A new way to blog & Honey Sauced Chicken

Yes.... I have been MIA for, well, almost a year.  I have excuses... but none that you care to hear.  I know you're just here looking for a good recipe right?  Well... that is what I intend to give you.   Read on!

Now.... I haven't gotten overwhelming responses from the way I previously did my blog.  So I am going to try something new.   I think that this "something new" will make it easier for me to post/blog and you will still get your awesome recipes and some great tips and reviews.

I don't know how many of you are familiar with Pinterest... but it's amazing.  I have been "pinning" recipes on there for a while now.    What I plan on doing is trying at least one "pinned" recipe per week and sharing it here on my blog.    I suppose it will be similar to "reader recipes".  Another cool bonus is that you will be introduced to many many new cooking blogs.

Hopefully this new idea will be a hit... with me for blogging stamina and with you in your kitchen.  I'm sure my husband is going to be ecstatic about me blogging again because that means yummy new dinners again.  

Happy Cooking!!!


This week I made a recipe called "Honey Sauced Chicken"   
It is awesome for lots of reasons.  One being that it is a crockpot recipe OR an oven recipe.  Love those kinds.

Click here for the original site

Honey Sauced Chicken

3/4 pound chicken (of your choice)  (I used boneless skinless thighs)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/8 cup chopped onion (or 1/16 cup onion flakes)

1/8 cup ketchup

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 clove garlic, minced  ( I added about 5 more cloves)

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes  ( I didn't add these, but hubs wishes I would have)

Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3 hours or on high 1 1/2 hours. Chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce. Serve over rice or noodles.

To bake chicken as a 30 minute meal:

Dice chicken and season both sides with salt and pepper, place in 8x8 pan. Pour sauce over chicken and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.

Serves 2.

Review:   AMAZING!!!  It is very similar to sesame chicken or some similar asian dish.  We love asian food in this house and every single child ate ALL of it.  I don't know if that has ever happened unless it was pizza or actual chinese takeout.  This is going on my faves!

Tips: I read all the reviews on the blog and did indeed agree that the sauce was watery at the end.  So I mixed about a Tablespoon of cornstarch with some water to make a liquid and added it to the sauce. Stir it in and wait a few minutes and the sauce is thick.  The more cornstarch you add, the thicker it will get. (but be careful... you don't want jelly)  If you are in a hurry, you can dump it all into a pan and thicken it up that way.  (that's what I did).  Also please make note that the recipe on the original blog is for TWO servings.  I had to quadruple it to feed my family.  So make sure to do your math before you get to cooking! AND... if you are doubling the recipe make sure to account for a longer cooking time in the crockpot. One last tip... I diced my chicken up before putting it in the crockpot.  I hate having to cut it up at the end when it's all hot... so this was easier for me.  If your chicken is frozen, that won't work... but it's just a matter of preference.

I've been hiding out with some Chicken Tortilla Soup

Well helloooo there!

Nice to see you again.

Maybe you've been wondering where I've been,

Maybe you haven't even noticed. 

Either way.... I'm gonna tell you.

But first, I cannot ignore the fact that it's Valentines day! 

In honor of that, I thought I would share a quote from one of my bestest friends.  I think she hits the nail on the head and I believe everyone can benefit from mulling this over:

"For some, today could be a painful reminder of love lost...and so for you I pray a distinct awareness of our God's presence....for others, what if we choose to celebrate the love we DO know today with friends and loved ones and choose not to despise love unfulfilled and allow yourself to receive the gift of Love and Goodness around you, in whatever form that may be!"

I really love that! 



So, back to my hiding away.....

I had surgery.... on my jaw

I also had my wisdom teeth out ("since they were already in there".....lol)

So, I've been recovering for the last week.  

I may need a little time still because, you see, my mouth is full of stitches

FULL of stitches

And stitches are not condusive to eating... so I'm not really eating OR cooking either.

My poor family you say......

No.

My Mom and my friends are awesome.

They have brought me food.

Casseroles and soups

Muffins and smoothies

Chili and breads

Talk about LOVE!

And, you might be wondering why I think you care....

Well, I wrote all of this just to tell you that ONE of those soups is from another pretty cool blog/website

So I thought I'd share the recipe with you because, well... it's pretty great.

My wonderful thoughtful sweet friend Merran is a big fan of the Pioneer Woman

She makes a lot of her recipes. 

She made me her Chicken Tortilla soup

It was pretty easy to eat after a few days because everything is so soft.

It's still one of the only things I've been eating besides the smoothies one of my other friends made me.

