Chicken and Kale Soup

I LOVE this immunity-boosting turmeric chicken soup and make it often!  Click HERE for the original recipe.  Below is my take on the soup.

1 Tablespoon avocado or olive oil

1 onion - diced

4 large carrots, peeled and diced (I like them small)

1 large parsnip, peeled and diced (I like them small)

3 stalks of celery, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 to 2 pounds boneless chicken thighs (can use breasts, but I like dark meat better), chopped (I like them small)

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1 1/2 inch (ish) of fresh turmeric, finely grated (can use 1 teaspoon of dried turmeric)

1 inch (ish) of fresh ginger, finely grated (can use 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (more if your bone broth isn't salted) - to taste

4 cups chicken bone broth

2 cups water

1 can full-fat canned coconut milk

1 head kale, chopped (remove the leaves from the stalk)

Heat the oil in a large stock pot.  Add onions and sauté until translucent - stirring occasionally.  Add the carrots, parsnips, celery, and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes - stirring occasionally.  Add chicken and cook until the meat is browned.  Add spices, broth, water, and coconut milk.  Cook at a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, for at least 30 minutes (up to one hour).  In last 10 minutes of cooking, toss in the kale, stir, and finish cooking.  Add more salt if needed.  

Enjoy!!

Hurry Chicken

Hurry Chicken

Dump into bag:

·         ½ cup brown sugar

·         ½ cup ketchup

·         1 packet onion soup mix

·         1/4 t salt

·         1/8t pepper

·         3lbs boneless chicken

Instructions for Ziplock:

Dump into crock pot and add 1 cup chicken broth.  Cook on low 8 hours.  

Add red pepper flakes as desired.  

Shred chicken.  Serve with mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken

Dump into bag:

·         8 boneless chicken breasts or 12 boneless thighs

·         4 cloves garlic, crushed

·         1 ½ T minced ginger

·         2/3 cup soy sauce

·         3 T brown sugar

·         3 T apple cider vinegar

·         3 T rice wine vinegar

Instructions for Ziplock:

Thaw in fridge and then Grill! 

Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken

Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken

Dump into each bag:

·         8 boneless chicken breasts

·         ½ cup olive oil

·         1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

·         Zest of two limes  (just the zest...the juice makes the chicken tough since it will marinate for so long.  We used the leftover limes to flavor water)

Instructions for Ziplock:

Thaw in fridge and then Grill! 

Grilled Chili Maple Chicken

Grilled Chili Maple Chicken

Dump into each bag:

·         8 boneless chicken breasts or 12 boneless thighs

·         4 T water

·         2 t salt

·         3 T maple syrup

·         1 T chili powder

Instructions for Ziplock:

Thaw in fridge and then Grill! 

Chicken Divan

Chicken Divan

Instructions:

·         Simmer chicken until cooked through

·         For each 9x13 pan:

o   Cut up 1.5lbs of cooked chicken, place in pan  (Note: it takes more than 1.5lbs raw chicken to make 1.5lbs cooked!  We learned this the hard way!!)

o   Add frozen broccoli

o   Mix together 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 2 teaspoons curry powder, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and one cup mayo – pour over chicken and broccoli

o   Mix together 1.5 cups shredded cheese and ½ cup bread crumbs – sprinkle on top of pan.

·         Wrap pan securely with plastic wrap and top with foil.

Instructions for Cooking:

Thaw casserole.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. 

BBQ Beer Chicken

BBQ Beer Chicken

Dump into bag:

·         3lbs boneless, skinless chicken

·         2 cloves garlic, minced

·         1 tablespoon onion powder

·         ½ tablespoon paprika

·         ½ teaspoon salt

·         3 cups BBQ sauce

Instructions for Ziplock:

Dump into crock pot along with 1 can of beer (whatever kind you want).  

Cook on low 8 hours.  

Shred chicken and serve on buns of your choice.

Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken

Balsamic Chicken

Dump into bag:

·         1/2c balsamic vinegar

·         ¼ c brown sugar

·         3 cloves garlic, minced

·         1t basil

·         1/2t oregano

·         1/4t thyme

·         1/4t rosemary

·         1/4t pepper

·         1/2t salt

·         3lbs boneless chicken

Instructions for Ziplock:

Dump into crock pot and add 1 cup chicken broth.  Cook on low 8 hours.  

Add red pepper flakes as desired.  

Shred chicken.  Serve with mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.

Crock Pot Moroccan Chicken

Tried out a new crock pot recipe last week and OH MY YUM!  And easy!  Win Win!

I like to have dinner ready on football game nights, which is sometimes three nights a week!  In the rush of getting home post-game, getting showers done, homework checked, and boys headed to bed, I forgot to take a picture...but I got one of my yummy leftovers!

Here's the original recipe along with my modifications

Ingredients:
2 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes drained and cut into 1-inch cubes (I used a can of chopped tomatoes, juice and all)
2 large bell peppers, chopped (I used green because they were cheapest)
1 red onion, chopped
1/3 cup golden raisins (the bites with raisins were VERY yummy, but there weren't many, so I think I will increase this a lot the next time I make this recipe)
2 T tomato paste (I just used the whole little can)
2 T water
1 T ground cumin
2 t ground cinnamon
2 t paprika
1/2 t salt
1.25 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch cubes (I used a whole family package of thighs and put them in whole and shredded them with my handy shredder scissors after it was cooked)
3 T creamy peanut butter or other nut butter of your choice (I used peanut butter...forgot to put in until after I had served first helpings...everyone agreed that it was way yummier with the peanut butter)


Directions:
In your crock pot, stir together all ingredients.  Cover and cook on low 8 hours or 3 to 4 hours on high.

Stir in nut butter of your choice and serve over rice, quinoa, or couscous.  (I think this would be amazing with couscous, but the ease of the rice cooker won this week)

Crock Pot BBQ Chicken

YUM!

In crock pot or ziplock:
- 3lbs boneless skinless chicken
- 1 tablespoon paprika (I just sprinkled in a bit)
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder (I just sprinkled in a bit.  Could use minced cloves)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 bottle favorite BBQ sauce

Day of cooking:
- add 1 cup of beer

Cook time: 6 to 8 hours LOW

Serving suggestion: Shred chicken and serve on kaiser rolls.  Great topped with cole slaw

Optional: If sauce too soupy (mine was), strain sauce into a small pan, add thickener (such as corn starch) and boil till the sauce reaches desired consistency.

Baby approved!

Crock Pot Freezer Meals Part 3

Here are a few more of my favorite crock pot freezer meals (click here for Part 1 and Part 2)

QUINOA CHILI

In crock pot or zip lock:
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 can rotel
- 4 (16 oz) cans black beans
- 16 oz frozen corn
- 1 large bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder (can use fresh minced)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- OPTIONAL: 2 large chicken breasts

(I eyeball the spices and adjust to the taste buds of my family)

Day of cooking:
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 2 1/2 to 3 cups chicken broth

Cook time: 6 to 8 hours LOW

(if used chicken, shred it before serving)

Serving suggestion: cheese, sour cream, favorite chili toppings.


BLACK BEAN AND CHICKEN TACOS

In crock pot or zip lock:

-  1 lb skinless chicken tenders or breasts
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can rotel
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano

Cook time: 4 to 8 hours LOW

Serving suggestions: Shred chicken and serve with corn taco shells and favorite taco toppings and/or slaw.

