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! :)

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 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)

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).

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.

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.