Crock-Pot Barbecue Chicken

We looooove this recipe. It makes really delicious barbecue chicken - perfect for making BBQ sandwiches (but I'm sure it's good as just chicken as well!). Plus, it's a Crock-Pot recipe, so you know it's easy!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1.5 to 2 lbs frozen chicken breasts (I use about 6 chicken breasts)
18oz of BBQ sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's brand)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Italian dressing
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

Directions:
1. Put chicken breasts in the Crock-Pot.
2. Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl.
3. Pour sauce over chicken breasts.
4. Cook on high for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours (or low for 6-8 hours).
5. Shred the chicken with two forks, and serve! (I serve the chicken on Sister Schubert's Dinner Yeast Rolls, my go-to delicious roll!)

Sauce ingredients

In the Crock-Pot!

Yummy BBQ sandwiches!

Mmm!

This is such a great recipe. I thought the Italian dressing was a little odd when I first looked at the recipe, but it gives it a slight bit of a tangy flavor, and when you mix that with the sweetness of the brown sugar... Mmmmm! Basically, y'all should all make this. 

Enjoy!

Pecan Tarts

Today I have a delicious (and pretty easy!) fall recipe for you - Pecan Tarts! These are like little baby pecan pies, and they're just so yummy and cute! 

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:

For the tart shells: 

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

For the filling:

1 egg

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. In a bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in the flour and salt and mix until blended. Put dough in the refrigerator (this makes it easier to shape into shells later). 

2. For the filling, beat the egg in a mixing bowl. Add brown sugar, butter, and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in pecans.

3. Remove the dough from the fridge and shape it into 1-inch balls. Press the balls into a lightly greased mini muffin pan to form tart shells.

4. Spoon the pecan mixture into the tart shells.

5. Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

6. To serve: top with powdered sugar or whipped cream, or serve with vanilla ice cream! Or just eat them as-is... they're delicious either way!

Tart shell dough!

Dough chilling in the fridge!

Filling ingredients!

Mmm, filling!

With the pecans added...

Tart shells!

The filling went in the shells, and into the oven it went!

Ta-da!

Yumm!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Pie

Here's another yummy dessert recipe! This one looks pretty on a serving dish and is perfect for entertaining. Plus, it's really delicious if you stick the leftovers in the fridge and eat a slice for breakfast the next morning. Not that I did that... ahem. 

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:

6 oz Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme chocolate candy bar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

8oz sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Melt the candy pieces, sugar, and butter in a saucepan over low heat.

2. Whisk in eggs and vanilla.

3. Add in flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir until combined.

4. Pour mixture into a greased 9-inch springform pan.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and immediately pour sweetened condensed milk over the top (if your springform pan doesn't quite have a water-tight seal like mine, you may want to put foil underneath it to catch any drips). Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.

7. Let cool, slice, and serve!

Batter mixture

Ready to go in the oven!

Bake for 20 minutes...

After adding sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips...

After cooled and sliced!

Yummy chocolately chip goodness!

Mmmm, sweetened condensed milk!

Ta-da!

Enjoy!

Crispy Chicken Wraps

I've been having great luck with new recipes lately! This is another quick & easy & delicious one!

I must warn you - Jeff has been "helping" me in the kitchen lately. I think he finds it really funny that I photograph everything I cook (you know, in case it turns out good and I want to blog about it). So recently he's been doing photos for me. He likes to take strange photos from weird angles and photos that end up all blurry ("to show the stirring motion!"). He also does things like steal my cooking spray. Every now and then he does actually help, but he usually makes funny faces while he does it. It's kind of like having a little kid in the kitchen, except sometimes we both drink wine. Anyway, you can thank him for the first few photos of me in this post.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup mayonnaise, light or regular
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 scallions, finely chopped
2 tbsp sour cream, light or regular
3 tbsp picante sauce (or you could substitute a couple teaspoons of hot sauce if you're not from Texas and don't keep picante stocked in the fridge)
1 rotisserie chicken, deboned and shredded (about 3 cups)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
Flour tortillas (about 10)

Directions:
1. Whisk together the mayo, cilantro, scallions, sour cream, and picante in a bowl.
2. Add in the chicken and toss to coat.
3. Sprinkle cheese on the tortillas, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges.
4. Spoon chicken mixture into each tortilla.
5. Roll the tortillas up and spray the outsides with cooking spray.
6. Place each wrap in a skillet (seam-side down) on medium heat and cook until golden and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Shredding chicken...

How is Jeff tall enough to take a picture like this??

Chicken ready to go!

Starting to mix the chicken with the mayo mixture...

Chicken mixture - all done!

Cheese on a tortilla...

... then add the chicken mixture...

Then roll 'em up, spray 'em and put them in the pan (seam-side down!!).

Ta-da!

Yum!

Easy-peasy and delicious!

Enjoy!

Savory Zucchini Cakes

THESE ARE SO DELICIOUS. You have to make them. You'll thank me later.

This is what they looked like when they came off the skillet:

This is what they looked like about four minutes later after Jeff and Katie grabbed a couple of forks:

They're like crab cakes... except with zucchini. These would be perfect as appetizers, or as a vegetarian dish. They're just delicious!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 large zucchini, grated and excess water squeezed out (squeeze between your hands or paper towels)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
Sprinkle of ground nutmeg (about 1/8 tsp... less is more - it will take over the flavor quickly if you do too much!)
1/4 tsp paprika
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg
salt and pepper (to taste)
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
1. Combine everything except the olive oil in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
2. Form the mixture into 8 patties.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add patties and cook until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side.
4. Try not to devour them too quickly!

Jeff helped me squeeze out the water...

Ingredients!

Grated zucchini

Shaping it into patties...

In the skillet!

Flipping action! (Jeff was helping take photos as well... haha)

Yum!

Delicious!!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I made real chicken cordon bleu once. You know, with the tenderizing of the chicken, and stuffing it with ham and swiss, and breading, and cooking, and such. It was a LOT of work. It was delicious, but it's been over three years since then and I don't plan on doing it again any time soon.

Now that I've found this recipe, I'll probably never do it the real way again! This casserole has all the flavors of great chicken cordon bleu, but it's SO EASY!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 pounds of chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
about 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (for coating the chicken)
1 1/2 cup milk
1 egg
8 oz shredded swiss cheese
8 oz ham, chopped into small pieces (I just used packaged sliced ham)
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup (preferably the low-sodium kind, so it's healthier and not too salty)
olive oil

Directions:
1. Mix egg in a bowl with 1/2 cup milk. Put bread crumbs in another bowl. Dip chicken in the milk/egg mixture, then in the bread crumbs.
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown the breaded chicken in the skillet until golden.
3. Place chicken in a 9x11 dish. Spread cheese and ham over the top of the chicken.
4. Mix the soup with 1 cup milk and pour it on top of the chicken, ham, and cheese.
5. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Bite-size chicken!

Mixing the egg with the milk...

Here's my breading station. I just dropped them right into the skillet from there.

{I don't have photos of browning the chicken in the skillet because my hands were messy!!}

Ham and Swiss

Chicken, browned and in the dish

Soup-Milk mixture

Ready for the oven!

Baking...

Ta-da!

Yummy!!