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.

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup (A Reader Recipe)

Here is another reader recipe.

This time, it's a favorite from my sister's kitchen!

This is something I've heard her talk about for years and never got around to trying until recently.

If you want a crockpot dish that is SOUPER easy... this is it!

If you're not into crockpot cooking, here is a different recipe for chicken tortilla soup that's also delicious.

4-5 frozen chicken breasts

1 pkg frozen mexican veggies (corn, blk beans, peppers)

1 can chicken tortilla soup

1 can nacho cheese soup

1 can water

Sour cream

Cheese

Tortilla chips

Put all ingredients in the crock pot on low and let cook all day. 

When chicken is done, shred it then put back in soup. 

Add sour cream, cheese and crushed tortilla chips to each bowl and enjoy!

***Review:
This soup is a favorite of my sister's family.  I didn't love it as much.  I don't know if it was the fact that I couldn't find the mexican style frozen veggies or what. ( I used southwest veggies)  It may be that I just don't love nacho cheese... and it's a big part of this recipe. Also, I'm pretty picky!  Anyway, the hubs liked it and the kids picked at it.  They loved the chips to dip in it.   I will say that it looked great... that counts for something in my book!  I have a thing for pretty food!  ;)

**Tips:
I don't really have any tips.  I love that this soup is super easy to make.  Add it all in and go.  If you want to add a little spice you could add a can of rotel or even some jalapenos or green chili's.

*Serving:
This soup was great served with the tortillas crushed up in it.  I think it would also be good with some italian bread or even corn bread on the side.  Sour cream is a must and a little avacado wouldn't hurt either!

Printer Friendly Recipe

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

4-5 frozen chicken breasts

1 pkg frozen mexican veggies (corn, blk beans, peppers)

1 can chicken tortilla soup

1 can nacho cheese soup

1 can water

Sour cream

Cheese

Tortilla chips

Put all ingredients in the crock pot on low and let cook all day. 

When chicken is done, shred it then put back in soup. 

Add sour cream, cheese and crushed tortilla chips to each bowl and enjoy

Garlic Beef Crockpot

Well... as promised in Monday's post, I am back with a new recipe.

I took an extra day because a small child confiscated my camera and hid it under the couch.

And let's face it, this blog is not as much fun without pics right?

Anyway.....

I have had this recipe in my files for a while.  It sounded good when I saw it somewhere on the web (I can't remember where).

I mean garlic & beef.  YUM right? 

Add that to the fact that you make it in the crockpot and BONUS!

(And just a note... this is not an asian dish in any way... even though it sounds like it).
  
When I started to make it I realized that I needed to tweak the reicpe a bit. 

The original recipe called for 6lbs of beef.... I have a large family... but not that large!

So, I changed it up added some things and made it my own... that makes it more fun anyway.

Ingredients

2 pounds lean steak, cubed

5 cloves garlic, minced *( my garlic was very large... I would use 10 regular sized cloves)

1 bay leaf

1/2 small onion, sliced/diced

14 oz can Italian stlye diced tomatoes

10+ black olives, sliced
1 1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbs olive oil

1/2 C broth (chicken or beef)

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in slow cooker.

2. Mix

3. Cover; cook on Low 7-9 hours or High 3-4 hours.

4. Remove bay leaf before serving.

***Review:

This was a great dish!  Very garlicy.... and I love garlic. Hubs liked it a lot too.  The kids however gave this one a thumbs down.  Go figure... since it has tomatoes and onions... 2 things they refuse to eat.  I was hoping the black olives would distract them enough.... no luck!  I will be making this one again though!  MMMMM.

