Slow-Cooked Beef and Wine Ragu

what you need

3

Tbsp. oil, divided

1

lb. pearl onions, peeled, halved

2

lb. boneless beef chuck eye roast, cut into 1-1/2 inch cubes

1

can (6 oz.) tomato paste

2

cloves garlic, minced

2

cups beef stock

1/2

cup dry red wine

4

oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed

1/4

tsp. each Salt and pepper

6

cups hot cooked rotini pasta

make it

HEAT 1 Tbsp. oil in Dutch oven or large deep skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions; cook and stir 5 to 6 min. or until golden brown. Remove from pan.

HEAT remaining oil in pan. Add meat, in batches; cook 8 to 10 min. or until evenly browned, stirring frequently. Remove from pan. Add tomato paste and garlic; cook 1 min. Return meat to pan. Add stock and wine; stir. Bring to boil; cover. Simmer on medium-low heat 1-1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add onions; cook 20 min., stirring occasionally.

REMOVE small amount of liquid from pan. Add to cream cheese in small bowl; mix well. Return to pan; cook 10 min., stirring occasionally. Serve with past

SPECIAL EXTRA

Cook 1/2 lb. quartered fresh mushrooms with the onions.

SERVING SUGGESTION

Serve with roasted fresh vegetables or a mixed green salad tossed with your favorite KRAFT Light Dressing.

Apple crisp

what you need

1

pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

1/2

cup sugar, divided

1

tsp. ground cinnamon

10

 Granny Smith apples (3 lb.), peeled, sliced

1

cup fresh or frozen cranberries

6

Tbsp. butter, melted, divided

12

 NILLA Wafers, coarsely chopped

1/4

cup PLANTERS Sliced Almonds

make it

MIX dry pudding mix, 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Toss fruit with 1/4 cup butter in large bowl. Add pudding mixture; mix lightly. Spoon into slow cooker; cover with lid. Cook on LOW 4 to 6 hours (or HIGH 2 to 3 hours).

MEANWHILE, combine chopped wafers, nuts, remaining butter and sugar in shallow microwaveable dish. Microwave on HIGH 1 min.; stir. Microwave 1-1/2 to 2 min. or until golden brown, stirring every 30 sec. Cool.

SPRINKLE with nut mixture just before serving.

SPECIAL EXTRA

Top each serving with a dollop of thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping.

APPLE VARIETIES

Look for apples that are firm and well colored with smooth, blemish-free skins. Choose the variety that best suits your needs. All-purpose apples for both eating raw and cooking uses include Cortland, Granny Smith, Jonathan, Fuji, Gravenstein, Empire, Jonagold, McIntosh, Pippin, Spy and Winesap. Best snacking and salad apples are Gala, Golden Delicious and Red Delicious. When cooking, use Rhode Island Greening, Rome Beauty or York Imperial.

Meatball Sub Simmer

what you need

1

jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce

1

cup water

36

 frozen cooked meatballs (1 lb.)

6

 sandwich buns, partially split

1/2

cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

make it

MIX spaghetti sauce and water in slow cooker; stir well. Add meatballs; stir gently until evenly coated. Cover with lid.

COOK on LOW for 6 to 8 hours (or on HIGH for 2 to 4 hours).

FILL buns with meatballs and sauce; sprinkle with cheese.

SPECIAL EXTRA

Prepare as directed, adding 1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese with spaghetti sauce and water; stir well.

SERVING SUGGESTION

Serve with a bagged green salad tossed with your favorite KRAFT Dressing.

VARIATION

Add 1 chopped red pepper and/or onion to spaghetti sauce meatball mixture, and heat as directed.

Slow-Cooker Cheesy Chicken & Potatoes

what you need

1

large green pepper, chopped

1

lb. red potatoes (about 3), very thinly sliced

1

tsp. paprika

8

small bone-in chicken thighs (2 lb.), skin removed

1

can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup

1/4

lb. (4 oz.) VELVEETA®, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1

Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/4

cup chopped fresh parsley

make it

PLACE peppers in slow cooker sprayed with cooking spray; top with potatoes. Sprinkle paprika over chicken. Place 4 thighs in slow cooker; cover with soup and remaining thighs. Cover with lid.

COOK on LOW 6 to 8 hours (or on HIGH 3 to 4 hours).

USE slotted spoon to transfer chicken and vegetables to platter; cover to keep warm. Set slow cooker on HIGH heat. Add VELVEETA and Worcestershire sauce to reserved liquid in slow cooker; stir. Cover with lid; cook 5 min. Stir until VELVEETA is completely melted and sauce is well blended. Spoon over chicken and vegetables; top with parsley.

SUBSTITUTE

Prepare using smoked paprika.

Cinnamon Bun White Hot Chocolate

I saw this decadent cinnamon bun white hot chocolate some time ago. I wanted to make it in the crock pot and I couldn't find the time (or cool enough weather) to make it immediately. Man how I wish I would've found an excuse earlier! This stuff was to die for delicious. I mean TO DIE FOR DELICIOUS!

I tweaked the recipe a bit and made a much larger batch than the original

Here is how I did it:

• 1/2 gallon of milk (I used skim, lactose free milk.... any would work though)
• 8 cinnamon sticks
• 2 1/4 cups of premium white chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
• 4 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
• pinch of sea salt
• marshmallow fluff, chopped pecans and caramel dip for garnishing

Pour the milk into a 3 quart crock pot. Add the cinnamon sticks.

