Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches

 Who doesn't love a great tasting meal from the Crock Pot? Theses delicious Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches will hit the spot anytime of year, but they were especially good during a very busy couple of days. I babysit with my 2 adorable granddaughters, ages 3 years, and the other is 4 months. Let me tell you, this grandma gets tired sometimes, so a tasty slow cooker meal is a real blessing. I usually make my own barbecue sauce for this, but was too tired to care last week, so I used our favorite bottled sauce and added a sauteed onion to the pot too. The sauteed onion really adds extra flavor to the meat.

 The result was a very flavorful and easy meal. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts this time, but boneless thighs will work just as well. In years past I've even used a whole chicken in the slow cooker to make sandwiches, but there is a lot of waste with the bones and skin. However it does work, either way you want to do it. This isn't a fancy meal, but sometimes you just want something easy on hand for those hectic days.

Slow-Cooker Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches
From Lynda's Recipe Box
This is so easy you don't really need a recipe, but here's what I do. Made 8 large sandwiches for us, but can be stretched to make more. If you want fewer sandwiches, cut the recipe in half, or freeze some of the meat for another meal.

Ingredients:
3 pounds of boneless-skinless chicken breasts, or thighs
1 large onion
1- 18 ounce bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce, or use  your homemade sauce
salt and pepper
buns

Directions:
Spray the inside of your crock pot with cooking spray. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts and lay them evenly in the crock pot.
Slice or dice the onion. In a skillet over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil or butter and the onion. Saute the onion until it begins to brown around the edges. Then add the onion to the chicken in the pot. Pour the bottle of Barbecue sauce evenly over the chicken. Cook on low until the chicken breasts, or thighs, can be easily shredded with a fork, 31/2 - 41/2 hours, depending on how fast your crock pot cooks. When done, remove the chicken to a pan and shred the meat using 2 forks. Pour the sauce over the meat and serve. Or you can add the shredded chicken back to the crock pot if desired. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Meat

We've been craving Mexican style food lately, but I wanted to get away from the beef taco meat I use so much and try shredded chicken. Since the weather is still so hot, I decided to cook this Chicken Taco Meat in the slow-cooker, and it turned out really good with just the right amount of spice and heat. This meat can be used in tacos, either soft or hard shell, burritos and was even good in some chicken nachos that I put together quickly.

My crock-pot is large, probably too large for this recipe, but that's what I used. The meat was done in 3 1/2 hours on low, but it will depend on your crock pot as to how quickly the meat cooks. I would definitely try this the first time while you were home for the day, so you'll have an exact idea of how long the chicken needs to cook in your cooker.

I was very happy with the flavor of this meat and will do it the same next time. In fact I thought the meat turned out very well as I don't always like chicken done in a slow cooker. But this was really tasty and easy too. Only thing I didn't have was some avocado as the store was out, except for a couple of very soft ones.
Hope everyone is having a great week. We have finally had some rain and the temps tomorrow may stay around 89 degrees! We are ecstatic to say the least after weeks of drought and triple digit heat. The weeds in our yard are growing again, but I think most of the grass is dead. Sigh........Well, make some tacos, or use this meat in other favorite Mexican style dishes. Here's my recipe.

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Meat

From Lynda's Recipe Box

Rotel Tomatoes are 10 ounce cans of diced tomatoes and chili peppers that come in several levels of heat. I use Rotel Original, which is spicy but not super hot.

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs (I used breasts this time)

1 can Rotel tomatoes

2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 large cloves garlic, sliced or minced

juice of 1 lime, optional

Lay thawed chicken in the slow cooker. Mix together the Rotel tomatoes with all the spices and the garlic. Pour over the chicken. Cover crock pot and cook on low for 3 1/2 hours, or more until the chicken can easily be shredded. Chicken thighs may take a bit longer to cook. When done, remove chicken to a platter and shred the meat using 2 forks. Squeeze the lime juice over the meat if desired, or just pass lime wedges along with the other garnishes. You may want to use some of the juices in the pot with the chicken to keep it moist. I always strain the juice and add the remaining tomato mixture back in with the chicken. Enjoy!  If making tacos, garnish with your favorite toppings. I love to use Cilantro, shredded cheese, lettuce, green onions, sour cream and avocado. What is your favorite way to garnish a taco?

Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

If you are looking for a really delicious slow cooker recipe, this is the one for you. This Crock Pot Chicken Teriyaki uses boneless chicken thighs and is so easy to throw together. It doesn't take long to cook though, so this is not a recipe that you can leave cooking all day long. Your kitchen will smell amzing. I have made this twice so far and my husband and I have savored every bite. My thanks to Penny at Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen for this tasty recipe. I hope you'll stop by to see her fantastic blog and also give this recipe a try. It is the best crock pot chicken recipe I've ever had. With an Asian flavor, it's not too sweet or too salty. It's just right.

Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken
From Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen
My only change was to add more garlic and I used low sodium soy sauce.

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
6 tablespoons cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon pepper
5 teaspoons cornstarch
5 teaspoons cold water
Hot cooked rice
Sliced green onions or chives for garnish

Place chicken in slow cooker. Combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and pepper in a bowl and pour over the chicken. Cook on low 4-5 hours. Remove chicken from crock pot. Pour the hot liquid into a sauce pan. Skim off any fat. Bring juices to a boil. Combine the water and cornatarch and whisk into the simmering liquid. Cook a couple minutes until slightly thickened. Serve over chicken and rice. Adding sliced green onions as a garnish really adds to the dish. Enjoy!

NOTE: I made this with only 8 thighs and it worked just fine. It did take less time to cook though; about 3 1/2 hours. It will depend on your crock pot.

Easy Slow Cooker Stew

Stew is one of my favorite meals to have during the cold months of the year. Cooking it in the slow cooker makes it super easy. Last week when my Mother-in-law passed away, we had extra people to feed, so I dug out my crock pot and got to work. Peeling the potatoes and carrots were the most time consuming. Plus, I cut up a chuck roast, instead of buying stew meat. By using a roast, I feel I'm using a better quality of beef for the stew. When making stew, there doesn't need to be a recipe. Just use the vegetables you like and  you can also use up any leftover veggies you may have in the fridge.
Here's what I did this time.

Slow Cooker Stew
1 beef chuck roast, cut into cubes- I had a 2 1/4 pound roast
potatoes, peeled and cubed
carrots, peeled and sliced- I used almost 1 pound this time
1 onion, diced
2 ribs of celery, sliced
2 cups frozen corn
2 cups frozen peas
1 can diced tomatoes
green beans and any other vegetables you want to use
1 can low sodium beef broth
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
parsley
salt and pepper to taste
water

Cut the beef roast into cubes. Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan, and then add half of the beef cubes. Add salt and pepper to the meat. Brown meat in the hot oil turning when browned on one side. While the beef browns, peel and cut up the potatoes and carrots and add them to the crock pot. Then, remove the beef and add to the crock pot. Add another tablespoon of oil to the dutch oven and add the rest of the beef. When it is brown on the side, stir and add the chopped onion and garlic, if using. Turn the heat down if necessary to keep the pan from burning.
Add the beef broth to the browning meat and stir up all the brown bits that are in the pan. There will be a ton of flavor in those brown bits from the meat. Don't skip browning the meat for the stew as browning gives it so much flavor. Add all the meat and broth to the slow cooker, the tomatoes, then the rest of the vegetables you are going to use. Fill the cooker with water to cover the stew. Add the bay leaves and salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours, or until the meat is tender.
Sometimes I thicken the stew a bit by adding 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to about 1/4 cup water. Mix well and add to the stew, stirring carefully. Cover the stew and cook another 30 minutes. When done, you have a delicious hot stew to warm you up. Enjoy!
This coming week I'll be posting some Thanksgiving recipes, so be sure to stop back by!

