Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken

I don't remember where this one came from. I've had it for quite awhile and have made it several times. I keep thinking I am going to post it, but obviously didn't get around to it. For that, I apologize. It has been so unfair of me to keep this away from you. If you like sweet and sour chicken because of the fried chicken, you may not like this version. If you like sweet and sour chicken because of the sweet and sour, then you will love this. 

Slice up an onion and green pepper. Add this to the bottom of your slow cooker and sprinkle with a quarter cup of quick cooking tapioca.

Layer your chicken on top. The recipe calls for cut up chicken breasts. I had thighs. And did not cut them up.

Mix together a can of pineapple chunks with the juice, a quarter cup of soy sauce, a half a cup of brown sugar, two minced garlic cloves and a half a teaspoon of ginger.

Pour this mixture over the chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Serve over rice.

The whole family loved this. The Kids even ate the peppers and onions. I like it better than what you get at the restaurant, and it has the added benefit of being done when I get home from work.

Click Here for Printable Recipe


Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken
Found at Try-It-Tuesday
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup quick cooking tapioca
4 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
8 oz pineapple chunks
½ cup brown sugar
2/3 cup pineapple juice
¼ cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon ground ginger
Put vegetables in bottom of slow cooker and sprinkle with tapioca. Layer chicken on top. Combine all other ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over rice.

Roasted Red Pepper Chicken

I have had the cutout of this recipe for a really long time, but I am reasonably sure it came from the Kraft Foods magazine. If you have children, if you work, or if you simply don't get much good mail, I highly suggest you hop on over to their site and subscribe.

NOTE: I opened the Kraft site in order to link above and spent nearly half an hour surfing. I hadn't been there in awhile, but am now aware that it has tons of great stuff. Recipes (duh), videos, coupons...seriously, check it out.

Anyway, add one chopped up garlic clove and about 3/4 cup chopped roasted red pepper to 1 cup of mayonnaise.

NOT "Miracle" Whip. MW is from the devil. Real mayonnaise is from heaven. Funny, when I was growing up, we always had MW and called it mayo. I can remember my grandma calling it salad dressing. I never really understood that until I grew up and discovered that MW and mayo were not one and the same.

Add the chicken and let it marinate about 30 minutes. I have tried freezing this mixture in a plastic freezer bag (if you don't do this with marinades, you must try it - saves sooooo much time on weeknights), but with the mayo, it really didn't work well.

Put the chicken under the broiler for about 10 minutes. If you use full size chicken breasts, maybe a bit more. I use the chicken breast strips, so it doesn't take too long.

I love these. My kids love these.

I just found out my husband does not. I don't know how many times I have made these, but he has never mentioned it. Apparently it's the mayo. Something about cooked mayo does not sit well with him. Of course, food-borne illness are a big thing with him. If leftovers have been in the refrigerator for more than 18 hours, it "is no good." This isn't a big deal in my house, since he is gone so much.  We just work this dinner in on a night when he is not here.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Roasted Red Pepper Chicken
1 Pound Boneless Chicken Breasts
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 medium Roasted Red Pepper, finely chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
Place chicken in shallow dish Mix mayonnaise, red pepper and garlic until well blended. Pour over chicken. Marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Place chicken on rack of broiler pan. Broil 4-6 inches from heat for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, turning once.

Broiled Pizza Burgers

Spring Break is here. It's amazing how easily we slip into vacation mode, especially when the weather has finally started warming up. We haven't gotten to bed at a decent time since last Thursday. Ice cream cones for supper, any one???

I felt pretty guilty about not feeding my children the other day, so I went looking for something simple. This one came from Allrecipes. They have a new set of recipes on their home page every day, so I went through a period where I checked that site every day.

Brown a pound of hamburger. Add in half a chopped onion and cook until the onions are translucent.

Add in a can of diced tomatoes. You can use plain or they also have Italian style which has a little more kick to it.
Spoon a heaping 1/4 cup of the meat mixture onto an open bun.
Add a slice of cheese and broil for a few minutes until the cheese melts.

Serve open faced.

I think next time I will only use half a piece of cheese. A whole slice kind of detracted from the rest of the filling. While I didn't really get the taste of pizza, these are really good.

And easy. Good supper for spring.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Broiled Pizza Burgers

1 pound ground beef

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon onion salt

8 slices American processed cheese

4 hamburger buns, split

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat; drain. Sprinkle with cornstarch. Stir in the tomatoes, salt and onion salt. Cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Place hamburger buns cut side up on a baking sheet; spoon about 1/4 cup meat mixture onto each bun half. Place cheese slices over meat mixture. Broil for 4 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Quick & Easy Mulligatawny

I know what you are thinking, "Quick and Easy What?" I thought the same thing with Ree posted this awhile back. I have had Indian food once in my life. I really liked it, it just isn't something I really have access to on a regular basis. And truth be told, even if I did, I'm not sure I could convince many members of my immediate family to join me if we did.

