Taco Soup

I got this recipe from a neighbor years ago and have been meaning to make it for my family for quite some time. It's great because it is something you can make out of food you can store, so it's not something you need fresh items from the grocery store for.
The original recipe calls for a can of stewed tomatoes (undrained) instead of salsa, but my husband does not like tomatoes, and I don't like them cooked so I made a last minute substitution with the salsa I found in our fridge! An added benefit was the salsa gave it a little spice :)

1 lb ground beef
Taco seasoning
1 can corn
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 cup salsa
Sour cream
Corn chips
Tortillas
Cheese

• Brown ground beef and season with taco seasoning according to packaging.
• Combine corn (undrained) with both cans of beans (rinsed), salsa, and browned beef in a large pot.
• Heat over medium heat until and let simmer.
• Serve with sour cream, chips, cheese and tortillas as desired.

Dijon-Tarragon Chicken

I got this recipe out of a Rachel Ray magazine. We had some frozen chicken I wanted to get rid of and slow cooker dishes are my favorite way to use frozen chicken with very little work. This dish is a fabulous dish for a day you know you'll have a little time in the evening, but still don't want to do a lot of work. Most of the work is done in the morning with a little bit left right before you eat. The chicken literally falls apart when you touch it, it's wonderful!

Morning/Afternoon
1/2 cup & 2 Tbsp chicken broth
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
Salt & pepper
4 lbs chicken
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

• Pour broth in to slow cooker.
• In small bowl, combine mustard, 1 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper.
• Rub chicken with mustard and place in slow cooker.
• Top with garlic and tarragon.
• Cover and cook on low for about five hours.

Evening
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 lemon
1 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

• Transfer chicken to a serving plate and cover to keep warm.
• Strain pan juices into a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer.
• In a small bowl, combine the cream and cornstarch. Whisk into the saucepan and cook until thickened.
• Stir in juice from the lemon and pour over the chicken.
• Top the chicken with tarragon, parsley, and zest from lemon.

Glazed Pork Loin

Last time I made a meal with pork loin all I could find was a cut about 2 feet long and about 4 inches wide. I ended up cutting that in to three pieces and freezing the two I didn't use. I used one of the frozen pieces from that to make this meal. I stuck it in the slow cooker, frozen rock hard and it turned out fabulous! Incredibly tender even. I'm not sure if that's exactly the cut of meat they mean by pork loin, but that is what I used...

The original recipe was found in Every Day with Rachel Ray. I made a few changes to make it fit our day and our family which included moving it from the oven to the slow cooker and changing the vegetables that went with it.

1 & 1/2 lbs pork loin
Salt & Pepper
4 Tbsp grainy mustard
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
2 lbs red potatoes
4 sprigs thyme
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

• Season pork all over with salt and pepper. Place in center of slow cooker.
• In small bowl, mix together vinegar, mustard, and brown sugar. Brush over pork.
• Cut potatoes in to quarters and scatter around pork, sprinkle with oil, any remaining mustard glaze, salt, pepper, and stir to coat. Sprinkle with sprigs of thyme.
• Cover and cook on a medium to low setting for 6 to 8 hours.

Sage Pork Chops

First, I'm putting this under fast/easy, but note it does take a bit to cook. The prep time is very minimal though, so I thought it fit under this category well enough!

I finally managed to get back in to a cooking mood. It's been a while since we've eaten much at home, so I made myself sit down and make a grocery list. We hadn't had pork chops in a while, and I wanted to make something we'd never had before, so I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. The original was definitely WAY too salty, so I've adjusted the recipe to account for that. I also felt that while good, the chops were a little dry, so I adjusted the time too.

1 tsp salt
2 tsp dried sage
2 tsp ground black pepper
6 pork chops
2 Tbsp butter (we used extra virgin olive oil)
1 cup water
2 cubes beef bouillon

• Combine the salt, sage, and pepper. Rub on both sides of each pork chop.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet and brown the pork chops (approx 5 minutes on each side).
• Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, bring water and bouillon to a boil.
• Pour bouillon mixture in with pork chops, cover, and let simmer for approximately 20 minutes on medium or until tender and cooked through.