Chicken Noodle Soup in a CrockPot

CrockPot Chicken Noodle Soup

This was so easy to make. I put it in the CrockPot before church, and we ate when we got home. 

What you need: 

3 cups water

3 cups chicken broth

1 Large boneless, skinless chicken Breast

3 carrots,peeled and diced, (we used baby carrots and just estimated)

3-5 ribs celery, peeled and diced

1 large onion, minced really small

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, or 1 heaping teaspon dried

pinch of dried rosemary

pinch of dried thyme
1 bay leaf (Really adds some flavor)

2 cups egg noodles, I used the curly wide egg noodles

salt and freshly ground black pepper  

What to do: 

Add all ingredients to the slow cooker EXCEPT the noodles. 

Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours. Remove chicken from pot and shred; return to pot. Add noodles for last 30 minutes of cooking. Taste soup make sure everything is soft the way you want it. 

and add salt and pepper to taste. 

I served with rolls and it was delicious.

Grading: 

Kyle: A  Marie: A-

Pineapple Glazed Chicken

Pineapple Glazed Chicken

This chicken is tasty!! I just made rice with a little butter and sugar in it, (with my rice cooker) and ate as a side.

What you need: 

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 slices red onion

4 canned pineapple rings
juice from 20 ounce can of pineapple rings
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar 

What you do: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Heat skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and let warm. Add chicken and brown, about three minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a baking dish. Cover each piece of chicken with a slice of onion and a pineapple ring or two.

Combine pineapple juice, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Pour over chicken. Place chicken in oven and bake for twenty minutes, basting with sauce frequently. (which I just poured ALL of the chicken, and every 8 minutes took the pan out really quick and spoon the sauce back on top of the chicken)

Serve with rice.  

Grading: 
Kyle: A-  Marie: A

This was tasty!! I loved the pineapple. The sauce was tasty and there was enough extra to eat on top or with the rice.  

Bourbon Chicken

Bourbon Chicken (no alcohol, of course) 
Adapted from a recipe on Mel's Kitchen

Tonight, we are eating another chicken and rice dinner. YUMMY! I make chicken most nights, but I try to mix it up. For example, on Monday we ate just a pretzel chicken breast, yesterday we had chicken tacos, today we are having chicken and rice, and tomorrow I think we are doing a pasta dish.

What you need: 
2lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons oil (for pan-frying)
Sauce:
1 garlic clove (minced)
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup apple juice
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce 

What you do: 
Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Heat oil in your wok and fry chicken bits in batches until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
In a bowl combine all sauce ingredients. Pour into wok or a large skillet, preferably with a tall rim, and bring to a boil. Add chicken bits back to the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

What we thought: 
Kyle actually made this dinner for me! I had a long day, so I printed off the recipe and said, think you can handle this? And he did with flying colors!!
Later he told me that he added twice as much brown sugar as asked for. But it was delicious! So you could do that too if you wanted.
Marie: A-  Kyle: A 

 

Sweet and Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken

Sweet and Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken

Adapted from Pennywise

What you Need: 

1 pound (about 2) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (14-ounce) can petite or regular diced tomatoes, Drained
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (add more if you like extra heat)

What you do : 

Place the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, brown sugar and red pepper flakes. 

Pour over the chicken.

Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-9 hours. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks. Return to the slow cooker and mix the chicken with the juices from the tomato/brown sugar sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

We are going to use this as a taco base. Serve in flour tortillas with toppings of choice: lettuce, sour cream, cheese, avocados, etc.  

But, you can use as a nacho topping, serve over spanish rice, etc. 

What we thought: YUMMY!! YUMMY!!
Marie: A-
Kyle: A


Make sure you drain the tomatoes good, or it makes for a juicy mixture.

  

 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chips Cookies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
As seen on Mel's Kitchen Cafe

What you Need:

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
2 1/2  cups oatmeal
2 cups chocolate chips

What you need to do:

Cream together the butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Add Baking soda, powder, and salt and mix. Add flour, oatmeal and chocolate chips. Mix until combined. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Grading: 
Kyle: A  Marie: B+ 

Pretzel Crusted Chicken

Pretzel Crusted Chicken
As found on Rachel Ray

What you need:

• 4 quart-size plastic food storage bags
• 4 small, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 5-ounce bag of salted pretzels, any shape
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 eggs
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 pound, about 2 1/2 cups, sharp yellow cheddar cheese or medium cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 heaping tablespoons spicy brown mustard
• 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, a generous handful, chopped
• 1/4 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 large sour dill pickle, finely chopped
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

What you do:
Preheat a large non-stick skillet with a 1/4-inch of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
Sprinkle a little water into four medium food storage baggies. Place 1 chicken breast in each bag and seal it up, pushing out excess air. Use the bottom of a heavy pot or pan and pound each breast until flat, just shy of busting out of the bag. Repeat with the other 3 chicken breasts.

