Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken

This is such a yummy comfort food! Eat in moderation though, it is NOT fat free!

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken

3 lbs chicken pieces
1 (2/3 ounce) package Italian salad dressing mix
4 tablespoons melted butter ( divided)
1 small onions, chopped
1 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (10 1/2 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup chicken broth


Place chicken pieces in crock pot and sprinkle Italian seasoning over chicken. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a sauce pan and saute onion and garlic. Add Cream of Chicken Soup, cream cheese, and chicken broth. Stir until smooth. Add this mixture to crock pot and cook on low for an additional hour. Serve over rice or noodles.

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Oh my! These are to die for! We had the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over for dinner that night, and they said that they get served enchiladas a lot, but these were the best they had tasted! Now, I will never know if they say this to all the other people that serve them enchiladas, but I certainly agree with them.  

Honey Lime Enchiladas
 
3 1/2 tablespoons honey
Juice from 1 large lime
1/2 tablespoons chili powder (I put in a bit more)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (a bit more)

2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
4 flour tortillas
12 oz. monterey jack cheese, shredded
1/2 onion, cut into strips and caramelized
rice, to taste
beans, to taste
10 ounces green enchilada sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream

Mix the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken. Let it
marinate for at least 1/2 hour. Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on
the bottom of a 8x8 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and
shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of
enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and
leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with
cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on
top.

Oh, and I also added some olives on the top for a garnish, but that was only because they had been sitting in the fridge for a while and needed used...

Source: my friend, Lara M.

General Tsao's Chicken

It was one of those nights. You know the ones, the time just slipped away from you, you realize your husband is going to be home in 30 minutes and you haven't even thought about making dinner. The kids are both screaming, one didn't get a nap, the other one...well, he just screams all the time. Then you go into panic mode. You need something quick and easy. (I'm assuming you know what I'm talking about...but if you don't just imagine that I wrote I's and me's in stead of you's.) Well, that's what it was like for me the other night. I found this recipe and I got it on the table in 25 minutes. And my husband didn't even know about the panic I had when I glanced at the clock at 5. For all he knew I could have been slaving all day on this meal. Yes, it was that good.

The only thing I did differently was I dredged the chicken in some flour and paprika before cooking it. I also added a little sesame seed oil as well as some sesame seeds.

General Tsao's Chicken

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2 tsp. peanut or canola oil
2 cloves garlic
3/4 c. chicken broth
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp. corn starch
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
4 servings cooked brown rice for serving

Combine garlic, chicken broth, corn starch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a bowl and set aside.

Heat oil in a skillet, and add the chicken. Cook until the chicken is browned. Pour in the broth mixture and bring to a boil to thicken. Simmer until chicken is cooked all the way through. (You may need to add a little more broth/water if it gets too thick.) Serve over brown rice with veggies on the side. (Or, you could always make it a stir fry and put the veggies in the sauce, your choice.)


Source: Spark Recipes...by way of Google Recipe search

Chicken Stroganoff

We really love pasta at our house. Like, really. Especially my husband. This was a nice hearty dish, and totally has "comfort food" written all over it! The original recipe calls for canned mushrooms, but I used raw/fresh mushrooms, it was so much better! So, if you can, use fresh mushrooms. I have made it both ways, and it was good with canned mushrooms too. :)

Chicken Stroganoff

4 bacon strips, diced
1 lb. chicken, cubed
1 med. onion, chopped
8 oz. sliced mushrooms (more or less depending on personal preference)
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
Pepper, to taste
2 Tbs. all purpose flour
1 c. sour cream
Hot cooked noodles
Additional paprika, optional

In a skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels. Drain, and reserve two Tbs. drippings.

In the drippings, cook the chicken, onion, and mushrooms until the chicken is no longer pink, and the mushrooms are tender. Add the broth, garlic, salt, paprika, pepper, and bacon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Combine flour and sour cream until smooth; add to the skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve over noddles. Sprinkle with paprika if desired.

Source: Adapted from Taste of Home

Spicy Chicken in Peanut Sauce

We loved this! It was really nice for me, because I could just stick it in the crock pot and not think about it (except that it smelled really good) again until dinner time. I had forgotten how crazy it is to cook with a newborn. It's like they have this sense (...maybe the sense of smell?) that mom needs to be busy cooking now, so now I need to cry my lungs out. Actually, it's not just my kids. Apparently, the hour from about 5-6 is called "the bewitching hour." Anyway...so make a long story short, it was great! We loved it, and I will be making it again.

