Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken

When you work all day or even just don’t feel like spending a whole ton of time in the kitchen for dinner, slow cookers are the way to go. I love how easy they are and that you can put everything in the crock pot and not really worry about it until it’s time to eat! This recipe was adapted from a recipe I saw my husband’s mother make years ago when we first started dating. I have changed things up and started doing it my own way. She makes it with pork chops and a different ingredients though. I’ve changed it up to include chicken different peppers. It’s a cheesy, yummy, comfort food!
Not pictured: Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder

I started out by chopping up my vegetables and putting them in a bowl all mixed together

I took about half of the vegetable mixture and put them in the bottom of my crock pot after adding just a little bit of nonstick spray. After that I added the layer of chicken thighs (after cutting a little of the extra fat off).

I added some salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder before adding the cheddar cheese soup and the cream of mushroom soup. I then mixed the soups a little and made sure they covered all the meat.

I added the last half of the vegetables and then half of the bag of shredded cheese.

Turn the heat on to low and let cook for 6+ hours. At the very end, add the remaining shredded cheese on top. At this point, the house just smells AMAZING!!!! I served it over some mashed potatoes and made some rolls to go with it.

Recipe
2 lbs chicken thighs (you can use chicken breasts or pork chops too)
1 red bell pepper, diced1 green bell pepper, diced
1 package of mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1 can cream of mushroom soup*
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 package shredded cheese of choice (we did Colby Jack)
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder, to taste

Dice up all of your vegetables and mix together. Layer 1/2 of the vegetables in the bottom of your crock pot. Layer your chicken on top of the vegetables (cut any extra fat off beforehand if necessary). Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add the cheddar cheese soup and the condensed mushroom soup. Mix slightly and ensure that all of the chicken is covered. Top with the remaining vegetables. Sprinkle 1/2 the bag of shredded cheese on top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 10 minutes before you are ready to eat, add the last half of the shredded cheese (if you want to). Serve over mashed potatoes or rice.
*If using the entire package of mushrooms, you may want to add an additional can of one of the soups to help thicken it up a little, it was fine for my family, but some may want it thicker.

 

 

Salsa Ranch Chicken Fajita Tacos!

Well this recipe is one of those easy week night recipes that I like to whip together after a long day. It’s quick, simple, and tastes SO good! Since it was just a quick meal I used frozen chicken fajita meat that I got at my local HEB. It had a combo loco so I ended up getting the shredded cheese I needed for free! There are only a few ingredients and from start to finish this recipe is maybe 20 minutes.

Chicken, Salsa, Cheese, Tortillas, Sour Cream (ended up not using it), and Light Ranch

After gathering all of my ingredients I dumped the chicken into a large skillet and cooked until tender and heated through.

Once the chicken finished cooking I added about 3/4 cup of salsa and mixed to incorporate it into the chicken.

Once the salsa was incorporated I mixed in about 3 tablespoons of lite ranch dressing.

All that was left to do was put some on a tortilla and top with cheese!

Recipe

1 package (26 oz.) Fully cooked chicken fajitas (thigh or breast)
3/4 cup salsa of choice (we prefer Herdez Mild), more or less to taste
3 tbsp Lite ranch dressing (more or less to taste)
Shredded cheese, to taste
Tortillas of choice

In a large skillet cook fajita meat until tender and heated through. Add the salsa and stir, Next add the ranch dressing and stir until combined. Put small amounts onto tortillas and  sprinkle some shredded cheese on top. You can add sour cream, tomatoes, avacado, whatever you enjoy on your tacos. We ate them with just a little cheese on top and they were delicious.

Bacon for dinner!

It’s Monday, I got off work a little late tonight, and I had to stop by HEB to pick up milk on my way home. Because I knew it was going to take me a little while to get home tonight, I wanted something that would be pretty quick and simple. I came up with an idea and it was awesome! I had most everything at home already so all I had to pick up at the store was bacon and 40 oz. jar of Ragu with chunky mushrooms! So here’s the idea… Bacon, pasta, a bechamel sauce mixed with the Ragu, and fresh mushrooms. Sounds delicious, right?! I got home and gathered everything together before getting started. I’ve learned over the years that getting everything together before you get started helps shorten up the time all together.

