Freezer Cooking~ Chicken Fajitas

Freezer Cooking Chicken Fajita’s

I am trying to incorporate more freezer cooking into my meal planning.  At least 2 weeks worth of freezer meals for the month.  Chicken Fajita’s seemed to be the perfect freezer meal to start.

INGREDIENTS:

1 -1/2 Green Peppers, Sliced
1/2 Red Pepper, Sliced
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 1/2 to 2 pounds Boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice
Fajita Seasoning 

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Slice peppers and onion and place into a large bowl.

2.  Next pound the chicken breast with a mallet.  I like to do this because I feel like it makes the chicken tender and gives me more strips.

3.  Cut the chicken into strips and place in the same bowl with the peppers and onions.  Add a tablespoon of lime/lemon juice and the seasoning and toss.

4.  Make sure your freezer bag is labeled with contents and directions on how to cook.

5.  Place in bag.  Put in Freezer.

6.  When ready to eat:  Thaw.  Place in a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of oil.  And stir fry until chicken is cook through and veggies are softened.  Serve with warm flour tortillas.

~Enjoy!~

 

Parmesan Chicken With Bow Tie Pasta

Parmesan Chicken With Bow Tie Pasta

INGREDIENTS:

1 box (12 oz.) Bow-Tie Pasta
Salt and Pepper to Taste
2 cups Broccoli Florets
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken breast, cooked and diced
1 small onion, finely diced
2 gloves of garlic
1 (14.5 oz can) Petite Diced Tomatoes, Drained
1/2 to 1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook Pasta in boiling Salted water according to package direction.  Until al dente.  Add broccoli the last 3 minutes of cooking time.  Drain, reserving at 1 cup of cooking liquid (you might decide to leave this out all together).

2.  Toss Pasta and Broccoli with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Set aside.

3.  Warm remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat.  Add chicken, onion, and garlic.  At this point you can also season with Salt and Pepper.  I stay away from adding Salt to anything.  Saute, this for approx. 5 minutes.

4.  After 5 minutes add in the Diced Tomatoes; and saute for another 2 minutes.

5.  Mix in the pasta mixture.  Add Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of cooking liquid.  I used about 3/4 of a cup cooking liquid.

6.  Since we LOVE cheese in our house….once everything was heated evenly throughout I topped with MORE Parmesan Cheese.

Serve Hot!

Tips:  You will need a LARGE skillet for this.  It makes a lot.  Make sure the chicken you use is cooked! I have several chicken breast made ahead of time and just diced them up.

~Enjoy!~

Shredded Salsa Chicken (Slow Cooker)

Shredded Slow Cooker Chicken Salsa

So Simple just throw it all in and forget for about 5 hours!

Ingredients:

3-4 Boneless Skinless chicken Breast
1 cup your favorite Salsa (preferably jarred salsa)
2 teaspoons Taco Seasoning (or 1 pkg. Taco Seasoning)
1 can (10.5 oz.) Cream of Chicken Condensed Soup
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 can (15.25 oz.) corn
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Place chicken breast in bottom of crock pot.  Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken.  Add in Salsa, Cream Of Chicken Soup, Diced Red Bell Pepper, and Corn. I do not stir.  I just leave it sitting as is in the pot.

2. Leave it for 4 to 6 hours.  Mine was done in about 5.

3. Shred Chicken, return to slow cooker (I just shred it in the crock pot).

4. Add Sour Cream and stir until combine!

5.  And your done!  Serve in Flour Tortilla’s to make burritos.  Or over  brown rice!

Next time I make this I am going to try adding Chipotle Corn for added flavor and spice.

~Enjoy!~

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

The WHOLE family loved this!  So easy and delicious!

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons butter

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can chicken broth

1 medium onion diced (about 1 cup of diced onions)

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1/2 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. Poultry seasoning

1 can grands flaky refrigerator biscuits ( used all 5)

Directions:

1. Place chicken breast in crock pot and add both cans of cream of chicken soup, butter, chicken broth, diced onion, parsley, cumin and poultry seasoning.  Stir to combine.

2.  Turn Crock Pot on and cook on high 4-6 hours.

3.  After cooking and approx. one hour before done, shred the chicken and return it to the crock pot.

4.  Cut each biscuit into 9 pieces and drop into crock pot.  Stirring it gingerly once.  Cook on high a additional 30 to 45 minutes.

