Crystal's chicken creation

This entire pregnancy I have craved beans and I needed dinner the other day for me and the hubby so I opened up the pantry and fridge and this is what I came up with:

1 can rotel
1 can corn
1 can white beans
3 frozen chicken breasts
1 bottle of Italian dressing (I used light/zesty)
1/4 box of chicken broth

Put everything in your crockpot and cook on low for about 6 hours!

I served this with some Krash potatoes, and it was oh so good!

My take on Baja Chicken Soup--Take 2

So I got the new Real Simple just for the month of menus. There are some great recipes in there so this is my take on it! I am not a big soup person, but this was awesome. You get nice heat from the ro-tel, perfect!

1 32 oz carton of low sodium chicken broth
1 can black beans (not rinsed)
1 can ro-tel
1 package of chicken breast (refrigerated section) (I was gonna use a rotisserie chicken but they didn't have any it calls for 2 cups)
1 can corn
8 oz sour cream (buy a bigger thing of it because you'll want more for your bowl)

Throw it all in a stock pot and let it go. I started it on med but turned it down once it was simmering nicely. Whisk in sour cream. Serve with crackers or corn muffins!

Turkey Black Bean Chili

There is a spice store that I had heard the girls on the What's Cooking board talk about called Penzeys Spice Co. Well a while back I stumbled across one on Metcalf by my lawyers office so I decided to make a stop while I was down there! They have catalogs that have all of their spices and wonderful recipes in them. I made this recipe out of the catalog! It was so good, my favorite chili, hubby thought it was quite tasty as well. I served it over the red-lobster biscuits I have blogged about!

Turkey Black Bean Chili
1 med. onion (we didn't use)
1 garlic clove (or 1/4 tsp minced garlic) I used 2 tsp minced because we love it!
1 lb. ground turkey
4 Tb. chili powder (I used 3 as we don't like stuff too hot)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. penzeys freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp. salt (Optional)
14 oz. chicken broth or 14 oz water mixed with 1 tsp. chicken soup base
2 16oz cans black beans (I only used 1 can) (1 drained and 1 undrained) I subbed 2 tbl flour to thicken the sauce
1 16 oz can kidney beans
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes (I used 1 can tomato sauce)
1 16 oz bag from corn or the kernels from 4 large ears (I used 1 can of corn)

Put the onion, garlic and turkey in a large stock pot. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the turkey is cooked through. Add the spices and cook, stirring, about 5 mins. Add the chicken broth and stir well to get the browned bits up from the pan. Add the beans, tomatoes, and corn. Cook for 10-15 mins. Serve with tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, and/or sour cream. Vegetarian version: substitute the turkey with tofu or meatless crumbles and use all of the bean liquid instead of the chicken broth.


Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Serves: 6-8

I got dutch cocoa, Greek seasoning, Herbes de Provence and Bouquet Garni while I was there and will be replacing my seasoning with theirs because it is awesome!

Pasta E Falioli

Beans and Pasta? This was pretty much my husband's response when I told him the menu this week. I went ahead and made it since I had heard so much about it, well he loved it, and so did I. This will stay in our rotation for sure! (Yes we already changed out menu for the week, but I forgot I needed to go to the store to buy the ingredients for the crock pot meal this week, so I'll make it tomorrow while I'm busy on house stuff!)





PASTA E FAGLIOLI
Credit: Smells Like Home
by way of Full Bellies, Happy Kids


2 tablespoons EVOO
1 medium onion, diced (we didn't use as we don't like onion)
4 strips bacon (uncooked and cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
2 cloves garlic, minced (used 2 tsp. minced garlic)
3 cups jarred or homemade spaghetti sauce *I used 1 Jar of spaghetti sauce*

1 (15oz) can cannellini beans (rinsed and drained)

2 tablespoons grated pecorino-romano cheese, plus more for garnish *substituted Parmesan cheese for the pecorino-romano*

1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper (pinches to taste)
1 lb ditalini pasta or other small tubular pasta (i.e., elbows) *I one box of penne*




In a deep stockpot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat then saute onions for 3 minutes. Add bacon and a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes, occasionally stirring to keep the bacon from burning.

Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Turn heat to medium-low, add sauce, beans, 2 tbsp pecorino-romano cheese, garlic powder, oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Stir to combine well and cook for 15 min. While sauce mixture is cooking, cook pasta until tender and drain well. Add pasta to sauce mixture and combine well.

