Crockpot Chicken a La Criolla

Crockpot Chicken a la Criolla by Skinnytaste
10 (2 lbs) skinless boneless chicken thighs, fat trimmed
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 bell pepper, chopped or sliced
4 plum tomatoes
2 tbsp alcaparrado or pitted spanish olives
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
salt to taste
1-2 bay leaf
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (plus 2 tbsp more for serving)

Directions: Place chicken, onion, garlic, pepper and tomatoes in the crock pot. Season with salt, cumin and oregano. Mix well so everything is seasoned.

Modifications:
-I used 2 chicken breasts
-I used 2 ripe on the vine tomatoes
-I did not use bay leafs 
-I did not use cilantro
-I used a 16oz can of tomato sauce

Here's what you'll need:

Put the chicken breast in the crockpot and season with salt and pepper.

Chop up and add the onion and green pepper.

Dice up the tomato and olives and add them.

Add the herbs.

Add the tomato sauce.  Cook for 6 hours or until chicken is no longer pink.

Shred the chicken.

Serve over rice.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
I was looking for an easy dish and definitely found it with this recipe.  

This recipe really had great flavor and almost reminded us of a "roast" only with chicken.  Of course I love onion, green pepper, and garlic and feel that you usually can't go wrong if you have that combination.  I think for the tomato sauce you could substitute any of the flavored type such as "Italian-style" or "Mexican-style".

Hope you enjoy!
April 

Cinco de Mayo

Looking for a great menu for Cinco de Mayo.  Try these!

APPETIZERS

 Pioneer Woman's Guacamole

Pioneer Woman's Pico de Gallo

SOUP

Taco Soup

 

MAIN COURSE

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Angela's Awesome Enchiladas

Biscuit Tostadas

From the Archives: Spaghetti Salad

Spaghetti Salad adapted from Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner
1 pound thin spaghetti
10 slices bacon
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 large red onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 (2 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
2 tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, diced
1/4 cup salad seasoning mix*
½ teaspoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:  Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp. Drain and crumble.

In a large bowl combine cooked spaghetti, celery, onion, bell pepper, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers and salad seasoning.  In a small bowl, whisk lemon zest, lemon juice and minced garlic with olive oil.  Pour over spaghetti mixture and toss.  Add crumbled bacon and lightly toss.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Chill until serving.

8-10 servings

Home-made Salad Supreme Seasoning
3 teaspoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons paprika
1½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon celery seeds
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 dashes cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese or Romano (fresh is best)

Directions:  Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Makes ½ cup

I did not take an ingredients pic.

Mix all of the ingredients of the Homemade Salad Supreme Seasoning and set it to the side.

Chop up the celery.

Chop up the red onion.

Chop up the green pepper.

Put celery, onion, and pepper in a bowl.  Drain the can of black olives and add to the mix.

Chop up the onion.  Add to the other veggies.

Cut up the cucumber.  Add to the other veggies.

Throw the spaghetti on to cook.

Add the seasoning mix to the veggies.

Fry the bacon.

Zest the lemon and squeeze the lemon juice into a small bowl.

Mince the garlic cloves.

Whisk the olive oil and garlic in with the lemon.

Drain the spaghetti and add it to the veggies.

Add the garlic lemon oil.

Chop up the bacon and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
Ok, I want you to go to the store, buy all of these ingredients, and make this dish.  It was SO GOOD.  I am absolutely going to make it for my next get together. 

All of the flavors came out in this dish from the lemon zest to the garlic to the tomato juice from the tomatoes.  The black olives and cucumbers gave it a Mediterranean taste and I kind of wished that I would have had feta cheese instead of the Parmesan even though the Parm was delicious, too.

If I could change one thing about this recipe, I would use penne pasta instead of spaghetti.  The spaghetti did kind of overwhelm the vegetables but nothing a spatula couldn't get around.  I also don't think that the bacon was needed.

Scott also had the great idea of adding some grilled chicken to the dish.  This would be a fantastic way to use leftover or extra chicken breasts. 

Bottom line, it was great!!

Hope you enjoy!
April

Taking a Break

Don't give up on me!  I am still alive, I've just been incredibly busy with kids sick, on Spring Break, my merchandising job, and my travel agent job to cook very many meals lately.

I'll try to get back at it next week.

In the meantime, you can find out about my life at

Party of Five.



