Simple Shredded Chicken

I was having lunch with a good friend of mine the other day and she let me in on a little trick. I thought this trick to be ingenious therefore I decided I must share it with all of you! This trick is all about making your life easier when it comes to chicken.

For a while now I have been cooking chicken in my crock pot in large batches, then shredding it, then putting it in freezer bags and freezing it in 1-2 lb increments.  That way whenever a recipe calls for chicken I can just pull some out and either let it thaw on the counter, in the fridge, in the microwave, or on the stove. It all depends on how much of a hurry I am in. I have loved doing this. It saves me a ton of time when I am in a hurry to get dinner on the table.

Now for the new trick. Every time I make a big batch of chicken the part I don't enjoy (the rest is super easy) is actually shredding the chicken. I have been shredding it just with two forks one piece at a time. Well my friend told me that all you have to do is take the cooked chicken, place it in your kitchen aid mixer bowl with the flat blade attached and turn it on. The kitchen aid mixer will do all the grunt work for you. She fed me some of her chicken, and it was shredded perfectly. I obviously had to try this little tactic out. Well I'm happy to report that I tried it, and it works! My life has just been made easier.

Simple Shredded Chicken

6-8 chicken breasts
2-3 cups chicken stock or broth

Place chicken breasts in your crock pot. Pour chicken stock or chicken broth over the chicken. It doesn't have to cover the chicken completely. Cover with lid. Turn the crock pot on low. Allow to cook for 6-8 hrs or until chicken is done. My crock pot cooks hot and even on low it cooks in about 4 hours.  Once chicken is cooked remove chicken (save the leftover broth for later) from crock pot and place in kitchen aid mixer bowl with flat blade or paddle attached. Turn your mixer on low speed and watch the magic happen. Once your chicken is shredded to your liking add back in a small about of the broth that the chicken was cooked in. I have found that this helps the chicken not be dry when reheating. If you are using the chicken immediately then this step isn't necessary.

I have used my shredded chicken an all of these recipes:

White Chicken Chile

Individual Chicken or Turkey Pot Pies

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Chicken Croquettes

Southwestern Style Chimichangas

These are just a few of my favorites, but really the possibilities are endless! Happy chicken making!

Grandma's Dutch Oven Chicken (Crock Pot Style)

This is a recipe for my grandma's Dutch Oven Chicken. I will be honest, it is not one of the photogenic foods out there, but oh it sure does taste great! My grandma would always make this in a crock pot, and I always loved it. A few years ago I decided to see if it would work in a crock pot. I love crock pots because I don't really have to think about it. I through everything in it, leave for several hours, and come home to a house that smells amazing! Well lucky for me the crock pot version of this meal works great!

Grandma's Dutch Oven Chicken (Crock Pot Style)
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 4-6 hrs
Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:
6-8 chicken breasts
6-8 slices of bacon
3 cans cream of chicken soup
16 oz sour cream
8 oz monterey jack cheese - shredded
1 small round container chicken flavored stove top stuffing
1 cube (1/2 cup) butter

Cut bacon into smaller pieces. Lay bacon on the bottom of the crock pot. Place chicken on top of bacon. In a medium bowl combine sour cream and cream of chicken soup. Pour soup mixture over top of chicken. Sprinkle shredded cheese over top of soup mixture. Sprinkle dry stove top stuffing mix over top of cheese. Place small chunks of butter evenly over top of stuffing mix. Cover with lid of crock pot and let cook on low for approximately 6 hrs.  My crock pot cooks a little hot and it was done in about 5. Test a piece of chicken for done-ness prior to serving.

Mama Mondola's Chicken Soup

I hope all of you had a fabulous Christmas and New Years! As one of my new years goals I have decided to eat less sugar. For me this means that for the month of January I have decided to cut out all cane sugar from my diet. In case you haven't noticed my dessert section is my largest section on this blog. That is because I LOVE desserts. I would say almost all of them contain cane sugar. This is going to be a fun challenge for me. I'm not saying I won't post desserts. I will just have to be more creative in using honey, agave, and xylitol.