**Tips:
If you have a crockpot that you know cooks on the hot side, I would recommend using a smaller crockpot for this.  If you don't have a small one (I don't) you can place a glass bowl ,large enough to fit your meal, inside your large crockpot and that should work too!  My crockpot doesn't cook hot though... so this worked just fine.  My meat was frozen though... so that added a bit more water to the pot. 
Speaking of frozen meat.... here is a great tip:  cut meat when it's still mostly frozen.  It makes it waaay easier.  If you have to cut fresh meat, use kitchen scissors.  Trying to cut raw/thawed meat with a knife can be challenging.
Also, if you are a tomato person... I would probably try adding another can of diced tomatoes to this dish.  I will do that next time. 
FYI  I cooked this on high for 4 hours and it was perfect!

*Serving:
I served  this over white rice.  It was really good that way and kind of reminded me of a beef stew type dish.  If you are trying to save on calories, it would be fine to eat it alone. 

Printer Friendly Recipe

Ingredients

2 pounds lean steak, cubed

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1 small onion, sliced/diced

10+ black olives, sliced

14 oz can Italian stlye diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbs olive oil

1/2 C broth (chicken or beef)

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in slow cooker.
2. Mix
3. Cover; cook on Low 7-9 hours or High 3-4 hours.
4. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Kielbasa & Sauerkraut (Stove or crockpot)

If you're looking for a quick go-to dinner.... this is it.

I mean, it's not really even a recipe.

It's just two ingredients thrown together and heated. 

Boom....instant dinner. 

I takes all of 20 minutes from start to finish.

And the best part?

My kids LOVE it.

Hubs & I like it too.

I'm not saying this is something you will be bragging about to your friends or anything

But if you're in a pinch, it works. 

Here's the "recipe".......

Ingredients:
2 lbs of Kielbasa (sliced into 1/2 inch rings)
2 lbs of Sauerkraut ( I use the bags)

Directions:
Slice Kielbasa into rings

Rinse & drain sauerkraut

Put it all in a pan large enough to hold it.
Put a lid on the pan and cook until hot

* Opitionally, you can place this in the crockpot on low a few hours before you're ready to eat.  Add about 1/4 C water if it's going to be in there more than 2 hours
Done!

***Review:
Kids loved this.  At first they were wary, but I told them it was like eating sausage and hotdogs mixed.  That helped.  The sauerkraut was something they had to try first... and they all liked it.  We usually only eat it cold on brats... so doing it like this was something new.  They ate it all up and asked for seconds and thirds.
I like this dish too.  I've been eating it my whole life.  I only have one complaint.  I only like a certain brand of Kielbasa (Kowalski)... but they only make it in Detroit so it's hard to find anywhere else.  I sucked it up and bought meijer brand and it was pretty good.  Not Kowalski... but hey... what can you do?

**Tips:
You can doctor this dish up if you want to.  I like it simple, but I have seen people add lots of different things to it.  Onions, anise seeds, potaotes, pasta... and the list goes on.  Also, you don't have to use Kielbasa.  I suppose you could use any type of polish sausage you want.

Do you have a favorite way of serving this?  Please share!

Printable directions:

Ingredients:
2 lbs of Kielbasa (sliced into 1/2 inch rings)
2 lbs of Sauerkraut ( I use the bags)

Directions:
Slice Kielbasa into rings
Rinse & drain sauerkraut
Put it all in a pan large enough to hold it.
Put a lid on the pan and cook until hot
* Opitionally, you can place this in the crockpot on low a few hours before you're ready to eat.  Add about 1/4 C water if it's going to be in there more than 2 hours
Done!

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

Asian beef in the crockpot

Ok, so I have been slacking this week. 

I just realized that I haven't posted since Monday and today is Saturday.

Have no fear though.... I will have my 3 posts in by Sunday.

This week has been especially busy for us.

We had 2 school delays and one snow day. (not normal for this time of year) 

These kinds of things totally threw me off.

Not to mention, I spent most of my free time finishing up Christmas shopping

And then hubs car broke down.... and we had a piano recital... you get the picture. 

There was some grilled cheese,pizza & take out nights this week.

I am embarassed to mention how many.

