Creamy Instantpot Italian Chicken

My neighbor brought this over for dinner one night while we swam.  Both of the kids loved it so I started looking for a rendition of it to add to our menu!  This is really yummy and everyone in our house loves it and asks for seconds!  I serve it over rice with a veggie on the side and the littles love to scoop it up with corn chips!

Ingredients:

• 3-4 chicken breasts
• greek seasoning
• packet of zesty italian dressing mix
• 2 cans of LF cream of chicken soup
• 1 can chicken broth
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 1 bag chopped spinach
• block of cream cheese (2% is fine)
• 2 bags of instant rice (1/2 cup uncooked) - cook in microwave

Instructions:

• In your Instantpot, cover bottom with chicken breasts.
• Season chicken with greek seasoning and sprinkle zesty italian mix over chicken.
• Over the chicken, pour the cream of chicken, chicken broth, lemon juice.  I often season this with some additional greek seasoning. 
• Cook on manual high pressure for 9 minutes, then let natural release for 10 minutes.  If chicken is frozen, cook for 12 minutes and let natural release for 10 minutes.
• After the 10 minutes of natural release, throw a towel over the valve and let the rest of the pressure out.
• With tongs remove the chicken pieces and shred.  
• Press the saute function.
• Cut your cream cheese up and evenly drop cubes into the soup.  
• Stir frequently until desired consistency is met and it is mixed in well.  Add back chicken as you shred it.
• Add the cooked instant rice and chopped spinach and stir well until spinach is wilted.
• Top with extra lemon juice and Parmesan if desired!  
• I usually mix the rice in but it can also be served over rice or pasta!

 Source:  https://onceamonthmeals.com/recipes/instant-pot-creamy-italian-chicken/

White Chicken Green Chili

I love chili but have been trying to incorporate more lean meat in our diet and in a hearty healthy way.  I would say this recipe accomplishes just that!  And everyone in my family loves "soup"!  This recipe was originally written to be made in a slow cooker which is great, but I make it at night when I get home in a big pot and it works just as well.  See the link for the original recipe. 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast (frozen or defrosted) (I often use either a rotisserie chicken or frozen diced precooked chicken for simplicity)
• 1 TBSP chopped garlic
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 Large carton of chicken stock
• 1 small jar of tomatillo or green chile salsa
• 1 can chopped green chiles
• 1-2 can white northern beans, drained (Any white bean works and I often use pinto as well as mix/match)
• 1 can reduced sodium corn
• salt and pepper to taste
• Lime Juice to taste
• Optional: Pepper Jack Cheese and/or Chopped Green Onions, sour cream and diced avocado to garnish

 

Directions:

In your pan, add garlic and chopped onion and sauté until tender.  Add everything else but the chicken and beans and bring to a boil.  Once you have brought it to a boil, add your chicken and beans and bring back to a boil.  Reduce heat and cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Add lime juice to taste!  Garnish with cheese and green onions if desired.  Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Directions:

In your slow cooker, layer chicken, onion, soup, salsa, green chiles, beans and water.  Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours (or on high 3 to 4 hours).  Remove lid and take two forks and shred chicken up right inside the slow cooker.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with cheese and/or onions.

 

That's it!  Isn't that easy?  You pile everything in, ignore it all day and then it's ready for you at dinner time.  Super yummy and hearty without any fuss.  Enjoy chili night!

Adapted Source: http://mixandmatchmama.blogspot.com/2012/10/dinner-tonight-white-chicken-chili.html

Chicken and Dumplings-Super Easy Version (My Favorite)

 This is by far my favorite chicken and dumplings recipe and the easiest. 

Ingredients

1 pound/bag of precooked diced chicken breast

1 TBS chopped garlic

Large Container of chicken broth (Approx 4-6 cups) or water

1 can of cream of chicken soup

Greek Seasoning

1 bag spinach

1 carton fresh mushrooms

lemon juice (Optional)

1 can of refrigerated biscuits (I use Grands Original) -You can use 2 cans if you want LOTS of dumplings like we do! 

 

Directions:

*I really like to flour my biscuits, roll them out, cut down the middle once long ways then cut them into thin strips.  Or you can pull off chunks of each biscuit and use that instead depending on what kind of dumpling you prefer.  (Rolling them reminds me of how my Gussie and then my parent's used to make homemade dumplings as a child.  I prefer thinner dumplings than the thicker ones.)

*Put garlic, broth and cream of chicken in large stock pot and bring to a boil. 

*  Once you feel your chicken and mushrooms are cooked, add in your biscuits.  You can pull them apart by hand and just drop them in.  Depending on your pot, you might want to reduce your heat just a tad.  I keep a big spoon that I use to stir pretty constantly as I drop them in so that they don't stick together.  Cook biscuits through.  Probably about 10-15 minutes.

*Add more broth/water if it is getting too thick

*Bring back to a boil then add mushrooms and chicken and boil until heated through stirring often.  (You can also use raw diced chicken but need to make sure to boil it long enough to cook it.  I would add it before the dough if it were raw.) 

 *Add your Greek Seasoning and a generous amount of lemon juice.

*Just before you are ready to serve, turn the heat down and add a bag of spinach.  Cover and let the spinach wilt.  Stir it in until it is cooked.

*Serve.

 

That's it.  The easiest chicken and dumplings ever and so so good!

 

 

*I usually use a large carton of broth and end up adding more broth at the end because it is a little too thick for my taste.

 

You can also substitute a bag of wide egg noodle dumplings for a simple no fuss dumpling, but it isn't quite as tasty!

 

*This could easily be done in the crockpot with some chicken breasts, mushrooms and the soups cooked all day on low.  Shred your chicken, add your dumpings and the rest of the ingredients when you get home and heat until ready.

