Crock Pot Chicken Wings

January 29. 2014

You can't get much easier than this when making chicken wings! Unless, you just went to Buffalo Wild Wings :) After they are finished, the meat almost falls right off the bone. These are great for nights when you know you won't be home from work (or wherever) until late, and will need something to snack on. They are also great for get togethers! 

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken wings 
1/2 cup hot pepper sauce (example: Frank's Hot Sauce)
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 TSP cumin
(If you have a crockpot that is at least 6 quarts, you could easily double the recipe)

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave. 
2. Mix in the hot sauce, and cumin.
3. Put the wings in the crockpot and coat evenly with the mixture of other ingredients.
4. Cook on 5-7 hours on low. If you are using raw chicken, cook for 5 hours. If you are using frozen wings, cook for 7 hours. 

Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas

January 27, 2014

This was a Pinterest recipe I had pinned on my Crock Pot board for months, but never thought to actually make it. I am definitely glad I did! I adapted this recipe slightly from: http://www.stacymakescents.com/fix-and-forget-friday-crock-pot-chicken-fajitas

So, I love the taste of chicken fajitas, but am not big on the sizzling plate they come on in the restaurant. This crockpot version is the perfect fix! It is one of my top 3 favorite crock pot recipes, and always gets great reviews when I make it for others. And yes, I realize there is no lettuce or sour cream in the picture - I don't like either. Weird, I know...but, feel free to add whatever fajita toppings you like, I am sure it will taste great!


P.S. I buy packages of colored bell peppers ahead of time. I chop them up, and freeze them in individual food saver bags (ziplock bags work fine too) so they are ready to go for the mornings I decide to make chicken fajitas. You can throw them in the crock pot still frozen - it works great and saves time! 

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken breasts
2 bell peppers, chopped into strips (use any combo of yellow, red, or green)

2 1/2 tablespoons of your favorite fajita seasoning (I just mix 1 tablespoon chili powder and 1 1/2 tablespoons cumin and use that)
1/4 cup chicken broth
Flour tortillas 
Additional toppings of your choice - shredded cheese, lettuce, sour cream, hot sauce, etc.

Instructions

1. Cut the bell peppers into strips and place into the bottom of the crock pot.
2. Place the chicken into the crock pot. You may use fresh or frozen, it will just affect the cooking time. I'll explain below. 
3. Pour the chicken broth over the chicken.
4. Pour the seasoning over the chicken, and cook for 6-8 hours on low. If you used fresh chicken, cook for 6 hours. If you use frozen, cook for 8 hours.
5. Take the chicken out of the crock pot when done cooking, and shred on a plate. Enjoy on tortilla shells with your favorite fajita toppings. 

Crockpot Pizza Pasta

January 21, 2014

This is my one of my favorite crockpot recipes! The recipe below makes enough to serve 7-10 people, depending on how much everyone eats. I normally make it for me and my husband for dinner, or for my friends when we have wine night, so it always makes plenty of leftovers. No worries though, the leftovers taste just as good as the night before. I have also tried freezing this after making it, and that works well too. (Just a side note - only freeze it if you used fresh hamburger meat - you can't refreeze meat.) 

Ingredients

1 pound hamburger (I use 90% lean) 

2 24 ounce jars of spaghetti sauce (Prego Traditional is my favorite)

1 package of egg noodles

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 

1 package of sliced pepperoni

Optional: mushrooms, black olives, or any other favorite pizza topping

Instructions

1. Boil water and cook the egg noodles per package instructions. While the noodles are cooking, brown the hamburger meat and drain the grease. 

2. Pour just enough spaghetti sauce in your crockpot to cover the bottom.

3. Layer the ingredients as follows: 1/2 of the noodles, 1/2 of the hamburger meat, 1/2 of the sauce 1/2 of the cheese. 

4. Place the pepperonis on top of the cheese as you would when assembling a pizza. Add additional toppings at this point as well.

5. Repeat the layers in step 3, and then repeat step 4.

6. Cook on low for 3 1/2 hours. 

Enjoy!