I did, however, get lots of stuff at the grocery store to make some yummy dishes. 

I am hoping to cook a lot next week and have all that to share with you soon.

 

I have been in the mood for Asian food lately  (ahem, mostly take out)

So I have been searching for something I can make at home.

I actually made this Asian Beef recipe last night, in hopes of blogging about it then.

I made the mistake of getting it into the crockpot too late.

I figured I would just put it on high and it might be done by dinner.

Nope!

One thing I already know is that you can't rush a roast.

So when it wasn't done at 6pm, I threw some penne pasta on and heated up some sauce & veggies

Viola! Instant dinner.

I let the roast keep cooking for another 2 hours and it was done.

So, it's dinner tonight.



Ingredients:
4 pounds boneless beef or pork roast ( I used deer)
1/2 C  soy sauce
1/2 C hoisin sauce
4 Tbs ketchup
6 Tbs honey
2 tsps Chinese 5-spice powder*

 2 tsp garlic powder (or 6 cloves, minced) ( I used fresh garlic)
1/2 C Ty ling Sesame sauce( I added that later because I thought it needed it)

*(If you don't have the 5 spice powder you can try 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 3/4 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp garlic salt)

The Directions:
Place the roast in a  5 quart crockpot. You can use fresh or frozen meat
Sprinkle the dry spices directly onto the meat, and top with the ketchup and honey.
Pour in the soy and hoisin sauces.
Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours, or until meat shreds easily with a fork.
(definitely give it the whole 8 hours.... this is not a quick cooking recipe)

When it's tender/done shred up and put back in juices to serve

***Review:

The first taste went to my 8yr old whose eyes got huge and this thumb went up immediately!  After chewing he yelled out "Awesome".  This is a good sign.  I however, didn't love it.  I think that the hosin sauce just isn't my thing.  It's a little more spicy/bbq flavored and I like my asian food sweet/salty.  But, a few of the boys liked it.  A few didn't. Hubs is not home for dinner tonight, but I think he will probably like it.

 

**Tips:

As stated above, definitely let this thing cook for 8 hours on low.  It takes a long time for roast to be so tender that it shreds. 
Also, I would recommend serving this with rice.  I didn't have any so I used angel hair pasta... not the best idea.. but it works.  I have also seen that you can serve it over shredded cabbage, which I think would be good.  I actually have some, but it's for another recipe this week. 
also, if you do use noodles, you could add a little sesame oil to them to give it a little asian flavor.

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!

Chili

It's cold!

Reeeeeally cold! 

Time to break out the "winter food" recipes

I love chili!

It's so warm and comforting to eat.

I'm only "allowed" to make it in the winter though.

Hubs has issues with me making soup or chili when it's warm out.

I find that slightly wierd...

So sometimes, I sneak in soup.

I'm a rebel....lol

But, now that it's chili season I thought I'd share my favorite chili recipe with you!

Ingredients:

1 (29oz) can of tomato sauce

1 (28oz) can of whole tomatoes

2 (28oz) cans of crushed tomatoes

1 large Onion (or 2 small ones), diced

1 (1.25oz) pkt of chili seasoning

10 cloves of garlic, diced

2 lbs of ground beef/turkey (cooked)

2 cans kidney beans, undrained

**shredded cheese (optional toppings)

**sour cream (optional toppings)

**crackers (optional toppings)

Dont have packaged chili seasoning?
Make your own-
Ingredients for homemade chili seasoning:
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

Brown the ground beef and drain grease

Add all ingredients (except toppings) into a large pot

Cook 3-4 hours on low/med (or longer) with lid off
Stir occasionally

**Serve with toppings above or anything else that sounds good :)

FYI: This is a 5 qt pot and it's pretty full. It definitely makes a lot of chili!

***Reviews:
I really like this chili.  The hubs would prefer if it was much much more spicy, but he likes it otherwise.He just adds his cholula hot sauce to his own bowl.  The kids will not eat it.... and I don't expect them to.  But it's a pretty good recipe I think.  I really love all the garlic in it! It's pretty chunky too... not a "soupy" kind of chili.

