Crockpot chicken tacos

Crockpot Chicken Tacos
Recipe from Tasty Kitchen
Serves: ~12 people

1 Envelope Taco Seasoning (I use Old El Paso Reduced Sodium)
6 Pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 16-ounce jar Salsa (I switch between brands, but Newman's Own or Pace are my favorites)

Dump everything into a crock pot and give it a little stir to blend the seasoning with the salsa. You do not need to add any water to the taco seasoning. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. When done, the chicken should shred easily when stirred with a fork.

For tacos, serve the chicken with soft flour tortillas, guacamole, lettuce, shredded cheese and/or sour cream. This is very versatile and can be used for enchiladas, nachos, tostadas, quesadillas, etc. Any leftover chicken can then be used for tortilla soup (make it the next day or freeze the chicken to use at a later time).

Baked Caprese Pasta

I made this tonight and my family devoured it.  It was fresh and delicious. I was thinking next time I might substitute Chicken fingers for the mozzarella sticks. Original recipe found HERE.
Baked Caprese Pasta

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 1/4 C chicken broth
• 1 1/2 C milk (Fat content lower than 1% not recommended)
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/3 tsp kosher salt
• 1 lb penne pasta, cooked
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/3 C mozzarella, cubed
• 1/2 C fresh basil, chopped
• 1 (8 oz) box Mozzarella Sticks

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Melt butter in a medium-sized sauce pan and add garlic. Let cook until fragrant, about 1 minute and stir in flour, cooking an additional minute.
3. Whisk in broth and milk, stirring constantly until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in salt and red pepper.
4. In a 9x13" casserole dish, place 1/2 of the pasta into the bottom and top with 1/2 of the tomatoes, and basil, and all of the mozzarella. Repeat with the remaining pasta, tomatoes and basil.
5. Pour garlic sauce evenly over the pasta.
6. Cut each mozzarella stick into a several pieces and place across the pasta in an even layer. Cover with foil.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, uncover, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the mozzarella sticks are melted and crisp and the sauce is bubbling.

Stovetop Ribs

These ribs are so good and they don't take as long to cook as some Rib recipes take.  The recipe says to let them boil in the water until the water has evaporated and that should take about 20 minutes, but the few times I have cooked them it has taken more like 45min.  I have also used beef ribs and I actually like them better than the pork because they were less greasy. Recipe found HERE

INGREDIENTS:

10 pork spareribs 1/2 cup soy sauce 10 cloves garlic, crushed 1 tablespoon dried rosemary 1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 bay leaves 1 lime, juiced 10 sprigs fresh parsley ground black pepper to taste 2 limes, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Place the spareribs into a large pot, and fill with just enough water to cover. Add the soy sauce, garlic, rosemary, oregano, bay leaves, lime juice and 3/4 of the parsley. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered over medium heat until the water has completely evaporated, about 25 minutes.
2.	When all of the water is gone, remove the bay leaves, and allow meat to brown, turning occasionally. Use a spatula to scrape up browned bits and softened garlic from the bottom of the pot, and toss them with the pork. The garlic will dissolve onto the meat. Remove the meat, and drain on paper towels. Season with black pepper and garnish with lime wedges and remaining parsley.