Crockpot Thai Yellow Curry

I love it when I find a good crockpot recipe. I've been thinking over all my favorite recipes lately and trying to make them into crockpot recipes. It's just so easy and simple, and it makes your house smell amazing for the whole day.

And this curry was now exception. My house smelled unbelievable all day, and by dinnertime I was so hungry. I'm happy to report that this tasted as good as it smelled. The leftovers were gobbled up quickly and I was left wanting more. So now I am sharing this wonderful recipe with you, you're welcome!

Oh, and if you're ever looking for a good website for yummy recipes try Everyday Reading. I haven't tried a recipe she's recommended and not loved it.

Crockpot Thai Yellow Curry
Adapted from Everyday Reading

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 Tablespoons red curry paste

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk

1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 Tablespoons fish sauce

1 lime, juiced

2 teaspoons brown sugar

Cilantro for garnish, optional

Rice, for serving

Place the chicken in a crockpot and add curry paste, curry powder, coconut milk, and broth. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 30 minutes before serving (around the time you're starting the rice), shred the chicken, then whisk the cornstarch together with the fish sauce and lime juice until smooth, and pour into crockpot. Add sugar, stir to combine, and let cook for 30 more minutes, until sauce is thickened (add more cornstarch if you want it even thicker).

Serve over rice.

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

Perfect meal for moving week. Or in our case, moving month. We closed on our house 2 weeks ago and it has been the longest 2 weeks of my life (besides the last 2 weeks of my pregnancy with Logan, of course). We have been so busy washing, repairing, painting, washing, cleaning, ripping out carpet, and the list goes on. Buying a foreclosure is a lot of work. But, I do get to make the house what I want so that is great! Yesterday I had a great time trying to fix the garage door by myself with a very unhappy baby while Brian was up at school. It ended with a very hysterical me calling Brian in tears telling him I broke the garage. I didn't, but I felt like  I did. It all ended well, Brian fixed it with little effort and I got to go home and have this for leftovers.

This recipe was a simple throw-everything-in-the-crockpot-and-let-it-cook recipe. Love it. And it made A LOT of soup, so we are having continuous leftovers this week since I have been too busy to cook. I think everyone is sick of chili but I'm not yet. I am a hardcore chili lover. But I think I need to freeze what is left of it and spare my family another meal of leftover chili. I'd give this recipe 4 stars. I forgot to buy sour cream to serve with it, but for sour cream lovers I would stress serving it with this. 

I know I have fallen off the wagon with my cooking lately, but I promise, we only have one more week of hell (exams, moving, and cleaning and vacating the apartment) and I will be back to my regular self, hopefully...

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili
Source: Skinny Taste
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped 
1 16-oz can black beans 
1 16-oz can kidney beans 
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
10 oz package frozen corn kernels
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies (used a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes)
1 packet taco seasoning 
1 tbsp cumin 
1 tbsp chili powder
24 0z. (3) boneless skinless chicken breasts 
chili peppers, chopped (optional)
chopped fresh cilantro 
  
Directions:
Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Top with fresh cilantro. Also try it with low fat cheese and sour cream (extra points). 

Barbecue Chicken Sanwiches

I made these as well when my sister was here. She loved them. Brian wasn't hungry when we had them for dinner and he was a little peeved at my sister when he saw her eating the leftovers for lunch the next day until he found out there was enough for him to have a sandwich too. So I'd say a little fight over the leftovers equals a pretty good recipe. I always like a good barbecue sandwich. They taste good and they are super easy, and we all know how much I love easy. I have found that the easiest way to make shredded chicken is to throw it in a slow cooker with some water and shred it after 5 or so hours on low. For this recipe I just put the chicken in the slow cooker with the barbecue sauce and let it cook. When it was ready I took 2 forks and pulled the chicken apart right in the cooker. It basically fell apart after cooking for so long. I would give this recipe 4 stars. There is nothing particularly special about it but it is a yummy, hearty meal. Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches Source: Disney Family Ingredients: 1/2 cup shredded cooked chicken 1/4 cup shredded carrots 2 tbs barbecue sauce 2 tsp light ranch dressing 1 small whole-wheat sandwich bun 1 leaf romaine lettuce Directions: Combine chicken, carrots and barbecue sauce in a bowl. Spread ranch dressing on the bun. Top with the chicken micture and lettuce.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I am proud to announce another 5 star recipe. The 5 star recipes have been few and far between with this series so needless to say I'm pretty excited about this one. I made this while my sister was in town and she seriously could not stop talking about it. They really were good and we had absolutely no leftovers after. I couldn't find a teriyaki-flavored rotisserie chicken (do they sell those in normal grocery stores?) so I bought a normal rotisserie chicken, took all the meat off the chicken, then made some teriyaki sauce and coated the chicken with it. It turned out pretty yummy and I had extra teriyaki sauce that I could put on the wraps if I wanted to. For those of you who have never tried it before, making teriyaki sauce is really easy. You just combine 

1 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 soy sauce

1 tbsp cornstarch. 

