Thanksgiving 2021

This year we hosted Thanksgiving at our house for my family. My mom has been sick so she wasn't able to come, but my grandma and my sister and her family joined us for dinner. I made basically the same things as last year, except I doubled the green bean casserole and candied yams recipes (probably didn't actually need to), and then I added a couple more recipes. Johnny made a whole turkey in the oven this year, so I made a spiral cut ham in the pressure cooker. And instead of buying Stouffer's Mac n Cheese, this year I made the Crockpot recipe from my grandma. It was delicious and we had plenty of leftovers! :) 

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Pressure Cooker: Spiral-Cut Ham

Ingredients:

5 lb spiral-cut ham
1 1/2 cups water 

1/2 cup honey 

3 tbs brown sugar 

1 can sliced pineapple 

Heavy-duty aluminum foil

Directions: 

1. Cut a very large piece of aluminum foil (enough to cover the ham completely) and spread it out on the counter. Remove ham from the packaging and place in the middle of the aluminum foil. Fold up the sides around the ham so it will hold liquid.  

2. Open the can of sliced pineapple. Drain the pineapple juice into a bowl. Set pineapple aside. Stir in the honey and brown sugar.

3. Pour about 1/3 of the glaze over the ham. Then carefully pour a little glaze in between each cut of the ham. 

4. Place the pineapple slices on top of the ham then wrap the foil around the ham.  

5. Pour water into the bottom of the pressure cooker. Place the foil-wrapped ham on a trivet in the pressure cooker and lock the lid. 

6. The spiral-cut ham is precooked, so it only needs to be heated. Cook the ham on high pressure for 2 minutes per pound plus 10 minutes to account for the aluminum foil. Then let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before releasing the rest of the pressure. 

OPTIONS: You can reduce the remaining liquid to further glaze the ham after it has cooked. You can also broil the ham after cooking for a crust. You can also fancy it up by preparing it with cloves, apricot jelly, etc. 
(this was made in an 8qt oval pressure cooker) 

Creamy Crockpot Mac N Cheese

Ingredients:

1 16 oz package of elbow macaroni, cooked for 6 minutes and drained  
1/2 lb Velveeta, cubed

1/2 stick of butter, sliced 

1 can cheddar cheese soup 

2 cups milk

Directions: 

1. Combine all ingredients in the Crockpot.   
2. Heat on high for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  

RECIPE: Chili Cheese Soup

Every time I make Mexican Cheese Soup Johnny calls it cheese dip...because it's so much like the dip that has Velveeta, Ro-Tel, and ground beef. So even though the dip is thicker...he still makes the joke every time. But last time I made it, Johnny thought a chili variation might be tasty...so I told him I'd come up with something. :) So tonight...I made Chili Cheese Soup. :) It was really yummy! 

Chili Cheese Soup

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 lbs ground beef 

16 oz Velveeta

1 can chili ready diced tomatoes

1 can chili beans (pinto)

1 can chili beans (dark red kidney) 

1 can peas (I would've chosen corn, but Johnny wanted peas) 

Directions: 

1. Brown hamburger and drain. Add to slow cooker. 

2. Cut Velveeta into cubes. Add to slow cooker. 

3. Combine the remaining ingredients in the slower cooker. Do not drain any of the cans! This is what makes it a soup. 

4. Heat on low, stirring occasionally until all the Velveeta has melted. 

5. Serve with your choice of topping: Fritos, cornbread, crackers, etc. 

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Recipe: Pressure Cooker Barbecue Spare Ribs

I made spare ribs in the pressure cooker for the first time tonight. They were delicious! I also made baked potatoes in the slow cooker to go with (I'll post that link at the bottom of this post).

