Recipes

I like to cook, but with these 2 crazy kiddos, I am all about fast/easy/not a whole lot of dishes, etc. I have discovered some really good recipes that have been on repeat here, so I thought I would share a few of them here:

*Smothered Buttermilk Chicken*

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast

3 medium carrots, sliced (I usually just throw in a bag of baby carrots)

1/3 cup onion, chopped (I don't measure-just throw in half of an onion, chopped)

1/2 cup water or chicken stock

2 tbsp butter

1 bay leaf

1 pkg of chicken gravy mix

1/3 cup buttermilk

2 tsp flour

1 cup frozen peas

salt, pepper to taste

1. In a 4-6 qt crock pot, combine chicken, carrots, onion, water, butter, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Mix well.
2. Cover, cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 20 minutes before serving, remove and discard bay leaf and stir gravy mix into crock pot.
3. Blend together buttermilk and flour until smooth. Stir into crock pot.
4. Add frozen peas, increase heat to high and cook until peas are done.

*Tangy BBQ Chicken* 1 1/2 cups of your favorite bbq sauce 1/2 cup Italian salad dressing 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1.5-2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breast (we have used pork tenderloin too and it was yummy!)

1. Place chicken in crock pot.
2. Mix all of the other ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
3. Usually 1-2 hours before we plan to eat, I use 2 forks and shred up the chicken.

This is sooooooo yummy...better than any bbq around here! We have eaten it on salads, sandwiches, or tacos and it is really good! It freezes well too!

*Lasagna* We love this because it is so easy!! My Mom gave me the recipe:)

2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce 2 eggs 32 oz ricotta cheese 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese 1 lb. ground beef 12 lasagna noodles (no need to cook them!)

1. Brown ground beef. Add sauce to ground beef.
2. Mix 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, eggs, and ricotta in a large bowl.
3. Cover the bottom of a lasagna dish (I use a 13x9 inch dish) with sauce mixture.
4. Put 4 noodles on top, then add more of the sauce mixture.
5. Add half of the cheese mixture, then 4 more noodles.
6. Add more of the sauce, the rest of the cheese mixture, then 4 more noodles. Then add the rest of the sauce.
7. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
8. Uncover, sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese on top and bake for 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.

This freezes well too:)

And some pictures from today:

I love this one because of all the marker marks:) She loves coloring pretty much all day, so this is what her hands usually look like:)