Chicken Alfredo

 

I LOVE my crock pot.

I don't know if I can convey just how much I LOVE my crock pot.

It's a magical thing.

I put dinner in first thing in the morning, come home, my house smells A-MAZ-ing, aaaand dinner is served!

I recently began following Simple Daily Recipes, and if you don't follow it, I highly recommend you change that. Immediately.

She has some wooonderful recipes! One of them is a slow cooker recipe for Chicken Alfredo. This is soo easy to make, doesn't take much prep work, and can be ready to eat when you get home from work!

Yaaay, happy day!!

You'll need to have about 20 minutes before putting this in the crock pot.

Start by laying 3 frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot and pour grated parmesan cheese over top.

Melt butter in a saucepan.

 

Add flour, garlic powder, and some salt and pepper.

Whisk until it's smooth...make sure you continuously stir this or it will develop a thick lumpy layer on the bottom. (Boooo...)

Slowly pour in chicken broth, and keeeep whisking. No lumps people. None.

After it begins to thicken a bit, turn off the heat, add sour cream and whisk until smooth.

Pour your delicious sauce over the chicken boobies and cheese.

(Make sure to lift chicken a bit so the sauce gets underneath)

Cook on low for 5 - 6 hours or high for 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

Shred with a fork and ta daaaa!

 

Doesn't this look good? Well, it is. WONDERFUL, in fact.

Go make some! :-)

Slow Cooker Chicken Alfredo

from Simple Daily Recipes

Serves 8

 

6 tablespoons butter, unsalted

3 chicken breasts, frozen

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

6 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 3/4 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup sour cream

1 lb whole wheat fettucine

 

In a 4-6 quart slow cooker, lay chicken in bottom and top with parmesan cheese. Set to low heat.

 

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth, continue for 3-4 minutes. Slowly pour in chicken broth, continue whisking to prevent lumps. When sauce begins to thicken (about 1 minute), turn off heat. Add in sour cream and whisk until smooth.

 

Pour over chicken and cheese (lift chicken to make sure sauce gets under). Cover and cook on low for  5-6 hours or high for 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

 

Twenty minutes before finished, cook pasta according to directions.

 

Cut/shred chicken. Pour over pasta and serve!

Minestrone Soup

Lately, I've been craving a delicious bowl of Minestone Soup. But, I'm picky about my minestrone. It can't be too spicy, must have meat in it (I know, I'm weird), not too many beans, and the list goes on.

I've been looking recently for a recipe online that suits my needs. I finally found one on Skinnytaste, one of my FAV blogs (look it up, you'll love it).

The best part about this recipe? It uses my favorite kitchen appliance.

My crock pot.

Sorry, KitchenAid mixer.

The fact that I can throw this together in the morning and I come home to a house that smells like an Italian villa makes my heart sing. I DID change a couple small things in the recipe, but overall, it was wonderful to begin with.

Rinse and drain a can of white beans (I used cannellini). If you're not too fond of beans, puree them with a cup of chicken broth in a blender.

Chop up carrots, celery, onion, and garlic cloves.

Brown a pound of beef and drain.

In the crock pot, combine the beef, broth, diced tomatoes, beans, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.

Add 1/2 cup of Worchestershire sauce and 1 1/2 cup of tomato sauce.

Add in a rosemary sprig, 2 tbsp of basil, a chunk of a parmesan rind, and a couple of bay leaves.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and cook for 8 hours on low.

Your house will smell amazing.

Promise.  :)

10 minutes before serving, cook 2 cups of pasta according to directions, drain, add to soup.

Remove bay leaves, rosemary sprig, parmesan rind and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Top with parmesan cheese when served.

Enjoy!

The one thing about this soup...it make A LOT. Soooo, next time, I think I shall half the recipe. Cuz, I must emphasize, it makes a TON of soup!

Minestrone Soup

(adapted from Skinnytaste blog)

1/2 onion, chopped

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb ground beef

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained, rinsed

3 cups fat free chicken broth

1 1/2 cup tomato sauce (I used garlic seasoned)

1/2 cup Worchestershire sauce

1 oz chunk of Parmesan cheese rind

1 rosemary sprig

2 bay leaves

2 tbsp fresh basil

1 1/2 tbsp oregano

1/4 cup parsley (sounds like a lot, it's okay, I promise)

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups of pasta, macaroni elbows or ditalini (al dente)

extra parmesan cheese to top

Rinse and drain a can of white beans (I used cannellini). If you're not too fond of beans, puree them with a cup of chicken broth in a blender.

 Chop up carrots, celery, onion, and garlic cloves.

Brown the beef and drain.

In the crock pot, combine the beef, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, beans, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.

 Add Worchestershire sauce and tomato sauce.

 Add in a rosemary sprig, basil, parmesan rind, and bay leaves.

 Salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and cook for 8 hours on low.

 10 minutes before serving, cook pasta according to directions, drain, add to soup.

Remove bay leaves, rosemary sprig, parmesan rind and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Top with parmesan cheese when served.

Enjoy!

All About Apples Part 1: Homemade Applesauce

Happy first day of fall everyone! I don't know about you, but I LOVE fall! It's tied with winter for my favorite season. Mmmm, leaves, hot chocolate, cozy fires, pumpkins, let's not forget the cute clothes....and of course, delicious apples! I eat apples year round, but they are the best in the fall; so crisp and sweet! :)

This is going to be a three-part post on apples, because I think they are a great representation of fall cooking. The first is a Homemade Applesauce recipe I received from my friend and fellow baker, Nikki. 

She is a fabulous cook, so I always trust her recommends in the recipe department. And she's done it again! This is a wonderful treat! And for those of you with little ones, it's a great alternative to the "preservative-filled" store bought kind.

I'll be posting two more recipes in the next couple days that pair VERY well with the applesauce, so please come visit me again!

Hope everyone enjoys! If you have any apple recipes you'd like to share, please comment below:

Homemade Applesauce:

Gather up your ingredients: cinnamon, sugar, lemons, water, and apples. (could this be any easier??)

Peel, core and chop all apples. Do you like my super duper apple peeler?? Changed my life.

Put them in your crock pot and add the lemon juice. Toss until the apples are coated and add the sugar and cinnamon:

Pour your water in the crock pot and mix it all together. Turn on the crock pot and cook on either high for 5 hours or low for eight hours.

Oh, and did I mention that this will make your house smell like a spicy fall wonderland??? Love!

Homemade Crockpot Applesauce:

5 medium Gala apples, peeled, cored, quartered, and chopped

2 medium Granny Smith apples peeled, cored, quartered, and chopped

2 medium Honey Crisp apples peeled, cored, quartered, and chopped

Fresh Lemon Juice – I juiced two lemons

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup water.

Peel, slice, and chop all apples. When that’s done, place all of the apple pieces in the crock pot, pour the fresh lemon juice over them and toss them until they are coated.

Add in the sugar and cinnamon. Pour water in the crock pot, and mix together.

Turn on the crock pot and cook: either on low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours.

Enjoy your applesauce!!

Note: They don't sell Honey Crisp apples at my grocery store, so I used Fuji (my favorite!!) instead. And since I don't like tart apples much, I substituted one of the Granny Smith for a Fuji as well. So I ended up with 5 Gala, 1 Granny Smith, and 3 Fuji. Also, this applesauce does taste a little tart if you follow the recipe exactly, so I added a little extra sugar. Worked like a charm!! :)