I have a bunch of chuck roasts in my freezer and was looking for something different than my usual Mississippi Roast to make with them, so it was off to Pinterest! I found this shredded beef recipe and it was a winner for everyone. It would be great in a rice bowl, on nachos, or in tacos. I tweaked the recipe a little bit because I was missing a couple of ingredients but I’ll note those substitutions at the bottom. Recipe and photo courtesy of asouthernsoul.com.

• 3 pound beef chuck roast
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 ounce can green chilies
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Layer sliced onion in the bottom of the slow cooker. Place chuck roast on top of onions. Sprinkle chopped garlic around the side of the beef. In a small bowl, add green chilies, chopped chipotle, beef broth, vinegar, and lime juice, whisk together then pour over the roast. Sprinkle the top of the roast with cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Place lid on the slow cooker and set the timer to 8 hours for low OR on high for 4 hours. When the roast is done, remove it from the slow cooker and shred using 2 forks. Drain off 3/4 of the liquid from the pot. Add shredded beef back into the pot and gently toss with remaining juice. Serve immediately.

*I didn’t have chipotles or green chiles, so I left out the chipotles and substituted 1/2 a cup of salsa verde for the diced green chiles and it turned out great.

We have been trying to cut back on the amount of bread and pasta we eat, so when I was looking for a way to use up rotisserie chicken that didn’t use those things I, of course, turned to Pinterest. I found this chicken bake and man was it good. I halved the recipe the first time to make sure we liked it, and it was so good, so flavorful that I didn’t even miss the pasta. Recipe and photo courtesy of afamilyfeast.com.

• 1 pound bacon
• 8 ounce package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/3 cup avocado mayonnaise
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2-1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 store bought rotisserie chicken, cubed
• 1 1/2 cups red onion, diced
• 8 ounces mushrooms, diced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 8 ounces baby spinach
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 375. In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp, reserving 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat and set aside. While the bacon is cooking, in a medium sauce pan, place cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, avocado mayonnaise, heavy cream, hot sauce, mustard, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika. Crumble bacon and add to the cream mixture. Clean skillet and add two tablespoons of the bacon fat and saute onions over medium high heat for three minutes. Add the remaining tablespoon of bacon fat and add the mushrooms and saute for five minutes. Add the garlic and spinach and toss to coat the spinach and cook until wilted, about two minutes. Add the cream mixture and cooked chicken and heat then pour into an 8X12 inch casserole dish. Sprinkle on the two cups of mozzarella cheese and bake for 20 minutes. Place under the broiler and brown, 1-2 minutes. Let sit ten minutes to set up. There will be a little liquid on the bottom which will eventually absorb into the mixture. We spooned a little over each portion. Serve with a salad or your favorite vegetables.

I’ve been trying to break out of my boring ground beef and chicken box and this pork chop recipe is right up my alley. Simple ingredients, simple preparation and it tasted really good to-boot. The gravy makes this recipe, hence the name at the top. Recipe and photo courtesy of southernplate.com.

• 4 boneless pork chops
• salt & pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chicken broth
• ½ cup cream

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add pork chops and salt and pepper the tops of them. Cook until browned, then flip and salt and pepper again. Continue cooking until opposite side is brown. Pour in chicken broth, reduce heat to medium, and cook until broth is mostly evaporated, about ten minutes. Once broth has cooked down, remove chops from pan and turn off heat but leave pan on the stove eye.Have a wooden spoon handy and pour the cream into pan. Immediately start stirring and continue until the pan remnants are fully blended in with the cream and cream is warm and thick, just a few minutes. Serve chops with delicious cream sauce spooned over them.