another easy italian crockpot chicken recipe

for the crockpot divas out there, this recipe may already be a "go-to" or may even be one that you look at and go "uh, duh..." but for those of you still learning crockpot recipes (like myself), i'm going to share this.

i already blogged once before about italian crockpot chicken, but i think this recipe really gets it right. this has some minor tweaks from the old recipe, and the result was way better than before.

ingredients:
4-6 chicken breasts (i used 4 frozen breasts... i love when i don't have to thaw chicken!)
half a bottle of zesty italian dressing (i used a whole bottle, but half a bottle will do)
1 can cream of chicken soup
4 ounces of cream cheese
2 bouillon cubes and 3/4 cup of water (or 1 can of chicken broth... but i didn't have that, so i improvised with the bouillon cubes)
italian seasoning
thyme
basil leaves
salt and pepper (to taste)

i didn't measure the seasonings, but i probably put about a tablespoon each. you don't need a whole lot of salt and pepper because of the other seasonings, so just a bit of each will work.

directions:
1. put everything in the crockpot. once all in, give it a good (but easy) stir. you don't want to splash a bunch of liquid around!

2. set on low for 6-8 hours.

3. shred the chicken before serving. some of the cream cheese may not melt completely. if it doesn't, put the cream cheese and juice from the crockpot on the chicken and spread it after it has been shredded.

pairs great with pasta or rice! i already can't wait to make this again! i hope you enjoy it too :)

fin.

crockpot pot roast dip sandwiches

i must say... out of all the recipes i've posted, this one is definitely one of my all-time faves... if not my actual favorite... to quote the hubs, "if i ordered this at a restaurant, it would be the only thing i ever ate at that restaurant again... and i would go to that restaurant a lot..." so, with that being said, this has become a staple on our weekly menus. we have this at least once every couple weeks. and, the best part, is it cooks itself in the crockpot! what's better than that?! NOTHING! read on and make this for dinner TONIGHT...

ingredients:
3/4 to 1 cup of water, or as needed
1 (.9 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
1 (1 ounce) packet dry au jus mix
1 (2 - 2.5 pound) beef chuck roast - get one bigger than what you think you'll actually eat b/c it shrinks up quite a bit when it cooks...
hoagie rolls, split lengthwise
EITHER 1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese OR sliced provolone

(sideways pictures again... WHY?! ugh)

directions:
1. stir together water, onion soup mix, and au jus mix in a slow cooker. add beef, cover, and cook on high for 5 hours or until tender.

 MEAT! (i got a big roast and cut it in half... but i kinda wish i had cooked the entire thing...)

2. when the beef is tender, shred the meat with two forks, and continue cooking in low for 1-2 hours.

when it's finished, it looks DELICIOUS!

3. to serve, open the hoagie buns, and spoon meat mixture into the center. sprinkle with mozzarella or layer with provolone and serve. (i've taken pictures of it served both ways...)

seriously. so delicious. try it asap. you'll be SO HAPPY you did.


fin.

slow cooker chicken and dumplins

my mom's chicken and dumplins is a family favorite. i ask for her to make either that or her homemade lasagna every year for my birthday. i blame her for my obsession with cooking... and for being a chubby child. but, back to the point, if she were to ever show up to a family reunion or holiday without chicken and dumplins, she wouldn't be allowed in. thankfully, she's never been bold enough to dare. i wouldn't want to see what would happen if she did. but i attempted this slow cooker version of mom's classic. admittedly, this is not even in the same ballpark of good as my mom's dumplins. and it will never be. it takes HOURS to make mom's chicken and dumplins. she mades her dumplins from scratch and has many special secrets to her dumplins recipe. BUT these are pretty good. if i had never had my mom's dumplins, i would say these were probably the best i've ever had. but i'm fortunate enough to have a super cook for a mom. after all, her maiden name is cookston. if she wasn't a good cook, it would be a disgrace to the family name.

and as a sidenote, they are dumplins. not dumplings. this is a southern dish, and we say it using southern words. i.e., DUMPLIN. don't correct me on that. because i'm right.

ingredients:
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken
1 can chicken broth
1 large chopped onion (i used 1 1/2, but my husband LOVES onion)
1 (16 1/2 oz can) homestyle biscuits
salt and pepper to taste (although i didn't use any)

directions:
1. mix chicken, soup, and onion in crockpot.

2. cook on HIGH for 4 1/2 hours. if you place your chicken in frozen, it may take some extra time. the test is when the chicken is fall apart, fork tender.

2. open up your can of biscuits. i prefer thinner dumplins, so i took each biscuit and flattened it out. if i had a rolling pin, i would have used it and added a little flour to the dough to keep it from sticking, but i didn't have a rolling pin... and i didn't want to be super messy, so i just took each biscuit and flattened it out using my hands.

 i had help...