Barebecue Pork Spare Ribs

Ingredients:

5lbs Fresh Extra Tender Pork Spare Ribs
1 cup water
1 tbs liquid smoke 
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce 
4 tbs brown sugar 
1 tbs paprika
2 tsp garlic salt 
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
2 tbs liquid from pressure cooker pot
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (I use KC Masterpiece)

Directions: 

1. Remove membrane from the ribs.  Cut into about 4 separate pieces (cut every 4 ribs or so).
2. Mix brown sugar, paprika, garlic salt, onion powder, oregano, and cinnamon and rub all over the ribs.
3. Pour water, liquid smoke, and Worcestershire sauce into pressure cooker pot. 
4. Loosely pile ribs in pressure cooker (I did not use a trivet). 
5. Seal the pressure cooker and cook the ribs on high pressure for 45 minutes. Allow pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes before quick releasing remaining pressure. 
6. Carefully remove ribs from the pressure cooker pot. They should be fall-off-the-bone tender, so make sure you get all the pieces out of the pot.  
7. Take 2 tbs of the remaining liquid in the pressure cooker and mix it with the barbecue sauce. 
8. You can use a silicone brush to cover the ribs with barbecue sauce, pour it over them, or just leave them plain and allow individuals to choose how much, if any, sauce they want on the ribs (which is what I do, because not everyone even uses barbecue sauce at all). You can also cover the ribs in barbecue sauce and then broil them for a few minutes to get more of a crust on top...but I like them tender without the crisp. :) 

*I used the CooksEssentials 8qt Oval Pressure Cooker for this recipe.

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A post shared by Candi Pride (@tinycandi) on Jun 8, 2020 at 8:28pm PDT

Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes

Ingredients:
4-6 large potatoes
Olive Oil
Salt (I use a grinder with sea salt)
Aluminum foil


Directions: 

1. Rinse and dry potatoes. Poke with a fork on all sides.  

2. Tear a piece of aluminum foil large enough to wrap each potato.
3. Cover each potato with a little bit of olive oil and then sprinkle with salt. 
4. Wrap each potato and place in the slow cooker.
5. Cook on high heat for 5 hours.
6. Remove and carefully (they're hot!) unwrap each potato. 
7. Split and top with desired toppings (butter, sour cream, chives, bacon bits, etc). 

Recipe: Barbecue Beef Sandwiches

I tend to make a lot of casserole dishes. Not only are they pretty quick and easy, but they're pretty economical as well...and usually provide plenty of leftovers. But...Johnny isn't a huge fan. :P So since Johnny has been recovering from surgery, I decided to find a non-casserole and non-pasta recipe for him. ;) I tried this new recipe for barbecue beef in the slow cooker to serve on hamburger buns. It was pretty tasty...definitely Johnny approved. ;) It was also very easy to make...so that's always nice!

Barbecue Beef Sandwiches 

Ingredients:

2-4 lbs chuck roast 
1 cup ketchup
1 cup barbecue sauce
2 celery stalks, chopped 
1 small onion, chopped 
1 tbs vinegar 
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce 
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic salt

Directions: 
Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. 
Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours (or high for 3-4 hours). 
Shred meat and serve on hamburger buns with the sauce that remains in the slow cooker.  

I was busy with a work file due tomorrow, so I cheated and served it with store-bought potato salad, baked beans, and cottage cheese. It was yummy though! :)

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A post shared by Candi Pride (@tinycandi) on Jan 30, 2020 at 7:58pm PST

Recipe: Creamy Chicken and Noodles

The weather finally cooled off this week...so we've been having a lot of our "cold weather" favorites. This is one of the meals that EVERYONE in the house loves. Ashlyn is a picky eater...so there's a lot that she doesn't like. :P But when she came home from school and asked what was in the Crockpot, she responded with "YES!" So that's always nice to hear. ;) I first got this recipe from my Grandma Sandy after we had it at her house during Christmas one year. SO yummy and super easy!

Creamy Chicken & Noodles 

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), sliced
4 cans chicken broth 
24oz Reames Frozen Egg Noodles 

Directions:

1. Combine everything but egg noodles in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours. 
2. Remove chicken, shred, and return to slow cooker.
3. Stir in frozen egg noodles. Cover and cook on low setting for 1 hours. 

We serve this over mashed potatoes...and I mix corn into mine. It's so very yummy!