Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Amazing. Not much to look at, but just totally delicious. We had my parents over for dinner on Monday, and since I was off, I had time to make a full dinner (salad, chicken and dumplings, cake). This was the star of the show. Super easy, tender and though its base is canned cream of chicken soup, the addition of other ingredients assures that the soup isn't all you taste. I definitely plan to make again.

A few tips, based on my experience: put the chicken in the crock pot while it's still frozen. Often times the meat I cook in the crock pot gets too chewy, but I think this prevented that from happening (kept the juices inside). Additionally, since this isn't a baked good, I didn't worry about sticking to the precise amounts of liquid, etc. that the recipe suggested. I figured I could add more later if necessary. For instance, the broth didn't fully cover the frozen chicken breasts from the start of the cooking, but I didn't want it to be too thin, so I took my chances and in the end, no extra was needed. Also, I didn't initially have the two cans of soup that the recipe called for (added #2 with the bicuits), so I substituted some sour cream flavored with chicken broth and boullion to add more creaminess and thickness. While I couldn't taste the sour cream, I think it helped to mellow the taste of the canned soup.

My parents, Michael and I all gave this a thumbs up. In fact, I can't wait to make it again!

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Adapted from this recipe at AllRecipes.com

Yield: 6+ servings

4 Skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, still frozen

2 Tbsp butter

2 (10.75 oz) Cans condensed cream of chicken soup

1/2 Large container of chicken broth

1 C light sour cream, infused with chicken boullion and broth to slightly thin

1 Onion, diced (I used frozen diced onion)

1 (10 oz) Package refridgerated buscuit dough

Spices of your choosing, to taste (I used cumin, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, pepper and dry mustard)

Place the chicken, butter, soup, sour cream mixture and onions into crock pot, and fill with enough broth to cover (I added roughly half of the amount found in one of those cardboard containers - which wasn't enough to cover). Cover and cook on high for about three and a half hours. Shred chicken and return to crock pot. Flatten individual biscuits, cut once crosswise then into strips, adding them into the pot and stirring to cover with liquid. Cook for about 90 minutes more on high. Serve and enjoy!

Crock Pot Brown Sugar Chili

I knew I'd be baking a lot this past weekend, so for dinner on Friday, I prepared this Weight Watchers recipe, which had been listed as part of a post on the cooking board I frequent. Super easy to prepare, and pretty tasty, too. I served it with Trader Joe's cornbread (best mix around), prepared in a muffin top pan. The chili is sweeter than I am used to, but that may have to do as much with corn bread that I crumble in my bowl as the brown sugar in the recipe.

This is a crock pot recipe, but I don't see why one couldn't just put all ingredients into a dutch oven and let it simmer for 20 minutes or so, if you don't have the time for it to slow cook.

Now I just need to find a use for all the extra tomato juice I have on hand. Bloody Mary, anyone?

Crock Pot Brown Sugar Chili

Source: Weight Watchers website, via a post on TheNest.com

Yield: 8 servings

1 lb extra lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp prepared mustard

1 medium sized onion, chopped (I used frozen pre-chopped onion)

2 (14 oz) cans kidney or red beans (I used one can chili beans in mild sauce and one can red beans)

2 cups low sodium tomato juice

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp chili powder

My addition: frozen red, green and yellow bell peppers

Brown ground beef and onion (and peppers) in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Drain. Add all ingredients to crock pot and stir to combine. Cover. Cook on high for 2-3 hours. If possible, stir several times during cooking.

240 calories, 6g fat, 4g fiber = 4/5 WW points per serving (hits right on the line)

Crock Pot Whole Chicken

I got the idea to cook a whole chicken in the crock pot from the cooking board on TheNest.com. I loved the idea, as I'm a fan of rotisserie chicken and am always looking for new crock pot meals, as I get home too late from work each night to make nice dinners and not eat at 8pm.

My chicken was a little tough due to it being cooked for too long. I often have that problem with my crock pot, even if I cook for shorter times than the recipe calls for. That said, I am anxious to make this again, as the meat was falling off the bone upon its removal from the crock pot (see photo above). I can tell that had I turned off the heat an hour or so earlier, it would have been amazing. Plus, it was too easy not to keep in rotation. You can use whatever spices you have on hand. We ate the whole bird, however, between that night's meal and curry chicken salad made with leftover meat.

Whole chicken, crock pot-style

Source: adapted from Carrie's Sweet Life

5 lb chicken

Olive oil

Chili powder

Garlic powder

Accent seasoning

Black pepper

Poultry seasoning

2 bay leaves

1/3 cup water*

Wash bird and pat dry. Remove gizzard, etc. from cavity. Rub olive oil all over bird and shower with spices. Put in crock pot and add 1/3 cup water and bay leaves. Cook on low for 8 hours*.

*Next time I may not add water, as it creates its own juices and will cook on low for 5 1/2 hours and see how well done the meat is. I think cooking time depends on the individual crock pot. My bird filled about 2/3 of the pot but still overcooked.