3. tear each biscuit into pieces. if you flatten out the biscuit, you can usually get around 10-14 pieces per biscuit.

4. throw each piece into the pot. cook for about 1 hour on HIGH. stir often to keep dumplins from sticking.

once it's finished, you're going to have everybody coming to the kitchen, because they'll smell it from a room away. want proof of that? here ya go...

 and the finished product!

not to throw my husband under the bus, but he actually told me he thinks he likes my dumplins better than my mom's. i'm not that naive. he's just trying to rack up good hubs points. and if my mom reads this, he may be in the doghouse with her... but he's in the big house with me, so it all works out fine.

fin.

slow cooker italian chicken

i had my doubts about this recipe, but they were quickly put to rest when i smelled dinner when i walked into the door. this is a GREAT weeknight meal in the crockpot. the chicken is fall apart tender, and it pairs well with pasta or rice.

ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 packages italian dressing seasoning (the recipe calls for one, but i am going to up it to two next time)

that's it. really. hello, budget savvy meal!

directions:
1. stir cream cheese, cream of chicken, and seasoning together in the crockpot. (this doesn't look very special, but it turns out great. promise.)

2. start crockpot on low. let them sit there for about 30 minutes until cream cheese is soft enough to stir.

3. put in chicken and cover with mix.

((sorry i slacked on pics here. i made this in the morning when i was also getting ready for work, so i was a slacker. my bad!))

4. cook on HIGH 4-6 hours or until the chicken is cooked through and fall-apart-tender.
and it is.
check this out...

 i saw it sitting there and thought "hmm... smells good, looks ok... fall apart tender? i dunno..."

and then...

YES! fall apart tender! dinner is ready.

serve this with rice or pasta. i actually combined this with bowtie pasta covered with a garlic butter cream sauce. i will be making this a double post day and sharing that with you so you can pair it together if you'd like.

so good. so easy. such an easy weekday, CHEAP dinner. will be using this recipe frequently. enjoy!

fin.

slow cooker tex-mex steak and rice

this recipe is PERFECT for chilly autumn or winter nights. and it's another one of those recipes that you really should put it in the slow cooker when you are out of the house. because if not, the following conversation may well take place (as it did between my husband and me).

hubs: "baby... is what's cooking in the crock pot for lunch or for dinner?"
me: "it's for dinner."
hubs: "ugh! it smells so good! i want it now!"



and at the first bite:

hubs: "OH MY GOSH! THIS IS SO GOOD!"


and he was right. it was delicious. the steak in this LITERALLY fell apart. i couldn't even get it with my fork. i nearly traded in my fork for a spoon just to scoop it up. it was that tender.


enough about that. here's what you need and how to do it:


ingredients:

• 1 1/4 pounds beef boneless round, tip, or chuck steak, about 3/4 inch thick (actually, you could use stew meat - it's cheaper, and the way the steak cooks, you won't be able to tell the difference)
• 1 can of beef broth (10 and some odd ounces)
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) Southwestern salsa-style diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained (i couldn't find a can that size, so i got two cans of the walmart brand of mild diced tomatoes with green chilies and used 1 1/2. you can use the other half to mix in with corn for a great side dish)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cups frozen stir-fry bell peppers and onions (from 1 pound bag), thawed and drained (i found a bag at walmart by pictsweet of a three-pepper and onion blend and it worked out great)
• 1 cup uncooked instant rice

directions:
cut beef into 4 serving pieces. (the steak i bought was already sectioned into serving pieces, but in the end, this step wouldn't have mattered anyway, because the steak fell apart into bite size pieces...)

place beef in 3-4 quart slow cooker.

mix broth, tomatoes, cumin, salt, and garlic in medium bowl.

pour mixture over beef.

cover and cook on LOW setting 7 to 8 hours. (mine cooked for about 6.5 hours but i was using a bigger slow cooker with the same amount of ingredients in this recipe, so it cooked a bit faster.)

stir bell pepper mixture and uncooked rice in slow cooker.

increase heat setting to HIGH. cover and cook 20-30 minutes or until rice is tender.

scoop and serve!

as i said before, this was DELISH! we ate this with some tostito scoops, and they went pretty well together. i love this recipe, because it was easy, delicious, and helped with my sinuses too! maybe that's TMI, but i have no brain to mouth/typing hands filter.


try it, and let me know what you think!!


fin.

crockpot beef stroganoff

here's another crockpot creation! and this one yields a LOT of servings, so it's great for family dinner night!!

you all probably know by now that i am addicted to crock pot dinners, especially ones that i can make ahead... just like this little gem. beef stroganoff is the epitome of comfort food, and this recipe is perfect for this time of year. the weather gets a bit chilly, and you want something warm to come home to... THIS is the answer. and, for the record, this is going to greet you at the door with an AMAZING aroma. another reason to LOVE that crockpot!!

