Crockpot Shredded BBQ Chicken

In a search for a different way to cook chicken that was healthy and we could add to our weekly meals as a protein I came across this recipe.

It was simple and easy since I could throw it into the crockpot. I was also able to find Organic BBQ Sauce and pretty clean Italian Dressing (Newman's).

The chicken came out perfect, had lots of flavor and worked great in our portioned out dinner meals. We paired it with quinoa with kale and veggies (Corn, broccoli or carrots).

This was the only picture I got. So, I'll add better pictures next time I make it.

Crockpot Shredded BBQ Chicken

2 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 cup BBQ Sauce
1/4 cup Italian Dressing
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
Salt to taste


Season chicken breast lightly with some sea salt and place in your crockpot.

In a mixing bowl combine BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until well combined.

Pour over chicken, cover and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours.

Once time is up, you can serve the breast whole, or shred with 2 forks. If shredding, recover and let cook in sauce for about 10-15 more minutes to soak up all that delicious flavor.

Chicken Stroganoff

I LOVE beef stroganoff! However, since we don't eat a lot of beef I found a recipe that was chicken instead. It was amazing!

I changed up the recipe by taking out a few things and adding a few things. This is a great recipe to do what you like with. The original recipe called for onion, thyme, white wine, no garlic salt and wide egg noodles.

Chicken Stroganoff

5-6 Boneless Chicken Breasts, cut into chunks
¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
12 Ounces Fresh Mushrooms
2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
2 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 teaspoon Paprika
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
3 teaspoons Cornstarch
3 Tablespoon Cream or Half & Half
1 Cup Sour Cream
Garlic Salt to taste
Quinoa Noodles - Any noodle works


Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a wide saute pan, until it begins to simmer. Brown the chicken for a few minutes on each side - you just want a bit of color on it at this point. Set the chicken aside in a small bowl.

In the same pan, cook the mushrooms for a couple minutes, until they brown a little and give up some liquid.

Add the chicken back to the pan, along with the chicken broth, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce.

Mix to combine and then taste to see if you need any more salt and/or pepper, adding a bit if it does. Simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.

At this point, you want to cook 4 servings worth of noodles, according to the package directions.

Mix the cornstarch and cream or half & half in a small bowl until no lumps remain, then stir the mixture into the saute pan. Keep stirring gently as it returns to a simmer, and the sauce thickens.

Stir the sour cream into the rest of the ingredients in the saute pan, and warm gently over low heat, stirring very frequently. You want it to be very warm, but don't let it boil, or it might separate.

Serve over warm noodles. I used quinoa noodles but you can use whatever noodles you want. Egg noodles are the usual for stroganoff.


Original Recipe: Chicken Stroganoff

Baked Honey Mustard Chicken

Baked Honey Mustard Chicken

1/4 Cup of Grainy, Course Mustard
1/4 Cup Smooth Dijon Mustard
1/2 Cup Honey
2 teaspoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 1/2 Pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Tenderloins or Breasts
Salt and Pepper
Chives, I used dried chives
Parmesan Cheese, sprinkle
1 Package Mushrooms, diced


In a small bowl, combine the mustards, honey, garlic and the olive oil.

Spray an oven safe pan with olive oil. Dice up the mushrooms and layer them in the bottom of the pan.

Place the chicken tenderloins on top of the mushrooms. Salt and pepper the tops of the chicken according to your personal preference.

Pour the honey mustard mixture on top of the chicken. Sprinkle the chives and Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake the chicken covered at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes. Then remove the cover, baste the chicken with the sauce, and continue to cook for an additional 20-30 minutes uncovered, or until the chicken is browned on top and cooked through.

Chicken Cacciatore - Freezer Meal

Chicken Cacciatore

3 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (I added thighs also)
1 {26 oz} jar of spaghetti sauce
1 zucchini, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped


There are 2 different ways you can make this.

1. You can load all the ingredients into a gallon sized Ziplock bag, lay it flat, freeze, and cook it in the crockpot at a later date.

2. Layer the ingredients in a foil pan, seal and pop in the freezer.

Crockpot Cooking Method: Cook from frozen on high for 8 hours or until chicken is thoroughly cooked, or thaw overnight in the refrigerator overnight and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Oven Cooking Method: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Cook at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Serve over cooked spaghetti noodles if desired. We ate it just in a bowl without the noodles.


Notes: You can pretty much add any veggie that you'd like to this. Next time I'm going to add mushrooms and more veggies.

Crockpot Taco Soup - Freezer Meal

Crockpot Taco Soup

1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed
1 Bag Frozen whole kernel corn, no need to thaw
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
12 oz chicken or vegetable broth
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilis, undrained
1 package of taco seasoning (1.25 ounces)
2 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts


Preparing: combine all ingredients in a ziplock bag. Flatten down so there is little to no air. Freeze.