Place the pretzels in a food processor or blender and grind until fine. Transfer the ground pretzels to a shallow dish, add the thyme and some salt and pepper. Crack and beat 2 eggs in a second shallow dish with a splash of water. One at a time, coat each chicken breast in the egg and then the ground pretzels.

Add the pretzel-coated chicken breast to the hot oil. Cook in a single layer, in 2 batches if necessary, about 3 or 4 minutes on each side, until the juices run clear and breading is evenly browned.
While the chicken is frying, in a medium saucepot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the flour to it. Cook flour and butter for 1 minute and then whisk in the milk. When the milk comes to a bubble, stir in the cheese and mustard with a wooden spoon. Season with a little salt and pepper, and remove cheese sauce from the heat.

Transfer the fried pretzel-crusted chicken breast to a serving plate, drizzle with the mustard cheddar sauce, then sprinkle with a little parsley, finely chopped onion and sour dill pickle. Serve lemon wedges alongside.

What we thought: 
It was good. The sauce was not very cheesy tasting. But, we both LOVED the crunchy breading that was on the outside of the chicken. It was good. I also liked it with lemon on top.

Would I make this again? probably not for a while. It was a good one time thing, but took a lot of dishes to produce.

 Grade: Marie: B+, Kyle: B

Orange Chicken (baked, not fried)

Fabulous Orange Chicken

found on Mel's Kitchen

Kyle and I both LOVE Chicken over rice recipes, and we are always on the search for new ones. So far, our favorite is the Sweet and Sour Chicken I posted on this blog before. But, this orange chicken is fabulous as well! Don't be scared by all of the ingredients. It is super easy to make.

What you need:
For the Chicken:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2″ cubes
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons oil or butter
For the Sauce:
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons green onion
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
Cooked Rice, to top with. YUMMY!

What to do:

Heat oven to 350. In a shallow dish combine the flour, garlic powder and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in flour mixture and coat evenly.
Pour oil (or melt butter and pour) in a shallow baking dish, large enough to accommodate chicken in a single layer. Arrange chicken in pan and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine water, fresh orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, orange zest and whisk over medium heat for a few minutes. Then stir in brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and green onion and let it come to a boil. Combine cornstarch with water and let it dissolve and add it to the sauce until thickened.
After chicken has baked the 30 minutes, turn each piece over and pour 1/2 sauce mixture evenly over chicken. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes basting frequently.
Serve chicken over rice with extra sauce on the side.

What we thought: DELICIOUS!!!
Kyle: A
Marie: A-

Chicken, Rice, and Bean Burritos

Chicken, Rice and Bean Burritos

What you Need:

• 2 chicken breasts (marinaded in the marinade listed below, if you want)
• 1 cup cooked rice (minute rice works great)
• 1 can drained and rinsed black beans (heated up)
• 1 1/3 cup salsa
• 6-8 flour tortillas(depending on size)
• 1 cup grated cheese

Cook and chop chicken. Add rice, beans, salsa and cheese to the chicken. Spoon mixture into tortillas. Top with cheese. I have put these in a baking dish and baked them at 375 until hot.

Fajita Marinade

Fajita Marinade

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

What to do:

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, mix together the lime juice, water, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, salt, and liquid smoke flavoring. Stir in cayenne and black pepper.
2. Place desired meat in the marinade, and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight. Cook as desired.

Oatmeal Coconut Chewy Cookies

Oatmeal Coconut Chewy Cookies

What you need: 1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to cool room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1 cup quick oats

What you do:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl cream together the sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased or lined (silpat or parchment) baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies are set but not overly browned (bake a few minutes longer for a crispier version).

These were tasty! Not too sweet but sweet enough to be dessert! We added CHOCOLATE CHIPS for the last 2 dozen of the mix. They added a nice chocolate taste, but I actually liked them better without the chocolate chips.