( I hope I can get THAT recipe.... it's pretty yummy too)

Anyway, if you want to check out the Pioneer Woman's Soup click here!

Otherwise, I hope you receive LOVE today.....

Creamy Pesto Chicken Penne ( A Reader Recipe)

I have been exhausted this week and even though I've been cooking, I can't seem to find the time to blog.

I usually blog during the kids' naptime, but I've been taking naps myself...lol

I'm going to blame it on my weekend skiing with a bunch of teenagers and no sleep. 

This old body needs some time to catch up I guess.

It also probably has NOTHING to do with the fact that the sun hasn't been out in weeks!

Well, today is my reader recipe post. 

And in case you're all wondering how that is going, well....

I've only had a couple of recipes sent to me. 

So... please, help a girl out! 

Ok.. on to the recipe stuff...

I have actually had this recipe for a while, but didn't have all the ingredients.

I am not one to just go out and buy what I need... it has to be on sale. 

I will wait and wait and wait.

Yes, I know, I'm wierd.... I've learned to accept it...lol

I finally have all the ingredients (the pesto was the hard one for me)

I got this recipe from a very dear friend of mine in Australia

Here is what she has to say about it:

"This one is so easy that Alexa has made it and she's NO expert cook!
It's yummy too. We generally use whatever type of pasta we have in the pantry and I usually make it with basil pesto rather than tomato, but both are good. I also usually put a bit less stock." ( I adjusted stock amount in the recipe for this)

Thank you Ros for sharing your yummy recipe with me!

I was so happy to have finally tried it! 

I can't wait to share it with all of you too:

Creamy Pesto Chicken Penne

Ingredients:

1 box (16oz) Penne Pasta

1.5 lbs chicken breast, cubed

8 oz jar pesto (regular or Sun dried tomato pesto)

1 C Chicken stock

1/4 C Parmesan cheese, shredded (NOT the powdered kind)

1/4 C Cream *(see my notes below in the tips section)

Extra parmesan for serving

1/2 Tbs olive oil

Directions:

Cook pasta until done

Drain, and set aside

Cut raw chicken into bite sized pieces

Add olive oil to pan and cook chicken until browned

Add stock and bring to a simmer

Stir in pesto until combined (use about 3/4 of jar)

Add cream and return to simmer

Stir in parmesan and continue to simmer until chicken is cooked through

Combine pasta and sauce in large bowl and serve

Sprinkle parmesan on top if desired.

***Review:

I LOVED this dish.  I was pretty sure I would.  It is sooo good and one of the easiest I've made in a while!  It's light and hearty all at once.  Hubs loved it too.  The kids were happy to eat it as well... although the "green specks" (pesto) all over it threw them at first.  They weren't sure... until they tasted it!  Some picked out the chicken and some ate it.   Overall it was a thumbs up!  This is a great recipe to serve to company!  It's super easy but looks fancy! Who doesn't love that?  I'm making it again next week for my parents!

**Tips:
I adjusted the Austrailian recipe to the best of my ability converting everything from grams to ounces and pounds.  It all worked out just fine for me.  I did however use 1/2 C Cream instead of 1/4 C because I was on the phone(oops) and read it wrong... but it turned out so great that I will probably use the same amount next time.  Also, I added more parmesan than it called for because I love it and I don't think you can ever have too much cheese.  I think I added about 3/4 C to the sauce and the another 1/2 C to the top of the pasta when I served it.  Again, make sure you are using grated parmesan and not the powdered stuff that comes in a little plastic shaker.  It will not taste the same.  As for the pesto, you could probably use the whole jar... I used a little more than 3/4 of the jar... but what am I going to do with that little bit left? 
*Edited 3/30/11: 
Marinated artichoke hearts would be a great addition to this dish (you can find them jarred or canned) also, you can change up the chicken for shrimp and I think maybe adding a some small sliced grape tomatoes would be great in this as well (and it adds color).

To Serve:
This dish will go great with a salad and some warm crusty Italian bread! 








Printer Friendly Directions:

Creamy Pesto Chicken Penne

Ingredients:
1 box (16oz) Penne Pasta
1.5 lbs chicken breast, cubed
6.7 oz pesto (regular or Sun dried tomato)
1 C Chicken stock
1/4 C Parmesan cheese, shredded (NOT the powdered kind)
1/4 C Cream
Extra parmesan for serving
1/2 Tbs olive oil

Directions:
Cook pasta until done
Drain, and set aside
Cut raw chicken into bite sized pieces
Add olive oil to pan and cook chicken until browned
Add stock and bring to a simmer
Stir in pesto until combined (use about 1/2 to 3/4 of jar)
Add cream and return to simmer
Stir in parmesan and continue to simmer until chicken is cooked through
Combine pasta and sauce in large bowl and serve
Sprinkle parmesan on top if desired.