Cooking Method: cook in crockpot on Low for 6-8 hours or High for 4-6.

Garnish with cheddar cheese, sour cream, &/or crushed tortilla chips

Forgotten Chicken

This recipe was SO good. Everyone loved it! It's definitely something I'll be making again. It's another dish that can be customized to your liking. I didn't have the original ingredients on hand so I made the dish my own with what I had on hand in the pantry.

This dish is something that you can cook slow in the oven for about 3 hours or you can cook fast in the oven in an hour. I will put both ways in the recipe below.

Forgotten Chicken

4-6 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast
2 Cups Minute Rice
1 Package Lipton Onion Soup Mix (Dry Mix)
1 Can Cream of Mushroom (I use Pacific Foods Brand in a box)
1 Can Campbell's Cheddar Cheese
1 Can Water
Chili Powder
Sea Salt
Garlic Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350-375 (depending on your oven) for one to one and a half hours. Or you can cook it at around 250-275 for 3 hours. (The girl who I got this recipe from she said her mom always put it in the oven while they went to church for 3 hours and then ate when they got home.)

Mix the soups, 1 can of water, and rice in a bowl.

Pour the rice soup mixture into the bottom of the greased 9x13 pan.

Add the chicken in on top of the rice mixture and top the chicken with spices and the onion soup mix. Sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top and cover with foil.

Cook in oven for about an hour. Check to see if chicken is done and if not put in for a little bit more time.


**The original recipe called for 1 can of Cream of Celery and 1 can of Cream of Chicken. I didn't have them on hand so I changed the recipe and loved it.
**You could also add mushrooms if you use the Cream of Mushroom. You could add a veggie such as broccoli.

3 Ingredient Crockpot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

This is a VERY simple recipe with only 3 ingredients (unless you add extras). You can just throw it all in the crockpot and enjoy a really good dinner and a great smelling house.

Since this recipe is so simple you could easily make it your own by adding other things to it.


3 Ingredient Crockpot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

4-6 Boneless Chicken Breasts (They can be frozen)
1 Bottle Barbecue Sauce
1 20 oz. can Pineapple Chunks, drained

Directions:

Spray the inside of your crockpot with cooking spray for an easy cleanup!

Place fresh or frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot and cover with sauce. Empty can of drained pineapple chunks on top.

Cook on High for 2-3 hours or Low for 4-6 hours. Shred chicken with two forks while still in the crockpot so the chicken will be well coated with sauce.  Serve over rice or however you'd like to eat it. You can also top with uncooked pineapple when serving.



The original recipe called for Archer Farms Hawaiian Style Barbecue Sauce but I don't buy that brand or that BBQ sauce so I used one that we do buy that doesn't have crap in it. You can use whatever BBQ sauce you like.


You could also add green peppers and onions if you'd like.

This is what I used instead of BBQ Sauce since it's what I had on hand.

Twitter Crockpot Chicken and Rice

I am having to give this a name myself because I got this recipe from Women's Health magazine. They had this small section where they posted people's recipes from Twitter. Literally the tweet only had the ingredients with no name for the recipe and no "real" instructions.

It looked so easy I said "what the heck we'll try it". It actually is really healthy and it turned out great. It has gone onto our "make again" recipe list. It's super easy you just dump everything into the crockpot and walk away.

It made enough for Chad and I plus one serving for lunch the next day. So I'd suggest doubling or tripling this recipe. I will probably add in a veggie next time too like corn or something.

Twitter Crockpot Chicken and Rice

1 lb Chicken Breasts
2 Cans Black Beans
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1 Cup Brown Rice (I used white because I didn't have brown - I didn't use instant rice)
1 Packet Taco Seasoning
1 Cup Water (I ended up using 2- 2 1/2 Cups because the rice needed more to cook)


Put everything in the crockpot on low for 6 hours.


**You could add a lot of other things to this recipe to make it your own. We topped it with sour cream and a little shredded cheese.**

Oven-Barbecued Chicken

I found this recipe and we love it so much that I make it once a week! There is nothing better than making your BBQ Sauce from scratch. You can tailor it to your own taste and that is awesome. It was my first time making BBQ sauce - I have a hard time finding BBQ sauce at the store without High Fructose Corn Syrup in it so making this from scratch means it's healthy.

