Crock Pot Chicken Tostadas

This recipe kind of comes from a crockpot cookbook I have...but I changed it so much you wouldn't recognize it. So! I'm just putting my own version in here.

This chicken can be used in regular tacos too. Or over rice. Or any other way you use shredded chicken. It's good because it tastes a little citrus-y and taco-y. MMMmmm.

My husband's friend showed up for dinner, so he got to be in the picture too.

1/2 medium onion (chopped)
1 small can diced green chilies
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 packet Taco Seasoning
1/8 cup lemon (or lime) juice + 1/2 cup water (just eyeball it and mix them in your 1/4 cup measuring cup)
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Dash Paprika
Dash Chili Powder

1-Combine chopped onion, green chilies, and garlic in bottom of crock pot.
2-Lay chicken breasts on top.
3-Pour water/lemon juice mixture over chicken.
4-Sprinkle Taco Seasoning, Paprika, and Chili powder over chicken.

Set crock pot on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-2 1/2 hours.

When done, remove chicken from liquid. Use 2 forks to shred chicken. Use a slotted spoon or strainer to get the onion and chilies out of the liquid. Add to the chicken. Add about 1/4-1/2 cup of the liquid to the chicken to give it some flavor and keep it moist.

Your meat is ready!

Now, gather the rest of the ingredients you want to use on your tostadas. We had tostadas, refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, and avocado slices. Pile on your favorite ingredients (including the wonderful chicken you just made, of course) and eat!

There's the chicken poking out at the bottom! See it???? Yes.

Husband's Reaction: "This is a dream meal."
Husband's Friend's Reaction: "You can write on your blog that I just said 'so good!' every two minutes."

Zupas Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

I found this on Pinterest, and the recipe came from this blog:
http://crowleyparty.blogspot.com/2011/06/wisconsin-cauliflower-soup-zupas.html

Zupa's Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup (with variations by me)

2 tablespoons margarine or butter (1/4 stick)

1 medium onion, chopped (yep, I didn't have any of this, so I left it out and added some onion salt...totally not the same, but it ended up ok)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 spoon salt (I think this means "teaspoon")

2 cups milk

1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth (I used bouillon cubes, two of them, dissolved in 2 cups of boiling water) 

1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used a bag of frozen cauliflower)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (haha I used yellow mustard, but almost left it out completely)

1 cup Sharp Cheddar cheese

1 cup Pepper Jack cheese (none at our house, so I used mozzarella and then added pepper to the soup until it tasted good to me)

In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes. In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve. 

This was really so easy. I followed the recipe almost exactly (except with my substitutions), and it turned out great! My husband always orders this soup at Zupas, so I made it for him. He said the real kind is a little thicker (maybe I added more water with the bouillon than I should have), and more yellow. But he said the taste was almost exact! 

We ate it with rolls, because that's my favorite way to have any kind of soup.

Husband's Reaction: He was very appreciative that I made soup on a cold, snowy day. When I asked if this was a recipe I should repeat again, he said yes. When I told him it wouldn't hurt my feelings if he said no, he still said yes. I thought it turned out great! I'm making this the next time I have to bring soup to a social gathering.

Fiesta Salsa Shredded Chicken Tacos

Fiesta Salsa Shredded Chicken Tacos
This little gem of a recipe came from here.

This is so so so easy!

The linked recipe includes a slow-cooker version, which is the one I am going to share. But if you want to cook your chicken a different way, nobody is stopping you!!!

3 Ingredients:


Cooked Shredded Chicken
Salsa
Taco Seasoning


Put raw, skinless, boneless chicken into your slow cooker, cook on low for 4-6 hours until fork tender, shred the chicken with 2 forks, sprinkle with taco seasoning (I just sprinkled until the top was covered, do as much or little as you desire), pour salsa on and mix in to moisten, and it's ready to eat. Be careful not to overcook the chicken, or will turn into mush.


Then add them to tortillas or taco shells and pile on the cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, whatever you love on tacos!


Here are my pictures that I almost forgot to take (my husband is the lovely hand model):

And here is one from "The Yummy Life"---the blog that originally posted this delicious recipe:

. . . If only my pictures would turn out looking that dreamy.

Husband's Reaction: "This gets an A+ on the healthy scale!" With New Year's resolutions and everything my husband is really into being healthy right now. Well, he always kind of is, but it's more potent at the moment. Don't worry, he also liked how they tasted. . . he had three before we ran out of taco meat.

Home-style Chicken & Biscuits From Back of Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup Label

Home-style Chicken & Biscuits
This recipe is so easy, especially if you buy pre-prepared biscuits for the top. 

Prep: 5 min

Bake: 30 min

Makes: 4 servings

1 can (10 ¾ oz) Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup

¼ cup milk

¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese

¼ tsp ground black pepper

1 bag (16 oz) frozen vegetables (whatever you like or a combination. . . can use less)

2 cups cubed cooked chicken (or, I used canned chicken in college when my mom gave me a ton of it from Costco)

10 biscuits for top (I usually make them homemade, but this last time I used the ones in the can that pops open)

Stir soup, milk, cheese, and black pepper in 13x9x2’’ shallow baking dish.  Stir in vegetables and chicken.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Stir.

Top with biscuits.  Bake for 15 minutes more or until biscuits are golden.

Husband's Reaction: He LOVED it. I was a little surprised, because it's just a casserole, but he even liked the leftovers we had the next day, and that's saying something.