Slow Cooker Saucy Swiss Steak

This recipe is from http://www.kraftfoods.com/. It was so simple and quick and easy... I will definitely be making it again sometime soon.

(Sorry that there are no pictures... I forgot to take any!)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Italian Dressing
1 boneless chuck blade or shoulder steak (1 lb.), cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup beef broth
1 green pepper, chopped (I used 2 green peppers)
1/2 cup shredded Swiss Cheese

Directions:

HEAT dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, coat steaks with flour; gently shake off excess flour. Add to skillet; cook 2 to 3 min. on each side or until steaks are browned on both sides. Remove from heat.

COMBINE tomatoes, broth and tomato paste in slow cooker. Add steaks and peppers; cover with lid. Cook on HIGH 3 to 4 hours (or on LOW 8 to 10 hours).

SPRINKLE with cheese just before serving.

We served this meal with mashed potatoes and loved it! Seriously - it was a big hit. Give it a try! We recommend it.

Chicken Parmesan Bundles

Jeremy and I made this delicious meal together on Sunday. It was amazing!

The recipe is from http://www.kraftfoods.com/.

Ingredients:

4 oz. cream cheese (I used the low fat kind)

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained

1 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

6 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese

1 1/2 lb. of boneless skinless chicken breast, pounded to a 1/4 inch thickness

(we used 4 large chicken breast and cut them in half to form 8 chicken bundles)

1 egg

10 Ritz crackers, crushed

1 1/2 cups prepared spaghetti sauce, heated

Directions:

HEAT oven to 375ºF. Mix cream cheese, spinach, 1 cup mozzarella and 3 Tbsp. Parmesan until well blended; spread onto chicken breasts. Starting at one short end of each breast, roll up chicken tightly. Secure with wooden toothpicks, if desired. Set aside.

BEAT egg in shallow dish. Mix remaining Parmesan and cracker crumbs in separate shallow dish. Dip chicken bundles in egg, then roll in crumb mixture. Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF). Remove and discard toothpicks, if using. Serve topped with spaghetti sauce and remaining mozzarella. (We served it over angel hair pasta).

We LOVED it! It tasted "restaurant" quality to us. It was time consuming to make though... although once we got the hang of it - it went much more quickly - so probably next time it won't take as long.

Chewy Caramels

I have always wanted to be able to make homemade, yummy, chewy, melt-in-your-mouth caramels... but I was scared to. Doesn't it sound hard?? I don't own a candy thermometer and the whole "drop it in cold water and check to see if it has reached the soft ball stage" concept intimidated me. HOWEVER - this year I decided to try to overcome this ridiculous fear... and so I found this easy "no fail" recipe on http://www.allrecipes.com/ - and decided to give it a try (with Jeremy's help and moral support of course).

Ingredients:
1 cup butter or margarine
1 pound light brown sugar (= 2 1/2 cups)
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup light corn syrup
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Directions
In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Heat to between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface. Cook for 2 minutes at that temperature. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. (This whole process took approx. 30 minutes of constant stirring - thanks for stirring Jeremy!)

Meanwhile, butter a 9x13 inch baking pan. When the caramel is ready, pour into the buttered pan (we lined the pan with wax paper instead). Allow to cool completely at room temperature. Remove from the pan and cut into squares using scissors. Wrap individual pieces in waxed paper or cellophane.

This made more than 144 individual caramels (that took at least 45 minutes to cut and wrap). But they turned out delicious! I am so happy with them and proud of us for trying something new. :)