Cheesy Slow Cooker Chicken

Probably one of the easiest crock pot recipes I've made so far(except for pulled pork, which is literally 2 ingredients - a pork roast and BBQ sauce!) I made this on Monday, so I was glad it didn't require a lot of prep work, since I'm barely awake at 6 AM anyway! I can't say this is the healthiest recipe (because of the soups) but I did use organic free-range chicken and served it with fresh roasted organic broccoli, so I feel like that cancels out all the bad stuff, right??

Cheesy Slow Cooker Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs) - I used 4 breasts because that's about all I could fit in my slow cooker

Salt, black pepper and garlic powder to taste

2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted (I used Campbell's low sodium, low fat soup)

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed Cheddar cheese soup, undiluted (Campbell's again, but of course, there was no low sodium/low fat option!!)

Chopped fresh parsley (optional - I didn't use it)

Hot cooked pasta - I substituted brown rice

1. Place 3 chicken breasts in crock pot. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Repeat with remaining 3 breasts and seasonings (I just threw them all in together)

2. Combine soups in medium bowl; pour over chicken. Cover; cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours or until chicken is tender. Sprinkle with parsley if desired. Serve over pasta

I then used this recipe from skinnytaste.com for Roasted Broccoli with Smashed Garlic.

The final product:

My husband's exact words "Ohh I could get used to this meal!"

Our first Irish dinner

Even tho this is our 3rd married St. Patrick's Day, it's the first one where I've made a traditional corned beef/cabbage dinner! I was inspired by some friends who cook one every year. I figured it couldn't be too difficult if I used my trusty crock pot!

I searched allrecipes.com for some ideas and came across this. I read a lot of the reviews and decided to substitute 2 cups of beer for 2 cups of water (so I only added a cup of water instead of 3 like the recipe calls for) and then threw in another 2 cups of beer for good measure (and yummy flavor!)

I've also been on a roasting kick lately, so instead of letting the cabbage simmer in the slow cooker all day, I roasted it with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Came out better than I expected!

Here was the finished product (which earned rave reviews from the hubs!!)

The carrots, onions and potatoes didn't turn out as mushy as I would have liked, but they were still good!

Slow Cooker Beef with Caramelized Onions

We had this yummy meal for dinner last week and it gave us 2 more meals of leftovers - score!

Slow Cooker Beef with Caramelized Onions

6 cups thinly sliced sweet onions (about 1 2/3 lb)

2 tsp fresh minced garlic (I left this out)

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

1 2-lb round roast or steak, trimmed of all fat

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup beef broth

Stir together onions, garlic, sugar, thyme, salt and pepper in the bottom of a large slow cooker. Pat beef dry with clean paper towels (oops forgot to do this!!) and place on top of onions. Mix vinegar and broth together and pour over beef and onions. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours.

Here's how it looked in the crock pot before I served it:

Served with green beans and brown rice:

Definitely a recipe I'd try again!

Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

Another "first-time Crock Pot recipe!"

The picture on the recipe card:

How mine turned out:

And after cutting into it:

Avalanche!!! It literally exploded as soon as I cut into it - but it was soo good!!

I'm guessing I cooked it too long in the crockpot and that's why pepper shriveled up? (It was literally twice that size when I started)

Anywho, here's the recipe:

Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

1 can (15 ozs) black beans, rinsed and drained

6 tall green bell peppers, tops removed, seeded and cored (I used 3 giant ones instead of 6, which is good, because those 3 barely fit inside!)

1 cup (4 ozs) shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese (I didn't measure this out, I just sprinkled it over the black bean mixture)

1 cup tomato salsa (again, didn't really measure, just spooned it out)

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

Chopped fresh chives (I didn't use any)

1. Spray medium skillet with cooking spray. Saute onions until golden. Add cayenne pepper, oregano, cumin and chili powder. Remove from heat.

2. Mash half the black beans with cooked onion in medium mixing bowl. Stir in remaining beans. Place bell peppers in slow cooker; spoon black bean mixture into bell peppers. Sprinkle cheese over peppers. Pour salsa over cheese. Cover; cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours. (I cooked ours for 8 - gonna try just 6 next time!)

3. Serve each pepper with a dollop of sour cream and chopped chives, if desired.

I'm not a fan of spicy foods, and these were definitely HOT, so the sour cream helped to cool things down a bit - I ate every last bite, tho, because it was so yummy!

Chipotle Chicken Stew

Came out awesome!!!

I ended up heating some brown rice, threw it in a bowl, added the stew, stirred everything together and voila:

It didn't turn out as spicy as I thought it might - which is fine, because I prefer mild food anyway, but my husband likes things HOT! So next time I'll either add another chipotle pepper, or more cumin, or both!

Oh, and here's the recipe:

Chipotle Chicken Stew (from the Crock Pot recipe card collection)

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into cubes

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 bay leaf

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (they sell these in a can - I hated having to buy the whole can for 1 pepper, but it wasn't so bad when I realized the can was only $.60)

1 medium onion, diced

1 can (15 ounces) navy beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) crushed tomatoes, undrained (The can I had was 28 ounces, so I just measured out 14 1/2 - also, I couldn't find any other size but 28 ozs in the store - weird)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup orange juice

Cilantro sprigs (optional - I didn't include this)

1. Combine chicken, salt, cumin, bay leaf, chipotle pepper, onion, beans, tomatoes with juice, broth and orange juice in 3- to 6-quart Crock-Pot slow cooker (Ours is actually a Hamilton Beach model but works just fine!)

2. Cover; cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. (I cooked ours on low for just over 7 hours) Remove bay leaf before serving. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Makes 6 servings - Ours fed 3 people (our guest had a 2nd helping and there is still a little left in the crock pot. Not sure what an actual "serving size" is)

My husband and his friend loved it! His friend said it reminded him of a chili.

Oh, and here is how I set the table:

I realized I have very few runners, so I improvised and layered some paisley placemats I bought at the Christmas Tree Shop a few years ago

That's a better picture of the placemats upclose (and Brandon's bowl - he didn't realize how much brown rice he added - oops!)

Can't wait to try out some more recipes over the next few weeks - this one is definitely a keeper!!!