Grade:
Marie: A-
Kyle: A-

Sticky Chicken

Sticky Chicken
(I am serving over Rice)

What you need:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 8 oz jar apricot preserves
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 8 oz bottle of french dressing
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 package onion soup mix

What you Do:

Put the chicken in the baking dish. Mix together all the ingredients and pour over the chicken. Cook for 1 hour at 350. Enjoy!
I am serving mine over Rice. Kyle and I both love rice so it works out :)

YUMMY stuff! super easy to make, and not many ingredients.
We are going to start grading the food on a grading scale A-F. The flavors meshed together really well. Most of the ingredients were sweet, but the onion soup evened it out nicely. I only used 3 chicken breast, which actually worked out great because then there was more sauce to put over the rice. The chicken was tender. I will be making this again. :)

Grade:
Marie A-
Kyle B+

Creamy Lemon Chicken over Rice

Creamy Lemon Chicken

What you Need:

2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 lemons, juiced
1 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups rice (your choice)

What you Do:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Clean chicken, arrange in a 9 by 13 baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and the juice of half of one lemon. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink.

While the chicken is baking, cook the rice of your choice, I cook mine in a rice cooker I got at Wal-Mart for $20.00 and it works great!

Heat a medium skillet and melt butter until it starts to brown. Add the garlic and saute for one minute. Add the juice of half of a lemon and simmer for one minute. Add half of the cream and season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Simmer the sauce for a couple of minutes and then add the remaining lemon juice. Stir and add the remaining cream. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Take the chicken out of the oven and allow the sauce to sit for 5 minutes.

Divide the Rice on plates, and put the chicken on top with the sauce.

Rolo Cookies!

Rolo Cookies

adapted from: 2 peas in their pod

These were seriously sooooo good, sooo sooo delicious!

What you need:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Bag of Rolo candies, unwrapped
Sugar (for rolling the cookie dough balls in)

What you Do:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat. Set aside.

2. In a medium blow, sift flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Set aside.

3. With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time. Next, add in vanilla extract. Mix until blended.

4. Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture and blend well. Take a spoonful of chocolate cookie dough and wrap around one Rolo candy. Make sure Rolo is completely covered with cookie dough. Roll dough ball in sugar and place on prepared baking sheet. Continue until you run out of cookie dough.

5. Bake cookies for 7-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit on cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.

These were so delicious. They were gooey on the inside, but kind of chewy, and yummy!

STARS:

Marie 4.8 and Kyle 4.9

Chicken Penne Rosa

Chicken Penne Rosa

Ingredients:

1 box penne pasta (or less depending on who you are feeding)
(I had to use "medium" shell pasta, because after I got done making the sauce, I realized that is all we had)2 chicken breasts-shredded
1 1/2 cups of fresh spinach
2 cups marinara sauce (jarred or homemade)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or less if you don't want it to spicy)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup diced tomatoes (I used canned tomatoes)

What to Do:
Saute chicken in a pan with a little oil and with salt and pepper.
Then shred the chicken however small you want it in the pasta.
In a sauce pan combine marinara, heavy cream, parmesan and red pepper flakes over medium heat, until it is as heated up as you want it.
Meanwhile, Cook your pasta in water until al dente. Drain pasta.
Add the pasta to the delicious mixture you have created and finish cooking for about a minute in the sauce. Add chicken and spinach and serve with a little grated parmesan.

And.... It turned out great. Kyle, even liked it for lunch the next day, reheated.
It makes a LOT. So you can half the recipe if there are only 2 of you. I always make dishes to feed 4 so there are leftovers for Kyle's lunch. He is sick of sandwiches. :)

STARS: Marie 4.5 Kyle 4.6

Cheesy Crockpot Chicken

Cheesy Crockpot Chicken

I got this recipe in a cookbook my sister Janette made me for a bridal shower.
We used this as an alternative sauce to Hawaiian Haystack's sauce. We like to do crockpot things on Sunday so we can eat sooner when we get home. I usually use the zesty chicken sauce, but we thought we would try this sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup (campbells)
2 cups rice (made in the rice cooker)

WHAT TO DO:

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Shred chicken and put back in crock pot for 10 minutes.

We put this sauce over rice and topped with pineapple, cashews and cheese. Kyle thought it was a little too garlic-like, so next time I may omit the garlic powder.

STARS:
Marie 4, Kyle 4