Crockpot Salsa Chicken with Whole Wheat Penne Pasta

This week I was having a few friends over for dinner on an evening that I knew I was going to get off work late. I also realized the night before that I really hadn't planned anything for dinner and I had almost no ingredients on hand.... what's a girl to do? Turn to that fabulous invention known as the crock pot. I threw in a jar of salsa, a few chicken breasts and set it on low and slow! When I arrived home that evening, I was greeted by the glorious smell of the chicken cooking. All I had to do was boil some whole wheat penne pasta and serve it up with some Monterrey jack cheese and a green salad on the side. Such a delicious, savory meal! My friends thought I had been slaving away over a hot stove all evening.... little did they know I had spent about fifteen minutes total pulling the meal together... but that will just be our little secret ☺

Crock pot Salsa Chicken with Whole Wheat Penne Pasta

Ingredients

3 good sized chicken breasts, frozen

1 jar of your favorite low-sodium salsa, I like Green Mountain Gringo Fire Roasted Chili Salsa (try and select the lowest sodium salsa you can find or else your chicken will turn out too salty!)

1 lb whole wheat penne pasta

Ingredients to top:

Monterrey jack cheese (shredded)

Sour cream

Coat inside of crock pot with non-stick cooking spray. Place frozen chicken breasts in crock pot. Pour one jar of salsa over chicken breasts. Place lid on cooker and set on low. Cover and allow chicken to cook for 8-10 hours. I did ten and mine turned out perfect. After chicken is completely cooked, boil pasta until tender. Remove chicken from crock pot and shred with two forks. Toss pasta with chicken and left over cooking liquid from the crock pot. Sprinkle with cheese and spoon on a dollop of sour cream if desired.

Double Duty: Barbecue Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Barbecue Mac and Cheese

Happy Friday! Who loves a good crock pot meal?? I do! Earlier this week, I made a super easy bbq pulled pork in the crock pot. I got the idea from Mel's Kitchen Cafe blog. It has been so hot here this week that I really haven't wanted to turn on the oven, or even the stove for that matter, so I was thrilled to find another great crock pot recipe. It was so simple and turned out delicious. I put the pork in sandwiches and enjoyed it thoroughly. Now it's Friday and my fridge is full of leftovers. Time to use some up! I threw my leftover mac and cheese (from this post) and the leftover pulled pork into a big bowl, mixed in some extra cheese and scooped it into individual casserole bowls which I then sprinkled with MORE cheese and warmed up in the oven. It was soooo good! Perfect lazy Friday meal! I think I liked the mac and cheese even better this way... Which is saying something cause that mac and cheese was some good eating! I hope you guys enjoy, and take it easy! It's Friday! The perfect day for leftovers!

Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe (love this blog!)

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds pork loin

Salt and Pepper

2 cups water

Your favorite barbecue sauce (about 2 cups)

Rinse the pork loin and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and put in slow cooker. Add water. Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours until very tender (mine was small so only took 8 hours).

Remove from slow cooker and discard remaining liquid. Using two forks, shred the meat.

Place back in cooker with barbecue sauce. Cook until heated, about 20-30 minutes. Stick it on a bun and your done! (sorry about the silly rhyme... I spend alot of time with kids ☺) Refridgerate leftovers in a tightly covered container.

Leftovers?? See below!

Ingredients:

Pulled pork (however much you have left over)

Mac and cheese (again whatever you have left over)

Barbecue sauce

Cheese

Mix leftover pulled pork and macaroni in a large bowl with 1/2 - 3/4 cup good quality cheese (I used tillamook cheddar and jack cheese) and about 1/3 cup barbecue sauce (depends on how saucy you want yours). Scoop into individual casserole cups. Top with a sprinkle of grated cheese. Heat in oven on low heat until warmed through (about 15 minutes).

Have a wonderful weekend!

