Dustin decided to cook tonight (& he did the dishes!!)

Dustin, my husband, decided to cook tonight!! I love when he cooks (its nice to sit back and watch). I have noticed over time that 9x out of 10 he will cook everything together (in one pan/pot) (well he doesn't like some foods mixed- but some he does it weird :) ) - I have came to the conclusion that this is because it doesn't create as big of a mess as it does when I cook! Seriously- he barely had any dirty dishes! He likes using our 12 inch skillet because it cleans up so well and holds a ton of food in it! Well, I don't know what to even call his creation- all i know is that it was good and the kids ate it all up! serves 5! here's the ingredients

One bag of frozen mixed veggies (he used asparagus mix)
1/2 chopped onion
3 cloves of garlic minced
2 cups of chicken broth
A little Italian herbs pampered chef seasoning
3 uncooked chicken breast diced up
Penne pasta (like 1/2 box 8 oz)
2 cups of water

Pasta sauce of choice
Parmesan cheese if desired

Directions
- put veggies, onions , garlic and broth and seasoning in large skillet (mines the executive 12 inch from pampered chef)
- let cook for 5-10 minutes until nice and hot
-add chicken stir and cover with lid checking and stirring occasionally
-once chicken is cooked (turns white) add pasta and 2 cups of water (to cover pasta) cook for additional 12 minutes (he let it boil for the 12 minutes)

Now use something to drain it and put it on the plate add sauce cheese etc! We used the scoop and drain from pampered chef!

BBQ Pork in the Deep Covered Baker

Typically I use chicken breast for this- however this evening I was out of chicken and had boneless pork chops that needed to be cooked.. So my mind started turning and I REALLY wanted to cook something in my DCB (deep covered baker) so I decided to do BBQ pork.. Not ever doing this before, I pulled out my trusty meat thermometer to make sure it would be done! And I wanted to see if the pork chops cooked as well as the chicken! (My kids loved loved loved it!!!)
-3 boneless pork chops- mine were very thick.
-1/2 onion chopped (tonight I had some already chopped and frozen so I jut pulled them out and de-thawed them!)
-few tablespoons of olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the baker)
- 2 tablespoons of the pampered chefs Smokey BBQ rub
- a little of the pampered chefs Crushed Pepper corn and Garlic
-2 cloves of garlic (you will mince this)

Sauce-
-1 cup of ketchup
-1/4 cup of brown sugar
-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
-2 tablespoons of smokey barbecue rub
Mix all together!
Directions FOR BBQ
-put oil in DCB
-put chopped onions in DCB
-put pork chops in DCB
-sprinkle smokey BBQ rub and crushed peppercorn and garlic on chops
-mince garlic on chops
-flip the chops a few times and run the seasoning in
-pop in microwave for about 12-17 minutes (if you have a thermometer then check temp and its ready when it reaches 160 degrees !
-once done drain any extra liquid (I didn't do this and had to try afterwards)
-now chop with salad choppers
-pour sauce over meat and mix up!

Stuff! (however that onion got put back up since I realized I already had some chopped in the freezer!)



Oil and Onions

Pork Chops (next time I will trim the fat with some kitchen shears but it wasnt bad)

Seasoned, flipped a few times and garlic (then flip a few more times)

Ready for the Microwave!

SAUCE!! ketchup!

Brown sugar in our mini measure all!

Smokey BBQ Rub!

Apple Cider Vin. I LOVE this little measure for measuring small amounts of liquid

Mix it up!

handy dandy meat thermometer! It has a recommended temp chart on the cover!

160! Perfect! be sure to check more than one! (and put it in the middle!) drain that extra liquid out!

Chop with Salad Choppers (this is SO much better than it looks!)

add the sauce

he would not be happy if he knew I took this! But I had to prove that it is good!!!

Breakfast casserole in the Deep Covered Baker (UNDER 20 MINUTES-IN THE MICROWAVE!!)

This month you could possibly score the $85 dollar Deep Covered Baker for just 34 bucks!!! (Contact me to find out how!!) so I want to do a few recipes to show just why I LOVE this baker!
Why do I love it? Well first of All it has a lid- which helps keep the heat in while it cooks!
2- it's part of Pampered Chefs Stone ware collection- it acts sort of like a "brick" oven when you cook with it! And it fits in my microwave- YES stone ware can go in the microwave! So when you stick it in your microwave- picture all the micro "waves" hitting the baker and bouncing around the baker heating it up. But the baker heating up like a very fast oven! Seriously!
3- I can use it to make so much stuff in under 20 minutes! And it's big enough it feeds my whole family!
What do I cook in it?
1- cakes! All kinds! And they're yummy! I love to take chocolate cake mix, a can of cherries and some chocolate frosting to make a chocolate cherry cake!
2-apple crisp! And it's awesome!
3-chicken fajitas
4-BBQ chicken
5-Breakfast Casserole
6-soups

Seriously, when one purchases this from me I have a huge list of recipes (compiled by other Pampered Chef Consultants!) that I can email you!

This recipe is not in there I made it up- wondering if it would work! So Enjoy- Justus, my 4 year old, stated tonight "man, this is delicious!"

