Sweet and Spicy Chicken

This recipe begged me to try it, really it did!  I took a day to think about whether I wanted to make this.  I even dreamed about it.  So, after a night of dreaming about this chicken...I knew I had to try it.  Let me tell you, this is not spicy at all. I guess I should have used a spicy bbq sauce.  I really liked it,  plus it was an easy freezer meal.  Yippee!!!


Servings:4

Ingredients:

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 cup purchased sweet and sour sauce
3/4 cup purchased barbecue sauce
1-2 Tbsp. cornstarch, if needed
2 Tbsp. water, if needed

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in 4-5 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours until chicken is thoroughly cooked. If you'd like a thicker sauce, mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl and add to the liquid; cover and cook 10-15 minutes until thickened. If adding a bag of frozen vegetables, add an hour before serving.  Serve over hot cooked rice or couscous.  I added an egg roll!!

*For Freezer crockpot directions- place all ingredients (excluding the cornstarch and water in a bag).  Label freezer bag, seal well and freeze.

Budget Break down- 2 bone in breast, bones & skin removed (that's what has been on sale here). $3.21, 1 jar sweet and sour sauce $2.16, 3/4 cup bbq sauce $.46, 1 onion $.34, 3 cloves garlic $.28, 1 bag frozen Japanese style vegetables $2.16.  Total for ingredients, minus rice and egg roll $8.61 for 4 servings or $2.15 per person.

Now- I don't figure out the rice, because we buy our rice in bulk from sams club or costco & cook in our rice cooker.

Southwest Chicken Chili Mac

Since we are still having some cold days, I thought I would try this recipe out.  It was awesome.  Of course, now as I write this post up, I realized I messed up and added way to much ranch.  Oh well, it was yummy the way I made it. I will be making this again, but maybe with some corn bread.

Servings- 6

Ingredients:

8 ounces pasta noodles (whatever you have on hand works great, I used mini shells)

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup finely chopped white onion
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet peppers (or bell peppers)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
10 ounce can Rotel diced tomatoes, mild
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 can corn, fresh or canned
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 package dry Ranch seasoning (original recipe called for 1 teaspoon)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and run under cool water to stop cooking. Heat oil in 9 inch deep cast iron skillet. Add onions and peppers, cook stirring until softened about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook stirring for 1 minute. Add chicken, tomatoes, broth, corn, beans, 1 pasta, chili powder, cumin, Ranch seasoning and cilantro. Stir until well combined. Reduce heat to low and simmer until ready to serve.

Cheesey Q's

This recipe just intrigued me, so I had to give it a shot.  It was good as dinner, but I also think it would make a great dip to bring to a party. The kids ate it, but I would say they didn't love it.  Make sure to put a splash of hot sauce on it!

Servings 6-8

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1-15 oz jar cheese whiz
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
1.4 cup brown sugar

Directions
Brown hamburger and onion; drain.  Add remaining ingredients and heat.  Serve on buns or with tortilla chips.

Rustic Chicken

Sometimes...well ok most of my free time, I spend searching for new recipes to try.  I have to say that I am pretty lucky to have a husband who is willing to try whatever I want to make. Of course that means, I doing the cooking.  When I found this one, chicken, artichokes, tomatoes and a crockpot I was sold immediatly.  It was very yummy!  I left the mushrooms out because the hubby does not like them.  Next time, I think I might throw some green olives into it.  PS- I know the picture makes it loook a little bland, but it was not.

Servings 4-6

Ingredients:
Ingredients:
1-1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders or breast
15 ounce can diced tomatoes
15 ounces artichoke hearts
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 packet dry chicken gravy mix
1/4 cup chicken broth
Salt/pepper

Directions:
1- Combine the chicken broth, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and gravy in the crockpot. Stir well.
2- Add the chicken and mushrooms. Stir until evenly covered in the tomato/mushroom sauce.
3- Season lightly with salt and pepper.
4- Cook 8 hours on low. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

 *To Make ahead/Freezer meal- Place all ingredients in a gallon sized freezer bag or ovenproof/disposable baking pan. Seal freezer bag while removing any excess air / cover ovenproof/disposable baking pan and freeze. When ready to prepare, remove from freezer to thaw. Place in crockpot, cook on low 6-8 hours.

Crockpot Chicken and Gravy

The name says it all!  This fast & simple dinner will have you asking, why didn't I think of this?  This is my MIL's recipe.  I love it.  Plus the leftover chicken and gravy freeze and reheat well. 