Well to start off this no sugar month I decided to post this delicious soup. One of my husband's and my favorite restaurants is Carrabbas. My husband always gets this soup. It is hearty and full of flavor. He decided a while back that he wanted to make it. We have made it a few times since then and absolutely love it. This is a big recipe so be prepared. We honestly didn't have a pot big enough to hold the whole soup so we used less (a lot less) water. The flavor is still amazing it is just slightly more like a stew than a soup.

MAMA MANDOLA'S CHICKEN SOUP (MINESTRA DI POLLO)
From Carrabba's
Makes 1 1/2 Gallons

5 celery ribs
4 medium carrots, peeled
1 large yellow onion
2 medium potatoes, peeled
1 large green bell pepper
1(14-ounce) can imported Italian plum tomatoes
1(5-pound) hen, washed and cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
6 quarts water (for soup) or 6-8 cups water for stew
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dice celery, carrots, onion, potatoes and bell pepper into 1/4-inch pieces. Chop tomatoes; reserve all juice.

Place vegetables, tomatoes with their juice, chicken pieces, parsley and garlic in a 10-quart stockpot. Add water. Season with salt and pepper. This can also be done in a crock pot (my personal preference)

Slowly bring soup to a boil over low heat. Skim off foam that rises to the surface; may have to skim 2 or 3 times. Partially cover pot and simmer 2 hours.

When soup is finished, remove chicken pieces with a slotted spoon. Let cool.

Meanwhile, mash vegetables in the bottom of the pot with the back side of a large cooking spoon or a potato masher.

When chicken has cooled enough to handle, remove skin and bones and return meat to soup.

Notes: Soup is best served the day after it is made. Refrigerate and remove fat that solidifies on the surface of the soup. Serve soup with rice or small, stubby pasta such as pastina, tubetti or small elbow macaroni. For better flavor, cook the rice or pasta in the soup when reheating. Add freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, if desired.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I found this recipe years ago and absolutely loved it! A good friend of mine recently asked me for the recipe and I had honestly kinda forgotten about it. I was so excited she reminded me about it that I just had to make it! This recipe has all the flavor of traditional chicken cordon bleu, but is much easier to make. I love it because I can honestly throw it together in  under 10 minutes, have it in the oven and ready to eat it in no time at all! I typically am all about making everything from scratch, but sometimes it is very nice to have a meal that is quick and easy with practically no prep on your part. What can I say...life gets busy sometimes!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
Servings: 8
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1.5 lbs popcorn chicken ** (I prefer the popcorn chicken, but regular chicken nuggets can be used)
8 ounces Swiss cheese, cubed
8 ounces cubed ham
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Place chicken  in a glass baking dish, along with the Swiss cheese, and ham. Stir together the soup with 1 cup milk, pour over casserole.
Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

**If you prefer to make the breaded chicken from scratch that is definitely an option and will taste just as delicious, it just take a little more time.

Recipe Source: Adapted from Allrecipes

White Chicken Chili

I don't know about you all, but around here it is starting to get cold and I'm not sure I'm ready for it. We have had a beautiful fall (kinda unusual), but it has been so great that I don't want to see it go. I actually had frost and ice on my car this morning as I left for work. I cried a little then refused to scrape it and resorted to using my windshield wiper fluid. It actually turned out to be a very beautiful day, I just wish it were warmer. Since Mother Nature doesn't seem to be listening to my requests for shorter winters (preferably the month of December only) and it continues to get cold around here I decided that I should give in and make this soup to console myself. Luckily this soup is fantastic and eased the pain of cold weather, at least until tomorrow.

I got this recipe from a gal I work with. She brought a big pot of this to a work pot luck years ago. I am not a huge chili fan and was slightly skeptical if I would like it. I almost didn't try it that is how skeptical I was. Everyone kept raving about it so I gave in and tried a little. Boy am I glad that I did! This really is the best chili I have ever had. It has a very subtle kick to it, but just enough to give it a delicious flavor. The best part is that it comes together pretty quickly.  I usually make a big batch of chicken in a crock pot, shred it, and keep it in the freezer with 2 lbs in each bag. Then when I'm ready to make anything that calls for chicken I can just pull one out and use it.

