Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks

First off, I really should invest in these crockpot liners that I hear so many people talking about; I have made a recipe in my crockpot almost every night this week, so scrubbing it is getting tiring.

I love chicken drumsticks, as I may have mention in previous posts with a recipes for chicken drumsticks. Today I decided to try out a recipe I found here for buffalo chicken drumsticks; I tend to crave any kind of buffalo chicken every since I was pregnant with my daughter (who is now 2.5 years old), so this recipe really made me excited. It is another one of those simple throw every thing in the crockpot and let the crockpot work its magic type recipes. Give it a try, I really enjoyed this one.

Ingredients

- 4 lbs of Chicken Drumsticks (skin on or skin off, its your choice; I left the skin on. 

Small note though: with the skin on you will need to use the 

broiler in the oven for about 15-20 minutes after the 

chicken is done in the crockpot, to crisp the skin)

- 1 cup of Buffalo Sauce (I used Frank's Redhot)

- 1 teaspoon of Paprika

- 1/2 teaspoon of Chili Powder

- 1/4 teaspoon of Garlic Powder

- 1/4 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper (you can use more if you like it spicy)

- Salt to Taste

1) Mix all of the spices together in a small bowl.

2) Measure out about 1/2 cup of the buffalo sauce and pour half of it into the bottom of the crockpot. Place the chicken on top (make sure if you want to make them without skin to do it before placing them in the crockpot), try to keep the chicken in a single layer. Then sprinkle the spice mix on the chicken, trying to spread it evenly. Drizzle the remaining buffalo sauce you measured out on top of the chicken. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.

3) After your chicken has cooked (mine was in the crockpot for about 5 hours) do the following:

For skin less chicken: Remove from the crockpot, measure out the remaining 1/2 cup of buffalo sauce (heat it up), and using a basting brush, brush each drumstick with sauce, then serve.

For skin on chicken:  Move the center oven rack to the upper/middle spot and turn your oven broiler on. Remove the drumsticks from the crockpot placing them on a slotted broiler pan, skin side up, measure out the remaining 1/2 cup of buffalo sauce, using a basting brush, brush half of the sauce on the chicken. Place them in the oven, broil for about 8-10 minutes, remove the pan, flip the chicken over and brush the other side with the remaining sauce; then, place bake under the broiler for another 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Although in the picture the skin may look "burnt", it is not,

 it is partially the spices and perfectly crisped skin.

Pretty simple and very delicious. Like I said I tend to crave buffalo chicken, so this recipe ranks higher in my books then it may in some one else's. Give it a try for your self.

Enjoy!!

Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

First off I have to tell you these cookies are far more than I expected. I found the recipe for them here, and was a little skeptical on how they would turn out; like, would they be more like a cake then a cookie or would they be dry (like some other cake mix cookies I have tried before), but oh no, they were so delicious and definitely nothing like a cake. I will warn you though, if you make these they will be really hard to resist and if you make them for a party I would make a couple batches, they won't last long. Give these a try and let me know what you think about them.

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Ingredients

-1 box of cake mix, 18 oz (I used 2 boxes of cupcake mix, they were 8.5 oz a box)

- 1/2 cup of butter, softened (I used salted)

- 1 egg

Optional

- 1 tablespoon of hot fudge (because who doesn't love more chocolate)

1) Add cake mix, softened butter, and egg to a mixing bowl. Use a sturdy spatula or hand mixer to mix ingredients together until everything is moistened and mixed well.

2) After every thing was mixed well together I added the tablespoon of hot fudge and mixed it in.

3) Roll you dough into rounded balls (I flattened mine a little before placing in the oven) and place in the preheated oven.

4) Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, remove from oven, allow to cool and then serve.

SO DELICIOUS!! As you can see I had little helpers today, since this is such a simple recipe it is definitely a fun one to let your kids help you and in turn they get to learn. One idea I definitely have for these cookies is to use them to make homemade ice cream sandwiches; place a little bit of vanilla ice cream (or your favorite) in between two of these cookies, roll the edges in mini chocolate chips and wrap with plastic wrap to freeze a little, then devour. I highly recommend this recipe. Let me know what you think of it.

Enjoy!!

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

This is one of my favorite beef stroganoff recipes; it is delicious and you use a crockpot, so prep and cooking are so easy, I don't think it can get much better. Another thing I love about this recipe is that your house smells AMAZING from the slow cooking process; whether you are just coming home from work after a long day or coming in from playing outside in the nice early fall weather with the kids, you will not be able to stop your stomach from growling in anticipation. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Ingredients

- 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom (10 3/4 oz cans)

- 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce

- 1/2 cup of Water

- 1/4 teaspoon of Garlic Salt

- Dash of Paprika

- 1 Onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

- 2 pounds of Beef Stew Cubes

Needed during the last 20-30 minutes of cooking

- 1 block of Cream Cheese, cubed (8 oz)

- 8 ounces of Fresh Mushrooms, cleaned and chopped (I used Portabella)

- 12 ounce Bag of Egg Noodles

1) Add both cans of cream of mushroom, Worcestershire sauce, water, garlic salt, and dash of paprika to your crockpot. Mix well, until smooth.

