Tender BBQ Drumsticks

These baked chicken drumsticks are delicious! I found a recipe on allrecipes.com and tweaked it to better fit out family's tastes. The meat falls right off the bone with this slow cooking method, and you can add any seasonings of your choice. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• cooking spray 
• 5 pounds chicken drumsticks 
• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning 
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning (I used Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute instead)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and ground black pepper to taste 
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour 
• 1 cup barbeque sauce 

Directions 

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (120 degrees C). Grease a baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange chicken drumsticks on the baking pan. Sprinkle Cajun seasoning, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper over chicken. Sprinkle flour on top. Spray cooking spray over chicken. Cover baking pan with aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven until juices run clear, about 2 1/2 hours. Uncover and spread barbeque sauce evenly over chicken. Continue baking, uncovered, until chicken is tender and falling off the bone, about 30 minutes more.

We served with corn on the cob, mashed potatoes and biscuits. Yum!

Yummy Beef Enchiladas

Our family loves these delicious and easy beef enchiladas!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef 
• 1/4 onion, finely chopped 
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 
• 1/2 cup sour cream 
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley 
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning 
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 
•  2 1/2 cups enchilada sauce 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder 
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 8 flour tortillas 
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 
• 1 (4 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained 
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cook and stir ground beef with onion in a skillet over medium heat until meat is crumbly and no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Drain grease. Stir 1 cup Cheddar cheese, sour cream, parsley, taco seasoning, oregano, and black pepper into the ground beef until cheese has melted. Mix in enchilada sauce, chili powder, garlic, and salt; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and simmer until meat sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Lay a tortilla onto a work surface and spoon about 1/4 cup of meat sauce down the center of the tortilla. Top meat sauce with 1 tablespoon black beans and a sprinkling of black olives. Roll the tortilla up, enclosing the filling, and lay seam-side down into a 9x13-inch baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Spoon any remaining meat sauce over the enchiladas and scatter any remaining black beans and black olives over the top. Sprinkle tortillas with 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven until cheese topping is melted and enchiladas and sauce are bubbling, 20 to 22 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Alfredo Ravioli Bake

This is a delicious meal that will leave everyone wanting more! I love how versatile it is: you can use all different kinds of ravioli, meats, and sauces. If you want, throw in some spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, or whatever else you have on hand. It's an easy and fairly quick recipe. It can also be made ahead of time and baked at dinnertime for busy weekdays. Serve with crusty garlic bread and salad, and you have an excellent meal to serve your family or even guests.

Ingredients

• 1 (25 ounce) package frozen cheese ravioli 
• 2 tablespoons butter 
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces (You could also substitute a different meat or make this meatless.)
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning 
• 1 (16 ounce) jar prepared Alfredo sauce (or other pasta sauce, if you prefer)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 
• salt and ground black pepper to taste 
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

• 1 bottle Italian salad dressing (Jennifer's addition, optional)
• sauteed mushrooms (Jennifer's addition, optional)

Directions

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil; boil the ravioli until it floats and the filling is hot, 6 to 8 minutes; drain.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken to the skillet, season with the Italian seasoning, and cook and stir until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle, about 15 minutes. (Instead of seasoning with the Italian seasoning, I chose to marinate the chicken all day in the Italian Salad dressing and then cooked it.)

Spread about 1/2 cup of Alfredo sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange enough ravioli over the sauce to cover the bottom of the dish completely. Top the ravioli with about half the cooked chicken. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese over the chicken; season with salt and pepper. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used.

(Jennifer: I also sauteed some mushrooms, following this recipe, and added them in as a layer in the middle. I loooooooooove mushrooms!)

Bake in the preheated oven until heated through completely and the mozzarella cheese is melted, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over the top of the dish; return to oven to cook another 5 minutes before serving.

Shredded Barbacoa Beef

Apparently this is a copycat recipe for Chipotle's barbacoa beef. I've never eaten at a Chipotle's before, but we made this recipe last week and really loved it! It's a great, flavorful meat that you can use in tacos, enchiladas, nachos, salad...whatever you please!! There's a little kick to it, just the right amount of spicy for me.

