Slow Cooker Chicken with Lemon (Fabulous!)

Let's move on from holiday ham for a bit and make room for poultry this week.  This recipe is so easy and reminds me of chicken my Mom used to make.  Whole chicken fryers are really cost efficient too.  Here are the simple steps to making this dish for your dinner tonight.

You need:  1- 3 lb. whole or pieces

1 teaspoon dried oregano,  dried rosemary, 2 tablespoons butter, 2 garlic cloves mashed,  1/2 cup chicken broth, 1/4 cup lemon juice, sliced lemons, salt and pepper.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry, place in the crockpot and season generously with salt and pepper, place oregano, rosemary and garlic inside the chicken cavity.  Pour the chicken broth over the chicken. Place 1/2 stick cut up butter on top of the chicken, sprinkle lemon juice and place cut up lemon slices on top of the chicken.  Place a couple of lemon slices inside the chicken cavity too for extra flavor.  

Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.  Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and cut the chicken.  Place on serving tray and enjoy with vegetable of your choice.  I love green beans or corn with this dish.  Bon appetit!

Slow Cooker Chicken & Noodles

My daughter forwarded a recipe recently she had made in her slow cooker and told me how easy and delicious it was.  Two words I love in my cooking vocabulary....Easy & delicious! I bought the ingredients on my peapod grocery delivery site and made it last week.  It was such a big hit it's now gone into my cooking rotation.  My husband and I both loved it!  It's a perfect comfort meal and makes your home smell amazing.  Here is the recipe and I hope you enjoy it as much as we all do!  

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 2 cans or boxes of cream of chicken soup (no water), 2 tsp. dried, parsley, 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 sliced stick of butter, 3 1/2 cups chicken broth, bag of uncooked egg noodles.

Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Top with the soups (do not add water) and sprinkle with the spices.  Add the butter slices to the top and pour the chicken broth on top.  Cover and cook on low 5-6 hours.  Remove the chicken and shred with 2 forks.  Mine feel apart very easily and was very tender. Place the shredded chicken back in the slow cooker along with dry noodles and a bag of frozen peas.  (omit the peas if not your favorite) and stir.  Continue cooking until the noodles are tender. 

Chicken, soup, spices and broth on low for 6 hours.

Simplicity is adding dry noodles and not worrying about cooking them first. Big time saver!

After shredding the chicken, place back in the crockpot with frozen peas to cook an additional 60-70 minutes.  I served it with a warm loaf of ciabatta bread and honey butter. (slightly soften a stick of butter, add a tablespoon of honey, mix together with a spoon until smooth and serve). 

Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Crock Pot Italian Beef: The Best EVER! Back by Popular Demand!!

I wanted to post my Italian Beef recipe again as my last crock pot post for the season.  I found this on Iowa Girl Eats years ago, and it is such a favorite of ours!

It truly is the best I have ever tasted.  The best part is it took me 5 minutes to put it together in my crock pot.  Minimal ingredients and 5 minutes of your time.  WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE?

3-4 lb. beef roast, 1 envelope Good Seasons Zesty Italian salad dressing mix, 8 ounce pepperoncini pepper slices and splash of juice, 8 ounce Giardiniera (Chicago style sandwich mix found in relish section of supermarket, 14.5 ounce can beef broth, provolone cheese slices, crusty rolls or buns).

Simply place the beef roast into the bottom of your crockpot and sprinkle the salad dresing mix on top.  Add the pepperoncini peppers plus a splash of juice, Giardiniera and beef broth. Lift the roast with a fork and make sure some of the beef broth mixture is under the meat.  Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on low for 9 hours.  Take the lid off and shred the beef with 2 forks.  Cook on low for additional hour.  

Spoon into split buns and add provolone cheese slices if desired.  Can place the sandwich in the microwave for 30 - 40 seconds to melt the cheese.  Top with additional peppers if you wish.  

This recipe can be doubled and it freezes very well for future meals.  

Enjoy and Happy Tuesday & thanks for reading:)

Leftover Turkey and Guests for the Weekend

Let's face it.  The holidays are a very sentimental time for many of us.  One of the things I treasure most in my home is my Mom's recipe box and a few of her cookbooks.  My sister, daughter's  and I often make Mom's recipes for our families.  There are hundreds of ways you can make chicken soup, meatloaf or vegetable soup, just to name a few.  But when it comes to comfort food, Mom knows best.   I come from a family of 7, so my Mom had to be a whiz at stretching my Dad's paycheck to feed all of us and many times our friends and significant others.  

Christmas is over and now you have a platter of leftover turkey left in the fridge and a houseful of guests to feed.  Need an easy idea for both?  This is one of my favorite recipes I loved growing up and still enjoy with my own family.  I modified the recipe to allow you to make it in the crockpot so you can sit with your family and friends and relax.  This will give you 12 servings.

You need:  3 - 4 cups cooked turkey you have cubed, 1 (16 1/8) ounce cans cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup, 2 1/2 cups milk, 1 1/2  to 2 1/4 cups frozen peas, 24 ounces sour cream.

In crockpot, mix together all of the ingredients except the sour cream.  Cook on low setting for at least 3 hours.  About 1/2 hour before you serve it, mix in the sour cream and mix well.  Continue to cook until it is warmed and you are ready to serve.  

It is delicious served over toast, warm biscuits or mashed potatoes.  

Thanks Mom !  

Enjoy your family and friends and happy weekend.   

Slow Cook Herb & Lemon Chicken

My daughter in law Lisa from stilettosanddiaperbags and sistersmarie shared this easy recipe to make in the slow cooker.  It is so simple to throw together and makes the house smell amazing when you walk in the door.  Did I mention it's healthy too?  

Ingredients: Fresh whole chicken, lemon, yellow onion, garlic or garlic paste, stick of butter, salt, pepper, fresh rosemary,

I bought a fresh chicken (I used Perdue), rinsed it and placed in in my slow cooker.  

I sliced fresh yellow onion, a lemon, and half a stick of butter.  (I use organic meats and produce when I can).  

I placed a couple of slices of lemon inside the chicken.  I didn't have fresh garlic,  so I substituted a tablespoon of garlic paste and spread the garlic paste on top of the chicken. (I like Gourmetgarden found in the refrigerated section of the supermarket) They have done the work for you and made a garlic paste from organic finely chopped garlic. It's a true time saver!

Begin to place sliced lemon, butter, rosemary, onion on top of the chicken, salt and pepper, pour a half a cup of water in bottom of slow cooker and cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8-10.

I bought fresh green beans from our local farmers market, snapped them, and froze uncooked in freezer plastic bags so I could savor the freshness of season a few months longer.  

This meal would be perfect to serve fresh beans as a side along with a fresh salad.

Do you have a favorite side to serve with chicken?