Sunday, July 22, 2012

Crockpot Creamy Italian Chicken

This recipe was amazing!! We liked it so much that we made it 2 days in a row! And guess what? I forgot to take a picture BOTH time! Fail! I blame it on the pregnancy brain.

This recipe reminded me a lot of "Hawaiian Haystacks" if you have ever had those before. So you could probably add the toppings on and it would be exactly the same, but a million times easier.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I guesstimate that 2-3 breasts equal 2lbs?!)
1 pkg Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
1/4 cup water
1 8oz pkg low fat cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 cups cooked rice

Directions:
1. Place chicken in crock pot
2. Mix together Italian dressing mix and water. Pour over chicken.
3. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours OR low for 8 hours.
AFTER THE 4 or 8 HOURS
4. Mix together cream cheese and soup in separate bowl.
5. Carefully remove chicken from crock pot to plate.
6. Pour cream cheese/soup mixture into crock pot and mix together with dressing in bottom.
7. Return chicken to crock pot and mix gently to shred the chicken.
8. Cook on LOW until heated through.
Serve with rice or noodles.

Crockpot Chicken Ragu

I made this on one of those nights when I didn't have anything planned and we didn't have much in our pantry. It was easy, fast and yummy.

Ingredients:

18 oz. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
1 jar Ragu Spaghetti Sauce (I didn't use Ragu..just whatever brand I had)
1 1/2 cup Kraft Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:
Place chicken in crock-pot. Pour sauce over the chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, sprinkle shredded cheese over the chicken and sauce. Cover and let cheese melt.

Easy peasy!

Maple Pretzel Chicken

I was a bit nervous to try this recipe but I went for it anyway and it actually wasn't too bad.

I tried frying the first few piece but just found that the pretzels fell off or started to burn (even if I turned the heat down)
so I baked the rest. The only problem with that the pretzels became a little soggy.

I think I will have to try it again when I am not in a hurry.
Seeing as I was in a hurry, I forgot to take a picture
:(

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg
1/2 cup Maple Syrup
1-1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
1/4 cup canola oil

Directions:
In a shallow bowl whisk the egg and syrup
Place the pretzel in a separate bowl
Dip chicken in egg mixture and then into pretzels
In a large skillet cook the chicken in medium heat until juices run clear.

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

They had an amazing sale on Chicken Breasts here, so the hubs and I stocked up. I'm not lying when I say the only thing we had in our freezer was chicken. haha.
So being pregnant, in the dead of summer, with no AC, I have been using the crockpot about every night for recipes. And most of those are chicken!! ;) It's a good thing the Mr. loves food or I think he would be sick of all the chicken we have been eating.

Ingredients:
4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (I always put mine in frozen)
1 bottle BBQ sauce
1/4 c vinegar
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp. garlic powder

Directions:
Mix BBQ sauce with all ingredients listed under it. place chicken in crockpot. pour sauce over it and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours.

Easy, right?

And quite tasty for a summer night

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

Being pregnant and always starving, but nothing, I mean absolutely nothing, sounds good has been a bit difficult for me (and the hubs). I didn't cook anything for the first few months besides box Mac & Cheese in fear I would gag and barf my brains out at the first weird smell/texture. There was one day I craved my Grandma's homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. 1. I didn't have her recipe. 2. I didn't want to stand in front of a hot oven all day to make it. So....I compromised. :)
Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup. Crockpot=I don't die of heat and I still get my soup!
Well, this recipe made a LOT and we ended up throwing some of it away after we ate it for about 3 days straight. But it was yummy, so I do recommend it. Still not as good as Grandma's, but what can ya do ;)

Ingredients:

5 cups of chicken broth (boxed or can is fine)
One can Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 cup onions chopped fine
1/2 cup celery
1/2 cup carrots
1/2 cup green onions
One can of whole kernel corn
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup Egg noodles
2 cups cooked chicken chopped or 2 cans canned cooked chicken

Directions:

Add everything but the noodles and cooked chicken to the crock pot on Low for 5-6 hours, the last hour turn on High, and add noodles and chicken. Remember, if you do this in the morning, and don’t have a timer on your crock pot, use a lamp timer, they work wonderful.

I boil 4 chicken thighs in about 8 cups of water, make sure they are cooked through.
Cool, remove skin and bone and shred with forks. Cool, cover and refrigerate.
I like thighs. If you need, add water to the broth to make 5 cups. Add cream of chicken soup. Chop the vegetables, I like everything about the same size, celery, carrots, onions, green onions.
Add everything to the pot and forget it for the afternoon, do not add the chicken and noodles. (Will add them the last hour or so) The smell will take over the house.

I always add more noodles that the recipe calls for, I like it like a stew, do what you and your family likes.

**once again, no pic! sorry!!!!

Chicken & Broccoli Cresent Pockets

Oh.my.word.

I was amazed at how delicious these were.

They were a bit messy to make and we bought the cheap crescent rolls so we had to keep pinching them together.
(we are poor college students, give us a break)

I doubled the recipe, because, lets face it, I have a husband that likes to eat & my brother and his friend were over. After we all ate, we still have a TON left over.

So for future references, don't double the recipe unless you have a crowd coming over ;)

But take my word for it, they were quite delicious.

Ingredients:
2 packages crescent rolls
1 package frozen steam-in-a-bag broccoli
1 8-ounce package softened cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups cooked chopped chicken
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pinch two crescent rolls together to make a rectangle, for four rectangles per package. Steam the broccoli in the microwave two minutes shy of the time suggested on the bag.
In a large bowl, stir together cream cheese and sour cream. Add chicken, cheese, and partially steamed broccoli, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Scoop some filling into each crescent rectangle and seal shut completely. Place on a baking sheet.
Cook for 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown.

recipe found here
My oven is older and so the tops were really brown but they still turned out delicious!

Crockpot Sesame Chicken

This recipe was pretty yummy but I wasn't "in love" with it. I don't know if I would stick it in the cookbook though.

2 1bs. skinless, boneless chicken thighs.
1/2 c. low sodium soy sauce
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Place chicken thighs in the slow cooker. Whisk together remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours or on high 3 or 4. Serves 4 - 6.




As you can see, we didn't have any sesame seeds so we went without ;)