Magazine/Cookbook Monday: Slow-Baked Mac and Cheese

Happy Monday! And my second official Magazine/Cookbook day! awhoohoo! This week I wanted something easy because I was focusing on cupcake making.... more on that later ☺... So I picked a recipe from a cookbook that I have had for awhile but have actually never used, "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two" by Beth Hensperger. It has lots of yummy ideas for crockpot recipes. I selected a mac and cheese recipe because my fridge runneth over with cheese right now. The recipe calls for shredded Italian fontina cheese, I had left over shredded Italian four cheese blend which I figured would work just as well so I subbed it in the recipe. My total prep time was about ten minutes and that included precooking the macaroni noodles. Not bad! The mac and cheese cooks relatively fast compared to most slow-cooker recipes, it was completely done in about two and a half hours. As far as taste goes, it was probably about an 8 out of 10. I think that if I had used the fontina cheese it would have been more flavorful. I also added in some spices as the recipe only calls for ground black pepper, I put in some oregano, and a sprinkle of chili powder. I wish I had some fresh oregano to sprinkle on because that would've been amazing! Maybe mix in some chopped baby tomatoes too... Next time! And there will be a next time because all in all this was a good basic mac and cheese recipe and so easy to throw together. So yes, 8 out of 10 and it's a keeper. What did you cook today? Anyone else trying out some yummy or not so yummy cookbook recipes? Feel free to share! Have a wonderful first day of the week!

Slow- Baked Mac and Cheese

Recipe Courtesy of "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two"

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups milk

One 12 oz can evaporated milk (I used skim, evaporated milk keeps the egg and milk from curdling)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled to room temp

3 large eggs

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups (12 oz) shredded cheese (I used an Italian blend, recipe calls for Italian fontina cheese)

1/2 pound elbow macaroni or mini penne tubes, par cooked and drained (this means cook them for about five minutes until tender but not completely cooked)

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Spray the inside of your slow-cooker with cooking spray or grease it with olive oil. Combine milk, evaporated milk, eggs, butter, and salt in slow-cooker and whisk until until smooth (or you can use an immersion blender to do the whisking for you).

Add the shredded cheese (not the Parmesan) and macaroni, sprinkle with black pepper (and whatever other spices you want to use). Stir gently with a spatula to coat evenly.

Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top. Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, reduce the temperature to LOW and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until custard is set in the center and the pasta is tender. The macaroni and cheese may sit in the cooker on the KEEP WARM setting for 30 minutes before serving. Before dishing it up, I sautéed some bread crumbs with olive oil and sprinkled them over the top to make it a little fancier.

Serve and enjoy! '

Mouthwatering Monday

Easy Peasy Pintos N' Cheese

Feliz Friday! Ready for a great Mexican recipe? This is a super easy way to make delish pinto bean and cheese from scratch, using just a few ingredients. I got the basic bean recipe from one of the women at work, I then started adding ingredients according to what I had on hand and the result was this impossibly easy bean and cheese dish. The advice my coworker (who brought this bean recipe up with her when she moved here from Mexico) gave me was, "After they are cooked I pretty much just throw in whatever I have on hand that I think will be good." So taking her advice, I came up with this recipe. The secret, I found out, is to take out about three cups of the beans after cooking, and smash them up with a potato masher before stirring them back in with the rest of the beans. This will make your beans super creamy! The other secret that makes it so delicious is adding chorizo. Pretty much any sausage would work, but the chorizo gives it an authentic mexican flavor. You can get chorizo at most grocery stores, but I prefer to get the real authentic kind at the local Carniceria. Espero que les gustan... provecho!

Crockpot Pintos and Cheese

Ingredients

1 lb dry pinto beans

Water (to cover)

Salt (to taste)

Chili Powder (however much you want depending on how spicy you like your chili)

1 small jar medium salsa

12 ounces chorizo (or other sausage)

Mrs. Dash Spice

2-3 cups cheese

1/3 cup chopped onion

3 tbsp lite sour cream

Lay beans out on a large tray and sort through, removing anything that isn't a bean (rocks, fluff, etc.). Place beans in collander and rinse until water runs clear.

Pretty, No?

Put beans in a large crockpot. Cover by at least 2 inches with water.

Cover with water

Soak over night (don't turn crock-pot on yet). After soaking, make sure beans are still covered by at least two inches of water. Turn crockpot on low and cook for 8 hours. When beans are tender, drain. Leave enough liquid to make them soupy. The less liquid you leave, the thicker your chili will be. If you drain off too much just add in a bit of hot water until you have the consistency you want.

Smash them up!

Using a slotted spoon, remove about two cups of the cooked beans and mash with a potato masher. Stir back in to crock pot. Allow to continue cooking while you crumble and brown the chorizo and onions in a non-stick skilled over medium heat. Add to crockpot.

¡Olé!

Add salsa, cheese, sour cream, and spices to taste. Stir and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with more sour cream, topped with cheese. Yum!

Cheesy!

Serve with chips or tortillas and some sliced avocados for an easy dinner.