Crock Pot Chicken with Taco Sauce

There's hardly a recipe for this one, the title almost says it all! There was a sale on boneless skinless chicken breasts this week, something I don't normally buy. So I put the whole package (I think it was 5-6 breasts), 2/3 of a jar of taco sauce (all we had) into the crock pot on low for six hours. Shred it with two forks or knives or whatever works for you. Add a can of black beans and a can of corn (or fresh equivalents). Serve over pasta. Some of us that could eat cheese added some cheddar on top. One daughter added some sour cream and said that was good too. The next night I reheated the leftover chicken (it made a lot) with some salsa, extra chopped onion, more corn, and served over rice. And I'm including this boring recipe here because A) it's safe for us, and B) my dh liked it and I want to remember to make it! :)

Mexican barley soup

We had a "winner" soup tonight -

as usual, no real measurements, but here is the idea of how to make it.

The first night, I crock-potted chicken thighs all day on low with about 2/3 of a cup of salsa on them.  After taking the meat off the bones to be used in another recipe, I used all the broth that produced, added to all the bones from the thighs -- simmer for four hours --to make the stock for this soup.  Strain off all the bones, meat, etc to leave only the broth behind.  You can take any meat you find to throw back into the soup.

To all that broth (it  filled my huge stock pot about 1/3 to 1/2 way) I added:

• 2 tsp cumin
• 3 or 4 dashes of chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 package of barley (it grows 4 times its size, how much you add depends on how "full" you like your soup and how much broth you have
• 1/3 cup frozen diced onion (more would probably be good but it gives me a stomach ache)

I cooked this at a rolling boil for 30 minutes, then added:

        1 large sweet potato, diced

Cooked that for another 20 minutes. Then added:

1 can corn

1 can black beans

any meat I had picked off the bones

Heat until warmed through (just a few minutes) and serve.  I think this would be good with rice or pasta instead of barley, also.

Honey baked lentils

Made this tonight with spaghetti squash - it was very good and will earn a spot in the rotation.  The pickier eaters didn't eat a ton but they said it was OK.  I used the brown/green lentil and honey option. Maybe someday we'll try red lentils and maple syrup. :)

Note: I have labeled this "wheat free" but I am unsure about the soy sauce...

Rice and Lentils

We tried a similar dish a few months ago.  Tasted about as good as cardboard -- not sure what I did wrong?  This one was much better and even the children (who balked at it last time) ate it and complimented my cooking. (?!?) ;-)

We ate this with dairy free drop biscuits (recipe follows).

For the Rice and Lentils (fed 2 adults and 5 children with leftovers):

1 medium onion or approximate in frozen chopped onion
olive oil if using fresh onion
1 cup lentils (I used brown)
2 cups white rice
3-4 cups chicken stock (mine had been from a garlicky-spiced chicken - this could be the key to yesterday's success! I make my own - check labels for allergens if you buy from store)
1 cup of water
extra water
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon (I think I used a little more)
1 tsp oregano
Cheddar for topping (totally optional - several people had it w/o and said it was fine)


Chop onion and gently saute in a Tbsp or two of olive oil in a big wok or stock pot until soft and clearer.  If using frozen onion (one of my favorite go-to's), just toss in pot and heat up for a few minutes. Adding frozen veggies to oil always results in too much spatter for my tastes so I don't do it if I don't have to.

Add the chicken stock and 1 cup of water, the lentils (rinsed), the rice, and the cumin, cinnamon, and oregano. Stir.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20-30 minutes until rice and lentils are tender. We like it extra cooked. :) Check occasionally and add water if it is drying out before being done...or keep the lid off if the time is up and there is still visible water/broth.  For those that can eat it, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and serve.

If you leave off the cheddar, this is egg, dairy, nut, wheat free.

While that was cooking, I whipped up these (warning, they were dry...but putting this out there for my own memory and to tweak later. I'm no foodie):

Dairy free Drop Biscuits

3 cups white flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 heaping Tbsp dairy/egg free mayo
1/2 tsp salt
3/8 cup safe shortening
enough water to make a barely stirable dough - about a cup?
cinnamon/sugar combo to top

Stir all ingredients except cinnamon/sugar together until fully mixed, but don't overstir - some lumps are OK.
Drop by large spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet, sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar and cook in a 450 F preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.  Serve warm with plenty of butter/safe spread.  These are dairy/egg/nut free, obviously not wheat free unless you sub for the flour.

