Last Week's Menu... Success!!

I am LOVING all the cooking I've been able to do lately. My crock pot is still my favorite appliance EVER, and it's the only way I've been able to feed my family every night, even with our crazy, hectic schedules. And, sloppy joes have become a weekly staple in our house. They're quick and easy and I LOVE the recipe; it's SO much better than anything out of a can or envelope. Here's the sloppy joe recipe and some more of our most recent favorites. I hope you'll enjoy them as much as we have!

Chicken Ole

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 (16 oz.) jar salsa (I pureed mine with a hand blender, because my kids don't like "chunky" salsa.)
2 teaspoons cumin
1 bunch fresh green onions with tops, chopped

1. Pound chicken breasts to flatten. In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth and add salsa, cumin and onions.

2. Place heaping spoonfuls of cream cheese mixture on each chicken breast and roll up. (There will be leftover cream cheese mixture.)

3. Place chicken breast seam side down in slow cooker sprayed with vegetable cooking spray. Spoon remaining cream cheese mixture over each chicken.

4. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours.

Apricot Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 (12 oz.) jar apricot preserves
1 (8 oz.) bottle Catalina dressing
1 (1 oz.) package dry onion soup mix

1. Place chicken in slow cooker sprayed with vegetable cooking spray.

2. Combine apricot preserves, drewssing, soup mix and 1/4 C. water and stir well. Cover chicken breasts with sauce.

3. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours.

4. Serve over hot, steamed rice.

Sloppy Joes

2.25 lbs. lean ground beef
1 can tomato soup
1 cup ketchup
6 TBS grape jelly
2 TBS yellow mustard
2 TBS apple cider vinegar
2 TBS light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Brown ground beef and drain. Add remaining ingredients and stir over low heat until jelly is melted. Serve on buns or bread of your choice. We like our joes with cheese! Enjoy...

Ranch Pork Chops

6 (3/4 inch) bone in pork chops
1 (1.3 oz.) packet ranch dressing mix
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 (15 oz.) cans new potatoes, drained, quartered
1 (10 oz.) can French onion soup

1. Spray slow cooker with vegetable cooking spray. Place pork chops on bottom of slow cooker.

2. Sprinkle pork chops with ranch dressing mix and pepper.

3. Place potatoes around pork chops and pour French onion soup around potatoes and chops.

4. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours.

Slow Cooker Lasagna

1 lb. lean ground beef
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (29 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 Cup water
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 (8 oz.) package no cook lasagna noodles
4 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 Cups small curd cottage cheese
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a skillet, brown beef with garlic; drain. Add tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, salt and oregano; mix well. Spread 1/4 of the meat sauce in ungreased slow cooker. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over sauce. (Break noodles, if necessary.)

2. Combine cheeses; spoon a third of the mixture over noodles. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining meat sauce. Cover; cook on low for 4-5 hours or until noodles are tender.