Slow-Cooker Chicken Chasseur

Bryan's critique?... "Unbelievable!"

8 slices bacon, finely chopped
vegetable oil
6 bone-in, skin-on split chicken breast halves (10-12 oz. each or 12 thighs at 6-8 oz. each)
salt and pepper
1 1/4 lbs cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 red onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/4 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed thoroughly and finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced (or 1 t. dried)
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

Directions

1. Cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Add bbacon to the crockpot. Reserve the bacon fat separately. You should have at least 2 T. If not, use vegetable oil for the missing fat.

2. Dry chicken with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Add 2 t. bacon fat to the skillet. Heat over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown half of the chicken on both sides, about 10 minutes. Put in the crockpot. (Remove the browned skin if using thighs.) Return the skillet to medium high heat and repeat with 2 more teaspoons of fat and the rest of the chicken. Discard any fat left in the skillet.

3. Add the remaining 2 t. fat to empty skillet. Heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add cremini's, red onion and 1/4 teaspoons salt. Cook until mushroom are brown, 10-15 minutes. Stir in the garlic. Cook for 15 seconds. Stir in wine and tomato paste, scraping up any browned bits. Simmer until the wine has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Put in crockpot.

4. Add tomatoes, 1.5 cups broth, porcini's, thyme, bay leaves and red pepper flakes to crockpot. Cover and cook on low until chicken is tender, about 4 hours.

5. Transfer chicken to large serving dish. Tent loosely with foil.

6. Discard bay leaves. Set the crockpot to high. Whisk flour with remaining 1/2 cup broth until smooth. Stir into crockpot. Cover and continue to cook until sauce is thickened and no longer tastes of flour, 15 to 30 minutes longer.

7. Stir in parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon vegetables and some of the sauce over the chicken. Serve, passing the remaining sauce separately.

Sadie's Chicken Pasta with Gorgonzola, Sun Dried Tomatoes, and Pinenuts

Otherwise known as Dang Good Pasta. Discovered by my fabulous sister-in-law, Sadie. Go to her recipes, here.

1/ 2 cup chopped, drained, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (3 tablespoons oil reserved)
2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 9 ounces total)
1/2 pound Penne or medium shell pasta. Using gnocchi is also an option. If you use fresh gnocchi use a full pound.
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (It has to be fresh, believe me on this one)
1/2 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
3/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (about 4 ounces)
1/4 cup chopped prosciutto
1/2 cup Parmesan
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Heat 2 tablespoon oil reserved from tomatoes in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet and sauté until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate and cool; do not clean skillet. Cut chicken into 1/2-inch pieces.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta; transfer to large bowl.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tablespoon tomato oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté until tender, about 1 minute. Add sun-dried tomatoes, chicken, basil, broth, cheese and prosciutto to skillet and bring to boil.

While doing all this, toast your pine nuts in the oven. I usually set the oven to broil, move the oven tray to the top, and keep a close eye on the pine nuts. They toast very fast!

Add sauce to pasta and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Top with pine nuts and parmesan and serve.

I've also thought about adding 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream to give it more of a saucy texture. Next time I will add the cream and see how it goes.

Beef Stroganoff

This was FABULOUS! It's a little involved so don't be talking on the phone or babysitting kids while you try to make it. I'd say if you're feeding more than 2-3 men, then double the recipe. ( :

Serves 4
Total Time: 45 minutes

salt
8 oz. egg noodles (3 cups)
3 T. unsalted butter
2 T. begetable oil
12 oz. white button mushrooms, trimmed and halved
12 oz. beef tenderloin, but into 1/8-inch strips
Pepper
3/4 c. dry red wine
1 onion, minced
1 1/2 t. brown sugar
1 t. tomato paste
1 T. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 c. sour cream

Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 T. salt and the noodles and cook, stirring often, until they are almost tender but still firm to the bite. Drain the noodles, then return to the pot and toss with 2 T. of the butter. Cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat 1 T. of the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the mushrooms and 1/4 t. salt and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes, then transfer to a bowl.

Pat the beef dry with paper towels, then season with salt and epper. Add the remaining 1 G. oil to the skillet and return to medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown the beef, about 5 minutes, then transfer to the bowl with the mushrooms.

Add 1/4 c. of the wine to the skillet and return to medium heat. Simmer, scraping up ay browned bits, until syrupy, about 1 minute. Transfer the wine to the bowl with the mushrooms and beef.

