Crock pot BBQ Garlic Chicken

Call me crazy, but I feel like loading up on garlic is one of the mainstays of our "stay-healthy" routine around here. I usually kick it up an extra notch or 10 right before we travel, must be a blast to work out next to me this week.

Here is one that came, as usual, from what we had and an extreme lack of time or planning. So much so, all I have is the blurry photo above from the day after we had it for dinner on potato bread as my quick lunch while getting ready for our trip! Sorry bout that guys!!

Here is what you will need:

1 package boneless skinless chicken breasts

about 1 1/2 cup bbq sauce

8-10 cloves of garlic (I used a whole head, c'mon!)- peeled and cut in half or crushed a bit

about 1/2 a cup water or broth (veggie or chicken)

salt, paprika, garlic powder

Put chicken and garlic in crock pot

add about 3/4-1 cup bbq sauce (cover top of chicken)

Pour water or broth in on the side, not over the bbq sauce chicken

Low for 4 hours or until chicken is cooked through & shreds eaisily- mine was done-da-da at 4 hours but well done, I probably could have finished it off at 3:30 or 3:45.

Transfer chicken to bowl, use a slotted spoon to transfer the garlic as well.

shred chicken using two forks

Sprinkle on about 1 tsp paprika, and 2-3tsp garlic powder

add 1/4-1/2 cup bbq sauce

use forks to mix well

taste, then add salt if needed

What you do with this garlic gloriousness is up to you! Top a salad? Roll in a tortilla? Stuff a yummy Hawaiian roll or pita pocket?  (or on potato bread for a blurry sandwich photo, perhaps??) lol.

Awesome Crock Pot Chicken Enchiladas

Wow, these were EASY and soooooo delicious! A while ago my sister told me I had to go get the Salsa Verde from Trader Joe's and mix it with Greek yogurt- then put it on everything, because it's awesome. The time finally came this past weekend, I tried it, and I'm hooked.
This is a perfect summer crock pot recipe that I will definitely make again and again, it's relatively inexpensive and could not be any easier.

Here's what you need:

1 package boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package whole wheat tortillas
2 jars Trader Joe's salsa verde
1 container Greek yogurt (you will use about a cup)
3/4 a sweet onion diced
2 cups shredded cheese

Lightly spray the inside of the crock pot with olive oil to help prevent sticking. Scatter a small handful of onions across the bottom, place chicken on top of onions, pour about 2/3 of one of the jars of salsa over the top of the chicken. Cook on low about 4-6 hours or until completely cooked through and easily shreddable.
Remove chicken from crock pot, discard liquid.
Place chicken in a large bowl and use two forks to shred it up, let it cool a bit, then add 1 cup Greek yogurt and the remaining salsa in the first jar, use forks to combine well. (I did this on Sunday, then put the chicken mix in the fridge and did all the steps below for dinner Monday)

Preheat oven to 375
(for a freezer meal, follow the steps below, except baking, cover, freeze and bake for about 45 minutes at 375 from frozen when ready)
Line a 9x13 baking dish with foil
Lay a tortilla on a plate and scoop about 3 forkfuls of chicken mix onto the tortilla, top with a half of a handful of onions, 1 T of salsa and wrap shut- place in pan seam side down, repeat until you are out of chicken or the pan is full.
Pour salsa from the 2nd jar generously over the tortillas, top with lots of shredded cheddar cheese, reserve a bit to mix with the greek yogurt for after baking.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until cheese is all melted and bubbly.

Serve with a dollop of the Greek yogurt/salsa sauce, avocado, black beans and rice!

Crockpot Angel Chicken

Hi Guys!!! Sorry it took me so long to get back to business here. We've been having way too much fun with the house, Logan and the gorgeous weather. Oh. Sorry again. I realize it's still dumping snow on many of my beloved and I apologize for that last dig about the weather....Here. I'll make it up to you- this is a FABULOUS crock-pot recipe that you will adore. Super-comfort food with out being too horrible for you. I've been meaning to make a version of this recipe for quite some time, but my husband hates cream-of-anything soup so I had to go rouge here, and truly enjoyed the results!! Hope you do too!! 

Here is what you will need:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

6-8 shiitake mushrooms chopped

4 cloves garlic chopped

1/4 c chicken broth

1/2 block cream cheese

1 pkg Trader Joe's condensed portabella mushroom soup (no mystery ingredients in this one! YAY!)

2 tsp ITALIAN DRESSING MIX  Do yourself a giant favor and make your own, the packet has who-knows-what in it- takes no time and you will use it LOTS!

Toss it all into the slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until chicken shreds easily and is cooked all the way through. As I have stated many times, every crockpot I have ever owned seems to run on the hotter side- if I make a chicken recipe that says "low for 7-8 hours" I get dried out nastiness. So I check it's shredability around 4 hours, this recipe was ready at the 4 hour mark, I noted 4-6 hours just in case. It should shred easily and be at least 165 degrees internally. 

