Cookin With Brooke

Thanks to Karla for this recipe. It’s a GREAT comfort food option that basically cooks itself. (Don’t you just love the CrockPot?) It’s perfect for a busy weeknight dinner!

Ingredients

• ½ box pasta of any shape (8 oz)
• 1.5 lbs chicken breast boneless & skinless (I used the tenderloins)
• 1 jar marinara sauce 25 oz
• 1 jar alfredo sauce 15 oz
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Directions

• Pour the alfredo sauce and marinara sauce into a crock pot.
• Add in the seasonings and stir.
• Place the chicken into the CrockPot.
• Scoop the sauce over the chicken.
• Cook on high for 2-3 hours (low 4-5 hours) or until the chicken is cooked.
• Take the chicken out of the crock pot and shred.
• Put pasta in sauce (dry) and cook ½ hour.
• When done, add shredded chicken back in.
• Mix well.
• Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of the chicken & pasta. Place the lid on until the cheese is melted.
• Add parmesan before serving.
• ENJOY!

I have NEVER made meatloaf in the Crock-Pot…until now. This was so easy and we loved it! I made a couple of tweaks to a recipe I saw online and we’ll definitely have it again! I think next time, I will put it in the oven for a bit once it’s done, just to make it firmer. Just my personal taste.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• ½ cup quick-cooking oats uncooked
• 1 envelope onion soup mix
• 1 lb ground beef
• 2/3 cup ketchup
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp mustard

Directions

• Lightly grease your Crock-Pot.
• Place milk & egg in a large bowl.
• Whisk until completely blended.
• Add your cheese, oats, soup mix and ground beef to egg mixture.
• Mix all of these ingredients together until well blended.
• Place in slow cooker and form into a loaf.
• In a separate bowl, mix ketchup, brown sugar and mustard.
• Pour this on top of meatloaf.
• Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.
• ENJOY!

Cookin with Brooke

Sep 23

It’s the space in between. The short time between summer and fall when you’re not quite ready for the CrockPot, but you don’t want to grill either.

This is the perfect recipe for that moment. It seriously reminds me of a Chicken Pot Pie situation…and it’s SO YUMMY!

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter
• 4 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 1 (15 oz) bag frozen mixed vegetables (I used peas and carrots)
• 1 package Cheddar biscuit mix (i.e. Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit Mix)
• 2 cups milk
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can (14.5 oz) of Chicken stock

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Place butter in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish and put in the oven to melt.
• When butter is melted, add chicken in a single layer and top evenly with frozen veggies.
• Stir together biscuit mix and milk in a bowl until well blended.
• Pour over chicken and veggies, spread lightly and evenly but do not mix in .
• Whisk together soup and stock until smooth, pour over biscuit mix but do not stir.
• Sprinkle seasoning mix from the Cheddar Bay biscuit mix on top.
• Bake uncovered until golden brown and set all the way through (45-55 mins).
• Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
• ENJOY!

Okay, so I THOUGHT I’d be able to switch gears and start sharing more fall-like recipes, but with these warm temps I just can’t yet. So here’s ONE last recipe for those fresh berries. This is so yummy and easy and SOME people might even choose it for a breakfast cake!

Ingredients

• 1 white cake mix (+egg, oil and water per instructions)
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 – 1-½ cups fresh blueberries
• 1 – 1-½ cups fresh raspberries

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350° (325° for glass pans)
• Lightly grease a light-colored metal 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray
• Prepare cake mix per directions
• Dredge berries in a little flour so they don’t sink
• Gently fold and mix in the berries until they’re evenly combined. (It’s ok if the berries break apart a little bit, but try to mix carefully to keep the berries from disintegrating into the batter.)
• Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan
• Sprinkle sugar evenly over the top of the batter
• Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the cake is lightly golden and puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
• Let the cake cool in the pan. Serve squares of cake at room temperature with fresh berries, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream, if desired.
• ENJOY!

~Brooke

When I was growing up, I’m sure I didn’t appreciate this as much as I do now. But, it’s something I now crave! And…apparently, so does my daughter, because she asked me for it the other day. It is a bit of work, but SO worth it!

Ingredients

• 8 ears corn, husks and silk removed
• 4 TBS butter
• 2 TBS flour
• ½ cup milk (or heavy cream)
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp coarse salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions

• Remove kernels (see photo/video below)
  • Stand corn cob up in a large bowl. Using a sharp knife, slice downward to remove kernels. Repeat with remaining ears.
  • Use the edge of the knife or soup spoon to scrape downward on the cob to remove “cream”.
• Melt butter in a skillet and add flour stirring to create a roux
• Add corn kernels, pulp, and milk. Bring to a boil.
• Reduce to a simmer. Cover, and cook, stirring occasionally until corn is very tender, 20-25 minutes.
• Add sugar, salt and pepper and simmer, uncovered, until cream has thickened, 4-6 minutes.
• ENJOY!