White Chicken Chili
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Servings: 10

Ingredients:
2 lbs shredded chicken
3 cups chicken broth
5-6 (15 oz) cans white beans drained.
1 (6 oz) can fire roasted whole chiles sliced
1 (16 oz) jar chili Verde salsa
1 tbs minced garlic
1/3 cup white cooking wine
1 pint sour cream

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except the sour cream in a large pot. Place over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Boil for about 5 minutes to make sure everything is heated through and all the flavors are combined. Just prior to serving mix in sour cream.


Thanks Hailey for the amazing recipe!

Individual Chicken (Or Turkey) Pot Pies

Every year I get a turkey from work for Thanksgiving. It is actually a really good turkey. The problem is that we usually get it the day before Thanksgiving, and we have already made plans to eat another turkey. So what do I do with my turkey? Well it stays in my freezer until it's almost time to get another one. Then I remember a wonderful holiday called Canadian Thanksgiving. They celebrate Thanksgiving about a month before we do. It is a great excuse to get with my Canadian friends and eat a delicious turkey with all sorts of other great foods. Now what do I do with all my millions of pounds of left over turkey? I make these chicken pot pies, but with turkey! I made them 2 different ways. One involves more crust, and one involves less. You can choose how you want yours.

Individual Chicken (or Turkey) Pot Pies

1 ½ pounds chicken (about three medium-size chicken breasts) cooked and shredded
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup potatoes cut into small cubes
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion , chopped fine (about 1 cup)
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced (about 1 cup)
2-3 stalks celery, chopped (about ½ cup)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
½ cup flour
1 cup milk
3/4 cup frozen peas
Pie Crust - about enough for 2 pies

Place chicken broth and potatoes in a large pot. Cook on medium high until potatoes are tender. Time varies depending on how large your potato pieces are. Pour the broth and potatoes through a fine-mesh strainer into a liquid measuring cup and reserve broth. Place potatoes in a large bowl. Add shredded chicken to bowl and set aside. Return the pot to the stove top (no need to wash if you used it to cook the chicken).

Heat the olive oil in the now-empty pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 5 minutes. While the vegetables are cooking, shred the chicken into small bite-size pieces. Transfer the cooked vegetables to the bowl with the chicken; set aside.

Over medium heat melt the butter in the empty pot. Stir in the flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the reserved chicken broth and milk. Bring to a simmer and stir occasionally until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes, taking care not to burn the bottom. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Remove from the heat and stir the chicken, vegetables and peas into the sauce.

There are 2 options on how to make your individual pie:

Option # 1 - Less crust option:

Roll out pie crust to desired thickness. Place ramekins on dough and cut out circles to fit ramekins. Scoop filling into each individual ramekin. Place dough circle on top of each filled ramekin. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool slightly before serving.

Option # 2 - More crust option:

Roll out pie crust to desired thickness. Cut out a large circle, big enough to be able to fit into a jumbo muffin tin(I used a bowl and traced it with my knife). Place one circle into each jumbo muffin spot. Press down gently on each dough circle to get it to take the form of the muffin tin. Scoop approximately 1/3 cup of filling mixture into each spot. Cut out a smaller circle and place it on top of each individual pie. Press slightly with fingers to get edges to seal. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. To make them easier to remove from muffin tins you could line them with tin foil prior to placing dough in tins. This option you could also freeze and use later. You could bake them prior to freezing, or you could freeze them with dough still raw. Whichever you prefer.

 This recipe made enough for me to do 4 ramekins and 6 jumbo muffin tins with a little bit of filling left over.

