crockpot spaghetti & chicken

Ingredients:
3 lb. chicken pieces (I guesstimate that 3-4 breasts equal one pound? I could be wrong though??)
1 (2/3 oz.) pkg. Italian salad dressing mix
4 tbsp. melted butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 (10 1/2 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 lb. of spaghetti

Directions:

Place chicken pieces in crock pot and sprinkle Italian seasoning over chicken.
Sprinkle with 2 tbsp. melted butter.
Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
(We shredded the chicken after the 4-6 hrs)

Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a saucepan and sauté onion and garlic.
Add Cream of Chicken Soup, cream cheese, and chicken broth.
Stir until smooth.

Add this mixture to crockpot and cook on low for an additional hour.
Prepare spaghetti according to package directions.
Put chicken mixture on top of cooked spaghetti.

Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping

I had been CRAVING blueberry muffins.
I found dried blueberries for a great price and so I was on the search for the perfect blueberry muffin recipe.


I found this one and ended up doubling it.

I also ended up with A LOT of muffins and froze a whole bunch so they wouldn't mold.

I was amazed at how yummy they were.
I was surprised I made something that tasty ;)

I am a bit late at posting this, but I actually just pulled the last bag out of the freezer.
I once again, forgot to take a picture of the finished product, and I would take one of the ones I just pulled out but the tops got a bit squished so they don't look pretty.

Just a side note: I didn't use the whole full 2 cups of blueberries because in my first batch, they all sunk to the bottom so a lot of the blueberries ended up in the last group of muffins.
Also, I didn't have buttermilk so I made my own.


Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups fresh, frozen or dried blueberries
Additional sugar

Streusel Topping:
3 T white sugar
3 T brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
5 T melted butter

*Combine all ingredients until size of peas and set aside


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, buttermilk and vanilla; mix well. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; stir into the creamed mixture just until moistened. Fold in blueberries (batter will be thick).

Fill greased or paper-lined miniature muffin cups with about a tablespoon of batter.

Sprinkle Streusel on top

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Easy Peasy and Delicious!

Crock pot ranch potatoes

We had dinner at my brother and sister-in-laws house.
She asked if I could bring a side dish.

I searched Pinterest for ideas and I found this one.

I am always hesitant to make new things and serve them to people besides my hubby.
(he isn't afraid to tell me if it's a keeper or not)


I came home on my lunch and put it in the crock, so as soon as I got off work we could just go.

Boy, were they yummy!
We didn't even have any left over.

The recipes calls for red potatoes.
I didn't have red potatoes, just the regular ones and it worked fine.

Ingredients:

2-3 large potatoes, diced (about 1 inch or 1/2 sizes)

1 pkg. ranch dress mix

3/4 c. sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

Directions:
Spray crock pot with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients except potatoes in a large bowl and stir well. Add potatoes and stir til the potatoes are completely coated. Pour in crock pot, cook on low for 4-5 hours or til potatoes are tender. Stir occasionally as cream and potatoes start to stick to the sides. You may need to add a little salt and pepper but taste first before you add any.

mmmmmm! Delicious!

And once again, because I was in a hurry, I forgot to take a picture.
But I found the original recipe here.

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