 Oven-Barbecued Chicken

2 to 2 1/2 lbs meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks), skinned -- I use the breast halves because they have the most meat on them
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion, chopped (1/2 Cup)
1 Clove Garlic, minced -- I use already minced garlic
3/4 Cup Bottled Chili Sauce -- I couldn't find any without high fructose corn syrup so I ended up using RedHot Wings sauce Original and it works great.
2 Tablespoons Honey
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoons Yellow Mustard
1/2 Teaspoon Prepared Horseradish -- I found this at Trader Joes and it'll last awhile in the fridge.
1/4 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375*F. Arrange chicken pieces, bone sides up, in an ungreased 3-quart rectangular baked dish. Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a small saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook until tender. Stir in chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, mustard, horseradish, and red pepper; heat through.

3. Turn chicken, bone sides down. Brush half of sauce over chicken. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Reheat remaining sauce until boiling; serve with chicken. Makes 4 servings.


My Changes:

1. I add extra honey to my sauce - I no longer measure the ingredients. You can add other things if you want.

2. I brush BOTH sides of the chicken with the BBQ sauce instead of just the top. I think it makes it even better.

Skillet Rosemary Chicken

Here's the new recipe that we tried tonight. We are venturing out of the normal recipes. We bought a bunch of books and marked up the pages. Now we are trying new things and passing the recipes on!

Skillet Rosemary Chicken
Active Time: 20 Min
Total Time: 40 Min
Serves: 4

3/4 Pound Small Red Potatoes, halved, or quartered if large
Sea Salt
2 Sprigs Rosemary, plus 1 Tablespoon leaves
1 Clove Garlic, Smashed (I used already chopped up garlic)
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
Juice of 2 Lemons (save the squeezed halves)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 Skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts (I used 8 chicken breasts boneless no skin)
1 Package of Mushrooms (I used two packages)


1. Preheat the oven to 450*. Cover the potatoes with cold water in a saucepan and salt the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until tender, about 8 minutes; drain and set aside.

2. Pile the rosemary leaves, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and the red pepper flakes on a cutting board, then mince and mash into a paste using a large knife. Transfer the paste to a bowl. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon and the olive oil. Add the chicken and turn to coat. (I didn't have the patience to make it into paste so I got as close as I could)

3. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin-side down, cover and cook until the skin browns, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken; add the mushrooms and potatoes to the skillet and drizzle with the juice of the remaining lemon. Add the rosemary sprigs and the squeezed lemon halves to the skillet; transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp, 20-25 minutes.

Chicken and Dumplings with Veggies

I got this recipe from The Oregonian This Week (Food Day). I made it in the crockpot the first time and the second time in a pot on the stove. This recipe says to make it in a Dutch Oven but I don't have one. It turned out great both ways however, if you make it in the crockpot you will need to transfer it to a pot on the stove in order to bring it to a boil so the dumplings will cook.

Here's the article and the recipe.

This dish is essentially chicken with gravy and biscuits, which means almost any veggies would taste good in it. Use the veggies in this recipe as suggestions and add, delete or change however you see fit.

Chicken and Dumplings with Veggies
Makes 4-6 Servings

Chicken:
1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter (1/2 Stick)
3/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
5 Cups Chicken Broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper (I just used regular pepper)
2 Large Carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I used Frozen Veggie Mix with Corn, Carrots and Peas the second time I made it...much faster)
2 Cups Peeled and Cubed (1/2 inch) butternut or other winter squash (I skipped this)
2 Cups diced, boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, or cooked diced or shredded chicken (I just cooked a whole chicken in the oven)
1 Cup Peas, or small broccoli or cauliflower florets

Dumplings:
1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Parsley or Dill (Optional)
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces
1/2 Cup Milk

To Make Chicken: Melt the butter in a Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the broth, a little at a time, letting the roux absorb the liquid and become smooth before adding more. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add the carrots and squash. If using uncooked chicken and broccoli or cauliflower, add it now (if using cooked chicken or peas add it later). Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes while you make the dumplings.

To Make Dumplings: Place flour, baking powder, salt and herb if using, in the bowl of a food processor (I used my hand mixer); pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until reduced to tiny pieces. Add milk, pulse to combine. Gather dough into a ball and pinch off chunks the size of a golf ball and roll into balls.

Remove the lid from the pot, stir and then add the dumplings, spacing then evenly. Cover pot and cook, without peeking, for 15 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the dumplings comes out clean. If using peas and cooked chicken, stir them in now and continue simmering until they're heated through (I add the peas and chicken right before the dumplings).

My Cousin Tina's Thai Red Curry Chicken

Thai Red Curry Chicken
*This is meant to be spicy

2 T Olive Oil
1 lb Boneless Chicken Breasts, cubed or cut into strips
1 Tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste – A Taste of Thai (I used Thai Kitchen Curry Paste in a jar)
1 C Zucchini sliced
1 Red Bell Pepper seeded and sliced
1 Green Pepper seeded and sliced
½ C Carrots sliced
1 onion, quartered and halved
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
1 14-oz Can Light Coconut Milk
2 Tbsp Cilantro Fresh, chopped

Directions:
1) Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken pieces. Cook and stir for about 3 minutes, until almost all pink is gone.

