The Briar Patch

Savory Sunday - Slow Cooker Lasagna

    Oh my...it has been forever since I last posted!  I am going to try posting my favorite new recipes every Sunday.  I usually cook ahead for the week on Sunday afternoon.  Most recently I tried a new recipe for Slow Cooker Lasagna.  This was quick and easy to make.  It turned out great!

Slow Cooker Lasagna

1 lb. bulk Italian sausage or hamberger

1 medium onion

3 cans (15 ounces each) Italian-style tomato sauce

2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)

1 container (15 ounces) part skim ricotta cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

15 uncooked lasagna noodles

1.  Cook sausage (or hamberger) and onion in a skillet over medium heat until meat is no longer pink: drain. Stir in tomato sauce, basil and salt.

2.  Mix 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and the ricotta and Parmesan cheeses.  Refrigerate remaining mozzarella cheese while lasagna cooks.

3.  Spoon 1/4 of the meat mixture into a 6 quart slow cooker: top with 5 noodles, broken into pieces to fit.  Spread with 1/2 of the cheese mixture and 1/4 of the meat mixture.  Top with 5 noodles, remaining cheese mixture and 1/4 of the meat mixture.  Top with remaining 5 noodles and remaining meat mixture.

4.  Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.  Mine was done in 4 hours.  The noodles will be tender.

5.  Sprinkle top of lasagna with remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.  Cover and let stand about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Makes 8 servings.

    I hope you will give this recipe a try.  It was very easy to make and my kids really liked it.  I was nervous about adding uncooked noodles...but it turned out great.  Have a great week!

Vicki

Sloppy Joe Recipe

 

Today was kind of a rainy day here in West Virginia.  A great day for sloppy joes and french fries!  I posted my recipe a while back...click here for the details.  They were so good!  I hope you had a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

Vicki

My Weeping Cherry Tree

 

 

 

My weeping cherry tree was so full of blooms this year!   It was so pretty!  Whats blooming in your garden?  I think warm weather is finally here in West Virginia...time to start working in the garden.

Vicki

Spring Break 2011 - Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

This year we decided to upgrade our camper.  We sold our pop up back in the fall...we wanted something with a little less pop up!  So here she is...all the way from Iowa.

 

Here is The Titan...

 

We decided to go camping in Harpers Ferry...yup...a few miles down the road! 

 

Here we are all set up.  Madison was playing around with a hose...I guess she was bored.  Little did she know...she was playing with the sewage hose!  For the record...it is clean and just out of the box!

 

 

We spent one afternoon visiting Harpers Ferry.  The water was very high due to recent heavy rains.  We hiked up to Jefferson Rock.

 

 

The kids enjoyed the climb!

 

 

 

I love this picture that I took of the kids!!

 

This picture is for my Dad!  There must have been 10 trains that went thru that afternoon!

 

Here are a few pictures of the inside of the camper...

 

 

 

 

Griffen...he loves look out the window.

 

The kids got a chance to color eggs and the Easter Bunny even found us at the KOA!

 

 

We had a great time camping in Harpers Ferry.  Here we are all ready to head home.

 

Happy Easter everyone!!

Vicki

 

Mini Easter Basket

 

This little basket is so cute!  It was very easy to make.  So easy that this is one of the crafts my Girl Scouts are doing tomorrow night.  It can be filled with all sorts of little goodies.   To make it you will need a piece of designer series paper that measures 6 x 6.  You will then need to score 2" on each side.  Then you will cut in on 2 of the score lines on 2 of the sides.  The handles measure 1/2" x 7" and were secured with a brad.   So easy!  Make sure you stop by later this week for a recipe for HO-HO Cake....yup it tastes just like a HO-HO!!

Vicki

Hungarian Goulash

I love to use my crock pot.   This is a recipe that I absolutely love and it's so easy to make.  I'll sometimes make this on the days that I have to work.  All I have to do when I get home is add the sour cream and cook the noodles.  Sometimes I'll even cook the noodles ahead of time...which is what I did today.  Now, when the kids get home tomorrow from school all I have to do is throw together a salad and warm up the noodles/goulash.