40 Clove Garlic Chicken in the Crockpot

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 Time sure does fly doesn't it?


I hope all of you had a wonderful and blessed 2010 and I hope that 2011 is even better!

I am looking forward to trying some fun new recipes in 2011

What are you looking forward to?

Yesterday I tried my first new recipe of the year

I have been wanting to try it, but with Christmas and all the cooking to be done there wasn't much time for new recipes.

This week, I was very sick with some sort of cold/flu and wasn't able to really cook at all (or get out of bed)

Thankfully, near the end of the week I was feeling better and was able to pull off a crockpot meal.

Here it is:

Ingredients:
3-4 pounds chicken parts ( I used legs, but you can use a whole chicken even)
1 large onion (or 2 small ones), sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon pepper
40 garlic cloves, whole & peeled


Directions:

Place onion slices on the bottom of the crockpot.

In a large mixing bowl, toss chicken parts with olive oil, salt, paprika, pepper, and all of the garlic cloves.

Place in crockpot, on top of the onion slices

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours



***Review:
I have mixed feelings about this chicken.  I think because I love garlic, I had reeeeealy high expectations for this dish.... and it didn't meet them.  It was good...don't get me wrong, but it didn't have the sharp, garlic-y taste I was hoping for in my mind.  It was more of a sweeter type thing.  I thought it needed more salt, so I changed the recipe accordingly.  Hubs liked it... but didn't love it. A couple of kids ate it and a couple didn't. I would make it again.... but lets just say I'm glad I didn't serve it to company ....lol 
On the upside, it was super easy to make... and I liked that part. 



Notice on the bread I spread some of the cooked garlic.  It spreads like butter!


**Tips:
 I am going to try to make this one more time.... I'm gonna change a few things though.  First off, I used chicken legs.  I liked them,(the kids love them too) but next time I think I will take the skin off first.  Also, they were slightly frozen, so that may have added too much water for the original recipe and therefore made it tatse so plain.  Also, not sure I would add all the paprika next time either... it didn't do anything for me.   I may even replace the regular salt with some garlic salt.  After I make it again, I will come back here and update my review.
Another reason I will make it again: A chef friend of mine thought maybe my garlic was old and didn't have all the "strength" it needed for the flavor I was looking for.  That is entirely possible.... so definitely going to give this another shot sometime soon.


Printable version:

Ingredients:
3-4 pounds chicken parts ( I used legs, but you can use a whole chicken even)
1 large onion (or 2 small ones), sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon pepper
40 garlic cloves, whole & peeled


Directions:

Place onion slices on the bottom of the crockpot.
In a large mixing bowl, toss chicken parts with olive oil, salt, paprika, pepper, and all of the garlic cloves. Place in crockpot, on top of the onion slices
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours

Chicken Divan in the Crockpot

 

So I am running out of crockpot recipes.

 

I am going to have to scour the internet and cookbooks to get some more good ones.

 

I am sure if you're like me, you started off with a handful of tired and true recipes and ventured no further.

 

Because of this blog... I need to venture..... and venture some more.

 

This has led me to only one dinner drama disaster... so I can't complain.

 

Tonight  was not one of them thankfully.

 

I went Christmas shopping and wasn't home to try this one.

 

I left the photo taking and the serving to the hubs.

 

He did a great job on the serving

 

You'll have to forgive the photos....lol 

 

He is sweet enough to do it for me though... so I appreciate that.

 

Now, I'm not sure if you remember, but the hubs is NO chef.

 

So I figured this was a no brainer.

 

Take it out and serve.

 

Well, he surprised me tonight and doctored this dish up slightly for the kids.

 

and not in a bad way.

 

I believe he actually made this recipe better.

 

He fried up some ham and crumbled it and put it on top.

 

But... before you think he's had some kind of cooking epiffany

 

You must know....

 

He adds ham, honey & hot sauce to pretty much everything.

 

Regardless, adding the ham was a bonus on this occasion.

 

 

Ingredients

20 ounces frozen broccoli spears

6 chicken breasts

21 1/2 ounces cream of chicken soup, canned

2 cups mayonnaise

2 teaspoons lemon juice

3-4 slices of ham

 

Directions:

 

Place broccoli in slow cooker.