Slow Cooker Ham with Brown Sugar and Pineapple

I've been experimenting again. Sometimes I think I have such a great idea and I won't quit thinking about it until I just follow through with it. Sometimes it turns out well, sometimes not. This method turned out very good! We loved the ham cooked this way.
I decided to try cooking a ham in my crock pot, thinking it would make an occasional Sunday dinner a bit easier. I don't want to be sitting in church and wondering if the ham in my oven is burning, so thus the crock pot reasoning. If I cook Easter dinner this year, I want it to be easy. I want a great meal, and I want my day of rest too! Ha Ha!
Technically, the crock pot did work. I knew that other people use it for ham, but I hadn't tried it. Also, I love an orange glaze on ham, but decided to try pineapple this time. I had the idea of using crushed pineapple, so I poured a can of it over the ham, added some brown sugar, (I wanted to add some maple syrup but was out), and let it cook away. Son number 1 stopped by to pick up my little granddaughter, and couldn't resist carving himself a hunk of ham. He declared that it had great flavor. Really great flavor.
My husband and daughter said it was good also. Me? I have to admit that the combination of the brown sugar and pineapple was delicious. It cut through the saltiness of the ham quite nicely. Here's the experiment; I thought I'd try cooking down the juices and the crushed pineapple to use as a chunky sauce. It was very rich, way too rich, and it was hard to skim all the fat off of the chunky pineapple broth. I won't try that again. The next time, I'll just cook the ham in the pineapple and brown sugar, and leave it at that. The ham was very flavorful and it was so easy. I will not thicken the sauce next time. So, using the slowcooker did work for me, I just need to tweak my method some. Here's what I did this time. I'll update this post when I am completly satisfied with the outcome. UPDATE: 3-23-12- we still love the ham cooked this way. Don't mess with making a sauce, but you can spoon the pineapple over the sliced ham if desired, but it really doesn't need it.

Slow Cooker Ham with Brown Sugar, Pineapple Sauce
 1 6-9 pound ham- I used a fully cooked Pork Shoulder Picnick Ham half
 1 20 ounce can crushed pineapple in unsweetened juice, or 2 cups of pineapple juice
 1/2 cup packed, light brown sugar

Place the ham in slowcooker cut side down. Pour the can of crushed pineapple over it along with the brown surgar. Cook covered for about3-4 hours on high, or 5-6 hours on low.  Since I used a fully cooked ham it mostly just needed to be heated, but I like it cooked a bit longer for tenderness. Just don't overcook or it will be dry. Here's how I made the too rich sauce;  pour it into a sauce pan and let set untill the fat separates and rises to the top. Carefully skim all the fat off the pineapple mixture and discard. Bring the mixture to boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until it is reduced and somewhat thickened. Serve along side the ham. So, the results of my experiement? I will use my slow cooker for ham again. But don't thicken the sauce. So, cook your ham in the slowcooker with brown sugar and pineapple. It will be delicious. But don't make my sauce!
Have you tried using the slow cooker for ham and were you happy with the results? I could use some ideas!

NOTE: If you don't use a fully cooked ham, cooking time will be longer. Also, make sure the ham you buy will fit into your slowcooker.

Crockpot Applesauce

Here I have another apple post, but I was given about 1/2 of a bushel of fresh from the tree apples so I need to use them. I've had this recipe for Crockpot Applesauce bookmarked since last fall when Barbara posted it. This was the perfect time to try this wonderful recipe. Homemade Applesauce is delicious, and I like mine with a bit of tartness to it. The apples given to me were Red Delicious, which are very sweet and I rarely buy them for that reason, but I added some tart Granny Smith apples to the mix, and the applesauce was amazing. If you haven't ever had homemade applesauce, you are missing a great treat. It is so much better tasting than store bought. Here's how it's made.

CROCKPOT APPLESAUCE
adapted from Barbara Bakes

10 Red Delicious apples

6 Granny Smith apples

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

juice of 1 lemon

1/3 cup water or apple juice

Peel and core the apples and cut into large slices. Place apples in crockpot and add the sugar, cinnamon, lemon and apple juice or water. Stir. Cook on low for about 8 hours, or on high for about 5 hours. Stir a couple of times during cooking. When done, you can mash the apples or puree them to the consistency that you like. I use a potato masher on my applesauce because we like it somewhat chunky. My crockpot apparently cooks faster than some, because my applesauce was done in 3 hours. So I mashed it, placed it in a bowl and let it cool, and put it in containers in the refrigerator. I love it served cold the best. The lemon juice adds a freshness to the apples. It is tart, yet lightly sweet, with the wonderful flavor of cinnamon. It's good!

NOTE: Taste the applesauce while it is hot. If it needs more sugar, it will easily be incorporated while the sauce is warm.

Pulled Pork, Crock Pot Style!

