Soup and Chili Round Up

I know it's the summer and hot out everywhere,

but I'm a fan of soup and chili at any time of the year.

I have blogged about quite a few of those over time,

and today I'm sharing a round up of some of my favorites!

Baked Potato Soup

Chicken Enchilada Soup*

Corn Cheese Chowder

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Spicy Turkey Chili*

Taco Soup*

*These soups are easy to make in a large batch and freeze for future meals.

I like to freeze mine in pint sized mason jars for easy individual portions.

I didn't include any soups in this group with potato, squash or cream 

as I find those don't freeze and reheat as well.

This post contains affiliate links meaning I may get a paid for certain purchases.

Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken - 3 Ways!!!

My friend, Stefani, is an amazing photographer,

but she's also got an eye for easy, yet delicious recipes.

When she first told me about the Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Sliders,

I was immediacy intrigued and knew I had to try it soon!

Not long after,  I made the sliders.

I liked it.

I liked it a lot actually.

But I thought I could make it into more than JUST sliders!

So keep reading and find out how I made something awesome,

into three different things that are equally as awesome!!!

ALL Three Yummy Meals!

As seen earlier on Instagram.

Chicken and Frank's Red Hot - THAT'S IT!!!

Meal Extras

More Meal Extras!

Cook the chicken in the sauce on high

for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

Remove chicken from sauce, 

reserve 1/2 to 3/4 cup sauce.

Shred chicken and combine with reserved sauce.

Now - the tough part!
Choosing WHICH way to enjoy the delicious

CROCK POT BUFFALO CHICKEN!!!

And  now, I will let the pictures do the talking...

Buffalo Chicken Grilled Wrap!

Buffalo Chicken Sliders!

Last but not least, Buffalo Chicken Salad!

Just blogging about these makes me want to make them all this week!

Hope you enjoy!!!

Elina and Robyn Make...A BBQ Feast!

Sad news folk.

My cooking partner that lived in walking distance has moved!

No longer is it so easy to make something tasty on a whim together.

And then blog about it's tastiness for all of you to read.

We hope to keep the Elina and Robyn posts coming, but we will just have to see.

We had one last cooking hurrah together and decided to make it a BBQ feast!

So take a look below at all the delicious foods we made.

My contribution was...

Pulled Pork!

The Goods:

Pork Loin

Onions

Jalapenos

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

Paprika

Onion Powder

Slice the onion and jalapenos.

Cut the pork loin in half and season with spices on both sides.

Place onions on the bottom of the slow cooker,

then the pork on top and finally the jalapeno slices.

Set it to low and cook at least 7 hours.

In addition to the Pulled Pork, I made a Veggie Tray with Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip

and our friend Robin brought Cheese, Italian Meat, Crackers and Olives.

Elina made Bacon/Herb infused BBQ Sauce, Cole Slaw and we all helped make Sweet Potato Fries.

Slider Rolls and The Pulled Pork.

Yum!!!

A plate of deliciousness.

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 18!

Last week, I said I would try to be better about posting a Sunday Night Dinner post more frequently. So, without missing a week - here it is! 

I made a VERY simple chicken recipe that I'd never made before, but well absolutly be making again. It was made using a whole chicken, an onion, spices and my wondeful crock pot. I'll probably end up posting about this, but until then - the recipe can be found here!

Along with the delicious chicken, I made some whipped/mashed potatoes, gravy and a sauteed broccoli.  While I loved the mashed potatoes (who doesn't?!?!), I wasn't in love with the broccoli recipe. And this is odd because I normally LOVE it prepared any way. Oh well - lesson learned. I will eat the leftovers, but I will NOT make it this way again... 

Overall, the dinner was very tasty (see below - I cleaned my plate!) and I look forward to having the leftovers tomorrow!!!

Homemade Refried Beans

I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again but I LOVE homemade Mexican food - mostly because it reminds me of the many delicious restaurants in my hometown of Tucson, Arizona. 

When I first saw this recipe for homemade refried beans I knew I HAD to make them! I did just a few days later and they are some of the BEST refried beans I've ever tried! I'm almost positive that ALL the others had lard or some form of fat, but these don't and are still super tasty!!

They are SO simple I just can't believe it. Unless I forget to plan a little bit ahead, I will never eat refried beans at home any other way!

Take a look at how easy they really are to make!

The Goods:

Dry Pinto Beans

Onion

Garlic

Jalapeno

Salt

Pepper

Cumin

Water

These things are AMAZING!! 

They making using a slow cooker/crock pot SO much easier 

because cleanup becomes much more simple and less messy!

About halfway through the cooking process. 

Done cooking and done mashing!

I put it into a snap container to enjoy throughout the week!

Slow Cooked Spinach & Artichoke Dip

I've loved Spinach and Artichoke dip since the first time I tried it. 

I've had it prepared many different ways, but until recently I had only made a baked version of it one or two times. I knew you could make it in a slow cooker - I'd HAD it cooked in one before, but until a few weeks ago I had never really thought to do it. That is until I had tons of spinach I needed to use up!

So I took the spinach I needed to use up, cooked it and added it to a few other ingredients to make a tasty dip!

Here's What You'll Need...

Slow Cooker and Slow Cooker Liner

The Ingredients!

4 Cups Fresh (Or 2 Cups Frozen) Spinach

1 Can (14 ounces) quartered Artichoke Hearts, drained and chipped

1/2 Cup Alfredo Pasta Sauce

1/2 Non Fat Plain Yogurt

3/4 Teaspoon Garlic Salt

1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper

1 Cup Shredded Jack Cheese

And here's the VERY EASY process:

Put Spinach in BIG pot/pan with a tiny amount of water.

Cook over low heat until wilted.

Drain and squeeze out excess water.

Add spinach to remaining ingredients.

Put in slow cooker and cook over low heat for 1 to 2 hours.

ENJOY!

This could easily be doubled or even tripled and made for multiple people to enjoy at something like a Super Bowl or 4th of July Party. 

Slow Cooker Pork Ribs

Last weekend I was looking for new recipes to make. While looking I came across a recipe for slow cooker pork ribs.  I'm always looking for new slow cooker recipes and I LOVE pork ribs so I decided I'd make it for dinner that same day!

The ribs in the slow cooker.

The ingredients ready to smother the meat!

After cooking for about five hours, it was time to dig in!

While it was very tasty and fell off the bone for the most part, there was just a lil too much fat for my liking. This was my fist time making ribs, and I didn't trim it very well in the beginning, but now I know if I decide to make ribs again.