Place chicken on top of the broccoli.

Mix together the soup, mayonnaise and lemon juice.

Pour over the chicken.

Cover; cook on Low for 8 hours or high for 4

Cook ham in pan and crumble and put over top

or add ham slices to crockpot for last 30 minutes

***Review:

Well, I didn't eat it until later... but I still thought it was good.  Hubs said it was a little tangy... but that was the miracle whip speaking.  Otherwise, he liked it.  Kids ate it once hubs doctored it up.  It had broccoli IN it... so the fact that they ate it says something....lol  Love, love, love the ham on top!

**Tips:

Well, as stated above, Hubs added some fried ham to the original recipe and that made it great.  I did use

 1 C of miracle whip in place of 1 C of mayo... which I wouldn't necessarily recommend, but it wasn't awful.  I can see now how it altered the taste... which I knew was going to happen.  I thought I had more mayo ... but I only had one cup.  It was all in the crockpot... what's a girl to do?  ;) 

Also, since it comes with the veggie in place, hubs served this with a side of tomato parmesan Pasta Roni .  I don't make everything homemade you know!

Sweet & Sour Crockpot Chicken

Wow!

I am voting this the BEST crockpot recipe I have made so far!

I really really like this one.

Maybe it's because I have a love for Asian food, but whatever....

It's awesome!

It could also be that it is one of the easiest.

Hmmm!

I hope you will try this and let me know what you think.

Hopefully, you'll be just as excited about it as I am.

It's ok if you're not, I want to know that too!

I'm sure there's bound to be one or two people out there that actually try these recipes

Right?  :)

If you're one of them, please leave me a comment here and there and let me know what you think

Sometimes I feel like I'm writing to myself, ya know?

On with the cooking......................

Ingredients

• 6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
• 1/2 cup Russian or French salad dressing
• 1 cup apricot preserves or jam
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. dried thyme or basil leaves
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 2 Tbs Corn starch (optional)**

Directions: 

Place chicken pieces in the bottom of your crockpot

Mix remaining ingredients (except corn starch)in a medium bowl and pour over chicken.

Stir to coat.

Cover crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours

**Before you serve it  you can thicken the mixture by combining2 tablespoons cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water or chicken stock and mix until smooth. Add to the crockpot; turn to high for 10-15 minutes until sauce is thickened.

This is definitely not a great picture, but I was in a hurry.  It actually looked much better than this!

***Review:

I think I stated my opinion in the beginning... I am in love.   Hubs was afraid he wouldn't like it because it has apricots in it and he HATES anything peach or that has a peach type flavor. No worries though... he loved it.

It has a great sweet and savory flavor.  Very similar to the sweet and sour chicken you get in a chinese restaurant. My 8 yr old looooved it.... which is saying something.   Only 1 of the other kids didn't like it... so I call that a score! 

**Tips:

Definitely add the corn starch to the mixture if you have it.  It gives it just the right consistency. Also, make sure your chicken is frozen....that is why it was so moist... especially for chicken breast. I don't think I've eaten such a tender piece of chicken breast before.

*Calories:
This recipe makes six servings and has aprox. 350 calories per serving.   Don't forget that the rice or whatever you serve it on is not counted in this number.

Crustless Turkey Pot Pie Topped with Stuffing

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

I had a great time with my family and friends! 

I wish I could have stayed another few weeks! 

Always so much to do and not enough time to fit it all in!

Anyway....

My mom made this great crustless version of a chicken pot pie... turkey style

It actually would be a great dish to serve on Thanksgiving if you didn't have a turkey

It's got all the fixings.... turkey, stuffing... and so on.

But we made it after Thanksgiving with all our leftover turkey. 

We had a lot of leftovers

My mom made a LOT of food

As always

So, she got creative and made this dish.

We ate it with a side of leftover mashed potatoes

And my leftover pumpkin cheesecake

Basically an awesome leftover meal. 

If you want to try it out, check it out below:

Ingredients:
2 C Turkey/chicken, cooked & diced
2 Potatoes, diced
2 Carrots, diced
1/2 C Onion, finely diced
1 Can corn, drained  (or peas, green beans etc.)
2 Cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 C Chicken broth
2 Boxes stove top stuffing (whole wheat turkey)  Any kind would do
1/4 tsp Chicken seasoning
1/8 tsp Pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Boil the potatoes and carrots until they are half done
Drain and set aside
Sautee Onions (or boil them with the other veggies if you don't want to sautee them)
Add veggies to a bowl and add all other ingredients except stove top.
Mix well and place in a greased 9x13 dish
Prepare stovetop according to package directions and add to top of chicken mix
Bake for 45 min or until heated through


Here is a photo taken after we all dove in... I totally forgot to take a pic until after we ate!

