Jodi’s Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken

Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken

This meal is so easy even this one-handed cook pulled it off handily. (I crack myself up.) 😀

My wonderful blog friend Jodi at The Creative Life in Between posted yet another mouth-watering dish for me to steal. I followed her recipe except cut it in half and used smoked paprika in place of the optional smokey paprika chipotle.

Dried Oregano and Honey Garlic Sauce

I thought I was out of dried oregano so snipped some fresh and dried it in the toaster oven first, but then found my last year’s dried batch — not in the empty and clearly labeled oregano jar — but in a Mrs. Dash container labeled in Sharpee with my husband’s printing. Go figure.

We served ours over rice and garnished with additional sesame seeds and snipped green onion (I demonstrate my prowess with that task below).

Snipping Green Onion Wearing Traction Device

This is a spicy, slightly sweet explosion of flavor! The daughter went back for seconds and had the leftovers the next day. My husband ate a large sub just a few hours earlier and didn’t have any. Hiss loss!

Please pop on over to Jodi’s place to find a handy-dandy printable recipe here —> Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken.

Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken

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Lipstick on a Pig Texas Chicken Spaghetti

Lipstick on a Pig Texas Chicken Spaghetti

Some dishes are just not photogenic. I made this dish last week and the family just gobbled it up and it got raves all the way around. So when I went to take a final “plating shot” I scattered some cilantro over the top of it and thought, “you know, this is just like putting lipstick on a pig.” HA! But mind you, this slow cooker dish is just the ticket for a bowl full of creamy, cheesy, chicken-noodley goodness. You will be licking that bowl clean! (And even better, this recipe is completely versatile!)

WARNING: Unpleasant food photos ahead. Really, there is nothing very appetizing to look at while making this dish. But the taste…! And yes, I am making fun of my photography, because sometimes it just works out that way. 😉

Lipstick on a Pig Texas Chicken Spaghetti

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (mine was 12 ounces, and frozen!)
Salt or Mrs. Dash and ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup diced tomatoes (canned or otherwise, with liquid)
1 roasted Hatch chile, peeled, seeded, and diced (or sub with 2 tablespoons of canned diced green chiles)
2 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock (or sub low-sodium store-bought broth)
4 ounces spaghetti noodles, uncooked
2 ounces cream cheese
1 1/2 cups grated cheese, any kind (I used half Gruyere and half sharp cheddar)
1 teaspoon New Mexico chile powder (or regular)
1 teaspoon lime juice
Cilantro, for garnish (the lipstick on the pig!)

Season the chicken breast with salt or Mrs. Dash and pepper, to taste, then add to the crockpot. I actually added mine in frozen, no need to defrost — really!

Peeled and Seeded Roasted Hatch Chile Pepper ~ Hmmm, how exciting.

Chop up the onion and peel and dice that roasted pepper. Wait, you don’t have a roasted Hatch chile pepper sitting around? Canned is fine.

Veggies and Chicken ~ Can’t see the raw chicken? You don’t want to. Trust me.

Toss in the onions, tomatoes, chiles and chicken stock/broth. (And I used turkey stock, see how I am?) Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.

Remove chicken breast and cover with foil until cool enough to handle. Shred the chicken with a fork and add back to the crockpot.

Shredding the Chicken ~ Hey, let’s take a really close up shot of the shredded chicken so you can even see the tomato bits stuck to it!

Grate your cheeses. No, don’t grate the cream cheese.

Grated Cheeses ~ Finally, something tolerable to view. But it’s just cheese.

Break the uncooked noodles in half and add to the pot along with with the cheeses, chile powder and lime juice.

Adding the Dried Spaghetti ~ Really Kathryn? That’s just ick.

Stir around as best you can, then cover and cook for another half hour to an hour until the noodles are done. Give it one final stir to incorporate well, then serve in bowls garnished with lipstick, um, cilantro. 😀

Texas Chicken Spaghetti ~ Because putting a really old crockpot in the background with half-spent cilantro makes it look better, right?

