Looking for something spicy, filling and quick? This recipe takes about 15 minutes to prepare and anywhere form 3-8 hours to cook, depending on the temperature you set the slow cooker.
Jambalaya
1 lb. chicken breasts cut into 1 in. cubes - (I used a little more 2-3 breasts)
1 lb sausage sliced
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 large onion chopped
1 large green bell pepper chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried parsley
2 tsp. cajun seasoning
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
In the slow cooker mix all ingredients together. (Lots of chopping!) Cover and cook on high for 7-8 hrs. or low for 3-4 hrs.
I serve this over rice. It would also be good with rolls to help soak up the spice. The chicken turns out tender and the vegetables turn into a sort of a broth. The husband said "delicious!" Try it and let me know what you think!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Hmmmm RIBS!!!
First of all, I grew up not really eating any red meat. We mainly ate chicken in my house. For a while there we were even vegetarian! So cooking meat is a new thing to me. It's something I don't do very often, but something I try to do sometimes to break up the monotony of "just chicken". My friend Jordan gave me this recipe. We tried it last night and I must say it was a big hit with the husband. All in all this recipe cost about $15 for us and we had leftovers. I'm sure it would feed a family of 4 and as an alternative for eating out - $4 a person is pretty good!
Ribs (Nice recipe title right?)
Get a rack of ribs from the grocery store. Buy a bottle of Liquid Smoke (on the barbecue isle.) Line a pan with foil, (or if you'd rather not line it with foil just cover it with foil at the end.) and preheat oven to 350. Put your ribs in the bottom of the pan, pour the Liquid Smoke over it (we used the whole bottle the first time, but you could just eyeball it. 1/2 a bottle should do it.) Put it in the oven, cover it, and bake for 3 hours. I fixed this with a steam fresh bag of garlic roasted potatoes and corn on the cob. Yum!
Ribs (Nice recipe title right?)
Get a rack of ribs from the grocery store. Buy a bottle of Liquid Smoke (on the barbecue isle.) Line a pan with foil, (or if you'd rather not line it with foil just cover it with foil at the end.) and preheat oven to 350. Put your ribs in the bottom of the pan, pour the Liquid Smoke over it (we used the whole bottle the first time, but you could just eyeball it. 1/2 a bottle should do it.) Put it in the oven, cover it, and bake for 3 hours. I fixed this with a steam fresh bag of garlic roasted potatoes and corn on the cob. Yum!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Pepperoni Pasta
This is an easy 20 minute recipe I make often when we are on a time crunch or want something hot for lunch. It's simple, easy and has 6 ingredients. These are things you can always keep around the house too. My friend Leah gave me this recipe and Drew and I love it and make it a lot.
Pepperoni Pasta
1 box bowtie pasta
1/2 package of pepperoni (I use turkey pepperoni - it's less greasy and less calories. Tastes the same in this dish)
3 cloves garlic (whole)
1/4 of an onion, finely chopped
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
Cook and drain the pasta. While you are doing this saute the onion and pepperoni. (I usually slice the pepperoni in half or in fourths.) Add the garlic cloves at the end. Add the pasta, diced tomatoes and whipping cream to the pepperoni mixture and cook on low until thickened. (Make sure to remove the garlic cloves when its done!) Calories for this dish are 423 per cup. But for something quick to feed the kiddo's it's still not too bad! That's it folks! It makes great leftovers. Delicious!
Pepperoni Pasta
1 box bowtie pasta
1/2 package of pepperoni (I use turkey pepperoni - it's less greasy and less calories. Tastes the same in this dish)
3 cloves garlic (whole)
1/4 of an onion, finely chopped
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
Cook and drain the pasta. While you are doing this saute the onion and pepperoni. (I usually slice the pepperoni in half or in fourths.) Add the garlic cloves at the end. Add the pasta, diced tomatoes and whipping cream to the pepperoni mixture and cook on low until thickened. (Make sure to remove the garlic cloves when its done!) Calories for this dish are 423 per cup. But for something quick to feed the kiddo's it's still not too bad! That's it folks! It makes great leftovers. Delicious!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Mexican Shredded Chicken
Delicious! I have to give credit where credit is due. My friend gave me this recipe and it was her mom's recipe. Where the original came from, I'm not sure but thank you Kara Orvin! This was delicious! I don't think you can get much easier than a 3 ingredient recipe. Here it goes.
Mexican Shredded Chicken:
3-4 frozen chicken breasts (I did 4 but I'm sure you could do even more)
1 package of taco seasoning
1 can of Rotel
Put all items in a slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours.
