Chicken & Dumplings {Crock Pot} Style

Gotta love some home cookin'

I don't make these often but they are great.

Chicken and dumplings.

A southern staple and winter warmer.

I make ours with greens beans with potatoes, fried okra, and drop biscuits--

delicious! 

ingredients:
-at least one pound of chicken (can be breast or tenders
-chicken broth
-2 cans of cream of chicken with herbs
-half an onion sliced
-about a cup of celery chopped (optional but great flavor)
-small can of biscuits
-salt and pepper

I use my Crock Pot for these and it is so simple.

Put your chicken in the bottom. I used 1.17 pounds.

Next I used my salt and pepper grinders and covered the chicken pretty well. Then I added about half an onion and about one cup or so of chopped celery.

I'm all about store brands and saving but this soup is amazing to cook with.

Add two can directly on top of the chicken, onions, and celery.

Then I fill up one and half cans of chicken broth and pour into the crock pot and stir.

It will still be thick but that will cook out.

I put mine on high for 6 hours. I've done low for 8 and it is just as good.

After I got home I stirred the crock pot goodness. The chicken just starts falling apart and it smells amazing. 

If any large pieces of chicken are left I will take it out and shred it then put it back in.

Now for the dumplings!!

I've made from scratch dumplings and I've used these. Honestly, no difference in taste but major time difference. I used the smaller can of the Grands "Butter Tasting" biscuits by Pillsbury.
Crack your crock pot back up to high if it isn't already.

Next open the biscuits and separate them and you will cut them into little pieces. About 8 pieces per biscuit.
I like to use my pizza cutter for this part. Once they are cut put them into the crock pot and stir.

The longer they are in the crock pot the more cooked they will get. Some people like "doughy"  dumplings, I prefer mine a bit more cooked. I left our dumplings in the crock pot for almost 2 hours while stirring about every half hour. If you are big on spices you can toss in a bit of basil into the mix.

That is it for simple and delicious chicken and dumplings.
These are so yummy and fool proof!

Taco Soup

Here at the Irons Home we love soup.

Generally it is easy to make and the leftovers are even better.

As a bonus, most are pretty healthy too!

This is one of our favorites!

You will need:

1 can of corn, 4 cans of chili beans, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 pkg of taco mix, 1 pound of either ground turkey or lean beef, and 1 small onion chopped 

First, I cook up the meat. I prefer to use turkey.

It is lean and much better for us and you would never tell a difference!

As it cooks I add in the onion.

Once the meat is cooked add in all the "cans" and stir and add the taco mix with the water it calls for on the package. Let simmer for a short bit and that is it!

You could also cook the meat and toss everything into a crock pot and let it simmer all day on low. 

The house will smell amazing and the leftovers get better each day!

We like to top the soup with tortilla chips and some shredded cheese.

Yummy, easy, and a favorite of ours!

White Chicken Chili {crock pot}

This recipe hit the spot on this misty Monday!

I've made this soup once or twice before and honestly can't remember why I've waited so long to do it again.

It was so delicious, mildly spicy, and overall pretty healthy.

It is the kind of soup that you just throw it all in the crock pot, stir, set the temp, and when you come back goodness awaits. My kind of dinner!

I don't have any pics of everything in the crock pot in the morning because I was running behind but it is a very simple recipe to follow.

First I cut into chunks about a pound of chicken.

(it was left over from another recipe so give or take a few ounces)

2 cans of white beans

1 15oz of white corn

1 onion chopped

1 package of taco seasoning mixed up in water

1 7oz can of green chilies

1 can of low sodium chicken soup

1 14oz of chicken broth

I set my crock pot timer on low for about 10 hours and it was boiling when I got home and smelled the house with hearty goodness.

I stirred and mixed up everything well before we dug in.

We are both love green onions so I cut a few up and a heaping spoonful of salsa on top!

Will be cooking this again very soon!

Italian Chicken {Crock Pot} Dinner

Tonight as the cold air whistles on the outside, this warm dinner was waiting for us when we got home!

I love my Crock Pot, especially on cold nights! Coming home to something comforting is a wonderful touch to a cozy night. I should have taken pictures as I went but was in a but of a rush this morning. 

(this cold weather makes it tough to get up super early)

I threw it all together this morning and added some steamed broccoli so we can have a green veggie with dinner and it was super yummy!

Here are the steps to this easy dinner:

I used about a pound and half of chicken boneless,skinless chicken tenders.

Put them in the bottom of the Crock Pot.

Sprinkled a pack of Italian Seasoning Dressing (just the powder) on top of the chicken.

I literally threw in about 2-3 handfuls of  baby carrots.

Then quickly diced up about 8 red potatoes.

I then added about 3/4 a bottle of Italian Dressing.

*this was a bit much, a half bottle would be better-- next time I will measure

Cook on low for 8 hours and this will not disappoint!

{foolproof} chicken fajitas in the crockpot

I really enjoy cooking and I love that Drew and I can sit down together every almost every evening together and have dinner while catching up on each other's day. 

I make an effort to cook at least four somewhat healthy/clean dinner meals a week. 

We usually eat out some on the weekends so I really try to make our home meals good for us. A plus side to good dinners = good lunches. 

I'm also human and generally Mondays are a bit tiring at school and not every night do I feel like coming home walking the dog, cleaning up the house, grading papers, AND cooking a big dinner.

 So crock pot to the rescue! 

Another advantage to cooking with the crock pot is that I can "throw" a lot of stuff into including can goods that I can usually get on sale and that's a plus with my weekly budget.  This recipe is amazing and so insanely easy that I can truly throw together on my way out in the mornings. 

 Here is what you will need: 

I used 1.25 pounds of thin boneless, skinless chicken breast so I could have plenty of left overs.

1 pack of fajita spice mix or taco mix would work

2-3 bell peppers cut into chunks (color and amount depends on what you like)

1 onion also cut into chunks

After cutting up the veggies, I toss them into the crock pot.

The veggies are on the bottom then add the chicken on top of them.

On top of the chicken, pour your entire pack of fajita spice mix. 

I knew I was going to be gone from 6:45 AM and not get back till at least 4:15 or so. 

I was concerned that my chicken may dry out by 4:00 so I used my spice envelop and filled it twice with water to ensure my chicken would still be juicy.

It was a bit OVER juicy, so if you feel you need to add water I would just do 1  filled envelop.

And that's it....truly.

(definitely needed a slatted spoon ha) 

Seriously, even if "over juiced" they were amazing. 

I topped mine with fresh guacamole, a bit of cheese, and salsa!

The Hubs loves them too and they are even better the next day. 

Enjoy!