For slaw:
- 1 1/3 cups shredded red cabbage
- OPTIONAL: 1 red onion thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar or lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste


KOREAN BEEF TACOS

In crock pot or zip lock:
- 10 cloves garlic, minced
- OPTIONAL: 3 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup + 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3/4 cup rice vinegar (also called rice wine vinegar)
- 4 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

Mix well then add:
- 6 pounds beef

Cook time: 6 to 10 hours LOW  (remove sauce and thicken on stove.  Replace sauce to serve)

Serving suggestion: soft corn or flour tortillas, sour cream, and slaw (also good if you fry the soft corn tortillas)

For slaw:
- 4 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- couple pinches of salt
- - pinch red pepper flakes
-2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- OPTIONAL: 1 handful of cilantro, chopped
- OPTIONAL: 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely minced
- 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and shredded
- 1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

To toast sesame seeds, heat a small pan over medium heat.  Add the sesame seeds and stir for about 4 minutes, until golden brown and aromatic.  Remove immediately and set aside.  In a small bowl, mix vinegar, sugar, and salt.  Add onions, mix and let stand about 15 minutes.  Combine remaining ingredients, reserving sesame seeds until just before serving.  Can be made a few hours ahead and kept in fridge, sans sesame seeds.

Crock Pot Freezer Meals Part 2

Here are a few more of my favorite crock pot freezer meals (click here for part 1) 

CHEESY CHICKEN

In crock pot or zip lock add:
- 2lbs boneless skinless chicken (thighs, breasts, or combo)
- 2 (10.5oz) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 (10.5oz) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder


Cook time: 8  to 10 hours LOW

Serving suggestion: over rice or noodles.

Optional variety: add a little spice or frozen broccoli...can garnish with shredded cheese.







SAUSAGE LENTIL SOUP

Brown:
- 12 to 14 oz sliced kielbasa sausage
- 1 onion diced
-  3 garlic cloves minced (can use more or less to taste.  Sometimes when I'm in a hurry I just use garlic powder)

Add browned meat mixture to crock pot or zip lock along with:
- 2 cups lentils
- 2 carrots (peeled and diced)
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes

Season with favorite Italian spices (I use parsley, oregano, and basil)

Day of cooking: add 2 quarts of water to crock pot.  (can use less if you want it less soupy)

Cook time: 4 to 5 hours HIGH or 8 to 10 hours LOW

Serving suggestion: fresh bread or rice

Serves: 6


SAUSAGE AND BEAN SUPPER

Brown:
- 1lb sausage (can use ground turkey and season)
- 1 onion diced

Drain meat and add to crock pot or zip lock along with:
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1.5 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1 can rotel
- 1 can butter beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

Cook time: 4 to 8 hours LOW

Serving suggestion: shredded cheese over rice

Serves: 4 to 6

Crock Pot Freezer Meals Part 1

I keep forgetting to take pictures of these - so I haven't been posting the recipes.  Finally decided to just post the recipes and try and remember to upload pictures later!

A few notes:
1. Any of these can be assembled in the crock pot the day of.

2. If you assemble the ingredients ahead of time and put them in the freezer, they can be put in the crock pot frozen or you can thaw them out prior to putting them in the crock pot.  If you want to just throw everything in froze (EASY PEASY!), put the zip lock in some hot water for a few minutes to get the bag unstuck from the ingredients.

3. For easy morning prep, label your zip locks with the name of the recipe, cooking time, and any extra items that need to be added to the crock pot.  This is also super helpful if you forget to start the crock pot in the morning and ask you 16 year old son to do it when he's home from school on his lunch hour...not that I would have ANY experience with that ;-)

4. I've found most of these recipes online, and have modified them to my families tastes.  Feel free to follow to a T or be creative!

5. I've found that when stocking the freezer with meals, it's best to chose a few recipes with lots of chopping and a few that don't involve much chopping that way you can do a bunch without killing yourself.


