smoked sausage & bean soup- crockpot style!

(this is different soup then below, but it's the only soup pic i have taken recently, so shut it!)

Ingredients:
1 lb small red potatoes (each cut into about 8 pieces, about 3 cups)
4 medium carrots, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 medium Bermuda onion chopped
1 medium stalk of celery, sliced (about ½ cup)
2 cans (15 oz each) of cannelloni beans (rinsed and drained)
2 cans (14 oz each) of chicken broth
1 large can cream of chicken soup (this is my addition)
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
½ teaspoon of lawry’s season salt
1 lb fully cooked kielbasa, cut in half lengthwise, then into ¼ inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsely

1. Spray 3 to 4 quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
2. Add all ingredients except sausage and parsley
3. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 9 hours
4. Stir in sausage and parsley, as well as cream of chicken soup to thicken.
5. Cover and cook on low setting for 30 minutes longer, or until sausage is hot.

the cream of chicken can be added to make it as thick or thin as you want it. i also use more carrots and pototoes then the recipe calls for. it's really easy to make.

now for the usual random dog, house & boyfriend pics.........

the dogs, the house, groundcat looking crabby, these are a few of my favorite things! (although how can someone looks so cranky with starbucks right there!?!?!?!)

perfect stuffed chicken breast recipe and other thoughts on food...

ingredients:
olive oil cooking spray
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
10 ounce bag of frozen spinach, thawed
4 ounce log of goat cheese (cut into 8 rounds)
8 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

preheat oven to 400 degrees, line baking sheet with tinfoil and spray with cooking spray.

slice chicken breasts in 1/2 horizontally, leaving them attached at the top by about 1/2 an inch.

spritz chicken with olive oil cooking spray and lay on baking sheet (covered in foil and spray oil.)

take thawed spinach and squeeze paper towels into it until spinach is as "dry" as possible.

open the breast in 1/2 (like a clam shell) and add a layer of spinach, then 2 rounds of goat cheese and 2 sun dried tomatoes. flip top 1/2 of chicken over the fillings, spritz again with olive oil and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

after 20 minutes, increase over to broil and watch carefully. it should become lightly browned in 5 minutes. be extra careful if using a stove from 1950.

i served this with cavatelli pasta and a tomato & basil sauce on the side. YUMMY!

here's a bad meal and why i am a sucker for packaging....


these spiral flank steaks look so pretty in the butcher case at giant eagle, but BLECH!

i am also a sucker for packaging and buy this POM juice even though it's way too expensive. i add it to diet ginger ale and it's pretty good. also, my friend amy tells me lemons are poopy and gross, & i just bought a huge bag! DAMMIT!

rosemary lemon chicken

ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts (skin on, bone in) rinsed and patted dry
juice of 1 lemon
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2-3 tablespoons of *smoked paprika
salt and freshly ground pepper

*i couldn't find smoked paprika so i used regular stuff. i went online to see if smoked paprika exists and it does. it's the spanish version of paprika as opposed to normal paprika which is hungarian. weird.

place chicken into crockpot (2 quart small size). pour lemon juice over chicken and sprinkle with paprika, salt and pepper. top with rosemary sprigs. cook on low for 4 hours or high for 3 1/2 (temp should reach 180 degrees.) serves 6. real damn good.