Thai Crockpot Chicken

I just love Asian dishes. Adam and I have made this dish a few times now. We got it from the Crock Pot cook book. It's so yummy and so easy and the ingredients are things that I have in my fridge and cupboards at all times.

Thai Chicken

2 1/2 pounds chicken pieces
1 cup hot salsa
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger (I used the powder)
Hot cooked rice
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1. Place chicken in Crock Pot slow cooker. Combine salsa, peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce and ginger; pour over chicken.

2. Cover; cook on LOW 8 to 9 hours or on HIGH 3 to 4 hours, or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

3. Serve chicken and sauce over rice; sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro.  

Healthy Chinese Chicken Salad Cups

There were a lot more of these, but there were only two left that I could take pictures of. These are so cute! They are a little smaller than a muffin in real life. I'm excited about this new recipe!

These were so amazing and a definite keeper. They are so cute and easy to eat. They are packed with wonderful flavor and it is defiantly an added bonus that they are healthy! There is no guilt about eating these. I was thinking that this would be the perfect appetizer to serve at wedding receptions or any type of shower. I actually got this recipe from watching the Today show a few weeks ago and they have constantly been on my mind to make. It's a recipe from Candice Kumai who was on Top Chef. You should try them, you will love it!

(With the red cabbage, it was really expensive at the grocery store I went to, so I just bought a salad mix bag and picked out the red cabbage from that and it was the perfect amount for how much I was making, and it was a lot cheaper that way.)

Chinese Chicken Salad Cups

Servings: 48 cups (I fourthed this recipe and it was the perfect amount for Adam and I for two meals eating it as our side.)

For dressing

1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds

2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil (I used regular sesame seed oil)

1 1/2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter

For salad

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 8 ounces)

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

48 wonton wrappers

Dark sesame oil (I just used sesame seed oil)

1 1/2 cups chopped Napa cabbage

1 1/2 cups finely chopped red cabbage

1 medium carrot, coarsely grated

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro

1/4 cup Asian almonds (optional)

To make the dressing: Place the sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium heat and toast, shaking the pan often, until they're fragrant and golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer the sesame seeds to a medium bowl. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, and ginger and whisk to combine. Add the peanut butter and whisk until completely smooth. Set aside.

To make the salad: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Heat a ridged cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Lightly coat with cooking spray. Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper and grill until both sides have grill marks and the chicken is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside until cool.

Press 1 wonton wrapper into each cup of a 24-cup nonstick mini muffin pan (the ends will peek up above the cups). Brush with a little sesame oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Bake until golden brown and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes before gently lifting the wonton cups out of the pan. Repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers, sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Chop the chicken into 1/2-inch cubes. Place them in a large bowl and add the cabbages, carrot, scallions and cilantro. Toss with three-fourths of the dressing. Fill each wonton cup with 1 heaping tablespoon of salad and top with the Asian almonds and extra cilantro. Serve immediately with the remaining dressing on the side.

Note: When you make salad, be light with the dressing. Save a little to serve on the side — this keeps things light and lets your friends do up their salads with as much or as little dressing as they like. The salad and wonton cups can be made a few hours ahead of time, just hold back on filling the wonton cups until right before serving so they stay nice and crisp.

Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa

My friend originally told me about this recipe. She said that her husband took it to work for a salsa competition and he won for best salsa. I made this and it was pretty good. I'm still searching for a better salsa, but this will do for now. I'm pretty picky about my salsas.

Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1 to 2 fresh jalapeño chiles
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, preferably fire roasted
1/4 cup (loosely packed) chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt

My addition:
Onion, chopped finely, to taste
Ground pepper, to taste
Extra cilantro

1.    Roast the chiles and garlic.   In a small ungreased skillet over medium heat, roast the chiles and garlic, turning regularly, until they are soft and blotchy brown, about 10 minutes for the chiles, 15 minutes for the garlic.  Cool until handleable, then pull the stem(s) off the chile(s) and roughly chop.  Peel the skin off the garlic.  Scoop into a food processor and pulse until quite finely chopped.
2.    Finish the salsa.   Add the tomatoes with their juice.  Re-cover and pulse until you have a coarse puree.  Scrape into a serving dish.  Stir in the cilantro and lime juice.  Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2  teaspoon.  You’re ready to serve.

