Crockpot Italian Chicken & Pasta

     Like all good crockpot recipes, this Italian chicken recipe was a cinch to make!  But the best thing about this recipe is that it is very versatile!  You could serve the chicken breasts whole with a side of vegetables or over top of some brown rice.  I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to serve this chicken, but I decided to shred it and toss it with some warm pasta.  I was happy with my decision and so was the hubby!  Feel free to serve your chicken differently than I did and let me know how it was!

3 chicken breasts (I used frozen)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 packet of Italian dressing seasoning
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. ground pepper
½ box of large shell pasta (optional)

     In a small bowl, mix together the soup, cream cheese, and seasonings.  Pour half the mixture into the bottom of the crockpot.  Place the chicken breasts in the crockpot and cover with remaining soup mixture.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
     As mentioned earlier, there are several ways to serve this dish.  From here I choose to boil water and cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.  I took the chicken out of the crockpot and shredded it on a plate, using to forks to pull the chicken apart.  Next, place the shredded chicken over top of the cooked pasta.  Use some of the soup mixture from the crockpot to coat the chicken and pasta.  You should not need all of the soup mixture, just enough to reach desired taste.  Serve warm.  Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional information per serving: 537 calories, 13 grams of fat, 49 grams of carbohydrates, 50 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber.  **Calculations are based on fat free cream of chicken soup, 1/3 fat cream cheese, and using only half of the soup mixture for the sauce.**

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

     This is only the second time that I have ever made barbecued pulled pork sandwiches.  The first time the recipe had tons of ingredients and didn't turn out so great.  I was pretty disappointed and haven't attempted another pulled pork recipe until now.  I found this excellent recipe from Sweet & Savory and it only has four ingredients, unlike the last one I tried.  And although the recipe title says sandwiches, I had some hot dog buns I needed to use up, so that's how we ate ours!

2½ lbs. boneless pork tenderloin
seasoning salt
12 oz. can of Pepsi (feel free to use a different kind of cola)
12 oz. Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue, more to taste (about ½ of the small 18 oz. bottle)
Hamburger buns or kaiser rolls

     Sprinkle a generous amount of seasoning salt onto the pork and rub it in.  Place the pork in the bottom of the crockpot.  Dump in the Pepsi and barbecue sauce, using a spoon to rub the barbecue sauce over the pork.  Turn the crockpot on low and cook for about 6 hours.  After 3-4 hours, use two forks to pull apart and shred the pork.  Spoon the pork onto your favorite buns or kaiser rolls to make a sandwich.  Makes about 10 servings.

Nutritional information per serving:  303 calories, 9 grams of fat, 20 carbohydrates, 33 grams of protein, 0 gram of fiber.  **Calculations do not include buns.**

Ranch Pork Tenderloin

     Have I ever mentioned how much I love my crockpot?  I mean seriously, I don't know that I have ever made a bad meal in that thing.  And the best part is that I am not the only one that makes meals in the crockpot!  That's right, my husband actually made this meal!  Well, to be fair to myself, I did set out the ingredients and write down all two steps he needed to follow.  And I sent him a text while I was at work, reminding him to turn the crockpot this time!  So if he can do this, so can you!  This recipe came from Living, Laughing, and Loving blog, which I of course found in the course of several hours I spent scouring pinterest for all sorts of goodies.

Thin cut pork tenderloins
Ranch dressing dry seasoning packet
Cream of chicken soup
Water

Mix together the ranch packet, cream of chicken soup, and 1 soup can full of water in the crockpot.  Place the pork in the crockpot, spooning some of the mixture over top of the pork.  Turn on low for 4-6 hours.

Aunt Fern's Barbequed Chicken Sandwiches

     This recipe was one that my Great Aunt Fern was known for making.  My mom has made it for us for as long as I can remember.  It was always one of the meals I requested my mom make for dinner.  So much so, in fact, that I asked her to make it (lots of it!) for my high school graduation party.  Usually, I boil the chicken and shred it before preparing the meal.  However, this time I knew I needed to make it in the crockpot or we wouldn't be eating dinner!  That's right...with only 30 days left of school (yes, I have already started counting down!) things have been crazy with tutoring, meetings, and grading and I knew I wouldn't be home until 6:30.    I know it doesn't sound late, but my husband has to leave by 7:30.  Anyways, I mixed up the barbecue sauce before leaving for work in the morning and left a note for the husband to pour it in the crockpot when he woke up!  It was so nice to walk in the door that evening and smell the barbecue, not to mention I didn't have to do anything to prepare dinner.

6 chicken breasts (about 2 lbs.)
1 cup ketchup (or more)
¼ cup brown sugar
4 tbsp. cider vinegar
1-2 tsp. mustard
4-6 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
½ tsp. celery salt (or ¼ cup celery)
1 tbsp. butter
1 small onion, finely chopped. (I make mine without)
1 package hamburger buns

     Boil the chicken.  Allow to cool and then shred.  Melt the butter in a skillet and saute the onion until golden.  Mix in the remaining ingredients and cook with the onion.  Let simmer for about 10 minutes.  Pour the sauce over the chicken and cook in the crockpot for 1 or more hours on low.

