Creamy Chicken Bake

Juicy, tender chicken is smothered in a creamy, flavorful sauce in this easy weeknight dinner solution. For a complete meal, simply serve it over your favorite starch (such as rice, pasta, or potatoes) with a side of steamed vegetables. Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Bake
Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs)
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 (10.5 oz) can gluten free cream of chicken condensed soup
• 1 (10.5 oz) can gluten free cream of mushroom condensed soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp paprika

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Lightly grease 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken breasts in single layer in prepared pan and season with salt & pepper, to taste.
3. In medium bowl, mix together cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and onion powder. Spread mixture evenly over chicken breasts in baking dish and sprinkle with paprika.
4. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until chicken breasts reach internal temperature of 165°F and cream sauce is lightly browned.
5. Serve over rice, pasta, or potatoes with a side of steamed vegetables.

Recipe adapted from 100k Recipes.

Crock Pot Pulled Pork (Chicken)

For an effortless - yet flavorful - dinner, load these five ingredients into the crockpot and you'll be thanking yourself later! Better yet, this recipe can be prepared with either pork or chicken - the choice is yours!

Crock Pot Pulled Pork (Chicken)
Yield: 8-12 servings

Ingredients
Pork:

• 3 lbs boneless pork butt (or pork shoulder)
• 2 (12 oz) cans Coca Cola
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 3 Tbsp garlic salt
• 1+ cups BBQ sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray’s Original)

Chicken:

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 (12 oz) can Coca Cola
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 Tbsp garlic salt
• 1/2+ cup BBQ sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray’s Original)

Directions

1. Place pork (chicken) in slow cooker and season with chili powder and garlic salt.
2. Pour Coca Cola in slow cooker, adding just enough to almost cover pork (chicken) — you do not need to cover meat completely.
3. Cook on low 8 hours.
4. Remove half of liquid from slow cooker using a ladel into a bowl (reserve in case you need to add some moisture back in).
5. Shred pork (chicken) in slow cooker with two forks. Add BBQ sauce, stir, add more BBQ sauce and/or reserved liquid to reach desired consistency.
6. Cover and cook another hour on low to allow flavors to develop and meat to become juicy. Stir before serving.

Recipe adapted from The Novice Chef.

4 Ingredient Chicken Marinade

Whether you have guests coming over or just need an easy weeknight dinner, this quick and simple marinade can be made ahead of time so the chicken will be ready whenever it's time to fire up the grill! The end result is a sweet, crispy glaze on the outside and moist, tender meat on the inside. Perfect every time!

4 Ingredient Chicken Marinade
Yield: about 2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup coconut aminos, gluten free soy sauce, or gluten free tamari

Directions

1. Mix marinade ingredients in gallon-size ziplock bag.
2. Place 6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in marinade; seal bag shut.
3. To prevent leaks, place filled bag inside second gallon-size ziplock bag. Set bagged chicken in rimmed baking dish.
4. Refrigerate chicken for at least an hour, or overnight. (Longer is better because it means more flavor!) Periodically turn bag in dish to evenly disperse marinade.
5. Grill chicken until internal temperature reads 165°F with digital meat thermometer. Let chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Recipe adapted from No Biggie.

Southwest Chicken

This recipe is a throwback to a childhood dinner my mom used to make. At only six ingredients, it is super simple to put together, yet it is packed with flavor! While she used to make this dish on the stovetop, I adapted her recipe for the slow cooker to make it even easier.

And just so you know, the leftovers taste just as amazing cold the next day! Sometimes I purposely make a larger-than-normal batch just so I can eat it for lunch all week. :)

Southwest Chicken
Crock Pot Recipe

Ingredients
38 oz jar mild Pace picante sauce (or other red salsa of choice)
7 oz can mild diced green chiles
1 Tbsp cumin
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast (fresh or frozen)
15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
15 oz can black beans, drained

Directions
1. Put salsa, chiles, and cumin in slow cooker; stir to mix.
2. Submerge chicken in sauce. Cover with lid and cook on low 8-10 hours.
3. Shred chicken with two forks. Add corn and beans. Stir to combine.
4. Cover with lid and reduce heat to warm setting until ready to serve.
5. Top individual servings with shredded cheese, guacamole/avocado, sour cream, sliced black olives, etc. Scoop with tortilla chips and enjoy!

What's for Dinner?

That's the very question I asked myself this morning when planning out my family's meals for the day. Yesterday I was full of inspiration (pork chops on the grill, spinach salad, and mashed potatoes!), but today... not so much. So I took a look in my pantry, threw some ingredients in the crock pot, and the result was delicious! (And you know what? With the red and green colors, it's rather festive for the season, too!)

Creamy Chicken with Spinach & Sun Dried Tomatoes
Crock Pot Recipe

Ingredients
1-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast (fresh or frozen)
10.5 oz can gluten free cream of chicken soup (see this post for details)
8 oz package cream cheese, softened
10 oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
3 oz package sun dried tomatoes*
salt, to taste

Directions
1. Place chicken in slow cooker. Top with cream of chicken soup.
2. Cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
3. Shred chicken with two forks. Stir in cream cheese.
4. Squeeze excess moisture from chopped spinach. Add to slow cooker along with sun dried tomatoes. Stir.
5. Replace cover and cook additional 1-2 hours for flavors to develop.
6. If desired, top individual servings with shredded cheese, bacon crumbles, etc.

* I used these julienne cut sun dried tomatoes from Trader Joe's.

Notes
• If using whole sun dried tomatoes, make sure to chop or slice into smaller pieces.
• If using oil packed tomatoes (from a jar), drain well on a paper towel before adding to slow cooker.

Herbed Chicken

If you have children (or a picky spouse!), you know how challenging it can be to find a meal that everyone at the table will eat. So I was fairly pessimistic when I first tried this recipe a few years ago figuring at least one of my kids would dislike it (I already had one of them in mind!). Boy was I wrong! Not only did Jared and I love this dish as adults, but all three of my children ate it without a fight (win!). This recipe is a staple in our rotation of dinners and hopefully you can add it to your repertoire, too!

Herbed Chicken
Crock Pot Recipe

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs, fresh or frozen)
10.5 oz can gluten free cream of chicken soup (see note below)
1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp brown sugar

Directions
1. Arrange chicken in slow cooker.
2. Layer remaining ingredients on top of chicken.
3. Cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
4. Shred chicken with two forks and stir to coat in sauce.
5. Serve over cooked rice with a side of steamed broccoli.

Note
If you've checked out my Green Bean Casserole post, then you may recall that I was pleasantly surprised (okay, shocked) the day that I discovered Walmart's Great Value brand made gluten free cream of mushroom soup. I thought I was forever doomed to have to throw out all of my recipes that called for a can of condensed cream-of-whatever soup! Well color me surprised when I went to a different Walmart in town (I think we have at least 6 locations scattered around Sioux Falls) and I discovered gluten free cream of chicken soup! (I may have bought every can on the shelf... literally.)

Recipe adapted from "Herbed Chicken" found on page 163 of Fix-It and Forget-It Christmas Cookbook: 600 Slow Cooker Holiday Recipes by Phyllis Pellman Good.