Use a big spoon, transfer chicken & mushrooms to a large bowl- shred with forks. Then add about 5 spoonfuls of the juice and toss well to keep chicken moist.

Serve with rice, your favorite pasta and a big veggie-filled salad on the side.  (or with shredded cheese and cheerios as Logan is demonstrating below....)

Hope everyone has their toes in the sand and face in the sun SOON. 

"Greek" Crockpot Whole Chicken

This is yet another example of using what I had on hand to make dinner FAST. The chicken was on sale, so I bought it, and then had no idea what I was going to do with it!! I also had a TON of lemons because I've been making lemon, ginger, honey infusions to keep in the fridge to make throat "tea" to help us through the cold season that is so crazy once again this year- I will do a quick post on the "tea" soon, but you can find the link and info on the SLK Facebook page too if you need it sooner.

This took me less than 30 minutes to get in the crock pot, which is my kind of dinner prep time- done and done during am nap- YAY and HOORAY.

Here's what you'll need:


1 whole roasting chicken (save this recipe for when they go on sale- the one I bought was $3 and 4lbs)
2-3 lemons- sliced in wheels
8 cloves garlic, smashed, crushed, or cut in half
1/2 a red onion, sliced
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
Oregano, Basil, paprika, salt. olive oil

lightly coat the bottom of the crock pot with olive oil (I use my Misto for this, but you could just pour in a little bit and roll it around or use a paper towel for even coverage)
Add the sliced lemons (lay them flat all over the bottom of the pot)
Toss in the garlic & onion
In a small bowl mix 1-2 T olive oil and the herbs/seasoning- I eyeballed it, but it's about 2 T basil, 4 T oregano and 1-2 tsp paprika, then a fat pinch of salt, 1/2-1 tsp. Mix this into an herb paste/rub.
Rinse the chicken and pat dry.
Place on a cutting board breast side up and LOOSEN but don't remove the skin. Spread the herb mix on the chicken UNDER the skin- then if you have some left rub the top of the skin too. Leaving it on does mean a bit more calories/fat in the recipe but the chicken is so much more moist and I just remove it after cooking for that reason.
Place the chicken BREAST SIDE DOWN in the crockpot- ribs up- again, this will prevent dryness.
Pour chicken broth into crock pot, lop the yogurt on top of the chicken. Put the lid on the pot & cook on LOW for 7-8 hours....or less... (my crock pot runs HOT, I checked it at 6 hours and it was perfect, but 99% of the whole chicken recipes I see say 7-8 hours, so there must be a reason- make sure it is cooked through completely, at 6 hours mine was falling a part perfection and not dry at all).

BONUS TIP! If you have leftover chicken broth and don't think you'll "use within 7-10 days", FREEZE IT! I used my Baby Bullet baby food freezer storage trays, but you can use any freezer safe container- then just thaw & use when you need to.

Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin w Garlic Chili Sauce

My husband has been TCB lately- and the "B" in that business stands for- his job, me, Logan, Leela, Arthur, the laundry, the dishes, and pretty much anything else you can possibly imagine- while I am trying to get my knees strong again and not feel like they are being stabbed with spoons every time I go down one of the three flights of stairs that I must traverse all day long, he has come to the rescue to make sure this place doesn't just fall right apart.

I wanted him to come home to something super yummy on Friday night because this has been a looooooooooooooooooooong week.

This recipe was pure improv at it's finest and I can happily say it turned out fantastic- we both loved it!

Here is what you will need:

1 pork tenderloin about 2lbs

2 spoonfuls garlic chili sauce

2-3 T soy sauce

1 T honey

2 T BBQ sauce

2 T water or chicken broth

In a small bowl, whisk together the chili sauce, soy sauce, honey, bbq sauce and water or broth.

Place the pork in the crock pot, pour the mix over it.

Cook on low 7.5 hours- to serve- shred with forks in the pot to get all covered in the saucy mix. 

Serve with cornbread and more honey! 

Crock Pot Pineapple Salsa Chicken

I know this is seriously the worst photo ever, but I threw this together VERY quickly after a long day of running around at the park while our giant pot of BLACK BEANS cooked.
After I took out the beans, it was 3pm so I figured it would just be easiest to throw dinner in the pot so I didn't have to do anything else, besides 100 laps around the living room vrooming trucks with Logan.
The crockpot has that stuff on it because I didn't wash it after I removed the black beans just kept goin'.

Here's what you'll need:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1 jar tropical salsa- I used Trader Joe's pineapple salsa- look for something with pineapple or mango if you can find it
1 can of pineapple pieces, in it's own juice, not drained.
1 cup chicken broth

All in the pot- cover 3.5 hours on high or 7 hours on low.
Serve with rice, beans and veggies.

Gotta keep my hands free and my eyes on the kiddo, he's an active little man.

YAY CROCK POT.

Slow Cooker Black Beans

Thought I would do a quick post so you can SEE how glorious this is- above is 2 lbs of dried black beans, cooked up in the crock pot- total money spent $6.50 because I used organic chicken broth to cook them in, total if I used water $3.25

The smaller containers all went into the freezer and the large container was used for meals throughout the week.

