Crock-pot Jambalaya

Crock-pot Jambalaya

This is probably one of my all time favorite recipes! There are so many flavors that just blend together perfectly. I was also shocked, my husband was thrilled, to see that my Jambalaya recipe was almost identical to Ms. Kay’s. Hubby is a HUGE Duck Dynasty fan. This recipe is excellent for busy mama’s (or daddy’s) too since you just throw it in the crock pot.

What You’ll Need:

2 pounds Chicken

1 pound large shrimp

1 pound smoked sausage

1 large green pepper

1 large onion – chopped

3 stalks of celery -- chopped

3 cloves of garlic -- minced

28 oz can of tomatoes – diced or stewed 

1 6oz can of tomato paste

2 cups of chicken broth

1 tablespoon of Cajun or Jambalaya mix

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 ¾ cups rice

Directions:

Combine Chicken, Sausage, Onion, Green Pepper, Celery, Tomatoes, Tomato paste, Garlic, Chicken broth, Spice mix, Thyme, and Oregano into the crock-pot. Cook on low for 5 hours. Add rice and shrimp and raise the temperature to high and cook for 30 more minutes.  Stir and serve. 

Enjoy!!

Play around with this recipe and make it your own. I have made it before with only one or two of the meats, less tomatoes, extra tomatoes, chicken stock instead of broth, etc. It always turns out amazing!

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

This is an extremely simple, quick, traditional chicken noodle soup recipe that is absolutely delicious. Great for fall and winter months or when you just need some comfort food.

What You'll Need:

Egg Noodles

32 oz Chicken Broth

1 pound Chicken -- cooked

1 cup carrot -- chopped

1 cup celery-- chopped

1/2 medium onion -- chopped

1 clove of garlic

Parsley

Salt and Pepper -- to taste

Directions:

Put everything into a large soup pot and cook for at least 30 minutes.

If you would like more well defined noodles, instead of  "mushy" leave the noodles out until the last 5 minutes or so.

To let all the flavors blend more let the soup cook longer than 30 minutes.

That's it! So Simple (:

 

  

Crock-pot Rootbeer BBQ Chicken

A sweet-tangy easy peasy chicken crock-pot recipe that you and your family will just eat up!

What You'll Need:

• 4 Chicken Breast
• 1/2 can of Rootbeer
• 18oz bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

• Place the chicken breast in the crock-pot and cook on high for 3 hours.
• Note- my chicken breast were still partially frozen and the 3 hours worked fine. If you are wanting to use completely frozen chicken breast I would suggest cooking them for an extra hour.

• Drain the juices off of the chicken and place them back into the crock pot
• In a bowl mix together the Rootbeer, BBQ sauce, salt, and pepper. 

• Pour the BBQ mixture over the chicken.

• Cook the chicken on high for an additional 30 minutes
• Note- When I make these again I will probably cook them for another hour to an hour and a half on low so the chicken has more time to soak up more of the BBQ sauce.

 Serve with a side of mashed potatoes, or whatever you like, and enjoy!

Copy Cat Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

If you are anything like me then you LOVE Olive Garden. Not just an "Oh, yeah. I like to eat there." It's an anytime anyone ask ya where you want to eat the first thing you blurt out is Olive Garden. Now if your spouse is anything like my husband then you don't get to eat there very often. So I was browsing the net one day and came across quite a few of these chicken and gnocchi recipes which just so happens to be my favorite soup from the good ol' OG. So I gave one a try and Oh My Gosh! Let me tell ya, it was as close as it could be to the actual thing! I am super picky about knock offs especially when it's my favorite but this was delicious! Even my husband enjoyed it and he is the pickiest eater I have ever met in my life!
So, Here it is. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Copy Cat Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

   

What You'll Need:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup onion -- diced
• 1/2 cup carrots -- diced
• 1/2 cup celery -- diced
• 4 cloves garlic -- minced
• Salt and Pepper -- to taste
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 4 cups (32 oz) chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups half&half
• 2 cups cooked chicken
• 1 pound potato gnocchi
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon basil 

Directions:

• In a large soup pot heat butter and oil together over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender over medium-low heat, this will take about 15-20 minutes. Stir Often!
• Once the vegetables are tender sprinkle the flour into the pot and mix it well into the veggies. Cook for 3 minutes stirring often.
• Stir in the chicken broth 1 cup at a time. Followed by the half&half and the cooked chicken.
• Bring to a simmer and maintain it for 20 minutes stirring the soup often.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook gnocchi separately according to the package directions.
  Add the gnocchi to the soup along with the baby spinach.
  Simmer until the spinach is wilted, this won't take very long.
• Stir in basil and serve with grated cheese.

My only note to this delicious recipe is I would recommend a higher quality potato gnocchi. I used a cheap-o kind from Aldi and I really believe that threw the taste off a bit.

Enjoy!