 

Ingredients

2 lbs. stew meat

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

2 Tbsp. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 tsp. paprika

10 3/4-0z. can tomato soup

1/2 soup can of water

1 cup sour cream

1.  Mix meat, onion powder, garlic powder,  and flour together in the slow cooker until meat is well coated.

2.  Add remaining ingredients, except sour cream.  Stir well.

3.  Cover.  Cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours.

4.  Add sour cream 30 minutes before serving.

5.  Serve over hot egg noodles or brown rice.

I told you this was an easy recipe!!  And yummy!  I hope you will give it a try.  Thanks for stopping by.

Vicki

Layered Mexican Chicken Casserole

A few years ago I took a freezer cooking class and came across a few great recipes.  My friend Tammy made this recipe for our monthly crop.  It is very easy and yummy!  This website has alot of wonderful and easy recipes.  You can either make one batch of the recipe for that days meal or you can do a couple of batches to freeze.  I just made one batch...I wanted to make sure that my family liked it.  They loved it!

Ingredients

2 cups of Cooked, diced chicken

10 oz can of Cream of Chicken Soup

1/2 cup of Rotel Tomatoes

2 Tbsp of Quick Cooking Tapioca

On Hand Ingredients

6 Small Flour Tortillas

1 Small Red Onion - add to taste

2 cups of Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Assembly Directions

In a small bowl, mix together the chicken, soup, tomatoes, and tapioca.  Stir until well mixed.

Freezing Directions

Put the chicken mixture in a one-gallon freezer bag.  Seal, label, and freeze.  Make sure as you are sealing you are getting all of the air out.

Serving Directions

If you want to prepare right away just skip the freezing part above and continue.  If mixture was frozen....Thaw the chicken mixture at least overnight in the refrigerator.  Spray the inside of a 3 quart slow cooker with cooking spray.  Tear 2 tortillas into pieces and line the bottom of the crock.  Add 1/3 of the chicken mixture, 1/3 of the chopped onion, and 2/3 cup of the cheese.  Repeat the layers of torn tortillas, chicken mixture, onion, and cheese two more times.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours.  I mixed up a little more of the soup, Rotel, and tapioca to add around the edges.  Here is a picture of the layers in the crockpot.

 

I cooked this recipe on LOW for 6 hours and it turned out great.  Here is the after!

 

Madi and I enjoyed ours with it topped with just sour cream.  Tom prepared his with layers of tortilla chips, the casserole, salsa, and sour cream.  This recipe was a hit.  Everyone had seconds!  I will be making this one again.  I hope you will give it a try.  Thanks for stopping by...have a great Sunday!

Vicki

Easy Oven Bacon

My friend Jennifer Cloud recently shared with me how to make bacon in the oven.  It is so easy...it frees up the stovetop and your house doesn't smell like bacon when you are done.  To get started you will need an oven (just being silly:-), a Pampered Chef Bar Pan, and a package of bacon.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Place the strips of bacon next to each other on the bar pan...try not to overlap.

 

Place the bar pan in the oven and bake for at least 20 minutes.  The bar pan has edges going all of the way around...that prevents the grease from going everywhere.  Do NOT use a cookie sheet!!!

 

The bacon comes out nice and crispy!  I did use the cheaper store brand of bacon this time.  If you use a better cut of bacon it will not shrink.  I hope you will give this a try...it is so easy!

Vicki

Down Memory Lane

 
 

I found this picture recently.  It was taken sometime in the early 1970's.  My parents had taken me to Santa Claus Workshop north of Lake Placid, New York.  I think I was around 4 or 5 years old.  I still have my siver ring made from a nail used secure "horse shoes."  I know you are loving the pants!  Such fun childhood memories...Thanks for stopping by!

Vicki

Happy Anniversary!!!

 

Happy Anniversary to the most wonderful, kind, and loving husband that I know!

Nineteen years ago today I married my best friend!

Thank You for all that you do for me and our children.

I Love You more than anything in this world!

Thank You for the beautiful flowers!!!

 

I Love You Tom!!!!

Love Always and Forever,

Vicki