Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

This is a dish I keep seeing floating around on facebook and Pinterest, but the picture I always saw, didn't match the recipe provided. So, I did some looking on my own, found a few good recipes and adapted this one. I really liked how it turned out. Super easy and pretty healthy...if you didn't pile it high on a mound of spanish rice like I did, or top it with cheese and sour cream like I did either...
ok, so maybe not very healthy. Whatever, I never said this was a "healthy" food blog anyway!

What you'll need:
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (I made three cause it's just me, Cory, and the girls, which turns out this was too spicy for them anyway so next time I'll make just 2)
1 jar of your favorite chunky salsa (I used a medium heat and it was perfect)
1.5 cup frozen corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
taco seasoning
salt & pepper
olive oil

toppings-
shredded cheddar
fresh cilantro
sour cream

In a skillet, heat a little oil. Salt and pepper your chicken. Sprinkle some taco seasoning on the chicken too. Brown the chicken in the pan. Turn off heat and set aside.

In your slow cooker, combine the salsa, corn, and beans..

Top with chicken. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.

I made some spanish rice to go with this, but it would be great shredded up and made into burritos too. Enjoy!

Baked Chicken and Zucchini

Tis the season for zucchini! Well, the end of the season anyway. But I eat zucchini all year long. And this new recipe that I've come across is a now family favorite that I'll be making often through out the whole year. I found the original recipe at Taste of Home, but I added a little of this and that to make it my own. You can easily switch it up too. Less zucchini, more tomato, no mushrooms, whatever you like or dislike. It's easy to throw together and the results are delicious. This serves 4.

You'll need:

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 cup bread crumbs, I used Panko
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 egg
1 tbsp. water
salt and pepper
4 tbsp. olive oil
5 medium zucchini, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup sliced mushroom (about 8)
1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

In a shallow bowl, beat egg, water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper.
Combine the Italian seasoning with the bread crumbs, and set  aside 2-3 tablespoons of it.  Place the remaining crumbs in a large re-sealable plastic bag. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then place in bag and shake to coat.
In a large skillet, cook chicken in 2 tablespoons oil for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown; remove and set aside. In the same skillet, saute zucchini and peppers in remaining oil until crisp-tender; drain. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.
Sprinkle the reserved bread crumbs over the zucchini. Top with tomato slices and mushrooms and sprinkle with 2/3 cup mozzarella cheese, and a little salt. Top with chicken. Cover and bake at 400° for 25 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!!

Chicken Pot Pie with a Sage Biscuit Crust

Mmm Mmm Mm! This is a good one. This is a variation of a recipe I got from an old Marlboro cookbook. My husband requested that I make it this week, before it gets too hot out. He has a thing about eating "winter" dishes in the summer. I, on the other hand, can eat anything anytime.

You Need:
1.5 cups frozen corn
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. dried sage
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
3 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Biscuits:
2 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1.5 tsp. dried sage
1/2 tsp. cumin
6 tbsp. shortening
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp. corn syrup
1 tsp. water

Prepare biscuits first. Combine Flour, baking powder, salt, sage, and cumin in a mixing bowl. Cut in shortening until crumbly. Add milk and mix to moisten. Shape into a ball and roll out onto a floured surface. Roll or pat into an 8' circle. Cut into 8 wedges. When chicken mixture is ready, top with these biscuit wedges and brush with corn syrup and water mixture.

For the chicken mixture: In a 10' skillet, or even better a cast iron skillet, saute corn and peppers in 1 tbsp. of butter, until tender. Remove them from pan. Melt remaining butter in same skillet and stir in the flour and seasonings. Add broth and milk, cook til it thickens. Add the chicken, veggies, and lemon juice. Transfer to a 2.5 quart baking dish (unless you are using a cast iron skillet). Top with sage biscuits and bake at 350 for 35-45 min.
Enjoy!

Smothered Chicken

I really can't believe I haven't blogged this recipe yet. I've been making this for years, and we have it pretty often. I usually have everything I need to make it. Chicken. 5 spices that are regulars in the pantry. Bell pepper. Cheese. Rice. Done!

I always serve it over white rice. (tip-use chicken broth instead of water to cook your white rice in, it gives it such good flavor!)

You need:

2 boneless skinless chicken halves

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 tbsp. butter

1 medium green bell pepper

1 medium red bell pepper

1/2 white onion

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

 

Slice the chicken into thin fillets.

Dice up your peppers and onions (a big dice).



Mix all the spices together in a small bowl. Season both sides of the chicken.

Melt the butter over a med-high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet.

Cook for about 5 minutes per side, remove chicken from skillet. Add the peppers and onion to the same skillet and saute for 5 minutes.



Once the peppers and onions have softened (after the 5 minutes), slide them over in the skillet and put the chicken back into the skillet.

Spoon the peppers and onion over the chicken pieces, covering them.

Top with the cheddar and mozzarella cheese.

 

Put a lid on the skillet and continue to cook over a meduim heat for another 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

 

Penne Rustica

Ok, so these pictures aren't the best step by step pictures because I was feeding my 6 week old baby while I was making dinner, but it's not a hard dish to prepare. This is a mock version on Macaroni Grill's Penne Rustica. But honestly, I think this one is better. It's a combination of chicken, shrimp and pancetta over penne, with a sauce to die for.
You need to use a grill for the chicken, and a stove for the pancetta and shrimp.


