Honey Soy Chicken in the Crock Pot

I love my crock pot.  It is such a great kitchen tool.  I go through phases where I'll use it 3-4 times a week.  Then I forget about it, and when I remember to use it again, it's like reconnecting  with a long-lost friend.  So, I'm in a crock pot phase right now.  This recipe is a yummy teriyaki-style chicken.  It's a little sweet and sour.  It's just yummy.  Oh, it's a shorter cooking time than most crock pot recipes--3 hours at longest.

You need:

4-6 Chicken breasts (or as many as  you need to feed your fam)
1 c. honey
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
2 T. vegetable oil
1-2 t. minced garlic
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1 small chopped onion
Salt and Pepper

FOR SERVING:  Hot, cooked rice and some steamed veggies (I like the Asian style with carrots, broccoli, and snap peas).

Mix together the honey, soy sauce, ketchup, vegetable oil,  garlic, and red pepper flakes.

Place chicken breasts in the crock pot, and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle chopped onions over the chicken.

Pour sauce over the top of the chicken.

Cook on high for 1 1/2 hours or low for 3 hours.  Serve with hot cooked rice and steamed vegetables.

Yummy rice-bowl to hit that craving easy peasy!  Plus it's a lot cheaper than take out!

Easy Jambalaya

I love jambalaya.  It's so yummy and a great warm meal for these cool fall nights.  It'll warm you right up and make your family feel loved.  Big bonus:  This will have you eating in about 30 minutes!

You Need:

4 cups rice
1/2 lb. chicken breasts
1 smoked sausage
1/2-1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 onion
1 green pepper
1 cup frozen corn
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 12 oz. can tomato sauce
1 can condensed French onion soup
1-3 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1/2 cup butter

 Heat about 2 Tablespoons of oil in a large skillet.  Dice the chicken breasts and sausage into smaller-than-bite-sized pieces.  Cut each shrimp in half.  Begin browning the chicken in the skillet.

Start cooking the rice according to package directions.  I am sure you could use Minute Rice, but I never have, so I don't know quite how that goes. 

Once the chicken is browned, add the sausage.  Let it brown until it gets kind of puffy and carmelized.  While these are browning, dice the onion and the green pepper.

Add the diced green pepper and onion.

Let all of this work together in the pan for a few minutes, until the onion and green pepper start to get soft and you can really start to smell them. 

Now, add the chicken broth, tomato sauce, and French onion soup.  Cut the butter into several pieces, and add that too. Add the Cajun seasoning a teaspoon at a time, tasting it as it is mixed in.  I usually add about 2 teaspoons of the brand pictured above.  Then I let it cook for a few minutes and taste it to see where I am spice-wise.  However, all brands of seasoning are different.  I have another brand that I only use about 1 teaspoon of because it is super spicy.  Taste as you go!

 Stir to combine.  Now, I'm going to let you in on a little secret:  I love this sauce:

Tastefully Simple's Bayou Bourbon Glaze.  It's Bayou.  It's Bourbon.  It screams to be in jambalaya. You can order this sauce from this website:  www.tastefullysimple.com/web/catchley or email me cynthiattchley@gmail.com to find out more about Tastefully Simple.
I add about 1/4 cup to my sauce.  It just takes the sauce to the next level.  SO YUMMY!

After the sauce has simmered for a bit, and the butter has melted, add the shrimp and corn to the sauce.  (Your rice should have about 5 minutes left at this point, if you are using regular white rice.)  Let the corn and the shrimp heat up.  You can thicken the sauce a bit with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch and 2 Tablespoons cold water, if you would like it thicker.  I like it juicier so that it really soaks into the rice. 

Serve a big scoop of rice with lots of jambalaya goodness on top.  We like this with corn bread and honey.  Enjoy!  It's delicious!

At my house, this feeds mom, 3 kids, 2 hungry working men (my hubby and brother), with enough for lunch leftovers for mom, dad, and brother the next day.  If you wanted to make a big batch of the jambalaya, it would freeze very well so that on a busy day, all you'd have to do is cook the rice and re-heat the jambalaya.  Hope you like it!