Spicy Chicken in Peanut Sauce

1 Tbs. olive or vegetable oil
abt. 3 lbs chicken (breasts, thighs, whatever...)
1 lg. onion, chopped
2 (14.5)cans diced tomatoes
1 (15oz) can tomato sauce
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 Tbs. honey
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 c. peanut butter (the recipe called for creamy, but I think crunchy would be good too, especially if you don't have peanuts on hand)
2 c. hot cooked couscous, or rice

Heat oil over med-hi heat. Cook chicken about 4 mins, until brown.

In 4-5qt. slow cooker mix onion, tomato, jalapeno, honey, cumin, and cinnamon. Add chicken. Spoon tomato mix over chicken.

Cover and cook on Low heat setting 7-8 hours (I don't think it needed quite that long.)

Stir in peanut butter until melted and well blended. Serve chicken and sauce over rice or couscous. Garnish with peanuts and cilantro.

Source: Adapted from the Betty Crocker Cookbook.

Cafe Rio Chicken Salad

If you are not familiar with Cafe Rio, you are missing out! My husband and I recently moved to an area where there is no Cafe Rio, and let me tell you I miss their chicken or pork salads immensely! Although copycat recipes are never quite the same, this one is pretty good. And the best part is, it satisfied my craving, and I froze the leftover chicken for the next time the craving hits!

Cafe Rio Chicken


5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thawed (I used two bone in breasts and removed the bones and shredded the chicken about 1/2 way through)
1 16oz bottle Kraft Zesty Italian dressing
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
3 cloves minced garlic

Mix all ingredients except the chicken in a bowl. Place chicken on bottom of a greased crockpot.
Pour mixture in bowl over the top of chicken. Cook on high 5-7 hours. Shred chicken with a fork and reserve juice to pour over chicken when serving.

To make it the best salad ever, layer (from bottom to top), a tortilla (try making these ones), lime rice, black or pinto beans, chicken, lettuce, tomatillo dressing, pico de gallo, and guacamole. It's delicious!

Chicken Jambalaya

I have been wanting this recipe for forever! It was one of the first dishes that I ever ate with my husbands family (back before I was even thinking about being a part of his family). It's delicious, and here's proof!

Heather had three servings! THREE!!

Quick Chicken Jambalaya 

1 lb. chicken breasts, skinned, boned and cut into chunks
1/2 lb. smoked sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup rice, uncooked
1 can chicken broth
1 can french onion soup
1 4 oz. can mushrooms
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 dashes Tabasco
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. Tony Cachero's Creole seasoning (or any other creole seasoning works fine too)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl then pour into a 9x13-inch baking dish. Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 60-75 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

I found this in the Better Homes and Gardens magazine and I thought it sounded good. A bit of a different twist on an old favorite. We liked it, and would have liked it more if I had 1) bought the right size of noodles, 2) had the chips to go on top, and (this was probably the worst offender) 3) had enough chicken...I guess I was having a bad shopping day. Or maybe it was Heather that was having the bad shopping day. I don't remember...

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

1 12 oz. pkg. jumbo shell macaroni
3 large green and/or red peppers, chopped
1 1/2 c. chopped red onion
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 c. chopped cooked chicken
1 16 oz. can refried beans (or make your own)
3 Tbs. taco seasoning
2 10oz. cans enchilada sauce
8 oz. shredded mexican-style cheese blend
1 c. sliced green onions
2 c. nacho cheese-flavored tortilla chips, crushed
Avocado dip and/or sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain.
2. In skillet cook peppers, onion, jalapeño and 1/4 tsp. salt in hot oil over med. heat until tender. Stir in chicken, beans, seasoning mix, and 1/2 cup enchilada sauce. Cook 5 mins. Stir in 1/2 cup each of the cheese and green onions.
3. Divide filling among shells. Spread 1 cup of the remaining enchilada sauce in 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Arrange shells atop sauce. Drizzle with remaining enchilada sauce.
4. Bake, covered, 30 mins. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5 mins. or until cheese melts. Sprinkle with chips and remaining green onions. Serve with avocado dip and sour cream. Makes 8-10 servings.

As I mentioned above, I was missing a couple of things from this recipe. I would change the last two, but I honestly think it might be ok having this meal as more of a casserole like we did (an accident). I am willing to try the jumbo noodles, but the small shells worked well too. :)

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole

This is a casserole that has been around forever, it's yummy, easy, and kids like it.  I can never remember it or find the recipe when I am looking for it. So...I'm adding it to the blog. :)

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/3 c. water (or chicken broth)
3/4 c. uncooked rice
2 c. veggies (your choice)
4 pieces of whatever raw chicken you have. (Breasts, drumsticks, thighs, etc) Thawed.
1/2 c. shredded cheese

Stir the soup, water, rice, and vegetables in a 13x9 baking dish. Top with chicken. Season chicken as desired. Cover with foil. Bake at 375*F for 45 mins or until chicken is done. Top with cheese.

