Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

Another favorite from www.skinnytaste.com!  I plan on cooking this again sometime soon and trying it as a freezer meal...hopefully it will be just as tasty that way!  I have tons of peppers right now from Mama's garden, and this would be a great way to use them up!

The author of skinnytaste highly recommended using chicken thighs instead of the boneless, skinless chicken breasts; she stated that they taste much better.  I usually just throw the breasts in anyway, because that's what I stock up on when they are on sale.  I made a special note on my grocery list for this one, however, and I totally agree with Ms. Skinnytaste...the meat cooking on the bone definitely tasted better.

• 8 chicken thighs, with the bone, skin removed
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes 
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into strips (I go ahead and use the whole thing)
• 1/2 green bell pepper, sliced into strips (again, I don't see a need in storing half a pepper)
• 1/2 large onion, sliced (yep - I used all of this one, too)
• 1 tsp dried oregano 
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh herbs such as basil or parsley for topping

1. Season chicken with salt and black pepper and place in the slow cooker. 
2. Pour tomatoes over the chicken, top with onions and peppers, add oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper, and give it a quick stir.  
3. Set crock pot to LOW 8 hours or HIGH 4 hours. (My crocks never seem to really take this long.)
4. To help thicken the sauce, remove the crock lid and let it cook on high for around an hour; you may want to add a tablespoon or so of cornstarch as well.
5. While the sauce is thickening, I go ahead and debone the thighs....it makes prep for the kiddos easier!

Serve over linguine and sprinkle with parmesan cheese!  

Salsa Chicken

Tons of uses for this tasty Salsa Chicken that tastes like we just picked it up from our favorite Mexican Restaurant.  It's a recipe I tried from www.chef-in-training.com; I used it for soft tacos the first night and made chicken nachos  and quesadillas later in the week.  The kids preferred eating the chicken by itself....that works, too!  Jeremy suggested using it for enchiladas, so I'm sure we'll try something like that for the next go-round.  Today, I'll be tossing all of these ingredients in a gallon-sized freezer bag to make the already easy prep even faster, getting ready for those busy weekday mornings that are approaching.

• Chicken Breasts
• 1 cup salsa (I ended up using the entire 16 oz. jar in my crock after watching it cook.)
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1 can cream of chicken soup 
• 1/2 cup sour cream (We do love some sour cream...so I'm overly generous with this!)

1. Add chicken to slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken.
3. Mix salsa and cream of chicken in bowl; pour over chicken.
4. Cook on low for 4.5-6 hours or until chicken is done.
5. Shred chicken, return to crock, and stir in sour cream.

Zucchini, Black Bean, and Rice Skillet

That sure is a long name.  I should probably just call it "Pretty Skillet" for short, because I love just watching all of the colors get all happy together while they are simmering away.
This was another Pinterest find, but the original recipe can be found here.  I altered it just a bit, using whole grain rice instead of the instant white rice.

• 1 T oil
• 1.5 cups zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
• 1/2-1 cup diced green bell pepper
• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes with garlic, undrained
• 1 cup whole grain rice, cooked
• Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend

1. Cook rice and set aside. (I cooked this during the kids' rest time and prepared all of the veggies.  Once supper time rolled around, it made it super easy to toss together.)
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add zucchini and bell pepper; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add beans & undrained tomatoes; bring to a boil.
4. Add rice; stir well.
5. Once everything is nice and hot, remove from heat.
6. Sprinkle with cheese, cover, and let stand until cheese is melted.

What a quick and easy (and pretty) way to get lots of veggies in one dish!  This will be a great dish to take to work for lunch....and it went great with the Melty Chicken, another Pinterest experiment!

Melty Chicken Breasts

Super quick way to dress up plain chicken a bit for a weeknight meal.  Found, somewhere, on Pinterest...not sure of the original source since the pinner altered the recipe.

• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• boneless, skinless chicken breast

1. Mix the first five ingredients.
2. Spread over chicken breasts.
3. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until done.