Winter Squash Medley soup

1/2 Butternut Squash
1/2 Acorn Squash
2 sweet potatoes
2 russet potatoes
5 cups of chicken broth
1 Tablespoon of parsley
1 teaspoon Adobe Seasoning
Garnish with Cooked and crisp bacon or Ham

1. cut and cube squashes and potatoes.  Cook till tender
2. blend
3. Garnish.

Pretty simple and delightfully tasty!

Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup

1 lb Sausage (I use Jimmy Dean's gluten free sausage)
2 cups sliced carrots
2 Large baking potatoes - cut into 1/2 inch squares
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
4 cans (14 oz each) beef broth
2 cans garbanzo beans, drained
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced stewed tomatoes
3 Cups Water
1 teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning
2 bay leaves
2 cups julienne-cut zucchini (2-3 small zucchini)
1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, if desired

1. Cook sausage till no longer pink and drain
2. Combine sausage and all other ingredients (except zucchini and cheese) in a large cooker (6-8 quart); stir gently to mix.
3. Cook till vegetables are tender.
4. Add zucchini for another 15-20 min. Remove bay leaves, and add cheese, if desired.

About 220 Calories per bowl and 14g protein.  So dig in and enjoy!!

*Picture to come soon.

Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

I got this recipe from one of my favorite cooking blogs...http://www.justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com/

Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Breasts

Ingredients
•6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halfs or 12 to 15 chicken tenders
•1 (12 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray’s or Sweet and Sassy Famous Daves)
•1/2 cup Italian salad dressing plus 2 Tablespoons
•1/2 chicken broth
•1/4 cup brown sugar
•1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
•Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions
1.Clean and wash chicken thoroughly. Place frozen or thawed chicken in a slow cooker. Cover chicken with chicken broth and 1/2 cup Italian Salad Dressing. Cover, and cook chicken in broth until chicken breasts or tenders are almost done, but not quite. (Breasts take longer). They will continue cooking after you add the BBQ Sauce.
2.In a bowl, mix the barbeque sauce, 2 Tablespoons Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper to taste. Pour over the chicken.
3.Cover, and cook on low for about 1 hour or until chicken is fork tender and pulls apart easily. Serve as whole breasts, or shred for Sandwiches, or put over steamed rice.
HINT: **Each Slow Cooker cooks differently. Chicken tenders cook quickly, and breasts require a longer cooking time. When the breasts are almost fork tender, I pour the sauce over the top, cover again, and simmer slowly in the slow cooker until the meat is fall apart tender. Cooking the chicken in the broth and italian dressing at the start ensures that the chicken will be juicy and tender. Over cooking the breasts is what makes chicken tough!

*If I’m in a huge hurry, and can’t be home to add the sauce, simply put the frozen breasts or tenders in the slow cooker, then top with all the sauce ingredients . . . including the chicken broth, then cover and cook for 4 to 6 hours on low heat. Before serving, turn the heat to high, and crack the lid slightly, so that the steam and be released and the sauce can thicken a bit more.

*You can also do a pork roast with this same sauce. Brown a pork roast on both sides, and then place in a slow cooker. I cover my pork roast with 1 pkg. of au ju, and enough water so that only about 2 inches of the roast are out of the water. Cook on high for 5 to 8 hours until roast is fork tender. Remove the roast and slice or shred. Pour juice from the slow cooker and save to dip bbq pork sandwiches in, or discard. Put the meat back into the slow cooker. Mix BBQ sauce (usually double this for a big roast), and pour over the top of the slices or shredded pork. Mix until well combined. Cover again and continue cooking until sauce has had a bit of time to thicken and the flavors can blend together. YUM!

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Crock Pot Instructions:
4 chicken breasts
1 bottle Kraft Original BBQ sauce
1 green pepper, chopped
1 small can pineapple chunks with juice
1 chopped onion (optional)

Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 9.  After it is all cooked shred the chicken (or not) before serving.  Serve over rice.

My sister cooked this for a large crowd so she used a big roaster and it worked really great!

Dutch Oven Instructions:
2 green peppers, cut into strips or dice
1/2 to 1 onion, cut into strips or dice
3-18 oz bottles Kraft Original BBQ sauce (54 oz total)
1 large can pineapple including juice (I used some crushed and some chunks)
12 or so chicken breasts (I cut the big ones in half)
1 TB or so of corn starch to thicken sauce

Cook with 12 coals on bottom, 10 on top for about 2 1/2 hours.  Serve over rice.

Family Note: (I did two Dutch Ovens of this when we went to Bear Lake in 2010 and it was exactly enough)

Cafe Rio {Pulled Pork} Salad

PULLED PORK:

3 lbs pork roast

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp powdered ginger

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

2 TB minced onions

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Cook in a crock pot all day on low heat.  One hour before serving, shred pork and discard juice.  Place shredded pork back in the crock pot, then add 1 cup dark brown sugar (in addition to the one cup from the beginning) and 1 cup red enchilada sauce.

*I usually get the 6 lb pork roasts from Sam's Club and double this recipe.

DRESSING:

1 ranch dry dressing packet

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tomatillos

1 jalapeno, cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds

1/2 bunch cilantro

1 clove garlic

Juice of one lime

Mix altogether in a blender and refrigerate one hour.

*Or go to Bajio or Cafe Rio and buy a container of dressing from them.  Pick up some chip strips while you are there to top off your salad.

LAYER CAFE RIO PULLED PORK SALAD AS FOLLOWS:

-Tortilla (can put melted cheese on it)

-Rice (I use Rice-a-Roni Mexican style and put corn in it), 
-Black or pinto beans
-Pulled pork

-Lettuce

-Strips of chips (a bag from Bajio is $1)

-Parmesan cheese

-Dressing (see above)

-Quarter of a lime

-A sprig of cilantro

-Fresh salsa, guacamole


Feeds about 4 people per pound

Jonny Carino's Bowtie Festival

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts  (about 1.5 to 2 lbs -- about 2 c.)

½ pkg. dry Italian dressing mix

1 jar four cheese alfredo sauce  
1 cup (1/4 lb) swiss cheese, cubed (I buy the pre-sliced packages of cheese, Wal-Mart brand, and use 6 slices per recipe)

1 can Healthy Request cream of chicken soup         
1 can chicken broth       

1 pkg. Real Bacon pieces (or about 10 oz cooked bacon)

2-3 diced roma tomatoes

Combine all in a crock pot. Cook on low 6-7 hours**, shredding chicken 1 hour before serving. Serve over cooked bowtie pasta (16 oz). 
*Note: When I took the chicken out to shred it, I whisked in 1 TB flour into the sauce because it was really thin and then put the shredded chicken back in.

**You can cook this meal in 20 minutes if you have the chicken and bacon cooked ahead of time.  Just bring everything to a simmer to melt the swiss cheese and warm everything though.  MMmmm. I think this recipe is better than at the restaurant, cheaper too.
Serves 8