*I usually add a lot more spices to the rice mix than this recipe calls for. Examples: dried parsley, salt, pepper, etc. (It depends on what you like.)

Crockpot Orange Chicken

I found this recipe on the A Year of Slow Cooking Website (I just call her the Crockpot Lady). It was great! I think that I would have preferred it to be a little more spicy and a little less orangey (I think it could be solved by adding either a little bit of water, or less concentrate), but it was great nevertheless!


Orange Chicken

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, cut in 2-inch chunks
1/2 cup flour
olive oil, for browning the chicken
1 tablespoon kosher salt (or less)
6 ounces (1/2 can) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (I'd opt for little-to-no pulp. The pulp can taste a bit bitter when cooked)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup



The Directions.

Use a 4 quart slow cooker for best results. Dredge the chicken pieces with the flour, and shake off the excess. Go ahead and throw away any remaining flour, we won't need it. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on the stove and brown the chicken on all sides. There is no need to fully cook it, just sear it enough for the flour to stick and get a nice coating.

Plop the chicken pieces into your slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Taste. If you'd like the chicken to be a bit sweeter, add a touch more sugar. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss gingerly to coat.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Serve over white or brown rice.

DELICIOUS!!

Cafe Rio Salad

I pulled back some of the lettuce so you could see the different layers.

Sweet and Spicy Shredded Pork

3-4 lb. pork roast (I used chicken)
1 large can El Pato Sauce
1 small can tomato sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup coca cola

Cut the roast into chunks and place in crockpot. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and pour about half over the pork, reserving the rest. Cover pork and cook on high for about 4-5 hours. Remove pork and shred. Discard sauce and wipe out crock pot. Put shredded pork back into crock pot and pour remaining sauce over it. Cook on low for another 2 hours. (The chicken cooked a little faster).


Serve Cafe Rio burrito style (or salad style): Melt monterey jack cheese on tortilla (try my tortilla recipe), top with rice, black or pinto beans, pork and tomatillo dressing. Fold and top with guacamole, lettuce, pico de gallo, etc.

Chicken and Ham Tetrazzini

This is a delicious recipe that I found in a Cookbook that my mom gave me. We love it! I usually half this recipe. It makes a lot!

This picture isn't very good quality...sorry. :)

Chicken and Ham Tetrazzini
1 pkg spaghetti noodles
2 T salad oil (I use vegetable oil)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cup milk
4 cups of cooked chicken
1 cup cooked ham
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1 cup black olives, halved
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Cook noodles until tender; drain. Then pour oil over and toss. In each of 2 un-greased 9x13 pans. Mix 1 can of mushroom soup, chicken soup and 3/4 cup milk. Stir in 1/2 meats, spaghetti, green pepper and olives. Sprinkle 1/2 cheese over each casserole. Bake uncovered at 375* F degrees for 40 minutes. Stir often to keep moist.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a delicious recipe that we got from Juli's recipe blog. It is so delicious and so easy.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or add left over chicken or turkey at the end)
1 onion, chopped
2 qt. water
2 large carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1-1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Boil above ingredients for 1 hours. When chicken is tender, remove from broth and tear into big chunks. Set chicken aside. The liquid will reduce so you will need to add 2 or 3 cans of chicken broth and bring broth back to a boil. Add 2 cups of uncooked noodles and continue to boil for 20 minutes.

Cream Sauce:
¾ cup butter
1 cup flour
4 cups milk
1/2 to 1 t lemon juice

Over medium heat, melt butter in large sauce pan. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until thickened (get it pretty thick). Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cream sauce to broth/noodle mixture. If the soup is too thin after adding the cream mixture, continue cooking until desired thickness. Stir chicken into soup! Serve warm with some yummy bread or biscuits!
Note: Once the cream sauce has thickened, do not allow to boil as it may separate

Chicken Tikka Masala

This recipe was so YUMMY!! Daniel and I really enjoyed it. We stole it off of my Sister (in-law)'s recipe blog. We will definately be making this again!

Chicken Tikka Masala
1 cup plain yogurt

1 T lemon juice

1 t ground cumin

1 t garam masala

1 t ground cinnamon

2 t paprika (if you want it spicy use cayenne pepper)

2 t black pepper

1 T ground ginger

1 t salt

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients except chicken. Pour sauce over chicken and refrigerate for at least one hour (I ended up marinading for a day and a half and it was great!). Grill or cook chicken in frying pan. Discard marinade.

