Crock Pot Creamy Artichoke Chicken

Here's a great crock pot recipe, courtesy of Tastefully Simple. It is especially great if you only have a few hours lead time before dinner. This one only takes 3-4 hours on low. These are nice mild flavors, but very satisfying!!! We had it tonight with just a side of steamed veggies - yummy!!!



1 packet Tastefully Simple Artichoke & Spinach Warm Dip Mix
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 oz. shredded swiss cheese (I used 6 oz.)

prepared baked potatoes, pasta or rice (We used linguini)

Combine first four ingredients in a greased crock pot/slow cooker. Cover; cook on low for 3-4 hours. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, stir in Swiss cheese. Serve over hot baked potatoes, pasta or rice. Makes about 4 servings.

Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

Mmmmm...sometimes you just want a "stick-to-your-ribs" sort of meal and this one is it!!! Of course, to make things better, it is easy and can be cooking while you are off running errands, playing taxi or at work. The chicken will be tender and juicy and the rice cooked perfectly. I hope you enjoy this family pleaser!!!

Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (uncooked, but thawed)
1 can cream of chicken soup (use reduced fat if you prefer)
1 can cream of celery soup (use reduced fat if you prefer)
1 can chicken broth (we use reduced sodium)
3/4 c. dry brown rice (uncooked)
1 tsp. Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt (or your own favorite seasoned salt)
1 tsp. Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
1 Tbspn. Tastefully Simple Onion Onion
1 small jar sliced mushrooms
1/4 c. chopped onion (or extra Onion Onion)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Place chicken breasts on the bottom of the crock pot. Mix all remaining ingredients (except the cheese - that is for the top) together in a bowl. Once ingredients are combined pour them over the top of the chicken, then top everything with the shredded cheese. Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Variations: you could certainly add some frozen veggies to the pot and have everything in one dish - broccoli or mixed veggies would be great.

If you would like to add some crunch - try crushing your favorite cracker up over the top of the cheese - like Saltines, Ritz or even Cheez-Its!!!

You could also add some chopped celery to the soup mixture or some sliced waterchestnuts.

Baked Pork Chops over Sweet Potato and Apple Hash

Ahhh...the simple tastes of fall!!! We enjoyed a meal of delicious fall tastes tonight using some of the fresh produce from our co-op...it was delicious and even my daughter loved the sweet potatoes (that normally she won't touch!!!) You could even substitute another fall squash in the place of the sweet potatoes, if you have them on hand. I hope you enjoy it!!!

Baked Pork Chops over Sweet Potato and Apple Hash

4 boneless loin chops (approx. 1/2 inch thick)
2 sweet potatoes (or 4 small sweet potatoes)
4-5 apples (we used Honey Crisp because we had them fresh from our co-op, but you could use any apple you have on hand)
2 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons brown sugar (we use brown sugar Splenda blend)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel and chop sweet potatoes and apples into approximately 1 inch cubes each (if you keep the size of the items about the same, they will cook more evenly); saute them in the butter/olive oil on medium-low heat. (The reason for using both olive oil and butter is that olive oil will preven the butter from burning because olive oil's burning temperature is much higher than butter).

Saute the potatoes and apples for about 5-10 minutes until they are tender, but not mushy. Transfer the potato and apple mixture to a baking dish (you could use oblong or rectangular - approximately 9 x 13 will be fine.

Raise the heat on your pan to medium and put your pork chops in for a quick sear to seal in the juices - about 3 minutes per side, just long enough to give it a bit of golden brown color on each side - but they will not be fully cooked at this point.

Place the pork chops on top of the potato/apple hash, then cover the pan with foil and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes. The pork chops should be nice and moist and have some of the flavors of the cinnamon and apples infused into them - delish!!! Enjoy!!!

Easy Family Dinner - TACO NIGHT!!!

Don't underestimate the power of something as basic as taco night. My experience has been that most adults and kids alike enjoy tacos. You can adjust it to whatever nutritional focus you and your families may have. In our house, we use very lean ground beef, and low-carb tortillas, but you could certainly use ground turkey, ground chicken, grilled chicken strips or pieces of nice white fish or grilled veggies!!! Your family on the go? Make the meat/seasoned veggie mix ahead of time and keep it warm on low in a crock pot, have the rest of your toppings cut and ready to go in the fridge and then they can eat whenever they are home. It's a fast and quick way to have a delicious meal ready on the fly....Enjoy!!! :)