Chicken and Sweet Potato Yummyness

Oh my, this is our new favorite recipe!  I realized how much I loved it when I was jealous of Mr. Steady taking the leftovers to work the next day.  It is comfort food, with out the heaviness, flavor so rich you anticipate the next bite, over all delicious... so I had to share!  And it is a crock-pot meal, doesn't get any better in my book : )

What you need:
2-3 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
3 chicken breasts, cut in half
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of pepper
dash of garlic powder
dash of curry powder
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp. of orange zest (grated orange rind)
2 tsp. brown sugar

What to do:
1. Place sweet potatoes in bottom of  crock-pot
2. Place chicken on the sweet potatoes
3. In a separate bowl mix all remaining ingredients together.  Pour over the top of the chicken.
4. Cover.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
5.  Serve over rice or rice noodles.

Enjoy!!  I would love to know if you try this recipe... and if you do, if you like it as much as we all do!

*****************

B even had some for his dinner...

 (For those of you that don't have a baby, don't let this picture of ground-up food ruin your appetite)
* on a side note: We are loving the food mill... It makes dinner time so much easier for B.  He really enjoys the more flavor-full regular meals over plain veggies and fruit.
** Yes, those are Mr. Steady's manly hands in the 1st picture!  What a guy, helping me prep dinner!

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Crockpot season is upon us... well more like, crockpot season is upon some of you... it was high 80's in Socal today, so didn't quite feel like crockpot weather.  Regardless of your current weather situation, here is a great and easy meal to make.

BBQ Pulled Pork

Directions:
1.  Buy 1 package of McCormick Slow Cookers BBQ Pulled Pork

2. The recipe on the back calls for

• 3 lbs. boneless pork (I use the tenderloin from Costco)
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar

3.  Follow direction on the package

• Place pork in slow cooker
• mix seasoning, ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar, pour over pork, cover
• cook 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.  Remove pork from slow cooker
• shred pork, using 2 forks, return to slow cooker, mix and heat with sauce
• serve on baguette or rolls
• I usually serve sweet potato fries with ours

Oh, and it goes great with a Diet Coke too : )

Slow Cooker: Creamy Italiano Chicken

This has been one of our favorite meal for a few years now.  It was actually the very first meal that I was able to get H-man to eat some chicken (he was a little vegetarian).  This is also my usual go-to meal for bringing new mom's a meal.  I haven't met a kid or an adult that doesn't like it... not saying that everyone will, we are all so different.  But thus far it has been a huge success.

And did I mention it is SOOOO easy!

Ingredients:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I put my in frozen)
1 envelop dry Italian salad dressing mix

1/4 cup of water
8-oz package of cream cheese
1- 10 3/4 oz can cream of chicken soup

Directions:
1.  Place chicken in slow cooker (like I said, for simplicity sake, I put the breasts in frozen)

2.  Mix together salad dressing mix and water.  Pour over chicken.

3.  Cover.  Cook on Low for 4 hours (if frozen) 3 hours if thawed
4.  Pull out chicken and shred (I just use 2 forks to shred)

5.  Put chicken back in and mix in the liquid that is in the slow cooker.
6.  30- 60 minutes prior to serving, mix in cream cheese and soup.  Cover and continue cooking.

7.  Serve over whole-grain penne pasta.
8.  Sprinkle with parmigiana cheese (optional)

I usually serve ours with steamed broccoli, since that is a veggie my kids are guaranteed to eat : ).  Makes great leftovers as well.

Enjoy!

Original recipe found in "Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook"  I slightly varied it to fit our taste.  Awesome cookbook if you have a crock-pot/ slow cooker and need some recipes!