Tasty Tuesday: Homemade Rotisserie Style Chicken

 

This little baby is one of my crew's favorites!  We love store made rotisserie chickens, but unless you can catch a good sale they can be a bit pricey.  And we need to buy two of them to really have enough for our family.  When I came across this rotisserie chicken recipe that I could make at home I was VERY excited. 

When I make this I double the seasonings and cram two fryers into my large oval crock pot.  I have also made this with chicken legs, which is also great!  

This recipe is so easy, tastes great and is perfect for a busy day!

Here's what you need:

1 small chicken (I usually get a 4-6 pounder)

3 tsp of sea salt

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp of Italian seasoning -OR- 21 season salute from Trader Joe's

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp pepper

4 whole garlic cloves

1 yellow onion, quartered

Directions:

Rinse and dry your chicken.  Place in the crock pot.  

In a sperate bowl, mix together all of the dry seasonings.  Rub the dry mix on the inside and outside of your chicken.  

Place the garlic and onion inside the chicken.  Put the chicken breast side down in your crock pot.  DO NOT add water.

Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8 hours.

I know that your first thought will probably be that you need to add liquid.  I promise you do not need to do this.  The chicken has enough juice and will not be dry, trust me!

Quick and Easy Taco Salad

We had this last night for dinner, it was amazingly simple and delicious!  I think it took about 30 minutes from start to finish.  

 

 

Quick and Easy Taco Salad

Serves about 8-10

 

• 2 lbs. of ground beef
• 2 cans of pinto beans, drained
• 1 can of diced green chilies
• 2 small OR 1 large can of diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 bag of frozen corn
• 2 cans of tomato sauce
• 1 cup of water
• 1 Tbsp of cumin (I love this stuff so I use a lot more than a Tbsp)
• salt and pepper to taste
• romaine lettuce
• toppings of choice - tortilla chips, shredded cheese, fresh tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream
 

1. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet or pot, then drain.

2. Return meat to the pot.  Add beans, chilies, diced tomatoes, corn, tomato sauce, water and spices.

3. Mix and cook on low-medium for about 15-20 minutes.

4. Serve over top of shredded lettuce. Top with toppings of choice. 

Everyone loved this!  We will definitely be eating this again.

I really liked this one because it was good and easy enough to make at the end of a long day.  I think you could even make this earlier in the day and crock pot it on warm or low until dinner time.

This would be a great recipe to serve when having company!

Tasty Tuesday: Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

 

 

Usually the chicken soups I make are chicken noodle or chicken tortilla, but this time I wanted to do something different.  As I was meal planning last week {whoops I think I forgot to post that one} I found a new recipe to try, Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.  Doesn't that just sound delicious!

 

Let me start off by saying that if you are on a diet spare your self, run fast and run from away from this one! Move on from this post immediately, unless you are willing to modify the recipe {smile}. 

 

This is one of the most delicious soups I have ever had!  It is very rich and creamy, not really good for the waist line, but great for a once in a while meal.  It is a real crowd pleaser! 

 

This time I followed the directions pretty closely, but I think next time I am just going to use plain old milk and not heavy cream. 

 

Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

Serves 8

 

4 cups chicken broth 2 cups water 2 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded 1 package quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup butter 4 carrots, chopped 4 stalks of celery, chopped 1 onion, chopped 2 cups heavy cream (or milk)

    

Directions

1.	In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, water and chicken. Bring just to boiling, then stir in rice, reserving seasoning packet. Cover and remove from heat.
2.	In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and flour. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and saute carrots, celery and onion.  Next, stir in contents of seasoning packet until mixture is bubbly. Reduce heat to low, then stir in flour mixture by tablespoons, to form a roux. Whisk in cream or milk, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, 5 minutes.
3.	Stir cream mixture into broth and rice. Cook over medium heat until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes.  ENJOY!

Tasty Tuesday - Slow Cooker Taco Soup

 

 

We had this waiting in our crock pot when we got home from church on Sunday afternoon.  Everyone loves it, the girls and their friend all went back for seconds.

 

I assembled it the night before, put it in my crock pot dish. and then into the refrigerator.  I stuck it in the crock pot on low before we left for church.  It was ready and waiting when we got home. 

 

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

 

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 can of black beans

1 can of light kidney beans, drained

1 can of dark kidney beans, drained

1 small bag of frozen corn

1 large can of crushed tomatoes

1 large can of diced tomatoes

2-3 bell peppers - you can just use what you have on hand.  I used a bag of frozen mixed peppers (red, green, yellow) that I had in the freezer.

2 cups of water

1 cup of salsa

1 packet of taco seasoning

 

Optional                 

Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Sour Cream

Tortilla Chips

 

Directions

Brown ground beef and chopped onion, then drain.  Add to crock pot.  Add all beans, corn, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, peppers water, salsa and taco seasoning.  Either place in the refrigerator to cook tomorrow or set crock pot to cook on LOW for about 4-6 hours

 

Before serving top with shredded cheese and sour cheese.  Serve with tortilla chips.  Enjoy!

 

What is your favorite soup?

 

 

Cheese and Tamale Pie

This is another new recipe that has been added to our family favorites.  The Lil' Chef actually made it for us, she has become quite the little helper in the kitchen.  She has really been a blessing!

The great thing about this little recipe is that you can make it and eat it right away or you can freezer it for another day.  Better yet, I say make two - eat one and freeze one.

Sorry that I don't have a picture of this to post.  It got plated and eaten so fast that I didn't even get a change to take one. 

Here it is...

