure against leaks, place pan on a cookie sheet that’s been lined with foil.
• Transfer to the center rack of your oven and bake on 325F (160C) for about 75 minutes. Edges will likely have slightly puffed and may have just begun to turn a light golden brown and the center should spring back to the touch but will still be Jello-jiggly. Don't over-bake or the texture will suffer, which means we all suffer.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool on top of the oven³ for 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes has passed, use a knife to gently loosen the crust from the inside of the springform pan (this will help prevent cracks as your cheesecake cools and shrinks). Do not remove the ring of the springform pan.
• Allow cheesecake to cool another 1-2 hours or until near room temperature before transferring to refrigerator and allowing to cool overnight or at least 6 hours. I remove the ring of the springform pan just before serving then return it to the pan to store. Enjoy!

Delicious Fish Tacos

 Spend With Pennies

Serves 4

• 1 ½ pounds fillets of tilapia or cod/haddock
• ▢1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon chilli powder
• ▢½ teaspoon cumin
• ▢½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢1 teaspoon paprika
• ▢½ teaspoon salt
• ▢½ teaspoon pepper
• ▢1 teaspoon oregano
• ▢½ teaspoon onion powder

TACOS-

8 6-inch corn or flour tortillas

       1 sliced avocado

• ▢1 lime wedged
• ▢toppings to taste

• fish taco sauce-

  2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• ▢3 tablespoons sour cream
• ▢½ lime juiced (lemon juice container)
• ▢½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢½ teaspoon cumin
• ▢½ teaspoon sriracha or to taste
• 
  

Directions-

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Combine all fish taco sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• Combine rub ingredients and rub into fish fillets. Place fish on a parchment lined pan and drizzle with olive oil.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes or until flaky and cooked.
• Heat tortillas according to package directions.
• Break fish into large chunks and divide between tortillas. Top as desired and serve.
• 
  

How to Make Cabbage Onion Slaw: 1 cup green cabbage, shredded 1 white onion, thinly sliced 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped ⅓ cup sour cream 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 jalapeño pepper seeded & chopped.

Nutritional information includes 2 fish tacos in corn tortillas and no toppings.

8/7/22 I made these and seasoned with a special seasoning called Pecan smoked salt, turned out just simply amazing!

Best Baked Potato

Gimme some oven 

• 1 medium-to-large Russet potato, scrubbed clean of any dirt
• 1–2 teaspoons melted butter (or olive oil)
• pinch of coarse Kosher salt
• pinch of freshly-cracked black pepper

1. Heat the oven. Heat oven to 450°F.  Line a large baking sheet with foil (or parchment*), and if you happen to own a wire cooling rack, place it on top of the baking sheet.
2. Prep the potato. Using a dinner fork or a small paring knife, poke the potato at least 10 times on all sides.  Place the potato on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake (round one). Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove baking sheet from the oven.
4. Brush with butter (or oil).  Using a pastry brush, brush the outside of the potato with melted butter or olive oil until it is completely coated on all sides.  Sprinkle the potato with a generous pinch of Kosher salt, and place the potato back on the baking sheet reverse-side-up, so that it can cook evenly on both sides.
5. Bake (round two). Bake for an additional 20 minutes.  Using an oven mitt, carefully squeeze the potato to check for doneness.  If the insides are soft and give under pressure, remove the potato from the oven.  Otherwise, continue cooking in 5-minute increments until the potato is soft.
6. Cut the potato.  Using a small paring knife, slice halfway through the potato lengthwise.  Then give it a gentle squeeze to open.
7. Serve.  Serve immediately, with your desired toppings.

sour cream

cheddar cheese

feta cheese

steamed broccoli

chives/green onions

sauteed mushrooms

crumbled bacon

cherry tomatoes

avocado

chili

Greek Pitas

Chicken
onion chopped
lemon pepper seasoning
tomatoes chopped
Lettuce
olives
Pitas

Tazaki Sauce
1 Cucumber grated
Sour Cream or yogurt
1 tsp Ranch Packet
milk



Season chicken with lemon pepper seasoning, Saute or grill chicken with onion
Make tazaki sauce

Another version

Chicken Marinade

1 pound boneless , skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts)
⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup olive oil
4 lemons
4-5 cloves garlic , pressed or minced
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Add the chicken, Greek yogurt and olive oil to a medium size bowl. Zest one of the lemons and add to the bowl. Juice that lemon into the bowl with the zest. Slice the other three lemons and set aside. Add the minced garlic, oregano, kosher salt and black pepper to the lemon juice and zest and stir. Pour half of the marinade into the freezer bag or the bowl with the chicken pieces and reserve the other half of the marinade for basting. Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours in the refrigerator.

• When ready to grill, prepare the grill by lightly oiling the grate with vegetable oil or cooking spray and set to medium high heat.
• Grill the chicken, basting with the reserved marinade and turning often so each side browns and has light grill marks, until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear. During the last 5 minutes of cooking add the 3 sliced lemons to the grill, turning once or twice. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serve with the grilled lemons. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

Tzatziki Sauce- Food and Wine

1 cup Greek-style plain yogurt
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, plus extra for garnish
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Toasted pita or pita chips, for serving

allow cucumber to drain or squeeze in a cheese cloth to remove excess water.

Stir together the yogurt, cucumber, garlic, lemon juice and dill in a medium bowl. Season with the salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Before serving, garnish with more fresh dill and serve with toasted pita.