Servings 6

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
Your choice of seasoning
1 onion- sliced
Bullion cube- optional
1/4- 1/2 cup Flour depending on how much juice you get from your chicken.
3/4-1 cup Water (if you don't get much juice, I didn't) optional
Egg noodles/rice or potato's

Directions:
Take a whole chicken, take innards out & rinse inside & outside. Pat dry. Place salt & pepper & whatever seasoning you want on it (I did a rosemary garlic). Brown in crisco on all sides. Place in crockpot with chopped onion. Cover & cook on low. After 6 hours or so, remove chicken, shred & remove bones. Make gravy with chicken juice in crockpot ( can add chicken bullion cube, for extra flavor). Flour & juice from chicken, whisk together. Until smooth. Add shredded chicken back to crockpot & turn on high to let gravy thicken up (about an hour). Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Budget- 1 whole chicken $3.89, 1 onion .50, Bullion cube ??? (can't find my receipt) and flour is a staple in most houses.  So, I will say $5.50 (on the high side).  Dinner minus the noodles which are inexpensive Around .91 cents per person.!!!  That makes dinner even more delicious. 

Note- Ignore the garlic bread, it was really gross!!

Slow Cooked London Broil

Now, London broil used to be a very inexpensive cut of meat.  But nowadays, not so much.  However, you can catch some pretty good sales out there on it, if you keep your eyes open!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
2 pounds flank steak (can substitute chuck roast)
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix

Directions:
Place meat in the bottom of the slow cooker; if necessary, slice meat to make it fit!

In a medium bowl, mix together mushroom and tomato soup. Pour mixture over beef. Sprinkle dry onion soup mix over top.  Cook on low 6-8 hours.  serve with rice, mashed potato's or noodles and your choice of vegetable.

*To Make ahead/Freezer meal- Place beef in a gallon sized freezer bag or ovenproof/disposable baking pan. Pour soups over top of beef, toss to coat. Seal freezer bag while removing any excess air / cover ovenproof/disposable baking pan and freeze. When ready to prepare, remove from freezer to thaw. Place in crockpot and sprinkle dry soup over the top.  Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Budget meal break down- Beef $6.36, can of mushroom soup .75, can of tomato soup .75, dry onion soup mix .64.  Total without sides, $8.50.  A total of $2.12 per person.  There was enough gravy, that you could use a 3 pound roast and have plenty to go around.

Baked Chicken Taquitos

A slight different twist on mexican.  I thought my kids would really like this recipe, because they could hold it in their hands and eat it. But alas, all they ate was the filling.   I did not serve this with any mexican rice & I think it needs a little extra something on the side.  I served it with a avocado ranch sauce. 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (4 oz) cream cheese
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro cilantro
2 Tablespoons sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup grated Pepperjack cheese
About 20 (6 inch) small flour or corn tortillas
Salt
Cooking spray

Directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and Pepperjack cheese and combine well.
Place 2-3 Tablespoons of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges and roll it up as tight as you can. Place seam side down on the baking sheet.
Lay all of the filled taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle some salt on top.
Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Options for dippers-dip these in a "salsa ranch" dip (equal parts salsa and ranch dressing, but it's also great with guacamole, salsa or avocado ranch sauce.

Avacado Ranch Sauce
1 cup ranch dressing
½ avocado, smashed

1 teaspoon lime juice

2 Tablespoon cilantro leaves, chopped

Prepare the ranch dressing, then stir in the lime juice, mashed avocado and cilantro leaves. Chill until ready to serve.

Venison Roast

We had some deer meat given to us, so we thought we would give it a shot.  While this was a good recipe, we have decided, we are not deer meat people. I would really like to see how this recipe turns out with a beef roast.  The meat was very tender and had good flavor, but we could not get over the subtle gamey flavor.

Servings: 4-6

Ingrdients

Venison- roast- or stew meat
salt and paper to taste
3/4 cup catchup
1 teaspoon brown sugar
bottle of beer
1 large onion sliced

Directions:

Brown meat in olive oil.  Combine catchup, brown sugar and beer.  Pour over browned meat and add onions.  Simmer covered for 1.5-2 hours.  If using stew meat, check after 1 hour or place in crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Serve over noodles or mashed potatoes.  

