Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Here’s another one of those recipes that takes 5 minutes to prepare the night before and 30 seconds to set the slow cooker the next morning.  I tossed this one together Sunday night, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight, set the timer on the slow cooker before I left for work yesterday, and when we got home, not only was dinner ready, but the house smelled amazing!

Whip up a quick sauce with ingredients most of which you probably have on hand, toss it over some chicken thighs (though if you prefer, you could probably use breasts), and shred it when you get home – it’s that easy.  The sauce has that garlic-honey flavor we all (or at least we all should) love and though there’s some onion and red pepper flake in there, you’d never know – in fact, I might even kick it up another notch with the red pepper flakes next time.  And don’t be shy about adding that blackberry jam – it adds a certain sweetness and cuts the sharp garlic, onion, and soy – but doesn't make it too sweet even when paired with the honey.

I served this over some rice noodles and spinach, but this would surely make some good sliders for an upcoming party, say Super Bowl?

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

What You Need:

• 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1/2 c honey
• 1/2 c low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 c blackberry spreadable fruit
• 1/4 c hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 large pinch red pepper flakes
• 3 tbsp cornstarch + 3 tbsp cold water

How You Do It:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, blackberry jam, hoisin, olive oil, garlic, onion and crushed red pepper flakes.
2. Add chicken to bottom of slow cooker basin and top with sauce.
3. Cook on low 6-7 hours.
4. Using tongs, break apart the cooked chicken – this should happen very easily.
5. Combine cornstarch and water and add to slow cooker.  Carefully mix to combine, cover, and crank the heat to high for about 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken adapted from JustATaste.com.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

Talk about an easy recipe!  Three ingredients, the slow cooker, and then finish it off in oven just to melt the cheese - can't get much better!  Not only that, but the chances you have two, if not all three of these ingredients in your pantry/refrigerator/freezer, is pretty good.

It's as easy as popping some frozen chicken breasts in the bottom of a slow cooker, dumping a jar of your favorite salsa on top, and three hours later, the chicken is ready to be topped with cheese and transferred into the oven to melt.

That's it - it's that easy.   No hidden secrets, no fancy tools.  Just a slow cooker, a baking dish, and the oven and you're left with super moist chicken with great flavor from the salsa with as much heat as you desire, covered with gooey cheese.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

What You Need:

• 5 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 jar salsa
• 1 c shredded Mexican blend cheese

How You Do It:

1. Spray the basin of the slow cooker with cooking spray.  Add frozen chicken and cover with salsa.
2. Cook on high 3 hours.
3. Transfer chicken to baking dish and cover with salsa.  
4. Top with cheese and bake at 400* 15 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken recipe adapted from Jo Cooks.

Stove-Top Mac & Cheese

Alright friends, I know it’s been a while and there has been a lot going on, but I’ve got to share this amazing mac and cheese recipe I made this past weekend for Friendsgiving 2013.

Now, I must start with two points:

1.  I don’t like homemade mac and cheese.  I can’t get the consistency right.  So I just don’t make it.
2. This was a special request from my favorite Shaw.  Otherwise, see point 1.

So, now that’s all out there, I have to admit – this recipe was to die for.  To.  Die.  For.  Yes, I used whole fat milk and whole fat cheese and yes, it was totally worth it.  This recipe is cheesy and gooey and does not solidify and become granular as so many of the other mac and cheese recipes I’ve tried does.

I doubled the original recipe (my version is below with a full pound of pasta) which I totally recommend.  We had 18 people around our Friendsgiving table and this was by far the first thing to go – even before coveted Green Bean Casserole or “Carrot Stuff”.

I made this ahead of time and kept it warm in a slow cooker before our meal and had to add some additional milk to keep it moist and creamy – next year I would do this just before dinner to avoid any chance of drying out and to keep that amazing creaminess this offered.

So when you’re in the mood for some serious (and I mean serious!) cheesy comfort food, try this.  You won’t be sorry.

Stove-Top Mac & Cheese

 

Stove-Top Mac & Cheese

What You Need:

• 1 box (1 lb) elbow macaroni
• 1 stick butter
• 4 eggs
• 12 ounces evaporated milk
• 1teaspoon hot sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 2 8-oz blocks sharp yellow cheddar, grated using a box grater
• 1 8-oz block mild yellow cheddar, grated using a box grater

How You Do It:

1. In a large pot, cook the pasta until desired doneness. Drain and return to pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.
2. While the pasta cooks, whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt & pepper to taste, and mustard. Stir into the drained pasta and mix to combine.
3. Add the cheeses and stir to incorporate and melt
4. Continue to stir over low heat until creamy.

Stove-Top Mac & Cheese recipe adapted from the amazing Alton Brown via FoodNetwork.com.  

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Wraps

School is over here in Jersey which means the hubs is on summer vacation.  Read: I'm home and bored and need entertaining.  Enter: old roommate looking to burn vacation days with a suggestion to head to Atlantic City.  My husband can't resist.  So off they went.

Since I had no idea what time they would be back and I had a beating session with the trainer at the gym, last night I popped some ingredients into the slow cooker and set it this morning to be ready when I got home from the gym.

This shredded chicken makes the best wraps ever.  Especially with my favorite lettuce alternative:  broccoli slaw.  The sweet and saltiness of the chicken mixed with the crunch of the slaw and a little hoisin (or as I call it, poison), these wraps are a mess to eat, but well worth the sticky fingers.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Wraps

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Wraps

What You Need:

• 3 lbs boneless, skinless, chicken thighs
• 1/2 c teriyaki sauce (I used this)
• 1 tbps freshly grated ginger
• 4 large cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• tortillas
• broccoli slaw
• hoisin sauce

How You Do It:

1. Spray basin of slow cooker with cooking spray.  Add chicken.
2. In a small bowl, combine sauce, ginger, and garlic.  Pour over chicken and toss to coat.
3. Cook on low, 7-8 hours.
4. Shred using tongs, add sesame seeds, and toss to combine with remaining sauce from cooking.

