A To Z - R is for Recipes

I really don't care to cook at all, but I've had to learn to (haven't we all?).  After sharing my microwave recipes for M I want to share some other recipes that I actually enjoy cooking for R.

__________

First we have Chicken and Rice Casserole  (my ultimate favorite comfort food)

A lot of people cook their rice in the casserole dish with the chicken, but I like to do it separately.  I also like to use bone in chicken for the flavor instead of boneless, skinless chicken breasts like most people.  So I cook the rice and chicken (it can be seasoned however you like, I use poultry seasoning and garlic since I love garlic!) separately.  When they are done I take the chicken out of my casserole dish but leave the juice in it, then add the rice, a can of condensed chicken soup, a can of condensed mushroom soup, butter (this is optional), salt and pepper.  Doing it this way I don't normally add water, except for the little bit I put in the soup cans to swirl around to make sure I get all of the soup.  Stir well then add the chicken back into the rice and put it in the oven uncovered at 400F (should already be hot from cooking the chicken) and let it bake for 20 minutes.  That's to warm up the soup and meld all of the flavors together.  It is DELICIOUS!!!!  Also I wrote this from memory so I'm really hoping I didn't forget anything...

__________

Next we have Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies (yummy!)

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups oatmeal
Waxed paper

Directions
In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, then let cool and harden (or eat it with a spoon while it's hot like I do sometimes hehe).

__________

Now how about Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings?  Again I do mine differently than most people, so I'm going to post a popular recipe and then tell you what I do different.  :)

Ingredients
 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
 2 tablespoons butter
 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
 2 (10 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces

Directions
Place the chicken, butter and soup in a slow cooker.  Fill with enough water to cover. Cover and cook for 5 to 6 hours on High until chicken is fully cooked. About 30 minutes before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

What I do is use bone in chicken once again (I've never been fond of boneless, skinless chicken breast...).  I cook the chicken by itself in the crock pot until it's done (it's very tender when cooked in the crock pot).  The cooking time varies by how much you do and if it's frozen.  Once it's done I fish all of the chicken out of the juice and set it aside to cool so I can tear all of the meat off of the bones.  I add the soup and butter to the chicken juice and let it all start warming up.  After tearing the chicken off the bone I put it back in the crock pot and let it all get hot again.  When it's really hot, almost bubbling, I start tearing the biscuit dough up and dropping it in.  Once it's all in I gently stir (actually stir frequently while dropping them in otherwise they stick together) and let it cook for another thirty minutes.  I keep the crock pot on the highest setting the whole time, but it will depend on how hot yours gets.  This is delicious for easy chicken and dumplings!  It's obviously not as amazing as home made dumplings, but that's just too much work for me hehe.

__________

Next is Baked Ravioli!

Ingredients
1 bag (25 Oz. Bag) Frozen Ravioli
1 jar (26 Oz. Jar) Marinara Sauce
2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese, For Sprinkling

Preparation
Heat oven to 400°F. Spray bottom and sides of a 9×13 rectangular baking dish with cooking spray.

Spread 3/4 cup of the pasta sauce in baking dish. Arrange half of the frozen ravioli in a single layer over the sauce; top with half of the remaining pasta sauce and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers once, starting with ravioli. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot in the center. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

This is yummy as is, or if you like to experiment like me you can trade in Alfredo sauce for the marinara.  :D

__________

Next is something I tried on a whim, thinking I wouldn't really care for it much (but that my hubby would) and was surprised I actually loved it!!  It's Crockpot Ravioli Casserole.

Ingredients
1½ lbs. lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt/pepper
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed (I used fresh spinach)
16 oz. bowtie pasta, cooked
½ cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1½ cup mozzarella, shredded

Directions               
Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Put in crock-pot and add sauce, tomatoes and seasonings. Cook for 6-7 hours on low (it's been a while but I don't think I cooked it that long...). Add the last 4 ingredients during the last 30 minutes of cooking and turn crock-pot to high. Add the fresh spinach (I used frozen, it's all I had), pasta, parmesan and 1 cup of the mozzarella and mix it all up really well. Then add the last 1/2 cup of mozzarella to melt on the top. This is delicious!  It also makes a
 huge pot of food so be ready for leftovers (of course I was only cooking for two, if you have kids there might not be leftovers).

__________

l'm going to do one more!  The thing is, I have not tried this one yet, so I have no idea how good it is, but it sounds great!  So if you try it before I do, let me know how it is.  :D  It's a Crockpot Queso!

Ingredients
1 block (32 Oz. Block) Velveeta Cheese
1 package (8 Oz. Package) Cream Cheese
1 can (10 Oz. Can) Rotel
1 can (10.75 Oz. Can) Cream Of Mushroom Soup
1 pound Ground Beef OR Sausage (or A Combination Of Both)

Preparation
Brown ground beef or sausage (or both) in a pan over medium heat and set aside. Cut up the Velveeta and cream cheese into cubes and place into a crock pot. Pour in the Rotel and the cream of mushroom soup and stir ingredients together. Place the crock pot on low setting for an hour, letting the ingredients meld. After about 30 minutes, add the browned meat and continue to let cook, stirring as needed.

I'm hoping to try it soon!  Anyway I really hope you get the chance to try some of these and if you do I hope you love them as much as I do!