Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Fajita Soup

**originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 1-5-15**

Well, with a cold week ahead like the one forecast, I pretty much only feel like eating soups & stews!! So, if you agree, here's a soup for you to help warm you up! It's Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Fajita soup! Pretty easy to throw together, and it has just enough spice to give you an extra warm-up while you eat it :) I was able to use some of the salsa I canned over the summer and some sweet corn off the cob that I froze. Was nice to enjoy some summer in this soup!

 

 

CROCK POT CREAMY CHICKEN FAJITA SOUP

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup salsa
2 cups frozen corn
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 - 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro (optional)
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
favorite toppings like sour cream, tortilla chips, avocado, extra cheese/salsa, etc

Place the chicken breasts into the crock pot. Combine chicken soup, salsa, corn, beans, water, cumin & cilantro in a large bowl. Mix well and pour over chicken in the crock pot. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours. Remove chicken from the crock and shred it up with 2 forks. Return it to the crock pot, add the shredded cheddar, and cook for another 15 minutes.

Serve in bowls with your favorite fajita toppings!

Crock Pot Cowboy Casserole

**originally posted on www.WGLR.com on 1-27-14**

One of the nice things about a slow cooker is how you can make a complete meal in it, with all the fixin’s! This week’s recipe is just that, a full meal in your crock pot, Crock Pot Cowboy Casserole! Casseroles aren’t just for your oven! This one is full of potatoes, veggies, meat, beans, and of course, CHEESE! All the cowboys and cowgirls in your house will love it.

CROCK POT COWBOY CASSEROLE

1 onion, chopped

1 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained

6 medium potatoes, sliced (I used about 10 red potatoes)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can corn (drained) or 1 cup fresh or frozen corn

1 (16 oz.) can low sodium kidney bean, with the juices

1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, with the juice

1 (10.5 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese

This recipe needs a 6qt crock pot. Mix all ingredients together EXCEPT the cheese in the crock. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-ish. Then sprinkle cheese on top and continue to cook for another half hour to an hour.  Scoop out to serve.

Salsa Chicken 2-for-1!

This week, I am giving you a bit of a 2-for-1 treat. I made this original recipe, Crock Pot Salsa Chicken, for the first time a few years ago and LOVED it. It comes from the great cookbook "A Year of Slow Cooking" by Stephanie O'Dea.  I recently came upon a variation of the original which made it into a soup, on her blog, which is the same name as her book (Google it, it's worth it!).  So I decided to try the soup version over the weekend and it was SO TASTY! My husband and I both agreed it is one of our favorite things I have ever made in the slow cooker. So not only am I giving you the soup recipe, but I'm also giving you the original salsa chicken recipe. Not only can you enjoy it as is, but it also works great as a filling in tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, etc,  when you shred up the chicken.  It's also very low fat! YAY! Would be a nice dish for a taco bar at your Super Bowl party this weekend!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

• 1 lb boneless chicken thighs or breasts
• 1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 cup chunky salsa (1.5 cups if you use breasts)
• 1 cup frozen corn

Pretty simple here...put the chicken in the crock (frozen is fine), and pour the other ingredients over the chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

• 1 lb boneless chicken ( I used frozen breast tenderloins)
• 1 cup dried black beans (or 2 cans, drained & rinsed)
• 4 cups chicken broth (I used low sodium)
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1-16oz jar salsa
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 cup sour cream (to stir in at the end, I used light)

If you know you are going to make this the day before, I recommend using the dried beans, just soak them overnight for at least 8 hours. I really think they tasted great in this soup, and are less expensive than the canned. But the canned beans would work well too, I am sure.

Pour beans into the crock. Lay the chicken on top, and then pur the remaining ingredients over the chicken and beans. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. If you are using the dried beans, it will be closer to 8 hours, check the beans for tenderness. With an hour or two to go, shred up the chicken in the crock (or remove, shred, and put back in crock, which is a bit easier!).  When the soup is done, stir in the sour cream before serving.

When serving, you can top with cheese, sour cream, avocado, etc. 1 cup serving on it's own is only 200 calories!

Slow Cooker Corn & Potato Chowder

OK, so no more naughty fudge cake for this week. Back to a good meal! Potato and corn chowder!! This hearty chowder will leave your belly full and your tastebuds happy too. Even my non-corn loving husband ate it. Although I don't think he is having leftovers, but that's his fault, not the chowder's :) And I am plugging an "As Seen on TV" gadget which helps me so much for recipes like this...the Vidalia Chopper. OMG, makes cubing potatoes and dicing veggies for recipes like this a BREEZE!

Slow Cooker Corn and Potato Chowder

-8 ounces (1/2 pound) bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled (I used the packages real bacon bits, I am all for ease in prep)
-2 1/2 pounds Russet potatoes (approximately 5 medium sized potatoes), NOT peeled, diced in 1/4 inch cubes
-8 cups (about 2 pounds) kernel corn (I used frozen)
-1 medium/large sweet yellow onion, finely chopped
-1 cup chopped celery
-6 - 8 garlic cloves, crushed
-1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
-32 ounces (4 cups) chicken stock
-16 ounces (2 cups) half & half or heavy cream
-salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT half & half in the slow cooker.

Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours.

Blend about half the soup using an immersion blender or just scoop it into your upright blender then return to slow cooker. (Or if you are like me, and prefer easier ways, I just took a potato masher and mashed up the soup some in the crock pot, I like some potato chunks in my chowder anyway)

Add half & half or heavy cream and continue cooking, uncovered, for about another 15 minutes, until heated through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe from the blog "Mama Loves Food."

Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Wow, Monday came fast this week! But, I was able to cook up this tasty meal over the weekend. My mom was visiting, and even she had two helpings, so that tells you a lot about how good this is, haha! On the surface, it may sound a bit bland, but the Zatarain's yellow rice really adds a nice spice blend to the dish. Make sure you add the rice already cooked! You can cook it the night before and put it in the fridge, or just prepare it when the chicken is almost done and throw it on in.


Cheesy Chicken and Rice

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1-1/2 lbs)
1 large onion, chopped
1 -8 ounce box Zatarain's Yellow Rice Mix, cooked according to directions
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 - 10.5 ounce can cream of chicken soup (regular or fat free)
1 -15 ounce can whole kernel corn, drained

Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker. Scatter chopped onion over top. Spoon cream soup over top of that. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours.

A few minutes before serving, take 2 forks and shred the chicken up in the crock (it is so tender, this only takes a minute to do). Then add in COOKED rice, corn, and cheese. Stir to combine. Serve hot.