Wow, I certainly didn't intend to not post for a week! Life has been busy, but I have been cooking, although it has been food that I've already posted. Sometimes, I just want comfort food, those dishes I've made for years, that don't have a recipe. That's what I've been doing. And although I've posted Pulled Pork before, it was done on the grill, not the crock pot. I also posted a recipe for Carnitas, using pulled pork, but this time I'm using this pork roast just for sandwiches. How great these are for get togethers like Super Bowl parties! A large roast will feed quite a few people, plus, the pulled pork can be made a day ahead, and then served from the crock pot the day of the big game! Easy! Everyone can serve themselves, which makes it easy

on you. Be sure to use a rub on the roast. Pork cooked by itself will taste, well, just like pork. It needs lots of seasoning in the crock pot to have a great flavor. Make it as spicy as you want. While I normally brown my roasts before placing in the pot, this time I didn't. It was midnight, you see, and I didn't want to stay up one minute later, so I covered this roast in a spicy rub and stuck it in the pot. It cooked all night and when we woke up the following morning, we were welcomed with a most delicious aroma! I shredded this baby, and put it in a pan with some of the juices, and put it in the fridge to keep until dinner that evening. We celebrated my husband's birthday with Pulled Pork, so he was a happy man. Here's what I did;

PULLED PORK, CROCK POT STYLE

from Lynda's Recipe Box

1 pork shoulder or pork butt roast ( I used a 7 pound one)

1 onion, chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 1/2- 2 cups of water
1 1/2 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce, optional

Mix the rub ingredients together. Rinse the roast with water, and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the rub on the meat and rub it in. If you have time, brown the roast quickly in hot oil in a dutch oven, This step does give some extra flavor to the meat. Place roast in the slow cooker, add 1 1/2 cups of water to the pot and the barbecue sauce, if using. Also, add the chopped onion and fresh garlic at this time. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours until fork tender and roast pulls apart easily. Remove roast and let cool long enough to be able to shred the meat. Remove any fat from the meat. Sometimes, I coarsely chop the shredded meat to make the pieces more uniform. Pour the pan juices into a bowl, and skim any fat off and discard. I like to pour some of the juices, along with the garlic and onion, over the meat to keep it moist while serving. Also, you can freeze some of the meat as long as some cooking liquid is added to keep it from drying out. This tender Pulled Pork will be delicious served alone, or on a bun with some good barbecue sauce. Enjoy!

NOTE: This pork roast can also be done in the oven, in a covered dutch oven. Bake at 325 for 4-5 hours, or until very tender and falling apart.

Of course, cooking it in an outdoor smoker is the best, but I'm a wimp in cold weather!

Green Beans and New Potatoes

We've had some slightly cooler weather here this past week and my thoughts have turned to comfort food! I have some new potatoes that my daughter's boyfriend brought me, and some green beans from my garden waiting to cooked into one of my favorite meals. My husband and I love this old fashioned dish. Both our mothers made this, our grandmothers made this. In fact, most people I know around here cook Green Beans and New Potatoes sometime during the summer. You can use bacon or ham hocks for the flavoring, or even some cooked ham from a bone-in ham. This time I used some ham hocks which give great flavor, but don't yield much meat unless you're lucky enough to find some meaty ones from a butcher. While I normally like green beans steamed or roasted the best, I still have to have this old time favorite several times through the year. It brings back lots of good memories from my childhood as I think of my Mother cooking a large pot of this for supper and my Father coming in at dark after working a long day on the ranch we lived on. Since Mom always had a large garden back then, she also canned, so we had green beans like this all year long. Yes, this is comfort food at it's best!

Green Beans and New Potatoes

About 3 pounds green beans, washed and stemmed and snapped in two, if desired

3 ham hocks, or 4-5 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces, or some cooked ham pieces

small new potatoes( cut larger ones in half)

1 onion, cut into wedges

salt and pepper, to taste

In a soup pot or dutch oven, place the ham hocks and just barely cover with water. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour. Add green beans and onions and cook for another 30 minutes. Next add the potatoes and simmer with pan covered for another 30-45 minutes until beans are tender. Many people cook green beans for a longer period of time, but the beans tend to fall apart more. I prefer that they only cook for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes total, but cook them longer if you prefer. Remove ham hock from pan and let cool. Remove any meat from the bones and add to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste at this time.

If you are using bacon, just add it into the pot with the beans in the beginning. I love the fresh green beans with the creamy new potatoes. Normally, I use just the red skinned potatoes for this dish, but I had both red and white new potatoes, so I mixed them. Such a comforting dish for any time of year! If you can or freeze green beans in the summer, then this is a great dish to fix any time of the year. You may also cook this dish in a slow cooker! Place all the ingredients in the crock pot and just let it simmer all day and you won't have to watch the pot.