Nutella Croissants

First, let me apologize for not taking a picture.  However, everyone knows what a stuffed croissant looks like, right?  Does your family have an addiction to Nutella, like we do?  These were great, made them & just heated them up for about 10 seconds in the microwave.  Perfect with the morning coffee.

Servings-???? depends on how many you want to eat.

Ingrdients
Nutella
Roll of Refrigerated Crescents ( Reduced Fat also works)

 

Instructions

Preheat Oven To 375.  Unroll Crescent Rolls – with the larger section facing you.  Place one rounded tablespoon of Nutella on the larger section. Roll the dough into croissant shape and tuck the edges under to help seal in the chocolate.  Place croissants onto a cookie tray. Place tray into the oven and cook until golden brown about 15 – 20 minutes.

Optional:  Place some nutella in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds in the microwave.  Drizzle over cooked croissants.

Baked Ravioli Caprese

I am a BIG pasta, fan especially during lent.  So, this is perfect!  Plus, why not bring a taste of the summer, to the fall or winter.  Don't want to do just cheese ravioli?  I did cheese & chicken ravioli and it was great!

Servings- About 4

Ingredients:
1 pack of jumbo cheese ravioli
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 large tomato (or 2 small), sliced thin, each slice then cut in half
Basil
Fresh mozzarella

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425.  Cook the ravioli according to packaging directions, drain, and set aside. Pour the sauce over the bottom of a sprayed 9x13 baking dish.  Assemble the ravioli over the sauce in a single layer.  Top each ravioli with half a tomato slice, 1 basil leaf, and a slice of fresh mozzarella.  Bake 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

Serve with Garlic bread & salad!  Yummy!!!

Breakfast Muffins

This looked pretty tasty, and a quick breakfast for me (also high in protein).  Plus, no dirtying up a skillet every morning to make my eggs.  Just pop in the microwave for about 30 seconds & voila, my breakfast is done!  I made them in my jumbo muffin tins, which makes them perfect for fitting on my english muffin.  You have all sorts of options, so you can customize them to your taste.  My favorite is Bacon, spinach, onion & cheese.  I have also made cheese & sausage.

Servings: 12 regular muffins or about 8 jumbo ones.

Ingredients:
6 Egg 
6 oz Heavy Cream 
1.5 cups of Broccoli or Spinach
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded 
12 slices Bacon (whole or chopped) or 1/2 a tube of breakfast sausage 
To Taste Salt, pepper, garlic powder 
3 slices Cheddar Cheese

Directions



Cooked the bacon until close to done but not crispy, try to keep it flat and straight, might be easier to bake it.  Place one piece of bacon in each tin, wrapping it around the outside, depending on how non stick your pan is, you might want to pam it first (yes).  Or you can chop your bacon up.  Fry the broccoli in the bacon grease from above bacon, cutting the broccoli down once it is softer with the spatula.  Distribute the broccoli into the muffin pans equally. Whisk cream, eggs and spices, pour into each muffin, leave some room for expansion.  Cook for 20 minutes @ 350 degrees, the top should start browning and the inside should be firm

General Tso's Chicken

I have to say, The flavor of the dish is right up there with my bourbon chicken.  I pretty much followed the directions & the sauce was very gelatinous.  Hopefully the way I have it posted will fix that problem.  Unfortunately, I wont know until I make it again.  So, if you do make it, report back to me.  Serve over rice & with some stir fry veggies to balance out the meal.  Egg rolls would have been a nice addition too!

Servings 5

Ingredients

 

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

Cornstarch for dredging the chicken about 1/2-3/4 cup

1 cup green onions, sliced

4 small dried chilies, seeds removed (thai chilies are good, I used serrano peppers)

Sauce

1/8 cup cornstarch

1/8 cup water

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/8 cup white vinegar

1/8 cup white wine

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

 8 ounces chicken broth

 

Instructions

 

Place all the sauce ingredients in a bowl, mix well & set aside

Chop chicken into bite size pieces.  Place cornstarch for dredging chicken in a zip lock bag or in a bow.  Add chicken and toss to coat chicken in cornstarch.  Place a little oil in a pan & heat until hot.  Add chicken and cook until brown on all sides. I had to do this in batches, set the chicken aside once cooked.  Add green onions and peppers into the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Add sauce and stir until thick, if your pan is still hot from cooking the chicken & onions, the sauce should thicken right up.  Add in chicken into the sauce. Cook till the sauce starts to bubble (to ensure you don't get a yucky corn starch taste). 

