Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken Barbecue

Is it just me or does anyone else ever have those days when you notice its 4:00 and you think, "Oh!!  I need to make something for dinner today!"  This recipe is perfect for one of those days, because you can put frozen chicken in the slow cooker and magically it's done and delicious in 3 short hours.  And yes, eating dinner at 7:00 is no big deal to our family.  One day last week we had dinner at 8:00.  That's just the way we roll.


Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken Barbecue
Recipe from Allrecipes


Ingredients:

6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (12 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce

1/2 cup Italian salad dressing

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.

Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low.  This is great on buns for sandwiches but I like to put a big pile of it on some hot mashed potatoes.  Yum!!!

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas and Cake Mix Chocolate Bars

Okay, so I pretty much knew that this would be hated by my kids, but I didn't care because it sounded good to me and I'm selfish like that.  I made some plain cheese enchiladas for the kids, but didn't tell them.  It was hilarious seeing their faces, thinking that they had to eat, gasp, sweet potatoes!  Son #3 came in from playing outside and said, "Wow!!  What is that delicious smell?!!" and proceeded to go on and on about how yummy it smelled and how much he loves enchiladas.  When it was time to eat and I told him what was in the enchiladas, it was a different story.  He was instantly mad and said "Enchiladas are the most disgusting thing in the world.  I hate them.  Sweet potatoes?  What is wrong with you Mom?"  I laughed for hours about that.  By the way, I loved these enchiladas.  Obviously there must be something wrong with me.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas


Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1 small jalapeno minced (seeded)

1 (14.5 oz.) can rinsed black beans

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

1 (28 oz.) can of red enchilada sauce (Macayo's is the best)

2 cups cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (or cheddar jack!)

8 large flour tortillas

Peel your sweet potatoes and dice into chunks.  Spread out on a baking sheet with a little olive oil and salt and bake at 400 until soft (about 30 minutes).

Saute your garlic and jalapeno in the olive oil, add the black beans, chili powder, cumin and sweet potatoes. Mix everything really well and let cook for a few minutes.

Spread 1 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 casserole pan. Fill tortillas with the bean and sweet potato mixture and a little bit of cheese.  Roll up the tortilla and place in the pan. When finished top with remaining the remaining enchilada sauce and whatever cheese you have left over. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Serve with lettuce, olives, avocado, and a little sour cream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once again, I had forgotten to make a dessert for FHE, so I quickly looked through my recipe archives for a fast recipe.  This one is VERY fast, and the kids loved it. 

 

 

Cake Mix Chocolate Bars

 

 

Ingredients:

 

 (1) yellow cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup chocolate chips

 

Directions:

Combine the cake mix, eggs and oil.  Press combine the milk and chocolate chips. Microwave to melt, stopping every 30 seconds to stir. Pour chocolate mixture over crust. Sprinkle the remaining crust over the chocolate mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until they start to turn golden. 

 

Hide the leftovers or the next day your kids will come home from school with their friends and inhale them, like this....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spagetti Chicken Casserole

Here's an easy dinner thats fast to put together, good for those last minute days!



Spagetti Chicken Casserole


Ingredients:

2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
2 cans cream of mushroom or chicken soup
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
3 cups dry spagetti, broken into small pieces
2 cups chicken broth
2 tsp. seasoned salt
salt and pepper to taste
1 additional cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese
Directions:

Cook spagetti. When done, combine with remaining ingredients (except last cup of cheese). Place mixture in 9X13 pan and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Chicken Torta Sandwiches

Last year while visiting my parents in Arizona they took me to a yummy torta shop, Los Reyes de la Tortas.  I can't believe I had never had one before then.  Since trying it and loving it, I have tried a few times to recreate it at home and am loving this gringo version I came up with.

Chicken Torta Sandwiches
Recipe by Kathee


Ingredients:

2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 cup salsa verde
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup nacho cheddar cheese sauce (I like Ricos)
1 rotisserie-style chicken, skin discarded and meat shredded OR
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
8 sandwich rolls, split
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
15 oz. can of refried beans
Avocado slices
Lettuce

Directions:

Combine garlic, salsa verde, sour cream and nacho sauce in a skillet.  Add shredded chicken and stir until combined.  Cook on low heat until heated through.  Meanwhile, heat up the refried beans in a pot on the stove.  To prepare the sandwiches, smear a couple of spoonfulls of refried beans onto the top sandwich bun.  Place some shredded chicken on the bottom bun.  Top the chicken with shredded cheese, avocado slices and lettuce.  Top with the refried bean bun and ENJOY!  Of course, half my kids refused to eat this, but they made nachos with the chicken and loved it!