Chicken Enchiladas

Have I mentioned that I am on a freezer meal kick right now? Well if not, I am. It has been a lot of fun making things and I have already started eating some of them! I knew I wanted to do chicken enchiladas. I have never made them to put in the freezer, but I thought they would work quite well. I realized that I had never actually made the traditional chicken enchiladas. I have made several different varieties of chicken enchiladas, some of which I am sure I will post on here eventually. Growing up my mom mostly made us cheese enchiladas (well at least that's all I remember). I always liked those enchiladas. I am sure there is absolutely nothing healthy about them and that is why I loved them. When I moved off to college I had a roommate that was very picky. She introduced us to a very simple, basic, non-mexican style enchilada. These were the two styles of enchiladas that I was used to. I have since started trying even more types of enchiladas and love them all! This recipe is one that I just threw together so I could put it in the freezer. I wasn't really sure how it was going to turn out. The other day we decided to eat some of the freezer enchiladas and I was very happy with the results!

Chicken Enchiladas

2 lbs shredded chicken
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 clove minced garlic
1 cup mozzarella (or cheddar) cheese
8 flour tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce

Combine shredded chicken and cream cheese. Mix until cream cheese is well combines with the chicken.  Mix in cumin, salt, pepper, and minced garlic. With a spoon or fork scoop out a small piece of chicken and taste it. If it isn't quite as flavorful as you would like ad a little more spices (I have a hard time using exact spice measurements) Mix in 1/2 cup mozzarella or cheddar cheese (whichever you prefer). Using one tortilla at a time place a couple tbs of chicken mixture along center of tortilla. Roll up tortilla around mixture. Place in a 9X13 pan or 2- 8X8 pans. Repeat with remaining tortillas until chicken mixture is gone. Drizzle enchilada sauce over rolled tortillas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and heated throughout.

Freezer directions: Prior to baking place pan in freezer and let freeze over night. You can then soak pan in warm water for a few minutes and remove frozen enchiladas from your 8X8 pan and slide it into a gallon size zip lock freezer bag. This frees up you pan and gives you more room in your freezer. Return bag to freezer until ready to use. On baking day remove frozen enchiladas from bag and place back in 8X8 pan. Place in cool oven and set temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

I don't know if any of you have heard of co-ops. I am fairly new to them. I know there are several different types of co-ops, but the type I'm talking about is the kind you get fruits and veggies from. There is one in our area that we get a laundry basket full of fruits and veggies for $15. You don't know what you are going to get each week, but I think that is half the fun. This week I got some broccoli (along with a lot of other good stuff) and the first thing I thought of to make with it was this recipe.

This is another one of my mom's recipes. She would make this for us all the time growing up. It is still one of my favorite recipes. The flavors just mesh so well together. I also love it because it has my meat and my veggies all in one dish. Ok to be completely honest my favorite part is the buttered croutons on top, but who wouldn't love croutons with a little extra butter?

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup miracle whip
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp curry powder
1 package frozen broccoli (enough to cover bottom of pan)
4 chicken breasts or about a lb cooked and cubed (see *note)
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
buttered croutons

Cook broccoli as directed on package. Lay broccoli in bottom of 8X8 casserole dish. Lay cubed chicken on top of broccoli. Mix soup, miracle whip, lemon juice, curry powder, and cheese in a medium size bowl. Spread mixture over top of chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Half way through baking process add buttered croutons.

*Note: I often cook a bunch of chicken in a crock pot with a little bit of chicken broth. Once it is cooked I shred it and place about a pound of chicken into a freezer bag and place them in the freezer. I can then pull out a lb at a time and use them whenever I need chicken.

Chicken Croquettes

I have been eating this recipe since I was a young child! It is one of those family favorites. I of course love the taste of these but I also love them because I can make a bunch of them and freeze them. Yes I do like pretty much any dinner I can freeze and pull out when I don't feel like making something. Growing up my mom would always make them using packaged crescent rolls. I recently decided I wanted to try and make the dough from scratch. I absolutely love them both ways. The only reason I like the homemade dough better is because it is homemade. I love knowing exactly what is in my food, and knowing that it is all natural.  These are really quite easy to make and making your own dough really doesn't add that much extra time or effort. If making your own dough intimidates you then feel free to use the store bough crescent rolls. Trust me they really are great either way!

