Crock-Pot Cheesy Ham and Noodles

Made this last week and the family loved it! It is a great way to use some of the Easter/Christmas/whenever ham, or you can make it by just buying a ham stead at the grocery store. It's a crock-pot recipe, but keep in mind it's only three hours - so not a "leave in the morning and come home at 5 and it's done" slow cooker recipe.

Crock pot Cheesy Ham and Noodles (picture courtesy of Betty Crocker)

Ingredients:
12 oz cooked ham - chopped
12 oz package of linguine
3 cups half and half
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheeses (divided in half)
1 cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1 jar (10-12 oz) Alfredo sauce


1. Cook linguine in boiling water for five minutes; drain.
2. Transfer linguine to a lightly greased crock-pot.
3. Add half and half, peas, mustard, Alfredo sauce and 3/4 cup cheese; stir gently to blend
4. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
5. Cover and cook on low setting for 3 hours, or until linguine is tender.

Enjoy!!

Creamy Dill Chicken

This is one of my all-time favorite meals. My mom originally got a recipe off the back of a Knorr Vegetable Soup packet and we've been making it ever since. Over the 20+ years it's adapted rather significantly and I'm posting the way I've been cooking it recently. It doesn't take too much work and can be partially done in the crockpot - but isn't a "put it in in the morning and it's done by the time you're home!" kind of crockpot meal. Bon Appetit!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1-1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup water
• 1 package Knorr® Vegetable recipe mix
• 1/4 tsp. dried dill weed
• 1 cup sour cream
• 8 oz bag of egg noodles
• Optional: 1/2 cup frozen peas 

Directions:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet and brown chicken, turning once, until almost cooked, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in water, Knorr® Vegetable recipe mix and dill - make sure to coat the chicken. Bring to a boil. 
• Add mixture to crock pot or Dutch Oven. Crockpot: Set on low for ~1hr (or more if you're busy!)
  Dutch Oven: Let mixture simmer until chicken is fully cooked, about 10 minutes
• Meanwhile: Cook egg noodles to just less cooked than al dente (4-5 minutes). Drain.
• Stir sour cream into chicken and sauce. Add egg noodles and peas and mix until all noodles are fully coated with sauce. If in crockpot, you can set to low or warm until peas are done and you are ready to eat.
  

  

  My husband and young girls LOVE this meal

Wild Mushroom and Brie Soup

I recently had some leftover Brie (I realize that seems like something that isn't possible, but I bought the world's largest Brie wheel at Sam's) and needed to do something with it before it was wasted. One Sunday afternoon we went to a small cafe in McCaysville, Tennessee, which really wasn't very good except for the soup my husband had - Mushroom Brie. I had one bite and said to him, "I MUST MAKE THIS." I looked at a few different recipes, basically combined bits of each and came up with this pot of creamy deliciousness. WARNING: It's isn't a "quick" cook - this may have had something to do with my sous chef being a five-year old. Also, this is not healthy - it is made of cheese and cream. Deal with it. It is, however, vegetarian. Rare for me, but mushrooms are "nature's meat," right?

Ingredients:

1 lb wild mushrooms, sliced (I used one package of "gourmet blend" - which included shiitaki, crimini and oyster mushrooms - and one package of baby bella)
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp Olive Oil (I always use Extra Virgin)
1/2 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped onion (white)
1/4 cup chopped garlic
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp fresh thyme (additional for garnish)
1/2 cup sherry
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups half and half
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup Brie cheese, crumbled into small pieces (rind removed) - the smaller the better to completely melt
Dash of cayenne
Salt and Pepper to taste


Directions:

1. Brown mushrooms
Add 1 tbsp butter and 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil (note: if you don't add the oil, the butter will burn) to large skillet, add half of the mushrooms and brown each side. Repeat for second half of mushrooms. Set mushrooms aside.

2. Make the roux
Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add onions, celery and garlic and cook until soft (8 minutes or so). Add thyme, flour and dash of cayenne and stir until roux forms (about 3 minutes).

Softening the onions, celery and garlic

3. Soup base
Add sherry to roux, increase heat to medium high and bring mixture to a boil. Add the stock and the half and half and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.

My adorable sous chef

4. Puree soup to smooth
Two options here:
a. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth
or
b. Let cool and blend in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth before returning to pot

5. Add the mushrooms and lets soup come to a boil. Then reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes

After this, I immediately went on Amazon and ordered an immersion blender. Note to self: don't add too much soup to your processor!

6. Add the CHEESE
Add brie to pot and whisk to help the melting process. Add cream and simmer for at least 10 minutes.

Voila!

Wild Mushroom and Brie Soup