Chicken in Creamy Sauce

I am a sucker for a rich, creamy sauce, and I don't skimp on the cream.  I love it.  Plus, I figure that as long as I'm not making them EVERY NIGHT, it's ok to indulge in real cream sauces every so often.  This is a new recipe I tried recently, and it's truly lovely. 

You Need:

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 eggs
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
2 T. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
1/2 c. flour
3 T. olive oil
1/2 small onion, minced
1/2 c. white wine
1 c. cream
3 T. cold butter

Preheat oven to 375.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat.  Pound chicken breasts to about 1/2 inch thick.  Combine eggs, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl.  Put flour on a plate.

Dip the chicken breasts in the egg mixture first, coat well.

Lightly coat the chicken breasts with flour.

Brown the chicken in the oil until golden.  Don't worry about cooking through, as they will bake in the oven to finish.

Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet and put in the oven for 15 minutes.  In the pan that you cooked the chicken in, saute the onion for a minute.

Add the white wine, and reduce by half.

Add the cream, stirring quickly to incorporate.  Cook for about 10 minutes, or until thickened.

Serve over the chicken.  We like it with Green Bean Rice Pilaf, too. 

Chicken on a Can

Ok, this chicken changed my life.  BBQ has never been the same since I learned this way of cooking a chicken!!!  I LOVE THIS CHICKEN!!  It turns out so flavorful, moist, and flat-out delicious that I can hardly contain my excitement when I cook it.  So good!  A must try.

You Need:

Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
A Spice Rub (I love Famous Daves Rib Rub or Durkee Rib Rub)
A Whole Chicken
A Soda or Beer (NO DIET!)

Now, this recipe requires you to get up close and personal with your chicken.  You are going to give this chicken a nice massage.  Pour some olive oil in the palm of your hand and rub it over the inside and outside of the chicken.  Next, loosen the skin from the chicken.  Right above the cavity, the skin has a natural opening.  Put your hand between the meat and the skin and loosen it.  You need to make sure to get in the legs too.  Then, pour your rub in the palm of your hand (I used the spice rub for one and Lemon Herb Rub for the other).  Rub the rub in between the skin and meat, on the outside of the chicken, and on the inside.



This is between the chicken breast and skin.



This is between the chicken leg and the skin.

See how relaxed they look??  Ha ha!

Open the soda and drink about 1/4 of it.  Set it on the counter and place the chicken over it, firmly.  There are little stands available that the can sits in, and they make it more stable for the chicken on the grill. 

I have one, but when I cook for all the fam, I need two chickens.  The pictures show one with the stand and one without.  Turn your grill to a medium heat.  You can place your chickens on the grill immediately.

Grill over a medium heat for about 45 min. to 1 hr.  Use a meat thermometer in the thigh to test for doneness, or carefully slice the chicken open.  While it's cooking, check for small flare ups.  I use a spray bottle of water to tame the flames and keep my chickens cooking without scorching (most of the time!).

This is the beautiful bird.  So yummy!  As you can see, a flare up took out the botoom of the legs--oops!  Carve up the bird.  It should easily slice and come apart at the joints.

I served ours up with grilled asparagus and Macaroni Salad.  Such a great summer meal!

Tangy Glazed Chicken Wings

All right, I took a week-long hiatus as we went on an Easter vacation, and I refused to cook!  But I'm back, and here's a new creation.  Once in awhile, I think that chicken wings add a little fun to dinner, but this glaze would be equally delicious on a whole chicken, chicken pieces, pork chops, fish, and maybe even a good steak. 

You Need:

3 lbs. chicken wings
1 c. apricot or peach preserves
1/4 c. balsalmic vinegar
1 T. lemon pepper seasoning
1 T. jarred ginger/garlic mix (or 1/2 T. each)
2 T. olive oil

Scoop about a cup of preserves into a small bowl.

Add the balsalmic vinegar.

