Curry Chicken

To stay in the spirit of my quick meal wave, I decided to grab a packet of curry chicken from Publix. There are so many meal options at Publix that will save working mom on a tight budget. To add some spice to my curry, I add a bit of crushed red pepper and boy was it yummy!

Add a little oil to the skillet and throw the chicken in

Toss until its brown

Add one cup of water or one cup of coconut milk if you want thai curry. Cover and cook for 45-55 minutes on medium heat.

When you remove the cover, prepare to be slapped in the face by this delicious sight

Serve over rice and with some corn on the cob

Jerk Chicken

I was in the mood for something spicy last night and decided a quick trip to the Caribbean was in order. I normally make my own jerk chicken using simply jerk spices and chicken, but I was too lazy to do so I picked up a pre-seasoned chicken pack from Publix. 

chopped up leg quarters with onions and green peppers, seasoned with jerk spices

If you ever need quick meal ideas, Publix has ready-to-cook meals in the freezer/meat section. As a working mom, this comes in handy when you need to get dinner on the table quick. Anyway, I whipped up this dish in an hour using my handy-dandy cast iron skillet. My Instagram hits last night when I posted the final results were ridiculous!

Heat your cast iron skillet (or dutch oven) over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Add your chicken and veggies in. Stir continuously and allow to cook for 7-9 minutes.

You want to make sure you brown the outside of the meat.

Once the meat has been browned, add one cup of water to skillet. You can add half water and have water and flour if you want it thicker. 

Look at it cooking up!

Cover the skillet (or dutch oven) and cook on low for 55-60 minutes.

I let mine cook for 55 minutes until the chicken was done and then removed the cover so that the water could cook down more

Once the water is almost out, turn the stove off and allow it to "rest" for 10 minutes before serving. Doesn't it look good?

Serve over rice and add a bit more spicy to kick it it up a notch. 

Tips:

• If you are using your own jerk spices, rub the chicken with olive oil before rubbing it with jerk seasoning. Let it sit overnight so that flavor is absorbed well. 
• Chicken quarters work best because you can cut it up into pieces, but using other parts of the chicken are good too.

Buffalo Chicken Bites

This recipe is another Pinterest goodie. I did a little more research on it and decided to do a spin on the original recipe I found. Here's how you do it:

Crescent rolls, hot sauce (your choice - just make sure its thick), shredded cheese, cream cheese, diced chicken and green onions

Shred the chicken and green onions up and coat it thoroughly with hot sauce. Let stand for about 20 minutes.

 *NOTE: Do not dice the chicken up too fine. You want it to be a little thick and have some texture.

Add half a pack of cream cheese (more or less depending on how creamy you want it)

Unroll the crescents and spoon the mixture it. Top with shredded cheese and roll up.  Bake according to the instructions.

Fresh out of the oven

Yum

Yummy goodness!

Tips:


Texas Pete hot sauce wasn't good for this. I will opt for Frank's instead next time.
Use the whole green onion when adding.
To save time on chicken, use a rotisserie chicken and season how you want.
You can use biscuits or crescents; both are fine.

Happy 4th of July

What's a 4th of July celebration without throwing some stuff on the grill? My family and I grilled a couple of burgers, hot dogs, whipped up some baked beans and potato with watermelon for dessert. Yum!

How did you spend your 4th of July?

The Easiest Chicken Ever

I haven't cooked much this week but I did find this very easy crockpot chicken recipe over on The Larson Lingo.

Get ready for one of the easiest meals ever.
Of course it involves the crock pot!
Here is what you need:

- Bag of frozen Chicken Breast Tenderloins (2.5-3lb bag)
- 8 oz block of cream cheese (don't use Fat Free! 1/3 less fat or regular is fine)
- Can of Black Beans, drained & rinsed. (or Pinto Beans if you prefer)
- Can of Corn, drained.
- Can of Rotel

Directions:
Put frozen chicken in the crock pot.
Put Cream cheese on top of the chicken.
Dump in the Black Beans (make sure they are drained & rinsed!!!)
Dump in the drained corn.
Dump in the Rotel,

Cover & cook in your Crock Pot on low for 6-8 hours.
Every 2 hours, I stir the ingredients.
You can shred the chicken when it is done, or just leave it as tenderloins.
This is what it looks like after 6 hours:

I turn the crock pot off & let it sit for about 30-45 minutes.
It is a little soupy, but letting it sit causes it to not be as soupy.

I serve this over rice. The rice soaks up some of the soupy-ness.

It makes a lot, it feeds 6-8 adults. You could have it for dinner a couple nights & for lunch.
I actually like it better on the 2nd day, when it isn't as soupy.
So, you could make this the day before & then keep it in your fridge overnight.
When we have it on a leftover day, sometimes I combine the rice & the cream cheese chicken mixture and use it for burritos. Add a tortilla, some lettuce, cheese & salsa.
Easy. Good. Healthy.

And, you could use pinto beans instead of black beans.
Make a tostada or a rice bowl.
So many options!
Whatever floats your boat!

I don't even have a name for it.
I call it "Cream Cheese Crock Pot Chicken"
But, it is like Cream Cheese Chicken Goodness.
Call it whatever you want. It is yummy & so easy to make!
Enjoy!

***Edited to Add***
Some of you have said there isn't much of a kick, so if you want to add more flavors, you can add a packet of taco seasoning, or a packet of dry ranch dressing mix, or use Hot Rotel (or Hot Salsa).