My smartest "duh" tip

As part of a mission to be better about cooking more at home I have discovered my best “duh" cooking trick.

Ok. I'm exaggerating my ambition… I really stumbled on this out of being cheap.

A few months ago we had to defrost our freezer and put all the food in coolers. One of my favorite kitchen staples – a bag of frozen chicken breasts – had defrosted and then re-froze with all the meat sticking together making a block of meat. Gross. I had two choices: throw away or try to cook it. Since I was being cheap and saw potential for at least an entertaining fail blog post I gave it a go.

What I got… was the best thing since sliced bread.

Seriously.

Here’s what you need:

Crockpot - check, chicken broth - check, frozen chicken breasts - check.

I know what you’re thinking? “That’s it!?!?!” – Yes, this and ten sweet hours of crockpot amaze-making goodness on a low setting and you are good to go. I know precooked dinner for busy schedule = no-brainer… that’s why it’s my smartest “duh” tip.

Guess what? It cost under $10 too.

For storing purposes I divided up half the chicken and broth (you can use it in some of the recipes) and froze it and put the other half in the fridge so it wouldn’t get gross before the week was done.

So now that you’ve got your cooked chicken here are some delish recipes to try:

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas

• Crockpot goodness chicken (about half a breast will feed two people)
• Fajita-sized tortillas (4 for two people)
• 1 Tbs hot sauce
• ½ Tbs mayo
• ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Ranch dressing

1.       Put the chicken in a blender/chopper – heck you can fork shred it if you want

2.       Once shredded, add the hot sauce, mayo, cheese and blend in

3.       Divide evenly among tortillas, spreading evenly over half the tortilla

4.       Fold over and cook on a Panini-maker/grill/George Foreman/waffle maker/anything sanitary that produces heat from two sides is good enough

5.       Serve with Ranch

The best – if you follow these instructions exactly, use Miracle Whip for the mayo, and stick to the true serving size of Kraft original ranch this meal is just under 500 calories.

Tomato Crème Penne

• Crockpot goodness chicken (again about half a breast will feed two people)
• ½ Cup Crockpot goodness broth
• Garlic/Dried Basil/Oregano – Heck any Italian seasoning you want!
• Small can tomato sauce
• 1 Cup heavy cream
• Penne pasta

1.       Shred your chicken

2.       Start cooking your pasta – cook to whatever consistency you like

3.       Throw in a large frying pan with the broth, and your seasoning and simmer

a.       I don’t have measurements on the seasoning because I do it by look :)

4.       Once simmering add your tomato sauce and bring to simmer

5.       When your pasta is almost done and ready to be drained, add the cream and bring back up to a simmer

6.       Add pasta in, stir and serve

And foodies, feel free to judge but I’ve totally subbed garlic powder for real garlic because I didn’t realize I was out of minced garlic and I WAS NOT going back to the store.

Chicken Enchiladas

• Crockpot goodness chicken (use a whole breast – and you’ll have at least one serving for leftovers)
• Tortillas (size is up to you – I would use the left-over fajita size from recipe 1)
• 1 Cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1-2 cans enchilada sauce
• Sour cream (optional)

1.       Evenly coat the bottom of a baking dish with enchilada sauce (it will help keep the tortillas from sticking)

2.       Shred your chicken

3.       Mix in enchilada sauce and half your cheese until you get a consistency that is not soupy but covered with sauce

4.       Divide mixture evenly among tortillas, rolling like a burrito and place in baking dish

5.       Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the enchiladas and cover with remaining cheese

a.       You can make this as saucy/cheese as your heart desires

6.       Cover with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 – serve with sour cream

Shout out to Miss Jamie Clark for this one.

BBQ Chicken Cheddar Bites

• Crockpot goodness chicken (again about half a breast will feed two people)
• 1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls
• Favorite BBQ sauce
• ½ cup cheddar cheese

1.       Shred your chicken (this is a common theme in the crockpot chicken use isn’t it??)

2.       Mix in BBQ sauce and cheese to make a mixture that is moist but not soupy

3.       Unroll crescent dough and divide mixture evenly onto dough triangles – wrap dough around mixture until you get a dough ball

4.       Bake according to instructions on crescent rolls

Done and done. You can also add things to this – almost like a pizza – sliced green onion or carrot give it a nice texture.

Chicken French Bread Pizza

• Crockpot goodness chicken (use a whole breast – and you’ll have at least one serving for leftovers)
• Loaf French bread (you can also use hoagie rolls)
• 1 cup jarred Alfredo sauce (don’t judge – it’s easy)
• Pesto sauce – to individual taste
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1.       Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2.       Cut break in half lengthwise, (if using a larger loaf cut into thirds to make it more manageable when serving) and place on a baking sheet

3.       Toast bread for about 5 minutes for a nice crunch and remove from oven

4.       Shred your chicken (again…)

5.       Layer on each section Alfredo sauce, pesto, chicken and then mozzarella

a.       Justin doesn’t particularly care for pesto so I use a little less for him

6.       Return to oven and bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly and serve

There you have it – delish crockpot chicken and 5 recipes that take about a sitcom to complete. With the free time you have you can spread the genius of my smartest “duh” tip :). Jk – hope you enjoy and Happy Memorial Day!