***Review:

Hubs and I loved this.  3 of the kiddos ate it and 2 hated it.... I know, shocking!  All the other adults loved it too.  It was a great way to eat up all the leftover turkey!

**Tips:

You can add any veggies you want to this dish... it's up to you.  Don't leave out the potatoes, but pretty much anything you want to add will work.  You could probably even throw all the ingredients in the crockpot (adding the stuffing the last 1/2 hour or so) and it would be great! You might add a little more broth and cook for about 3-4 hours on low. 

Sassy Crockpot Chicken BBQ

I haven't posted since Friday.

Sorry!

Normally, I don't post on the weekends anyway.

But this past week has been "off" in the way of posting

Last week I had internet/computer issues

Then yesterday..... oh yesterday

 I made a crockpot meal I have been wanting to make for weeks.

I found it somewhere online and was so excited to try it.

It had artichokes in it.... which I love.

Well, I finally made it and couldn't wait to taste it.

Um.... I never did actually taste it!

Well, not really!

Not like, a full bite or anything.

Lets just say the chicken was GREEN! 

Yes, green.

Very un appetizing to say the least. 

NO ONE LIKED IT! 

Even hubs... who usually likes everything.

I decided not to try it at all.

The smell was enough!

We all get a dinner disaster once in a while.

So I'm not sweating it!

But, that's why I didn't blog... there was nothing to say or show

I won't subject you to the recipe.....and there were no photos allowed!

The End! :)

On to todays cooking!

I keep hearing about McDonald's McRib sandwich.

I don't like fast food....

But I do like BBQ

I almost ordered one today.

Whew... close call.

So, I came home and threw some stuff in the crockpot to quench my cravings

I guess it's called sassy because it has some italian dressing in it.... which is a little different. 

Sometimes different is good.... sometimes not.

We shall see!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 (18 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce
• 1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Place chicken in a slow cooker.
In a bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce.
 Pour over the chicken.
Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low

***Review:
These were good!  Very very good!  I loved them and hubs loved them.  Kids say "it's super good"  What more can you ask for?
They were pretty easy to make too... definitely adding it to my favorites list!

**Tips:
Today I served these on hoagie rolls.  Usually, I would serve them on a hard roll or Italian bread.  But these are what I had on hand.  Top them with a little cheddar and they are awesome!  Sometimes in a cuban BBQ sandwich, they will add pickles... this is awesome too!  Gives a little cruch and that sweet/salty flavor I love!
Just and FYI, you definitely want to cook these for a while to get them to shred consistency.  I cooked on high for 4 hours and then gave it another hour  because they weren't quite ready.  They were cooked, but didn't easliy shred.

Also, there seems to be a lot of liquid in the crockpot, I just took the chicken out, shredded it and put it back in to "marinate" for a little while.  You could add more BBQ sauce if you want it more saturated.. but I think it's good just how it is!

Sesame Beef & Chicken Stir fry

So last night's steak had purpose in today's meal (and tomorrow's)

I almost always make more than we need for one dinner so we can use it for lunch or for another meal

I like to cook this way because it saves me a lot of time

I like to save time! 

I think you probably do too.

This post is going to be to the point today...

I had dentist appointments for 3 kiddos ... no naps and a thingy at school tonight that I have to take ALL the kids to by myself because the husband has to work late!  (did I mention no naps?)

Oh the joy!

I am tired.... so I have no energy to write a fun post! 

I am really just wanting to take a nap!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
- 3 steaks (raw or cooked) cut into very thin strips
- 3 chicken breasts (raw or cooked) cut into very thin strips

- 1 small onion finely sliced

- 1 bag stir fry vegetables or parisian style veggies or fresh veggies

- sesame oil

- soy sauce

- 1 jar Ty Ling sesame sauce

- *1 (5 oz) can water chestnuts

-* 1 (15 oz) can baby corn

(*optional)

Directions:

Add 2 tsp oil to pan/wok

Add onions to pan when oil is hot

Cook onions until carmelized

Add vegetables

If using fresh broccoli add a little water to the wok (2 Tbs)

Add a few shakes of soy sauce to the veggies while cooking

When veggies are done, take them out of the pan and set aside in a bowl

Add a few more tsp of oil to the pan

When it's hot add the raw meat 1st (my chicken was raw)