Chicken Croquettes


Ingredients:
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the surface
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Filling:
4 oz cream cheese
1 lb cooked shredded chicken
1 small can mushrooms (optional)
1 cube melted butter
crushed seasoned croutons or bread crumbs
salt, garlic powder and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift two cups flour, the baking powder, salt and (if using) sugar into a large bowl. Fold in 1 1/4 cups cream. If the dough is not soft or easily handled, fold in the remaining 1/4 cup cream, little by little. Place dough in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

Mix cream cheese, salt, garlic powder, pepper, chicken, and mushrooms.  Add more salt, pepper and garlic as desired. I find that it is easier to mix if the chicken is still warm and cream cheese is at room temperature. Set aside.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface, mound it into a ball and, using your hands, gently press it to a thickness of about 3/4 inch. With a rolling pin flatten ball out into a large circle approximately 1/4 inch thick. With a pizza cutter slice into 8 triangle shaped slices (cut as if you were cutting a pizza).
Put a small amount of chicken mixture in the center of one of triangle.  I divided the mixture evenly between the 8 triangles and it was the perfect amount. Roll the dough around the chicken mixture and seal. Dip in butter and roll in croutons or bread crumbs. Bake for 12-16 minutes or until light golden brown. Serve warm with gravy (and mashed potatoes if you like).

 Roll out dough, cut into 8 pie shaped pieces and place a tbs or two of chicken mixture on each slice.

 Roll up into balls pinching any open areas to seal in chicken mixture.

Roll ball in melted butter.

Then roll in bread crumbs.

Place on baking sheet and bake for 12-16 minutes until golden brown.

Southwestern Style Chimichangas

Inspired by my other oven baked chimichanga recipe I have on this site I decided to play around with some different flavors. I love chimichangas, really I love flour tortillas. I can actually eat the tortillas without anything on them, that is if I am using the uncooked kind that you cook yourself. If you have never tried these I highly recommend them. The flavor and freshness add so much to anything that calls for them. Well these are a fun different, but still easy way to use my yummy flour tortillas and get a few other semi healthy things in with it. What is even more awesome than there yumminess is the fact that I can make a whole bunch at a time and freeze the extra ones and cook them up later. I really love anything I can freeze and use on days when I don't feel like cooking.

Southwestern Style Chimichangas

1 lb shredded chicken
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can corn
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Ranch dressing (optional)
10 uncooked tortillas


Combine barbecue sauce and chicken. Take one tortilla shell. Place a tablespoon of ranch on it. Top with chicken, black beans, corn and shredded cheese. Roll up tucking the corners in as you roll. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until the tortilla is golden brown. Top with cheese if desired.

Oven Baked Chimichangas

Dinners can some times be a challenge for me. I would much rather make some sort of sweet treat than something that is hearty and could suffice for a whole meal. I am constantly looking for new good dinner recipes that excite me. Let me tell you that this is one of those recipes. I found this on my friend's site and thought it looked good. I made it for my husband and I and we both loved it. It is a very simple recipe (which I love) but also has really good flavor, and is filling. I would like to call my taste in food kid friendly. Most kids are picky eaters when they are young, and it seems that I never grew out of that. My food favorites are typically semi basic, but still have to have really good flavor. These chimichangas are right up my alley, and hopefully your kid's as well. I hope you enjoy them.

Oven Baked Chimichangas

1 lb of leftover meat (chicken, roast beef, turkey)
10 uncooked flour tortillas
1 can re-fried beans
1 cup uncooked rice
2 TBSP oil
Shredded Cheese
Salsa
Sour cream

Cook rice according to directions substituting chicken stock or broth for water . In each tortilla put a 1-2 TBSP of each the rice, beans, meat and shredded cheese. Fold the sides of the tortillas in place on baking sheet. You can use toothpicks to hold them closed if needed. Brush lightly with oil. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Top with salsa and sour cream.

Click here to see the original recipe from my good friend Jodee