Slow Cooker Chicken Salsa

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 cup salsa 1 package reduced sodium taco seasoning 1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup (condensed) 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

Directions

Add chicken to slow cooker.
Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken.
Pour salsa and soup over chicken.

Cook low for 6 to 8 hours.
Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
Serve with rice.

40 Clove Garlic Chicken

****WARNING**** bug season is in full effect so we will be cooking with ALOT more garlic, the more garlic in you the less you are bit.

Ingredients

• 40 garlic cloves (3 to 4 heads), unpeeled
• 1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), rinsed and patted dry (giblets removed)
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place garlic in a medium bowl; cover with another same-size bowl, creating a dome. Hold bowls together tightly, and shake vigorously until skins are loosened, about 30 seconds. Remove and discard skins; set garlic aside.
2. Place chicken in a large ovenproof skillet or roasting pan. Rub all over with 1 tablespoon butter; season with salt and pepper. Add thyme, garlic, and remaining tablespoon butter to skillet.
3. Roast, basting occasionally with juices and stirring garlic, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of a thigh (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, 45 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a platter, and let rest 10 minutes. Carve chicken, and serve with garlic and pan juices.

A pity party dinner..

For 3 months I have been going through the hiring process for the police department where I live.  I passed all the panel interviews, background, lie detector test everything.  Yesterday the investigator said I had a 97% and would be getting an offered this week of employment.  Today I got a generic generated email letting me know they filled the position with an in-house volunteer.  I'm angry!  My husband tells me it must have been gods will and ptl (ptl- is our verison of praise the lord).  Well I have mentally railed at god all day and I know this is wrong.  I have 3 wonderful babies to concentrate on.  This job is not needed- I applied for selfish reasons.  I wanted to paint the exterior of the house, get a boat, re-pave the driveway.  All things that we can do on my husbands salary just not immediately.  I cooked and i'm over it.  So heres my pity party meal.

Starting with home made cream of mushroom soup..

Ingredients

• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons onions, chopped
• 1 -2 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 -3 tablespoons flour (seperated)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup light cream or 1 cup evaporated milk 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
•  Cut the mushrooms into slices.

1.  Melt butter in large frying pan. Add in onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook until onions are soft.
2.  Blend in 2 T. flour and stir.
3. Add in the chicken broth and heat until slightly thickened while stirring frequently.
4. Stir cream with additional 1 T. flour and seasonings. Add in cream to soup. Heat to thicken while stirring frequently.

Dumped over chicken in a baking dished cooking on 350 for 40 minutes. Served with rice and peas.

Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup pastina pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
• 1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.
Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Maple Glazed Cornish Game Hens

*I got this reciepe out of a Paula Deen Magazine but can find it on line to link you

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 Cornish game hens (about 1 3/4 pounds each)
• 3 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds carrots, cut into 2-inch lengths
• 1 medium red onion, quartered
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Stir together maple syrup and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Using kitchen twine, tie hen legs together, then tuck wing tips underneath. Place hens on a rimmed baking sheet and rub with 1 teaspoon oil; season with salt and pepper.
2. Roast 10 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and add carrots, onion, garlic, and thyme. Toss vegetables with 2 teaspoons oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast 20 minutes.
3. Brush hens with maple mixture. Continue to roast, brushing twice more, until juices run clear when hens are pierced between breast and leg or an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of a thigh (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, about 15 minutes. Transfer hens to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, toss vegetables with lemon juice. Carve hens and serve with vegetables.

bbq chicken

Ingredients

• Sauce:
• 2  tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2  cup  finely chopped yellow onion
• 2  teaspoons  minced garlic
• 1  cup  ketchup
• 1/2  cup  lemon-lime carbonated beverage (not diet)
• 1/4  cup  fresh lemon juice
• 1/4  cup  light brown sugar, packed
• 2  tablespoons  whole-grain mustard

Rub:

• 2  teaspoons  smoked paprika
• 2  teaspoons  kosher salt
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2  teaspoon  granulated garlic
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook the oil, onion, and garlic until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cook until slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often.

2. In a small bowl mix the rub ingredients. Sprinkle the rub evenly all over the chicken pieces. Let the chicken stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before grilling. Prepare the grill for direct and indirect cooking over medium heat. Triple Play Barbecued Chicken

3. Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the chicken, skin side down, over direct medium heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Move the chicken pieces over indirect medium heat. Drain and scatter the wood chips over the lit charcoal or put them in the smoker box of a gas grill, following manufacturer's instructions. Continue to grill the chicken, with the lid closed, for about 20 minutes. Then brush both sides with a thin layer of the sauce and cook until the juices run clear and the meat is no longer pink at the bone, about 15 minutes, occasionally turning and brushing with the sauce. Serve warm or at room temperature with the remaining sauce on the side

Chicken and Dumplings

Best part of living in the South is Southern Cooking!

Here's one of my fav!

Ingredients

• 1  3 1/2- to 4-pound rotisserie chicken, meat shredded
• 1  10-ounce package frozen mixed vegetables
• 1  10.75-ounce can condensed cream-of-mushroom soup
• 1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1  10-count tube refrigerated biscuits

Preparation

Heat oven to 400° F.

Combine the chicken, vegetables, soup, salt, pepper, and 3/4 cup water in a large bowl. Transfer the mixture to an oven-safe casserole, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. After 15 minutes, place the biscuits on a baking sheet and bake until the biscuits are golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove both the casserole and the biscuits from the oven. Uncover the casserole, place the biscuits on top, and serve.