Ingredients

• 1 (3 pound) beef chuck roast, cut into 6 to 8 chunks 
• salt and ground black pepper to taste 
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
• 1/2 cup beef broth 
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice 
• 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped 
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped 
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin 
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 
• 3 bay leaves 

Directions

Season beef chunks with salt and pepper on all sides. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef in batches; cook until browned, about 1 minute per side. Transfer beef to a slow cooker.

Combine beef broth, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, chipotle peppers, garlic, cumin, oregano, and cloves in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Pour over beef in the slow cooker. Stir in bay leaves.

Cook on low until beef is fork-tender, 8 to 10 hours. Discard bay leaves. Remove beef and shred using 2 forks. Return beef to the slow cooker to marinate in the sauce for at least 10 more minutes before serving.

Paprika-Parmesan Chicken

This easy recipe takes chicken breasts breaded with a Parmesan and paprika coating is baked until golden and crispy. This unique combination of ingredients makes a fantastic dish that all your family will love. Blake insists it's the "BEST CHICKEN EVER!"

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 2 teaspoons paprika 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 
• 1 egg, beaten 
• 2 tablespoons milk 
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 
• 1/4 cup butter, melted 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Combine flour, Parmesan, paprika, salt, and pepper in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Dip the chicken in the egg, then dredge in the flour mixture. Place in the baking dish, and pour the melted butter evenly over the chicken. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cheese has browned, and the chicken has cooked.

Mexican Pork

Click HERE for original recipe source, including pictures, tips and more.

Oh, my, our family loved this! We ate it for four days in a row, as tacos, burritos, nachos, quesadillas, salad... the sky's the limit and we didn't get tired of it - it's that delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup chicken broth 
• 2 tablespoons apple cider or red wine vinegar 
• 8 ounces tomato sauce 
• 8 to 10 ounces green enchilada sauce or green salsa/salsa verde 
• 1 tablespoon chili powder 
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1 teaspoon onion powder 
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1 teaspoon salt (I use coarse, kosher salt) 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (I use coarse ground black pepper) 
• 2 to 3 pounds pork roast, cut into large chunks (3-4 inches) 
• 1 to 2 tablespoons cornstarch for thickening sauce, optional 

DIRECTIONS:

SLOW COOKER DIRECTIONS: to the insert of a 6-quart or larger slow cooker, add the broth, vinegar, tomato sauce, enchilada sauce, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, salt and pepper. Give it a good stir. Nestle the pork into the sauce mixture. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or high for 6-7 hours. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove the pork from the slow cooker. Shred with a couple of forks and set aside. There will be quite a bit of liquid left. I discard about half and thicken the rest (as follows). You don’t have to discard any liquid OR you can discard more than half OR you can leave it as is without thickening. After discarding about half of the liquid, pour the remaining liquid into a saucepan and bring to a simmer on the stovetop. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons cornstarch + 2 tablespoons cold water. Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the simmering liquid and stir constantly until bubbly and slightly thickened. Add the pork back into the sauce (either in the saucepan or put everything back in the slow cooker), tossing to coat the pork completely in the sauce. Serve over rice with desired toppings, in burritos, on a salad, or any way your heart desires!

 INSTANT POT DIRECTIONS: to the stainless steel pot, add the broth, vinegar, tomato sauce, enchilada sauce, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, salt and pepper. Give it a good stir. Nestle the pork into the sauce mixture. Secure the lid, make sure the valve is set to sealing, and select “manual” or “high pressure” and dial up or down to 60 minutes. The Instant Pot will start on it’s own. When it is finished cooking, let the pressure naturally release for 15-20 minutes (or all the way) before quick releasing the rest of the pressure. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove the pork from the Instant Pot. Shred with a couple of forks and set aside. There will be quite a bit of liquid left in the Instant Pot. I discard about half and thicken the rest (as follows). You don’t have to discard any liquid OR you can discard more than half OR you can leave it as is without thickening. After discarding about half of the liquid, bring the remaining liquid to a simmer using the Saute function. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons cornstarch + 2 tablespoons cold water. Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the simmering liquid and stir constantly until bubbly and slightly thickened. Turn the Instant Pot to “keep warm” and add the pork back into the sauce, tossing to coat the pork completely in the sauce. Serve over rice with desired toppings, in burritos, on a salad, or any way your heart desires!

Marshmallow Brownies

Oh, my, these are HEAVENLY! I highly recommend Six Sisters' Marshmallow Brownies if you need a treat to take to an event, share with a friend, or just enjoy for yourself! Yum!

click here for recipe