Crockpot Chicken Tacos

This has to be my favorite crock-pot meal right now! These are pics of the gorgeous chicken tacos my hubby put together.

Crock-pot Chicken Tacos

Ingredients:

5 to 8 frozen chicken breasts

2 packages homemade taco seasoning

1/2 cup water

Directions:

Add all ingredients to crock-pot, or slow cooker. 

(You can use whatever taco seasoning you like, but the link sends you to my homemade recipe... I go with less cumin for this recipe, because cumin is really spicy).

Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or high for 3 to 4 hours.

When cooked, shred meat with a large fork (see my cool plastic-y one that my sister-in-law got me in a package for Christmas last year?).

This is a great, fast, meal.  All the rest of the ingredients are dry or refrigerated:

cheese, tomatoes (and/or salsa), lettuce, taco shells (or chips, for taco salad), or soft taco shells, and maybe some guacamole.

My hubby like his taco shells warmed in the oven, but that only takes 10 mins.  While they are warming, I can get out all the rest of the taco pieces, and shred the meat.

Misty's Taco Style Lentils

Tacos are an one of those meals that are so quick to make.  I would say they are a staple around our house.  I was delighted when I tried the recipe for Taco Style Lentils from the Hillbilly Housewife and the family all like them.  Taco Style Lentils makes tacos even more affordable and easy to keep ingredients on hand... since lentils and rice are not as perishable as meat.  The recipe from the Hillbilly Housewife includes bullion cubes, so I altered the recipe slightly, because I cannot seem to find bullion cubes that do not have MSG in them.  Here's my version of the recipe:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup dry lentils
3/4 cup brown rice
1 package homemade taco seasoning (or other package taco seasoning)
4 cups water

Directions:
Add all ingredients to a 2 quart saucepan and bring to a boil.  Cover with lid, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45-50 mins.  You can also make it in the crockpot on Low for 6 to 8 hours.  The author of the recipe had never made it on high, but the rule of thumb is usually about half the time for High, so probably 3 to 4 hours.

Serve as you would taco meat... Taco Salad, Burritos, Taco Shells.

Misty's Easy Taco Soup

This is a combination of other taco soup recipes I've tasted and a taco style lentil recipe I've used from the Hillbilly Housewife website.  I made up this recipe, along with a Simple Chili recipe, and left them simmering in crockpots for after church, when we were having another family over for lunch. I love the way the house smells when something is simmering in the crockpot.

Ingredients:

1 lb hamburger-cooked (you could make this with turkey burger, or another can of beans)
1 can black beans
1/3 cup brown rice
1/3 cup lentils
1 can diced tomatoes
1 or 2 cups of water (depending on how soupy you want it, or how long you'll be gone)
1 package homemade taco seasoning (or other taco seasoning)

Simmer in the crockpot on Low, or on the stove top.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips. You could also serve with baked potatoes, or corn bread.

Misty's Simple Chili

I made this Chili Recipe and my own version of Taco Soup before church one Sunday and left them simmering in two crockpots.  I also turned the oven into a slow cooker for baked potatoes; I washed them, pricked them with a fork, and wrapped them in foil.  I put them in the oven at about 250 or 300 degrees and they were so yummy! I could have pulled out another crockpot and made the potatoes inside that instead, but Ellie prefers the potatoes in the oven (Wyatt prefers them in the microwave).  I love crockpot meals for after church and other busy days.  My hubby used to say "Chili and tacos are the same thing, and I prefer tacos."  Today, he actually asked for chili, so I thought this was a good day to share this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 lb hamburger (or turkey burger...or you wouldn't have to use meat at all)-cooked
2 cans dark red kidney beans
1 can chili ready tomatoes (or crushed tomatoes)
1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion (or some other diced tomatoes with peppers, etc.)
2 Tbl and 1/4 to 1/2 Tbl chili seasoning
approx 1/2 Tbl onion powder

Simmer in crockpot on Low, or on stove top.

White Chicken Chili

I had a cold this week, and didn't want to pack anything in my lunch for work.  I wanted soup, but didn't want to heat it up in the microwave in the break room.  So, I had chili at Wendy's from the dollar menu.  Wound up being like $1.64 for a "small" size chili with four saltine crackers.  It was perfect.  I even felt better after I ate it.  I paid more attention to the chili when I ate it the second day (I usually work two days outside the home each week)... the chili had onions and peppers in it, along with two kinds of beans and some meat.  When I grew up, us kids didn't like onions and peppers, so chili was tomato sauce with beans, ground hamburger, and a package of Chili Seasoning.  Mom and Dad would spice theirs up in their bowls, if they decided to.  Now that we are all grown, they really spice chili up... but that's another story.  The side of the Wendy's Chili Bowl said that the chili was low-fat and high in fiber, which are great things in my book.

So, I have been in a chili mood.  I don't make chili very often, because my hubby always says "Chili is the same thing as tacos, and I prefer tacos."  The kids, of course, listen to what Dad says and are pretty uninterested.  I am thinking what a great immune booster chili could be during the winter months and how eating chili seems to be clearing up my cold.  Then I go to a different grocery store on my way home because they have a bunch of sales going on and I want to pick some of the sale food up.  I am working on a price sheet (to compare common items at the different stores around me) and I was checking out the price of canned beans... on sale for 39 cents!  At Aldi (usually the cheapest) for 55 cents.  Also, many different versions of canned diced tomatoes for 39 cents each.  They also had a huge roll of hamburger for a great price.  I couldn't resist.  I stocked up on chili fixin's.