So here's your ingredients (remember you can change and add ingredients to suit your taste- I personally would've added shredded or diced hash browns if I had them! And you could use sausage, turkey bacon, ham etc.)

~5 slices of bacon cut in half
~7 eggs you could add some more if you wanted it a little thicker but cooking time will need to be adjusted (watched)
~1 cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese
~1/4 cup of half n half (you can use milk or nothing at all- I just do this to add some volume)
~5 mini bell peppers or 1 regular bell pepper
~1 cup of fresh chopped spinach
~A little salt and pepper if desired :)

Lay the bacon in the bottom of the baker (it's okay if it overlaps some)
Cover and microwave for about 7 minutes

While that's cooking
-Beat the eggs in a medium bowl
-add the milk and cheese to the eggs and mix
-chop your spinach if its not done yet
-chop your peppers (I used a knife but you could totally use the food chopper)

Now get your baker out of microwave (careful it will be hot)
Drain the grease (it may be easiest to do this by removing he bacon and pour the grease out)

-chop up your bacon- I used the kitchen shears! I love them!
-pour in the eggs mixture
-add the spinach and peppers
-mix all together!!!
-now add the salt and pepper if you want

-return microwave for 9 minutes!

And you have casserole that taste like its been in the oven for an hour!!
But cooked in less than 20 minutes!

*serves approximately 6 people!

My Deep Covered Baker

The Inside (starting to get nice and seasoned!)

Bacon laid out and ready to be cooked!

Cooked Bacon! You could add a few minutes to the cook time if you wanted it crisper

 

 



Cut up the bacon (I use my kitchen shears!)

Ingredients!

Chopped/diced peppers

This is the 3 cup prep bowl I grated approximately 1 cup of cheese with the grater!

 

Fresh Spinach from the garden I washed and cut up about 1 cup of it!

Eggs (they are in my other 3 cup prep bowl)

stir all ingredients together and put into the microwave!

DONE!

It came out super easy! No Sticking! 

Yummy! 

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Chicken And Rice Soup (Until the hubs walked in!)

I Love Soup, My family Loves soup, my momma (yep, I talk about her a lot!) can whip up a soup in no time and will cook a roast or something and then cut up the left overs for soup! She has taught me everything I know about starting a soup, soup is just one of those things that you really can't screw up, and you can add as much to as you want- Meat, Beans, Rice, pasta, tomatoes, carrots, celery, onion, peas, green beans, potatoes, garlic, water, milk, butter, broth, quinoa, corn, gnocchi, etc. the list is endless! I think I want to cook an "Everything but the Kitchen Sink Soup" I just don't think you can mess it up!

Just the other day, my husband was wanting something that he was going to have to go the store for- I did NOT want to wait for him to go and get back so I said I would just make some soup.. I had been wanting something lite and decided to make Chicken and Rice Soup- when I was half way finished Dustin, husband came in and asked if I would add pasta to it- so since I think you can add anything to soup I said why not- It turned out great and I believe he had 3 bowls (plus this was a much healthier choice than what he had wanted to begin with!)


My Ingredients-
~1 cup of Rice prepared as directed on package
I use a blend of rice called TruRice from Costco that has Quinoa in it (which is high in protein and very good!)
~3 chicken breast thawed and chopped (I use the kitchen shears to do this)
~about 1/4 cup of Olive Oil (just enough to cover the bottom of my pot)
~I used chopped celery, carrots, and onion for my starter (I chopped with the Pampered Chef food chopper on a Flexible cutting mat so I could just dump it all right into the pot)
~4 cloves of garlic minced/pressed (with the Garlic Press) you could use already minced if you need
~a little salt and pepper (not much just enough to get the flavor going)
~ a tablespoon of Italian Seasoning (the pampered chefs)
~a tablespoon of dried basil (I Will use fresh herbs when I have them, its just what I prefer and i love the smell!)
~a box of broth (chicken or vegetable)
~and about 4 cups of water
~a cup of frozen peas
~now either add or omit my husbands request- 2 cups of dry Pasta- whatever kind we actually had a whole bunch of different types of pasta that Dustin mixed together in a container so when I used it in the soup we didn't know what all pasta we would find and it was really fun for the kids!

-Start by preparing your rice like the directions say to do
-dethaw and chop the chicken
-add olive oil to the pot
-now add chopped vegetables (not the peas)
-add the garlic (I just used the garlic press and pressed it straight into the pot)
-add salt and pepper and herbs
-cook for about 6 minutes on medium high to sort of saute' it together
-now add your chicken and cook until it all turns nice and white!
-now add the peas
-pour in your broth
-stir and pour in water (sort of watch this, if you are not adding the pasta it may get to thin for you)
-add your cooked rice
-and if you wish, at this time bring to a slow boil and add your pasta
-cover and let simmer (medium-medium/low heat) for at least 15- 20 minutes

PS I also think some white kidney beans would have been great as well!

my favorite rice at the moment!

those round ball things are quinoa and they are so good for you!

some ingredients

garlic pressed with the Garlic Press

Food Chopper! Chop the Veggies!

mixing it all up!

My Helper!

Chicken- another flexible cutting mat so I can dump it right into the pot

cooking

the rice is done!

add peas, broth, and rice and water!

now for the pasta! See ours is all mixed up!

All Done! I also pureed some for the baby!