**Tips:

Chili is a pretty basic dish.  You can add almost anything you like.  That's the great part about it.  You can add steak chunks, jalapenos, hot sauce, green pepper.  Or you can take out the garlic or onion .... it's flexible. Add more beans or take them out entirely. If you want it more soupy, you can replace the whole tomatoes for tomato sauce or even (blah) tomato juice (my mom does this). She also adds little noodles so it's more like goulash.  I have even seen people add cocoa powder.

Also, I had a friend that used this basic recipe and added a can of hormel chili as well. I thought that was pretty good too.  What I love about chili is that no two chili's are alike.... so get creative and make it your own.

Cooking it as long as you can is best... but  make sure it's on low because you do not want to burn the bottom... yuk!  It's almost always better the next day too.  

Another bonus?  You can put it all in the crockpot and cook it all day.  How cool is that!

You can easily freeze any leftovers too! 

Gotta love chili!

*Serving it:

I cannot eat chili without sour cream and cheese in it... seriously! 

It's awesome with crackers too.

One of the best add ins?  French fries!  Serious... try it somtime.

You can also just eat it plain OR with a little Italian bread.

Anything is better with Italian bread!

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!

Leftover Soup

We're still working on the leftover grilled steak from Tuedsay
Leftovers....... mmmmm!

I didn't always think that way.

My mom doesn't eat them, my grandmother doesn't eat them

I didn't eat them either.

I do not like them Sam I am! (sorry, I couldn't resist)

But... then I met my hubby.

He likes leftovers

At one point, I joked that he would eat boiled paper if you put hot sauce on it.

I was kind of serious though... during the college years he may have even tried that

Since meeting me his standards have gone up.....

and mine have gone down.

In the FOOD area people.... FOOD!

Remember, this blog is about food?

Anyway.... He is much pickier about food these days and as for me?

Well, I eat leftovers now

I actually love them

(here is where I really want to add another Green Eggs & Ham quote... but I am refraining)

I eat them all the time and I love love love to re-use them in another dish

I love to recycle too... and re-use.

Maybe I should call this recycled soup? 

Hmmm.. maybe not!

Anway, I went to a class once on saving money

She taught how to be frugal in grocery shopping and all that

She taught how to re-use food you would normally throw out.

Ok... don't get all grossed out on on me now!

I am talking about that last little tablespoon of corn left in the bowl after dinner

(NOT off someone's plate)

Those few green beans that no one will eat.

Not enough for a serving and so you just throw it away.

STOP!

Now there is a better way.

Get a ziplock freezer bag.

Label it leftover veggies or meat

Everytime you are done with dinner and have a few carrots or some corn,broccoli, green beans.. anything really..

Put it into this bag in the freezer.

You will be shocked at how fast this bag will fill up

I do the same thing with meat too.

Sick of eating pot roast AGAIN? 

Toss the rest in a freezer bag... juice, onions and all.

When the bags are full... it's time to make leftover soup.

You are basically getting a FREE meal.

These are all little bits of things you will toss anyway... but are perfectly good.

And the mixing of all the flavors is awesome! 

It's never really the same soup because there's always something different about it.

Sometimes it has beans, sometimes it doesn't.... and so on.

Anyway.... I love this soup.  I keep the bags in my freezer door and pretty much add to it every night.

E-A-S-Y!

Ingredients:
- 1 pkg McCormick Beef Stew seasoning
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 2 tsp garlic powder (or to taste)
- 1 (32oz) Beef or Chicken broth/stock
- 1 C water
-1 bag of leftover veggies
- bag of leftover beef
- *1 can diced tomatoes (optional)

Directions:
Add everything to a large pot and cook for a few hours

Cook some small noodles and serve them in the soup

See? E-A-S-Y!

