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 

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

Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken

Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken adapted from Crock Pot Girls
4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
2 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 onion thinly sliced (Not chopped)
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 T olive oil
1 tsp each: dried oregano, basil, and rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
ground black pepper and salt to taste
Directions:  Pour the olive oil on bottom of the crock pot.  Place chicken breasts in, salt and pepper each breast.  Put sliced onion on top of chicken.  Then put in all the dried herbs and garlic cloves
Pour in vinegar and top with tomatoes.
Cook on high 4 hours, serve over angel hair pasta.

Here's what you'll need:

Slice up an onion. (I left mine in rings)

Chop up the garlic cloves.

Put the seasoned (salt and pepper) chicken down in the crockpot.  Cover with onion and garlic.

Add the herbs.

Add the balsamic vinegar.

Add the diced tomatoes.

Cook for 4-6 hours. 

I took my chicken out and diced it up in to chunks and then returned it to the crock pot.

Serve over angel hair pasta.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
Once again, here is another easy crock pot meal.  I've seen this meal floating around the internet for a couple of weeks and thought I'd give it a try.

To be honest, it wasn't my favorite.  I really just thought it was OK.  The reason I'm posting it, though, because all three of my kids ate this dish and, as I've said before, that is always a success!  Caleb and Gracie even ate it again today for lunch . . . that never happens!

Scott and I actually thought the dish was a little bland with a tinge of tanginess from the vinegar.  I would definitely recommend serving it over pasta as the sauce of the vinegar and tomatoes really got soaked up by the angel hair pasta. 

Hope you enjoy!
April

Honey Garlic Chicken

Honey Garlic Chicken adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking
1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (4 or one thigh per family member)
3 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 cup soy sauce (La Choy or Tamari wheat-free are gluten free)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup honey

Directions:  Use a 4-quart slow cooker (if using a 6-quart, this will cook faster. Check after 3 hours on high, 5 hours on low).  Put the chicken into your cooker. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, then pour evenly over the top.  Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3-4 (I'd go with low---).
Serve with basmati rice and steamed or roasted vegetables.

Modifications:
-I chopped up an onion.

Here's what you will need:

Dice up an onion.

Dice up the garlic.

Put the chicken in the crockpot with the onions and the garlic.

Combine the ketchup, honey, and soy sauce.

Pour the mixture over the chicken.

Cook for 4-6 hours on low.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

I've been a bit under the weather the last couple of days and needed something easy for dinner.  I had all of these ingredients in the pantry and it was probably one of the easiest recipes that I've ever made.

The one thing that I would do differently in this dish, and it is just a personal preference, but I would have taken back the soy sauce a bit.  Instead of 1/3 cup of soy I would have probably gone down to 1/4 or even 1/8 of a cup.  My family, though, really liked it.  Even Kanin.  I served it over a brown rice and bulgur wheat mixture.

I served this with Roasted potatoes and apples.

Hope you enjoy!

April

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup adapted from Pink Lady
1 large Onion -- sliced
2 Carrot -- sliced
2 Celery stalks -- sliced
4 ounces Mushrooms
2 teaspoons Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Thyme
1 tablespoon Parsley
10 ounces Peas -- frozen
3 Chicken breasts
5 cups - Water
3 cups Noodles

Directions:  Place all ingredients in crockpot, except noodles, in order listed. Cover and cook on LOW 8 hours (HIGH 4 hours). Add noodles. Cook on HIGH another 1/2 to one hour until noodles are cooked

Modifications:
-I used chicken broth.
-I did not add mushrooms.
-I used whole grain egg noodles.

Here's what you will need:

Cut up the veggies.

 Place the frozen veggies in the bottom of the crockpot.

Lay the chicken on top of the frozen veggies. 

Add the chicken broth.

After it has cooked for 4-5 hours, shred the chicken up.

Add the noodles and cook about 30 minutes or until noodles are cooked.

Here's what you'll end up with: 

Our Thoughts:
This dish is super easy to make and great for a cold fall/winter day.  I liked the use of the chicken broth instead of just water as it gave it a salty, deeper flavor.  You could add virtually any vegetable to this dish and it would still be great.

I did end up adding about 1 cup of water and an extra chicken bouillon to the dish.  I also seasoned with garlic salt.

Hope you enjoy!
April

Latin Chicken in Crockpot

Latin Chicken in Crockpot adapted from Tales from the Motherhood
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 pounds skinless chicken thighs
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
2 large sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
2 (15.5 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
1 cup hot salsa
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3 large cloves garlic, chopped

Directions:  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet; season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cilantro over the chicken thighs; brown the chicken in the frying pan, 3 to 5 minutes each side. Or however long it takes so that your husband will fear you have undercooked the meat.

Arrange the chicken in the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the sweet potatoes, bell peppers, and black beans on top of the chicken. Mix together the chicken broth, 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, salsa, cumin, allspice, and garlic together in a bowl; pour into the slow cooker. Set slow cooker to LOW and cook for 5 hours or until the sweet potatoes are soft. I had to crank it up to high for 30 minutes at the end to get those sweet potatoes to submit.

Serve it over whatever you want, but I choose white rice and it worked well. Salt and pepper to taste. Serves about 6 hungry adults.

Here's what you'll need:

Slice up the peppers.

Cube up the sweet potatoes.

Chop up the garlic.

Roughly chop up the cilantro.

Salt and pepper the chicken thighs and then brown them in olive oil.

Sprinkle cilantro over the chicken.

Once browned, move the thighs to the bottom of a crockpot.

Add the sweet potatoes and peppers.

Drain and rinse the black beans.  Add to the crockpot.

Mix the chicken broth, salsa, garlic, cumin, allspice, and more cilantro.

Add to the crockpot.  Cook for 4-6 hours. 

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
When I saw this dish I knew that it was something that I had to try.  We love sweet potatoes and anytime I can make a meal in the crockpot, it is just a bonus for me.

This dish had a sweetness from the sweet potatoes matched with spiciness from both the salsa and the cilatro.  Served over rice, this dish was awesome . . . even Kanin asked for seconds.

You could always make it hotter if you added hotter salsa, a can of chilies, or maybe even some hot sauce.

I will definitely be making this again.

Hope you enjoy!
April