Pineapple Barbeque Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients: 

1 ½  pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, thighs or combination of both (I used breast)

1 cup chopped onion (small dice)

½ can (20 Oz. Size) crushed pineapple (drained, juice reserved)

1/3 cup reserved pineapple juice

2 cups BBQ Sauce Of Your Choice (I used Sweet Baby Rays)

Whole wheat sandwich buns

To Freeze: Place all ingredients in a gallon size freezer bag. Seal and freeze!

To Prepare: Thaw overnight. Empty contents of bag into crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, high 4-5 hours.  1-2 hours before done, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to crockpot and stir. Finish cooking. This will allow the chicken to soak up the sauce.

To Serve: Serving size is approximately ½ cup on bun, top with coleslaw if desired.

Classic Coleslaw:

1/2 cup nonfat Greek-style yogurt, or 2/3 cup regular plain nonfat yogurt

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 bag shredded coleslaw mix (16 oz)

Note: We found the flavor for both the chicken and coleslaw better the next day!

Avgolemono Chicken Soup

I am bringing a bag of soup and a bag of rice.   To serve after it has been frozen, defrost the soup - (either in the fridge or a sink full of hot water).  Heat in a saucepan on med-low (Do not Boil!) Open the rice about a fourth of the way and heat in microwave for 3 minutes.  Add to soup - enjoy when warm.

Makes 4-6 Servings

4 cups chicken broth (2 cans) or 4 cups water and 4 chicken bouillion cubes
1/2 pound chicken breast
2 large eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 (10 ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 cups hot cooked rice
Pepper, to taste

1. In a large saucepan, bring the stock and chicken to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 5-7 min.  Remove the chicken and, when cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size pieces.

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and lemon juice until frothy; gradually whisk in 1 cup of the hot stock.

3.  Add the spinach to the stock in the saucepan; bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low; stir in the rice.  Slowly add the egg-stock mixture, whisking constantly to avoid curdling; continue whisking until thickened, 3 minutes (DO NOT BOIL).  Stir in the chicken ahd heat to serving temperature.  Season with pepper and serve.

Nutrition info:  (1/4 of soup - which is a lot!): 261 cal, 7 g fat, 28 g Carb, 2 g Fib, 22 g Prot

My family has been eating this soup for years - it's one of our favorites! 

Chicken Taco Soup

1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer (or broth)
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
1-3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional garnish after cooking)
sour cream (optional garnish after cooking)
crushed tortilla chips (optional garnish after cooking)
Combine all ingredients into a Ziploc bag. Freeze. Thaw and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken in crock pot once cooking is done. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired. Served approx. 5-6 people.

Recipe from Loving My Nest

Hope you enjoy this as much as we did! But be warned, it's pretty spicy (we eat ours with brown rice).

Cheers,
Patience

Creamy Chicken Taquitos with Mexican Rice & Black Beans

TAQUITOS

1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken (I used canned.)
1 C grated pepperjack cheese small corn tortillas (I used cheddar.)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Makes 12-16

Freezer Instructions: Prepare the taquitos through rolling them out and placing them on the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze until solid, then transfer to a large freezer bag. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425 and place the taquitos on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

MEXICAN RICE

1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain white rice (I used brown)

1 14 1/2 ounce can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained and cut up finely
1 14 ounce can chicken broth1/2 cup water1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

In a large saucepan, stir together rice, undrained tomatoes, broth, water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Stir in mixed veggies. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving. If desired, garnish with lime wedges.

BLACK BEANS

1/2 large onion diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
2 cans black beans (feel free to substitute w kidney or pink)
2 packets of Goya Sazon seasoning (with Arichote, the one in the orange box)
Cilantro
Cumin

Saute onions, add diced tomatoes, cook until 1/2 liquid is gone. Add drained beans and cook until somewhat thick. Add Goya seasoning, cilantro and cumin to taste. If desired, mash 1/2 the beans to get desired consistency.

CrockPot Chicken Cacciatore

1lb Chicken Breast
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (classico, ragu, etc..)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup diced green peppers
1 cup diced mushrooms
1 cup diced onions
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp italian seasoning
1/4 to 1/2 cup cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cook on high 4 hours or on low 6-8 hours. When complete, spoon over fettuccini noodles or noodles of your choice. If you would like to thicken the recipe, add a paste of cornstarch. Remember, you can really play with this recipe, You can add or subract the vegetable that you like. Adding parmesan cheese on top is also yummy.

I am typing this from memory ladies, so hopefully I havent forgotten any ingredients!!

Cilantro Lime Chicken with Corn and Black Beans

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
Juice from 2 limes
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin 
salt and pepper to taste


Directions: 
Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed.Remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 8 hours (or HIGH for 4 hours). 
Serve with tortillas and toppings such as with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and cheese.
Recipe adapted from Over the Big Moon.

Tatiana

Honey Rosemary Chicken

Ingredients:
2 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts or Thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1/3 c Honey
1/3 c Olive Oil
3 T Chopped Fresh Rosemary
1 t  Salt. 

**Let marinate for several hours in the refrigerator before freezing.

Cooking Directions:
Let defrost completely in the fridge. Add 1 cup of water and the contents of the bag to the crockpot. Then cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Ten minutes before serving, add cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

Serving Directions
Serve over couscous (or rice). Be generous with the sauce as you ladle- it’s fabulous.  Rachel also thinks that serving it over mash potatoes and adding some prunes or dried cherries would be delicious.   Thanks, Rachel! 

****Rachel Wheeler also suggests that it doesn't need all of the Olive Oil and that chicken stock could act as a great substitute.  

This recipe was adapted from Kojo Designs.

Katherine Lewis