2) Peel and chop onion and place into the crockpot. Mix until well blended.

3) Add your beef cubes and stir to coat as evenly as you can.

4) Turn your crockpot on and cook on low for 8-10 hours. In the last 20 to 30 minutes, use a spoon to break up the beef cubes and then add your cleaned and chopped mushrooms and the cubed cream cheese. Mix in.

During this time cook your egg noodles and drain them.

5) After your timer goes off give every thing a really good stir, then place your egg noodles on a dish and cover with the beef stroganoff.

There you have it, amazingly delicious crockpot beef stroganoff. This is definitely a Fall favorite in our house. The mushrooms are definitely optional, if you aren't a fan of mushrooms. Let me know what your think. 

Enjoy!!

Salsa Chicken

I was trying to think of some thing new to make tonight with the thawing chicken that stared me down every time I opened the refrigerator today (Like I said in my post the other day, you will be seeing a few chicken recipes to use the chicken I bought). So, tonight after picking up a new salsa at Sam's Club I came up with an idea for a recipe that I thought sounded like a great idea in my head, I had to test it out to see if my mind and mouth agreed with each other. This salsa was only $0.91 for a variety pack of three, I could not pass it up. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit

Ingredients

- 1 to 2 lbs of Chicken Breasts (thawed if frozen and trimmed)

- 1 Can of Corn, Drained (I used mexicorn, you can omit this if you are not a fan of corn)

- 1 Jar of Salsa (I used smoky chipotle & roasted tomato salsa)

- 1 cup of Shredded Cheese (I used Mexican blend shredded cheese)

1) Add prepped chicken, drained corn, and salsa to a baking dish. Top with shredded cheese, spread out evenly.

2) Place baking dish in preheated oven and bake for about 35 minutes or until your chicken is fully cooked.

3) Remove from the oven and serve.

This is the variety pack of salsa that I picked up at Sam's Club for $0.91, not sure if that is always the price, but I am definitely stocking up on it; the jars don't expired until November 2016.

This recipe is very simple (the way I like it) and I thought it was very tasty; my husband would agree, he definitely went back for seconds. I topped our dishes with a little more cheese and served it with some wild rice; the rice tasted amazing mixed with a little juice from the salsa. Try it out and let me know what you think and how you modified it to your liking.

Enjoy!!

Spiced Cake Bread

Whenever I have boxed cake mix in the house, like when I stock up after finding a great sale (for example, I got Duncan Hines boxed cupcake mix 3 for $1.00); I search pinterest for fun new recipes to make things out of the cake mix. This time I found a fun recipe (found here) where you use boxed yellow cake mix and make it into a spiced cake; perfect for Fall, right? So, I got right to work making this one, but instead of cake I made a bread loaf. I figured it would be a great breakfast addition for my family on these nice cool mornings as Fall slowly approaches.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Ingredients

- 1 Box of Yellow Cake Mix

- 1 tsp of Ground Cinnamon

- 1/2 tsp of  Ground Nutmeg

- 1/4 tsp of  Ground Ginger

- 1/4 tsp of Ground Cloves

- 3 Eggs

- 6 tsp of Butter (melted)

- 1/2 cup of Milk (I used vanilla soy milk, Silk)

1) Add the boxed cake mix, ground cinnamon, ground, nutmeg, ground ginger, and ground cloves to a mixing bowl and blend together.

2) Next, you can just follow the directions on the back of the boxed cake mix, or to make it more it closer to a bakery version cake/bread add the wet ingredients listed above. Add 3 eggs, 6 tsp of melted butter and 1/2 of milk. (directions found here)

3) Using a hand mixer, blend on low for 30 secs until all ingredients are moist and then mix on medium for 2 minutes.

4) Pour you batter into a loaf pan and place in your preheated oven. 

5) Baking for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick or tester stick comes of dry.

It is delicious! You can add a little bit of butter or cream cheese (maybe pumpkin cream cheese) to it for a yummy breakfast; I even debated making a glaze or icing for it. Give it a try, it is going to be new Fall favorite for us.

Enjoy!!

Simple Chicken in the Crockpot

I know, I know, once again I have slacked off in the blogging department and life got in the way; but, I received a little nudge last week from some one to start up again. Well, for me when life gets hectic and I am running low on energy I turn to my crockpot; I am sure I am not the only one, am I right? Especially with fall approaching I think it is time to break out the crockpot and make some warm and comforting food.