1 T butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper finely chopped (make sure to take out the seeds if you don't want it too spicy)

2 t ground cumin

2 t paprika

1/2 t salt

1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 cup cream

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for one minute. Season with cumin, paprika and salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken to sauce to coat. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve over hot rice or couscous.

Chicken Pot Pie

This is a delicious recipe from the Betty Crocker cookbook.

10 oz. Frozen mixed veggies
1/3 c. butter
1/3 c. chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 3/4 c. chicken broth
2/3 c. milk
2 1/2 - 3 c. cut up cooked chicken

1. In sauce pan melt butter over med. heat. Stir in flour, onion, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubble; remove from heat. Stir in broth ad milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in chicken and veggies. Removed from Heat.
2. Heat oven to 425
3. Make pastry. (see two crust pie pastry). Roll 2/3 of the pastry into 13 inch square. Ease into un-greased 9 inch square pan. Pour chicken mix into pan.
4. Roll out rest of pastry. Place over chicken mix. Turn edges of pastry under and flute.
5. Bake about 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Thai-Style Coconut Chicken

This has become one of our very favorite meals. I like to add some lime juice, as well as some coconut, in addition to what it calls for in the recipe. YUMMY!

1 Tbls. Vegetable oil (I didn't use any)
1 lb. chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1 tsp. grated lime peel
1 tsp. grated gingerroot
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 fresh serrano chilies or 1 jalapeno chili, seeded and finely chopped
1/4 c. fresh cilantro
1 can (14oz) coconut milk (not cream of coconut)
1 tsp. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 c. sugar snap peas (I sometimes use a stir fry mix or regular peas if I don't have these on hand)
1 med. bell pepper, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 med. tomato, chopped (abt. 3/4 c)
1 Tbls. chopped fresh basil leaves
Hot cooked Jasmine (I just used regular white) rice

In nonstick wok or 12 inch skillet, heat oil over high heat. Add chicken, stir-fry 2-3 mins, until chicken is no longer pink in the center. Add lime, ginger, garlic, chilies, and cilantro. Stir-fry 1 min.
Pour coconut milk over chicken. Stir in brown sugar, salt, soy sauce, pea pods and bell pepper. Reduce heat to med. Simmer uncovered 3-5 mins, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in tomato (out of personal preference I omitted this step and used the tomatoes as a garnish).
Spoon into shallow serving bowls, top with basil. Serve with rice.

Chicken and Rice

This is a pretty good, and very easy meal. We really like it.

2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup (or Chicken, or one of each)
2 cans water (or one can water and one milk)
2 cups rice
4-6 chicken breasts (you could also do drumsticks, or thighs)
onions, to taste (I do about 1/2 an onion)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375*F. Add soups, water, rice, onions, and salt and pepper to a 13x9 pan. Stir. Place chicken on the top. Cover, and bake for about an hour or until rice has cooked.

Thai Chicken Fettuccine

1 c. Salsa
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter
2 Tbs. orange juice
2 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. soy sauce
8 oz. uncooked fettuccine
3/4 lb. chicken breast, cut in strips
1 Tbs. Vegetable oil
1 med. red pepper julienned
1/4 c. minced cilantro

For sauce, in a microwave safe bowl combine the first 5 ingredients. Cover, and microwave on high for 1 minute (mine needed more time). Stir, set aside.
Cook Fettuccine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in large skillet, cook chicken in oil over med. heat for 3-5 minutes or until browned. Add pepper. Cook until crisp-tender.
Drain Fettuccine, top with chicken mixture and sauce(I personally prefer the sauce, then the chicken mixture). Sprinkle with cilantro.

We really, really love this! I always get a little nervous for some reason when I make it, and I think that it is because of the unusual mixture of ingredients. You will be happy to know that it always turns out great, and I love it!

Mom's Lemon Linguine

Tomato mixture:
2-4 c. chopped tomatoes
2-4 fresh basil leaves chopped(I used extra dried basil and it was fine)
2 Tbs. dried basil
2 Tbs. dried parsley
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbs. olive oil
Juice of two lemons.

Butter Cream sauce:
4 Tbs. butter
1 c. cream
juice of 2 lemons
lemon zest

Mix tomato mixture and let sit at room temp. while preparing butter cream sauce. Melt butter and mix in cream. Bring to a boil. Slowly add lemon juice and zest stirring constantly. Cook on med heat until reduced by half. Cook Linguine, drain and add butter sauce. Top pasta with tomato sauce, grilled chicken, and fresh Parmesan cheese.