 TERIYAKI CHICKEN

In crock pot or zip lock add:
- 2 lbs bone-in or boneless chicken (I like thighs, but you can use whatever kind your family prefers)
- 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 4 cloves garlic minced (or more depending on how much you like garlic! If I'm in a hurry, I just use garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- OPTIONAL: 1 can pineapple chunks

Day of cooking: Add 1/2 cup chicken broth

Cook time: 8 hours LOW

Serving suggestions: cooked white or brown rice and green veggies (can top with sesame seeds)

Serves: 4 to 6


BBQ RIBS

In crock pot or zip lock add:
- 2 lbs boneless ribs (I've also used bone in and it was yummy!)
- 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

Cook time: 8 to 10 hours LOW

Serving suggestions: mashed potatoes, veggies, or favorite BBQ sides

Serves: 4


SALSA CHICKEN

In crock pot or zip lock add:
- 2.5 to 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken (breast or thighs or combo)
- 16 oz jar of favorite salsa
- OPTIONAL: sprinkle in some cumin and lime juice to kick up the flavor

Cook time: 6 to 8 hours on LOW

Serving suggestions: use as meat for rice bowls, tacos, enchiladas, nachos, or burritos

Serves: 4 to 8 or more, depending on how it's used after cooking

Oven Fried Chicken

I found a recipe somewhere but the only real part if it I had all the ingredients for was "heat oven to 400 degrees." So I won't bother posting the link. 

This is how to make a delicious, moist, crunchy baked chicken with random ingredients. 

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 cups panko bread crumbs 

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 T chopped fresh herbs (I used chives, marjoram, basil, oregano and cilantro)

3 cloves minces garlic

2 T oil

2 capfuls vinegar

1 egg

Pinch sea salt

First, preheat your oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a greased wire cooling rack in baking pan. 

Pound chicken until uniform thickness. Be sure to stick it in a ziplock first so you don't get hit in the eye with chicken juice. And don't worry if you don't seem to own a meat mallet, just borrow a hammer from your spouse. 

I think the original recipe called for mustard. But let's suppose you left your mustard on a camping trip. Clearly you should substitute mayonnaise. But let's further suppose that your hammer-loaning spouse left the mayo out in the back yard all night and you threw it away. Clearly you must get out your trusty stick blender and make some. Break the egg into a glass jar, realize you don't have any lemon juice. Decide that vinegar is an acid too and dump some of that in the jar. Add a pinch of salt and a 1/2 cup oil. Realize you only have a couple tablespoons of oil. Proceed undeterred. The resulting stick blended creation will not be mayo but will be...something white. Add herbs and garlic, put in a bowl. 

Mix together panko crumbs and cheese. Put in another bowl. 

Dredge flattened chicken in wet bowl. Press into crumb bowl, gently shaking off excess crumbs. 

Lay chicken pieces on wire rack and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. 

Bask in the praise of your delighted family. 

Buffalo Boneless Chicken Pizza

This pizza is so easy.

I saw a recipe for it and just had to try it. She used ranch in her base ... Rory doesn't like cooked ranch so we didn't bother. Here's how I made ours ...

Leftover boneless buffalo chicken
Your favorite pizza dough
Thinly Sliced Red Onion
Mozzarella Cheese

Break up the chicken bits and spread them, with the sauce onto the pizza base. Top with red onion and Mozzarella Cheese.

We cook our pizzas outside in our pizza oven but just cook it however you normally cook pizza.

This got gobbled up ! Jono dipped his in ranch. Rory and I just inhaled ours. Alia doesn't like spicy ...

PS ... If you don't have any leftover buffalo boneless, just melt 1TBLS butter, add 1/2 cup Franks hot sauce (or hot sauce of your choice) and then add some shredded chicken.  I make shredded chicken in my crock pot and keep it in ziplock bags in the freezer.

Quinoa Pad Thai

I've seen various Quinoa Pad Thai recipes floating around the internet and decided to try my hand at making it.  I started with a basic recipe but quickly threw it out when I didn't have some of the main ingredients.

Also, we've been calorie counting so I'm giving you the measurements as I measured them ... in grams.   (If your kitchen scale is like mine, it should measure in both ounces and grams!)

This was a hit.  All four of us really liked it.  Even the kids, who will swear up and down that they don't like quinoa ... except tonight they are all "oh, yeah, I like that one quinoa dish with haloumi in it."  ... "And this one ..."  and I'm sure there are more, they just can't remember right now!!