Cheese and Tamale Pie
Preheat Oven to 400 degrees

1lb of ground
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup salsa
1 can of pinto beans, drained
1 large can of diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Cornbread Topping
1 1/3 cup self rising yellow cornmeal mix
1 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1.) Cook first 3 ingredients in a large skillet, stirring until beef crumbles and is no longer pink.  Drain thoroughly.Return meat to the pan and add salsa, beans, tomatoes, and salt.  Simmer 5 minutes.  Stir in cilantro.Spoon mixture into a greased 11x7 inch baking dish.  Sprinkle with 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese.

2.) Whisk together cornmeal, milk and egg in a medium sized bowl.  Stir in remaining 1 cup of cheese. Spread batter over the meat mixture.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until the cornbread is lightly browned. 

3.) Serve immediately or completely cool, completely cover and then freeze.

If have frozen your dish to serve it take it out of the freezer, uncover and cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until thoroughly heated.

Enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday - Slow Cooker Swiss Steak {Recipe}

While I do have several tried and true recipes that have become family favorites, I still love to try new recipes.  Don't you?? 

Sometimes when life is crazy and busy it is much easier for me to just stick to what I know.  While I do plan on doing that, to some degree, I am also looking for new recipes.  My goal is to try at least one new recipe a week.  The recipes that I am leaning towards are family friendly, fast and frugal. 

We have tried several new recipes lately that have gone into our favorites box.  The Honey Mustard and Bacon Smothered Chicken is definitely my new favorite, well one of them anyway. 

Have you ever had Swiss Steak before?  When I told a friend of mine, the same friend that I got that awesome meatloaf recipe from, she said her mom used to make that all the time.  I told her I could not believe she had not given me this recipe before!

I made Swiss Steak last week, by accident really.  I had set out to make Beef Stew, but realized I didn't have any potatoes.  Beings that there was snow on the ground, it was cold and I was to lazy to run to the store I improvised.  I grabbed my trusty crock pot cook book and set out on a mission.  I came across Swiss Steak and the rest is history.  The WHOLE family loved it, SCORE!

Slow Cooker Swiss Steak
Serves 6

1 cup of chopped onions
1/2 cup of chopped celery
2lbs. 1/2 inch think round steak (I used 1lb. of stew meat and 1lb. of venison -that is what I had on hand)
1/4 cup flour
3 Tsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
1/4 pepper
16 oz can of diced tomatoes


1.) Place onions and celery in the bottom of your slow cooker.
2.) Cut steak into serving size pieces.  Dredge in 1/4 cup of flour.  Brown on both sides in oil.  Add to slow cooker.
3.) Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4.) Cover and cook on low for 9 hours (I cheated and cooked mine for 5 hrs on High).

I served this over brown rice, one because brown rice is good for you {smile,} and two because it helps to stretch a meal.  It would also be delicious over noodles or mashed potatoes. 

Have you tried any new family friendly, frugal recipes lately?

           

Honey Mustard and Bacon Smothered Chicken

Last week when I gave you all that Easy Cheesy Kielbasa and Beans recipe, I mentioned that we had another new family favorite.  Here it is.... Honey Mustard and Bacon Smothered Chicken!  Doesn't the name of the recipe alone just make your mouth start to water?!!!

When I saw this recipe it reminded me of my favorite Outback dish, Alice Springs Chicken.  This recipe doesn't call for mushrooms (like the one at Outback), but adding them makes this dish really close to the $15 entree that they sell.

This recipe is very simple and quick.  Once you try it you will agree that it is definitely a keeper!

photo source

Ingredients

• 4 (6-oz.) skinned and boned chicken breasts 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup honey-mustard dressing (I used the Hot & Sweet Mustard from Trader Joe's mixed with a little bit of honey)
• 8 fully cooked bacon slices
• 1/4 cup (1 oz.) shredded Mexican four-cheese blend 
• sauteed mushrooms (optional)

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

2. Melt butter with oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken, and cook 8 minutes on each side or until done. Reduce heat to medium-low; brush chicken with honey-mustard dressing. If you are adding the sauteed mushrooms, add them on top of each chicken breast. Top each chicken breast with 2 bacon slices, and sprinkle with cheese. Cover and cook 2 minutes or until cheese melts.

Great served over brown rice with asparagus or green beans as a side.  ENJOY!

Easy Cheesy Kielbasa and Beans

I few weeks back, while I was searching for a specific cookbook, I came across one that I had forgotten about.  I decided to pull it from my shelf, dust it off and take a peak.  While there are a lot of recipes in this book that looked great for some reason I had not yet tried them.  Until now.
 
So far, we have 2 new FAMILY favorites! Plus several more on my list to try out.

This one that I am going to share with you is delicious, even the Hubster said it was a new family favorite! It is very hearty and fits quite nicely into the comfort foods category.

Ingredients  

Makes about 20 cups

• 1 lb ground chuck
• 1 green bell pepper (diced)
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 1 lb sausage (the recipe calls for thinly sliced kielbasa, but I used cooked Italian sausage)
• 2 (10 oz) cans tomato soup (undiluted)
• 2 (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes (undrained)
• 1 (10 oz) can tomatoes and green chiles (undrained)
• 4 (16 oz) cans pinto beans (undrained)
• 4 (15 oz ) cans pork and beans (undrained)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Cook first 3 ingredients in a stockpot over medium-high heat, stirring until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Remove from pot, and drain.
2. Brown sausage in stockpot; drain and return to pot. Add ground chuck mixture, tomato soup, and next 6 ingredients.
3. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Stir in cheese.  Enjoy!

I served this over rice.  The rice went really well with it and also helped to stretch this into 2 meals.  

NOTE: To prepare in a slow cooker, brown ground chuck and sausage as directed. Place ground chuck mixture, sausage, and next 7 ingredients in a 5-quart slow cooker. Cook, covered, at LOW 8 to 10 hours. Stir in cheese just before serving.

Have you all found any new family favorites lately?