Crockpot Method:
     Mix together the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and celery salt.  Pour half of the mixture into the bottom of the crockpot.  Add the uncooked chicken breasts to the crockpot.  Cover with remaining barbecue sauce.  Cook on high for about 6 hours.  Use a fork to shred the chicken.

Brown Sugar & Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin

     This was one of the first recipes I found on pinterest.  It is from C + C Marriage Factory blog.  I attempted to make this recipe once before...last week.  That night we ate tacos instead.  Why?  Well I was rushing to leave for work on time that morning and had thrown everything in the crockpot.  I knew I couldn't start cooking it at 6:30 AM so I asked my husband to turn on the crockpot for me around 11 AM.  You might be thinking this disaster was all his fault, but he actually did his part and turned it on.  But I had forgotten to put the water in the crockpot, so when I got home we had an overly cooked and dry chunk of pork tenderloin.  We gave a little bit to the dog and the rest to the trash can! At least on my second attempt at making this meal, I was successful.  My husband and I were both a huge fan of the glaze, which I may try with chicken next time.  As a side dish, I paired this with roasted root vegetables, which complemented this pork perfectly.

1 lb. boneless pork tenderloin
1 tsp. ground sage
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup water

Glaze Ingredients:
¼ cup brown sugar
1½ tsp. cornstarch
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup water
1 tbsp. soy sauce

     Combine the sage, salt, pepper, and garlic.  Rub over the pork.  Place in the slow cooker with the water and allow to cook on low for 6-8 hours.  About 1 hour before the roast is done, make the glaze. Combine all the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.  Brush the glaze on the roast three times during the last hour of cooking.  Just before serving, heat the remaining glaze up again and serve over the pork.   Makes about 3-4 servings.

Crockpot Chicken Soft Tacos

     I remember the first time my mom made these and I thought they were going to be disgusting!  I was not a fan of tomatoes, no matter which way you sliced 'em!  So when I saw her dump a whole can of Rotel in the crockpot, I was no longer hungry!  But my mom made me try one, and I was shocked how amazing they were.  Ever since moving away to Texas, this has been my go to meal.  It was one of the only dinners that I actually knew how to make...well maybe!  I'm pretty sure even with the simplicity of this recipe that it required two or three phone calls to my mom!  (How many cans of this?  How many cans of that?  Are you sure I can put frozen chicken in the crockpot?!) Oh and it is another one of those meals that makes excellent, easy to pack leftovers for work the next day.  I even eat it without the tortillas!

3 frozen chicken breasts

1 can of Rotel tomatoes 

1 package of taco seasoning

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 small can of corn, drained

tortillas (I use fajita size)

sour cream

shredded cheese

     Place frozen chicken in the bottom of the crockpot.  In a small bowl, mix together the rotel and taco seasoning.  Pour mixture over the chicken.  Rinse and drain the black beans, then add to the crockpot.  Cook on low for about 6-8 hours.  About an hour before eating, drain the can of corn and add to the crockpot.  Use a metal serving spoon to break apart or "shred" chicken breasts.  To serve, place the chicken mixture on a tortilla.  Top with cheese and sour cream.  Makes about 6 servings.

Dad's Pork Tenderloin

     This is a recipe from one of the many amazing Gooseberry Patch cookbooks.  It probably requires the least prep out of any recipe I have ever made!  The original recipe calls for an entire tenderloin, but I have never made it that way since there is only two of us!  I always use thin cut pork tenderloin slices instead (except this time and I regretted it later because the meat was not near as tender).  And just so we are clear, that is my husband's plate stacked high with a double serving of meat and potatoes!

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can of golden mushroom soup

1 can of french onion soup

1-2 lbs. of thin cut pork tenderloin

     Combine all three cans of soup into the crockpot, stir until smooth and well mixed.  Place pork in the crockpot and spoon soup mixture over top so that pork in covered.  Cook for 4-5 hours on low, or until meat is tender.  

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

     My Great Aunt Fern's barbecued chicken is my favorite, so I am not sure what made me stray from that and decide to make this.  I think it had something to do with this being so simple that I was even able to ask my husband to throw it in the crockpot for me while I was at work!  Now I will say this was still very good, but nothing can compare to Aunt Fern's recipe!  I will make sure and post her recipe next time I make it!

     

4 chicken breasts (I put them in frozen)

14 oz. Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce

¼ cup of vinegar

¼ cup of brown sugar

½ tsp. garlic powder

     Place the frozen chicken breasts on the bottom of the crockpot.  Mix all other ingredients together then pour over the chicken.  Cook for 4 hours on low.  Just before it is time to eat, remove the breasts from the crockpot and place on a baking sheet.  Rub some of the extra barbecue sauce from the crockpot over top of each breast.  Place under the broiler on high for about 2-3 minutes.  Flip each breast, rub with sauce, and broil for an additional 2-3 minutes. 

     I recommend serving with Roasted Green Beans and Mushrooms, as shown below.

Makes 4 servings.