Crock Pot Recipe #2: Balsamic Chicken

Last year during the Superbowl, or shortly after, I posted my crock pot recipe for turkey chili. I figured I’d start posting some of my favorite crock pot recipes that I’ve tried and love here for you guys to try it, too. That being said, tonight’s dinner was balsamic chicken with Israeli couscous. This particular crock pot dish is one of my go-to dinners for the week. You cook 4-6 boneless chicken breasts in this recipe and it lasts you at least two days.

The recipe is from the website Skinny Ms, and this recipe is delicious. I follow the recipe almost exactly, but tend to add more balsamic vinegar and a little extra thyme. Here’s the recipe from Skinny Ms:

Ingredients:

• 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breast. I recommend the Eat Right chicken breast from Safeway. It doesn’t have as much fat on it.
• 2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 oz) or you can use the 28 oz can
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil. I use extra virgin.
• 1 teaspoon dried basil, oregano, rosemary; 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
• Black pepper and salt to taste
• Cook time: 4 hrs

Steps:

1. Pour the 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the bottom of your crock pot.
2. Salt and pepper each chicken breast and then place into the crock pot. I tend to put salt and pepper on the bottom of the crock pot and flip the chicken breasts over after one side is salt and peppered.
3. Place the sliced onion on top of the chicken breast. Make sure the onion slices are spread across every piece of chicken breast.
4. Put in the 1 teaspoon of dried basil, oregano, rosemary, and the 1/2 teaspoon of thyme on top of the onions.
5. Place the 4 cloves of garlic on top of the dried herbs.
6. Pour the 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar over the chicken, herbs, onions, and garlic. Add some extra balsamic vinegar if you like the taste. (I tend to.)
7. Top with the 2 cans diced tomatoes.
8. Cook on high for 4 hours. I always recommend to cook this as long as you can, because the chicken will be even more tender.

Many side dishes work well with this crock pot recipe. Max (my boyfriend) likes this dish with Israeli couscous. It goes well over angel hair pasta, brown rice, and even by itself with a side salad of your liking.

Here’s the final result. We had it over Israeli couscous tonight:

The nice thing about this particular crock pot dish, is that it will last you two nights (if you’re just two people) and it even tastes better the next day! That’s just my opinion, though.

Give this recipe a try, and post a photo of your dish!

Oh Crock Pot… How I Love Thee…

Alright, so, yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday! Woohoo! First thing that comes to mind when thinking of the Super Bowl is what food am I going to serve to my lovely guests? Now that I have honed my kitchen skills even further, I am more confident when it comes to coming up with my own recipes, especially if it involves my crock pot.

I mean, how can you go wrong when putting all your ingredients, whether partially cooked or not, in a pot, set the time, and then hours later, your dish is done? YOU CAN’T!

So, feeling in the cooking mood, I decided to utilize my crock pot and make some turkey chili for the big day.

Leigh’s Turkey Chili

Ingredients:

• Ground lean Jennie-O turkey
• 2 small cans of tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 can of kidney beans
• 1 can of pinto beans
• 1 can of black beans (if you like)
• 1/2 green or red onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 6 celery stalks, chopped
• Salt
• Pepper
• Chili Powder
• 2 bay leaves

Steps:

1. In a medium or large non-stick skillet, cook your already defrosted Jennie-O ground turkey.
2. Once your ground turkey is cooked, pour into the crock pot.
3. Add tomato sauce and paste, beans, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder and mix around until the meat is covered in the sauce.
4. Be sure to add seasoning to taste. Include spicy ingredients, such as jalapenos, if desirable.
5. Place the 2 bay leaves on top of the mixture.
6. Set crock pot to cook for 4 hours and hit ‘start’.
7. 30 minutes before chili is ready, remove bay leaves and add chopped celery.

Voila! Turkey chili.

You didn’t think I’d stop there, did you? Good. Because I also made the easiest bean dip recipe in the world.

Bean Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 can of Rosarita refried beans
• 1 jar of salsa (spice and heat of your liking)
• 1 bag of Mexican shredded cheese

Steps:

1. Open the jar of salsa and pour contents out into a medium or large microwave-approved bowl. 
2. Open the can of Rosarita refried beans and pour contents over the salsa.
3. Place bowl in microwave and heat for 2-3 minutes.
4. Remove bowl from microwave and place two generous handfuls of the Mexican shredded cheese and place back into microwave and heat again for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Remove bowl and stir contents. Add a little more cheese on top for an accent.

Easy-peasey-lemon-squeezy. That’s a pretty easy bean dip recipe, if I do say so myself.

Alright, so give it a shot! If you don’t own a crock pot, they are fairly inexpensive. Target has a wide selection and for a reasonable price.

Have fun in your kitchen!