Add the lemon pepper, garlic and ginger, and olive oil.

Mix well.

Spray grill with cooking spray, or I like to use two broiling pans sprayed with cooking spray.  I do this because sometimes a little wing gets lost in the grill, and that makes me mad!!!

Turn grill to a medium heat and place wings on the pans.  Brush the glaze over the wings.

Let cook for about 10 minutes, keeping the heat between medium to medium-low.  You don't want the glaze and wings to burn.  Brush glaze on 2 more times while cooking on this side.  This is what they look like just before  you turn them.

Turn each wing over and brush with glaze.  Baste 2 more times while cooking for about 10 more minutes. 

Remove from grill when cooked through.  The juices should run clear if pierced with a knife.

I served these yummy wings with Balsalmic Green Beans, baked potatoes, and homemade Brown Sugar Wheat Bread.

Roasted Lemon Garlic Chicken

What I love about roast chicken is that you can prepare it quickly, then stick it in the oven and forget it for about two hours.  It's some easy stuff, and because it has skin on it, it comes out tender and juicy.  It's hard to mess up!

You need:

1 whole chicken
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 lemon
1 can chicken broth

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a roasting pan or a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.  Put a roasting rack in the pan, and spray it with cooking spray.  Rinse the chicken and set it on the rack.  Season it with salt and pepper, then rub the garlic over the outside of the chicken.  Cut open the lemon and squeeze it over the chicken.  Put the lemon halves inside the chicken.  Pour the chicken broth in the pan.

Put the chicken in the oven and let cook for about 2 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 165.  I am very sorry I forgot to take a picture of the browned bird.  It was lovely.  Carve the chicken and serve.  I served ours with steamed broccoli, Twice-Baked Potatoes, and Lovely Lemon Rosemary Sauce.



Chicken Piccata

This is one of my weeknight standbys.  It is fast, easy, yummy, and it doesn't take many ingredients. 

4-5 servings worth of spaghetti noodles
4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 c. flour
3 T. olive oil
2 c. white wine (You can substitute chicken broth and extra lemon, if desired, but it's not as good.)
1 lemon--2 lemons, if you aren't using wine
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
2 T. capers
2 T. cornstarch
2 T. cold water

First, heat your oven to a low temperature (I do about 200 degrees).  Then, fill a large pot with water and put it on the stove on high.  Bring to a boil and cook spaghetti as directed.  While waiting for the water to boil, heat a pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil.  Then pound the chicken breasts to 1/2 inch thick.  (I usually have a meat mallet, but I didn't today.  So, I wrapped a heavy can in plastic wrap and used it instead.)

Put the flour on a plate, and lightly drag the chicken breasts through the flour.  Don't bread them, just lightly coat them.  This will help seal in the juices as it cooks. 

Add the coated chicken breasts to the hot oil.  Be careful not to overcrowd the pan or the chicken will get soggy, not crispy.  I have to do two batches, usually. 

Cook for about 4-5 min. on both sides, turning once.

Remove cooked chicken from the pan onto a plate.  Put the plate in the oven to keep the chicken warm until the rest of the meal is ready.  In the same pan, add the wine.  (If you are not using wine, add the juice from 2 lemons).  Scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and let the wine reduce by half.  (About 5 minutes)  ***If you are not using wine, don't reduce the juice, go to the next step.***

Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, and capers to the pan and stir.  Mix the cornstarch and cold water in a small glass or bowl.

Add to the sauce in the pan.  Stir quickly and immediately to completely incorporate or else you'll get little gummy bits of cornstarch in the sauce, and that is yucky.

The sauce should coat a spoon and drip off.  If it is too runny, and more cornstarch and water.  If it is too thick, you can try some more chicken broth.

Add the chicken back to the pan and turn to coat in the sauce.

Drain the cooked spaghetti.  Put a serving of spagetti noodles on each plate, top with sauce and chicken.  However, chicken on the side is usually a bit more easy to eat.  So yummy.  Serve with salad and some garlic bread.