Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili and Thank You Baby Jesus… The Prednisone is WORKING!

Hey Y’all!

I am back today with one of the yummy crockpot recipes that I cooked up yesterday during my two crockpot Sunday! This Chicken Chili is one of the best things I have made this year… Hee, hee… well. It is ONLY January 13! No but really… this is so yummy. I plan on making it a staple in my freezer!

When I checked in yesterday with the ol’ blog I was still having some major issues with swallowing and ulcers in my esophagus. I am happy to report after being on prednisone since Saturday, I am feeling LOADS better. I am still having some pain, but I am able to eat most soft mushy things right now. I am hoping by tomorrow I will be be back to myself. I still can’t have carbonated beverages right now, so I am sticking to tea and water. But I am feeling so much better than I have been. Now if I can just get this sleep thing going… I was up at 3:45 a.m. this morning. Oh well. I will take eating over sleeping right now!

Now on to the recipe! I found this on Pinterest.. so you can go there and look too. I didn’t take my usual photos of me cooking.. sorry y’all. I just wasn’t up to it!

To make Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili you will need:

1 can black beans
1 can corn, undrained *You can use yellow corn or a mixture of sweet and yellow. I did the mixture!
1 can Rotel, undrained … if you don’t like Rotel you can substitute diced tomatoes without the green chiles. I had to do that this time. Rotel and esophagus ulcers REALLY don’t mix.
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 tsp cumin *I did not add this…. cumin and I DO NOT GET ALONG
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 8 oz package light cream cheese
2 chicken breasts *I added 3 this time. I was trying to get some more protein in since I haven’t been eating.

Drain and rinse black beans. Place your chicken at bottom of your crockpot, then pour out whole can of corn (undrained), Rotel, and black beans. Top with the seasonings and ranch mix. Stir all ingredients together. Place the cream cheese on top of the chicken. Cover with lid and cook on low for 6-8 hours. As it cooks, after about 3 hours, you may want to go ahead and blend your cream cheese into your mixture. After about 6 or so hours use tongs to remove the chicken breasts. Then  use 2 forks to shred chicken. At this point your chicken is really falling apart, so it won’t require a lot of effort to shred. Add the shredded chicken back into the crockpot and cook for 20 or so more minutes. Then serve!

It is really yummy! On piece of advice I would give is to double the recipe if you are cooking for more than 3. For me I got 6 Julia servings, which was about a cup and a half each. If you want to cook this and have leftovers, then I would absolutely double the recipe. When I added the third chicken breast it made it less liquidy, which is what I was wanting. If you want it more soup like and you are only cooking for a small group, then just add the two chicken breasts. But go ahead and print this one out y’all… It’s a GOODIE!

Here’s a my plate with a taste…. tomorrow I will be back with the Crockpot Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo… which is now tied with this recipe for recipe of the year!

 

Tootles!

JKP

I Survived the Dentist.. and Another Recipe!

Hey Y’all!

Well. I was a nervous wreck, but I survived my dentist visit. I love my dentist. He must be in his 70’s. But he is awesome. And he is very patient and kind with me. You see, the drill freaks me out. A bit. But my dentist talks to me the whole time and keeps me updated. Come to find out I have several things going on, all of which can be the culprit of the pain I am experiencing. Number one, I had a cavity, so he filled that hoping that would take away some of this gum pain I am dealing with. As my dentist was giving me the first of TWO Novocain shots, he also realized that I have very little jaw muscle left. And the bone that I have left is falling apart fast. He also noted that my gums around my molars are receding pretty severely  and that I have bone loss there as well. Now, receding gums are not new to me, I have dealt with this since I was diagnosed with Crohns. But the bone loss is a new thing. So I also earned myself a visit to the Periodontist too. I am going back for a cleaning in a month for another assessment and then on to the gum guy. Tonight my mouth is really sore and my jaw is killing me. But, there is some relief in knowing my dentist has checked me out and I now know what is going on. Whew.

Since I have been having trouble eating these past few weeks (because of my mouth, not my tummy!) I knew when I came home from the dentist that tonight’s meal was going to have to be easy to eat and tummy friendly. You see folks, when I go to the dentist I get sick to my stomach. Oh. Yes. I. Do. So I wanted something chicken soupy, but not chicken soup. While thumbing through my new magazine Southern Plate Classics, I came across a recipe for Chicken and Dumplings. That sounded heavenly to me, so in the crockpot it went this morning! What is really strange is that I am not usually a Chicken and Dumplings fan. Sometimes the dumplings are not good and let’s just say I haven’t had a good experience with this dish. But let me tell you, this recipe hits it out of the PARK!