Here is another version that I have tried and also liked very much:


Pulled Chicken Sammies
Recipe from Taste and Tell

 Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped (of course I skipped this ingredient)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 cups salsa verde
1/2 cup sour cream
1 rotisserie-style chicken, skin discarded and meat shredded
4 sandwich rolls, split
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
Directions:

Preheat the broiler. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and honey, then stir in the salsa and heat through. Mix in the sour cream. Add sauce a little at a time to your bowl of shredded chicken. YOU MAY NOT NEED ALL THE SAUCE depending on how much shredded chicken you have. Stir in the sauce to coat.

Pile the chicken mixture on the roll bottoms. Top with the cheese and broil to melt.

Rainbow Cake

I made my favorite, corned beef and cabbage for our dinner tonight.    For fun I made this rainbow cake for dessert.  I cheated of course and made it out of cake mixes.  What?  Thursdays are VERY busy for me!  I used the neon gel food coloring and it seemed to work pretty good.  The kids got a kick out of it.  So, you don't really need a recipe for it, but it's a fun idea!  Hope your day was as fun as mine and that you had a Shamrock Shake (the only item of any redeeming value from McDonald's!!).

Hot Sandwiches

Last night was a fun meal!  Everyone was able to pick out what kind of hot sandwich they wanted, I had plenty of fillings to choose from so there were lots of custom versions.  The bread was so quick and easy, my mind is already spinning around thinking of all the fun things I can do with it.


Hot Sandwiches
Recipe for rolls adapted from RecipeShoebox

Ingredients:

1-3/4 cups warm water 
3 tbsp. yeast 
1/2 cup oil 
1/2 cup sugar or honey 
2 eggs

1 tbsp. salt

5-6 cups flour (I used 5 cups white, 1 cup wheat, and threw in 1 tbsp. ground flax seed for good measure!)

Mix all ingredients together and knead for 10 minutes.

After kneading, divide the dough into four equal sections. Roll out each section of dough and with a pizza cutter slice the dough into 4 pieces.

Place on the dough your filling.  I had roast beef, ham and turkey available for the meats.  For the cheese, we could choose from cheddar, mozzerella, swiss, provolone, american and gouda.  The picture above is my roast beef and gouda sandwich.

Tuck in the fat end and roll towards the narrow end.

Place rolled crescents onto greased cookie sheet, let rise for 10-15 minutes and bake at 400° for 10-15 minutes. Be careful not to overbake. You'll want to catch them just as they're beginning to brown.

I had some dough left over after everyone made their sandwich, so I put some melted butter on it, added some brown sugar and cinnamon, rolled it up and had a yummy sweet dessert!

Pasta Alla Amatriciana

So delicious! This recipe is a keeper.

Pasta Alla Amatriciana
The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

6 oz bacon (6 slices), chopped medium
2 Tbsp exra-virgin olive oil (I forgot to use the oil and it was still fabulous)
1 onion, minced
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp salt
1 pound linguine (I used fresh—makes a huge difference)
½ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot for the linguine.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon and oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until the bacon is crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp of the fat left in the skillet.

Add the onion and red pepper flakes to the fat in the skillet and return to medium heat. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and the diced tomatoes with their juice and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.

When the water is boiling, stir in the salt and linguine. Cook, stirring often, until the linguine is almost tender but still a little firm to the bite.

Reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking water (I didn’t end up using this), then drain the linguine and return it to the pot. Stir in the tomato mixture, crisp bacon, and cheese and toss to coat. Add the reserved pasta cooking as needed to loosen the sauce before serving.

BBQ Pork in the Slow Cooker

I love the slow cooker when I don't want to deal with the hassle of making dinner in the evening. Are the hours between 3-6pm crazy at your house, too?

BBQ Pork in the Slow Cooker

2-3 lb. Boneless pork roast, cubed
1 onion, chopped
12 oz bottle BBQ sauce (our favorite is Trader Joe's Kansas Style Barbecue Sauce)
¼ cup honey
sandwich rolls

Place meat in slow cooker. Add onions, sauce and honey. Cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Use 2 forks to shred meat. Serve on rolls.

Crescent Chicken Squares

Last night I reached way into my recipe archives for our dinner.  I had asked my husband what he would like for dinner and he mentioned I hadn't made Crescent Chicken Squares forever and he was right.  Forever as in years.  Years!!!  I used to make this all the time right after we got married, it's always been a favorite.


Crescent Chicken Squares

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp. butter
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic
2 (8 oz.) cans crescent rolls
2 tbsp. butter
Crushed seasoned croutons

Directions:

Blend cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add chicken, salt,  pepper, and garlic and mix well.  Seperate dough into 4 triangles (per can), spooning meat mixture into center.  Bring corners of dough together and press with fork.  Brush tops with melted butter and crushed seasoned croutons.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheets according to crescent roll directions.

