Salsa Chicken

This recipe is so easy and so yummy!

2 Chicken Breasts
1/2 jar of salsa
Taco Seasoning

(Sorry I really don't measure much when I cook so I don't have exact measurements. Just put however much seasoning as you want).

Put all of this in the crockpot on high for around 5 hours or until chicken is very tender. When I put the chicken in the crockpot it was frozen so it won't take as long if it isn't frozen.

Take chicken out of crock pot and shred. Return to crockpot and mix with salsa and seasoning.

Serve over rice. I topped it with sour cream and olives.

Pulled Pork Roast

Ok, so I don't know if you can really call this a recipe - more like a meal idea... But we LOVE this in our house! It couldn't be any easier and it tastes fantastic! We made this on fast Sunday and it was lovely to have it in the crock pot before church and to come home to an amazing smelling house and ready to eat.

2 lb. pork roast

bottle of good BBQ sauce

med. onion

Just throw a pork roast into the crock pot. I use a fork and poke holes all across the top and sprinkle garlic salt for tenderizing/flavoring purposes. Add a med. onion cut into wedges. Pour in an entire bottle of BBQ sauce on top and add a little bit of water (I add mine to the bottle, shake it up, and get all the rest of the good stuff out). Cook on low heat all day or high heat for half the time. Pull apart with a fork.

We like to eat ours with very simple roasted potatoes (oil, salt & pepper, oregano) and rolls.
Yummy!

We always have plenty left over. We freeze the rest of the pork and use it another time to have pulled pork sandwiches - just toasting some hard rolls under the broiler (with provalone cheese).

Crockpot Shredded Lime Chicken w/Cilantro Lime Rice

SHREDDED LIME CHICKEN

4-5 boneless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cup sprite
1/2-1 t. cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
2 limes

Cook in a crockpot on medium heat for 6-8 hours or until chicken falls apart with a fork. Stir in the juice of two limes before serving.

CILANTRO LIME RICE

1 c. white rice
2 c. chicken broth
1 T. lime juice
1 garlic clove
1 pinch salt
1/2 c. fresh cilantro

Cook rice according to package directions using broth instead of water. When done, fluff with a fork and add other ingredients.

Recipe courtesy of Karly http://recipestopasson.blogspot.com/

Italian roast beef over egg noodles

I like a good pot roast every so often, but sometimes I get tired of doing the whole "meat and potatoes with gravy" thing every time. My mom described this dish to me last week and I tried it out the other day. There's no set recipe, so this is just me sort of making it up based on what my mom tried and liked. It ended up being a perfect combination of flavors when serving it italian-style over noodles: garlic, tomatoes, and onion. Ryan and I both liked it a lot, and he said I could make it again which is always a good sign. :)

pot roast

1 can of italian tomatoes, stewed or diced

3-5 garlic cloves (depending on how much you like garlic, but more is better for this dish)

white onion (as large or small as you want, depending on how much onion you like)

salt and pepper and/or any kind of italian seasonings

Cut your garlic cloves in half (ish) so they have a point to each piece. Then make holes in your roast with a sharp knife so that you can insert the pieces of garlic into the holes all over the meat. Do this as much as you want - it really added an awesome flavor to the meat!

Spray your crockpot with Pam. Cut the onion into wedges or slices (whatever you like), and put them on the bottom. Put your meat in and season it with salt and pepper or other seasonings. Pour your can of italian-style tomatoes over the top and around the sides. Cook on low for 7 hours.

We pulled the roast apart into smaller pieces once it was done cooking, and served it over whole wheat egg noodles with a little parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. It was yummy!

**One can of tomatoes was plenty, but the stewed tomatoes didn't have enough pieces of tomato once you serve it over noodles, in my opinion. Next time I'll try diced and see if that works better. I also added a tiny bit of water, but it was totally unnecessary since it ended up plenty liquidy. Or maybe you could try 2 cans of stewed tomatoes but drain one, so you get more tomato but not all the liquid.

Chicken Chili

Yes, another soup recipe from me - this time, with pictures! We love this chicken chili and it is the perfect meal for fall. I do, however, have to make beanless chili in our house (I substitute an extra bell pepper for the beans). Also, I make this in the crock pot, but I think it was actually written for the stove top - I do the first part on the stove, and instead of adding the remaining ingredients to the pot, I add them all into my crock pot.

Anyone else love these little crock pot liners? Saves so much clean-up time, and they're not too expensive at Walmart. Love them!

Yum! I apologize for the lack of presentation, however. Yes, those are styrofoam bowls, but we're leaving town for the weekend and didn't want to add more dishes!

3 chopped chicken breasts

1 chopped green pepper

1 chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

Brown ingredients in olive oil on the stove top.