I put this in the slow cooker at lunch today. You don't need to add water - the frozen chicken and the juices from the chicken make enough juice to keep it from sticking or overcooking. I always buy the bags of frozen chicken breasts so this is super convenient. I think you could easily use a can of diced tomatoes instead of Rotel if you didn't want the dish to be as spicy. I used original taco seasoning, but I saw chicken taco seasoning at Wal-Mart so I might try that next time and see if it is any different. By the time the slow cooker is done the chicken literally shreds itself. It is so good!
You could serve this with tacos as the taco meat. We actually ate it by itself as just a plain chicken breast and made a package of mexican rice to go with it. Either way you could make this into several different dishes. It's simple, inexpensive and depending on what you serve it with its healthy too! Not much more you can ask for!
Mexican Shredded Chicken:
3-4 frozen chicken breasts (I did 4 but I'm sure you could do even more)
1 package of taco seasoning
1 can of Rotel
Put all items in a slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours.
I put this in the slow cooker at lunch today. You don't need to add water - the frozen chicken and the juices from the chicken make enough juice to keep it from sticking or overcooking. I always buy the bags of frozen chicken breasts so this is super convenient. I think you could easily use a can of diced tomatoes instead of Rotel if you didn't want the dish to be as spicy. I used original taco seasoning, but I saw chicken taco seasoning at Wal-Mart so I might try that next time and see if it is any different. By the time the slow cooker is done the chicken literally shreds itself. It is so good!
You could serve this with tacos as the taco meat. We actually ate it by itself as just a plain chicken breast and made a package of mexican rice to go with it. Either way you could make this into several different dishes. It's simple, inexpensive and depending on what you serve it with its healthy too! Not much more you can ask for!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Italian Chicken and Pasta- Slow Cooker Meal
Today I got up this morning before church and put all this together in the slow cooker. It only took about 15 minutes to prepare and was ready for me when I got home.
This recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and is labeled low fat and easy. (Two things I look for in a recipe!)
Italian Chicken and Pasta:
1 9-ounce package frozen Italian-style green beans (I couldn't find these frozen so I did a 14.5 ounce can - it worked just fine.)
1 cup fresh mushrooms, quartered
1 small onion, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used chicken breasts and 12 ounces was about 1 1/2 breasts)
1 14.5-ounce can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 6-ounce can Italian-style tomato paste
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 ounces dried fettuccine, cooked and rained
Finely shredded or grated Parmesan cheese for the top:)
1. In the slow cooker stir together the onions, mushrooms and green beans (because I did not use frozen green beans I added the can about 30 minutes before serving so as not to make them mushy.)
Put the chicken on the vegetables.
2. In a bowl stir together undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning and garlic. Pour over the chicken and vegetables.
3. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours (I cooked it on high while I was at church). Serve chicken mixture over hot fettuccine. Sprinkle with cheese.
Drew liked this meal and told me to make it again. This is an easy one that can be started during lunch (if you go home on a lunch break) or cooked for a few hours while running errands etc. I've found most slow cooker meals to need 5-6 hours even on low but this one is nice in that it cooks quickly. The chicken was tender and next time I may try to cut my onions into smaller pieces and keep the chicken in larger strips or pieces. The small 1 inch pieces fell apart in the cooker and didn't make the meal very "meaty".
Calories are 405 for 1 1/2 cups of chicken mixture and 3/4 cup fettuccine.
Enjoy!
This recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and is labeled low fat and easy. (Two things I look for in a recipe!)
Italian Chicken and Pasta:
1 9-ounce package frozen Italian-style green beans (I couldn't find these frozen so I did a 14.5 ounce can - it worked just fine.)
1 cup fresh mushrooms, quartered
1 small onion, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used chicken breasts and 12 ounces was about 1 1/2 breasts)
1 14.5-ounce can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 6-ounce can Italian-style tomato paste
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 ounces dried fettuccine, cooked and rained
Finely shredded or grated Parmesan cheese for the top:)
1. In the slow cooker stir together the onions, mushrooms and green beans (because I did not use frozen green beans I added the can about 30 minutes before serving so as not to make them mushy.)
Put the chicken on the vegetables.
2. In a bowl stir together undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning and garlic. Pour over the chicken and vegetables.
3. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours (I cooked it on high while I was at church). Serve chicken mixture over hot fettuccine. Sprinkle with cheese.
