Chicken Cacciatore

I have wanted to make this dish for quite a while but all of the recipes I have come across call for fryer chickens. I have absolutely no idea or a desire to cut up an entire chicken so this recipe calling for chicken breasts was right up my ally. It was a little more work than I originally thought but it was worth the out come.

1 lb. chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/4 c. white flour

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 c. olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped

5 -6 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

1 c. white wine, white cooking wine, apple or white grape juice

1 1/2 c. chicken broth

1/4 tsp. thyme

1/4 tsp. marjoram

1/2 tsp. salt (omit if using cooking wine)

1 bay leaf

1 c. sliced mushrooms

1 green bell pepper, chopped

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat When oil is hot, add onions and garlic and stir frequently until onions are tender and garlic is fragrant. Remove with a slotted spoon, shake off excess oil and transfer to the blender. Increase heat to medium-high.

In a large Ziploc bag, combine flour, 1 tsp. kosher salt, and 1 tsp. black pepper. Add chicken pieces, seal bag, and shake to coat pieces with flour. Dump the entire bag into the hot pan and stir quickly to prevent pieces from sticking together. Saute until chicken is golden. Remove chicken with slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Turn off the heat under the skillet.

While chicken is draining, add wine (or juice), chicken broth, tomato paste, thyme, salt and marjoram to the onions and garlic in the blender. Blend until smooth. Place chicken and bay leaf in your slow cooker and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Place lid on slow cooker and cook on high for 3.5 - 4 hours. When you have about 1/2 hour to go, add the mushrooms and the green pepper. Cook until mushrooms and pepper are tender. Remove bay leaf and serve over pasta. Serves 6 -8.

Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken

I'm loving my crock pot this week. It is so nice to nearly be done making dinner by 10:00 a.m. This recipe comes from where else but My Kitchen Cafe. Love her blog, love her cooking! We made chicken burritos last night with this chicken and it was incredible. The meat is super tender, juicy and so full of flavor. I ended up using Italian diced tomatoes instead of regular ones because that was what I had on hand and it was still awesome! A definite keeper.

1 lb. (about 2) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 (14 oz.) can petite or regular diced tomatoes, undrained

1/3 c. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (more if you like extra heat)

Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cover and cook for 4-6 hours on high or 8-9 hours on low. Remove chicken from cooker and shred with forks. Return to slow cooker and mix the chicken and juices from tomato/brown sugar mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Crock Pot Pot Roast

This is fabulous and I hate pot roast. Super quick to prepare and sooooooo good. I found the recipe here. I cooked my roast between 8 - 9 hours on low and added extra water towards the end. It came out so moist and tender and the gravy was out of this world. Highly recommend trying this one.

1 - beef roast (mine was about 3-4 lbs)

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 pkg. Brown gravy mix

1 pkg. Italian dressing mix

1/2 - 1 1/2 c. warm water

In a small bowl combine the 3 mixes. Place roast in crock pot then sprinkle the mix over both sides of roast. Add 1/2 warm water to the pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (or until tender) adding more water if necessary.

Sweet Pork Salad with Cilantro Dressing

Since our move to Tennessee I have been without Cafe Rio and Bajio. I crave mexican food almost daily and Taco Bell just isn't cutting it. I have been wanting to make this meal for so long now. It is one of my top 5 all time favorite meals! The pork and dressing recipe come from Picky Palate but the rice recipe I got from good old Miranda.

Pork

2 - 4 lb. pork roast

1 1/2 c. Coca Cola

Salt, pepper, garlic seasoning salt

Sauce

1 c. Coca Cola

1 c. Ketchup

Place roast in crockpot with Coke and season with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Cook on low overnight, until tender. Remove roast from crockpot and discard juices. Shred pork into bite size pieces and place back into crock pot on low. (I let my 4lb. roast cook for about 14 hours on low and it was so tender that it fell apart when I touched it with a fork. I also used nearly 3 cans of Coke for the cooking and the sauce.) Place Coke and ketchup in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Heat to a low boil. Pour over shredded roast. Cook on low until ready to serve. (I just used the "keep warm" setting at this point)

Dressing

1 jar Herdez Salsa Verde (mild tomatillo salsa)

Equal amount of prepared ranch dressing (Hidden Valley)

1 bunch Cilantro

Place equal parts of salsa verde and ranch dressing into food processor or blender. Add cilantro leaves and process until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Rice

2 Tbsp. butter

1 small onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

8 tsp. chicken bouillon granules

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

2 tsp. cumin

2 cans diced green chilies

juice of 1/2 a lime or 1 Tbsp. lime juice

1/2 tsp salt

3 c. long grain rice

In a small pan, saute butter, onion and garlic together until onions are clear. In a large pot, combine 6 2/3 c. water, bouillon granules, cilantro, cumin, chilies, lime juice and salt then bring to a boil. Once the mixture has begun to boil, add the rice and onion mixture and reduce heat. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until liquid is gone.

10" flour or wheat tortillas

shredded green leaf lettuce

black beans

diced tomatoes (I like to use pico de gallo instead)

cheese, sour cream, guacamole

To serve: place tortilla onto large plate. Layer with lettuce, beans, rice, pork, dressing, tomatoes, and cheese.

Orange Crock Pot Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless

½ tsp. ginger, ground
1 can frozen orange juice concentrate

2 green onions
1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper
1 can Mandarin Oranges

shredded coconut (optional)
Cooked rice

Combine chicken, OJ concentrate, ginger, salt & pepper in a large Crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Add oranges and green onions to Crockpot 15 minutes before serving. Serve over rice and garnish with coconut. Yields 4-5 servings