Have You Seen These?

This is not a paid endorsement.  These are just products that I have found and I really like!  I posted these on my other blog, Party of Five, and thought you guys might be interested, too.

I had to run out to the grocery store this morning for some milk.  While in the dairy section I decided to pick up some yogurt.  My family is normally a Yoplait Light family . . . have you tried the Boston Creme pie?  Awesome flavor but it has 15g of sugar and 20g carbs.

I saw this and got really excited.  This Fiber One yogurt is endorsed by Hungry Girl!

It only has 50 calories and it tastes fantastic!

And, it isn't packed with sugar.  You can't really read it but the nutritional information is as follow:

50 calories

0g Fat

55mg Sodium

13g Carbs

5g Dietary Fiber

4g Sugar

3g Protein

Another thing that has become a staple for me for my lunch are these Amy's Burritos.  I buy the organic beans and rice (non-dairy).  I top it with salsa for very little extra calories.  My sister told me about these and once I tried them, I was hooked. 

This burrito has 300 calories (not bad for a lunch), 6g of fiber and 10g of protein.  It definitely has a higher carb content because of the beans but it is so filling that I really don't even have a desire to snack all afternoon.

These burritos are more expensive than other frozen foods but I found them at Wal-Mart last week for $2.38.  Not a bad price for a lunch.

Yummy!

Pizza Steak Sandwiches in a Slow Cooker

Pizza Steak Sandwiches in the Slow Cooker adapted from Debbie Does Dinner
Adapted from Eat at Home
2 - 2 1/2 chuck roast, trimmed of visible fat
6 oz. pepperoni
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 - 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
1 tbsp. oregano
2 tsp. basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Provolone or mozzerella cheese slices

Directions:  Place meat in slow cooker. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the cheese. Cook on high 5 - 6 hours or low for 7 - 8 or until meat can be shredded. Serve on buns or over potatoes if you're gluten free. Top with cheese slices.

Here's what you'll need:

Salt and pepper the roast.  Put the roast and the pepperoni in a slow cooker.

Add the herbs.

Chop up the peppers, onions, and garlic.

Add to the crockpot.

Add the diced tomatoes.

Once the meat is cooked and tender, shred it.

Make a sandwich and add the cheese.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
This dish was easy to make and only took about 5 minutes in prep time.  As it was cooking, it smelled delicious. 

The meat was very tender and the onions, pepper, and garlic gave it great flavor.

One complaint that I had is that the pepperoni, even though it was Boar's Head, made the sauce very greasy.  I actually drained a bunch of the juices out and ended up adding an extra can of tomato sauce.  Another thing with the pepperoni is that it definitely did not get that crispy pizza-like crunch that you get when you order a pepperoni pizza. 

You could make this dish with any of your favorite pizza toppings (pork, Italian sausage, chicken, etc). 

Also, I think you could you either canned pizza sauce or even spaghetti sauce instead of the diced tomatoes.  Serve it on some crusty bread.

Overall, I think this dish was a success.

Hope you enjoy!
April

Don't Peek Chicken

Don't Peek Chicken adapted from Mr. Food
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 (10-3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10-3/4 ounce) can cream of celery soup
1 envelope onion soup mix (from a 2-ounce box)
1 soup can cold water
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 chicken (3-1/2 to 4 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
Paprika for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix together rice, soups, soup mix, water, garlic, parsley, and Worcestershire sauce.
3. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Press chicken into mixture. Sprinkle with paprika, then cover tightly with aluminum foil.

    4. Bake 1-1/4 hours. Do NOT open cover (not even to peek) during baking.



Modifications:
-I used quick cooking rice.

Here's what you'll need:

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the soups, onio soup mix, parsley, and garlic.

Add the water and the worcestershire sauce.

Mix 

Lay the chicken breasts in a baking dish.  Pour the soup mixture over the chicken. 

  

Cover the dish with tin foil.

Place the dish in the oven and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

How can you go wrong, flavor-wise, when you use cream of anything? The combination of the cream of celery, cream of mushroom, and onion soup mix packed tons of rich, comforting flavor.

The chicken was moist and tender and really soaked up the soup. 

I used quick-cooking rice rather than cooking the rice in with the chicken.  It still tasted great.  We just spooned the soup over the rice and then laid the chicken on top of it. 

Hope you enjoy!

April