I am submitting this recipe to HoneyB at the Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch , and Laura at The Spiced Life , for the Family Recipes, Memories of Family, Food and Fun event.

What is your favorite way to cook green beans?

Barbecue Beef Sandwiches - Slow Cooker Recipe

It has been 98-100 degrees this week here in my small part of the USA! Of course, I was doing my jury duty thing, so I wasn't outside much, but I didn't want to heat up the kitchen when I got home either. I would have been fine with salads in the evening, but my husband and grown son think they still need filling food! So, I pulled out my slow-cooker, bought about 4 pounds of beef round roast, put the meat in the cooker and let it cook for hours until it was tender. It didn't heat up the kitchen at all. This time, I somewhat based this recipe from one in Southern Living's "Secrets of the South's Best Barbecue" cookbook. I browned the roast, added spices and a tangy sauce and let the cooker do the rest! It resulted in tender and very tasty BQ sandwiches, which lasted several days! A perfect meal for busy days.

BARBECUE BEEF SANDWICHES

1 (31/2- 4 Lb.) round roast or chuck roast

spices of choice- I used salt, pepper, garlic powder and chili powder

1 onion, small diced

1- 1 1/2 cups beef broth

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 T lemon juice- recipe calls for 1/2 cup

3 T steak sauce- I used Country Bob's sauce

1 tsp. black pepper

1 T Worcestershire sauce

sandwich rolls

In a dutch oven in hot oil, brown roast on all sides. Season well with spices of choice and place meat in slow-cooker. Add in the minced onion. Mix the sauce ingredients together and taste. Pour beef broth and sauce over the meat and cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours until the meat is tender and shreds easily with a fork. You may not need all of the liquid in the slow-cooker, so I removed the meat to a cutting board to shred and I also skimmed any fat from the sauce. Add desired amount of sauce to beef and serve on some nice sandwich rolls. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Shredded Beef Enchiladas

As you can see, I was on a Mexican food kick this week, and I thoroughly enjoyed every tasty minute of it! Sometimes, you just gotta give in to your cravings! In fact, I think I feel a pasta craving moving in, so I'll probably be posting pasta in a few days! But, I must share these Shredded Beef Enchiladas with you first as they are so delicious and addictive! The most time consuming part of this recipe is cooking the roast. But, I did mine in the crock pot, so I did not have to really watch it closely, so that was a big help! However, I did brown the roast, with spices, on top of the stove, and then placed the roast in the crock pot and cooked on low for about 6-8 hours. I actually did this 1 day ahead of making the enchiladas, but you of course can do this all in 1 day. So, I sprinkled the roast with spices, browned it in a large pan in some oil, and then transferred said roast to a slow-cooker. I then finely chopped 1 onion and 2-3 large cloves of garlic and threw them in with the roast, along with some broth. Cook until very tender and roast pulls apart easily. Then, you want to shred meat and add some canned green chilies to the meat.

I broke the meat apart in chunks and then shredded it. I also added black beans and cheese to the meat mixture, but I forgot to take a picture of it, so visualize that part in your mind, OK? Next, I took some corn tortillas and fried them in a little oil and drained them on paper towels. Then, I took the meat filling and spread on the tortillas and rolled them and placed in a baking dish that had enchilada sauce in it.

See, I've got a slit in one. My tongs tore a couple of the tortillas, but that won't hurt if the tear is small. So, roll up all the enchiladas nicely in a row, and then spoon some more sauce over each one. And of course, we need more cheese on these babies! I used a cheddar and jack cheese on the top because that's what I had. Use the cheese of your choice here.

Bake in oven for about 25 minutes and you are ready for an appetite pleasing feast that your family will love! By using the crock pot, I did not have to check the oven every so often to make sure there was enough liquid in the pan. But, you can do it either way, because they work equally well. So let's make this palate pleasing dish now, and your taste buds will thank you!