You need (for the Gratinata Sauce):
3 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. minced garlic
3 tbsp. Marsala cooking wine
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup milk
1/2 chicken broth
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
2 tsp. fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. frsh thyme, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. cayenne (or more if you want it spicy)


1 pound penne pasta
12 medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 skinless chicken breast fillets
1/2 cup pancetta, chopped


a small handful of shredded parmesan for sprinkling (I ran out of parmesan, so I used mozzarella and it was good. Any cheese is better than no cheese!)
1 1/2 tsp. paprika

Preheat grill to high. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
In a bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients, except for the butter, garlic, and wine.

Prepare sauce by melting the butter in a skillet over a med/low heat. Add garlic and sweat it out for about 5 minutes. don't let the garlic brown! Add the Marsala wine and cook another 5 minutes.

Add the bowl of remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. Bring it up to a simmer and leave it there for 10 minutes.

Cover sauce and remove from heat. It will thicken as it sits.

Cook pasta according to package. Drain and set aside.

Rub chicken with a bit of olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Grill chicken for about 10 minutes per side, or until done. When chicken is done, slice it into small strips.

Heat some olive oil in a smaller skillet. Add the pancetta and cook for about 7 minutes. Just until they begin to crisp up.

Season the shrimp with some salt and pepper and pan fry them in a little olive oil too, just until they start to pink. this should only take 2-3 minutes.

In a big ceramic or glass dish, pour in the pasta..

This is where I become M.I.A. My hubby took over in the kitchen for a few minutes so I could feed a hungry baby :)

After the pasta, layer the chicken, then shrimp, then pancetta. Pour the sauce over the whole thing.

In a small bowl, mix the parmesan (or mozzarella) with the paprika. Sprinkle over the suace. Bake at 500 for 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

Seriously Tasty Chicken Fingers

My good friend Hillary shared this recipe with me. These are some seriously tasty chicken fingers. I served them with a small pasta side one night, and made the best chicken burgers with left-overs the next night. You'll love these, trust me, they're delicious.

You need:
4 chicken breast halves, cut into strips (whatever size you want)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 cup flour
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. seasoned salt
dash of pepper
1 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp. baking powder
1 quart of vegetable oil for frying

Place chicken strips into a large, resealable plastic bag. In a small bowl, mix the egg, buttermilk and garlic powder. Pour mixture into bag with chicken. Seal, and refrigerate 2 to 4 hours.
In another large, resealable plastic bag, mix together the flour, bread crumbs, paprika, onion powder, seasoned salt, pepper, and baking powder.
Remove chicken from refrigerator, and drain, discarding buttermilk mixture. Place chicken in flour mixture bag. Seal, and shake to coat.
Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Carefully place coated chicken in hot oil. Fry until golden brown and juices run clear. Drain on paper towels.
Enjoy!

Cory's Chicken & Chorizo Enchiladas, with Beer Can Chicken

Cory made these two ways; the first with Shrimp and Chorizo, and then he tried them Chicken and Chorizo. Both are awesome, so try it either way.

To use shrimp instead of chicken, you want 1 1/2 pounds raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, chopped into bite size pieces.

Makes 12 enchiladas

What you need:

Cheese Sauce:

½ cup sweet red pepper, chopped

½ cup onion, minced
½ cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup butter
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 ½ cups Monterey Jack cheese or Pepper Jack cheese
½ cup sour cream

Chicken and Chorizo Mixture:
1 small tube of pork Chorizo
2 tbsp butter
4 cups shredded chicken
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
12 (9 in.) flour tortillas

For the Chicken, we did a beer can chicken in the oven. Cory has always wanted to do one, so we figured this was a good time to try one! We would have used the grill outside, but it was super windy out. The oven worked just as well though and the chicken came out great, really moist and juicy.

you need:
1 (4-pound) whole chicken

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons of your favorite dry spice rub (we used Weber's Chicken Rub)

1 can beer (we used Coors)

yeah that's right, we drink Coors from a glass, cause we're classy like that.

Remove all the giblets from the chicken. Rinse off and pat dry.

Rub the veg. oil all over the bird, and then season the bird with the salt, pepper, and dry rub. Set aside.

Open your can of beer and take a few swigs :) You just want to use about half to 3/4 can of beer for the bird. Place your bird over the can, using the legs to make like a ripod with the can. 

Now you can either grill your bird, over a med-high heat for about 1.5 hours, or put him in a dutch oven or roasting pan and set in the oven. Roast at 400 degrees for about 1.5 hours. You're looking for in internal temp of 180 degrees. When it's done, let him sit for 10 min before shredding.

Prepare the chorizo. Sautee over med-high heat for 5-7 min. Remove from pan and place on a plate with a paper towel, to soak up some of the grease. Set aside for now.

Ok, so to start our cheese sauce...

Saute red pepper, onion and green pepper in 1/4 cup butter until crisp-tender. Add oregano, salt, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, and flour; blend well and cook, stirring constantly for about a minute.

Whisk in the cream and continue cooking for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese; stir until melted. Add sour cream, stir to blend. Set aside.

In another skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Saute chicken and 1/2 cup onion for 2-3 min. Add chopped tomatoes and 1/2 of the cheese sauce.

Fold in the chorizo..

Butter up a 9x13 baking dish..

Have some more beer..

Spoon 1/3 cup chicken and chorizo mixture into each tortilla.

Sprinkle a bit of cheese on top of chicken mixture. Roll the enchiladas up tightly.

Arrange seam side down in a 9X13-inch glass baking dish. Spoon remaining cheese sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Enjoy!