Crockpot Chicken

Helloooooo! I didn't die. We have had so much going on in the last couple months that I have literally not had time to post anything on here! I haven't really made a ton of new stuff, but I've made a few things I will share with ya. I don't have pictures of the foods so get your imaginations revved up! This first one is incredibly easy. 3 ingredients and no specific measuring. Wahoo!

-1 whole chicken (try and find these guys on sale and stock up! I got them for $3 a piece the other day!)-1/2 bottle of Mesquite Marinade with Lime (Kroger brand is what I used)-1/2 bottle BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's all the way!)

All you do is rinse your chicken off and then put it in the crock pot. Pour the marinade and the bbq sauce over it. I used my 4 qt crockpot for this, by the way. The chicken fits just perfect with enough room left to get the sauces in there. If you have a bigger crockpot I would use a bigger chicken and more sauces of course, otherwise your lil birdie will dry out I would guess. After you get chicken little all situated, turn the crockpot on low and let it cook all day, at least 8 hours. After it's done, take the chicken out and de-bone it, aka get all the meat off the chicken. This chicken basically reminds me of pulled pork but chicken style! So, get all the meat off the chicken and put it in a big bowl. Spoon some of the juice from the crockpot into the bowl of chicken. This will keep it moist and give it amazing flavor. I put quite a bit in... like until I could see the liquid level was about 1/2 way up the bowl. Does that make sense? I hope. If not, ask questions! From there you can eat it just like that or put it on a bun with some bbq sauce.

Prep time for this is super quick, cooking time is kiiiind of non existent since you don't have to tend to it AT ALL! The only thing that takes a while is getting the meat off the chicken! If you wanted to make it way easier, you could probably just use some boneless skinless chicken breasts. I would only cook them for 4-5 hours though so they don't turn into mush!

Crockpot Smothered Steak or Chops

I've really been trying to use my crockpot more.. obviously :) I just love coming home to supper already done! I have tried this recipe with round steak and pork chops. Both were really good. I think Austin may have liked the steak better, but I guess it depends on personal preference!

-2 pork chops or 3 or 4 round steaks (the steaks we had were 4 in a package so that's what I used)

-1 can cream of chicken soup

-1/2 packet of brown gravy mix

Put the meat in the crock pot. Pour the cream of chicken soup over it. Sprinkle the brown gravy mix over it all. Then I used a fork and just sort of flipped the pieces of meat a little bit so everything would be covered in the soup and gravy mix. Turn that crock pot on low and cook for about 4-6 hours. After it's done just take the meat out and stir the gravy. Spoon the gravy over the meat. Voila! How easy is that?! 

When I did this with the steak, I forgot to start it early enough. So I actually didn't start it until probably 4:00. I cooked it on high and it was done in about 2 1/2 hours. So do whatever suits you! I did the pork chops on low and they were so tender and delicious. I'd definitely recommend that for those! 

Sweet N Salty Bars

These are kind of like the Rice Krispie Treats that everyone seems to love with the peanut butter in the mix and chocolate/butterscotch chip mix on top. But they're different. Who doesn't love the sweet and salty combo?! The pretzels and the Crispex cereal mixed with the peanut butter give it the salty part, but the chocolate on top gives it the sweetness. They're heavenly. Try them!

-1 c. white sugar
-1 c. Karo Syrup (light corn syrup)
-1 c. peanut butter
-2 c. crushed pretzels
-2 c. crushed Crispex cereal (or corn chex/rice chex)
-1 c. Cheerios (I used honey nut)
-1 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips

Stir sugar and corn syrup together in a large pot until sugar is dissolved. Turn stove top on to medium/high heat (7 or 8 on your dial). Bring syrup mix to a boil, but stir occasionally. Let boil for one minute, no longer! Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter until well mixed. Stir in pretzels and cereals until coated. Pour into a 9X13 pan, sprayed with cooking spray. Spread out evenly, but don't push down  too much or they'll get hard. Put chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave another 30 seconds. Stir. If not all the way melted, microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring in between. Spread on top of bars. Allow to set up for a few hours. If you need them sooner, put them in the fridge, covered for 20-30 minutes. Cut into bars.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Has it seriously been a month since I've posted on here?! Holy cow. Well I can at least say that we've been really busy lately. Trying to sell our house... trying to buy another one.. it makes for busy days! Anyway, we had a cold front come through the last few days so it was definitely time for some soup. I put this together today. It was great...obviously, that's why I'm sharing it!! I hadn't even taken my chicken breasts out to thaw before I put them in the crock pot, so that makes life even easier! They can be thawed, but they don't have to be.

-3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
-1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
-1 can original rotel
-1 can red enchilada sauce
-1 can cream of chicken soup
-1 can black beans
-1 10 oz. pkg frozen corn or 1 can of corn
-1 t. ground cumin

-1 t. chili powder
-1 t. garlic powder
-1/2 t. black pepper

Stir all ingredients together, except chicken breasts, in the crock pot. Place chicken breasts in the crock pot. Let cook on low 6-7 hours (if chicken was frozen) or 5-6 hours (if thawed prior to putting in the crock pot). Take chicken breasts out and shred. Put chicken back in the crock pot for another hour at least. Serve with tortilla chips or fritos. Top with cheese, sour cream, etc.

Cinnamon Rolls

I HAVE to share this recipe. I totally wish I could say it's mine, but it's not at all. It's the Pioneer Woman recipe. I can not even explain how soft the "bread" part is. It's not that hard, chewy dough that a lot of cinnamon rolls tend to have. The frosting is MAPLE! My favorite!! This recipe was probably the best thing I've ever googled. Thanks to my client, Laura, for the suggestion. She's awesome. I just wanted to share this recipe with everyone because it is tried and true. It also doesn't take near as long as some other homemade cinnamon roll recipes that I've tried. Totally worth it to take the little time these do take to make them. Hands down, winner winner chicken dinner.


http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/

Autumn Cake Dip

This is a spin off of the Cake Batter Dip. I love fall. I love all fall flavors. It was finally below 90 degrees today. It was cloudy, windy, rainy, stormy at times, and around 65 degrees. Perfect. So I needed to make something fall like. Ta-da! I give you Autumn Cake Dip!


-1 box Spice Cake Mix
-1 container (about 2 cups) Cool Whip (I used fat free)
-1 cup plain non fat yogurt
-1 t. maple extract
Mix cake mix and yogurt together first with a spoon. Add in cool whip. Stir in maple. Serve with cinnamon graham crackers!

I made a smaller version of this so I didn't have a giant bowl of dip sitting around my house waiting to make a permanent home on my thighs...even though I used fat free cool whip and yogurt.. there's still calories in this stuff. Or is there.. Eh let's not spend too much time on that tiny fact. Maybe if you get up, dip your cracker, go back to the couch, eat it, and then repeat, it would be kind of like celery and that whole negative calorie thing or whatever. Ok I'm tired and babbling. Go make this dip and thank me later.

Cake Batter Dip

I've been seeing this a lot on pinterest and finally decided to give it a try. After making it as directed, I made a few changes that I think made a huge difference!

-1 box White Cake Mix or Funfetti Cake mix if you want sprinkles :)
-1 small container (about 2 cups) Cool Whip (I used fat free)
-1 c. plain non fat yogurt
-1 t. clear vanilla extract

Mix cake mix and yogurt together with a spoon. Add in cool whip. Add in vanilla.
Serve with animal crackers, vanilla wafers, graham crackers, fruit, etc.