Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

I made this delicious crock pot meal yesterday from Gina's Weight Watcher's Recipes. I modified it a bit, and we ate it as tacos instead of on rice. Very easy and good flavor.

Ingredients:

24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast (I used 3 large chicken breasts)
14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
15 oz can black beans
8 oz frozen corn
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro - skipped
14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth
3 scallions, chopped - skipped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
salt to taste

Directions:

Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning. We ate as tacos; you can also serve over rice.

Crockpot Baked Beans

We had a cookout last night for Calvin's baptism, and one of the sides that I made was baked beans. I adapted it from Pat's Baked Beans on Allrecipes.com. They turned out very good!

INGREDIENTS
8 slices cooked, chopped bacon
1/2 cup chopped onion
Minced Garlic or Garlic Powder
2 (16 ounce) can pinto beans
1 (16 ounce) can great Northern beans, drained
2 (28 ounce) can baked beans
1 (16 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 1/2 cup ketchup
3/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredients in large crockpot. Cook on high until boiling (took approximately 2 hours), then switch to low until ready to serve.

Serves 20.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I made Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole Sunday afternoon. Actually, I made two - one for the freezer, one to eat. It was delicious! I also omitted the pepper and actually ended up using only 2 cups of cooked rice - that's all I had - and since I didn't have garlic, I used garlic powder. It would be better with the full amount, but it wasn't bad. I used diced grilled chicken breasts also, I don't shred chicken if I can help it. I ended up putting a ton of cheese on it - way too much for me, but Jeremy loved it. He's a big cheese fan.

This was also from Lauren's Kitchen.

2 T EVOO
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb diced ham
2 c cooked, shredded chicken breasts
4 T butter
1/4 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
14 oz can chicken broth
3 cups cooked rice
1 c shredded cheddar
1 c shredded mozzarella or swiss

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.I precooked the chicken by cutting it into thin strips (to cook faster) and throwing it into a skillet with a bit of oil. Then I shredded from there.Heat oil in a large, rimmed skillet over medium heat.Add the onions and peppers and cook for about 5 minutes, until tender.Then add the garlic, chicken and ham and cook for another 5 minutes until heated through.Add the butter until it is melted, then stir in the flour, salt and pepper until combined.Slowly stir in the chicken broth, then mix in the rice.Transfer mixture to a 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle the top with your cheese.Bake for 20-25 minutes. For the last 10 minutes place aluminum foil overtop for oozing cheese.

Chicken Scallopine

I tried Chicken Scallopine from Lauren's Kitchen last night. It was fantastic! I didn't get a picture, but here is the recipe. I only used four chicken breasts, omitted the capers, and used chicken broth instead of dry white wine. I felt like such a professional, deglazing the pan and reducing the sauce! I'm excited to try this again with white wine next time.

Ingredients:
1 pound linguine
6 boneless, skinless, trimmed chicken breasts
Flour
Salt & Pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
12 ounces white mushrooms, sliced thin
1 cup dry white wine
Chicken broth (optional)
1 lemon
1/2 cup heavy cream (can use half & half)
1 heaping tablespoon capers
chopped fresh Italian parsley

Cook pasta according to package directions.Flatten chicken breasts to uniform thickness. Salt and pepper both sides, then dredge in flour.Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry chicken breasts until golden brown. Remove to a plate and set aside.Throw mushrooms into the pan and stir. Immediately pour in wine, then squeeze juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon. Stir to deglaze the pan, then cook vigorously for 1 minute, until sauce reduces.Pour in cream and stir, then add capers and parsley and stir. Turn off heat. Stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Don’t undersalt!Place pasta and chicken on a platter and top with every last drop of sauce. Generously sprinkle Parmesan Cheese over the top.

Hello!

I've decided to start a blog to keep all of my recipe attempts. I love to try new recipes, although working full time with a new baby is going to make this rather interesting! My husband is also rather particular about what he eats, so that will keep this challenging as well.