Cranberry Apple Wild Rice Casserole

Last November I posted my favorite stuffing recipe using Tastefully Simple's Creamy Wild Rice Soup.  This recipe is a casserole using similar ingredients.  Now, you may be thinking...cranberries, apples and wild rice?  Believe me...they work wonderfully together!

Cranberry Apple Wild Rice Casserole
 
Ingredients
Tastefully Simple Creamy Wild Rice Soup Mix
5 cups hot water
14 oz. seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 large unpeeled, chopped Granny Smith apple
2 cups cooked, cubed turkey or chicken
3 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Prepare soup as directed on package with water; cook 30 minutes. Place breadcrumbs into bowl, add cranberries, apple and meat. Lightly beat eggs; pour over dry mixture. Mix well. Pour soup over stuffing mixture. Mix thoroughly and place in a large greased baking dish; season to taste. Bake, covered, at 350° for 1 hour. Remove cover for last 15 minutes. Makes 4-5 servings.

I have Creamy Wild Rice Soup in stock should you need to purchase some - or as always you can order directly from my website www.tastefullysimple.com/web/kkeninger.

Mmmm....Slow Cooker Tender Pot Roast!

Happy New Year!  I officially hit the 'sugar wall' a few days ago, and am ready to get back on track with some healthy eating.  I do enjoy indulging over the holidays, but by the time New Years hits - my body is always telling me ENOUGH!  I generally take a break from cooking much the week between Christmas and New Years, and after a week of eating out - the entire family is ready for home cooked meals also!

However, considering today is still a 'holiday' in our household, that means a no fuss meal was on list.  This January and February I'm showcasing a Slow Cooker Meal Plan with my Tastefully Simple parties.  I've been working on this for the past couple months - trying new recipes, deciding which ones were worthy of the list, etc. 

So, for today's meal, I picked one of my favorites that's extremely low maintenance.  Tender Pot Roast with potato, carrot and onion.  If you'd like to try this for yourself and you don't have any of the sauce on hand, contact me and I can hook you up!  (Or you can always order directly from my website too.  www.tastefullysimple.com/web/kkeninger)

Slow Cooker Tender Pot Roast
2-3 pound beef roast (whatever your preference or what's on sale!)
1 jar Tastefully Simple Tender Pot Roast Sauce
5-6 potatoes, peeled and quartered (I prefer yukon gold)
carrots (I used baby carrots - no peeling!)
1 onion, chunked

Place roast and entire jar of sauce in Slow Cooker.  Cook on low 6-8 hours.  Last couple hours add potatoes, carrots and onion.  It's that easy and oh so good!

Slow Cooker Garlic Beef Stroganoff

Decided to do something different for my January Tastefully Simple parties this year - due to my new found love of slow cooker recipes!  Each Host will get to choose some specialty Slow Cooker recipes to serve and each guest is receiving a Slow Cooker Meal Booklet - complete with grocery list.  I want to show everyone how EASY, INEXPENSIVE and TASTY cooking can be!

So...this means I'm tweaking my Slow Cooker Meal booklet and working to find the best recipes to share.  Below is one I tried this evening that received a THUMBS UP from everyone in the family!  Definitely making the cut :)

(P.S. - If you're interested in hosting a Tastefully Simple Slow Cooker party, let me know.  I've got four dates left!)

Garlic Garlic Beef Stroganoff
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef

Ingredients
1 Tbsp. Garlic Garlic™
2 Tbsp. Onion Onion
1 1/2 lb. cubed beef stew meat
2 cups sliced mushrooms (I used an 8 oz. can instead)
14.5 ox. can beef broth
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. cold water
8 oz. chive and onion cream cheese spread
Prepared wide egg noodles

Directions
Combine first 5 ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Combine cornstarch and cold water; stir until smooth. Whisk cornstarch mixture into slow cooker; stir until thickened. Add cream cheese spread just before serving; stir until well blended. Serve over hot noodles. Makes 6-8 servings.

The BEST Stuffing EVER!

Continuing the Thanksgiving recipe theme...this is one of my favorite recipes!  It has been posted on the Tastefully Simple website for years, but I'd never tried it until a couple years ago when a good client of mine recommended it to me.  Before this recipe, I'd never really been a 'stuffing' kind of gal.  HOWEVER, this won me over!  The flavors all blend so well and the soup makes it very moist.  I make it ahead of time and then place in crockpot on warm - that way you can leave the stove top & oven available for other items.

I hope you give it a try!  Please post your comments if you do...would love to hear what you think also :)

Creamy Wild Rice Stuffing
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef

Ingredients
Creamy Wild Rice Soup Mix
5 cups hot water
2 tsp. Garlic Garlic™
2 - 3 Tbsp. Onion Onion™
6 - 8 slices diced bacon
4 stalks diced celery
14 oz. bag seasoned breadcubes
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Saltand pepper to taste

Directions
Combine first 4 ingredients; simmer 60 minutes. Sauté bacon in large skillet until browned; add celery. Cook until celery is tender. Toss bread cubes in large bowl with bacon mixture and cranberries. Add prepared soup, season to taste with salt and pepper; mix well. Place dressing in greased 9 x 13 baking dish; cover with foil. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Remove foil, bake an additional 10-15 minutes. Serve hot. Makes 10-12 servings.

