Easy Crockpot Shredded Chicken

Do you cook your chicken in the crockpot?! Well you should because it's so yummy and super handy to throw in soups, salads, casseroles, sandwiches, or whatever else!

Easy Crockpot Shredded Chicken:

3-4 large boneless, skinless chicken breast ( frozen or thawed)
1/4 C chicken broth

Put chicken in your crockpot, drizzle chicken broth over the top, cover, and cook on low for 6-7 hours of on high for 4-5 hours. 

Shred with a fork (or in a standing mixer) and use or freeze for later!

Cajun Stuffed Peppers

With summer around the corner that means green peppers are coming into season FRESH from the garden soon!

I could never find a stuffed pepper recipe I LOVED so I just made up this simple one on my own.

Stuffed Peppers

3 cups of cooked rice (brown or long grain)
4-6 green peppers
1/2 lb turkey sausage (lean ground beef or turkey would work too)
8 oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp Cajun seasoning, or to taste (I love Tony Chachere's brand)
Grated cheese

Have rice cooked and ready to go.

Cut tops off of green peppers and clean out the insides. For softer peppers boil in a pot of water for 5-10 minutes (they don't cook long in the oven later). Set aside.

Cook sausage until done. (I like to cut up the pepper tops, minus the stem, and cook that along with the peppers.) Add cooked pepper and sausage mixture to rice in a bowl. Add in Cajun seasoning and tomato sauce and stir.

Place peppers in a baking dish. Stuff them to the top with rice and sausage mixture. Top with cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until cheese is nice and melted.

Makes 6 stuffed peppers. (I made 4 and just had extra rice to eat.)

Baked Spaghetti Squash + Pizza Crust

Are you a spaghetti squash fan? I tried it for the first time a year or two ago and I think it's so fascinating! Delicious when cooked the right way too!

It's great to use as a noodle replacement, a simple side dish, or in as a PIZZA crust.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well the pizza crust turned out!

FIRST this is how you actually COOK a spaghetti squash so you can use it in a recipe. 

Baked Spaghetti Squash: 

1.  Preheat oven to 350

2.  Cut fresh spaghetti squash in half and scoop out all the seeds. 

3. Bush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

4. Foil line a cookie sheet with foil and place upside down (opposite of photo). 

5. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the "noodles" are tender an easily shred. 

Now here is how you can make an awesome pizza crust out of the cooked squash!

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Crust: 

• 1 medium/large spaghetti squash or about 3 - 3 1/2 cups (This will make a medium sized pizza for 2-3 people)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon shredded parmesan cheese
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400. 

Wrap measured out squash in a cheese cloth, clean kitchen towel, or a layer of paper towels. SQUEEZE SQUEEZE SQUEEZE the excess water out. The more water you get out, the crispier the crust will be. 

Once water is out, place in a mixing bowl with the remainder of the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. 

Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and spread out the mixture as thin as you can get it. (About a 10 in circle)

Bake for 20 minutes and then carefully FLIP it over and bake another 10 minutes. 

Remove from oven, add desired toppings, and bake in the oven until the toppings are done. 

(Original recipe can be found at http://sharedappetite.com/recipes/gluten-free-spaghetti-squash-pizza-crust/)

Tomato Soup & Breadsticks

There is nothing better than a bowl of warm soup on a cold and rainy day. 

This delicious tomato soup and breadsticks are ones won't feel guilty about having either!

 

Tomato Soup

1/2 c chopped onion
1 tsp olive oil
2 minced garlic cloves
14.5 oz diced tomatoes
8 oz tomato sauce 
14.5 oz low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt

Heat oil in a sauce pan and sauté onions until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for one more minute. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and purée with an immersion blender in the pot or pour into your blender until desired consistency is reached. Serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top!


Breadsticks 

***This makes TWO batches so cut in half for only one ****

Dough:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat or white whole wheat flour

1 TBS instant yeast

1 cup warm water (120 deg)

1 TBS olive oil

1 tsp. honey

1 tsp. salt

Mix together warm water and yeast in a bowl and let sit for a few minutes. Combine the rest of the ingredients and knead for 5 minutes. ( I do this in my KitchenAid )

Let rise for 30 minutes in a warm/draft free spot. 

Topping:

1/4 C italian dressing

1/4 tsp. salt

dash of pepper

1/4 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. thyme

1 TBS dried chopped onion(optional)

2 T grated parmesan cheese

1/2 C Mozzarelle (or grated mixture)

Stretch out the dough onto a small pizza pan or cookie sheet and spread Italian dressing on top. Mix dry spices in a bowl and sprinkle on top. 

Bake in the oven at 450 for 15 minutes or until golden brown. (Keep an eye on it after 10 minutes)

Cut into strips and enjoy!

Pineapple Chicken Skillet

I LOVE pineapple! 

I originally found this Pineapple Chicken Skillet as a kabob recipe (really good that way too!), but I didn't want to go out in the cold to cook it so I adapted it into a skillet recipe!

It's super easy and a family pleaser :)

Pineapple Chicken Skillet

1 lb chicken cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 C low-sodium soy sauce 
2 tsp sesame oil 
1/4 tsp ground dried ginger
1 8 oz can pineapple chunks, drained
1 red bell pepper 
1/2 large onion
1/2 T coconut oil

Cut up chicken and place in a ziploc bag with the soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger added. Shake to come. Marinate for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. 
Cut up pepper and onion into bite sized pieces. 
Heat skillet to medium high heat and heat oil. Add chicken and cook halfway. Add peppers and onions and cook until chicken and veggies are done. Add in pineapple the last few minutes of cooking to heat through. 
Serve with rice and enjoy!

21 Day Fix: 

You can scoop out the right amount of portions for a green, red, and purple container. If you have it with rice that would be a yellow as well.