Creamy Crockpot Chicken and Broccoli Over Rice

This was a big hit with everyone! It was easy and a good way to add some broccoli to the diet 😀 Admittedly, not the healthiest with all the sodium-packed soups, sour cream and cheese but still a great dish.

From Picky Palate:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 14 ounce can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 14 ounce can Cheddar Soup
• 14 ounces Chicken Broth
• 1/2 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 6 cups steamed broccoli florets (Boiled in hot water for 3 minutes then drained) *I picked up a couple of the frozen, steamable bags
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
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• Place soups, chicken broth, Cajun and garlic salt into a crockpot over low heat.  Whisk until smooth.  Add chicken, pressing to the bottom. Cover lid and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours. *I mixed everything in a bowl, put the chicken in and poured the soup, etc over. I did this because I used a crockpot liner so whisking in the bag would have been tricky. 
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• When chicken is cooked, use 2 forks to shred into bite size pieces.  Stir in sour cream and broccoli.
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• Serve over steamed rice and sprinkle with cheese if desired (the cheese adds a lot, I recommend it! I grated from a large block. Adding pepper was a nice extra touch as well.) 

Honey Mustard Baked Chicken

I made this for the second time and am reminded just how good (and easy) this is! The first time I followed the recipe to the "T" except using breast. This time I had frozen tenderloin so I thawed some in the microwave. I also used onion powder instead of fresh onion and dried rosemary instead of fresh sprigs. I couldn't tell a difference. Best part, I had all the ingredients on hand!

Taken from: http://www.goodlifeeats.com/easy-honey-mustard-baked-chicken

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup of grainy, course mustard (aka Grey Poupon)
1/4 cup smooth dijion mustard
1/2 cup honey
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 of a small yellow onion, diced (or onion powder)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken tenderloins
salt and pepper
3 - 4 small sprigs of fresh rosemary (or dried rosemary)

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, combine the mustards, honey, and 2 teaspoons of the olive oil. (I forgot about the olive oil the second time and didn't notice a difference)

In a sauté pan or cast iron skillet (if you don't have a cast iron yet...get one!), add 1 teaspoon of olive oil.

Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until golden and tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional 1 - 2 minutes, until fragrant. (I just did the garlic here)

Place the chicken tenderloins on top of the onion and garlic mixture, or if the pan you cooked the onion and garlic in is not oven safe, transfer the onion and garlic to an oven safe dish and add the chicken to it. Salt and pepper the tops of the chicken according to your personal preference. (I sprinkled on the onion powder with the salt and pepper)

Pour the honey mustard mixture on top of the chicken. Arrange the rosemary sprigs around the chicken in the pan. (Or sprinkle the Rosemary. Tip: if you rub the dried rosemary with your hands as you sprinkle on, it releases the fragrance...or so I've read)

Bake the chicken covered at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes (I used aluminum foil to cover). Then remove the cover, baste the chicken with the sauce, and continue to cook for an additional 20 - 30 minutes uncovered, or until the chicken is browned on top and cooked through (it only took 20 min for me). 

It is delicious served over rice! I pour some of the sauce over the top for extra moisture and so it soaks into the rice. This is also paired well with greens like asparagus, broccoli, or spinach salad. 

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

In the last post for Zucchini Parmesan, I mentioned how I wanted to find more uses for zucchini. I found this recipe and, OMG, soooooo good! At first, I was just going to make it easy on myself and just buy marinara sauce but I decided to try out theirs and I'm so glad I did! It was very easy, especially since I had all the spices on hand, and tasted amazing. I even used the leftovers later!

Taken from:  http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2015/04/stuffed-zucchini-boats.html 

4 large zucchini (makes 8 boats)

1 lb lean ground beef 

1 lb ground sausage

2 tsp crushed garlic (I just minced by hand)

2  cups grated Mozzarella cheese (I just used shredded from a bag)

¹/₂  cup Parmesan cheese (calls for grated from the can, but I used shredded that I get at Trader Joes)

2 tbsp coconut flour (use this for sure because it helps to soak up the moisture from the zucchini)

Easy Marinara Sauce:

14 oz canned, finely diced tomatoes, OR fresh, chopped tomatoes 

1 tsp salt

¹/₂  tsp dried basil 

¹/₂  tsp dried oregano 

¹/₂  tsp dried thyme 

¹/₄  tsp black pepper 

Preheat oven to 375°F. Slice zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out pulp.  Chop pulp finely and set aside.

Marinara Sauce:  In medium bowl, combine tomatoes, salt, basil, oregano, thyme and pepper. 

Boats: In large frying pan, over medium heat, cook ground beef, sausage meat and garlic until browned and cooked through.  Pour off fat, if necessary. Stir in ¹/₂  cup Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese, plus 1 cup of the reserved zucchini pulp and coconut flour.  Now stir in the Marinara Sauce. Use the remainder of the pulp in a veggie stir-fry, if desired.  Stuff the zucchinis and place on greased cookie sheet.  Bake 40 minutes.  Cover with 1 cup Mozzarella cheese.  Bake another 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted and zucchini are getting quite soft.  Cover with the remaining ¹/₂  cup Mozzarella cheese and bake another 5 to 10 minutes, or until the zucchinis are completely soft to the tip of a sharp paring knife.