Comments welcome on how to tweak this recipe for better palatability! (sp? is that even a word? LOL)  I was taking two different recipes, neither of them dairy free, and trying to combine and de-allergenize them.  The *taste* was OK, they were just heavy and dry.  I may try a cooler, longer bake time...that works to rise my dairy/egg free muffins well.

Today's yummy smoothie

1 frozen banana
~ 6oz plain yogurt
2 Tbsp sunbutter
handful of kale
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
protein powder (I used 1 serving - 2 scoops - of a vanilla whey powder)
water to reach desired consistency

Mix all in blender and drink cold!  Reminiscent of a Reece's peanut butter cup.  I think this could easily (and yummily) be made dairy free with rice milk instead of the yogurt/water and a vegan protein powder.

Quinoa Turkey Veggie "Surprise"

There's really no "surprise" in this meal, but anytime I don't know what to call something here, I wind up calling it "ingredient ingredient ingredient SURPRISE!" and the kids smile. I like when my kids smile, especially when it makes up for the fact that they didn't like the dinner, lol.

At least with this recipe, this is not the case. Everyone ate it, even the picky 3 year old.

It was very easy to make. As usual, I cook by instinct and taste, so measurements are approximate.

1 lb ground turkey
2 cups quinoa (I used this and it was the whole bag)
2 1-lb bags of asian style veggies (I used our store brand "Mandarin style")
enough water to make the quinoa as indicated on the package
1+ lime(s)
garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste

Brown the ground turkey in the bottom of a large stock pot.  When browned, add enough water to cook the quinoa as indicated on the package directions, then add the quinoa.  Stir and add the bags of frozen veggies or  fresh cut vegetables if you are a purist. :)  Cover and bring to a boil; boil until veggies are tender and the quinoa is soft and cooked.  This took us 20-30 minutes.

At this point I added the juice of one lime, stirring the lumpy, sticky quinoa mess as I was doing so.  Because this was my children's first time trying this, I went easy on the spices. I think I personally would have enjoyed much more lime flavor. Your mileage may vary.   I did the same with the garlic powder (probably 2 tsp?) and salt and pepper.    Add as much as you like. :)

We seem to need a lot of protein in our meals, next time I make this I will probably add more ground turkey. It seemed to get lost with so much quinoa.

This amount fed the 7 of us for two full meals with a salad on the side.   On a good day we have 3 "adult portion" eaters, 1 in-betweener, and 3 kid-size portion eaters.

another take on pork and rice

Had this yesterday and dh wants it added into the rotation:

You all know how awful I am at measuring while I cook, so bear with me, it's all eyeballed:

cooked pork, cut in small pieces (cup or two)
shredded or diced cabbage (maybe two cups or more?)
rice (2 cups uncooked)
onion powder (1-2 tsp)
minced garlic (2 tbsp)
lemon juice (of half a large lemon)
coconut oil (to stir fry everything, I used a lot!)

Cook rice - we set aside and put the rest on top at the end, but think it would have been much better stir fried together with the spices.

Heat coconut oil in large skillet, stir fry cabbage until it's getting soft, then add pork (this is where I would have added the rice), onion powder, minced garlic, lemon juice, and stir fry all until warmed up. If I had added the rice to the stir fry while cooking, I think I would have upped the amount of spices and lemon juice because it was pretty mild (but tasty) as it was. The pork itself had been grilled a day or two earlier, brined with garlic/onion powders rubbed on before grilling.

Another leftover chicken recipe - taco bake

no good measurements because I was mostly using leftovers!

Toss all into a casserole dish:

leftover cooked chicken, diced (it was maybe 1-2 cups)

1 can black beans, rinsed

about a can's worth of frozen corn

I threw in a huge handful of frozen chopped onion (could use fresh)

Stirred it all up with enough salsa to wet it down well.

