IP - Super Easy Gluten Free Ziti

 If your house is anything like my house, we LOVE pasta dishes.  I think I could survive on pasta alone!  We also love cheese, I mean, who doesn't love cheese!!  SO Ziti is a wonderful option. but I hate baking pasta.  We live in AZ, so the thought of turning on the oven, especially when it's warm out sounds torturous.  

Ingredients

• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 box (16 oz) pasta (I used Gluten Free Penne)
• 1 can (14.5 oz or 28 oz) crushed tomatoes (I used 28 oz)
• 2 cups shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions

• Pur 1 tablespoon of oil into the Instant Pot & sauté the garlic for less than 1 minute.
• Pour in the chicken broth first and then the heavy whipping cream. It's important to pour them in separately.
• Add the salt and pepper into the liquid.
• Add the pasta but DO NOT STIR. If there is a mound of pasta or pasta that is sticking way out of the liquid, then gently press it down with a spoon or spatula but do not stir it into the liquid!
• Evenly pour the crushed tomatoes over the pasta, DO NOT STIR!
• Secure the lid of the Instant Pot and set the valve to the 'sealing' position. Select 'manual' (or 'pressure cooker' if that's what your IP has) and change the time to 4 minutes cook time for Gluten Free Pasta. It will take about 8 minutes to come to pressure and then the 4 minute cook time will start.
• Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes (meaning do not unseal the valve just let the IP sit there for 10 minutes after the cook time), and then quick release the remaining pressure.
• Add the parmesan cheese and stir everything together until it's well combined.
• Serve with additional parmesan cheese and/or chopped fresh basil if wanted.

Easy, Cheesy, Crockpot ham & potatoes.

 So yea, it's been 5 years, I've been busy..  Who hasn't!  Now that we are in the time of virtual school and everyone has been home, easy dinner is a must!!  I found this recipe on pinterest from Tornadoughalli for these bomb Easy, Cheesy Crockpot Potatoes.  I made them for the 40th birthday party and they were a huge hit!  So I decided to play on them a bit.  We love ham and cheesy Potatoes in our house!  So I used her potato recipe, which is SO EASY!!  But made changes to it to make it more what we would like.  

1 32 oz bag frozen diced potatoes
1 medium onion diced (we don't do onions here, so I used 1 TBSP of onion powder)
1 cup sour cream
1 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup (We used Broccoli Cheese Soup, but any cream of whatever you have it good)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
4 TBSP butter melted
3-3.5 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup water
Cubed ham (I used about half of what I had & it was plenty). 

Instructions

• In crockpot add your potatoes, onions, sour cream, soup, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, butter and 2 cups shredded cheese.
• Place lid on and cook on low for 4 hours.
• Remove lid and sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese and cover again for about 15 minutes until cheese is melted.

We always love a little Veggies with our meals, so I was going to add Peas, but I didn't have any, so we used Green beans.  I steamed them in the micro for 4 minutes and then added them to the crockpot for the remaining 30 minutes.  They were perfectly crunchy and delicious.  

Photos coming soon!  We ate it all and didn't get photos!! LoL

Crockpot Chicken and Broccoli Over Rice

Ingredients
Makes 4-6 Servings

• 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 14 ounce can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 14 ounce can Broccoli Cheese Soup
• 14 ounces Chicken Broth
• a pinch - Black Pepper, Celery Salt, White Pepper, Cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 6 cups steamed broccoli florets (Boiled in hot water for 3 minutes then drained)
• Shredded cheddar cheese (if desired - we use it to top)

Directions

1. Place soups, chicken broth, seasonings and garlic salt into a crockpot over low heat.  Whisk until smooth.  Add chicken, pressing to the bottom. Cover lid and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours.
2. When chicken is cooked, use forks to shred into pieces.  Stir in broccoli
3. Serve over steamed rice and sprinkle with cheese if desired.

[pictures coming soon]

Yummy Chicken Cream cheese in the crockpot!

I found this recipe via Pinterest.  I decided to try it and give it my own spin!

the Recipe calls for the following:
- Bag of frozen Chicken Breast Tenderloins (2.5-3lb bag)
- 8 oz block of cream cheese (don't use Fat Free! 1/3 less fat or regular is fine)
- Can of Black Beans, drained & rinsed. (or Pinto Beans if you prefer)
- Can of Corn, drained.
- Can of Rotel

Differences in mine:
I used two Large frozen breasts, 1/3 less fat cream cheese, and half jar Hot Salsa (I didn't have any Rotel).  But otherwise I used the black beans and the corn.  

Directions:
Put frozen chicken in the crock pot.
Put Cream cheese on top of the chicken.
Dump in the Black Beans (make sure they are drained & rinsed!!!)
Dump in the drained corn.
Dump in the Salsa.

Cover & cook in your Crock Pot on low for 6-8 hours.
I stirred it after 5 hours
You can shred the chicken when it is done, or just leave it as is.
This is what it looks like after 6 hours (shredded):

I served it on a 100% whole wheat tortilla with Cheese and spanish rice.  Hubby loved it!  I took photos, but must find them!

Gluten Free Tater Tot Casserole

I got this one from a friend and it has since become a family favorite!  It's so simple to make and tastes yummy!!

1 package ground beef or turkey (about 1.5 pounds) season if you want , we use ground black pepper.  

1 can green beans
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can Gluten Free cream of mushroom soup
1 cup shredded cheese (whatever is in the fridge..which for us, is usually Colby Jack)
Tater tots - Ore-Ida is Gluten Free

Cook meat and drain.
In a bowl mix meat, green beans, corn, cream of mushroom soup, and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Spread evenly in a greased 8x8 pan.
Sprinkle remainder of cheese evenly over the top.
Cover entire casserole with tater tots.
Cook according to tater tot instructions.

My family likes a lot of tots, so sometimes I do duel layers.  It just depends on how many I have!