Crock Pot Green Pepper Chicken

I posted this recipe a couple weeks ago and made it yesterday. I actually used a whole onion like it called for, which surprised even me, because I usually substitute onions with onion powder because I like the flavoring onions give, but not the texture. Well, I figured in the crock pot they would get nice and soft and it would be fine. And it was, but the onion flavor was a little too much for me. Eric really liked it - so it just depends on your personal taste for onions! We served it with rice and corn tortillas, but found that it was even better with tortilla chips. So next time I'll probably just use onion powder and I think I might consider shredding up the chicken more and actually using it as more of a dip. Anyway, definitely a keeper!

Crock Pot Tilapia

I posted a crock pot tilapia recipe here a couple weeks ago - made it last week and it was good. It was not as good as this recipe which I am not finding on my blog so I don't know if I ever posted it!! It was FABULOUS! But, the crock pot dish was good because I didn't have to use the stove, etc. Eric and the girls really liked it so that's always a good thing. It's definitely worth a shot if you like fish - or if you are like me and you are not a huge fan of fish - this is a good one to mask the fishy taste and smell! Enjoy!

Shepherd's Pie

I was going to make Shepherd's Pie in the crockpot today but I forgot to get it started early - so I found a different recipe here. It is not a crockpot recipe but it only requires use of the oven for about 15 minutes so it wasn't too bad. It was super easy and tasty. I added a little bit of garlic powder to my meat mixture too - very good. :-) Enjoy.

Blackberry Crumb Pie

We have 3 blackberry bushes in our back yard that produce super delicious blackberries every summer. There are usually too many for us to really just eat by themselves - so I've tried freezing them but then forget about them, they get frostbite, etc. Sooo, this year Eric suggested I make a pie. I thought, hmm, I've never really made pie before, and I really don't like fruit pies. Well, let me clarify: I love key lime pie, lemon meringue pie and other cream pies, but pies with chunks of fruit - blech...but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. So I found a recipe in my Southern Living cookbook that looked fabulous. I forgot to take a "before" picture, but here is the pie after we sliced into it. It. was. delicious.



First I made the crust using a recipe also in Southern Living:

Pastry Shell

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tablespoon vinegar

Combine flour and sugar; add butter and vinegar, mixing well. Roll pastry out to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Lightly grease pie pan and press pastry into pan.

Now for the filling:

Blackberry Crumb Pie

1 cup sugar
1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cups fresh blackberries
1 unbaked 9-inch pastry shell (see above)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted

Combine first 4 ingredients; stir well. Place blackberries in unbaked pastry shell; sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over berries. Spread sour cream mixture over berries. Combine breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon sugar, and butter; sprinkle over top. Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until center of pie is firm.

So, a couple things I learned: my crust got a little darker than I would have liked...so maybe I should have checked it before 45 minutes...but it was not burned and it still tasted great.

I doubled the crumb topping mixture. I put the first load on and it just didn't seem like enough so I loaded it up with another round!

Now, I said I don't like fruit pie - but this fruit pie...I love. The sour cream combined with the sugar makes an absolutely to-die-for creamy filling. Also, we served it cold which I think helped my enjoy it more (I reallllly don't like hot fruit). Anyway, a piece of this pie served with a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream = HEAVEN!

Oh, and I imagine that this would be good with any kind of fruit. The cookbook mentions blueberries specifically, but I suppose any fruit would be yummy.

Summer Cookin'

It is so hot here in Fresno - and to make matters worse, my kitchen is the hottest room in the house in the evening. So, I try to turn my oven on as little as possible. I did some searching on the internet for some crock pot recipes and there is a great site - The Crockpot Lady. She decided that for one year she would use her crockpot every single day and try different recipes every day! Sounds like insanity to me, but I'm grateful for her recipes! So, I've decided to share with you 4 of the recipes I'm going to be making over the next couple weeks. I have not tried them before, so I make no guarantees, but she does have a verdict on each one and says they're good! I'll post my own reviews after I make them. Enjoy!

Green Pepper Chicken

Coconut Red Beans and Rice

Foil Packet Tilapia

Shepherd's Pie