Quinoa fried rice

What I had:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 3 cups cooked quinoa
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

What I did:

• Cook the eggs in 1 tbsp olive oil, scramble them and put aside
• Cook the quinoa according to directions on package and put aside
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring often, until onions become translucent, about 4-5 minutes.
• Add mushrooms, broccoli and zucchini. Cook, stirring constantly, until vegetables are tender, about 6-8 minutes. 
• Add corn, carrots and quinoa. Cook, stirring constantly, until heated through, about 1-2 minutes.
• Add eggs and soy sauce, and gently toss to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, until heated through, about 2 minutes.
• Serve with Sriracha!

Slow cooker spinach chicken

What I used:

• 1 stick butter sliced
• 1 pack Costco chicken filets (about 1.5 lbs)
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 medium onion, chopped small
• 1 pack frozen spinach
• garam masala
• ground coriander
• ground cumin
• ground red chili pepper
• 1 cup yogurt (I used Greek)

What I did:

• Layer butter slices on the bottom of slow cooker
• Break up frozen spinach and sprinkle on butter
• Place frozen chicken on top
• Sprinkle garlic, onion and mushrooms over and around the chicken
• Sprinkle garam masala (I started with 2 tablespoons but I doubled it by the end)
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon each of the coriander, cumin, and pepper
• Cook on high for 4 hrs
• Pull chicken out and break into smaller pieces
• Add yogurt to the sauce in crock pot and mix well, taste and adjust spices if needed
• Add chicken back in and serve over rice or with naan

Slow cooker chicken and veggies

What I had:

• 1 lb chicken breast fillets
• 5 large garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 cup chicken broth made from 1 bouillon cube
• 1/2 cup dry cooking white wine
• 1 can Mexican style corn
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen zuchhini
• 2 tbs corn starch
• salt, pepper to taste

What I did:

• Place chicken on bottom of crock pot and season with salt and pepper on both sides
• Place the garlic cloves around them
• Pour the wine and broth over the chicken and cook on low for 7 hours
• After it has cooked, discard all but 2 of the garlic cloves. Take out chicken and put it aside
• I took the leftover sauce and added the corn starch (I had to add another 1/2 cup water) and pour it back into crock pot
• Mix it all up till the little chicken bits and leftover garlic is all mixed together with the sauce
• Put the chicken and sauce in a skillet, add in the frozen vegetables and the canned corn
• Cook it till the sauce is thickened
• Serve over pasta

Notes after eating: next time I'll just throw all the vegetables in the crock pot at the beginning. I'll make more sauce if needed at the end.

Sudden chicken pocket

I call this sudden because it was a last second decision. I had picked these marinated cutlets from Wegman's last weekend and I threw them in a pan to cook while doing our after work routine at home. They were also really thick so I cut them in half along their length. I figured we could make sandwiches. Well, that plan went out the window because I only had 3 slices of bread in the fridge. But, I did have many cans of Pillsbury crescent rolls. So, I shredded some cheese, made pockets out of 4 crescent rolls each and baked them at 375 for 13 minutes. They were perfect!

What I did was use 2 crescent triangles, pinch the middles together to make a rectangle, so you have 4 rectangles. On 2 rectangles, I layered some chopped up chicken breast and shredded cheese. Put the other triangles on top, pinch the 4 edges together. Bake. Eat with barbecue sauce.

Notes after eating it: it could have used more filling but even Jeff didn't take seconds, so maybe it was ok.

Slow cooker chicken chili

What I had:

• 2 pounds ground chicken, coarsely ground preferred
• 3 tablespoons chili powder, plus 2 teaspoons
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15-ounce) can small white beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (28-ounce) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 medium sweet potato (about 10 ounces), peeled and shredded
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes in 16 ounces of water
• 1/4 cup instant tapioca (recommended: Minute tapioca)
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce with seeds, chopped
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch ground cloves

What I did:

• Put chicken in crockpot and sprinkle the 3 tbsp chili powder on it. Add everything else, mix well.
• Cook on low for 7 hours.
•  Top with shredded cheese, raw onions and peppers.
• Enjoy on a cold evening!

It was delicious but I have a few notes after tasting: add a beer next time. Also up the number of adobos by a couple, and remove the salt completely.

Pumpkin Creamcheese Muffins

So, it's a recipe from Pillsbury but it was delicious so I wanted to save it.

