Cheesy Crock Pot Cowboy Casserole

I love potatoes, but I don't actually cook with them very often. That usually results in me letting 1/3 to 1/2 of a bag of potatoes get nasty, which always annoys me. I hate wasting food. So, when I've had the potatoes for awhile, I start looking for something yummy & new to hurry up and use those potatoes before they go bad. I had about 1 pound of the 5 pound back left when I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest.

Side note: I seriously love Pinterest. I scoffed at everyone using Pinterest before -didn't see the point- until a friend had a Pinterest birthday party and I had to get on it. The food & drink section makes me happy. There are so many recipes! You just keep scanning pictures til you find something that looks yummy. 

Anyways, back to the recipe. If I don't find anything that looks amazing, I will go with potato soup to use up the potatoes, but I was so happy I found this. Cheese, potatoes, meat... Even some veggies so I can convince myself it's good for us!


The one thing that almost deterred me from making this is the kidney beans. I know, I know. "Serena, I thought you were trying to broaden your horizons, try new things," blah blah blah. I have added various beans to things in the last couple of years, and wound up picking them out while I was eating it. (Nothing quite like having to dissect each bite before eating it....) I think that, next time, I will add the kidney beans. However, the last two new recipes I've tried have failed, and I wanted this to be a definite "yes."

Side note on the failed recipes: one was a cookie bar, and I thought the taste & texture were meh. Nate said they were good so I did wind up giving some to my big brother, Jonah, as part of his belated birthday gift, but it wasn't something I would make again. The second were soft honey spice cookies, were the taste turned out great but they did NOT look anything like the picture, and the texture wasn't what it should have been. Jonah got a lot of those for his birthday too; at least they tasted good. 


See below the recipe for more comments on it....

Cheesy Crock Pot Cowboy Casserole

Ingredients

• ½ medium onion, diced
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon Mrs. Dash
• 1 pound small red potatoes, sliced thin
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced (if subbing canned tomatoes, do not drain)
• 1 cup canned or frozen corn
• 1 can dark red kidney beans
• ¼ cup water (skip if adding canned tomatoes)
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

• Place  all of the ingredients except the cheese in a 4 - 6 quart crockpot and stir well.
• Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7 - 8  hours. Uncover crock pot and sprinkle shredded cheese over top. Recover and let cook an additional 30 minutes.

Yield/Time

6 servings

8 hours

Nutrition Facts

265 calories per cup, using ½ cup beef (324 if using a full pound of beef)

Source (for original): Family Fresh Meals 

I thought I had about 3/4 pound of cooked venison in the fridge (from when I made taco helper), but apparently I had only saved 1/2 pound. Oh well. Still meaty, but I would try to add the full pound or so next time.

Taco Seasoning, and more thoughts on convenience foods...

Today you can get basically anything as a convenience food. Many food advertisers are directing things at busy moms, working moms, businessmen on the go, etc. "Get dinner on the table in 5 minutes!" "Just add milk!" etc. They even (sometimes) advertise these products as healthy for you.

Then, there is the opposite end of the spectrum--especially when you are looking for recipes online. Many bloggers seem to advocate making everything from scratch-and I mean everything. From bread, applesauce, cream-of-soups, ricotta cheese, peanut butter, marshmallows....

Given that I am posting about making taco seasoning from scratch, you may think I am at the opposite end of the spectrum. And that's true--kinda. I think it's (in general) healthier to make some things from scratch. I've already posted about my lack-of-love for pre-packaged foods. It may have something to do with my mama, who generally doesn't buy foods like that. However, it's simply not practical to make everything from scratch, especially in a home where both parents are working. I work 4 days a week, and I do a lot of my prep/mealmaking beforehand, but there are times when I don't. If I get home from work and there are no leftovers and nothing prepped, I just want to get a meal on the table as fast as possible. (Well, Gabriel wants a meal on the table as fast as possible. I can usually wait; him not so much.) Sometimes those convenience foods really make my life a lot easier (and my boy a lot happier!). 

Sometimes it's fun to make things from scratch that you can get -easier & probably cheaper- prepared at the store. For example, oatmeal cream pies. (And yes, I've done that. It was fun!) And cheez-its. (Again, fun! But so time-consuming!!) It's just not practical to do it all the time.

Then, there are things that are easy, cheaper, and healthier than the storebought! For us, taco seasoning is one of those. When I was doing a not-so-great job at mealplanning, it seemed like we never had it when I wanted it. And, while it's not really expensive, the spices in taco seasoning are all things that I have on hand regularly. (Unlike nutmeg, which I apparently am destined to always run out of...) On top of that, you can change it up to suit your needs. Lower the salt, make it spicier, make it less spicy, etc. 