Add a few shakes of soy and cook until done (just a minute or 2)

Add the cooked meat (my steak was already cooked)

Immediately add the Ty Ling Sesame sauce to the meat (aprox 1/4 C)

Let the sesame sauce cook down for about 3 minutes

Add vegetables

Add more Ty Ling Sesame sauce (about 1/4C)

Cook for a few more minutes to blend flavors and you're done

Serve over white or brown rice

***Reviews:
A-W-E-S-O-M-E!-  I LOVE this stuff!  I love Asian food, but we can't always afford to eat out.  I found this sauce one day and thought I'd give it a try... oh..my ... goodness.  It's sooo good!  So, whenever I make steak for dinner this is always dinner for the next day!  Hubs loves this dinner and the kids LOVE this.  Yes, I know it seems wierd that they would eat this with all its veggie friends inside.. but they do.  Add "Chinese" to anything and they are all about it.  Too bad this is one of the few "chinese" dishes I can make! Anyway, I hope you try it because it's really very easy. 

**Tips:
You can use raw or already cooked meat in this... which I love.  I didn't have enough leftover steak so I used that and the raw chicken... it was actually better having the combo. Make sure you cut the meat very thin... wok cooking is supposed to be "high heat" so you want things to cook fast and not burn.  Also, if you don't have a wok, you can use a fry pan... just make sure it's a big one!  Oh and sometimes I add sesame seeds to this while cooking and then as a garnish after... but I totally forgot this time!
 I used a frozen veggies in this.. and I always have before, but I find that the frozen bags ususally are lacking in the broccoli area... so I added a little fresh broccoli too... I just cooked it first so it wasn't so "raw", then added the other veggies.  I liked the fresh broccoli better... though frozen would work just fine. 
I usually add water chestnuts and baby corn if I have them... I didn't tonight.  It still tastes good.
Basically, meat, broccoli and the sauce is all you really need.
And if I'm being honest here.... even though brown rice is healthier.. and that's what I used.... I definitely prefer white rice with this.  Not sure why. I didn't have any though... so brown minute rice it was.  Speaking of rice... make sure to put the water on for the rice right about the time to start the veggies cooking or just before so that it can be done when the stir fry is done. 

I hope you like this recipe! Pleae let me know if/when you try it out!  I'm curious to know what you think.
Also, if you have any great "Asian" recipes....I would love it if you would share them with me.  You can send them to thedinnerdrama@hotmail.com
 I can't wait make some reader recipes to post on here!

Salsa Chicken in the crockpot

I have been checking out a lot of cookbooks and websites lately

I'm searching for easy recipes that taste good so I can share them with you

I would love it if you would share your recipes with me too!

I found this one on some random site and e mailed it to myself

It seemed pretty easy and sounded good so I made it tonight

I love how simple it is!

Ingredients:

 

- 6 chicken breasts

- 1 (15 oz) can black beans (drained)

- 1 can corn (drained)

- 1 (16 oz) jar of salsa

- 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

- rice, hot cooked

 

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients in slow cooker, except rice and cheese.
2. Cover; cook on Low 6-8 hours or High 4-5 hours.
3. Serve over rice and top with cheese

Review:
Honestly, this is not the best dish I've ever made... but it's pretty good.  Hubs liked it but the kids were not fans.  Each one had a different thing they hated about it... mostly it was the tomatoes... but they loved the beans, corn & rice.  Unfortunately, salsa doesn't come without tomatoes...lol   I did love how easy this was though.  Just a few ingredients and it's done.  It seems pretty healthy too and low in fat.  It has a very light/fresh taste to it. I would probably make it again.

Tips:
I think if I were to make this again I might throw the cheese in the crockpot at the end and let it melt onto the chicken... just to see how that would taste... maybe even melt some velveeta in there.  Definitly serve it over rice though... that totally makes the dish! 

The kid version

Turkey corn casserole

Ok... I will admit right off that I did not want to make this dish.

I would not consider myself a food snob, but there are certain foods I won't eat

Hamburger helper is among them (sorry if you like hamburger helper)

This dish kind of reminded me of a hamburger helper-ish meal

Anyway, long story longer, I had a yummy chicken dish I was going to make tonight

I went to the freezer to grab the bag of chicken that I knew was there and guess what?

Hubby decided to use it to experiment with a recipe of his own (yes... the whole bag)

This is in no way a good thing, since hubby is ONLY good at making breakfast foods.

One day I will tell you the story of him making his own BBQ sauce..... not pretty

Anyway... there was no chicken. 