~BrookePlay

I’m a sucker for anything that has a peach flavor, so when I saw this recipe I had to make it! It’s easier than you think and is the perfect use for those fresh peaches!

And it’s really easy to peel the peaches when you blanch them. Just cut a small “X” into the bottom of each washed peach and submerge them into boiling water for 60 seconds. When you notice the “X” start to loosen, put them immediately into an ice water bath. Then slide the skins right off.

Ingredients

• 6 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced
• 2 TBLS flour
• 2 TBLS sugar
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Top with Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

Topping

• ¾ cup rolled oats
• ½ cup flour
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• ½ cup cold butter, sliced

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a 9×9-inch baking dish
• In a large bowl, toss the peaches with the flour, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla
• Spread evenly in the prepared baking dish
• Make the topping: In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Use a fork, a pastry cutter, or your hands to work in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the peaches
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the peaches are bubbling and the topping is golden brown and crisp
• Let stand for 10 minutes before serving

Grilled Summer Squash

This is one of my favorite summer recipes. We have it as often as possible. And it’s so easy!

Ingredients

• Zucchini
• Summer Squash
• Butter
• Garlic salt

Directions

• Preheat grill for medium-high heat.
• Place the zucchini, and squash on a large sheet of foil.
• Dot with butter.
• Season with garlic salt.
• Seal vegetables in the foil.
• Place the foil pack on the preheated grill and cook 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Cookin with Brooke

Dec 17

Even though the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas has felt short, it doesn’t mean I’m short on holiday recipes! This one will have you coming back for more!

Ingredients

• 9 cups Rice Chex Cereal
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ cups powdered sugar (more or less)
• ½-1 cup (mint or regular) Holiday M&M’s

Directions

• Place cereal into a large bowl.
• In a medium bowl, add the chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter. Microwave until smooth and creamy.
• Add in the vanilla extract.
• Pour the chocolate peanut butter mixture over the cereal and stir to coat thoroughly. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
• Add the powdered sugar and stir until all cereal pieces are coated. You can add more powdered sugar as needed.
• Allow to fully cool and add in the M&M’s.
• Store in an airtight container.
• ENJOY!

~Brooke

Pumpkin Lasagna

My Daughter-In-Law is a vegetarian. So when she was recovering from delivering my grandson, I wanted to make her something I knew she’d LOVE. She’s a huge fan of pumpkin, so I gave this a whirl. She said it was DELICIOUS!

Ingredients

1 lb no-boil lasagna noodles

For Pumpkin Sauce

• 1 tsp olive oil (or ½ cup unsalted butter)
• ½ small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 cans (15oz) pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 2 TBS maple syrup
• Salt and pepper to taste

For Cheese Mixture

• 1 large egg, whisked
• 1 container (15oz) part-skim ricotta cheese
• 2 cups shredded fontina cheese (I used provolone)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 375° and grease a baking dish. (I used two 8×8 and froze them each for her)
2. Prepare the pumpkin mixture by cooking the onion and garlic in oil
3. Add the apple cider vinegar, pumpkin puree, spices and maple syrup
4. Season with salt and pepper and heat through
5. Prepare the cheese mixture by combining whisked egg, ricotta and 2 cups each of the other cheeses
6. Assemble the lasagna in layers, starting with the pumpkin mixture, then noodles, followed by 1/3 of the cheese mixture.
7. Repeat these layers, ending with the remaining pumpkin mixture and a final layer of noodles
8. Top the final noodle layer with the remaining shredded cheeses
9. Cover and bake for 35 minutes
10. Remove foil, increase the oven temp to 400° and bake for another 20 minutes until bubbly
11. Let the lasagna rest for 5-10 minutes before serving

Over the weekend, my sisters and I got together up north. One of my sisters made the most delicious breakfast (and it was beautiful!) I had to share it with you. So easy and SO yummy!!! 

Ingredients:

3 eggs
2/3 cup pumpkin spice coffee creamer
1/3 cup canned pumpkin
¼ cup pure maple syrup, plus more for serving
¼ tsp salt
1 (16 oz) loaf French bread, cut into 1-inch slices
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
Pumpkin butter, sliced almonds, and/or powdered sugar, for serving

Directions:
1.        Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 10×15-inch rimmed sheet pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.

2.        Whisk together eggs, creamer, pumpkin, maple syrup, and salt in a medium bowl; pour into a shallow dish. Soak bread slices in egg mixture, turning once, until well soaked. Shingle bread slices in prepared pan; sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice.

3.        Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve with pumpkin butter, almonds, powdered sugar, and/or additional maple syrup.

Pumpkin Butter:
Whisk together 1/2 cup canned pumpkin, 1/2 cup apple juice, and 1/4 tsp each of ground ginger and cinnamon in a small saucepan until smooth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Makes about 1/2 cup.