 See below the recipe for comments on it...

Taco Seasoning

Ingredients

• ¼ cup chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons paprika (I hate paprika, so I never have it on hand. So, I sub with cayenne pepper.)
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 4 teaspoons sea salt (decrease as desired! I usually don't add this much, but I also don't usually measure it.)
• 4 teaspoons black pepper

Directions

• In a jar or small container add all the ingredients together and stir or shake until combined. (See how complicated this is? It's amazing I can handle a recipe with this many instructions.)

Yield/Time

5 minutes

Source (for original): What’s That Smell

For tacos, brown one pound beef then add 2 tablespoons taco seasoning. Simmer with ½ – 1 cup of water until most of the water has absorbed, or to your desired consistency.

Note on the amount of taco seasoning to add: 2 tablespoons makes the tacos fairly spicy, especially if you sub out the paprika for cayenne. I can't get away with that for Gabriel; I usually decrease it to 1 to 1 1/2. 

I usually double or triple this when I make it; it stores well and then I don't have to worry that I don't have enough right when I'm ready to add taco seasoning to something.


What about you? What convenience foods do you do from scratch, and what do you think is worth buying at the store?  

Garlic Cheese Rolls (Product of my Environment)

I was blessed to be raised by an excellent cook. Not only that, but I grew up next to my grandparents, who are both excellent cooks. (Grandpa's more the fried turtle kinda cook, but still.)

That being said, I grew up thinking that good cooks could just throw things in pans without measuring and *VOILA* yummy food magically appears! I am so thankful to have a patient and encouraging husband, because it doesn't always work like that with me. (You cannot convince me that it doesn't always work like that with Mama & Grandma. Maybe by the time I am a Grandma I will have that down...) 

So, with that background, and being a product of my environment, when I saw a blog post about making Garlic Cheese Rolls with no real instructions, my response was to shrug and go "eh, I can make it work." 

I did make sure to write down everything I did--if it works out, it's no fun if you can't make it again! I will admit to being slightly surprised that it worked out as well as it did.... maybe I am actually on my way to being as amazing as Mama & Grandma.

   
Garlic Cheese Rolls

Ingredients

• 2 ¾ - 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour       
• 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast  
• ¼ teaspoon salt   
• 1 cup warm water (120°-130°)   
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons garlic 
• Additional herbs/seasonings, optional
• 2 cups cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, or colby jack)  (I did mozzarella on the inside, with cheddar on top; ran of of mozz.)

 Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ¼ cups flour, yeast, and salt; add water and oil. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds; then scrape bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Knead in another 1 ½ cups flour; adding up to 2 cups if needed. Knead for 6-8 minutes, to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Cover, let rest for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, beat together butter and garlic, adding additional seasonings as desired.
3. Roll dough out into large rectangle (approximately 24”x12”). Spread garlic butter to within 1” of edge. (Distribute as evenly as possible.) Sprinkle with 1 ½ cups desired cheese. Roll up jelly-roll style.
4. Slice into 12-14 rolls, then place in greased 9”x13” pan (or 2 8” cake pans). Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350°.
6. Place pan(s) on center rack, bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Yield/Time

12-14 rolls

1 ½ hours

Nutrition Facts

294 calories (12 roll batch)

Before you go mimicking this recipe line for line, remember that this is the first time I made this, and I was basically making things up as I go. (Aside from the dough; I got that from Better Homes & Garden Cookbook.) There are most definitely changes to be made for next time.

As you can see by the picture, I made mine in 2 8" cake pans. I recommend against that; I think it would work better in a 9"x13" pan.They would probably be prettier, and easier to get out.

I added WAY too much butter as first. (As in, drain some off partway through baking. Yeah, it's gross.)  Start with 3/4 cup. For the sake of your arteries. Although, when you have that much butter, I don't know if another 1/4 cup is really going to make a difference... 

To make the garlic butter spread evenly, it may even be easier to have the butter actually melted. I am debating on if I am going to do that next time....

I also have a serious love affair with garlic. Well, I say affair, but my husband is aware and is encouraging it; does that count as an affair? However, if you aren't as much as a garlic fan as I, then you may want to decrease to 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons.

Speaking of love affairs.... I love cheese slightly less than I love my husband. (Most days.) Take that into consideration when I suggest adding another half to one cup cheese.

I got the (rough) idea for this from Raptor Toe.

 If you try these, please please please leave a comment! I would LOVE to hear your input/variation!