Bring it to a boil while stirring, then reduce heat and let simmer. It will eventually thicken up.

Or if you don't want to make it, buying a bottle of teriyaki sauce is an easy alternative. Any way you decide to make these lettuce wraps, they turn out great. This will definitely be making another appearance in our home again soon.

And just a little side note, I am skipping the Chicken and Pepper Egg Rolls. I made them while I was sick and didn't make them properly. They were a big flop and I don't feel like I can give them a proper review. Maybe I'll try making them again one day when the sting of failure has worn off a little bit!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Source: Disney Family

Ingredients:

1 teriyaki-flavored rotisserie chicken
1/4 cup red pepper, diced small
1/4 cup water chestnuts, diced small
1/4 cup bamboo shoots, diced small*
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic - minced
8-12 lettuce leaves, depending on size*

Directions:

Remove meat only from rotisserie chicken and dice small. This should give you about 2 cups of diced chicken.

Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken and remaining ingredients. Cook until heated through -- about 5 minutes.

Serve with lettuce leaves for wrapping.

*Ingredient Tips
Tender bamboo shoots can be found canned in the Asian aisle of your grocery store. Soft, round-leafed lettuce like butter or bib works best, but will iceberg also do.

Chicken Ravioli Soup

I made this soup after a grueling week of exams for Brian. It was a long, hard week for me as well. Not having Brian around at all and having Logan wake up at the crack of dawn made for some pretty tough moments. This soup was a relatively quick and easy meal to throw together. If you haven't noticed, I like meals that are quick to throw together. I also like meals that are an easy clean up, and I can say that this one gets a checkmark in that category as well. I'd probably give this soup 3 stars. The ravioli in it was a fun little change from just normal noodles, but the ratio of noodles to chicken to vegetables wasn't quite right. I would either half the amount of broth and ravioli, or double the vegetables. I'm not sure what I'd do about the chicken. put in 1.5 times more? Also, maybe adding some other seasonings along with the salt and pepper wouldn't be so bad. With those changes it could easily be a 4 star recipe. But, not bad for a quick recipe to put on the table after a long, long week.

Chicken Ravioli Soup
Source: Disney Family

Ingredients:
8 cups chicken stock or broth
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
2 cups refrigerated mini cheese-stuffed ravioli
1 cup cooked chicken - diced
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
Heat chicken stock in a soup pot to boiling; reduce heat and add carrot and celery. Simmer until vegetables are soft - about 20 minutes.


Add ravioli and cook according to package directions -- usually about a 5 minute simmer.


Stir in cooked chicken, salt and pepper as desired and serve.

Chicken BBQ Cheddar Pitas

These were pretty good. And pretty easy to make. They were a fun little meal that was quick and easy for me to pull together after a long, crazy day. I always feel like a great little homemaker when I am able to set a yummy meal on the table even when I'm busy. If you like BBQ chicken pizza you'll like this. The pita acts like a normal crust, so they aren't much different than a thin crust pizza. And they are fun for kids to have individual sized pizzas. Not that you can't do that easily with real crust as well, but this is just quick. I didn't end up using 6 pitas. Maybe I just loaded the pizzas with more ingredients then they had intended, but it was still enough for our little family. I'd give these little guys 4 stars. Yum.

Chicken BBQ Cheddar Pitas

Source: Disney Family

Ingredients:

6 pitas

1 pound shredded chicken1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 to 1 cup barbecue sauce

1/4 cup sliced green onion*

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Using kitchen shears, cut pitas clear around the edge, making two pita halves.Top each pita half with chicken, barbecue sauce, cheese and green onion. Set pitas on a cookie sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Creamy Chicken and Rotini Primavera

5 stars, 5 stars, 5 stars! The first 5 star dish from the 15 dinners under $1.50 pin. This was really yummy. I did use fresh carrots and broccoli instead of frozen, but I'm sure this recipe would still be great with frozen veggies as well. It's the sauce that makes it great, and the sauce is so easy. Cream cheese, milk, and italian dressing just mixed together and stirred into the pasta and vegetables. Honestly, when I find a dish this yummy that is this easy I get really excited. I did add a little extra cream cheese and italian dressing because I wanted it to be a bit saucier, but I just poured random amounts in until it looked good. And remember, if you decide to use fresh veggies instead of frozen, cook the vegetable before you add them to the rest of it. I've made recipes before where I've substituted fresh for frozen and forgot to cook them. 