To Make Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings You Will Need:

3 cups of chicken broth

1 regular can of cream of chicken soup

1 regular can of cream of celery soup

3/4 of a teaspoon of poultry seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper ( I was heavy handed. I LOVE my pepper!)

Now, the original recipe calls for 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs and 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts. I am not a thigh girl. So I just used four skinless and boneless chicken breasts and cut them into 1 inch pieces. If you do combine the meats, just make sure you slice each piece into smaller1 inch pieces.

1 cup chopped carrot. I really chopped mine!

1/3 of a package of frozen dumplings, broken into 3 pieces. * You can find frozen dumplings in the freezer section where the biscuits are kept. I found mine at Kroger. They come in long rectangles. I just broke each rectangle in 3 pieces. I used about 7 long rectangles in my recipe.

I used a crockpot liner with this and I am glad I did. It made my cleanup very easy!

In your slow cooker combine the chicken broth, your cream soups, and seasoning. Stir your mixture well. Add in your chicken pieces and your chopped carrot pieces. Set your crockpot on low and cook for 4 hours.

After 4 hours, add your dumpling pieces. I added mine one at a time and then stirred the mixture several times. Continue to cook your chicken and dumplings for about an hour and a half more. Before I served mine, I added another sprinkle of pepper too!

And, let me just say. Very rarely do I go back for seconds on ANYTHING. But I could have hurt myself on tonight’s dinner. It is SOOOOOO good. It made 6 servings. I ate two. And then froze the other four. But. They won’t be in the freezer long! If you have a large family or you are making this dish to take to someone, it can very easily be doubled. Since I know how good this is, that is exactly what I am going to do next time. If it was this good in the summer, I predict it will be a staple for me in the fall and winter!

I am off to start a new book. I just finished reading Mary Alice Monroe’s Beach House series. OH. It was so wonderful. The perfect summer read! Tonight I am starting “The Girl in the Mirror” by the same author. I am too worn out from my dental adventure today to tackle any schoolwork. I figure if I go to bed early tonight, I will be up raring to go tomorrow morning.

Well, that is, if I don’t get sucked in to watching all of the “Royal Baby” footage on the morning shows!

Tootles!

JKP

Happy April! And, A New Recipe! That's No Foolin'!

Hey Y'all!

I hope everyone had a great Easter yesterday. It was a very nice day. We went to early mass, got in a few walks with Pitty Pat, had a super yummy lunch with Uncle Richard at Olive Garden and I even got in a great nap. So. It was a great day!

It was so nice to sleep in this morning and enjoy my coffee while watching Good Morning America. I only have a few things to take care of today. After errands I plan on catching up on Young and the Restless and getting some reading in. Our high is supposed to be 70 today, so I hope I can get some reading on the back patio in!

I also have a simple new recipe to share! I can't take credit for this one! I happened to see it on a TV commercial several weeks ago and immediately knew I had to make it. This recipe is from Pillsbury and it is for Unsloppy Joes. And let's just say, who doesn't enjoy a sloppy joe? They are so yummy, but so messy too! This takes out the messiness!

Here's how to make Unsloppy Joes...
(Sorry I didn't take an ingredients photo.. my Blackberry was on life support at this time!)

1 can 15 oz can of Manwich sauce
1 lb lean ground beef, cooked and drained (you can use the beef you like, lean just works better with my tummy)
1 tsp chili powder (you can omit this, I did. Chili and my tummy do not get along.)
1 can of Grands refrigerated biscuits
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 375

All you have to do is brown your beef, drain it and mix with the Manwich sauce. You can add the chili powder if you want. Let this mixture simmer for 5 minutes.

While  your beef is simmering, take the biscuits out of their tube. Flatten each biscuit until it is about the size of your hand. About 6 inches. Scoop about 1/3 of your beef mixture into each biscuit. Add about a tablespoon of cheese to each biscuit with the beef mixture. Then fold each biscuit in half and crimp the out side with your fingers. To make sure it is really sealed, you can use a fork too.

Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 9 to 14 minutes until golden brown.

I served mine with a side of sour cream and it was DELISH! This is one of those dinners that you always keep the ingredients on hand for.. it is so quick and easy!

Anyhoo! I am off to enjoy the rest of my day! I hope you have a great one!
Tootles!
:) JKP