Crockpot Lasagna

I promise that after you make this once, you will NEVER make Lasagna in the oven again!

Put this on before you go to work and when you get home, the only work to do is to warm up some yummy garlic bread! And Dinner is Served!

Brown 2lbs ground beef with 1 chopped yellow onion and 1 chopped red bell pepper. Pour in one jar of Spaghetti sauce and 1 can of Ro-tel tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. (I also add a few shakes of dried red pepper flakes...just for some kick!) Basically, make your own meat sauce that you would normally make for Spaghetti.

Mix the following ingredients in a bowl: 16oz carton of cottage cheese, 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese (FRESH!!), 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, 1 egg and 1 TBSP oregano.

Grease your crockpot and then spread one layer of the meat/sauce mixture on the bottom of the crockpot. Break your raw lasagna noodles so they fit as best as possible to make your next layer. Cover the noodles with the cheese mixture. Repeat the layers, reserving enough of the meat/sauce for one more layer (which you will place on top of the last layer of the cheese mixture.

Turn the crockpot on low and cook for 6 hours (or 4 hours on high depending on when you want it to be ready). No stirring, no need to open the lid while it cooks. Just make sure your noodles are still a bit firm....don't overcook.

Come home from work and be ready to encounter a delicious smell!

Cranberry Glazed Pot Roast

I made this tonight for the first time and the verdict is YUM!! I have always made my pot roast Cajun style, but this new recipe is a KEEPER!

I actually made mine with a pork tenderloin because a pot roast is too big for us....but either way, the result will be just as delicious!

Step one: Take out your crockpot.

Step two: Mix 2 TBSP flour with your favorite seasonings (you can use salt & pepper, but of course, I use Slap ya mama!)

Step three: Rub your pork roast/tenderloin with the flour mixture (and discard the leftover mix)

Step four: Set the pork roast/tenderloin in the crock pot and turn it on medium.

Step five: Chop 1 small yellow onion and throw in the crock pot with the pork.

Step six: Pour the following items into the crock pot over the pork & onion:

1 cup red wine, 2 TBSP Worchestershire Sauce, 2 TBSP soy sauce, 2 TBSP Maple syrup

Step seven: Add 1/2 cup of dried cranberries to the crock pot.

Step eight: Cook on medium for about 8 hours..... so put this on before you go to work and come home to a yummy meal!

I served this with mashed potatoes....

Note: when you serve it, be sure and put a few of the cranberries on each plate because a bite of the meat with a bite of cranberries is like nothing you have ever tasted!!!

Green Beans with New Potatoes

Ingredients:
3 lbs of fresh green beans
1/4 pound of bacon or salt pork
2 cups chicken broth
1-2 tsp of seasoning (S&P or Slap Yo Mamma)
10-12 small red potatoes
1 onion (cut into slivers)
1/2 stick unsalted butter, sliced
Ground black pepper

Remove the ends from the beans. Snap the beans in 2 pieces, place in colander, wash, drain & set aside.

In a large pot, lightly brown the bacon or salt pork over medium heat, turning often (approx. 10 minutes) Toss the green beans into the pot, stirring to coat well with the bacon/pork fat. Add the broth and seasoning. Cook over medium-low heat, covered tightly for approximately 30 minutes or until the beans are half done.

While the beans are cooking, peel a center strip from each new potato with a potato peeler. At the end of the 30 minutes, add the potatoes and onions to the beans; add 1/4 cup more broth, if needed. Cook, covered tightly, until the potatoes are tender (approx. 25-30 minutes). Check the pot periodically to make sure a small amount of liquid remains. When the potatoes are tender, tilt the lid slightly, off to the side of pot and continue to cook approximately 15 minutes more. During last 15 minutes of cooking, add the butter and season with ground black pepper.



Recipe from Paula Deen's cookbook - it is a delicious way to get your family to eat their veggies.

Joe's Ranch Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 pkg. yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup oil

1/3 cup sugar

2 cups buttermilk

4 1/2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Add oil & measure dry ingredients. Add small amount of dry ingredients to yeast mixture, alternately with small amounts of the buttermilk until completely mixed. Shape your biscuits and place on a pan - allow to rise in a warm place for 3-4 hours. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve warm with butter.

The mixture can remain in the refrigerator up to 1 week and only take out the amount you plan to serve - allow to rise and bake.

MoMo's Shrimp Casserole

Ingredients:

3/4 cup melted butter or margarine

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (red or green)

1 can cream of celery soup

1 lb. shrimp (peeled & deveined)

2 cups cooked rice

1/2 cup chopped green onions (scallions)

1/2 cup chopped parsley

bread crumbs

Salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter - add onions, celery, bell peppers and saute for a few minutes. Blend in the celery soup. Remove from stove and add shrimp, rice, green onions & parsleyt - blend and season to taste. Place all mixed ingredients in a lightly buttered casserole dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Serves 6-8 and it is yummy!!

Crab Dressing

1 cup crabmeat
1 lg. onion (chopped)
2 tablespoons of roux
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
1/4 cup celery
1/2 bell pepper (red or green)
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons parsley
2 eggs (slightly beaten)

Saute onion, celery, & bell pepper for 5-8 minutes. Add water & roux until thick
Add crab meat & lightly season with S&P (or slap your mamma) - cook about 15 minutes
Add bread crumbs & parsley & eggs - Mix well
Bake covered @ 350 degrees until dressing has set (approximately 30 minutes - check every 15 minutes)
Uncover and cook until bread crumbs are slightly browned.

Delicious crab dish that serves 6-8 people.

Crawfish Ratatouille

A while back I was looking for some type of side dish that used crawfish because you know that a good Cajun cook will find a use for Crawdads in ALL parts of the meal! (still working on dessert! LOL)

So I found 3 different recipes and did not like any of them as they were, so I took a piece of each and came up with my own recipe for Crawfish Ratatouille. (yeah, I made the name up too! But Ratatouille is French so I think it works!)

It is a great side dish, or you can serve it as a "one dish dinner" with some warm French bread!

Ingredients:

2 pounds Crawfish tails

1 stick butter

3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

3/4 cup chopped purple onion (same thing as red onion, but I call 'em purple!)

3/4 cup chopped celery

Your favorite Cajun Seasoning (of course, I use Slap Ya Mama)

3 cans/1 bag fresh sweet corn

3 TBSP sugar

1 cup cream (the "madlavning creme" in Denmark works great!)

Saute the veggies in the butter with a generous amount of your Cajun Seasoning until veggies are soft. Add the corn and sugar (and a bit more butter if it looks like you need it. I usually put in another TBSP just to keep everything from drying out.) Once everything is well-blended, add the cream and cook on low for about five minutes, while stirring. This is important to get all those flavors really blended. Remove from heat and set to the side.

In a skillet saute your seasoned crawfish tails in 2 TBSP butter for about 5 minutes. Add the tails to your veggie base and blend well. Cook all of this together for about 10 minutes... or once you add the crawfish tails, throw all this into your crockpot and let it cook on medium heat until you are ready to serve. This is a great dish to cook ahead of time and let it just simmer for an hour or so because the longer it sits, the better those flavors come out! It is especially good on the second day as leftovers!