SHREDDED BEEF ENCHILADAS

For the beef, you'll need 1 chuck or round roast( I used a 2 1/2 pound roast)

chili powder

salt and pepper

cumin

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1-2 cups of beef broth or water

1-2 canned of chopped chili peppers

1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, for filling

corn tortillas, I used about 24 ( have extra in case some tear too badly to use)

enchilada sauce, canned or homemade ( I wimped out and used about a 28 ounce size can, sorry!)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed, if desired

2-3 more cups of shredded cheese for the topping ( I used Cheddar and Monterrey Jack)

Liberally sprinkle roast with salt, pepper, chili powder,and a little cumin. In a large dutch oven over medium heat, brown roast quickly in 2 tablespoon of oil. Don't let meat burn! Place the roast in a crock pot with the diced onion and the garlic. Add about 1 cup of beef broth or even water, and cover pot and cook on low until very tender and meat shreds easily, about 6 hours, or up to 8 hours, depending on size of roast. I used a 3 pound roast. When roast is done, remove meat to a bowl or plate and cool for a few minutes. Skim the onions and garlic out of the pot and add to the roast. Taking 2 forks, shred the roast into bite size pieces and if the meat is dry add some of the cooking liquid to the meat. You want the meat to be moist but not sloppy. Add the drained ,canned chili peppers and the cheese to the meat mixture and stir. Taste to see if you need to add more seasonings.

For tortillas: In a small skillet over medium heat, add oil to about 1/4 inch depth. When oil is hot, add 1 tortilla at a time to skillet. When tortilla starts to puff, turn over with tongs, and then remove tortilla to paper towel lined pan to drain. Continue with rest of tortillas.

To assemble these enchiladas, you'll need 2 9x13 inch baking pans. Place 3/4 cup of enchilada sauce in each pan to cover the bottom. Taking a tortilla, place a couple of spoonfuls of meat mixture along the tortilla and roll up. Place enchilada into pan and repeat. I fill the tortillas fairly full, but you must be able to wrap them some to contain the filling. After enchiladas are all rolled, spoon more enchilada sauce over the tops and add the rest of the cheese. Place pans in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for about 25 minutes, until bubbly. Remove and let cool 5 minutes or so before serving. Enjoy! Serve with Tex Mex Rice and a salad, and maybe some Guacamole and chips!

If this recipe is too large for what you need, you can adjust this by using 2 cups shredded beef and 1/2 can of beans and that would be enough for 1 pan of enchiladas. However, I like having the extra for leftovers the next day, or they can be frozen. This may seem time consuming, but these enchiladas are worth the effort when your having that Mexican food craving that just won't go away! What are you craving?

Chicken Cacciatore- Slow Cooker style

I can remember when my Mother first bought a Crock Pot in the early 1970's. It was in just one piece, the crock was not removable, so it was difficult to clean. But it was so nice to come home to a pot of soup or stew that had been quickly put together in the morning and then it spent the day slowly cooking until we returned home from work. Wonderful aromas met us at the door in the evening! Well, it can be the same today, only easier because they now come with the wonderful removable inserts, and there are so many styles and price ranges to choose from. Luckily for us there are also many more recipes available to use with the slow cooker. I found this recipe for Chicken Cacciatore in a Betty Crocker recipe booklet and adapted it slightly to use less onion, but more tomato. It call for a whole chicken, cut up, but you may sub chicken pieces that you prefer, such as all thighs, etc.

Chicken Cacciatore - Slow Cooker style

3- 3 1/2 lb. chicken, cut up and skin removed

1/2 cup flour

2 T. vegetable oil

1 medium green bell pepper, cut in strips

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large can diced tomatoes, about 28 ounces, undrained

1 can, 4 ounces, sliced mushrooms, drained

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano, or 1/2 tea. dried

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil, or 1/2 tea. dried

1/2 tea. salt

1/4 tea. pepper

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

grated Parmesan cheese, if desired

8 ounces cooked pasta ( I used a whole grain thin spaghetti that had 6 grams of fiber)

Be sure to remove skin from chicken pieces. Coat chicken with flour; heat oil in 12 in. skillet over med.- high heat. Brown chicken in oil for 15- 20 min.until brown on all sides; drain on paper towels. Place chicken in slow cooker. Mix together onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic, tomatoes and seasonings and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4 - 6 hours or until juice of chicken is no longer pink. Serve over pasta with cheese, if desired. It needed a little more seasoning but other wise it is a very tasty and budget friendly meal. My husband really liked it and said it was a "keeper"!
NOTE: Some slow cookers cook faster than others, so this dish could be done in 3 1/2 hours, depending on individual cookers.