Turn heat to low and allow pasta and sauce flavors to “mingle” for 5 minutes. Serve with grated cheese and crusty bread, if desired.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

My take on Baja Chicken Soup

At our local bar & grill they have the best Baja Chicken Soup so I thought I would try and re-create it at home. This is how I did it!

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in bite size pieces
1 tbl olive oil
1 can cheddar cheese soup
3 cups chicken broth
1 can ro-tel
2 cans black beans drained and rinsed
1 can corn
1 packed taco seasoning

Place olive oil in stock pan, heat over medium heat, throw in chicken. Cook until it's white on outside. (It will cook more so make sure and don't cook all the way through). Place can of soup and chicken broth in pot and bring to boil. Then place rotel, beans and corn in pot. Season to your taste with seasoning packet (I only used 1/2 for us). Simmer until heated through and ready to eat.

Cheesy, beefy, rice and bean enchiladas

This recipe has some inspiration from one of my favorite blogs, Amber's Delectable Delights. She has 2 enchilada recipes on her blog and it reminded me that I should make some this week!

Crystal's Cheesy, Beefy, Rice and Bean Enchiladas

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground turkey
Taco Seasoning packet
1 jar taco sauce
1 can black beans
enough white rice (I used Minute Rice) for 2 servings, already made
4 oz cream cheese
2 cups Mexi-Blend Cheese
6-8 flour tortillas

Brown ground beef and turkey together in skillet over medium heat. Drain. Return to skillet. Stir in packet of Taco Seasoning and make according to directions. Stir in 4oz of cream cheese and let melt.

Pour enough taco sauce in 9x13 pan to cover bottom. Drain and rinse black beans. In assembly formation take one tortilla and place it in the palm of your hand. Now place a scoop of ground meat in tortilla, then a spoon of beans and a spoon of rice in tortilla, top with shredded cheese, roll up and place seam side down in pan on top of sauce. Continuing rolling all enchiladas with meat, rice and beans. Cover with taco sauce and remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until cheese is melted and browned.

Mom's Best Enchiladas

These are the best enchiladas in the world. My mom made them when I was growing up, I was craving them so I got the recipe off her. This is how I made it!

1 lb ground beef-browned
10 tortillas (flour, like 10 inches)
1 Tbl Crisco
1 Tbl flour
1/2 package Williams chili seasoning
2 cups chicken broth
1 can black beans (rinsed)
1 lb shredded cheddar cheese

Mix the ground beef and black beans together. Heat the Crisco in a skillet over med heat, when clear mix in flour and chili seasoning. Add chicken broth. Stirring occassionally let heat until thin gravy consistency.

Now to make them. Spray a 9x13 pan with pam. Take one tortilla and dip then turn over in the gravy, now put a spoonfull of beef mixture on the tortilla and cover with a handful of cheese. Do this with the 10 tortillas. Roll them like a burrito and line in the 9x13 pan. (it is easiest to dip then put the tortilla directly in the pan, then roll). Cover with remaining sauce and cheese.

I put mine in the fridge while we ran some errands and then heated up when we were ready for dinner. It took 30 mins on 350 degrees. This can also be made casserole style with layering the ingredients instead of rolling them.

If I can get our darn camera to work tonight I will take a picture when I get home!

Kevin's Chili

This is basically the recipe on the back of the Williams Chili seasoning packet. However we add extra beans and some sugar. This is the best thing my hubby makes!


2 lbs hamburger (or venison) meat
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 can chili beans
1 can red beans
1 packet Williams chili seasoning
2 tbl sugar
1 8 oz water

Brown hamburger meat, drain. Add in all ingredients. Bring to simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes or until you are ready to eat!

Spicy chicken with cornbread

This is from the Favorite Brand-Name Best-Loved Quick fixes from mixes recipe book. This is the first one I've tried out of it and can't wait to try more because it was awesome!

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
2 Tbl EVOO
1 package taco seasoning
2 cans black beans drained & rinsed
1 can ro-tel drained
2 cans mexican corn drained
1 package corn bread with ingredients to make it
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup red bell pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees spray 3 quart dish with cooking spray.
Heat EVOO in large skillet over medium heat. Brown chicken until the middle is no longer pink. Make cornbread according to instructions, then stir in cheese and bell pepper. Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken. Add black beans, Rotel and corn. Mix together then pour into prepared dish. Pour cornbread over the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cornbread is golden.


****Next time I may put some cheese in before I put the cornbread on top****