Last week's recipes

Wow it's been a crazy week and again I am behind. I haven't had a chance to get my recipes on here until now so here they are:

Brats and Sauerkraut 

This recipe is so easy. You take a package of Brats and you line them in the bottom of a crock pot. Then you take a jar of  Sauerkraut and you dump it on top of the Brats, juice and all. Then you let it cook on low for 7-8 hours. Season with some pepper. You can eat it on a toasted  bun or just as is.

Country Style Pork Ribs with Mashed Potatoes and Corn

1 cup Ketchup

1 onion, diced

2 cups water

1 cup brown sugar

1-2 tsp liquid smoke

1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce

 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

  1 tsp chili powder

   1 can coke

In a crock pot pour coke over the ribs. Bake 6-7 hours. Pour off excess juices. Mix above ingredients and pour over ribs. Bake 45-60 minutes more.

Manicotti with Green Beans

Red Sauce (recipe below)

2 packages (10 oz each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed (optional)

2 cups small curd creamed cottage cheese

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (optional, I don't use this)

1/4 tsp pepper

14 uncooked manicotti shells

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Make red sauce. Heat oven to 350 F. Squeeze spinach to drain, spread on paper towels and pat to dry. Mix spinach, cottage cheese, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, nutmeg and pepper. Spread about one-third of the sauce in ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Fill uncooked manicotti shells with spinach mixture (I just use my hands and pack the mixture down into the shells with my finger.....it's the easiest way I have found to fill the shells). Place shells in sauce in dish. Pour remaining sauce evenly over shells, covering the shells completely. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake for 1 hour 30 minutes or until shells are tender.

Red Sauce

My family loves this sauce. Josh has always hated any type of red sauce since he was younger. I made this sauce one night and substituted cooked Italian sausage chunks and he loved it and couldn't get enough. You can use this sauce for any of your pasta dishes.

1 lb ground beef (you could substitute Italian sausage cut into chunks and browned)

1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 (14oz) cans of diced tomatoes Italian style, undrained

1 (8 oz) can mushroom pieces and stems, drained (optional, I don't use this)

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 Tbsp chopped fresh or 1 tsp dried basil leaves

1 tsp salt

Cook beef, onion and garlic in a skillet over med heat until beef is brown; drain. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Crock Pot Cabbage Soup

1 lb ground beef

3 1/2 cups water

2 cups coarsely chopped green cabbage

1 cup sliced carrot

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp dried dill

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp pepper

3 (10.5oz) cans beef consomme, undiluted

2 (14.5oz) cans diced tomatoes (I like the Italian style ones)

1/2 cup uncooked white rice

salt and pepper to taste

Beef Consume: Beef consomme is not the same as Beef broth. I have found that Campbell's makes a beef consomme and that's the brand I usually use. However check with your grocery store to see if they carry it, not all of them do. For instance I for mine at Macey's but Walmart didn't carry it.

Brown meat; drain well. Place meat in a 4 quart slow cooker; stir in water the remaining ingredients except the rice. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. Increase heat to high setting; stir in rice. Cover and cook an additional 30 minutes or until rice is tender.

Iowa BBQ Pork Chops with Baked Potatoes and Peas

4 pork chops, 3/4 to 1 inch thick (I think we had 8 thin pork chops and had enough sauce for it)

1/2 packet Amazing Taste for Pork (seasoning packet found at the fresh meat counter at Macey's)

Sauce:

1/2 cup ketchup

2 Tbsp vinegar (I just used Rice vinegar)

3 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce

3 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp orange peel

4 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Moisten pork chops with water and coat well with seasoning mix. Place in shallow baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Combine sauce ingredients in sauce pan and heat for 5 minutes. Pour into blender and puree. Cover pork chops with sauce and continue baking for 10 minutes.

Chicken and Rice Casserole

I got this recipe off of the back of a Campbell's Soup can and my family loves it.

1 can Campbell's cream of chicken soup

1 1/3 cups water

3/4 cup uncooked regular long grain white rice (NOT MINUTE RICE!)

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

2 cups frozen vegetables

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Stir soup, water, rice, onion powder, pepper and vegetables in a 9x13 baking dish. Top with uncooked chicken. Season chicken as desired with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cover. Bake at 375 F for 50 minutes or until chicken and rice are done. Top with cheese. Let stand for 10 minutes. Stir rice before serving.