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

 

Grilled Nachos with Chicken and Chunky Guacamole plus Grilled Mexican Tortilla Pizza

Chunky Guacamole Grilled Nachos with Chicken

It’s about time I had a new recipe, yes? Since I’m off camping (once again) this weekend, I’m posting mid-week so as not to leave you empty-handed. This time we are going to Clear Lake for an annual reunion to celebrate my uncle’s (dad’s side) birthday. This will be his 88th! Happy Birthday Uncle Joe!

Although we’ve cooled down the past few days, last week it was sweltering hot after we got back from our river camping trip. And when it’s that hot, I always fire up the grill for dinner. I thought some loaded chicken nachos sounded pretty darn good. I was going to grill the chicken, but decided instead to throw it in the crockpot with the seasonings then plug in the appliance outdoors on the deck. And then I shredded the chicken when it was done, mixed up some chunky guacamole made with a serrano pepper from my garden, assembled the nachos then slapped them on the grill! (OK I slid them, not slapped.) 😀

My Serrano Pepper Plant is Producing Awesomely!

This was a plenty filling dinner out on our deck on the patio table. I had leftover shredded chicken, black beans, and sliced olives so decided to make a Grilled Mexican Tortilla Pizza the next night. Hey you get several recipes this time! Olé!

Crockpot Taco Chicken

Chunky Guacamole Grilled Nachos with Chicken

For the chicken:

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix (recipe here, or store-bought)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 lime, squeezed

Guacamole Ingredients

For the chunky guacamole:

2 medium avocados, peeled, pitted and chopped
1 medium Roma tomato, deseeded and chopped
1 serrano pepper, stem cut and deseeded and finely minced
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon cilantro
Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

For the nachos:

Tortilla chips
Grated block cheddar cheese (it melts better than pre-shredded)
Shredded chicken
More grated cheese
Canned black beans, rinsed and drained
Sliced black olives, drained
Chunky guacamole (recipe below)
Sour cream
Fire-roasted salsa (recipe here, or store-bought)
Chopped green onion

Shredded Chicken

Add the chicken ingredients to a crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours. Remove chicken and shred, then set aside.

Guacamole Ready to Smash

Meanwhile, prepare the chunky guacamole. Add all the prepped ingredients to a bowl, then smash up and mix with a fork until desired consistency. Cover with plastic wrap then refrigerate.

Chunky Guacamole

Preheat the grill to high heat on one side. Line a large baking sheet with foil, then layer tortilla chips in one layer on the foil. Spread with grated cheese, then chicken, then more cheese, black beans, and black olives.

Preparing the Nachos

Slide the foil sheet onto the heated side of the grill then cover, grilling for about 10 minutes until the bottoms of the chips are crispy. Move the nachos to the unheated side of the grill then cover again, grilling until the cheese has melted.

Grilling the Nachos

Slide nachos back onto the baking sheet, top with chunky guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and chopped green onion to taste. Enjoy!

Now here is a recipe for what to make with any leftover ingredients you have from the nachos, depending on the size of your family or if your teenage daughter decides she’s going to a friend’s house for dinner instead of eating your excellent nachos. Just a couple of photos with this one and paper plates, it was that kind of night!

Grilled Mexican Tortilla Pizza

10-inch flour tortillas
Oil spray
Canned black beans, rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons olive oil
Fire-roasted salsa (recipe here, or store-bought)
Cooked shredded chicken (use deli rotisserie chicken or leftovers)
Sliced black olives, drained
Thinly sliced onion
Jarred sliced jalapeños
Grated Colby Jack cheese

First add the black beans to a blender or food processor, then drizzle in olive oil and process until creamy, scraping down the sides and adding oil as needed. Set aside.

Prepping the Mexican Pizza

Preheat the grill to medium to medium-low, and spray the tortilla(s) on one side and grill for about 3 minutes, until crisp and starting to puff up on the top side. Remove to plate, then spray the non-grilled side with oil. Flip over, then spread the creamy beans evenly over the tortilla. Top evenly with salsa, shredded chicken, black olives, onion, jalapeños and cheese.

Grilling the Mexican Tortilla Pizza

Place back on grill, cover, and cook for about 5 more minutes until cheese is melted. You might need to move it to the unheated side if it’s getting too crispy on the bottom and the cheese isn’t melted yet. Add a green salad on the side, and dinner is served!

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!