I had cooked some chicken in the crockpot to make chicken pot pie (recipe coming soon!), but I knew I had more than enough.  I also remember I had a package of white chicken chili seasoning in my seasoning package tin (now filled with homemade season packages, but this was still leftover since I make chili so infrequently). 

Just before we left to go on a bike ride, I tossed these ingredients in the crockpot (which you could put on a stovetop just as well, but I wanted this to be hot and ready when we got home... and making the house smell good):

White Chicken Chili

1 14.5 oz can of petite diced  tomatoes with sweet onions
1 15   oz can of great northern beans
1  11 oz can of mexican style corn
2-3 cooked breast chicken pieces (could also use canned chicken, or leftovers)
1 package of white chicken chili seasoning (or your own seasoning mix)
1 cup of water

Everything is already cooked, just needs to be heated up.  I put the crockpot on low and we were gone for 5 or 6 hours.  I'm sure the chili was ready before then, but it was not over done.

I'm sure 15 or 20 minutes on the stove, or maybe even less, would also do the trick.

Easy Crockpot Russian Chicken Soup

I have posted this recipe before, but not my easy crockpot version.

Soup Ingredients:
1 box of your favorite chicken broth
2 or 3 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 stalks of celery, chopped
about a 1/2 to 1 cup of shredded or chopped carrots
country seasoning (or green onion and dill)
2-4 potatoes peeled and chopped
1 -14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (do not drain)

Dumpling Ingredients:
3 eggs
2/3 cup flour
country seasoning (or ground pepper and dill)

Directions:
Put frozen chicken breasts in crockpot and add the rest of the soup ingredients.  Cook on high for about 4 to 6 hours.  About a half hour before you want to serve the soup, pull the chicken out and shred it up with a fork.  Add the chicken back to the soup.

Then mix up the dumplings.  They might seem a little runny compared to other dumplings you've made before.

Make a bowl of ice water and grab a teaspoon (just a metal spoon, not a measuring spoon).  Open up your crock of soup (which should be very hot, maybe even bubbly).  Dip the spoon in the ice water, then scoop up a dumpling and dip the spoon in the soup.  The dumpling should slide off as you pull the spoon out.  Then repeat:  could water bath, scoop of dumplings, swim in soup.  When you've scooped all the dumpling mix into the soup, put the lid back on and let the dumplings cook for about 30 minutes.  They will look done, nice and fluffy, instead of the the lumpy/runny stuff you put in earlier.

This is not a pretty looking soup, but very tasty and nutritious.

Cinnamon Apple Pork Tenderloin in the Crockpot

I got this recipe from About.com, but I don't make it in the oven, I make it in the crockpot.

Ingredients:
1 to 1 and 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin... or really any cut of pork you like (chops would work, too)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced (actually, I wind up kind of chopping them)
2 tablespoons dried cranberries (or raisins, but I have always used cranberries, hubby doesn't like raisins)

Directions:
I usually use a frozen pork loin.  I put that in my crockpot first.
In a separate bowl, mix the other ingredients.
Pour over the pork loin in the crockpot.
Then cook on low for about 6 hours, or high for about 4 hours. 
Cook time will depend on the size of meat and if it is completely frozen or partially thawed.
Just make sure the meat is thoroughly cooked before you serve it.  ;)  You can always check it with a meat thermometer.

Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes

This is my son's absolute favorite dish.  I believe this particular one is missing the extra cheese on top.  But, it basically looks right.  This is one of the dishes that I usually try to make one and free one.  I buy enough ingredients to make two, instead of just one, and the second one goes in the foil pan that you see there (this is a double from Thanksgiving... didn't last long in the freezer before Wyatt requested to eat it).

To cook the frozen one, I have to either add time to cooking, or thaw out in the freezer the day before we want to eat it.

Ingredients (for one dish... double if you want to make a spare):
1 lb 14 oz Country Style Hash Browns
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken... we like mushroom... you can also substitute extra sour cream in a pinch)
"medium" container of sour cream (I use about the same amount of sour cream as mushroom soup)
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (save about 1/2 cup for the top)
1/4 cup butter-melted
original blend Mrs. Dash-be generous with this seasoning
salt and pepper (optional... I don't use it anymore)

Oven Directions:
Thaw hash browns.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together.
I usually mix all ingredients, minus hash browns, in the dish I'll be cooking in:  a 9 x 13 inch pan.
Then I add the hash browns gradually and mix thoroughly. 
Next add the saved portion of cheese (you can add a little extra if you have it, and you are cheese lovers like us).
Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Crockpot Directions:
You can also make this in the crockpot.  I think it's just as yummy that way, though Wyatt disagrees with me.
If making in the crockpot, spray your crock with cooking spray, then follow directions to mix together.  You won't need any foil.  The bigger the crockpot, the more like the baked dish this will be.  I used a large oval crockpot to make mine (sorry, I don't have any pictures of the crockpot dish).  Cover with lid and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.  The cheese on top should be melty when done, and hopefully the top edges are brown and crispy.