What I had:

• For filling:
• Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• For muffins:
• 1 (14 oz.) package Pillsbury® Pumpkin Quick Bread & Muffin Mix
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup Crisco® Pure Vegetable Oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• For topping:
•  3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

What I did:

• HEAT oven to 350°F. Coat 12 muffin cups with no-stick cooking spray.
• For Filling: BEAT cream cheese in medium bowl with electric mixer until soft. Add egg, sugar, vanilla and lemon peel. Beat until blended.
• For Muffins: PLACE quick bread mix into large bowl. Remove 3/4 cup dry mix. Place in small bowl for streusel topping. Add milk, oil, eggs and vanilla to remaining mix in large bowl. Stir 50 strokes or until blended. Divide batter evenly into muffin cups. Divide cream cheese mixture evenly into center of muffins.
• For Streusel Topping: ADD melted butter to reserved dry mix. Stir with fork until crumbly. Add pecans. Crumble a tablespoon of streusel over each muffin. Bake 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Remove muffins from pan to wire rack. Cool completely.

Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee!

Egg cups

What I had:

• 12 eggs
• thinly sliced ham and roast beef
• onions, bell peppers, chopped and cooked for 5 minutes

What I did:

• Layered 2 slices of meat each in a muffin tin
• Put a spoonful of vegetables in the bottom of this meat cup
• Crack open an egg and carefully pour it over the vegetables
• Bake at 375 for 16-20 minutes. I started at 12 minutes, and it wasn't nearly enough, so I kept adding 2.5 minutes till I was done. I think I did close to 20 minutes but they might have been slightly overdone.
• Enjoy!

Slow cooker breakfast

What I had:

• 32 oz frozen tater tots (you can use hashbrowns or O'brien style potatoes)
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan-Romano cheese
• 12 eggs
• salt, pepper to taste

What I did:

• Cook garlic in a little bit of oil till fragrant, add onions and bell peppers and cook till slightly soft. Add sun dried tomatoes.
• Spray the inside of your slow cooker (I have a 6 quart oval one)
• Layer half of the frozen potatoes on the bottom
• Spread the vegetable mixture on the potatoes
• Spread half of both cheese on top of the vegetables
• Repeat potatoes, veggies and cheese one more time
• Beat eggs with salt and pepper and pour over the mixture
• Cook on high for 4 hrs
• ENJOY!

I wasn't sure from the look of it if it was good, but brunch guests raved about it. I didn't even get a before photo, so I apologize for the half eaten photo :)

Slow cooker mediterranean chicken

What I had:

• 1 lb 2 oz of chicken tenders
• 2 medium white onions, sliced
• a small jar of kalamata olives, sliced
• 9 pepperoncinis, rinsed and drained
• 8 oz fat free sour cream
• salt, pepper, paprika
• lemon juice

What I did:

• Layer sliced onions, kalamata olives and pepperoncinis at the bottom of my slow cooker
• Rinse and pat dry the chicken tenders and lay them on top
• Sprinkle salt, pepper and paprika. Pour a little bit of lemon juice on top
• Cook on low for 6-8 hrs
• Take out the chicken and put aside. Pour sour cream in and cook on high in slow cooker till it thickens. Serve over chicken over rice or noodles.

We used fettucini and it was delicious:

Note: After eating this last night and now, we found the chicken to be slightly dry. I think it's because it cooked on top of all the veggies and it was exposed to air. Next time, I would do half the vegetable mixture below and half on top of the chicken to keep it moist.

Beefy biscuit cups

photo came out blurry, sorry!

What I had:

• 3/4 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup barbeque sauce
• 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 1 (12.0 ounce package) refrigerated biscuit dough (I had the jumbo ones and it worked out)
• 1/3 (cup) shredded Cheddar cheese

What I did:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease the cups of a muffin pan.
• In a large heavy skillet over medium heat, cook beef until evenly brown. Drain excess fat. Stir in barbeque sauce and dried onion. Simmer for a few minutes over low heat.
• Flatten each biscuit, and press into cups of the prepared muffin pan. Make sure the dough comes to the top of the sides of each cup. Spoon a portion of the meat mixture into each dough cup.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake for 3-6 more minutes, keeping an eye on it so it doesn't burn.

Notes after eating it:

• Smaller biscuits might be better because they might rise up around the beef, but it didn't matter, they looked pretty this way too.
• I would add more seasoning to the beef mixture, it was slightly bland.
• Toddler loved it! 