I tend to buy my meats and chickens in bulk from a local meat department, Karns Quality Foods, that has amazing prices and great quality food. This week I bought 10 lbs of chicken breasts for $1.79 lb, I bring it home and separate it into normal portion sizes that my family eats at a meal, then freeze portions of it. So, as I was walking the track at my local gym, YMCA, I searched Pinterest for every crockpot chicken recipe I could find that looked pretty good to amazing. (You might be seeing a lot of chicken recipes, sorry). So here is a quick and easy one I found here.

Ingredients

- Chicken breasts (they recipe I found said 4-5 frozen chicken breasts from a bag, 

I used 1.5-2 lbs of fresh chicken breasts)

- 1 can of Rotel (10 oz, undrained)

- 1 can of corn (15.25 oz, drained)

- 1 block of cream cheese (8 oz, you can cube it if you would like, 

I just left it whole and it worked great)

- 1 can of beans (you can use any kind you prefer, I wanted to use black beans, 

but we only had kidney beans. Drained and rinsed)

- Salt and pepper or seasoning to taste

1) Add all your ingredients to the crockpot. If your chicken is frozen you can leave it frozen, no need to thaw; I used fresh chicken breast.

2) Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours for frozen chicken or 3-4 for fresh chicken. 

Once your timer goes off take your lid off and give every thing a good stir. Your chicken will be tender and juicy, and delicious! That is really all there is to this recipe, and there are several ways to change this recipe to your liking; with  bean choice, you can add rice or pasta, I ended up serving broccoli with our meal too. Have fun with it and enjoy a super easy meal that you can enjoy with your family.

Enjoy!!

Chicken and Rice Casserole

The other day I went to a local grocery store (Karns), because they were having an amazing deal on chicken quarters, $0.39/lb. Who can pass that up, I definitely can't; so, I bought 10 lbs of it (the gentleman that worked in the meat dept almost talked me into a case of it, which is 40 lbs; I was so tempted). I came home and seasoned them up and threw all 10 lbs on the grill, figuring I can make things all week with the leftovers; which brings me to this post. I went into my cabinets tonight trying to think of some thing new to make with my leftover chicken when I saw a jar of Heinz chicken gravy, which just so happened to have a recipe on the label that I had every ingredient for. It is a rather simple recipe to follow for a very tasty dinner.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Ingredients

- 2 cups cooked chicken (whichever cut you prefer, I used the chicken quarters I had)

- 1 12oz jar of Heinz homestyle classic chicken gravy

- 2 cups cooked rice

- 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, divided (I used sharp white cheddar)

- 2 cup of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed (I used peas instead)

- 1/4 tsp of garlic powder

- Salt and pepper to taste

1) Combine the chicken, gravy, rice, 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, broccoli, garlic powder, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

2) Mix all of your ingredients well.

3) Place the combined ingredients in a baking dish, you can use an 8X8 or 2.2 quart Pyrex dish. Then sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese.

4) Place the baking dish in your preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.

5) Divide and serve.

Very simple and definitely a crowd pleaser in our home. Next time I think I may try pepper or corn in the dish to change it up a little, but it is definitely one that I will be making again, especially if our grocery store keeps up with these awesome sales on meats/poultry.

Enjoy!!!

No Bake Peanut Butter Oat Squares

So... I have been gone for way to long. Things have changed so much over the past year of not blogging. We sold our house last summer, had to be out in 30 days, and didn't find our new house until almost 5 months later. This past year has been such a transition and I am so glad to finally have some time and a new house to start trying new recipes and sharing old ones again.

Here is a new recipe to us (I found it HERE) that has become a HUGE favorite in our house; no bake peanut butter oat squares. Only 3 simple ingredients and you will always have a protein filled breakfast or snack for on the go. I enjoy taking these with me when I leave at 6 AM for work, when I am not quite ready to eat any thing yet, but I know I will shortly; just throw a couple in my bag and I am good. Give it a try!

Ingredients

- 1 cup of Peanut butter (our favorite is JIF)

- 1/2 cup of honey

- 2 to 3 cups of rolled oats

1) Add the peanut butter and honey to a medium size pot or sauce pan. Mix together and melt over low-medium heat until smooth. (Note: this process can be done in the microwave, but believe it or not, we don't own a microwave)

2) Measure out your rolled oats, remove your pot from the heat at this time (if you are using the stove top) and add them to your peanut butter and honey mixture. Mixing well, until all the oats are coated. (Note: I like to use less then 3 cups, because it makes it so there is more peanut butter per bar, just a personal preference)

3) Line a 8 X 8 or 9 X 9 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray, then add your mixture on top of the foil. Make sure to spread it out evenly and then press it in to the pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator until set.

4) Once set you can remove the foil from the pan and then cut smaller squares.

5) We like to wrap ours individually in plastic wrap, so it makes it easier to grab and go. We store them in the refrigerator to keep them firm.

Super simple, right?! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. 

ENJOY!!