Drew liked this meal and told me to make it again. This is an easy one that can be started during lunch (if you go home on a lunch break) or cooked for a few hours while running errands etc. I've found most slow cooker meals to need 5-6 hours even on low but this one is nice in that it cooks quickly. The chicken was tender and next time I may try to cut my onions into smaller pieces and keep the chicken in larger strips or pieces. The small 1 inch pieces fell apart in the cooker and didn't make the meal very "meaty".
Calories are 405 for 1 1/2 cups of chicken mixture and 3/4 cup fettuccine.
Enjoy!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Strawberry Salad
Summer time is the perfect time for salads. After a week of VBS, fast food and crackers from my pantry and Drew being out of town eating mainly his momma's good cooking and eating out, we decided tonight we needed a little bit of green in our diet. Strawberry salad is a recipe a friends mom gave me for our wedding. I didn't try it until a few months ago and since then we've had it several times. It's delicious, sweet and salty and fresh. Tonight we added chicken, and grilled it on the stove with honey and olive oil to make it a little sweet as well. Here is the recipe including the chicken I used. I bought all the ingredients for this tonight from Wal-Mart for $20. This is a great price because it will feed us SEVERAL times, as well as make a complete dinner for the evening. Can't eat out for that cheap! Included in this recipe is a blush vinaigrette salad dressing and it is fantastic! (I did not purchase the ingredients for this, because I already had them all on hand.)
Here is the recipe of deliciousness!
Strawberry Salad
2 bags of baby spinach
Handful of cashew pieces, crunched up in a baggy
5-6 strawberries cut up
A handful of craisins
A handful of feta cheese
1-2 chicken breasts grilled up into strips with honey
The great thing about this is you can do it for YOUR taste. I like it with more feta and cashews because it helps balance out the sweet of the rest of the foods and the dressing.
Blush Vinaigrette Dressing
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp celery salt
Mix it all together and shake well! Use soon after making.
I'm not the best with presentation, and I had already tossed this before I took the picture, but here is the deliciousness of the salad in a picture.
Try it and let me know what you think!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
There is nothing quite like Chicken noodle soup. It's good on sick days, rainy days, cold days or smack dab in the middle of summer when you've run out of other food in the house. I always keep ingredients for chicken noodle soup on hand. You can eat it with crackers or try it with a bread bowl. We pick up bread bowls from Panera Bread for about $1.50 per bowl. Cut out the top, add some soup and you have a filling and yummy meal. I took this recipe from one on allrecipes.com but added a lot of things to it. I guess you could say this is the first recipe I've really altered or created on my own.
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
7 cups of water
4 cubes of chicken bouillon
2 chicken breasts cut up into cubes
1/3 cup of carrots diced
1//3 cup of celery diced
1 can chicken broth
1/2 onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 half bag (1/2 pound) of egg noodles
Boil the 7 cups of water with the 4 bouillon cubes. Cut up the raw chicken into pieces and add it to the boiling water. Cut up your carrots and celery and add them in as well. When the chicken is boiled through and the vegetables are raw, add the can of chicken broth and 1/2 the onion. (You will take the onion out at the end, so do not chop it. Add it to the soup whole for flavor.) Add your noodles, cooking them for the time it says on the bag. About 8 minutes. When you add your noodles go ahead and add the can of cream of chicken and the can of cream of celery soup, mixing it in until it is dissolved. Let it boil until the noodles are cooked. Remove the onion and serve.
This makes a whole lot and is delicious! Add pepper or salt for your own personal seasoning. The bouillon and soups make it plenty salty. Enjoy!
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
7 cups of water
4 cubes of chicken bouillon
2 chicken breasts cut up into cubes
1/3 cup of carrots diced
1//3 cup of celery diced
1 can chicken broth
1/2 onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 half bag (1/2 pound) of egg noodles
Boil the 7 cups of water with the 4 bouillon cubes. Cut up the raw chicken into pieces and add it to the boiling water. Cut up your carrots and celery and add them in as well. When the chicken is boiled through and the vegetables are raw, add the can of chicken broth and 1/2 the onion. (You will take the onion out at the end, so do not chop it. Add it to the soup whole for flavor.) Add your noodles, cooking them for the time it says on the bag. About 8 minutes. When you add your noodles go ahead and add the can of cream of chicken and the can of cream of celery soup, mixing it in until it is dissolved. Let it boil until the noodles are cooked. Remove the onion and serve.
This makes a whole lot and is delicious! Add pepper or salt for your own personal seasoning. The bouillon and soups make it plenty salty. Enjoy!
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