Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken / Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken Soup with Cauliflower

Hello friends!  Today I'm not posting a freezer meal, but a meal that is very versatile and a great way to make one easy meal that will translate into many other meals.  I'll show you one such extra meal that I made that was awesome.  It's like getting two meals for one!

Today I'm going to show you my take on Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken.  I got the basis for this recipe from a cookbook called "The Everyday Low-Carb Slow Cooker Cookbook". http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Low-Carb-Slow-Cooker-Cookbook/dp/1569244286

A side note:  I love this cookbook.  Even if you don't eat low carb, it's a great resource to make some healthy, new slow cooker recipes.

Our local grocery store had whole chickens on sale last week.  I remember seeing in the cookbook a way to make whole chicken in the slow cooker.  There is another recipe in the book for chicken piccata that uses boneless chicken breasts.  I decided to combine the two recipes.

Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken

Ingredients

4-5 pound whole chicken, rinsed, with the giblets removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca(or use cornstarch)
2 lemons, pierced 6 times with a paring knife, and cut in quarters
Cooking spray

Directions

Spray slow cooker with cooking spray to make for easy cleanup.  Put as many of the lemon pieces and you can fit into the cavity of the chicken.  Coat chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Put chicken into the slow cooker breast side down.

In a small bowl, combine wine, Tabasco, and tapioca.  Mix thoroughly until completely smooth. Pour mixture into slow cooker.  Place remaining lemon pieces into slow cooker as well.

Cover and cook on Low for around 7 hours.  How long will depend on the size of your chicken. Check doneness with an instant-read thermometer(it should register 170 degrees).  If you have a 4 pound chicken, you might want to start checking at 6 hours.

When done, remove chicken from the slow cooker and let rest prior to serving.

The chicken is delicious served by itself with a little of the slow cooker juices.  It's also great the next day on salads or in sandwiches.  I decided to take it a step further and it took it over the edge!

Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken Soup with Cauliflower

Ingredients

Juice left over from the slow cooker lemon chicken
Cooked lemons
Breast meat shredded from 1 chicken breast from slow cooker lemon chicken
1 12 oz bag of frozen cauliflower(I used one with a garlic sauce)
Parsley

Directions

After removing the chicken from slow cooker, use tongs to squeeze lemon pieces to release all juices into the chicken juice that is already in the slow cooker.  Discard lemon rinds.

Cook frozen cauliflower in the microwave according to the directions.  Once cooked, cut any large cauliflower pieces into bite sized pieces.  Add cauliflower and shredded chicken to slow cooker with juices. Stir to combine.

To serve, ladle into bowls and stir in chopped parsley.  TIP:  An easy way to add parsley is to use scissors.  Just clip right over the bowl.

Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken Soup with Cauliflower

Please note, if you are not a big cauliflower fan there are other great options.  I would also suggest cooked rice, noodles, broccoli, kale, or spinach.  If you are using the rice or noodles, only add what you are going to eat right then, as leaving them in the liquid will cause them to bloat.

I hope you enjoy this meal.  Let me know if you tried it and how it went.  Also let me know if you thought of a great variation!

Stuffed Pepper Bake

Hi Everyone!  It's been a long time since I've posted a meal.  I've still been making freezer meals but I've been too lazy to put up any recipes.  Well that changes today!

Today I'm showing you a stuffed pepper bake.  This is a recipe that I made about a month back.  It's very easy and a great way to use up any extra peppers that you may have.  It's also much easier then stuffing peppers like in a normal stuffed pepper dish.

I got the recipe from this site: http://www.sweetandsavoryfood.com/2013/08/stuffed-red-pepper-bake.html

As far as modifications, instead of using red peppers only, I used a red and an orange pepper.  The recipe would work well with whatever kind of sweet peppers you have, even green.  I also added some fresh garlic and extra Italian seasonings to the meat/rice mixture and eliminated the garlic salt from the topping. You could also substitute ground turkey for the ground beef and white rice for brown rice.

The recipe makes enough for two 8 x 8's.  I encourage you to make one for your family and give one to a friend or neighbor.

Stuffed Pepper Bake

*adapted from Been There, Baked That

1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 lb. ground beef
2 sweet peppers, chopped finely
1 jar spaghetti sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c. mozzarella cheese

1/2 c. cheddar cheese

1/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 t. Italian seasoning

drizzle of olive oil

Directions:

Cook rice according to package directions and set aside. Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook hamburger , peppers and garlic until meat is done and no longer pink; drain grease. Stir in rice, spaghetti sauce and one teaspoon of the Italian seasoning, let cook until heated through.

Pour this mixture into two 8x8 casserole dishes.  Top with the two cheeses.  In a small bowl combine bread crumbs and Italian seasoning with a drizzle of olive oil, toss to coat.  Sprinkle on bread crumbs.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until heated through and topping is crispy.  If freezing the other dish, allow mixture to cool completely.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap, then foil.  Label, date and freeze. Will stay fresh in the freezer for 3 months