How You Eat It:

• I spread a little hoisin in the middle of a tortilla, top with slaw, and chicken.  Wrap!

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Wraps recipe adapted from Betty Crocker.

Slow Cooker French Onion Meatballs

Tonight brings you installment #2 of meatballs for the week.  And, the hubs and I deemed tonight's better than Tuesday's.  And the best part is, they were so easy, it's not even funny. 

Enter: slow cooker!

I literally dumped the meatballs into the slow cooker, topped them with two cans of soup, and set them on their merry little meatball way. 

That's it folks. 

Now, if you like your sauce a little thicker as I do, 30 minutes before you want to eat, crank the slow cooker up to high and whisk in a little corn starch.  Cover and while you boil some noodles to soak up the sauce, the slow cooker, once again, does the work.

Meatball Night #2: Success.

Slow Cooker French Onion Meatballs

Slow Cooker French Onion Meatballs

What You Need:

• 1 28-oz package frozen meatballs (I used these)
• 2 cans french onion soup (I used this)
• 1 tbsp corn starch

How You Do It:

1. Dump frozen meatballs into slow cooker.
   Top with soup (do not add water).
2. Set slow cooker to low for 4 hours (or high for 2 hours).
3. To thicken the sauce, whisk in corn starch 30 minutes before serving, set the slow cooker to high, and cover.

Slow Cooker French Onion Meatballs recipe adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Pineapple Beef

I have always been a fan of the slow cooker, I think that's probably becoming apparent by now. I mean really, taking ingredients, dumping them into a pot, and setting the timer - what could be worse?! The slow cooker does all the work!

And this doozie was a mere three ingredients: beef, teriyaki, & pineapple chunks. Similar to the chicken I made last week, all you do is dump the sauce over the meat and let it rip. An hour or so before you want to eat, dump in the pineapple and away you go!

I did, however, find the sauce to be a little runny, so while I boiled the noodles, I removed the lid from the slow cooker, added in a slurry (cornstarch + water), and turned the heat to high until the noodles were done cooking (leave it uncovered). Perfect.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Pineapple Beef

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Pineapple Beef

What You Need:

• 2 lbs stew meat
• 1 bottle teriyaki sauce
• 1 can pineapple chunks, drained

How You Do It:

1. Combine the beef and teriyaki sauce in slow cooker.
2. Cook on low 7-8 hours.
3. During the last hour, add drained pineapple.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Pineapple Beef recipe adapted from Eat At Home.

Slow Cooker Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

A week or two ago, my colleague suggested I implement a 5-star rating to indicate just how much we liked the meal I was dishing about.  She said she would be more likely to try a recipe I ranked with 5 stars than one I'd only awarded, say, a 3.  I told her I'd consider it.  Well, until I actually get that up and running:

Chris -- this would be a 5!

Talk about an easy and delicious dinner!  This puppy literally took 3 ingredients, 2 minutes to prepare, 6 hours to cook (all on its own), made 8 servings, and took 1 bite to become a new favorite.  And really, what's to be wrong with chicken, bbq sauce, and pineapple.  I mean, really.

This made enough for the hubs and I to have dinner last night, lunch for today, and another healthy 4 servings packaged into the freezer.  Plenty.

Just one little note -- when you get home or go over and look at the slow cooker and see all that extra sauce, fret not.  When you shred up the chicken, the sauce becomes the perfect amount (even for you, mom!).  And, if you're worried about the pineapple disintegrate during the low and slow cooking process, worry not.  They stay whole.

A new shredded chicken recipe for me, for sure.

Slow Cooker Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

Slow Cooker Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

What You Need:

• 5 chicken breasts, mine were frozen
• 1 20-oz bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
• 1 20-oz can pineapple chunks, drained

How You Do It:

1. Place chicken breasts in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Top with entire bottle BBQ sauce.
3. Top with drained pineapple.
4. Cook on low 6 hours. 
5. Using tongs, shred chicken right in slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Hawaiian BBQ Chicken recipe adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff.

Crock-Pot Chicken Parm

This recipe has been on my Pinterest board to try for a while now and this was the perfect night to do so.   You see, tonight the Packers take on the Bears.  And a good friend of ours, a Bears fan even, was coming over to watch the game - he's lucky I let him in, being a Bears fan and all.  (To those of you who are unaware, I'm a proud Cheesehead and Packer fan having been born and raised in the great cheese state of Wisconsin.)

Said friend is a big Italian food fan, so I knew tonight was a good time to pop in some chicken topped with cheese and sauce into the crock-pot, let 'er go all day, and boiled some noodles when I got home.  A great success!  Five minutes in the morning, 7 hours on its own... come home and dinner's ready.  Gotta love that!

To top it off, let's hope for a Green Bay WIN!

Crock-Pot Chicken Parm

Crock-Pot Chicken Parm

What You Need:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 c shredded mozzarella
• 1 28-oz jar of your favorite marinara sauce (I used Prego Roasted Garlic and Herb)

How You Do It:

1. Spray bottom of your crock-pot insert with cooking spray.  Place chicken on the bottom.
2. Top chicken with cheese.
3. Top cheese with sauce.
4. Cook on low 6-7 hours.

Crock-Pot Chicken Parm adapted from Full Bellies, Happy Kids.