Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

So I first ran into this recipe while making one of the Once A Month Mom menus.  I was hesitant to eat it but once I tried it we were hooked so I decided to make it again as it was an easy crockpot meal and it had been a while since we had eaten it.

It definitely has some kick to it but it is oh so yummy!!  I put a little cheese on it on a bun and inhale!  Plus there were a few too many leftovers for us so I just tossed them in a freezer bag and froze the rest.  It reheats great as well!!

So here is the linky back to the original recipe.  I didn't really change anything except for the fact that I used all chicken breasts and didn't use molasses (I'm not a fan of it!).

Slow-Cooker Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, , cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes (diced tomatoes would work as well)
1/4 - 1/3 c hot pepper sauce, or more to taste (I used 1/4 c and it was not too hot)
3 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T yellow mustard
1 T unsulfured molasses
8 hamburger buns

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add chicken thighs, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring once, until meat is golden brown, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a slow cooker, leaving as much oil behind as possible. Repeat with chicken breasts.
2. To skillet, add onion, garlic and bell pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until onion is translucent, 6 minutes. Add ¼ cup water and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from skillet, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to slow cooker.
3. To slow cooker, add crushed tomatoes, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and molasses. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on high until chicken is very tender, 4 hours. Shred chicken and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve on buns.

Potato Pizza Casserole

So the search for this recipe came from my co-workers.  A couple of the girls (who are also roommates) were coming to work with leftovers of what they called 'Potato Pizza Casserole' and boy did it look tasty!!!  I have made this a couple times now and I'm still trying to get the timing right so that all the potatoes are cooked through but I do have one more left in the freezer to try!  Basically all it is is potatoes, meat, tomato sauce seasoned, pepperoni and cheese.  It's so yummy, my husband isn't 100% convinced yet, but he is a little crazy :)

I found the recipe on no other than the Allrecipes website.

Potato Pizza Casserole

• 1 pound ground beef
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 5 cups peeled and thinly sliced potatoes
• 1 (3 ounce) package chopped pepperoni
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed fiesta cheese soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cook the ground beef and in a large skillet over medium heat until evenly browned. Drain off grease. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
2. Spread the sliced potatoes in a layer on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread the ground beef over the potatoes. Place slices of pepperoni over the ground beef. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the tomato soup, fiesta cheese soup, and milk. Season with oregano and Italian seasoning. Mix well, and cook until heated through. Pour over the contents of the baking dish.
3. Cover the dish with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove the aluminum foil, sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top, and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly

Taco Pockets

Ever want tacos but don't want the mess?!  I am a huge taco fan but my husband isn't so much.  So I found this recipe in one of my Taste of Home cookbooks and thought it sounded quick and easy and it was sooooooo good!  I did tweek a few things and I couldn't find the recipe online to link back to so I will just give you my version!  You could almost do anything with this recipe, I may try some different combinations next time!!

Taco Pockets

adapted from Taste of Home

• 1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
• chopped onion (we used dried onion flakes)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 3 tubes (8 oz each) refrigerated crescent roll dough
• various taco toppings (sour cream, guac, etc)

1. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain.  Add taco seasoning and water as directed on packet.
2. Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into 12 rectangles pressing seams together well.  Place on ungreased baking sheets.  Place a spoonful of meat in the center of each rectangle.  Top with a large pinch of cheese and a spoonful of salsa.  Bring all four corners up to the center and pinch to seal.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve desired with desired toppings.

These really freeze well too and then you can just warm them up in the oven if you want.  Ours didn't last long enough for me to freeze any.  They were so yummy!!  I could probably eat these every day!

 

Jambalaya!!

OHHHHH Jambalaya how we love you!  This is hands down one of our favorite meals for me to make.  Now don't get me wrong this is probably North Dakota Jambalaya but we like it!  So I got the original idea here but have kind of revamped it to our liking. So here is my recipe as I make it.

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

• 1 lb boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
• 1 lb andouille sausage, cut into slices
• 1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 0.5 onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 8 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 cup chicken broth (or chicken bouillon cube made as chicken broth)
• 1 Tbsp homemade Creole seasoning
• 1 lb cooked, frozen shrimp, thawed and tails removed
• 4 cups cooked rice

1. Mix together chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, pepper, celery, broth and seasoning in a large crockpot (4-6 quart).
2. Cook on High for 1 hour.  Turn down to Low and cook approx 4-5 hours or until meat is cooked and tender and vegetables are cooked through.  Put shrimp in and cook for 30 minutes.
3. Add cooked rice and mix well.  Serve and enjoy!