Pictured: Butter, milk, Ragu, flour, fresh mushrooms, pasta. (Not pictured: Salt, pepper, bacon)

The great thing about this recipe is it’s very versatile! You can substitute turkey bacon, low sodium bacon, add extra veggies (like bell peppers), or different pasta sauces. You could also use a homemade pasta sauce. I love making my own sauce, but when I’m trying to get something together quickly during the week, a good store bought sauce works wonders!
I started out cutting the entire package of bacon in half (I’m keeping half of it for my breakfast for the rest of the week, but feel free to use the entire package). I took that 1/2 pack of bacon and cut it into small pieces before putting it into a deep frying pan on medium high heat. While the bacon started heating up, I put a deep pot of water to boil for the pasta.
As the bacon started to brown I added a couple of handfuls of fresh mushrooms (you can add as many or as few as you like) until the bacon was crispy and the mushrooms were brown. Drain the bacon and mushrooms and set aside.

As the pasta water starts to boil add salt and the pasta (we had shells at the house from a buy 1 get one free deal at HEB last week).

Boil your pasta 8-10 min until al dente. As the pasta boils, add the butter to the pan that the bacon was in and melt on medium heat. Once melted, add the flour and whisk together to create a roux. Cook the roux for 2-3 minutes to ensure you have cooked out the flour taste.

Sorry this one is really blurry… using my cell phone to take pictures

Slowly add the milk, whisking quickly to ensure there are no clumps. Make sure you add the milk slowly though! That’s really important.

Continue to stir until the bechamel sauce begins to thicken and coats the back of a wooden spoon.

Take your finger and run it through the bechamel sauce on the spoon. If it looks like the picture, it’s perfect!

At this point you start adding the Ragu pasta sauce. I added about 1/2 the jar because I wanted to keep the other half for something later this week, but you can add the whole jar if you want. It really depends on how much sauce you want. Stir well to combine.

Look at this creamy deliciousness!!!!

While all this was going on I was also baking fishsticks for my oldest son, J because he won’t eat the pasta. It’s always interesting working on 2 different meals every night. Either way, now that the sauce is finished I combined the pasta, bacon, mushrooms, and sauce.

I served everything in bowls and added some grated Parmesan and shredded cheddar cheese on top as a finishing touch.

My husband, JH and my youngest, A both approved and cleaned their bowls! I was really happy that they liked it as much because it was something I didn’t get from a recipe or other place, I just made it up today while I was thinking about dinner! I hope you enjoy it as much as my family did!!!

Recipe

1 bag pasta
1 jar pasta sauce (what brand you prefer and you can use 24-40oz); I used Ragu Super Chunky Mushroom
1- 12oz package of bacon (whatever your favorite is)
4 tbsp butter
3-4 tbsp all purpose flour
Fresh sliced mushrooms (as few or as many as your like)
2 cups of milk (whole milk works best)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Start out cutting the bacon into small, bite sized pieces. Toss the bacon into a deep skillet on medium high heat. As the bacon begins to heat up, put a deep pot of water on to boil for the pasta. As the bacon begins to brown up, add a few handfuls of mushrooms. Once bacon has become crispy and mushrooms have browned up, use a strainer to drain the fat (make sure you put a bowl under the strainer so the grease doesn’t go down your drain!). By this time the water should be at a rolling boil. Add a generous amount of salt (as this is the only time you will be able to season the pasta) and add the pasta into the pot. Lower the heat a little and let the pasta boil for 8-10 minutes until al dente and drain (I used the same strainer as the bacon and mushrooms). While the pasta cooks, add 4 tablespoons of butter to the pan you cooked the bacon in and melt on medium heat. Once melted, add 3-4 tablespoons of flour to create a roux. Cook the roux for 2-3 minutes to cook out the taste of flour. Slowly add the milk and whisk vigorously to avoid clumping. Stir frequently until the bechamel sauce begins to thicken and sticks to the back of a wooden spoon. Now you add the jar of pasta sauce. You can add anywhere from 24-40 oz of pasta sauce, depending on how much sauce you want. Stir to combine and then taste so you can see if you need to adjust the seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste. In the event the sauce is a little acidic, add a pinch of sugar to help balance everything out. Combine the pasta, bacon, mushrooms, and sauce all together and serve. Enjoy with a little grated Parmesan and shredded cheese on top!