Crock Pot Chicken: A Fail, and then A Win

I found 2 similar crock-pot chicken recipes on Pinterest, and wanted to try them both.  I got to this one first.  It was just as easy as the recipe says, and the chicken was tender, but I didn't like the flavor at all.  My husband liked it more than I did, but he wasn't wowed by it either.  If you're a fan of canned cream of chicken soup, the you will like this.  I, apparently, am not a fan.

A week or so later, I tried this recipe.  I almost skipped it, since it also calls for cream of chicken soup, but this recipe only needs one can and it calls for cream cheese.  I decided to give it a chance, and I'm so glad that I did!  This chicken was creamy and tender and flavorful.  My only complaint was that it was a bit on the salty side, probably from the Italian dressing mix.  Next time I'll just make my own, and I'll be able to control how much salt goes into it.  I think I'll also take the mushrooms from the first recipe and add them to the second. 

photo from original post on Once A Month Mom

Cream Cheese Crock-Pot Chicken

2lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can cream of chicken soup

8oz cream cheese

1 packet dry Italian dressing mix

Place chicken, soup, cream cheese, and seasoning mix in slow cooker. Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 8-9 hours, or until chicken is cooked through. (I used less chicken, and it took only 6 ours on low.) Serve over hot cooked rice, mashed potatoes, or pasta, if desired.

Pesto Rolls and Pasta Caprese with Sausage

Do you like pasta?  Do you like cheese?  Do you like caprese?  If you answered "yes" to any of those questions, then you need to make this dish.  Now.  Unless you're counting calories, in which case, you should probably close this window and try to forget that you ever saw this post.

Photo from original post on Pelin Chef.  Idea from Pinterest.  

I was starving, so I started off by putting some pesto rolls in the oven to munch on while the pasta was baking.   It was suuuper easy:  "Press out cresent roll dough.  Spread pesto.  Roll up into a log. Slice. Place in a pie plate like cinnamon rolls. Serve with marinara dip."  That's Pinterest said, and that's what I did.  It quick, easy, and delicious.

Photo and recipe from original post on Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour.

But enough of that.  On to the pasta.  This recipe is fantastic!  It was straight-forward and pretty easy, but not terribly fast.   I followed it pretty much exactly, except for adding some mild Italian sausage, and doubling the mozzarella.  If you decide to do sausage, too, pre-cook it according to the package directions, slice it, and mix it in with the pasta and sauce prior to adding the tomatoes, cheese, and basil.  You really just can't go wrong here. 

Mmm.  So good, so full.  But because I'm a glutton, I went for the trifecta.  After dinner, I made peanut butter blossoms. 

Anyone want to go for a run?

Cheesy Enchilada Casserole

photo from the six sisters original post.

This is another one that I found on Pinterest.  The pin came from Six Sisters Stuff, and they got the recipe from Get Off Your Butt and Bake.  We made some guacamole to go with it, and it was delicious!  We will be making this one again--with a few alterations.  We had a lot of the meat mixture left over, so next time I'll use my 3 qt baking dish, instead of the 2 qt dish recommended in the recipe.  We're also going to skip the tortilla layers in the casserole, because they just got soggy.  Perhaps next time, we will serve it in the tortillas, burrito style.  Here's what we did:

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
1 large red onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups salsa
1 can (15 ounces) black beans or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup (reduced-fat) Italian salad dressing
2 tablespoons (reduced-sodium) taco seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
6 flour tortillas (8 inches)
1 small can of drained corn (or about 1 1/4 cups of frozen corn)
3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped

Directions
In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.

Stir in the salsa, beans, dressing, sour cream, corn, taco seasoning and cumin.
Spoon a generous, even layer of the meat mixture on the bottom of your 3 quart baking dish, sprinkle with grated cheese, top with a flour or corn tortilla.  Repeat until you've filled your dish (or run out of meat).

The last & final layer should be a healthy dose of grated cheese.
Cover with foil that has been sprayed with pam or other and bake at 400° for 25 minutes, or until hot & bubbly.
Let stand for 5 minutes before topping with lettuce and tomato.  Guacamole is strongly recommended.

Yield: 8 servings.