 

Source (Adapted):

http://mixandmatchmama.blogspot.com/2012/09/dinner-tonight-chicken-and-dumplings.html

Pot Roast

I have been craving a good roast for the past few months so I finally made one and it was delicious! It has been years since I last made one so I decided to look for an easy fail proof recipe and this is just that!

Ingredients:

1 Roast (Around 5 lbs)
2 cans LF cream of muchroom soup
1 can reduced sodium beef broth
1 package of Onion Soup Mix
1 carton sliced mushrooms
1 small bag of baby carrots

Directions:

* Wash roast and place in bottom of crock pot.
* Pour all other ingredients over the roast. I used the entire small tub of mushrooms and about half a small bag of baby carrots.
* Cook on low for about 7-9 hours or high for about 3-5. I often cook on low for a bit and crank up to high for a few hours to finish it.
* You can also add potatoes to the crockpot but I decided to make them on the side this time!

Baked Potato Soup

I saw this recipe on THIS blog and thought it looked so easy, hard to screw up, and oh so delicious!  Definitely a favorite at our house!



EASY CROCKPOT POTATO SOUP


1 30oz. bag of frozen, shredded hash browns {I used Ore Ida}

3 14oz. cans of chicken broth

1 can of LF cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

1 pkg. cream cheese {don’t use fat free. It WON’T melt!!! Not sure about reduced fat, I will let you try it!}

In a crockpot, combine everything EXCEPT for the cream cheese. Cook for 6-8 hours on low heat. About 1 hour before serving, add cream cheese and keep heated until thoroughly melted. Serve with cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, green onions, or whatever else you think would be good!!

If you don't have time to prepare in the crockpot, do it on the stovetop and allow for about an hour of cook time. I make mine on the stove top and put everything but the cream cheese in, bring to a boil, then bring back to a simmer and add the cream cheese that has been cut into chunks. The closer to an hour the cream cheese gets the better it will have a chance to melt.

Yum! And this one is even better the second day!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

We recently had dinner at a friends house and they made us a delicious tortilla soup. With the weather starting to think about getting cool again, I always love to make a good soup. They are hearty, healthy, and warm your soul.

This is my rendition of tortilla soup and was delicious!

1 large container of low sodium/reduced fat chicken broth
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 can reduced sodium corn
5 chopped green onions
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into cubes
1 cubed squash
1 cubed zuchini
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups of cooked brown rice- (I use 1-2 bags of instant brown rice)
1 handful diced cilantro
1 lime-juiced
1 tbsp Chipotle Chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
tortilla chips
shredded Cheddar cheese
1 avacado chopped in cubes


DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, combine the broth, tomatoes and chilies and tomato sauce, corn, and green onions. Bring just to a boil then add the chicken, squash and zuchini. Boil for 10 minutes until chicken is cooked. Add black beans, cilantro, lime juice, rice and chipotle chili powder along with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat.

Serve bowl of soup. Top with crumbled chips, cheese and avacado.

ENJOY!

For crockpot--Prepare all of your veggies and onions etc the night before and store in a bag in the fridge.  Store onions in their own bad.  You could even cook your rice the night before. 

I add everything but the squash, zuchini and rice to the crockpot and top with whole chicken breasts.  Push them down just enough to be covered with liquid.  Cook on low all day. 

As soon as I walk in the door I add my veggies to the crockpot.  When I get settled I remove the chicken so I can shred it.  When done, add your rice and and shredded chicken and serve. 

Chili Verde

This is such a yummy pork taco meat recipe and is very well received by everyone we serve it to!  We serve it in tortillas with some cheese and sour cream and usually add beans or rice on the side. 


Ingredients:

• pork roast (trim excess fat)
• large chicken broth
• chopped onion
• jar salsa verde

Directions:

• Place pork roast in you crockpot with broth and add additional water to cover.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5. 
• Remove roast from crockpot and dump liquid. 
• Use two forks to shred the roast and return to crockpot.
• Add onions and salsa verde and mix well.  (I often omit the onions)
• Continue to cook on low for 30 minutes to an hour. 
• Serve with all of your favorite toppings! 

Speedy Chili

This is perfect on a cold night when you want chili but don't have all day to make it. My hubby, the firm believer in cooking chili all day, absolutely approves of this version of chili!

2 pounds lean ground beef
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 (16 oz) jar chunky salsa
1 can corn (drained)
1 (14 ½ oz) can fat free low sodium beef broth
1 (15 oz) can of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste

1. In a large nonstick saucepan, saute the beef and garlic over medium heat until browned, about 4-5 minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes.

This is great served with some avocado sliced on top and corn chips to scoop up the chili.

This would also be great in the crockpot on low all day!

Instantpot Directions:

*Put your pot on saute and brown your beef and garlic. 
*Add your broth and all of the other ingredients on top of that. 
*Press manual and cook on high for 10 minutes.  Be sure to close your valve!
*Let natural release for at least 10 minutes.  You can let it natural release all the way but if you don't, be sure to put a towel over the valve to catch any spray from the soup coming through the valve.
*Stir and server. 
*Enjoy!

Tali's Crockpot Chicken Tacos

This is a recipe my friend Tali highly recomends. It is her most requested. Can't wait to try it! This also freezes really well.


*1 packet taco seasoning
*1 can black beans (drained)
*1 can corn (drained)
*2-4 FROZEN chicken breasts
*1 jar salsa

Pour taco seasoning on bottom of crock pot, place chicken on top of that then pour in all of the rest of the ingredients. Set crockpot to low for 4-6 hours. About an hour before cooking, take out chicken and shred then place back in crock pot. Serve with tortillas or over chips/salad. You can also use leftovers as enchilada filling.