This seemed like a simple way to sneak this in on my family and get them to try it. Even with the longer than normal ingredient list, it goes together quickly and the only ingredient I didn't have on hand was the curry powder.

Cook up a diced chicken breast in a couple tablespoons of melted butter until the chicken is just cooked through.

Take the chicken out and set it aside. Add in the onion and garlic and saute in the drippings.
When the onions just start to brown, stir in the flour and curry powder. Cook for one minute.
And add in the chicken broth. Cook for about 5 minutes until it gets good and hot.
Stir in the half and half, salt, pepper and sugar. Cook another 5 minutes, again until it gets back to hot.
Meanwhile dice up a nice tart apple. I forgot to take the skin off. It wasn't distracting, so I guess you can peel or not, which ever you choose.

Add the apple and chicken into the pot and cook for another 5 or 10 minutes.
Let all those flavors meld for a few minutes before serving.

I loved this. The Boy was a little leery of the unpeeled apples, so I will definitely rectify that next time, but once he tried it, he ate two bowls. The Girl said she had to think about it, but ultimately decided it was good. Jeff ended up leaving for work before dinner was ready, so he didn't get to try it. This is probably one of those things that he would eat, but not ever request.

I'm thinking that this is opening up a whole new cooking realm for me. I am really into the spices right now and that seems to be what Indian cooking is all about. I have to be careful, though. For my kids, there is a very fine line between just spicy enough and waaaayyyy too spicy.

I'll keep you posted. In the mean time, try this. It really is a good place to start.

I will also admit that I have yet to figure out how to pronounce this without having to stop and sound it out :P

Click here for Printable Recipe

Quick & Easy Mulligatawny

1 whole Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Cut Into Bite-Sized Pieces

Salt And Black Pepper To Taste

4 Tablespoons Butter

1 whole Medium Onion

3 cloves Garlic, Minced Finely

¼ cups All-purpose Flour

1 Tablespoon Curry Powder

32 ounces, fluid Chicken Broth

2 cups Half-and-half

1 whole Granny Smith Apple, Peeled And Diced

1 Tablespoon Sugar

2 teaspoons Salt, More To Taste

Season diced chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden. Remove chicken to a plate. Set aside. In the same pot, add butter and reduce heat to medium. Add diced onion and garlic and stir to cook. Onions should be starting to brown. Sprinkle flour over onions. Stir to combine, then stir in curry powder. Cook mixture over medium heat for one minute, stirring constantly. Pour in chicken broth. Stir to combine, then cook for five minutes. Add half and half, salt, pepper, and sugar, then cook for another five minutes. Add chicken and diced apple and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. Turn off and allow to stand 5 or 10 minutes before serving. Taste for seasonings before serving.

Sticky Asian Chicken

My family (except Jeff) loves Chinese food. From the time she could talk, The Girl's favorite place to eat has been "The Broccoli Place." For a long time, she would only eat broccoli and lo mein noodles. Luckily, as she has gotten older, she has started branching out.

This is from Robin Sue and it looked so good I couldn't wait to try it.

Dip a chicken thigh in egg.

And then coat it in self-rising flour.
Brown on each side for just a minute in melted butter.

Dip in a mixture of teriyaki sauce and red pepper flakes.
Place in a foil-lined 9 x 13 pan. Foil is sooooo important here. You will never get the baked sauce out of the pan alone. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes.

Slice it up and serve over rice and veggies.

This was okay. The Kids thought it was "too hot" for their tastes, but they also shy away from anything that even looks like it might contain black pepper. I don't know if it was the breading I didn't like or just the over all taste. I don't think I will make this again. If this were on a buffet at a restaurant, I wouldn't go back for it. I have a recipe for Teriyaki Chicken that I like quite a bit better and if given the choice, I would pick that over this one.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Sticky Asian Chicken

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

3 eggs, whisked

3.5-4 pounds boneless/skinless chicken thighs, excess fat removed

12 ounces plus 1 cup teriyaki marinade and finishing sauce

1/2- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes, optional

1 bunch green onions, sliced, green only

3 cups of basmati rice, cooked according to package directions

Dip thighs in eggs then flour, shaking off excess flour. Fry in butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Fry each side until golden. Drain on paper towels. Pour 12 ounces of teriyaki sauce in a bowl and stir in pepper flakes then dip each fried piece of chicken in the sauce coating each side well. Shake off excess sauce. Place each piece of chicken on a well greased foil-lined large jelly-roll pan. Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and slice each piece and plate over a bed of rice. Heat one cup teriyaki sauce and pour over chicken, sprinkle with green onion slices and serve immediately. Serves 12.

My Grandma's Goulash

If you are one of the hundreds of people who have ever stopped by my Grandma's house at noon, you know that she will feed you. It doesn't matter how many people walk through that door, they will not go hungry.

We ate dinner at Grandma's house a LOT, especially in the summer. This dish is one of my favorites. And my brother's favorites. And my sister's.