***Review:

Hubs and I love this soup! The kids are iffy... sometimes they eat it sometimes not.  All those veggies in one place freak them out....lol   They do like it better if I serve the "ABC" noodles with it.  I love that this is an easy and free dinner.  Easy and Free.... what more could you ask for.

Hubs is not a soup person... so this only goes over for a day or two.  He doesn't think soup is a meal.  Luckily, you can only make this every few months. 

**Tips:

If you don't have enough veggies left or if you want to make this from "fresh" veggies.. you can still do it.  Just add cans or frozen of whatever veggies you want.  It's pretty much a free for all.  I have never mixed chicken and beef but I suppose you could do that too.  I just like mine this way because it's pretty much Beef Vegetable soup... and I like that.  But do whatever you want.  You can't really mess it up.

You can even put it in the crockpot. 

Everything is already cooked, so just toss it in on warm or low and let it heat up...  you might want to add a bit more liquid if you're going to cook it all day.  This is one of those things that is even better on the second day!
As for seasonings... keep tasting as you go... you may need less or more of somethings depending on how seasoned the meat was that you put in.  If it's too salty... just add more water.

Serve it over any kind of noodles you like... or none at all.

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

Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches

I mentioned in a post earlier this week that I don't have a lot of fun pork recipes.

Actually, I rarely ever cook pork.  I don't know why.

But... this dish is my favorite. 

Sometimes I think about it.... and start craving it .... and I have to make it.

Or... sometimes pork is on clearance... and I make it then too, lol.

This is a very simple recipe. 

I don't even know if I would go so far as to call it a recipe. 

It makes a great dinner so I guess that counts.

Ingredients:
- 6 lbs Western Ribs (any kind of pork will do, roast or loin)
- 1 1/2 C Apple Juice (or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 bottle BBQ sauce
- *Shredded Cheese (optional, to taste)

Directions:
Trim fat off pork
Put it in the crockpot and pour juice over it.
Cook on high for 8 hours
When meat is done, it will shred/flake easily with a fork
Shred all the meat and add your bottle of BBQ sauce
Fill empty bottle from sauce with water and shake... then dump the bottle of water into crockpot
Stir and cook until heated through
Serve with cheese sprinkled on top.

***Review:
This is probably one of my most favorite things to eat.  I don't know if it's the texture or what... but I love it.
I was not home for dinner last night (this has been an unusually busy week) and I got this text from hubby:
"dinner was a hit tonight... it's awesome.  Kids asked for more and want to know if we can eat it for dinner tomorrow too.  Great job! Thanks"
I think that sums up the review!  BIG hit!

**Tips:
Pork takes quite a while to get to the right consistency for pulled pork.  If it's not done enough, it's just not as good.  If you have a large roast I would reommend cooking it overnight on low and then you can shred it in the morning and cook it on low all day (make sure there is enough liquid). Or you could leave it and shred it when you get home and re heat it.  It's pretty versatile and you can't really mess it up. 
As for the BBQ sauce... I think less is more.  You can always add more to each individual serving if you want more.  You can really play with this recipe and tweak it to your taste. Also, you don't have to use as much pork as I did either.  I love to eat this leftover as well, so I usually make a lot.... then I freeze whatever is left in individual portions and use it for lunches.

*Serving:
I love to serve this on a hard roll or a slice of french or italian bread.  My favorite way is to dig out a little of the center of the bread and place the pork in it.. sprinkle with cheddar and broil for a few minutes to melt the cheese.  You can just eat it plain as well.  You could put it on a burger bun too.  I would serve it with some grilled veggies and maybe some cole slaw! There are really no hard and fast rules as to how to eat this.  Have fun with it!

I'm sorry the photo isn't as close up as it normally is.  Hubby was kind enough to photograph his dinner for me last night (since I ate mine in the car).  Gotta love his rounded meal huh?  He must have eaten the veggies before he took the pic right?