ingredients:
2 pounds beef stew meat
1 cup chopped onion
1 can cream of golden mushroom soup
1 can cream of onion soup
1 jar (6 ounces) green giant sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
6 cups hot cooked noodles or rice

NOTE: i cut this recipe in half. well, i cut the stew meat and the noodles in half.  i left everything else as it was. and it still made enough that, even after consuming leftovers, we still had to throw some out. but cooking for two is difficult, so i recommend just cutting back to 1 pound of beef stew meat and maybe one package of egg noodles.

directions:

in 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 quart slow cooker, mix beef, onion, soups, mushrooms, and pepper. (you can do this and then leave it overnight in the fridge and stick it in the slow cooker and simply turn it on before you leave the house in the morning. genius!)

cover and cook on LOW heat setting 8-10 hours or until beef is tender. (since my slow cooker is 6 quart and i cut down on the meat, i actually cooked mine for 6 hours, and it was great.)

once meat is cooked and tender, begin working on your rice or noodles. if i'm ever given the option of rice or pasta, i'll choose pasta, especially egg noodles.

once your noodles are getting close to al dente, return to your crock pot. stir in cream cheese until it has melted. then stir in sour cream just until it is warm. it should look a little something like this...

voila! dinner is done! serve stroganoff over noodles. it will look delicious!

ANOTHER CLEAN PLATE VICTORY!!

if you're looking for a "light" dinner, this ain't it. you are going to walk away from this meal feeling full, satisfied, and completely comforted. and at this time of year, who wants a light dinner? not this girl! which is why i'm a fat girl on the inside. always...

fin.

crockpot barbeque chicken

so much has happened since the last time i posted to this blog. my apologies for this blog being such a late bloomer. i promise that from this point forward, this blog will be kicked up a notch, because now... I'M MARRIED!!! i've been married for 20 days now, and i'm loving every minute of it! along with being a good little wifey, i've began cooking even more. it's great to break in all of the awesome kitchen gadgets we got leading up to the wedding, and it impresses the heck out of my husband, which i love doing.

my newest source of culinary inspiration is pinterest. if you haven't logged onto it, you must. there are all kinds of fresh ideas for recipes, decorating, home organization, wedding and event planning, holiday gifts and decorating, and the list goes on and on. this recipe came from pinterest. i'm not sure why, but it has been taken down since i got it, but i am posting it here for you to try!

without further ado...

CROCKPOT BARBEQUE CHICKEN

here are the ingredients:
4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 bottle of BBQ sauce (whatever you prefer will do, but i used sweet baby ray's, and it was great)
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2-1 tsp garlic powder (i used 1 full teaspoon. there is no such thing as too much garlic.)

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.

yep. that's it.

and to make it easier, i've got pictures!!

here is how the chicken and sauce mixture looked when it went in the crockpot.

on a side note, i lined my crockpot with liners made specifically for crockpots. i picked them up at walmart, and i'm officially obsessed. i HIGHLY recommend. it makes clean up a snap.

onto the food...

6 hours later...

ta da!

 the finished product... the sides got a little burnt, but that's because i had to run out for an errand and it took a little longer than expected. whoops! luckily, the hubs likes slightly burnt stuff, so that worked out in his favor.

so, here's a chef secret. i'm a big believer in investing time in one dinner item and making it easy on the rest. and, personally, i will eat potatoes out of a box anyday over potatoes from, well, real potatoes. i like them stiff and buttery, and sometimes the "real deal" doesn't quite hit my taste buds the right way. sooooooooo, these are potatoes out of a box and sweet peas out of a can. in my house, if we have peas, we must have mashed potatoes to go with it. that's just how we roll. if you've never eaten them together, do yourself a favor and put them together. your life will never be the same. BUT in my culinary defense, i did provide the hubs with sour cream and sharp cheddar to top his potatoes with in an effort to dress them up a bit.

and here were our plates!

we had knives, but we didn't need them. this stuff fell apart!

nothing says "that was delicious!" like having clean plates at the end of a meal. and the hubs got seconds! that's when i know i've done an exceptional job.

the only things i can say about this recipe that i would change for next time are:

1. only do a little sprinkle of red pepper flakes or omit them altogether. the taste was fantastic, but it was a little hot for me. if you prefer hot over mild barbeque, then you should probably follow the recipe exactly.

2. there was a lot of sauce. it probably could have stood a little more chicken if you are feeding a larger crowd. i used 3 large breasts of chicken and i cut them in halves, but i would suggest having 6-8 smaller boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of 4-6 large ones.

3. want to know something that will make your jaw drop??? you can use frozen chicken in this recipe, and it will still turn out delicious! (is your jaw dropping yet?) the chicken i used was still frozen in the middle, and it turned out so tender and delicious. so, in other words, this is a busy mom's dream dinner recipe.

this one was a winner. and super easy! definitely adding this to the "dinner favorites" list...

fin.