Zucchini Parmesan

I've been wanting to find ways to use zucchini since I know it's good for us but I'm just not clever enough to buy some some and cook it up. But this was really good and didn't need a lot of prep work.

Taken from: http://acozykitchen.com/zucchini-parmesan 

3-4 zucchini

Coarse salt

1 cup flour

Olive oil

2/3 cup of your favorite tomato sauce

1 large ball fresh mozzarella (I just cut up some string cheese we had in the fridge!)

Small handful of basil leaves, roughly torn (I bought a small container of fresh leaves)

3/4 finely grated Parmesan (it's not finely grated but I love the containers they sell at Trader Joes)

Slice the zucchini into about 1/3" discs. Sprinkle slices with a small pinch of coarse salt on each side.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Lightly dredge the zucchini slices in the flour. Heat 1/4″ of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. When a pinch of flour sizzles on contact, add the zucchini slices in a single layer, turn the heat to medium-high and cook for about one and a half minutes on each side or until dark golden brown. Drain the zucchini on paper towels and repeat in batches until all of your zucchini it is cooked, adding more oil as necessary.

In a 13″ x 9″ baking dish (or cast iron skillet), arrange as many slices of zucchini as can fit snugly in a single layer. Top each slice with a small spoonful of tomato sauce, a few small pieces of torn mozzarella, a bit of basil and a dusting of parmesan. Continue the layers, evenly distributing all the ingredients, until everything is used up.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cheese is melting and bubbling and the house smells divine

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

Nice and easy...and amazing flavor!

1 (5 pound) pork butt roast
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (12 fluid oz) can beer (I used Alaskan white wheat ale.  Apparently you can use root beer as well)
1 (12 oz) bottle barbecue sauce (I used Stubbs Sticky Sweet, has all natural ingredients)

Place the pork in the slow cooker, season top of pork with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder (I just sprinkled away, not measuring).  Pour the beer into the bottom of the slow cooker and place lid.

Cook on high for 1 hour.  Reduce heat to low and cook for at least 8 hours or overnight (with our new crockpot, we did 7 hours).

Remove pork from the slow cooker and shred with two forks (I sort of forgot to remove it but really, it just fell apart with a meat fork so not sure I could have removed it if I tried!).  Discard juices and rinse out slow cooker crock (I ladled the juices out and into a strainer to catch the meat to add back in.  Doing this, I didn't get all the juices but it was ok.  A little juicer at the end but no complaints there!).  Return pork to slow cooker and stir barbecue sauce into pork.

Cook on medium for 1 hour (ours doesn't have medium so I did low for an hour).

Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-beer-pulled-pork/ 

Crock Pot French Dip Sandwhiches

Nice and easy recipe with delicious results!

1 lg onion, quartered and sliced (I used about 1 tblspn of powdered onion)
1 beef roast, bottom round, rump, or other lean cut, about 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pounds
1/4 cup water
1/4 dry white wine (or use 1/2 cup water total - what I did)
1 package au jus gravy mix
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
dash garlic powder
sandwich rolls or French bread

Place onion in slow cooker (I about covered the bottom).  Place roast on the onions.

In a bowl, stir together wine and water (or all water), au jus mix, pepper, and garlic powder.  Pour over roast.

Cover and cook on high for 5 to 6 hours or on low 10 to 12 hours, or until meat is very tender.
Note: we bought a Hamilton Beach programmable cooker and only took about 4 hours on high.  I highly recommend this crock pot!

Remove meat from liquid (it FELL apart! It was awesome!) and let stand for 5 minutes (yeah right, we just dove right in).  Slice roast thinly across grain (again, it fell apart, no cutting needed!).

Make sandwiches on bread with meat and onions (we used mozzarella cheese but provolone would work well too.  We did not do onions but will be trying it with green peppers and maybe caramelized onion next time).

Serve the cooking liquid for dipping (yes.  do this.)


Source: http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotpotroast/r/bl83c14.htm

Banana Bread

My family goes through bananas like no other!  Sometimes, they brown quicker than we can eat them.  What do you do with ripe bananas?  Make banana bread!  I always make the classic bread loaf but you can add nuts, chocolate chips, or any other fun addings you enjoy and/or make it into muffins if you'd like!  Most recipes I've found don't call for cinnamon but I like to add about 1/4 tsp to the mix and sprinkle some on top as well.  Spreading melted butter and a cinnamon-sugar mix on top just before its done is great too.

Here is an easy recipe I follow:
2-3 very ripe bananas, peeled
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (3/4 cup if you want a little less)
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 350 and butter/oil a loaf pan

In a medium mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork (I use a mashing tool) until smooth.  Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas.

Mix in the baking soda and salt.  Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla.  Mix in the flour (this is where I add cinnamon).

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 1 hour (check after 45-50 minutes and adjust if necessary).  To check: insert a toothpick into the center - if it comes out clean, its done.

Cool completely on a rack before serving (although we like to eat before its cool and add butter!).