Note: Add 3-4 cups cubed leftover turkey before baking for main dish casserole; drizzle with leftover hot gravy just before serving.

Oh My Chai Pumpkin Pie!

I can't help it...as soon as I flip that calendar to November, I'm consumed with thoughts of our Thanksgiving Feast!  Why is it there are some recipes I ONLY make on Thanksgiving when I love them so much?  I decided to break my pattern last night and made some pumpkin pie.

As I was reading my oh so complex recipe for making pumpkin pie (yes - sarcasm there - you know the recipe on the label of the can of pumpkin? :) I thought to myself...all these spices are similar to what's in Oh My Chai.  Why not experiment a little?  Okay...so maybe I was also being a bit lazy too and didn't want to riffle through my seasonings to find the cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.  I've always mixed Oh My Chai with Cool-Whip to put on top of my pumpkin pie, so this could just be an added bonus.

SUCCESS!!  Here's the recipe, and then I'm off to finish the last piece of pie.  Yep - it's 9:30 am, but I'm going to eat it anyway :)

Oh My Chai Pumpkin Pie
2 heaping scoops Oh My! Chai^® (divided) - each scoop is approx. 3 Tbsp

1 15 oz can pumpkin
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
9 inch deep dish pie crust
8 oz. tub Cool Whip®

Directions
 Combine 1 heaping scoop Oh My! Chai^® with 8 oz. tub Cool Whip®.  Place in refrigerator for flavors to blend.  
 
Whisk pumpkin and milk. Add egg, sugar and 1 heaping scoop Oh My! Chai^®; mix well. Pour into crust. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350° and continue baking for 40-50 minutes. Top with whipped topping. Makes 6-8 servings.

Tuscany Chicken & Broccoli Braid

Love this basic braid recipe! You can mix up ingredients as you see fit, but we really liked this combination:

Tuscany Chicken & Broccoli Braid
2-3 tsp Tastefully Simple Tuscany Bread Dipping Mix
2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped or shredded (I bought a day old rotisserie chicken on sale.)
1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls

Roll out both tubes of crescent rolls on baking sheet. Press together to make one crust.mix all other ingredients together, and spread filling down center of crescent roll crust. Cut 1 inch slits along outside edges of crust and pull up over filling alternating sides. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes until outside is golden brown.

Pesto Panini's

Break out that Panini Press (or for those of you who want to go 'old school' like me - dust off that George Foreman Grill - ha!)!  But seriously...the "George" works perfect for Panini sandwiches!  This recipe is so EASY and GOOD.  I made a few modifications to the original panini recipe. so will share those.  Got a big thumbs up from the hubby on this one!  One thing that's great about this type of meal is you can adjust ingredients for picky eaters.

Pesto Paninis

Adapted from a recipe submitted by Connie Pietila (MI)

Ingredients

• 2 slices Italian bread 
• Balsamic & Basil Dipping Oil
• 1 Tbsp. softened cream cheese
• 1 Tbsp. prepared Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto
• 2-3 slices deli chicken breast
• 1 slice deli provolone or mozzarella cheese
• Sliced olives, optional
• Sliced bell pepper, optional

Directions
Brush outsides of bread slices with Balsamic & Basil Dipping Oil. Spread inside of one slice with cream cheese and prepared pesto. Place bread oiled side down on preheated skillet; top with chicken, bell pepper, olives and provolone. Place second slice of bread, oiled side out, on top. Fry on both sides until golden brown. Makes 1 Panini sandwich.

Kim's NOTE:  Grocery store bakery's stock some fantastic fresh baked Artesian breads these days, so I chose a nice loaf of Asiago bread for our panini's.  I also cooked up a couple chicken breasts rather than using deli meat. Instead of using olives and bell pepper, I used fresh spinach and roma tomato.  Use whatever favorites you have on hand.  I think a nice slice of avacado or roasted red pepper would be a great addition.  I highly recommend NOT skipping the Balsamic & Basil Dipping Oil on the outside of the bread. Gives a terrific flavor and adds a great toasting to the bread.



Kim's TIP:  I got this tip from a cooking show staring Giada DeLaurentiis - when you're using cooked chicken breast for a sandwich; slice it horizontally rather than vertically.  Gives you a nice long thin strip of meat for your sandwich, so you don't have problems with everything falling out when you pick it up!

Oven Roasted Tuscany Potatoes

Dawn Onuffer (FL)

• 6 medium baking potatoes
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil or Roasted Garlic Infused Oil
• 1 Tbsp. Tuscany Bread Dipping Mix
• 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt to taste

Cut potatoes into bite-size pieces and place in a bowl. Drizzle the oil over the potatoes and stir to coat. Sprinkle on Tuscany Bread Dipping Mix and Parmesan cheese; stir to coat evenly. Place mixture on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 400º for 28-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Salt potatoes to taste. Makes 6 servings.