Slow Cooker Chicken Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken)

I haven’t made too many Indian meals and thought this would be a quick, easy way to experiment. This had great flavor and was a big hit around here. Even my toddler loved it (which is a rarity). I cut back on the cayenne pepper a bit just to make it more kid-friendly and it still had a good amount of heat. I also shredded my chicken for easier eating. Nice to have something different that wasn’t too “weird”.

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (can use frozen)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2  teaspoons garam masala
• 1/2  teaspoon ground ginger
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
• 1 can (15 oz.) coconut milk
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream (to add at the end)

Directions:

Put chicken in 5 quart or larger slow cooker and add onion, garlic, spices, butter, tomato paste, lemon juice, and coconut milk. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. The chicken should shred easily with 2 forks when fully cooked.

Stir in yogurt (or sour cream) 15 minutes before serving.  Salt to taste and serve with white or brown basmati rice.

Adapted from Crockpot 365

Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken & “Rice” Soup

Things have been a little slow around here this month in the food department. Not that I have cooked, it’s just that I haven’t been very inspired or impressed by anything I’ve made lately. I’ve been trying to drop a couple pounds and let’s be honest… a lot of times healthy food just tastes so darn… healthy. But that just means, when I finally do post something, you know it’s worth making! Like this soup!

I got this recipe from a newly acquired cookbook called “Paleo Slow Cooker Soups & Stews” by Amelia Simons. This is my first venture into the book and I’m happy to say it was a success. Tons of flavor and super easy to make. Now I actually made this on the stove top in a couple of hours, but the results should be very similar to the slow cooker method. The changes I made involved cooking the onions in a pot with the garlic and chicken, then adding the rest of the ingredients and simmering on low for an hour or so. I also used a bag of frozen cauliflower (thawed) to make the “rice.” I was going to get fresh stuff but it was $3 for a tiny head of cauliflower at the grocery store which I thought seemed ridiculously expensive. The last thing I would suggest is to go towards the low end on the chicken amount. The recipe calls for 2.5-3 pounds of chicken breasts and I used 2.5 lbs. This still seemed like a lot of chicken. I’d suggest closer to 2 pounds for a better ratio.

Anyway, after all was said and done, this was a very easy meal to throw together and healthy to boot! An excellent “healthy” meal that everyone will be happy to eat!

Ingredients

• 2½ to 3 pounds chicken breast, sliced into strips (I’d suggest only 2 pounds)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 (14 ounce) jar of roasted red peppers, chopped medium
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1½ cups chicken broth
• 1½ tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 4 teaspoons cumin powder
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
• 1 large head cauliflower
• 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. Coat the slow cooker insert with coconut oil and turn it on HIGH while you get your ingredients ready.
2. Place the chicken slices, garlic, onions, and peppers in the bottom of the slow cooker. Gently pour in the diced tomatoes and chicken broth.
3. Add the chili powder, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper.
4. Cover with the lid and turn the slow cooker down to LOW. Cook for 6 hours.
5. Several minutes before you want to serve the soup, pulse the cauliflower in a food processor until you have the consistency of rice.
6. Empty the cauliflower into a serving bowl and mix in the fresh cilantro.*
7. When ready to serve, place some “rice” in the bottom of a soup bowl and cover with the chicken soup.

*I just mixed all my cauliflower and cilantro in with the soup to save cleaning an extra bowl.

Chicken Yakisoba

It was Saturday night and we were hungry.  I didn’t have any meals planned out so I went to my Pinterest board to see if there was anything I could make with stuff I already had. I’d seen an easy looking recipe for some sort of Ramen noodle stir-fry a couple days before and was happy to see that I could scrounge up enough of the ingredients to give it a fair go.

I made a couple minor adjustments, which I didn’t think hurt the final result at all. First, I didn’t have any cabbage so I didn’t use that, but I would definitely add it next time because cabbage in stir-fry rocks. I also decided to use 3 packages of noodles instead of just 2 because darn it I really like noodles and I typically eat 2 packages myself when I eat them as normally prepared. Plus I figured extra noodles were a good substitution for the missing cabbage! Oh and I also used leftover turkey because we still had some left. Nice change from turkey soup and the like. I just threw it in after the veggies were done cooking so it could heat through. I wouldn’t hesitate to omit the meat completely or substitute some tofu instead.