Ask pretty much anyone and they will say, "oh, yeah, your grandma's goulash is incredible." Yes, that is a direct quote.

When I called her and asked her for the recipe, she was incredibly flattered. She always is when I ask her how to make something. I told her I needed to know what her secret ingredient was. She just laughed and said it wasn't really a secret. That's how it is with a lot of things she makes. There's really no secret to it, it's just that she will use one ingredient different than anyone else, and that makes all the difference.

Add a can of tomatoes (diced, whole, chopped, it doesn't matter) and a can of tomato sauce to a pound of browned ground beef. Then add in "a little bit of brown sugar." This is what makes it special. I used about 2 tablespoons.

Mix all that together and add in cooked macaroni. Grandma always uses the large macaroni, and she said I could use any kind I wanted. Really, though, if you are going to make your grandma's recipe, go with what she uses. I used a half a package of the large macaroni.
Stir it all up.
That's it.
So comforting. So wonderful.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Grandma's Goulash

1 pound ground beef, browned

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3 cups large macaroni, cooked

Mix it all together. Enjoy.

Crock Pot Chicken and Sausage Stew...Revisited

There are three recipes that are consistently visited here: the Wonder Pets cake, the Gronkle cake and Crock Pot Chicken and Sausage Stew. The cakes I understand and am rather proud of them. The other one? Ugh. That was one of the worst disasters ever to come out of my kitchen.

Now part of the problem was I had accidentally substituted Pork and Beans for the Baked Beans. Yes, Virginia, there is a difference. Whatever my excuse, I never had much of a desire to try it again.

But so many people were arriving here looking for that recipe, I finally decided to give it a second try.

I mean chicken and sausage stew? In a crock pot? How could you possible go wrong?

Cut up a pound of chicken breast and kielbasa sausage and put them in the bottom of your crock pot.

Add a half a bag of baby carrots. You can slice them up if you want, but I didn't want.
Half of a sliced onion goes on top of that.
Some ketchup, mustard and brown sugar, along with a bit of white vinegar.
Topped with a can on Baked Beans. I almost said Pork and Beans. That would have been tragic.
With about 15 minutes left until dinner, add in 2 cups of THAWED green beans. If you haven't gotten them out to thaw, pop them in the microwave for a few minutes.
Stir it up and serve.
This was better. Much, much better. The chicken was still a little chewy. I'm not sure if it was cooked too long of if something was working against it. I would almost leave out the baked beans all together next time as neither child was thrilled about them.

It has been saved. This will probably not be the first recipe I pull out when I am wanting soup, but definitely be an option.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Crockpot Chicken and Sausage Stew

1/2 lb. kielbasa sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thin bite-sized strips

1/2 cup thinly sliced carrot

1 small onion, thinly sliced, separated into rings

1 (16-oz.) can baked beans, undrained

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 cups Frozen Cut Green Beans, thawed

1. In 3 1/2 to 4-quart crockpot, combine all ingredients except green

beans; mix well.

2. Cover; cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours or until chicken is no

longer pink in center.

3. Ten minutes before serving, stir in green beans. Increase heat to

high setting; cover

and cook an additional 10 minutes or until green beans are crisp-tender.

4 (1 1/2-cup) servings (9 Weight Watchers points)

Chicken Strips

On any given day, ask The Boy what he wants for dinner, supper, lunch, snack, breakfast, and he will say "Chicken with Ranch." At least he is branching out from the ketchup.

We have had the frozen chicken strips and nuggets a few times and I really, really don't care for those. Oddly enough, the day I sat down to search for a recipe, the Pioneer Woman had one waiting in my Reader.

Soak your chicken strips in buttermilk for about 15 minutes.

In another bowl, mix flour and your choice of spices. This is what is known as Montreal Chicken. I have no idea why it is called that.
Add about a third a cup of buttermilk and stir it all up.
Dip your soaked chicken strips in your flour mixture.
So they are nice and coated.
Fry in hot oil for just a minute or two.
Don't forget the Ranch.

Click here for Printable Recipe

Chicken Strips

1 package Chicken Breasts, cut into strips

Buttermilk

1-½ cup Flour

2 teaspoons Spices Of Your Choosing

Vegetable Oil

Start by rinsing and drying your chicken strips. Next, in a bowl submerge the chicken strips in buttermilk for 15 to 20 minutes.

In another bowl combine about 1 ½ cups flour and 2 to 3 teaspoons of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt (or other seasonings if you prefer). Mix this together well. Next, add about ¼ to ½ cup of buttermilk into the flour mixture and stir lightly with a fork as you add it.

Heat about 1 inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-low to medium heat.

Remove a few of the buttermilk-soaked strips and place them in the flour mixture, turning them over to coat them thoroughly. Place them on a plate. Continue coating chicken strips until they are all ready to cook.

When the oil is sufficiently heated, begin cooking the strips a few at a time. Cook them for about a minute and a half or so on each side. When golden and crispy, remove them to a paper towel-lined plate.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.