As previously mentioned I followed the instructions from A Year of Slow Cooking  I like these instructions because you don't really have to sweat "measuring" so much.

Here are the basics:

Buy dry black beans.
Put the dry beans in a large bowl and pour in enough water to cover the beans with about 2 inches of water above them. Soak 8 hours, I just do this right before bed.
Pick out any that are split or floating or not pretty.
Drain water, rinse beans.
Pour beans in slow cooker, cover with enough liquid (broth, stock or water) so there are 2 inches of liquid above the beans.
8 hours on low.

For fun you can always do a jar of salsa then use stock, broth or water for the rest of the liquid. OR add garlic, onions or other spices to kick em up!

Mah-valous Mac N Chee (and slow cooker black beans!)

This is something I created for my son, and ended up LOVING it myself!! Logan is super into food these days, and I am enjoying it because I know it may not last- kids will be kids and there could be an "I'll eat nothing but PB&J 3x a day" phase right around the corner. His very favorite foods are avocado, hummus, banana, blueberries, black beans and of course #1: CHEESE.

I started making the black beans in our crock pot because they are really way less expensive that way and I have a TON to make freezer meals and usually a whole weeks worth of food with em each time I do a batch! (I just made another batch today and will do a post soon to show you how much you get for very little $$)

For the love of cats, feel free to use a can of black beans for this recipe- pre-child I sure as heck would have, it definitely cuts down on the time/work involved a bit. However, if you wanna give it a whirl, it is pretty easy. One of my all-time FAVORITE sites explains it best: A Year Of Slow Cooking: Dried Beans in the Slow Cooker Tutorial . Also, I had no idea kidney beans had a funky toxin, so the post was helpful and learned somethin' new!

Also- I sometimes use broth instead of water when cooking the beans, I've used the organic chicken and veggie broth from Trader Joe's and love both. Just an option.

Here is what you will need to make the Mac N Cheese:

1 16oz bag of Organic Brown Rice or Whole Wheat pasta
6-8 mushrooms, chopped in to little bits
1/4 of a white or yellow onion, finely chopped
2 BIG handfuls of baby spinach, chopped
1 cup or 1 can cooked black beans
2-3 cups shredded cheese
water to boil noodles
Olive oil

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan, add onions, and mushrooms- keep on med/low heat while you make the pasta.
Bring water in a medium sauce pot to a boil on the stove & add pasta- cook according to package directions for the little ones so it's not to tough to chew or for grown-up pasta, about 1 minute less than max cooking time recommended on the package.
When the pasta is ready, reserve 1/4 cup of the starchy water then drain the pasta.
Add the black beans to the onions- add salt & pepper to taste- stir about 5 minutes, till everything is hot.
Put the  pasta in a large bowl add the 1/4 cup of pasta water.
Add everything from the satuee pan and the spinach and the cheese- stir til melty delicious & enjoy!

Love that crockpot!

Unless you've only just joined us here, you know that no matter what the season I LOVE MY CROCK POT. It was such a lifesaver when I worked all day outside the house, and it's just as awesome, if not more, now that my job is based here at home!

For lots of you school is back in session and time is FLYING- here are a few of my FAVORITE crockpot recipes, tried and true:

Chicken Crockpot Tacos -this is my most visited/ most pinned crock pot recipe......for a reason. It's super easy and DELICIOUS!

Carnitas Cornbread Pie - a crockpot recipe and a freezer meal, perfect post to keep in mind for those busy weeknights!

Machaca Inspired Beef- I haven't made this in a while, but glad I am posting this link collection, this one will be on the menu next week for sure! YUM!

Gyros- this was the first crock pot recipe pin I tried, and it was GREAT, will definitely make this again!

Turkey White Bean Chili (photo above)- always a good one, especially if you are lucky enough to have temps that are not in the mid-90s this week!

I update my "Crock It" slow cooker recipe collection board on Pinterest weekly- loads of ideas and inspiration there, check it out HERE.
I will also comment below recipes as I try them, and of course post them here on the blog with any changes I make to the original post.

Crockpot Lime Cilantro Chicken

Since my son is avocado obsessed - we've been buying them like crazy, and I'm ok with that because I love them too!! This was just a what-I-have-on-hand recipe I came up with during am nap so we'd have dinner that night.


What you'll need

2 limes (the juice of both, the zest of one)
1 handful chopped cilantro
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
2/3 c salsa
1/2 c chicken broth
salt, pepper
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts


Toss all that stuff in the crockpot.
Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours...my crockpot seems to run hot, if I go more than 7 hours whatever I am cooking is dryer than the Sahara. It's easy enough to tell when this recipe is all finished- at about 6 hours lift the lid, try to fork apart the chicken gently, if it shreds easy and is cooked through you are all set, if not let it go another hour for perfection.

We had this with some extra salsa, avocado and a few cold beers on whole wheat tortillas.

YUM