Cover with (allergen free) crescent roll triangles or other dough sheet.

Bake at 350 long enough to cook the bread (I think ours was 20+ minutes)


I'm sure if would be good with shredded cheddar cheese if you can have that! We had it without and it was fine.

French bread Surprise (with chicken and Vegetables)

We'll call this French Bread Surprise because we often make this French Bread without the dinner hidden inside, so this is a surprise for our little ones.

All measures are approximate because I'm mostly using leftovers and didn't measure!

1 12oz bag frozen broccoli and cauliflower florettes
1 tube Pillsbury French bread
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1/3 (?) cup mayonaise (we used an egg/dairy free variety)
1 Tbsp + mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Defrost broccoli/cauliflower in the microwave and dice. Mix with diced cooked chicken, mayo, mustard, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Take the French bread out of the tube and try to unroll it. Lay it on an oiled baking sheet. Place the chicken/veggie mixture down the center and bring the sides of the dough up and over it, sealing on the top (pinching with your fingers). Bake in 350 oven 15-20 minutes, until dough is golden brown and mixture is heated through. This is egg free if you use safe mayo.

ETA: We tried this using some frozen onion/green pepper in addition to the other vegetables, and it was even better. (and I'm sorry Judy, I only saw your comment today, in January 2010!! LOL Feel free to use any recipes here)

Fruit Juice Gummies

I'm wondering if I can make these with our candy molds. Oh, the possibilities!

Wacky Cake

A version of wacky cake (a.k.a "vinegar cake") that I'd like to try.

Secret Ingredient No-Egg Brownies

My mom found this recipe in a local newspaper. We changed it around a bit and came up with:

Secret Ingredient No-Egg Brownies

1 Box brownie mix (for our case, free of nuts, eggs, dairy)
1 TBSP Cinnamon (I added less, about 1/2, and it was fine, but bet it would have been fine with the whole TBSP)
1 15 oz can black beans (the secret ingredient!)
(this was the original recipe)
I tossed in a big handful of Enjoy Life Foods mini-chocolate chips :)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Puree the black beans in blender. You'll see skins, that's OK, you can't tell later. Mix bean puree with brownie mix (don't add the oil, egg, etc that the brownie box calls for - just use the powder mix). Throw in the chocolate chips and stir. Pour all into a greased 8x8 cake pan (although we used a similar sized pie plate.

Cook at 350 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. The chips made it pretty gooey, but we liked it that way. :)

Enjoy!

(Thanks Lisa for noticing I didn't say what size can of beans - I responded in my comment section) :)

Ground Turkey Stir Fry

This one was a hit:

3/4 pound of ground turkey, browned (could sub. any other kind of cooked, chopped poultry)

1 can chicken broth (or 1 3/4 cup stock - this may vary if using instant rice, cook according to pkg directions for amts)

2 cups instant brown rice

3 cups sliced carrots

1 cup sliced celery

2 scallions, chopped up

2 Tbsp coconut oil

1/2 tsp garlic powder (or to taste)

1/2 tsp ground ginger (or to taste)

large pinch of salt



Brown the ground turkey and or chop up other cooked meat. Set aside to keep warm unless you can multitask and then brown this while some of the other things are cooking. ;-) Cook instant brown rice in the chicken broth, according to package directions, and set aside (alternately, cook *real* brown rice in broth!). Melt 2 Tbsp coconut oil in wok or large frying pan, and toss in all the veggies - cooking on med/high heat. Stir constantly. Sprinkle garlic powder, ground ginger, and salt on veggies as you are stirring/cooking. Cook until crisp-tender (or tender-tender if you have picky kids like I do, LOL). Mix cooked rice, cooked meat, and cooked veggies together and serve (or keep them apart for those picky toddlers).

Mixed Vegetable Soup

Mixed Vegetable Soup


2 T olive oil
1 leek chopped
2 medium sized potato, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 large parsnip, diced
2 tbs split red lentils
1 pint of vegetable stock (or chicken broth)
Additional water
Salt & Pepper to taste

Over a medium heat sauté the leek with the oil for approximately 5 minutes.
Add the potato, carrot and parsnip.
Cook for a further 5 minutes.
Add the stock and lentils.
Bring to the boil, turn down heat, cover and then simmer for 30 minutes.
Liquidize, return to saucepan, and add water until required consistency.
Heat, season and serve immediately.