I must say I was incredibly happy with how this turned out. It had a ton of flavor but wasn’t overwhelming. Even Sylvie liked the noodles. This one is going in my keeper file for quick easy pantry meals.

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Chicken Pot Pie Muffins

What is it with me and pocket-like foods lately? I don’t know, but they sure are delicious! I tweaked this recipe just a tad so I’m going to post what I did as I think it was easier to assemble than the original recipe. Just a warning as this recipe made a lot. I made 24 muffins and had enough left over that I might have been able to do 8 more.

Ingredients

• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 rottiserie chicken, shredded (or 3 cooked chicken breasts)
• 1 bag (16 oz) frozen vegetables
• 2 cans (10 oz) cream of chicken soup
• milk (about 1/2 cup)
• 4 cans (8 ct) flaky butter tastin biscuits
• Italian seasoning
• nonstick cooking spray

 Instructions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large saucepan, heat cream of chicken soup (just the concentrate, do not add milk or water). While the soup is heating, rinse veggies in a strainer to thaw. Add to soup along with cooked, shredded chicken, garlic powder, and black pepper and combine well. Thin to desired consistency with milk (I used about 1/2 cup).  Stir gently to combine and allow to heat until warmed through. Remove from heat.

Lightly spray muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. Working with one biscuit at a time, separate biscuit into two layers. Flatten one half until it is the size of your palm and place on top of one muffin tin opening (do not press down into cup).  Place approximately 3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture on top of the flattened dough (I used a heaping cookie scoop). Quickly flatten the other half of the biscuit and place on top of the filling, pressing the dough together around the edge. Shove the edges down into the muffin cup (don’t try and make it pretty) so nothing is overhanging onto the pan. Repeat with remaining biscuit dough and filling.

When finished, spray the tops of all the muffins with non-stick spray and sprinkle with italian seasoning.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown.

Adapted from Simply Being Mommy

Easiest-Ever Chicken Pot Pie

While I have posted the fast version my chicken pot pie before, I have to say this America’s Test Kitchen one is even better. It’s very unfussy and the resulting pie is darn near perfect. I’d say this took about 45 minutes to make from start to finish and that included the time to shred my rotisserie chicken. Not bad. Not bad at all!

Serves 4-6

Total Time: 45 minutes

• 8 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
• 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 5 ounces cream cheese, cut into small cubes*
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Salt and pepper
• 1 ½ cups frozen peas and carrots, thawed
• 1 refrigerated Pillsbury pie crust

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Microwave mushrooms on plate lined with 2 layers of coffee filters until softened, about 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine shredded chicken, cream cheese (or Boursin), broth, cream, cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in large saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until cheese is melted and mixture is thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in microwaved mushrooms and peas and carrots. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a 9-inch deep dish pie plate.

Carefully lay pie crust over top. Tuck overhanging dough underneath itself to be flush with rim of pie plate. Cut three 1-inch steam vents into top of dough. Bake until filling is bubbling and crust is browned, about 25 minutes, rotating pie plate halfway through baking. Let cool slightly and serve.

*Original recipe calls for a 5.2 ounce package of Boursin cheese, crumbled. I’d never heard of Boursin and wasn’t surprised when my local grocery store didn’t carry it. The Internets told me cream cheese was an acceptable substitute and I whole-heartedly agree.

Recipe adapted from the America’s Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook

Chicken Salad with Grapes

Believe it or not, this was my first time making chicken salad. I know. Weird. But I’d eaten chicken salad similar to this many times so I knew what I was looking for in a recipe. Grapes have always been a favorite so I sought out a recipe that included them. This one is a definite winner. I actually made this to take for lunches on a family trip and it worked out perfectly. I used a rotisserie chicken and ended up with enough chicken for a double recipe. I also used regular mayo in place of the Miracle Whip because that stuff is gross. The result was a flavorful, refreshing, tasty meal that had us coming back for seconds. I served it with iceberg lettuce on whole wheat tortillas and it was perfect. I highly recommend the whole wheat tortillas in this case because they add a nutty flavor that pairs well with the salad. I can’t wait to make this again. Such a lovely summer meal!