Bacon Explosion

I had you at bacon didn't I?  I know that's what caught my attention.  While, I have to say, this is not the most budget friendly recipe, it is pretty darn tasty.  Being tasty is definitely a pro on this recipe, the con...I had to run a clean cycle on my oven because of all the grease.  The house got pretty smokey for a while.  Now, I hope my instructions, with the pictures make sense.

Servings 8

Ingredients

Ingredients

1 pound bacon 
1 pound ground beef
1/2 a roll of sausage  
4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

Cooking Directions

1. Layout 3X3 bacon weave, bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until near crisp
2. Create meat mixture by mixing the beef and sausage together
3. Layout meat in a rectangle the same size as the first bacon weave
4. Season meat and then place bacon weave on meat
5. Place cheese in center of bacon
6. Roll meat into a tight roll, then refrigerate
7. Make 5x5 bacon weave
8. Roll bacon weave over meat at a diagonal pattern
9. Bake at 400 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees
10. Let set for 10 minutes and then slice and enjoy!

The first step is to foil line a pan and make the internal bacon weave.  This weave will be a 3×3.  Line up three slices and cut 3 slices in half, then start weaving bacon in until you get a three by three.  Bake this weave in the oven @ 400 degrees until mostly done.

 The next step is to lay some saran wrap or foil on a board and using your hands form a rectangle.  At this point you can season the meat with some seasoning if you would like.  I forgot to get  picture of my seasoning, but I ended up seasoning with some bbq rub.  At this point your 3×3 weave should be ready. You don’t want it to be completely hard because this one needs to be flexible. Carefully move the bacon on top of the meat.  I used my flexible spatula, but anything will work.

Now, put your favorite cheese in the center, I used cheddar cheese.

At this point, you need to roll the meat up.  Try and have as clean a roll as possible.  That way your cheese doesn't squirt out the ends.  Mush your ends up tight.  At this point, it is easier to work with if it is a little cold.  So, I wrapped it in foil and put it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or so.  Also, during the process I tried to compress it as much as possible with the foil.

Now, that you had practice on the first bacon weave, now it's time to do another.  I made a 5X5 because that's how much bacon I had.   Now, take the meat out of the refrigerator and place it approximately as shown.  Then wrap the weave over top and tuck it in on the other side.  A lot of the other wraps shown on the internet wrap horizontally.  This is not nearly as cool, wrapping on a diagonal makes a much nicer final product.  It also works better when you cut it.

 Here is what it looks like before the oven, looks tasty, doesn't it??!!  I used the same pan as before for the first weave hence why it is dirty (and probably the smokey kitchen).  I put it on a rack so the bottom cooks as well.

 And there you have it!  I baked it for around 60 minutes on 400 degrees.  But I mainly checked it until the internal temperature reached 165 degrees.  I served it with mashed potatoes and green beans.

Crockpot Chipotle Pulled Pork/Chicken

The name of this recipes says it all!  Can you say yummy deliciousness?  The avocado on top of the sandwich, really pulled the sandwich together & balanced the heat.  One of the things I liked about this recipe is that the sauce is added at the end.  So, before I poured the sauce over the pork, I pulled out some pork for my girls, since they don't like spicy foods.  This is definitely going to make my top 10 recipes.  I am ready to try is with some chicken! 

Servings: 8-10

Ingredients

1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground mustard
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 boneless pork shoulder (3 lb), trimmed of fat
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
2 canned chipotle chiles, finely chopped(seeds removed)-I used a food processor for this.
1 tablespoon adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles
8-10 burger buns, split
2 medium avocados, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced

Directions

Spray 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In small bowl, mix brown sugar, salt, garlic powder, mustard and chili powder. Rub seasoning mixture over pork. Place pork in cooker. Sprinkle any remaining seasoning mixture that doesn't stick to pork over top of pork in cooker.
Cover; cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours.
Remove pork from cooker; place on cutting board. Remove liquid from cooker; skim fat from liquid and reserve liquid. Cool pork slightly. With 2 forks, shred pork. Return to cooker. Stir tomato sauce, chipotle chiles and adobo sauce into shredded pork. If desired, stir in some of the reserved cooking liquid for desired moistness. 
Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 15 to 30 minutes longer or until hot. Spoon about 1/3 cup pork mixture into each bun. Place a few slices of avocado over pork in each bun. Pork mixture can be kept warm on Low heat setting up to 2 hours; stir occasionally.