Pasta E Fagioli

Bacon alert!

I know, I know, I make a whole lotta soup over here. But I'm so cold and soup feels so good when you're freezing all the time. This soup was so good. The flavor was amazing. Actually, I wouldn't call it a soup, it's more stew-like. If you want it more soupy then add more broth, I suppose.

Pasta E Fagioli
The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

•4 slices bacon, chopped medium
•1 onion, chopped fine
•4 garlic cloves, minced
•2 zucchini, diced
•1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried
•1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
•1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
•2 15.5-ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed
•3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
•2 1/2 cups water
•Salt
•1 3/4 cups orzo
•1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
•Pepper
•1 cup Parmesean cheese, grated
•Extra virgin olive oil (for serving)

Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes.

Stir in the onion, zucchini, garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the onion and zucchini are softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes with their juice, beans, broth, water, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Stir in the pasta and cook until just slightly underdone.

Off the heat, stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle individual bowls with grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Stir-Fried Chicken and Green Beans with Spicy Orange Sauce

There must be an orange theme going on.

On Sunday I made this dish from one of my favorite, never fail cookbooks. It was delicious as expected. We served it over rice. Next time I think I'll add some other veggies to it.

Stir-Fried Chicken and Green Beans with Spicy Orange Sauce
America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup cooking sherry (I used chicken broth)
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
4 tsp Asian Chili Sauce (I halved this for my non-spicy kids)
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp grated orange zest
12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large), trimmed and sliced thinly
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
1/2 cup water
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger

Whisk first 8 ingredients together in a bowl.

Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add the chicken, break up any clumps, and cook until no longer pink. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and set aside.

Add the green beans to the skillet. Add the water, cover, and steam until the beans are bright green and begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Uncover and allow the water to evaporate, about 3 minutes.

Add the garlic and ginger, and cook until until fragrant, 15-30 seconds. Stir it into the vegetables. Return the chicken, with any accumulated juice, to the skillet. Whisk the sauce to recombine, then add to the skillet. Simmer, tossing constantly, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened, 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (if desired) and serve.

Crispy Orange Beef

I pretty much wish I had doubled this recipe.  I loved it.  Husband loved it.  Various kids loved it.  I'll be making this again SOON!!
Funny comment from my oldest son last night, "You know, you really should have named me Adonis."

WHAT?

Crispy Orange Beef

Recipe from Allrecipes

Ingredients:



1 1/2 pounds beef top sirloin, thinly sliced

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 cup long grain rice

2 cups water

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 teaspoons orange zest

3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic

8 broccoli florets, lightly steamed or blanched

2 cups oil for frying

Directions:

Lay beef strips out in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Allow to dry in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, rice vinegar, orange juice concentrate, salt and soy sauce. Set aside.

Meanwhile, combine rice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until rice is tender. Add more water at the end if necessary.  (I use Calrose rice, because I really love sticky rice and I just make it in the rice cooker.  Comes out perfectly sticky and yummy every time).

Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Toss dried beef in cornstarch to coat. Fry in the hot oil in small batches until crispy and golden brown; set aside. Drain all of the oil from the wok except about 1 tablespoon.

Add orange zest, ginger and garlic to the remaining oil, and cook briefly until fragrant. Add the soy sauce mixture to the wok, bring to a boil, and cook until thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Add beef, and heat through, stirring to coat. Serve immediately over steamed rice, and garnish with broccoli.

Butter Bars

Last night for dinner we had breakfast burritos, not really something I need to share a recipe for.  But our dessert?  Oh, my, the dessert.  In the name of everything buttery and bad for you, make these Butter Bars - NOW!!!
One funny thing that happened at dinner.......  we were all talking and sharing, having a great meal.  Suddenly, one of the boys speaks above everyone else, "Hey!  Guess what?  I entered the drawing in the library for one of the Justin Bieber posters!!!"   Complete SILENCE.  Everyone looks at each other.  Massive laughter ensues.  "What in the world did you do that for?"  "Justin Bieber?  What is wrong with you?"  After we settled down he told us his plan, "I want to draw a mustache and beard on it and put it in my brother's room!!"  Oh!!!  That made sense, because that particular brother gets accosted on the street by preteens who think he is the Bieb's in the flesh!!  We were all worried there for a second though!!!



Butter Bars
Recipe courtesy of Everywhere on the Internets

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 cups powdered sugar


Directions:

Combine crust ingredients and pat into a 9X13 pan.  Beat cream cheese, eggs and vanilla until smooth.  Add butter and sugar.  Mix well.  Pour over crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.