Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

Ingredients:

• 12 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 3 pounds) *you can also use breasts
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 6 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• Hot cooked long grain rice

Directions:

1. Place chicken in a 4 qt. slow cooker.  
2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, soy sauce, cider vinegar, ginger, garlic and pepper.  Pour over chicken.  
3. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until chicken is tender.  
4. Remove chicken to a serving platter; keep warm.  Skim any fat from cooking liquid.  
5. Place liquid in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  
6. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth.  Gradually stir into liquid and stir until sauce is thickened.  
7. ***Shortcut: I removed chicken, combined cornstarch and water and poured them directly into the sauce which I left in the crock pot (turned on high).  I whisked until thickened. Chicken just fell apart when I removed it, and then I just added it back into the crock pot with the thickened sauce.
8. Serve with chicken and rice.
9. Serves about 8 people.

This is a recipe I slightly modified from the Lake Luke Cottage Kitchen blog.  I was very happy with the end result and will definitely make this again.  We served it with fresh steamed broccoli.  Fresh pineapple slices would also be delicious mixed in or as a side.  Big hit with the family, very kid-friendly!  I read a comment that you can half this recipe, but you'd likely want to cut down a bit on the cook time.

Chicken Fajita Melts

 

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf of french bread (I used 6 wheat bolillo rolls)
• 2 grilled chicken breasts, cut into slices (you can also buy pre-cooked grilled chicken slices!)
• 1 teaspoon fajita seasoning (I have also used taco seasoning and it works great)
• 1/2 green pepper, sliced
• 1/2 red pepper, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced (you could also use a bag of frozen peppers and onions)
• 1/3 cup salsa (more or less depending on how much you like)
• 4 slices of your favorite cheese (I like cheddar or pepperjack)
• 1 large avocado (optional)

Directions:

1. Slice the bread open lengthwise so you have two long pieces.
2. Season the chicken breasts with the fajita seasoning (or taco seasoning) and grill on both sides until cooked through.  Let cool slightly, then slice into thin strips. (If you are using pre-cooked chicken strips, just warm them up. You don't even need to season them with fajita seasoning if you don't want to)
3. Saute the peppers and onions with some fajita seasoning for about 3-5 minutes, or until the water has cooked off.
4. To assemble, spread the salsa on the bottom of the bread. Add the grilled chicken slices, then the sauteed peppers and onion, then the cheese slice.
5. Put under the broiler to melt the cheese.
6. Cut bread into slices and serve (topped with fresh avocado).

Slightly adapted from sixsistersstuff.com

These were really easy and delicious!

Cream Cheese Chili

Ingredients
1 can black beans
1 can corn, undrained
1 can Rotel, undrained
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 8 oz package light cream cheese
2 frozen chicken breasts

Directions
Drain and rinse black beans. Place chicken at bottom of pot, then pour out whole can of corn (undrained), rotel, and black beans. Top with seasonings and ranch mix. Stir together. Place cream cheese on top. Cover with lid and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir cream cheese into chili. Use 2 forks to shred chicken. Stir together and serve.

Source: www.plainchicken.com 

Mediterranean Pita Pizza

Ingredients:

• 6 pitas
• 1 small container Hummus (about 1/3c)
• 1/3c feta
• Chicken breasts (2 large or 3 medium) cooked and chopped *rotisserie chicken would make this meal even faster!*
• Spinach
• Tomato
• Sliced olives
• Green onions, sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Spread hummus over pita and top with feta and chicken. 
3. Bake on a cookie sheet for about 10 minutes.  For the last 2 minutes of cook time, we slid ours directly on the rack to make for a crispier pita crust.  Loved it that way!
4. Cut pita pizzas into slices.
5. Top with spinach, tomatoes, olives, and green onions.
6. Enjoy!

  

My girlfriend, Carla, made these for us and we absolutely loved them!  They are filling but light... flavorful and delicious.  Kid friendly too, although Emma went without the green onions.  This will be on regular rotation at our house!