Add:

2 cans diced tomatoes (I like using fire roasted)

2 cans (drained) pinto beans (like I said, I have to go beanless, but you could also use other varieties of beans)

3/4 c. Pace picante sauce

1 can tomato sauce

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

Simmer all day. I usually taste test after it's been simmering a while and see if I need to adjust the spices - I'm usually a little generous with them. I like to add a generous dollop of sour cream near the end to make it nice and smooth and creamy. Garnish with shredded cheese. My house has smelled wonderful today!

Easy Mango Chicken

• 4-5 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless, I use 3 large breasts)
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 cups mango salsa 
• Cumin to taste
• Lemon Pepper to taste

1. Put chicken breasts in crock pot. Add cumin and lemon pepper. Cover and cook chicken until tender. Shred chicken on a plate and return to crock pot. Save juices in separate bowl.
2. Add corn, beans and salsa. More salsa can be added to taste. If mixture seems dry, add some of reserved juices.
3. Serve over coconut jasmine rice. Garnish with cilantro or parsely, if desired.

Coconut Rice (rice cooker version)

• 2 cups Thai jasmine-scented white rice (note that other types of rice, such as brown rice, do not work for this recipe)
• 1 1/2 cups good-quality coconut milk (not “lite”)
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp brown sugar

1. Place rice in rice cooker. Add the water, coconut milk, sugar and salt. Stir well (use a plastic or wooden utensil to avoid scraping off the non-stick surface).
2. Cover and set to cook.
3. Once your rice cooker switches to “warm” mode, allow another 8-10 minutes for rice to finish “steaming”. This will ensure your coconut rice is fully cooked and pleasantly sticky.
4. Gently fluff with chopsticks before serving. Serves 4

Coconut Rice (stovetop version)

• 2 cups Thai jasmine-scented white rice*
• 2 cups good-quality coconut milk
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. coconut oil, OR other vegetable oil
• 1 tsp brown sugar

1. Rub oil over the bottom of a deep-sided pot. You will also need a tight-fitting lid.
2. Place rice, coconut milk, water, sugar and salt in the pot and set over medium-high to high heat.
3. Stir until liquid comes to a gentle boil (stirring will keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning).
4. Once the coconut-water has begun to gently bubble, stop stirring and reduce heat to low (just above minimum). Cover tightly with a lid and let simmer about 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice (to check, pull rice aside with a fork to see down to the bottom of the pot).
5. When the liquid is gone, turn off the heat, but leave the covered pot on the burner to steam another 5-10 minutes, or until you’re ready to eat. Tip: Your Coconut Rice will stay warm this way for up to 1 hour or more, great for when you’re expecting company!
6. When ready to serve, remove the lid and fluff rice with a fork or chopsticks. Taste-test the rice for salt, adding a little more if needed. Serve right out of the pot, or place in another serving bowl.

YUM!!! 

Italian Sausage & Peppers

I just realized that my turn to post has rolled around and I am, again, unprepared! But I anticipate with the end of summer we'll have a little return of normalcy around our house...so hopefully I'll be on top of things with photos and everything by the time my next turn comes.

We love this yummy crock pot pasta sauce. Mmm... It's not as "Italian" as our typical pasta sauces - with a husband who served in Italy and a wife who's Italian - but it is super yummy, nonetheless!

3 bell peppers cut into 1" cubes (mixed colors - I don't use green)

1 small onion cut into wedges

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. hot (or mild, if you're not spicy eaters!) italian sausage (I like to use ground italian sausage with no casings...or you can get links and just de-case them and break them up with a spoon)

1 c. marinara sauce (you can use a jar of sauce, but I make my own - see note below)

1/4 c. red wine vinegar (less)

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tbsp. water

Coat your crock pot with cooking spray. Place your peppers, onion, & garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker. Arrange the sausage over the veggies. Combine pasta sauce & vinegar over the top. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 4-5 (sausage needs to be cooked through and the veggies tender). Skim off any fat from the liquid. Mix cornstarch & cold water in a separate bowl until smooth. Add to crock pot. Cook 15 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Serve over pasta (we also love this sauce over polenta, and it would probably make a pretty dang good sandwich on yummy bread, too).

Sometimes people are intimidated by making their own sauce, so they just use a jar. But you can make a really simple sauce for this - there's so much in this recipe (with the veggies & sausage) that it doesn't need to be ultra fancy. I just use some tomato sauce, a little water, some basil & oregano, maybe a pinch of garlic powder, & we like to add red pepper flakes too (we LOVE spicy). In this case, I just throw them all into the crock pot, and after it's cooked quite a while I stir it all up. Once everything's ok for the taste-testing, I adjust my spices.

Si mangia! (Essentially 'let's eat' - said before every meal in our house!)

Salsa Chicken

This is one of my new favorite recipes. It's so easy and really yummy! I made this the other night (only 1/2 the recipe) and served it over rice and had enough leftovers the next night to use for chicken tacos.

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 jar of salsa
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup

Combine all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken and serve over rice (or on tacos!).