Add the remaining 1 T. butter to the skillet and melt over medium heat. Add the onion, brown sugar, and tomato paste and cook until the onion is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth and remaining 1/2 c. wine and simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Add any accumulated juices from the mushrooms and beef. Stir about 1/2 c. of the sauce into the sour cream, then stir the sour cream mixture into the sauce. Add the mushrooms and beef and let warm through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over the warm buttered egg noodles.

TIP: Sour cream can curdle if added directly to hot liquid. To prevent this, temper the sour cream by stirring a little of the stewing liquid into it and then stirring the warmed sour cream mixture back into the pan of stroganoff. To ensure that the stroganoff and noodles are done at the same time, start cooking the mushrooms while you wait for the water to cook the noodles to come to a boil.

TIP: The recipe calls for Tenderloin steak which is otherwise known as 'filet mignon' which costs 5 billion dollars. BUT... my fellow butcher here at the local Harmons told me that Flat-iron steak is just as tender and costs less than 1/2 as much. Tried it. Loved it. BONUS!

TIP: American's test kitchen says the best egg noodles they've found are Light 'n Fluffy's extra wide egg noodles.

Herbed Chicken in Pastry

LOVED THIS! Easy, fast, and YUMMY!.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 T. butter
1/2 pkg Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet)
1 egg
1 T. water
1 container (4 oz.) garlic & herb spreadable cheese
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

Season chicken with salt and pepper if desired. Melt butter in skillet. Add chicken and cook until browned. Remove chicken. Cover and refrigerate 15 min. or up to 24 hours.

Thaw pastry sheet at room temperature 30 min. Mix egg and water. Preheat over to 400.

Unfold pastry on lightly floured surface. Roll into 14" square and cut into 4 (7") squares. Spread about 2 T. of the cheese spread in center of each square. Sprinkle with 1 T. parsley and top with cooled chicken. Brush edges of squares with egg mixture. Fold each corner to center on top of chicken and seal edges. Place seam-side down on baking sheet. Brush with egg mixture.

Bake 25 min. or until golden.

Uncle Mike's Gourmet Spaghetti

Uncle Mike is totally gourmet. I love this recipe because it is so chunky... the olives, mushrooms, meatballs (which are DIVINE by themselves). If you can't find Presti's spaghettie seasoning just use the spaghetti packets. I think the actual sauce part maybe could be thickened up a little

1/2 lb. lean hamburger
1/2 lb. hot Italian sausage
1 pkg. Lipton dry onion soup mix
2 T. olive oil
8 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 white onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1/2 c. Presti's spicy spaghetti seasoning
1 (20 oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, cut in quarters
2 (2.25 oz.) cans sliced olives
8 fresh white mushrooms, sliced
3 bay leaves
2 to 3 cans Hunt's tomato sauce
2 Schilling Italian spaghetti sauce mix
Homemade (or store bought) pasta

In medium bowl, mix hamburger and Italian sausage by hand, with onion soup mix. hand roll meat mixture into 1 inch balls. heat olive oil in large 10 to 12 inch fry pan. Saute 4 cloves garlic in oil. Add meatballs to hot oil. Cover meatballs with onions, then 1/2 of each of bell peppers. Sprinkle 1/4 c. Presti seasoning over top. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until done.

In large stock pot, combine remaining garlic, bell peppers, and 1/4 c. Presti's peeled tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, bay leaves, tomato sauce, and schilling packages. Cover and simmer 2 to 3 hours. Add meatball mixture to stock pot. Simmer 2 hours to overnight. Remove bay leaves. Serve over pasta. Optional: add 2 t. crushed red pepper.

Holly's Company Chicken

This is Holly's absolute favorite dinner. It is way easy except that you have to remember to put it in the oven 3 hours ahead of time. This is basically chicken, bacon, beef, and a creamy sauce. Talk about YUM! Bryan's exact word.. "Superb".

3 oz. dried beef
8-10 chicken breasts (I used 5 chicken breasts cut in half to make 10 little guys)
8-10 slices of bacon

SAUCE:
6 oz. cream cheese
1 c. sour cream
2 cans cream of mushroom soup

Lay slices of dried beef on bottom of 9x13 pan to cover entire bottom.
Roll one piece of bacon around each piece of chicken and lay over dried beef.
Combine sauce ingredients and pour over chicken.
Sprinkle with paprika.
Bake covered at 300 for 3 hours.