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One-Dish Chicken Dinner

I saw this one-dish meal on Pinterest and thought it looked easy and delicious. Problem was, there wasn’t much of a recipe on the actual pin other than sprinkling all the things with Italian seasoning and baking for an hour at 350 degrees. So, I did the best I could to replicate what I saw.

Original Pin

Now, there really isn’t much to this, which is great because it allows for a lot of flexibility according to your specific tastes. I used 3 large chicken breasts because they fit the best without being crowded, a couple large handfuls of trimmed fresh green beans, and about 4 or 5 red potatoes. I also used some Mrs. Dash seasoning blend because I only had a tiny bit of Italian seasoning on hand.

I checked the temperature of the chicken at about 45 minutes and it was done, so you may want to keep an eye on it. Also, some of the potatoes weren’t cooked all the way through. If I were to make this again I’d say to cut them no larger than a 1-inch dice, maybe even a little smaller. And as you can see, the green beans on top were overcooked and dried out. I would recommend a different veggie like carrots, asparagus, or maybe broccoli instead of the green beans.

Anyway, I wrote the recipe out as I made it if you’d like to give it a shot. The chicken turned out great and the veggies had real potential with a couple tweaks.

•  3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4-5 red potatoes, cut into 1″ cubes
• 2 cups carrots, cut into 1″ pieces (can use whole asparagus or broccoli florets)
• Salt and Pepper
• Italian Seasoning or other herb blend of choice
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13″ baking dish with non-stick spray.

Sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts liberally with salt, pepper, and seasoning blend. Lay evenly down center of baking dish. Place diced potatoes on one side of chicken and veggies on the other and season with salt, pepper, and seasoning blend. Slice butter into thin squares and place evenly over veggies and chicken. Bake for 45-60 minutes until chicken reaches internal temperature of 160 degrees.

One-Pot Southwest Chicken & Rice

If only you could get a delicious one-dish meal made from scratch* on the table quicker than one from some preservative filled box. Well, with this recipe it’s possible! It seemed so simple I doubted any flavor would be present, but I was wrong! I swear this took less than 20 minutes to make, maybe closer to 15. I thought it was good as-is but would also be great to eat in tortillas. Also, if you’re like me and forget to put the Rotel tomatoes on your grocery list, a can of diced tomatoes and a can of diced green chilies is just as good as a substitute. This recipe is definitely going into my “quick pantry meal” file.

*You do use a packet of taco seasoning, but you could always use your own if you wanted too.

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Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

I had never eaten gumbo before I made this. I don’t know why, but the word “gumbo” doesn’t exactly sound appealing. Maybe because it’s along the lines of goulash, which for me brings back memories of my dad’s goulash which consisted of Spaghetti-Os, canned corn, and pork & beans all mixed together. Yum. And let’s be honest here. It’s not like gumbo is known for being visually stunning. All I knew about it was it’s a bunch of stuff thrown together and people down in Louisiana seem to like it.

So why did I even make this you ask? Well, I saw this recipe on a site I trust. A site where I’ve gotten a bunch of delicious recipes and I figured if they thought it was awesome, then I would too. Man I love being right. Seriously though, this stuff was so good. It wasn’t the fastest meal to put together… about an hour of active work time and 2 more hours of simmering time, but the results were well worth it. I made sure to prep all my ingredients and took my time on the roux to make sure I didn’t burn it. No sweat. Definitely not as finicky as I expected. So make this. You won’t regret it!

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Chicken Gyros

I used to make gyros every once in a while using some gyro meat from a local butcher shop. Unfortunately when they went out of business, I lost my supplier and haven’t made gyros since. When I saw this recipe for chicken gyros the other day I knew I had to try it out. It looked so delicious and if successful would give me a new way to make my gyros.

I decided to make these for dinner when Seth’s sister was in town because I figured it’d be an easy meal to feed a crowd. Plus, who doesn’t like gyros? Long story short, everyone loved these. The chicken had a ton of flavor and everyone kept passing the plate of sliced chicken around after they’d finished eating their gyros so they could nibble on just a little more.

Winner winner chicken dinner!

Gyro Recipe

Tzatziki Recipe