Crock Pot Honey Mustard Chicken

**originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 1-19-15**

One of the meats I cook with most in my crock pot is chicken. We love chicken in our house, and it’s so versatile with how you can cook it and what you can put it in, like soups. I came across this week’s recipe online as a healthy crock pot recipe. It is only 200 calories per serving, and this recipe makes 4 servings. It’s easy to throw together, and I had most ingredients in my house already actually. Now, I am generally not a fan of mustard, but this is delicious. The honey balances out the mustard nicely, along with the other spices and ingredients. The original recipe says to cut the chicken in strips, but I chose to shred it up and serve it over mashed baby red potatoes, SO GOOD! The sauce from this is pretty tasty, which is why I chose to serve it over potatoes, but you can just serve it on it’s own if you would like with a side of your choice.  I did thicken the sauce up to make it a bit more gravy-like (2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp cold water, then added to the crock pot), and it was really delicious.

Crock Pot Honey Mustard Chicken

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large onion, sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon country-style (coarse-grain) mustard
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper

Place chicken in the crock pot, and add sliced onions on top. In a small bowl, mix together all remaining ingredients, and then pour over the chicken & onions in the crock. Cook on low for about 6 hours.

Serve on it’s own or shred up to serve over potatoes or rice. If you want a thicker sauce, add in 2tsp corn starch dissolved in 1 Tbsp cold water at the end.

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili

**originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 10-20-14**

It's BACK! Season FOUR of "Julie's Crock of the Week" is here! I just want to say thank you to all the folks who chat with me year 'round about the Crock of the Week. It is so much fun for me! Happy to be kicking off another season here on WGLR!

I'm going to start with a chili I made over the summer. This isn't your typical chili recipe though! This caters to those with a love of heat, specifically, the kind of heat you get when you eat some buffalo wings covered in sauce. My husband LOVED this one, it's definitely a "man-pleasing" meal, haha! I am a fan of dousing buffalo wings in ranch dressing when I eat them to counter the heat. So, this chili was a bit hot for me, BUT I stirred in a few tablespoons of light ranch dressing into my bowl and it gave it a great flavor and helped turn it down a notch for me to enjoy. Leftovers tasted even better with this one. Top with some crumbled blue cheese or mozzarella, and it's a delicious meal in a bowl! Enjoy!

BUFFALO CHICKEN CHILI

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup diced onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• ½ cup diced bell pepper (any color you prefer)
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cups diced chicken breast
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 2 cans pinto beans rinsed and drained
• 1 28 oz canned diced tomatoes
• 28 oz chicken broth
• ¾ cup Buffalo wing sauce (or to taste. I used 1/2 cup of Frank's)
• Blue cheese or fresh mozzarella for topping (optional)

Throw veggies and garlic with the olive oil into a skillet, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Dump into crock pot. Using the same skillet, salt and cook the diced chicken breast until it is browned up. Add to slow cooker. Stir in remaining ingredients of cumin, paprika, chili powder, oregano, pinto beans, canned tomatoes, and chicken broth. Cook on low for 7.5 hours. THEN add wing sauce, and cook for another half hour on low.  When serving, top with cheese if desired (or stir in some ranch dressing to "cool" it down a bit!).

Slow Cooker Ranch Chicken

**originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 2-10-14**

This week’s recipe is easy to throw together, you may have all the ingredients on-hand already. I am a fan of ranch flavored anything, so I was pretty sure I would like this recipe before making it, and I was right! It’s Slow Cooker Ranch Chicken!

SLOW COOKER RANCH CHICKEN

• 1-1/2 lbs. skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 6-8 medium potatoes, chopped into large pieces (I used red potatoes)
• 2 cups baby carrots
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 package dry ranch dressing mix (or 3 Tbsp)
• 1/4 cup milk
• parsley to put on top when serving (optional)

You may want to spray your crock before adding ingredients. Place carrots and potatoes in the slow cooker, then lay chicken on top.  In a separate bowl, mix together soup, ranch mix, and milk. Pour over chicken in the slow cooker.

Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Use the sauce as gravy on chicken and potatoes when serving.

Crock Pot Shredded Buffalo Chicken

Well, it is that time of year! Superbowl time! Even though my Green Bay Packers are not making a repeat appearance this year, we will still watch, of course. And that also means eating lots of food at a Superbowl party! So, if you are hosting or bringing a dish to a Superbowl get-together, I will help you out with this week's recipe, Shredded Buffalo Chicken! I posted a Buffalo Chicken Penne recipe a few months back that got a lot of good comments, so I am sure you will all enjoy this one too. The best part is that you can use it as a base for SO MANY dishes! My family enjoyed it this weekend in sandwich form, on toasted sourdough sub rolls. But it would also work great for tacos, nachos, on crackers, or even made into a buffalo chicken cheese dip, just throw it together with some velveeta! You can even freeze it to use later if you don't eat it all. Yum. Also, if you are like me and often forget to thaw the meat you intend to cook for dinner, this uses FROZEN chicken, so you don't even have to think too much in advance :) So, have fun with it, it will be a big hit at your Superbowl party, or any time of the year!

Shredded Buffalo Chicken

3 pounds FROZEN chicken breasts (I like tenderloins, but regular breasts will work well too)
1 large bottle Frank's Red Hot Buffalo WINGS sauce
1 envelope ranch dip dry mix

Place the frozen chicken breasts in the crock. Pour about 3/4 of the bottle of Frank's over the chicken (I used the whole bottle but it was a bit too juicy, you can always add more sauce at the end of you think the mixture is too dry). Sprinkle the envelope of ranch dip over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Take the breasts out of the crock onto a plate, and use 2 forks to shred the chicken (if it doesn't shred easily, the chicken isn't quite done, but after 6 hours that really shouldn't be an issue), and return the shredded chicken into the crock pot. Continue to cook on low for another hour, to let all of the shredded chicken soak up the sauce. Enjoy!