Tip: I had no idea what dried beef was until today. Dried beef is typically sliced and comes in a plastic bottle. It is usually found in the soup isle.

Holly's Enchiladas

4-8 oz. cream cheese (depending on how much you want)
1 t. ground cumin
1/8 t. salt
1 c. chopped chicken
12 (8in.) flour tortillas
1/2 c. shredded cheese

SAUCE:
1 (8 oz.) tub sour cream
1 (10 1/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
1 c. skim milk

Wrap tortillas in foil and place in warm oven to make them more flexible.
Blend cream cheese, 1 T. water, cumin, salt and pepper.
Stir in chicken.
Spray a 3 qt. rectangular baking dish with nonstick coating.
Spoon about 1/4 c. of chicken mixture onto each tortilla.
Roll up and place seam side down in baking dish.
Combine soup, sour cream, and milk.
Pour over enchiladas.
Bake covered at 350 for 40 minutes.
Sprinkle cheese on top and bake 5 more minutes.

Layered Meatball Bake

* Prep Time: 5 min
* Total Time: 30 min
* Makes: 6 servings

1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) reduced-sodium condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup milk
1 pkg. (1 lb.) frozen meatballs
2 cups frozen peas
1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 400ºF. Prepare stuffing mix as directed on package for Light Preparation; set aside.

COMBINE soup and milk in 13x9-inch baking dish. Stir in meatballs and peas; sprinkle with cheese. Top with the prepared stuffing.

BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until heated through.

Found this in the Kraft Food & Family Magazine. I made it for Bryan the other night and his exact word was... "Superb". Basically he loved it. And it was really easy and delicious.

Keri's Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 T. vegetable oil
1 lb. boneless chicken breasts (appox. 3 breasts), cooked & cubed
½ c. diced onion
1 garlic clove, pressed
4 c. chicken broth
1 c. masa harina
3 c. water
1 c. enchilada sauce
16 oz. velveeta cheese
1 t. salt
1 t. chili powder
½ t. cumin

In a large pot, place oil and diced onion; sauté until onions are soft and clear, about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, garlic, salt, chili powder, and cumin; Bring to a boil. Combine masa harina with 3 cups water in a separate bowl; Stir until all lumps are dissolved. Add to hot cooked mixture and return to a boil. Once mixture starts to bubble, continue cooking 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. This will eliminate any raw taste from the masa harina. Add enchilada sauce. After mixture return to a boil, stir occasionally and add cheese that has been cut into chunks. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese melts. Add chicken and heat through.
Makes approximately 6 servings.

Amber's Chicken Pot Pie

1/3 c. butter
1/3 c. flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ t. pepper
½ t. salt
2/3 c. milk
1 ½ c. water
2 t. chicken bouillon granules
Celery seed
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
2-3 c. frozen veggies (2/3 a bag of birds eye classic blend works great)

For filling:
Melt butter in large sauce pan, add garlic, salt and pepper.
Let cook for a few minutes. Add flour and cook for another couple min.
Slowly whisk in milk, water and bouillon.
Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes stirring constantly.
Remove from heat, stir in veggies and chicken.

Sprinkle pie crust top and bottom with celery seed – bake in a 425 degree oven for 45-50 minutes until golden brown.

Lady and Sons Crust – Paula Dean

4 sheets frozen puff pastry
1 egg

Cut each sheet of frozen puff pastry into 1-inch strips, 8 inches long.
On a large cookie sheet, weave strips into a lattice large enough to cover pot pie. Brush beaten egg onto each lattice square.
Set oven to 350 and bake until dough rises and is a rich golden brown.
Place on baked pie and decorate with extra puff pastry.

You can make individual small pies to make it a little fancier and fun.

This is absolutely delicious.

White Chicken Chili

5 (15 oz.) cans Great Northern beans
5 cans chicken broth (8 c. or ½ gal.)
2 large white onions
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 (4.5 oz.) can diced green chilis
1 t. salt
2 t. cumin
1 ½ t. oregano
½ t. cayenne (red) pepper
4 chicken breasts, grilled and cut into pieces

In a large pot, combine beans, broth, onions, garlic, and chilis.
Bring to a boil and simmer one hour.
Add salt, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and chicken to pot.
Let simmer another ½ hour.
Serve with sour cream and Monterey Jack cheese (with, of course, French bread).

BEST EVER!!!!!!!!