Sweet and spicy petite sirloin steak

What I had:

4 boneless petite sirloin steaks (about 2.5 lbs)
1 1/2 cup beef broth (I used 2 bullion cubes)
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon blackberry preserves
1 tablespoon Cholula garlic chili saucepinch salt and pepper, to taste

What I did:

Mix the garlic powder, salt, and pepper together and rub both sides of the steaks, pressing the mixture into the steaks. 

Heat a skillet and cook steaks, 8-10 minutes each side or as well done as you like it. Place them on a plate on the side.

Add the balsamic vinegar, beef broth, preserves and chili sauce into the skillet and cook it down till its a thick sauce.

Spoon sauce over steaks and enjoy!

Vegetarian rosti

What I had:

• bag of frozen hashbrowns
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 jalapenos, diced
• 1 pint mushrooms, sliced
• olive oil, 2 tbsp
• salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper to taste
• 4 eggs
• shredded cheese (I used Mexican style mix)

What I did:

• sauteed the onions, peppers and jalapenos in a little bit of olive oil till soft, add mushrooms and spices and cook for another minute. Set aside
• browned the hashbrowns in a 12 inch pan till they are well done (or crispy to your liking)(they should cover the bottom of the pan)
• layered the vegetable mix over the potatoes
• whisked the eggs and poured over the vegetable mix
• sprinkle shredded cheese over eggs
• covered and cooked till eggs were cooked through

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Bars

What I had:

• 1/2 cup butter melted
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (I used Skippy Honey Roasted Extra Chunk)
• 3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter

What I did:

• Mix together the butter, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1/2 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 8X8 glass baking pan.
• Mix the 2 tbsp peanut butter and 3/4 cup chocolate chips in  a microwaveable bowl and melt, using 30 second increments. 
• Spread over the prepared crust. 
• Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares. 

 Why don't I have photos of the finished, cut product? Well, I took them to 2 different houses and they were all gone before I could take a photo.



Personally, I would prefer more peanut butter flavor, so next time, I will lower the graham cracker crumbs to peanut butter ratio, but others seemed to love it the way it was.

Sopa Seca (Mexican noodle casserole)

What I had:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for pan 
• 12 ounces fideos (Mexican vermicelli) 
• 1 medium onion, chopped 
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander 
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp Mexican chili pepper 
• 1 teaspoon chili powder 
• 1 bay leaf 
• 1 18.5 oz can crushed tomatoes 
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, made from 2 bouillon cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I use 2 cans of Costco chicken)
• 1 cup coarsely grated Cabot habanero cheddar cheese (4 ounces) 
• 1/4 cup Mexican crema

What I did:

• reheat oven to 375F.
• Brush a large casserole dish with oil. Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the fideos and cook, turning them, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer the toasted noodles to a bowl. Set aside
• Add the onion to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, coriander, oregano, chili powder, and bay leaf, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes to the pot. Add the cayenne pepper, increase the heat to high, and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the broth, the toasted fideos, salt, and pepper, to taste. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 10-15 minutes. Water can be added to thin the mixture if needed while the noodles cook. When the noodles are tender, stir in the chicken.
• Remove the bay leaf. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish, sprinkle the grated cheese over the top, and cover loosely with foil. Bake until the cheese melts and the casserole is hot through and through, about 20 minutes. Serve with some crema drizzled over the top.

Chicken meatballs - a hit with the toddler

What I had:

• 2 lbs ground chicken
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup Philly Italian Cheese & Herb Cooking Creme
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

What I did:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Combine all ingredients and form into golf sized balls; I got about 45 meatballs
• Place on cookie sheet and cook for 18 minutes
• Enjoy!

We've had them as is, with different dipping sauces. Oliver ate them for dinner 2 nights in a row and loves them. What higher endorsement could I get? I forgot to take pictures :( but I promise they looked and tasted great!