2) Mix in the veggies and continue to stir fry, about 5 minutes. Veggies should start to soften.

3) Stir in the Curry Paste

4) Dissolve the cornstarch in the coconut milk.
a. I also add 2 T sugar
b. A dash of pepper
c. A few squirts of lime juice
d. 3 cloves of fresh garlic (I used already chopped garlic)

5) Pour the milk mixture into the meat and veggies. Stir fry an additional 1-3 minutes, until the sauce is warm.

6) Add the fresh cilantro right before pulling off the stove.

Other things you can add:
1. Potatoes
2. Squash
3. Mushrooms
4. Yellow and Orange Peppers

**I like to add extra of everything so that way we have leftovers. I put in probably 2 cups of carrots! I made mine in my wok pan since it's huge and can hold more. This recipe is VERY yummy!

Special Thank You to my cousin Tina for sharing it!!

Sesame Orange Chicken

Here's the orange chicken recipe that I made last night for dinner. It was very yummy. I do recommend that you stick to the recipe as far as the liquids so that way it's not so saturated in it. I had to use a fork to scrape off some of the sauce. It was just too much.

Sesame Orange Chicken
Servings: 8
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 4 Hours

1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
4 Pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (you could use chicken breasts cut in half if you wanted)
2/3 Cup Teriyaki Sesame Ginger BBQ Sauce
2/3 Cup Orange Marmalade
1/2 Cup Orange Juice
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Gingerroot
1/2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (I skipped this because I didn't have it)
2 Tablespoons Sesame Seeds
Hot Cooked Rice

(I also added sea salt)

Directions
Place flour in a large resealable plastic bag. Add the chicken, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. Transfer to a 4-5 qt. slow cooker.

In a large bowl, combine the teriyaki BBQ sauce, marmalade, orange juice, soy sauce, ginger and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until meat is tender. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with rice.

***I Put this in the crockpot on low and it was done in 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Apparently my low on my crockpot isn't low enough haha. So just watch it after the 2 hour mark.***

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I started out making this recipe by the "book" so to speak but now I do my own thing with it. So I will give you the original recipe and my version!

Original Version:
Serves 4

4 Corn Tortillas, halved, then cut crosswise in narrow strips
2 Cans Chicken Broth
1 Medium Zucchini, cut in 3/4 inch thick half-rounds
1/2 tsp each minced garlic and ground cumin
1 Cup Corn
1 Can Red Kidney Beans, Rinsed
1 1/2 Cups large shreds of cooked chicken
1 large tomato, cut in 1 inch chunks
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1. Coat bottom of pot with olive oil, heat over medium heat. Add tortilla strips and cook 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until lightly toasted. Remove to a paper towel or plate.

2. Add broth, zucchini, garlic and cumin to pot; bring to a boil. Reduce head, cover and simmer 3 minutes, or until zucchini is crisp-tender.

3. Stir in tortilla strips, corn and beans; continue to simmer 2 minutes or until tortillas soften. Stir in remaining ingredients; heat through.


My Version of this Yummy Soup:

2 Boxes of Imagine Organic Chicken Broth (Low Sodium)
4-5 Zucchini's chopped into small pieces
2 Cans Organic Black Beans
2 Cans Organic Pinto Beans
1 Can Red Kidney Beans
1 Bag Frozen Organic Corn
1-2 Tomatoes, diced into chunks any size you want
1 Can Sliced Olives
Minced Garlic
Ground Cumin
Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Cilantro
Sour Cream

1. Pour chicken broth into pot. Add minced garlic, ground cumin, black pepper, sea salt, cilantro, frozen corn and zucchini. Bring to broil. Reduce heat and let simmer until zucchini is crisp-tender roughly 3 minutes.

2. Stir in rinsed and drained beans. Let simmer roughly 2 minutes so beans are warm.

3. Pour into individual bowls and garnish with tomato chunks, sliced olives and sour cream.

**You could also add Squash, carrots, potatoes or anything else that sounds good.
**This dish is a little mexican like and has a little bit of zing to it. It's not too spicy for kids though.
**We seem to like my version better than the original one. The corn strips are good but are a little more work and seem to get soggy in the fridge.
**I always make a giant batch of this so there is lots of leftovers. So if you do not want that much leftover you might want to put less ingredients in from the above list. We usually eat it pretty fast so I am not sure how long it'll last in the fridge. I haven't tried freezing it.