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!