Cover and turn to low. Cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. You are infusing the milk with the cinnamon flavor DON'T SKIP THIS STEP!

Remove the cinnamon sticks and add the chocolate chips, brown sugar, vanilla extract and grond cinnamon. Let cook for 30 - 45 minutes covered. When chocolate chips start to melt whisk to incorporate and add the sea salt.

Let cook for an additional 30 minutes covered.

Whisk again and ladle into heatproof mugs and garnish each mug full with a dollop of marshmallow fluff, pecans and drizzled caramel.

I definitely will be making this again and again and again. Everyone loved it! It probably should have served 8 people a 1 cup serving, but my mugs were ginormous so it served 5 people perfect.

Crock Pot Star Crunch® Snack Cakes

Here is how I did it:

• 2 jars of crock pot caramel (easy peasy recipe can be found here)
• 1 1/2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1 3/4 cups of a crispy rice cereal

Pour the caramel and chocolate chips into a 1 1 /2 - 2 quart crock pot.

Place the lid on and turn to low.

Cook for 1 - 2 hours until chocolate chips start melting well. Stir to incorporate as they're melting. I checked after about 40 minutes.

Once it's completely melted turn the heat off and stir in the crispy rice cereal.  Make sure the cereal is completely coated.

You can either pour onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet or drop by the spoonfuls into lined muffin tins. I put cupcake liners in my muffin tin and it was perfect for portion control 

Potatoe TOpped, Vegetable Beef Stroganoff.

Ingredients

 

1

medium baking potato

1

teaspoon olive or vegetable oil

4

oz beef flank steak, cut across grain into thin bite-size strips

1

cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1

small onion, cut into thin wedges

1/2

teaspoon garlic powder

1/8

teaspoon pepper

1

can (18.5 oz) Progresso® Light savory vegetable barley soup

1/4

cup fat-free sour cream

2

tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 1 Generously pierce potato with fork; place on microwavable paper towel. Microwave on High 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until tender. Cover; let stand covered 5 minutes.
• 2 Meanwhile, in 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over high heat. Add beef, mushrooms and onion; sprinkle with garlic powder and pepper. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, just until beef is browned and vegetables begin to soften.
• 3 Stir in soup. Heat to boiling. Cook uncovered over high heat 7 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream.
• 4 To serve, place 1/2 potato on each serving plate. Top each with 1 1/2 cups beef mixture; sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon parsley.

FOR crockpot, cube potatoes into large chunks, place meat, mushrooms, onions, garlis and pepper together add soup. turn on low for 8 hours, high 4 hours, add sour cream 10 minutes before serving.

Easy Baked Chicken and Potato Dinner for Two

 

2

boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1/2 pound)

2

tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/2

cup Bisquick Heart Smart® mix or Original Bisquick® mix

3/4

pound small red potato, cut into fourths

1

small red or green bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1

small onion, cut into 8 wedges

Cooking spray

2

tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, if desired

1/2

teaspoon paprika

• 1Heat oven to 400ºF. Spray baking dish, 13x9x2 inches, with cooking spray.
• 2Brush chicken with 1 tablespoon of the mustard, then coat with Bisquick mix. Place 1 chicken breast half in each corner of pan. Place potatoes, bell pepper and onion in center of pan; brush vegetables with remaining mustard. Spray chicken and vegetables with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with cheese and paprika.
• 3Bake 35 to 40 minutes, stirring vegetables after 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender and juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

Sausage and Beef Crock Pot Chili Beans

In the winter time I am constantly looking for an excuse to make chili beans. With the Super Bowl coming up I figured it was the perfect time to make a crock pot of sausage and beef chili beans with the Carroll Shelby's Chili Kit (which I LUHUHUHV!).

Since I called this go around a test run and promised to make it again on Super Bowl Sunday the hubs and Miss Maddy were okay with that. They're a little accustomed (or spoiled... just sayin') to having these crock pot chili beans on Super Bowl Sunday.

Here is how I did it:

• 1 Carroll Shelby's Chili Kit
• 1 pound of ground turkey sausage, cooked and drained
• 1 pound of ground chuck, cooked and drained
• 1 medium sized onion, peeled and diced
• 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• 15 ounce can of stewed tomatoes
• 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
• (2) 15 ounce cans of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• (2) 15 ounce cans of pinto beans, drained and rinsed

In a 5 - 6 quart crock pot add the sausage, ground chuck, onion, crushed tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and the packet of large seasonings from the chili kit.

Cover and cook on low 7 - 9 hours or on high for 3 - 4 hours.

The last hour of cooking add the canned beans, just to heat them through.

*NOTES*

1. There will be 3 more packets in the chili kit. Salt, masa and chili powder. Before adding beans taste the chili and see if it needs any more seasoning from the salt or more heat with the additional package of chili powder. Add as needed.
2. If the chili is to thin for your liking, sprinkle some (or all) of the package of the masa over top of the chili and stir in to incorporate. This will thicken it within a few minutes of adding.
3. If the chili is too thick for your liking, add additional tomato sauce, chicken or beef stock or even water. I would start with a 1/4 cup at a time until the consistency you desire is reached.

Serve topped with cheese, sour cream, salsa, chopped green onions and tortilla chips.