Macaroni Grill Chicken Scallopini

4 oz. lemon juice
2 oz. white wine
4 oz. heavy cream
1 lb. butter
6-8 (3 oz.) chicken breasts, pounded thin
Oil, for sautéing chicken
Butter, for sautéing chicken
½ -3/4 c. flour, seasoned with salt & pepper, for dredging
6 oz. pancetta, cooked
12 oz. mushrooms, sliced
12 oz. artichoke hearts, sliced
1 T. capers
1 lb. cappellini, cooked
Chopped parsley, for garnish

To make sauce:
Heat the lemon juice and white wine in a saucepan over medium heat.
Bring to a boil and reduce by one-third.
Add cream and simmer until mixture thickens (3-4 minutes).
Slowly add butter until completely incorporated.
Season with salt and pepper.
Remove from heat and keep warm.
Cook pasta and drain.
Heat a small amount of oil and two T. butter in a large skillet.
Dredge chicken in flour and sauté in pan, turning once, until brown and cooked through.
Remove chicken from pan and add to pan remaining ingredients.
Heat until mushrooms soften and are cooked; add chicken back to pan.
Place cooked pasta on each plate.
Add half of butter sauce to chicken mixture and toss.
Taste and adjust, adding more sauce if needed.
Place chicken mixture over pasta.
Garnish with parsley.
Alternately, mix pasta and chicken together.
Toss with butter sauce.

BEST EVER!!!!

Tator Tot Casserole

1 pkg tator tots
1 lb. hamburger
1 med. Onion
Salt and pepper
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 c. milk

Brown hamburger and onion.
Add soup and milk.
Bring to a slight boil.
Place in casserole dish.
Place tator tots over the top.
Bake at 350 for one hour.

Jackie's Stuffed Green Peppers (or zucchini)

1 large zucchini or Green peppers
2 lb. ground beef (or turkey)
1 can diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes
1 c. corn
1 med. Onion, diced (red, white, or yellow)
1 bell pepper, diced
2 eggs
3 T. worstechershire
1 T. stone ground mustard
6 T. catsup
¼ c. bread or cracker crumbs
1/3 c. leftover rice
1 bottle chili sauce
1 c. grated cheese
2 T. roasted garlic

In a bowl combine all the ingredients (except chili sauce) and mix well with your hands.
Stuff zucchini or bell peppers generously with meat and place in a baking dish.
(trim bottoms slightly so it won’t roll)
Bake at 450 for 30 minutes.
Reduce to 300, top with chili sauce and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Before serving top with grated cheese and bake for 5 more minutes.

Swiss Chicken

4-6 Chicken Breasts
4-6 slices of Swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
¾ c. milk
½ c. butter, melted
Seasoned croutons, slightly crushed

Put chicken breasts in long dish.
Put a slice of Swiss cheese on top of each one.
Mix cream of chicken soup with milk and pour over chicken.
Put croutons on top of chicken.
Top with butter.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Keri's Fantastic Green Chili

Cooked pork or chicken pieces.
5 cans White beans
2 cans diced green chilis
1 can green enchilada sauce

Cook in the crock pot for a couple of hours
or you can cook it stove top for one hour

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb. ground beef
1 can tomato soup
¼ onion chopped
1 can cream of mushroom
1 Tbs. oil
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. chili powder
¼ tsp. garlic salt
½ tsp. Tabasco sauce
¼ tsp. pepper

Brown ground beef with onion in a large skillet
Add remaining ingredients.

Keri's Sloppy Joes

1 lb. hamburger
1 onion, chopped
2 t. mustard
2 T. Ketchup
2 T. flour
1 can chicken Gumbo soup
8 oz. tomato sauce
Salt & pepper

Cook.
Serve on buns.
Serves 6

Regi's Mozzarella Cheese Pie

1 lb. mozzarella cheese
6 eggs
¾ c. sour cream

Grease a 9” glass pie pan.
Cover entire pan with 1/8 to ¼ in. thick slices of cheese.
Combine eggs and sour cream.
Pour over cheese slices.
Bake at 325 for 30-40 minutes.
May add tomatoes, spinach, bacon, etc. into
egg mixture before baking.

Regi's marinated chicken

1 c. oil
1 c. soy sauce
1 c. Sprite or 7up

Add desired amount of thawed chicken
into mixture. Marinate for 3-4 hours.
Grill or fry.