There were also 70 mph winds and tornado warnings... so I wasn't going to the store.

What to do? What to do?

I searched the pantry, the freezers and the cookbooks.

I came up with this somehow. 

Really I think it was just that I didn't have much food on hand and I happened to have all the ingredients for this dish. 

Also, I was starving....so it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Guess what?  It WAS a good idea. 

I liked it.  Granted, I was starving..... but I wasn't the only one who liked it.

The kids liked it

The neighbor liked it

Did I mention I liked it?

The hubby liked it... a lot.

This is what the pan looked like when I got home last night:

This is in no way a "company" type meal though.

Meaning, I would never serve it to company( because it's not pretty - see photo below), but it did the job...and that's what counts right?

No Dinner drama for this mama!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
- 1lb ground turkey
- 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
- 1(16oz) pkg egg noodles
- 1 (15 oz) can corn (drained)

- 2 (10.75 ounce) cans cream of mushroom soup

- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 casserole dish
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add noodles, cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until not quite done, and drain.
Place turkey in a skillet over medium heat, and cook until evenly brown. Drain grease.
In a bowl, gently mix cooked noodles and turkey, corn, and soup. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly.


***Review:
As you can tell from what I wrote above, we really liked this one.  It's not pretty, but it's a decent dinner... it tastes good... which is half of what counts...lol

**Tips:
As you can see from my lovely photos, I did not use egg noodles.  Why? because hubby somehow used those too and left me with a half of a bag.  I improvised and used bow tie noodles... they worked fine, which leads me to believe you could pretty much use any kind of pasta you want in this dish. 
Also, next time I might throw a little cheese on top just for fun!  I also think you could easily use ground beef or even shredded chicken or turkey... pretty versatile dish.  Add a few green veggies too and it might look better...lol

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

Well it's a little late, but here is the last edition of what to do with your leftover chicken.

My son requested this recipe last week. 

Did you hear that?  My 8 year old son requested for me to make chicken!

Not pizza, not take out, not mac 'n cheese.... CHICKEN.

It was a proud moment. :)

I got this recipe in 2006 from our MOPS cookbook.  (thank you Jessica)

It's a pretty easy recipe.  I think my son could've made it himself... no, I'm not kidding.

Here we go..............

Ingredients:

- 6 chicken breasts (or a whole small chicken shredded)
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 Tbs poppyseeds
- 1/2 C butter melted
- 8 oz. Ritz crackers crushed (about 1 roll/package)

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees
Boil chicken and cut into bite sized pieces (or use leftover cooked chicken)
Place chicken into a greased 9x13 casserole dish
In a bowl, mix soup, sour cream and poppy seeds
Pour mix over chicken pieces in casserole dish
Crush crakers in a bowl and pour melted butter over them
Mix to coat , then pour them over the top of casserole dish
Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through

***Review:
We love this dish. It's one of those foods that I will eat a second serving of just because it tastes so good...and not because I'm still hungry.  My kids love this dish.  My 14 year old who thinks I'm a horrid cook tasted this and smiled.  The other kids love it as well.  It's a definite winner at my house.   Apparently it's a winner at my parents house as well.  I made this for my mom and dad and they both loved it too!  Yay!

**Tips:
I usually make this chicken in the fall.... I think it's because after Thanksgiving, I need to use up all that leftover turkey.  Which brings me to my point.... this is GREAT with turkey.  A lot of times I buy those pre cooked chickens at the store when they go on clearance and then shred one up to use for this dish.
As for cooking tips go, I noticed that the top browned pretty good when I made it this time.  I didn't have my original recipe card with me but noticed when I got home that I wrote "cover w/foil" on the side.  Hmmm... maybe that wouldn't be a bad idea. I didn't mind the crackers being golden, but if you're not careful, it could get ugly fast.... so either use foil or really watch it. 

Here is what it looked like just out of the oven

And here it is on the plate! 



Let me know if you try this or if you have a similar recipe! 

Chicken pot pie Crockpot OR Oven

Yes, we are still using the chicken we grilled on Monday!

Pretty handy huh?

Well, I think so anyway.

Because today.... I had a field trip to go on and Boy Scout popcorn selling stuff at night. 

Which left me, well just about ZERO time to make dinner.

I wanted to make Chicken pot pie but didn't have the time ( & I've never done it before)

Whatever did I do, you ask?  Well, I got up early, threw some stuff in the crockpot, wrangled my kids

(you dont even want to hear that story) and headed off to the pumpkin patch.

Did I mention that I came home to a wondeful hot meal? 

Well, I did.

