Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie

I have posted several recipes today so make sure you scroll down to see them!

4 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into cubes
10 medium red potatoes, quartered
1 (8 ounce) package baby carrots
1 cup chopped celery
2 (26 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
6 cubes chicken bouillon
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen mixed vegetables
Directions
1.Combine the chicken, potatoes, carrots, celery, chicken soup, chicken bouillon, garlic salt, celery salt, and black pepper in a slow cooker; cook on High for 5 hours.
2.Stir the frozen mixed vegetables into the slow cooker, and cook 1 hour more.

Classic Pear Crisp

Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
8 cups peeled and sliced pears
1 pint vanilla ice cream
Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart casserole dish or 9 inch square baking dish.
2.In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1 teaspoon crystallized ginger, and cinnamon. Stir in the butter until the mixture is crumbly with pea sized lumps. Set aside.
3.In a separate bowl, stir together the white sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and 2 teaspoons of crystallized ginger. Add the sliced pears, and toss to blend. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Spread with the oat topping.
4.Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until pears are soft and topping is golden brown. Cool slightly before serving with vanilla ice cream.

I left out the ginger- and it was just fine! :)

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I got this recipe from my friend Jane's blog: http://cjaneinthekitchen.blogspot.com/ she got it from the pioneer woman's tasty kitchen blog www.pioneerwoman.com.

We love these and have had them so many times since I saw this on my friend's blog that I decided I needed to add it to my blog so I could find it easy when I wanted to make them. enjoy!

1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
3 Tablespoons Sugar
½ teaspoons Salt
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
2 whole Eggs Beaten
1 cup Milk
2 Tablespoons Corn Syrup
¼ cups Butter, Melted
1 Tablespoon Vanilla


In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon with a whisk. Whisk well to make sure everything is combined.
In separate large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, corn syurp, butter and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium/low heat. Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto griddle. Brown on both sides.

Makes about 12-13 pancakes if you use 1/4 cup per pancake.

Maple Butter Icing


1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
dash salt
1 TBS maple syrup
1/4 cups milk, more if needed

I doubled the recipe and you may want to add more maple syrup.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

Get ready for the pumpkin recipes! They are my favorite so I collect them like crazy!

This one came from
T.D.F.Recipes (To Die For)
http://rachelleunderwood.blogspot.com/ She has wonderful recipes go visit her blog! :)

1 cup all-purpose flour


1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup canned pumpkin purée (8 ounces), not pie filling

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese

1 lb powdered sugar (more or less)

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 c butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined. Divide the batter among the prepared tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely. For the frosting, combined softened cream cheese, with softened butter, whip together until smooth. Add powdered sugar gradually, while beating. Add vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice. Adjust the sweetness of frosting you your taste, add more powdered sugar if needed. Spread frosting on cupcakes, be generous.

Menu Planning

I am jumping back on the menu planning wagon- it got away from me for awhile and meals have been anything but planned. Many times for the last 9 or so months due to lack of planning we have ended up eating out quite a bit....not a good habit to get in to for many reasons! :) So I am re-commiting to planning ahead- hey it will even save some money too- that is something we can all use more of! I am going to post a separate static page with menu planning ideas and possibly my template I made to help me plan if I can figure out how to post it! :)

Pretzel Bread

This past weekend I had a chicken sandwich on a pretzel bread bun and it was so good! I decided that I needed to find a recipe so I could make my own at home. You can make loaves, buns, rolls etc out of it! Try these- they make the best bread for a sandwich! :)

makes 2 small loaves

2 ¼ tsp yeast
1 cup water (110-120 degrees)
2 Tbsp room temperature milk
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
3 Tbsp butter
1 tsp kosher salt
2 ½ – 3 cups bread flour

4 quarts water
½ cup baking soda

Kosher salt to taste
2 Tbsp melted butter

Add yeast, water, milk, brown sugar and butter into a large bowl, whisking until all ingredients are combined. Let mixture rest for 10 minutes for yeast to activate. Mix in kosher salt. Start by adding two cups of the flour to the bowl, combining it with other ingredients. Add more flour as it’s needed, reserving just a bit for coating the dough mat later.

The dough should form a slightly tacky, but firm ball. Oil the bowl, place the dough ball in the bowl, and cover with a damp towel for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, knead the dough by hand or machine for at least 5-10 minutes until the dough is elastic and satiny. Place dough back in the bowl and recover for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bring the 4 quarts of water to a boil. When the water is boiling, slowly add the baking soda.

Remove the dough from the bowl and gently degas it. Form two separate balls of dough, forming them into the shape you want. Drop one of the smaller balls into the baking soda bath for no longer than 30 seconds, turning it once to guarantee both sides covered. Drain the excess water from the dough and place it on an oiled baking sheet. Repeat with second ball of dough.

Sprinkle the kosher salt over the bread to your specific tastes, and make sure to use a knife to cut a small incision on the top of the bread so the dough has somewhere to expand.

Cook the bread for 22 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once.

Once removed from the oven, immediately brush the melted butter over the loaves to guarantee a soft crust.

Source: http://twobites.wordpress.com/2007/07/13/signature-pretzel-bread/