Honey Soy Sauce Chicken

This chicken was wonderful with brown rice, steamed veggies and pineapple!

Ingredients:
6 chicken thighs
1/2 C soy sauce
1/3 C honey
1 small can (8 oz) tomato sauce
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp onion salt

Directions:
Whisk all the ingredients together and pour over the chicken in a crock pot.  Cook on low for 4 hours, or until chicken is done and falls apart easily.

Thai Nutty Chicken

We are in love with this recipe! My 6 year old made it last time we had it! No joke! Just told him what to do and he put it all together in the crock pot!  Comes together in 5 minutes, and makes your home smell amazing the rest of the day!

Ingredients:
2 boneless chicken breasts
1 can coconut milk
1 can tomatoes with diced green chilies
2 TBLS real Peanut Butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Brown rice

Directions:
Whisk all ingredients (except the rice) together in the crock pot and place the chicken in the sauce. (Chicken can be frozen too)
Cook on low for 6-8 hrs.  Shred chicken before serving over rice!

White Bean Soup with Kale

Ingredients:

3 TBLS olive oil

3 onions

1 carrot, chopped

3 cloves garlic, pressed

1 bunch of kale, trimmed and sliced

1 lb of cannellini beans, soaked overnight

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

42 ounces of good chicken stock (1 carton is about 4 C.  So I use a whole box plus a little over a cup from another carton.  Unused stock can stay good in the fridge for your next meal that uses it.)

1/4 C tomato sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a skillet, heat oil and add onions, carrot and garlic.  Cook until onions are translucent.  Add kale and cook until wilted (maybe 3 minutes)

In a crock pot place the soaked beans, red pepper flakes, and everything from the skillet.  Pour in the stock and cook for 8 hours, until beans are tender.  Just before serving, add tomato sauce and salt and pepper to taste.

Chili

Ingredients:

1 onion chopped
1 lb ground turkey
1 Pepper, diced
1 can Kidney beans -don't drain
2 cans black beans -don't drain
2 cans diced tomatoes (or 1 giant can)
1 can tomato sauce
1 C frozen corn
1-2 TBLS chili powder
1 tsp cumin


Directions:

Brown ground turkey in a skillet on the stove top with the onion and pepper. Pour into the crock pot if doing in the AM or use a big soup pot if cooking to eat right away.
Add the rest of the ingredients into the crockpot or soup pot on the stove.
Put the lid on and cook for 6-8 hours!  We love to top our chili with shredded cheese and serve with corn muffins!

Crock Frijoles

Ingredients:
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
4 C chicken broth
1 1/2 C tomato puree
2 tsp chili powder OR 1/2 TBLS cayenne 
1 lb dry pinto beans, soaked overnight, drained


Brown Rice
Cheese
Cilantro
Hot sauce (optional)
Directions:
Place everything in a crock pot and cook for 8 hours.  Serve over brown rice, and top with cheddar cheese and cilantro.  Sprinkle with hot sauce if you like that too.

Chicken Garbanzo Stew

Ingredients:

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 (15 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
3 C chicken broth
2 (14.5 ounce) cans of diced tomatoes
3 carrots, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
3 scallions, both green and white parts, sliced thinly
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder 

1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Optional toppings:
Chopped cilantro
Grated cheese (pepper jack, cheddar, whatever you like)
Shredded radishes (Use the large holes on your cheese grater)
Avocado
Sour cream 

Directions:
Place everything in a slow cooker, and stir to mix in spices.  

Cover and cook on low for 5 – 6 hours.  Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with two forks.  Return chicken to crock pot, stir to combine.  Can be served immediately or cooked another hour.  Serve with toppings if desired. (Great as is too!)

Italian Style Pot Roast

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 pounds boneless roast
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups Hunts tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 (12 ounce) package egg noodles or any other pasta. (rotini/ penne/ etc)

Direction:

Place meat in a crock pot.  In large bowl combine tomatoes, tomato sauce, cheese, garlic, salt, oregano, and pepper. Pour over meat. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours.  About an hour before serving remove meat from pan. Slice meat thinly. Return meat to pot, and add mushrooms. Cook for 1 more hour.

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until done. Drain. 

To serve, spoon meat slices and sauce over hot noodles.

UPDATE:

We also have enjoyed this roast/ mushrooms on some homemade buns. 

Pile on the veggies too. Ideas include red onions, green pepper slices, and sprouts.

Peanut Butter Crock Pot Chicken

You may be wondering how on earth can we eat this recipe?!  Peanut Butter isn't good for you!  Well, it can be!  We pick up ours at our local whole foods store Good Earth.  There, you can bring in a jar, tupperware, whatever...pull a lever, and watch the peanuts grind right into your jar.  No sugar, no preservatives, just good old creamy peanuts!  Then we store it in the fridge at home.  Great with apple slices for a snack too! :)  Here's what we used it for this week!

Ingredients:
1/2 C REAL Peanut Butter
6 TBLS soy sauce, divided
1 Slice of onion, really chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 tsp ground ginger
6-8 chicken breasts (I use 4, and fillet them so they are thinner, and easier to roll up.  Then we have 8!)
3 TBLS honey
1 TBLS butter, melted
2 C chicken broth
2 TBLS cornstarch

Directions:
Mix peanut butter, 3 TBLS of the soy sauce, onion, garlic and ginger in a small bowl.  Spread the peanut butter mixture on one side of each chicken breast, fold in half and stick with a toothpick to keep the chicken folded.  Place chicken in the bottom of a crock pot.
In another bowl mix remaining 3 TBLS soy sauce, with honey, melted butter and chicken broth.  Pour mixture over the chicken.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.(Your house will smell amazing!)
Remove chicken from crock pot and keep warm. (I put mine in a bowl and just set in the microwave while I make the sauce.)  Pour all the liquid into a saucepan and heat to a boil on the stovetop.  Dissolve cornstarch in a small amount of cold water and stir into the sauce.  Cook for about 5 minutes until sauce thickens slightly.
To serve, REMOVE toothpicks, and pour sauce over chicken!  Great with brown rice.  Next time we'll try it with whole wheat noodles, as more of a stir fry with vegetables!  Lots of possibilities with this one!

Chicken Jambalaya

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, cubed

1/2 lb kielbasa, sliced OR frozen shrimp

1 can diced tomatoes

1 green pepper chopped

1/2 C chicken broth

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp cajun seasoning

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

Directions:

Put everything in a crock pot and cook on low for 7 hours. Serve over brown rice.

Pork Chops

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless pork chops
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup sour cream
• paprika

Directions:

In the bottom of a crock pot put chopped onion, butter and garlic. Layer 3 pork chops, and sprinkle with paprika. Layer 3 more pock chops and sprinkle with paprika. Place a Bay leaf in the crock pot and pour chicken broth in. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours. 1 hour before serving, take out the bay leaf and add the sour cream. Re-cover and cook the final hour.

Chicken Taco Soup

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts

2 15 oz can diced tomatoes

1 10 oz can enchilada sauce

2 4 oz can diced green chilies

1 can black beans (drained)

1 C frozen corn

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, pressed

4 C Chicken Stock (1 carton -I love Kitchen Basics brand)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 Bay Leaf

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours. An hour before serving take out the chicken breasts, shred and put back in the soup. Top with sour cream , avocados, and cheese.