And... it was good! 

Do you want to make some too?  

Oh wait.  What if you don't want to use the crockpot or just don't have one? 

I have a plan!

My friend Kara has a cooking blog too. 

And she just happens to have a great recipe for Chicken Pot Pie for the oven on her blog.

Check it out here

Wanna know the coolest part?  You can FREEZE it too!  I love it!

Where was I? Oh yeah............

Chicken pot pie in the CROCKPOT

Ingredients:

4 Tbs butter
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
6 TBSP Cornstarch
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cups cooked, shredded or cubed chicken
2 cups cooked cubed potatoes ( I only partially cooked them)
1 bag frozen mixed veggies (peas,carrots,beans,corn)
1 roll of pilsbury cresent dough seamless roll  (fits the crockpot perfectly)

Directions:

Put all ingredients except dough & cornstarch into the crockpot.
Slowly add cornstarch while stirring/whisking liquid (to prevent lumps)
Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 4 hours.
An hour or so before you're ready to eat, place the sheet of dough across the top of chicken mixture
When dough is cooked, it's ready to eat.

***Review:
I was really happy with this dish.  I actually sampled it a few times before it was done.  I think it could have used a tiny bit more seasonings... but I had never made this before and didn't want to add too much.  Another problem I found was that it was a little too soupy.  I added more broth than I was supposed to because I thought the crockpot cooking would use it up... but I was wrong.  It was still good though... and after it sat, it thickend up anyway. 
As for the topping, I meant to use real pie crust (rather than homemade) but accidently bought the pillsbury cressent roll dough sheet and not regular dough.  I was happy with the results though.  And I wasn't sure how long pie dough would take to cook in the crockpot anyway.  I will check that out another time.
Overall I will give this a thumbs up.  I ate 2 bowls, my 4 year old ate all of his and all of his brothers'. The hubs liked his too!  Yay!
I will be making this is the oven somtime too.... can't wait to make one and freeze one!

**Tips:
I adjusted the recipe above to make up for all my experimenting.  You could add different veggies or a different topping if you are adventerous.  If you really wanted to, you could add a can of cream of chicken soup to this also.... but honestly, I feel like every single crockpot meal calls for that, and I'm sick of it. 
As for the seasonings, if you grill the chicken, that will give it a lot of flavor.  If you use boiled chicken, you may want to season it a little more. 
I haven't tried this, but I am guessing that you could even use raw chicken in this one and it would be fine!  If you try it, let me know how it worked for you!  Otherwise, I will try that next time... just for fun!

Chicken Fajitas

And so the saga of the leftover grilled chicken begins. 

Today we will use said grilled chicken for some yummy Chicken fajitas. 

I love when I can make last night's meal into a whole new meal tonight!

Again, these are nothing spectacular (read: difficult).  No marinades, no sauces... just some yummy grilled chicken from last night.

I know you might think that is boring, but for most of us... even though we'd hate love to spend hours marinating some meat... we just can't do it. No time. 

But we do need to eat ... and it needs to be good.

So, for those of you left reading, enjoy a quick easy way to have chicken fajitas for dinner

Ingredients:

-  4 Leftover chicken breasts  (if you are making this fresh, check out the grilled chicken recipe here)
- 1 large onion sliced
- 1 Tbs butter or Olive oil
- 4 -6 flour tortillas
* green peppers
* Sour cream
* Salsa
* 1 diced tomato
* guacamole
* lime
* shredded lettuce
* hot sauce
* shredded cheese
(* means optional)

Directions:

Slice chicken breast into strips.  Set aside.
Slice onion, place in fry pan with butter or oil and cook until carmelized
If you are using peppers, add those to the pan as well.
Dice any veggies that you want to serve on your fajita (ie: lettuce, tomato...) & set aside
Warm tortillas in microwave for about 10 seconds or heat in pan until hot
Lay out tortilla and put sour cream on it, then chicken, squeeze a little lime over it and add any other toppings you like.
Roll it up and enjoy! 

***Review:
We love these at our house.  The kids love that they can add their own toppings... which means they can avoid any of the things they don't like.  Hubby loves that he can add all the hot sauce he wants.  I love the onions..... I use a ton.  This is probably one of my favorite staple dishes. 

**Tips:

This is a pretty straightforward dish.  Basic, easy, quick.  The only tip I can think of is to not overheat your tortillas (which is easy to do if using a microwave) or they will get hard fast.  If you don't heat them at all, they tend to tear when you fold them.... which is no fun.  Other than that... add anything you want to your hearts content.