CrockPot Coq au Vin Recipe

I got this from the Year of Crockpotting blog. It is so delicious and so super easy. It is one of our favorites, and it is gourmet-ish enough to have at a party! Beware, though, the chicken turns out a little purple.

Ingredients:
--6 to 8 frozen chicken thighs
--6 slices cooked and crumbled bacon
--8 oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms (they are right next to the regular mushrooms)
--1 cup baby carrots
--1 chopped yellow onion
--3 cloves chopped or minced garlic
--1/2 t black pepper
--1/2 t kosher salt
--1/2 cup chicken broth
--1 1/2 cup cheap red wine (you can use non-alcoholic wine, if you wish)
--2 large fresh thyme sprigs (use the fresh thyme, I do think it makes a difference)

Directions:
"Cook your bacon. Dump the frozen chicken into your crockpot and start layering in the rest of the ingredients. This is really a no-fuss (albeit amazingly gourmetish) preparation. Just throw it all in.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. You could cook it on high for 4, but it won't taste as good. The flavors meld so nicely when cooked low and slow."
Serve with rice, mashed potatoes or your favorite pasta.

Creamy (Easy) Chicken and Rice

We are really digging this recipe right now. It tastes good, it contains something green, and it's fast!!

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken, cut into cubes
1 tsp. garlic powder (or garlic salt)
1 can of condensed cream of mushroom
1 soup can of milk
1 1/2 cups of Minute Rice (uncooked)
2 cups chopped fresh broccoli
1 cup shredded cheese (we prefer Cheddar)

Directions:
Spray skillet with cooking spray. Add chicken and cover. Cook 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with garlic powder/salt. Add soup and milk. Bring to boil. Stir in rice and broccoli; cover. Reduce heat to low and simmer 5-8 minutes, or until rice is tender.

Stir in cup of cheese and serve. (I usually add a little salt at the end for taste) Makes 4-5 servings.

Dump Pasta

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti (cooked according to directions)
• Butter, margarine or olive oil
• Greek seasoning
• Parmesan cheese

After you have cooked and drained the pasta, dump the next three ingredients in and mix together. The proportions are really to taste, so just experiment as you go. It gives the pasta a nice flavor, but is super-quick and doesn't require a separate pan to make the sauce.

Now for the another "dump" part:
We usually make this pasta as a side dish for chicken or ground beef patties. You can also dump fresh vegetables to the last couple of minutes of cooking time if you don't want a separate vegetable dish. Broccoli is our favorite. We haven't mixed meat into it, but I would imagine that would be good, too.

VooDoo Pasta

I got this recipe from another blog through the menu planning blogs I read (I know I'm a dork). But, I made this, and it was really good and SUPER easy. Not sure why it is called VooDoo pasta; we should come up with another name for it :)

Ingredients
16 ounces fettuccine pasta
1 lb smoked sausage, sliced
1 green pepper,sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon blackening seasoning
1 cup Alfredo sauce (I like Ragu Light Parmesan Alfredo)
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional - I left it out)

Directions
Cook fettuccine noodles as directed on package.In a large non stick skillet add the sausage, green pepper and onion. Sprinkle with the blackening seasoning and stir.Cook in skillet on medium-high heat until browned.Add the Alfredo sauce and Tabasco (optional).Reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce is hot, stirring occasionally.Pour sausage and vegetables over pasta.Toss until coated.

Breakfast fun

Okay, so this is not really a recipe, exactly, but it is something that Steve concocted and that the boys really like.

Yogurt (plain or vanilla is what we prefer)
Applesauce
Grape-nuts
Cinnamon

We usually do about equal parts yogurt and applesauce. Sprinkle Grape-nuts and cinnamon over the top. mix together and enjoy! (Unless you have a child like Joel and then you don't mix it.)

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

5 Chicken Breasts
1 c. chicken broth
1 can cream of celery
1 can Vegall or frozen veggies (I use peas, carrots, and corn and just judge amount by consistency)
1 c. Bisquick
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. melted butter

Directions:

Cook chicken and cut up; place in 7 x 11 pan. Mix soup, broth, and veggies and pour over chicken. Mix milk and Bisquick and spread evenly over top. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake at 400 for 30 min or until crust is golden (usually takes mine more than 30 min.)

*This works really well frozen. To freeze, put chicken and soup mixture in pan, wrap, and freeze. Put Bisquick in a ziploc on top. Thaw, and mix bisquick with milk. Drizzle with butter and bake as directed above.

Home-made Steak Fries

Ingredients:

Russet or baking potatoes
Cooking spray, butter, or olive oil
Seasonings of choice (seasoned salt, salt, pepper, garlic salt, etc.)

• Bake potatoes until they are about half-way done (in oven or microwave).
• Remove from oven and cut into 1/8's, the long way.
• Place in casserole dish and spray with cooking spray or drizzle with butter or olive oil.
• Sprinkle on desired seasonings. (I usually use seasoned salt. I have been thinking of "dressing them up" with some Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.)
• Cook in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.