Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas

Chicken fajitas always intimidate me. I don't have a grill (except for our Foreman grill) and they always look super hard and time consuming. The soultion? CROCK POT CHICKEN FAJITAS. Yes, brilliant idea -- I know. I prepared everything the night before and all I had to do the next morning was combine the ingredients in the crock pot and turn it on before I left for work. I love coming home to dinner already made! Woo hoo!





Ingredients:
1 yellow onion, sliced
3 bell peppers, sliced ( I used red, orange, and yellow)
3 or 4 boneless chicken breast or thighs
½ cup chicken broth, depending on preference
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cumin
1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
Squirt of lime juice
Tortillas
Fajita fixings (sour cream, avocado, cheese)

Directions:
1. Combine sliced onion and peppers in the bottom of a greased crockpot.
2. Lay chicken breasts on top of veggies. Pour chicken broth over top.
3. Sprinkle everything with cumin, salt, and chili powder.
4. Give a nice quirt of lime juice over the top.
5. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (or on High for 4-6 hours). When meat is done, shred with two forks and stir back into juices. Serve meat mixture with slotted spoon on tortillas with your choice of fixings.

How easy is this?? You can thank me later.. ;)

Chicken, Corn & Black Bean Quesadillas

We have a bit of an obession with quesdillas. So much so, that I actually bought a quesadilla maker. Don't judge me, it's amazing! I found this lovely recipe on pinterest and it's super healthy and super delicious. I served it with some avocado and tortilla chips and it was ah-mazing! ;)




Ingredients:
2 tablespoon canola oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups corn kernels
1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded or cubed
1/3 cup chicken  broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 can black beans
2 ounces cream cheese
2 cups Mexican blend cheese
Tortillas (I used flour but next time I think I will use corn)

Directions:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil in a large skillet, stir in the garlic and corn and cook until the garlic is fragrant.
2. Add the chicken, broth, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and black beans and bring to a light boil.
3. Simmer for 5-10 minutes to let the flavors meld.
4. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the cream cheese.
5. At this time, I just put the chicken mixture and cheese on a tortilla and put it in the quesadilla maker -- if you don't have one then heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a saucepan over medium heat, place tortilla onto the hot pan, and layer handfuls of cheese and chicken mixture on one half of the tortilla. Fold in half and flip when necessary ;)

Rotisserie Chicken Salad

Soooo, I have a lot of chicken left over. Haha! I decided to make chicken salad that Sam & I could take it to work this week but I didn't think rotisserie chicken would work with my favorite chicken salad recipe because it's so sweet. Hence, my new chicken salad recipe!

Ingredients:
5 cups diced chicken
1 1/4 cup of chopped celery
1/2 cup of diced onion
2 TBS parsley
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup of miracle whip
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the diced chicken, celery, onion, and parsley in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the miracle whip and milk. You will need to stir the miracle whip and milk for 1-2 minutes to make sure it's completely combined.
3. Add this mixture to the chicken and other ingredients in the large bowl. 

;)

Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken

Erin: I usually just pick up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store for quick meals but Trader Joe's had whole chickens for sale and I was having a lazy Sunday so I decided to make one myself. I found an easy recipe at busy-mommy.com (haha!) and decided to try it. It was really good and easy. It took little preparation and I just popped it in the crock pot and went about my day until it was ready. When it was done, we ate it with roasted garlic potatoes and I was able to make dinner using leftovers for the rest of the week. Win-win!

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken

2 Tbsp Paprika

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

2 Tbsp garlic powder or 3 cloves garlic

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients (minus the chicken) into a bowl and stir in water by the teaspoon until a paste forms

2. Spray crock pot with PAM

3. Coat the chicken inside and out with the paste

4. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until the thickest part of the thigh registers at 180 degrees

Woo hoo!

Toasted Ravioli with Marinara Sauce

Erin: This recipe is quick and easy and fabulous. Ravioli is a staple around here so this was a nice change from the regular ravioli and tomato sauce. It's a bit messy but totally worth it ;)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons whole milk
1 egg
3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 (25 ounce) package cheese ravioli
2 cups vegetable oil for frying
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
Marinara Sauce

Directions:

1. Combine milk and egg in a small bowl.
2.Combine breadcrumbs and seasonings in a shallow bowl.
3.Dip ravioli in milk mixture, and coat with breadcrumbs.
4. In a large saucepan, heat marinara sauce over medium heat until bubbling. Reduce the heat to simmer.
5. In a large heavy pan, pour oil to depth of 2 inches. Heat oil over medium heat until a small amount of breading sizzles and turns brown.
6. Fry ravioli, a few at a time, 1 minute on each side or until golden.
7. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately with hot marinara sauce.