Pumpkin pie

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup rice milk (or other dairy substitute)
2 cups (1 can) pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
prepared pie crust (we prefer an egg/dairy free graham cracker crust)


Let gelatin sit in water for a few minutes before dissolving over low heat. Throw the rest of the ingredients (except pie crust) into the pot, mix together, and pour into prebaked or graham crust. Refridgerate several hours before serving.

Simple chicken and rice

Surprising amount of flavor for few ingredients:

Leftover chicken broth from roast/crockpot
Instant brown rice
Leftover cooked chicken, cubed
Frozen broccoli and cauliflower, cooked
salt and pepper

Make brown rice according to package directions using the chicken broth instead of water. Combine hot finished rice with cubed chicken and cooked frozen veggies, salt and pepper to taste.

Surprisingly tasty (tasted like soy sauce was added), healthy, filling, easy, and allergen free!

Spring Turkey Toss

This is an adaptation of one of my favorite spring dishes, called "Spring Butterflies" from 365 Easy Italian Recipes by Rick O'Connell. We had turkey for Easter this year, so this is one way we are using up the leftovers!

2 cups rice
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4" diagonal slices
3 cups broccoli florettes, chopped bite sized
2 tsp fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
2 cups chicken stock or safe canned broth
1 10 oz package frozen peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
2 cups cooked turkey, cubed
salt and pepper
(Parmesean cheese if you are not worried about dairy)

Cook the rice as directed on package and put aside (the recipe is also good with 1 lb farfalle pasta instead if wheat is not an issue).

In large frying pan or wok, heat oil over medium heat (3 Tbsp butter, if not avoiding dairy, is yummy instead). Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes. Stir in broccoli, carrots, and thyme. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add stock and turn heat to medium-high. Cook about 5 mintues - until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in peas, turkey, and basil and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve over cooked rice (or toss with pasta).

Serves 6.

Salmon Patties

Here's tonight's meatless, relatively easy and kid-friendly fare: Baked Salmon Patties with Leek and Dill. My picky 3yo ate it all, which definitely says something!

1 14.75 can pink salmon
2-3 Tbsp eggless/dairy free mayo (we use Hain, there are others with various ingredients)
1 leek
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/2 -1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp lemon juice
Kaiser or other semi-crusty roll

Clean salmon of skin and bones and set aside. Cut off about 3 inches of the leek (trimming and discarding the very end of the root). Rinse, pat dry, and chop leek. Saute in olive oil for 3-4 minutes to soften, stirring constantly. (To save time, and because I can never seem to 'pat dry' well enough, I did the following instead: chopped the still dirty leek, then rinsed in a strainer, and put in a hot, dry frying pan, stirring constantly for a minute to dry them off. Then I pushed them aside and added the oil to the pan, and sauteed from there).

Add cooked leek to the salmon. Stir in the safe mayo - enough to make the salmon stick together. Add the dill and lemon juice and mix well.

Form into bun sized patties and place on non stick or foil lined cookie tray or jelly roll pan. Bake for approximately 15 minutes at 350* F.

Serve on lightly toasted kaiser rolls (although they were also good on plain ol' hamburger rolls!) My family said these were good with baby dill pickles too. :)

Serves 4-5.

Unleavened Bread (for Passover or Holy Thursday)

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp honey
1/8 cup shortening
1/2 cup water

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add next three ingredients one at a time, mixing after each addition. Knead dough 10 minutes. Roll out dough until 1/2 inch thick. Form into a round shape and cut a cross on the surface with a knife. Bake at 350* F for 35-40 minutes.

Garlic Lime Crock Pot Chicken

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp garlic powder (the recipe said 3 cloves garlic - I recommend this instead but didn't have it)
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/3 cup chopped leeks
2 small carrots, grated
Splash of lime juice (I accidentally added A LOT more, maybe a Tbsp or a bit more, and it was good!)

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix all ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 5-7 hours or high for about 3 hours or until chicken is cooked through.