Here's what you need:

4.5 cups cooked quinoa (I did two cups raw in my rice cooker)
70g bean sprouts
175g wombok (chinese cabbage), thinly sliced
120g grated carrots
45g sliced spring onions (and more to serve)
2 eggs
1 chicken breast, cooked and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp canola oil

Sauce:
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
4 Tablespoons lime juice (I used bottled because I only had one lime- you may not need as much with fresh limes)
zest of one lime (I added this because it wasn't limey enough ... you may not need it at all)
3 Tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce

1/4 cup chopped peanuts, to serve
1/2 cup cilantro (fresh coriander), to serve

Here's what you do:

Mix sauce ingredients and set aside.  You'll want to taste as you mix with this.  If it's too sweet, add more lime juice.  You want it to be more lime than sweet, I think, though.  And you don't want the fish sauce to be too overpowering.   If you are in the States, you may want to start with way less fish sauce.  Ellie told me that fish sauce is much stronger there than it is here ...

In a large frying pan, heat 2 tsp oil over medium heat.  Add minced garlic, cook for a couple of minutes until just starting to brown.  Add bean sprouts, wombok, carrots and spring onions.   Cook for 2-3 minutes or until beginning to soften.  Add chicken, quinoa and sauce.  Stir to combine.  Cook for a bit, letting the bottom lightly brown and then stirring to the top, letting the bottom brown just a little bit each time. (Like when you make fried rice ...)  In the meantime, beat the two eggs in a bowl and pour into a small, heated non-stick frying pan.  Cook a thin 'omelet'.

Slice 'omelet' into long thin strips.

To serve.  Put quinoa on a nice serving platter, top with omelet strips, peanuts, cilantro and extra spring onions.  Drizzle with a bit of lime and serve with two halves of lime on side of platter.

This fed our family of 4 quite nicely.

Crock Pot Shredded Chicken

 

You know how sometimes a recipe calls for shredded chicken?

Well, this is a great way to make it.  

Easy.  Nothing to it.

I started with four skinless boneless chicken breasts. 

Took them frozen solid out of the freezer and popped them in the crock pot.

I added two cups of chicken stock to the crock pot as well.

Four hours on high and they were done.

Just shred with two forks and THAT IS IT.

We used some of this on pizza that night.

I froze the rest in ziplock bags.

Already, I've pulled out one bag and used it for an easy dinner.

Just threw some chicken, cheese, leftover guac, chipotle mayo into a flour tortilla

 and toasted that in the sandwich press.  The others in my 

family varied their ingredients a little.  

We were all happy.

Just the way 

I like it.

Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese

 

I had a bit of leftover chicken the other day. 
I mixed it with a bit of butter and franks hot sauce, threw in a few diced onions, added a bit of mozarella cheese between two pieces of bread ... into the sandwich press and 

voila ... buffalo chicken grilled cheese.

yum. yum. yum.

El's Buttermilk Chicken

I've made this twice.   Both times from a text my sister sent me ...

You get three bowls. Two with self rising flour. One with buttermilk. Cut the chicken into strips. (Or whatever, but I like strips best) put a bunch of seasonings in the first flour bowl... Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, 21 seasoning salute, whatever... Then dip the chicken in the seasoned flour, the buttermilk and then the plain flour. Then fry. Then marvel in its deliciousness!!!

Chicken, Avo and Feta Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette

 

 Another Pinterest find.   Here's the original recipe.
I know that chicken looks pink ... it's the light!  I wasn't pink, I promise! :)

for the salad ...
1 bag baby spinach
250g cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup corn, I used canned
2 chicken breasts, salted, peppered and cooked by husband on BBQ
1 large avocado, chopped
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts, you could toast them.  I never do.

for the dressing ...
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

I'm pretty sure you don't need instructions from here but just in case.

Put all salad ingredients in a big bowl.

Put all dressing ingredients in a small jar.  Shake.  Taste, adjust to taste. 

Top salad with dressing.

Enjoy.