5. Serve HOT add additional chicken broth if desired.

Note:  There is really no need to add salt to this recipe.    The cream of Chicken Soup, and the chicken broth are loaded with sodium.  I say this because I try to eat as low sodium as I possibly can and hardly ever cook with salt.

~Enjoy!~

Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken

Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken

This is so good and goes great with rice!

Ingredients:

• 5 to 6 Chicken Breast (you can use any cut of the chicken)
• 1 Bottle BBQ Sauce ( I use Cattlemen’s Mississippi Honey BBQ Sauce)
• 1-20 ounce can pineapple slices (in it’s own juice—DO NOT DISCARD THE JUICE)

Directions:

Spray Slow Cooker with cooking spray or line with liner.

Next place chicken in the slow cooker.  I trim all the fat off of my chicken.

Then pour the BBQ sauce over all the chicken.  Making sure to coat them all pretty evenly.

Next place the pineapple rings over the chicken.  I used 7 of the 10 pineapple rings that were in a 20 ounce can.  I didn’t want the rings slipping around while cooking so I inserted a toothpick into each one to hold it place.

Then pour the pineapple juice into the bottle of bbq sauce.  And shake.  This is just to get all the remaining sauce out of the bottle.  Pour that over the pineapple and chicken.

Cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 5 to 8 hours.

Serve chicken over rice or Mashed Potatoes with a little pineapple and sauce placed on top or on the side.

~Enjoy!~

Pork Chops With Cinnamon Apples

*This is an excellent recipe.  All my children loved it.  Well, with the exception of my oldest.  He is a VERY VERY picky eater.  Granny Smith apples are excellent for this recipe.  However, you can also use Braeburn apples as it works just as well.*

Ingredients:

1 Teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
4 (4 ounce) Boneless Center-cut loin pork chops (about a 1/2 thick) *This time I used about a each thick pork chop. Just remember to adjust cooking time to fit the size of the meat.*
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Cooking Spray
2 teaspoons of butter
4 cups Apples (about 4 med. sized apples do the trick)
3 Tables spoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Dash of salt.

Directions:

• Combine Sage, salt and black pepper in a small bowl.
• Coat pan with cooking spray.
• Heat oil until hot. -The meat should sizzle once it hit the pan.
• Cooking on Medium/high heat. 

• Add pork and cook approx 4 minutes on each side or until done.
• Once all meat is cooked, in the same pan toss in the butter, apples, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon.
• Cook apples for 5 minutes.  Until crisp, yet tender.  Stirring occasionally.

I drizzle some of the apple sauce right onto the pork chop.  This would be good served with a side of noodles as well.  I just had some potatoes that needed to be used.

~Enjoy~

BBQ Glazed Meatballs

“These meatballs are excellent for a pot luck.  They are delicious by themselves,  Placed on top of Rice and Mashed Potato’s, Place them on a hoagie bun with Mozzarella cheese or even provolone or Swiss cheese.  My whole family loves these.  You can make these two ways for your convenience!”

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds Beef
• 2 Eggs-Slightly beaten
• 4/5 ounces evaporated milk
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 tablespoon chili powder (you can use more or less depending on your own tastes)
• 1/2 to a cup chopped onion

The Sauce Ingredients

• 2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring
• 1 1/2 cup water (omit this if you bake the meatballs)

Directions:

• In a bowl, mix beef, egg, oats, evaporated milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, and 1/2 cup onion. Form into 1 1/2 inch balls and arrange in a single layer in the baking dish.

• If using the crock pot method.  Place them directly into the crock pot after forming the meatball.
• In a separate bowl, mix ketchup, garlic, sugar, 1/4 cup onion, and liquid smoke. Pour evenly over the meatballs.

Crock pot Directions:

• Crock Pot baking directions: Place meatballs in the crock pot and then cover with sauce. Then add one and a half cups water. It will look like you have really diluted it too much. Don’t worry about this. It gets thick toward the end. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.

Oven Directions:

• Oven Baking Directions: Preheat oven to 350º.  Lightly grease a medium baking dish. Bake with meatballs only (no sauce) for 20 to 25 minutes. After 25 minutes pour the sauce over the meatballs and bake an additional 30 to 35 minutes. Checking frequently. Bake on middle rack. Sometimes it is done before the 30 minutes is over.

Recipe Tips:

• Use Melon Ballers or a Ice Cream scoop to get uniform meatballs.
• Wet your hands/fingers after every three or four meatballs.
•  You can also make these in a electric skillet to keep the meatballs warm.  Take tooth picks and have them as appetizers.

~Enjoy~