I got this recipe from rickbayless.com

Award Winning White Chicken Chili

The 24 other chilis that we were up against. Ours is in the red crock pot.

 Adam holding our prize!
The Most Original Chili

Adam and I got this recipe originally from my sister Amber. (Thanks Amber for sharing!!) It's been one of our favorites and Adam expands on it each time we make it. Our ward was having a talent show/chili cook off last night and there were 24 people who brought their chili. Adam and I brought this White Chicken Chili and there were about 3 other people who brought white chili as well. There were five awards that they were giving out: the spiciest, the most appealing looking, the chunkiest, the most original, and the best overall. We were awarded the most original, and all the five that they picked had to taste really good too for them to be awarded the prizes. Each chili was given a number so that it could be anonymous and we heard several people comment on how good our white chili was. We even heard the judges talk about it, so this is seriously a keeper recipe!

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used one chicken breast and it was plenty)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small white onion, diced
6 to 8 small garlic cloves, minced
1 (7-ounce) can diced green chiles, drained
2 (15-ounce) cans white beans,undrained
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup sour cream, plus additional for topping
2 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped tomatoes


Our additions:
1-2 Potatoes cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2-3 big carrots chopped
Extra cayenne pepper
Corn
1/2 package of Bacon
We used Rotisserie Chicken rather than Chicken breasts... yum!
Just make sure these are all cooked and added to the pot!

1. Cook the chicken by the desired method. Cool and tear into pieces.
Set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic,
and cook and stir until the onion is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add
the chicken, chiles, beans, broth, chicken bouillon, cumin, oregano, and
cayenne. Simmer 30 to 45 minutes. Chili can be made ahead to this point
and refrigerated or frozen for serving later.

3. Add the 1 cup sour cream and cheese, and continue cooking until the
cheese is melted. Keep warm until serving.

4. Serve in bowls and pass cilantro, tomatoes, and additional sour cream.
-thefoodnanny.com

THANKS AMBER FOR SHARING YOUR RECIPE!!

Bajio's Sweet Rice

Bajio Sweet Rice

1/2-1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 of a white onion, chopped (add more or less to your taste)
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1 1/3 cups white rice
3 cups chicken broth
1/4-1/2 cup white sugar

Put a little oil in bottom of pan (maybe about 1/2-1 tablespoon).
Saute chopped onion until translucent. Add the chopped cilantro (no big stems) and saute a minute more.
Add the rice, cooking until it is light brown (being careful not to burn).
Combine the chicken broth and sugar, letting sugar dissolve. Then stir into rice until combined. Bring to a boil.
Cover and let cook on low, med-low until rice is done, about 25-30 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup

I've never actually had the real soup from Chili's but this recipe was excellent. It was fun to make and it was a surprise in the end since I didn't know what to expect. We halfed the recipe and it fed us for 3 days. It does make a lot. I have been craving it since we made it. For the pico de gallo, Adam added some pepper and some lime juice. It's worth a try!

Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup

Servings: 12

Ingredients:
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 lb chicken breast fillet
1/2 cup diced onion
1 garlic clove, pressed, to taste
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup masa harina
3 cups water
1 cup enchilada sauce (We used the red enchilada sauce)
16 ounces Velveeta cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Garnish:
shredded cheddar cheese
crumbled corn tortilla chips

Pico de Gallo:
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup diced Spanish onion
2 tsp chopped fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and de-ribbed
2 tsp finely minced fresh cilantro
1 pinch salt

1. Add 1 tbs of oil to a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add chicken breasts to pot and brown for 4-5 minutes per side.
3. Set chicken aside.
4. Add onions and garlic to pot and saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until onions begin to become translucent.
5. Add chicken broth.
6. Combine masa harina with 2 cups of water in a medium bowl and whisk until blended.
7. Add masa mixture to pot with onions, garlic and broth.
8. Add remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese and spices to pot and bring mixture to a boil.
9. Shred the chicken into small, bite-size pieces and add it to the pot.
10. Reduce heat and simmer soup for 30-40 minutes or until thick.
11. Serve soup in cups or bowls, and garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled corn tortilla chips, and pico de gallo.

I got the recipe from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes. Excellent!