Eggplant parmesan - no fry

What I had:

• a medium eggplant, sliced thin
• 2 eggs, beaten
• panko bread crumbs mixed with some Italian seasoning
• 1 lb mozzarella sliced thinly
• 1/2 c grated Parmesan
• dried basil
• 1 c pasta sauce

What I did:

• salted the eggplant sliced and left them sitting for 20 minutes to let the water out
• dip the eggplant slices in the egg, then the bread crumb mix, and lay them on a cookie sheet
• bake the slices for 10 minutes on each side at 350 degrees
• layer half the pasta sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 pan
• layer half the eggplant slices over the sauce
• place mozzarella cheese slices over the eggplant and sprinkle Parmesan cheese over that
• do another layer of sauce, eggplant, cheese and cheese
• sprinkle dried basil over everything
• bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees

Enjoy!

Slow cooker BBQ short ribs

What I had:

• 3 lbs beef short ribs, quartered
• 1 bottle BBQ sauce, I used Jack Daniels
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced thinly
• 4 carrots, peeled and cit into 1/2 inch circles
• a little bit mustard
• salt, pepper and garlic to taste

What I did:

• rub the ribs with salt, pepper and garlic and refrigerate overnight
• put the onions and carrots on the bottom of the slow cooker
• put the ribs over the veggies
• pour whole bottle of BBQ sauce over ribs
• pour a little bit of mustard into the mix
• cook on low for 8-9 hrs
• serve over mashed potatoes or rice

It might not look good but oh my goodness, it was delicious. The meat was tender and the veggies were almost caramelized.  We had it over rice and Oli ate a bowlful by himself.

Garlic knots

What I had:

• a can of refrigerated biscuits
• 1/4 cup meted butter
• powdered garlic
• dried oregano
• parmesan cheese

What I did:

• take biscuits out of the can and cut each in half
• roll each half into long strings
• knot each string
• mix rest of ingredients and brush over each knot 
• bake at 450 for 9-12 minutes keeping an eye on the bread till it's brown
• brush some more of the butter mixture as soon as you take the knots out of the oven
•  eat them all within 15 minutes enjoy as a side with your favorite meal

Egg white frittata

What I had:

• 2 cup egg whites
• 1 cup frozen spinach
• 1 medium white onion chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, diced
• salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

What I did:

• saute the onions and both types of peppers till soft
• add spinach and cook for 2 minutes
• add salt, pepper and garlic powder
• pour the egg whites over the veggies
• cover the skillet and let it cook for 10 minutes or till eggs are cooked through 

Enjoy with your favorite fruits on the side.

Slow cooker pork chops

What I had:

• 2 bone in pork chops, frozen
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• Salt and pepper to taste

What I did:

• Put pork chops in slow cooker
• Mix all other ingredients and pour over chops
• Cook on high for 2-3 hours till the chops are thawed, then on low for another 5/6 hours till they are cooked through

Enjoy with your favorite bread and veggies.

It was so tender you can see it was falling off the bone. You could taste the sauce through the meat, it was delicious! Definitely a keeper.

Strata

I found this idea when I was searching for vegetarian options for a brunch I was hosting. A strata is a  layered baked dish of eggs, bread, cheese, and often sausage, vegetables, and herbs, according to dictionary.com.


As part of my healthy eating initiative, I've been making breakfast items with egg whites over the weekend for the whole week. So, I'll make omelets, or a quiche and divide it into servings to last through the week. I figured baking a breakfast strata would be a wonderful way to change things up a bit.

What I used:

• 7 slices Italian bread, torn into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 10 slices hot sopressata cut into quarters (you can use your favorite meats)
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 2 cups egg white
• greased 9X13 glass baking dish

 What I did:

• Layer half the bread at the bottom of the pan. Spread the bell peppers and half the meat over the bread. Sprinkle half the cheese over this.
• Layer rest of the bread over the cheese. Spread the onions and the rest of the meat. sprinkle with rest of the cheese.
• Whisk milk and egg whites together and pour over everything in the pan.
• Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 12 hrs. I left it in till the next evening.
• Bake covered at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes. the initial recipe had called for 35 covered and 15 uncovered, but the eggs were still runny so I let it go another 15 minutes.
• Enjoy with your favorite hot sauce!

I didn't even use any salt or pepper, and it tasted delicious. You can add seasonings if you want but the hot sopressatta I used provided enough seasoning. 

Slow cooker Italian chicken

What I used:

• 1 lb frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1 can artichokes
• 1 packet McCormick Italian Herb Seasoning
• garlic powder

What I did:

• threw everything but the artichokes into the slow cooker, and cooked it on low for 6 hrs
• added the artichokes and cooked on low for another 2 hrs

Serve with your favorite rice. It was DEE-LICIOUS!

