Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken Bacon Tater Tot Casserole

Oh boy, do I have a tasty recipe for you this week. I mean, just the NAME of the recipe is enough to get your mouth watering...Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken, Bacon & Tater Tot Casserole! I mean, how can something called that taste anything but awesome? Low calorie? NO. Delicious? YES! And it's so easy to throw together, and cooks fast, too.

Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken, Bacon & Tator Tot Casserole

• 1 (32oz) bag tator tots (I used onion tots)
• 3 oz crumbled bacon pieces (NOT the artificial "bacon" bits!)
• 1.5 lbs chicken breasts (don't use frozen in this recipe, it will create too much liquid)
• 3 cups shredded colby-jack cheese
• 3/4 cup milk
• salt & pepper

Spray crock pot with cooking spray, and then start the layering process...start with 1/2 the bag of tots, then half the bacon pieces, then 1/3 of the cheese. Add the chicken on top of the cheese and sprinkle with salt & pepper, then add another 1/3 of the cheese on top of the chicken. Next, add the rest of the bacon, then the rest of the tots, and top with the last 1/3 of the cheese. Pour the milk over the whole thing. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours.

Crock Pot Chicken Teriyaki

**originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 1-6-14**

This week, I have a guest "Crocker", my husband! Mr.Jacobs spent a few weeks over the holidays home with our kiddos while I was working, so I took advantage of it, and asked him to crock something! he was excited to be a "guest crocker" on Julie's Crock of the Week, and I have to say, he did well! This week's recipe is Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki! He even went the distance and tried something else I have always wanted to...cooking brown rice in a crock pot! It did get overcooked, but it worked, we will just have to adjust cooking time next time, as every crock is different. But I recommend it, as brown rice takes a long time to make the old fashioned way.  But the chicken over the rice was really delicious and very flavorful. AND, a public shout out to my husband, Scott, who has lost 110 lbs in the last year, in large part due to the healthy recipes I made in my wonderful slow cooker :) So proud of you, honey!

Crock Pot Chicken Teriyaki

• 3 to 4 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs (we used chicken breasts)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 4 1/2 teaspoons cold water
• Cooked rice (Your choice, we used brown rice)

Put chicken in crock pot.  In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic and pepper.  pour over the chicken.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours, until the chicken pulls apart easily with a fork.  Remove chicken from the slow cooker, and pour the liquid into a saucepan (if you use chicken thighs, you may want to skim the fat off the top of the liquid) and bring to a boil.  Combine cornstarch and water until smooth, then gradually stir into liquid and stir until sauce is thickened. If you use chicken breasts like we did, you will have to use more cornstarch to thicken it up, since there isn't as much fat.

Serve over rice. You can either shred the chicken up and put everything back in the crock, or put chicken on the rice then top with the sauce, whichever you prefer. The flavor was great! Leftovers were delicious as well. This would freeze wonderfully, too.

Slow Cooker Savory Chicken

Holy cow, it’s COLD!!!! Definitely crock pottin’ weather!  This week’s recipe is a simple, basic crock pot recipe, but I know that when I was first on my own and started cooking for myself, I needed basic recipes to start to learn how to cook, without my mom around to ask So here ya go. Plus a serving of this (1 breast with a good scoop or two of the veggies) Savory Chicken is this week’s Crock of the Week.

Slow Cooker Savory Chicken

• 1.5 – 2lbs boneless chicken breasts (I used 4 large)
• 2-15oz cans stewed tomatoes
• 1 large onion, chunked up
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon thyme (or herb blend of your choice)
• salt & pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup chicken broth (I use low sodium)
• 4 cups broccoli florets

Put chicken on the bottom of the crock (Fresh or frozen works fine). Put all the ingredients in the crock EXCEPT the broccoli, and cook on low for 6-7 hours. A half hour before it is done, add the broccoli. Remove the bay leaves before serving. Simple but delicious! And good for you, too.
I used more than 1 cup of chicken broth, so you won’t have quite so much liquid as is in this photo when you make it, unless you are like me and like extra broth!

Italian Chicken

Well folks, we are nearing the end of this weekly feature for the season. Spring is inching in, so I will shelve the Crock of the Week for now, and maybe bring it back in the Fall. Next week will be the last Crock of the Week. But don't cry, because here is another recipe to add to your collection, Italian Chicken. Super easy and tasty! My 2 year-old son gobbled this up like he was never going to get another meal in his life.

Crockpot Italian Chicken

4 to 6 chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs)

1 envelope dry Zesty Italian Dressing mix

1 8oz brick cream cheese

1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depending on how much 'sauce' you want

Place chicken breasts in the crockpot (I used frozen, and it worked just fine). Sprinkle the Italian dressing mix over the chicken. In a saucepan, melt the cream cheese on low heat with the cream of chicken soup. Pour mixture over chicken in the crock, and cook on low for at least 4 hours (at least 5 if using frozen chicken), but you can leave it on all day if you need/want to.

When done, you can serve how you want. I shredded the chicken in the crock which made for a good chunky sauce. Serve over pasta or rice. We used rotini pasta this time.