Creamy Chicken and Rotini Primavera

Source: Disney Family

Ingredients:
1/2 pound dry rotini

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast - cubed
1 pound frozen vegetable mix - thawed
4 ounces Neufchatel cheese (reduced fat cream cheese)
1/2 cup lite Italian dressing
1/2 cup 2% fat milk

Directions:

Cook rotini per package directions to desired doneness. Drain well and keep warm.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken cubes and cook until no longer pink.

Combine cream cheese, dressing and milk and whisk until smooth.

Add thawed frozen vegetables to chicken along with sauce mixture. Stir well and heat through - about 5 minutes. Serve.

Easy Chicken Lo Mein

The 15 meals under $1.50 pin said that every newlywed and college student needed to know these recipes, and this one definitely reminded me of meals I would make when Brian and I were newlyweds. That time in my life when I was just figuring out the cooking routine and didn't have much time to put into it. This Chicken Lo Mein is quick and easy, living up to it's name, and uses ingredients that I usually have lying around the house. I always like finding recipes that use ingredients that I usually have in my pantry for the days that I just need to whip something up quick without going to the store. For those of you who have a bit more time, I would recommend using fresh vegetables instead of frozen. With fresh vegetables this meal would be a 4 star. It's pretty dang good with frozen vegetables, but I can't ever manage to get the crispness that I get with fresh veggies. In summary, this is a great meal for under $1.50.

Easy Chicken Lo Mein

Source: Disney Family

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil-sesame or peanut oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin slices
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce or teriyaki sauce
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger or 1 teaspoon powder
1 3-ounce package chicken flavor ramen noodle soup
1 1-lb bag frozen mixed oriental vegetables
1/4 cup water

Directions:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until no longer pink.

Add vegetables and lid. Cook until vegetables are cooked through, about 5 minutes.

In the meantime, cook the noodles (without the flavoring packet) according to package directions. Drain.

Add soy sauce, garlic, ginger and seasoning packet to water. Mix well. Pour over chicken and vegetables, add noodles and toss to mix.

Butter Chicken

My sister and I have a favorite Indian restaurant back home that makes the best Butter Chicken ever. Brian and I went there once to try it out and thankfully I ordered the Butter Chicken. The rest is history and it is now one of my favorite restaurants. But now that I am in Houston I can't just head on down to the Spice Hut anymore. I've been meaning to try and make my own Butter Chicken and as I was pinteresting this weekend I found this recipe. I've been hesitant to try my own Indian food because I was under the impression that it would be hard/time consuming to make but this recipe was very easy. Apparently McCormick makes garam masala seasoning as part of their gourmet collection but I couldn't find any at my local grocery store. So Brian and I just made our own. There are recipes for it all over the internet and they are all fairly similar, so just pick one. We made extra for next time.

Now on to the review. I would give this recipe 4 stars. It's not as good as the Spice Hut's Butter Chicken, but if you've never had it there then you won't know what you're missing. It makes a lot, especially for our family of 4, so I was able to freeze some for an easy meal in the future. Brian likes his chicken swimming in the sauce, so we would either add less chicken or make more sauce next time. The recipe also says to serve with pita bread. We did this and it was pretty good, but if you can get your hands on some Naan that would obviously be better. The recipe is easy to tweak to suit your own preferences, but I think the original is great without any adjustments and will definitely be added to my regular rotation of meals.

Butter Chicken

Source: Food Network

Ingredients

Spice Blend:

• 1 tablespoon garam masala seasoning
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 2 teaspoons jarred minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 skinless rotisserie chicken, boned out and pulled into 1 1/2 by 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 (10-ounce) box frozen peas, placed in a colander and run under hot water to thaw
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• Hot basmati rice, for serving
• Pita bread, warmed according to package directions, for serving

Directions

To make the spice blend: Stir the ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the pieces just begin to turn gold, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste and spice blend, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning. The spices will be fragrant. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and stir will. Add the chicken pieces, spoon the sauce over the top and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low and cook, uncovered, until the chicken is warmed through and the sauce is flavorful, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently. Remove the chicken to a serving dish and cover to keep warm.

Shake any excess water from the peas. Add the peas and cream to the sauce in the pan, stir well and heat through. Do not boil. Spoon the sauce over the chicken. Serve with rice and warmed pita bread.

Variation: If you prefer shreds of chicken to whole pieces, remove the skin from the chicken and pull the meat into large chunks by hand. Add to the pan along with the garlic, tomato paste and spice blend. Cook for 3 minutes and then add the tomato sauce and continue with the recipe. Serve over basmati rice.