Note: next time, you can use any Italian herbs you have, you don't need the McCormick one. I just had it and wanted to use it up.

My sweet revenge

So, I finally made my own hot sauce, as I've been threatening to, for more than a year.

What I used:

- 5 mangoes, a mix of ripe and underripe ones, peeled and seeded
- 1/2 white onion
- 6 large garlic cloves
- 1/4 lb habaneros
- 1/2 - 1 cup lemon juice
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1/4 cup honey

What I did:

- put all ingredients except for the honey into a blender and blend into a purée
- pour into a frying pan, add the honey and cook till boiling. Let it simmer for 15 minutes or so
- let it cool and store in bottles that are free of any water

You can adjust all ingredients according to your taste, but I love the way this turned out. The first bite gives you a sweetness on the tip of your tongue and then the heat his the back of your tongue and throat.

Easy mango mousse

What I used:

- 1 cup fresh mango purée
- 1/2 cup condensed milk
- 1 cup heavy cream, whipped till it's the consistency of sweet whipped cream

What I did:

- mix the mango purée and condensed milk
- fold in the whipped cream (do not use store bought whipped cream, it's sweetened and adds unneeded sugar)
- pour into bowls and let it sit in fridge for an hour
- enjoy

Pasta salad

What you need:

• a box of any colorful pasta. I've used Wacky Mac, tri-colored rotini, plain shells (though the colorful pasta looks prettier)
• a pint of grape tomatoes, cut in halves
• a pint of olives, any pitted ones you like, cut in halves
• 8 oz feta cheese or goat cheese
• a bag of mini pepperoni
• some hard salami slices, chopped smaller
• some Genoa salami slices, chopped smaller
• a red or orange bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch thin slices
• a red onion, cut into 1/2 inch thin slices
• 2 tsp oregano
• salt & pepper to taste
• garlic powder to your taste
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar

Boil pasta according to directions. Rinse with cold water pretty well so it's not hot. Throw it into a big glass bowl. Add all the dry ingredients. Mix well. Add about 2 tbsp of olive oil and 2 tbsp of vinegar to start with. Mix it well. You want all the ingredients coated, not swimming in the sauce. Add more if needed. Put it in the fridge for a couple hours, it lets the sauce actually infuse the ingredients and it tastes so much better cold.

Variations I've done: used fat free Italian dressing or any vinaigrette dressing instead of oil & vinegar

Crockpot chili

What you need:

1 lb ground beef, browned
1 lb Italian sausage, crumbled and browned
1 large onion, chopped finely
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
26 oz can any kind of tomatoes (diced, stewed, whatever)
8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 can kidney beans
1 can chili beans


2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp chili powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander 

6 oz beer

Throw everything in crock pot.The dry spices, go with your instinct and what you like in your food, we love garlic so I think I actually used half a cup, no kidding! Cook on low for 6 hrs. Add beer. Cook on low for another 1-2 hrs.

Throw some raw chopped onions, some shredded cheese on top and enjoy!

Salsa chicken & Spanish Rice - in the Crockpot

So, I make a lot of chicken in the crock pot lately. Ont he weekend, it's so easy to get a couple different big meals done for the week while still being able to spend time with my family. Easiest is to throw some frozen chicken into the crock pot and some sort of sauce (either bbq or a salsa) and let it cook till it's really tender. Well, last weekend, I thought of all the water in the salsa and wondered if it would cook rice. So, I threw in a box of Rice-A-Roni Spanish rice and it's seasonings. Without the butter. Let it cook for a couple hours on low, and it cooked the rice perfectly. Let me try and put what I did down since Oliver loved it and ate it by the fistfuls and I'd like to replicate the recipe again.

What I used:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cups of your favorite salsa
Box of Rice-A-Roni Spanish Rice

Throw the frozen chicken thighs with the salsa into the crock pot and set it on low for 4-6 hrs, checking back once every hour. Once the chicken thighs look cooked but aren't falling apart, throw the rice and seasoning packet in. If the liquid looks low, add a 1/2 cup water but usually the salsa has enough liquid.

I set it for low initially for 2 hrs, and it needed another hour. The rice was cooked perfectly, I was able to tear the chicken into tiny pieces.

Oliver ate it by the fistfuls, using both hands. So did Jeff ... well, he used a fork. But, it was a success.