Homemade Chicken Pockets

Homemade creamy chicken pot pockets.... yes please!! I came across this recipe initially on Pinterest and it seemed like a fun, different recipe to try. The original recipe can be found here.

This recipe turned out delicious! I found that I had a lot of extra "stuffing" so probably would either only make 1-2 chicken breasts or have 2 packages of crescents. This is definitely one that I would make again and it was relatively simply to make.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
2 small chicken breasts, diced
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls (or 2 if you decide you want to try less stuffing in each!)
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs, for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken with the onions and garlic.

3. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and 1 tablespoon softened butter until smooth.

4. Stir in the cooked chicken, onions and garlic. Add the salts, pepper and milk. Mix well.

5. Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. Place approximately a tablespoon of filling into the center of each triangle and fold the corners up to seal.

6. Press and seal firmly. Place on ungreased baking sheet or stone and repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle with the bread crumbs.

7. Bake for 11 – 13 minutes, or until golden brown.

Swiss Chicken Casserole

Cheese, chicken and rice? How can it not taste good?

This casserole turned out well, though I could have eliminated the ham and would have enjoyed it just the same.

This recipe came from the Betty Crocker 300 Calorie Cookbook (p.87).

Ingredients:

4 cups boiling water
2 boxes (6oz each) florentine long grain & wild rice mix
4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (~2 lbs)
8 slices of ham
1/4 cup diced bell pepper - any color (I used green)
4 slices swiss cheese, halved.

Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray glass baking dish (13x9) with cooking spray.
3. Combine boiling water, rice and seasoning mix in baking dish.
4. Cut chicken breasts in half (lengthwise) and wrap ham slice around each piece of chicken.
5. Stir bell pepper into rice mix.

6. Place wrapped chicken over rice.

7. Cover with foil; bake for 40-45 minutes.
8. Uncover, bake ~ 10 more minutes (or until liquid is absorbed and juice of chicken is clear).
9. Top each piece of chicken with cheese; bake uncovered 3-4 minutes (or until cheese is melted.

It comes out like this - yum!

Skinny Shredded Buffalo Chicken

Putting my crock pot to use again, I made shredded buffalo chicken from skinnytaste.com.

This recipe is definitely a keeper! The original recipe provides details to make a buffalo lettuce wrap, however I just ate it plain as a snack (I couldn't help but pick at in my fridge!) or over lettuce. Surprisingly, it didn't taste too spicy but had a nice kick. If you are worried about the kick, it did seem to mellow the next day. The author of skinny taste recommended Frank's for the brand of hot sauce. It was fantastic - I definitely found a new favorite that has now made it's way to my eggs rather than the usual tabasco.

Ingredients:

24 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
1 celery stalk
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic (I just did a little of fresh diced garlic)
16 oz fat free low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup hot cayenne pepper sauce (Frank's was delicious! - though I definitely used more than the recipe called for).

Directions:

1. In a crock pot, combine chicken, onions, celery stalk, garlic and broth (enough to cover chicken, you can use water if the broth isn't enough). I cut the celery - oops!

2. Cover and cook on high 4 hours.
3. Remove the chicken from pot, reserve 1/2 - 1 cup broth and discard the rest.
4. Shred the chicken.

5. Return to the slow cooker with the 1/2 cup broth and the hot sauce and set to on high for an additional 30 minutes.

Served over salad with light bleu cheese dressing....

Ranch Taco Chicken Lettuce Wrap

Couldn't help but snap a picture of my lunch today...
I put the Crock Pot Taco Ranch Chicken into a lettuce wrap and topped with a tomato.
A little juicy, but delicious!

Taco Ranch Chicken

I made this chicken recently and it has such a great taste, I have been finding myself adding it as the protein to a few different meals. While the original recipe from LaaLoosh was for actual chicken tacos, I skipped the taco shell portion and just ate the chicken with veggies.

Ingredients:
1 package (~12 oz) chicken breasts
1 packet dry ranch seasoning mix
1 packet dry taco seasoning mix
2 cups fat free chicken broth

Directions:
Place chicken, broth, taco seasoning and ranch seasoning into crock pot. Cook on high for 4-6 hours.
Shred chicken with forks (it comes apart very easily)

Serve in tacos or over a salad and enjoy!

This recipe turned out incredibly delicious. I can't wait to make it again.

Crock Pot Shredded Chicken

Shredded chicken is easy to make in a crock pot and should be made ahead of any recipes requiring this ingredient.
Crock pot shredded chicken takes about 4 hours to make, so I may make it the day before I plan on needing it. This is also good to have around for salad toppings. The original recipe can be found here on Skinny bits.

Ingredients:
Chicken Breast
Water
Chicken Broth

Directions:
Place chicken breasts in crock pot.
Cover chicken breasts with water or chicken broth (I used chicken broth).
Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.

When it is finished, place the chicken on a plate and shredd with a fork. It comes apart incredibly easily.
I do have to say the chicken is a bit dry when it comes out and I haven't yet figured out how to avoid this.

Chicken Taco Chili

I wanted to try another slow cooker recipe, so I found this Chicken Taco Chili Recipe from Skinny Taste.

I modified the original recipe slightly, but it turned out great!

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 16-oz can black beans
1 16-oz can kidney beans
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 sm can of tomato paste --> I added this to thicken it
10 oz package frozen corn kernels --> I chose not to add this.
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies
1 packet taco seasoning
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 package (3-4) boneless skinless chicken breasts

The picture shows two packages of chicken - I only used the one package of chicken breast though.


Directions:
Combine beans, onion, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 10 hours. Half hour before serving, shred chicken (I was able to do this without removing from slow cooker). Stir in in chicken.