Crockpot Tomato Chicken Fettuccine

Tomato Chicken Fettuccine

3 frozen chicken breasts
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
2 cloves minced garlic
(you could probably add artichokes hearts, sliced mushrooms, or whatever sounds good to you)

Put all the above ingredients in a crock pot on low for 3-6 hours (it depends on how hot your slow cooker cooks, as long as the chicken is done) . At this point I like to shred the chicken but you can leave it whole if you like.

Combine in a separate bowl:
1 pint whipping cream
3 eggs
1-2 cups Parmesan cheese

Pour in crock pot and cook one more hour.

Serve over cooked Fettuccine noodles.

Courtesy of Heather Koelliker's awesome sister in law Kelli

Summer smoothie

Summer smoothie

1 cup passion fruit juice
1 cup vanilla frozen yogurt
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen mangoes
1/2 cup ice cubes

1. Pour measured amount of liquid into blender
2. Add frozen ingredients, except ice
3. Add ice
4. Begin by blending it on low
5. After about 30 seconds blend on high until you see a whirl at the center of the blender cup.

Courtesy of Heather Koelliker

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

Fruit Salsa

2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1 pound strawberries, diced
8 oz raspberries (lightly chopped)
2 Tablespoons white sugar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
3 Tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor

(you can chop the fruit in a food processor. Just don't blend them too long because they will turn to liquid. Just chop enough that they are in small pieces)

Cinnamon chips
10 flour tortillas
cooking spray
1 cup cinnamon sugar

1. In a large bowl thoroughly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, white and brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill for 15 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Coat one side of each flour tortilla with cooking spray. Sprinkle with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again lightly with cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. (Cut wedges with a pizza cutter- it makes it much faster)
4. Bake in the preheated oven 8-10 minutes or until the chips get crisp. Repeat with remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit salsa.

Courtesy of Heather Koelliker's awesome Aunt Sandra

Black Bean Salsa

Ok-- I bet you are thinking uck....black beans! Seriously this salsa is delicious and you won't even know you are downing those healthy little beans. Try it and you might be stocking you food storage with more black beans :)

Black Bean Salsa

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
2 large avacados, diced
2 to 3 tomatoes, diced
1 green or red bell pepper
1 bunch cilantro, cut up
1 bunch green onions, cut up
1 package Good Seasons Italian Salad dressing mix (make as directed on package)
fresh lime juice (optional)

Mix altogether and serve with chips

Tips: I like to mix everything up the night before except for the avacados. I like to do this so the flavors can mariate together. I add the avacados right before serving.

I made this for young womens and I didn't have avacados or cilantro and it still tasted yummy.

*** Meal Idea: If you want to make this into a meal I like to grill some chicken and put it on a bed of salad and use this salsa as the dressing.

Courtesy of Heather Koelliker's awesome Aunt Sandra

Bruschetta with or without grilled chicken

Bruschetta

2 cups Roma tomatoes, seeded, and finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil -- or 1 tsp dried basil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 Tablespoons olives, finely minced
2 Tablespoons red onion finely minced

2 Tablespoons Olive oil
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt

In a bowl mix tomatoes, basil, minced garlic, olives and red onion. In a second bowl, whisk olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt. Pour over tomato mixture and mix well. (May be served chilled or warmed)

As an appetizer:
Spoon the mix over sliced and toasted pieces of french baguette bread and enjoy!

Turn it into a main dish:
We love to serve this over grilled chicken but in the winter I just marinated the chicken in Good Seasonings Italian salad dressing and bake it in the oven at 400* for 30 mins.

*Another fun thing is to put the brushetta on the cooked chicken and then sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and place it under the broiler until the cheese has melted.

(When I went to the store the Roma tomatoes were really nasty looking...so I actually used vine ripened tomatoes and I think it gave it a little sweeter taste)

Courtesy of Heather Koelliker

Marinated Chicken

Marinated Chicken

½ cup oil
½ cup soy sauce
1 cup 7-up
garlic powder

Mix marinade ingredients together. Place in a sealed container or large Ziploc bag with up to 8 chicken breasts. Marinade at least 30 minutes (overnight is best). Barbeque until meat turns opaque. For additional flavor, grill with lemon slices on top.

***Note - this is the chicken Jenn put on top of her pizza

Courtesy of Jenn Iverson

Chicken Pizza Primavera

Chicken Pizza Primavera
(adapted from a Pillsbury recipe)

1 can refrigerated pizza crust (or your favorite pizza dough – I use 5 minute artisan bread)
2 Tbsp. grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese
¼ to ½ tsp. garlic salt
2 Tbsp. light ranch dressing
1 (leftover) grilled chicken breast, thinly sliced
1/3 cup finely chopped red pepper
1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
½ cup torn baby spinach
1 ½ cups shredded cheese (mozzarella or Italian blend)
1 tsp. pizza seasoning

Heat oven to 400º. Lightly grease pizza pan or stone with cooking spray. Roll out pizza dough, pressing to the edge of the pan. Lightly spray dough with cooking spray. Sprinkle with Asiago cheese and garlic salt. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Spread ranch dressing over crust. Top with chicken, pepper, onion, and spinach. Sprinkle cheese and pizza seasoning on top. Bake 10-15 minutes longer until cheese is melted and pizza is hot. Cut into wedges.

Note: the pizza seasoning can usually be found in the spice aisle of the grocery store. If you don’t want to buy it, you can make your own little batch by mixing 2 T. oregano, 1 T. basil, ½ T. onion flakes, ½ T. garlic powder, ½ T. thyme, ½ T. paprika, ½ T. pepper, ½ T. ginger (opt.), and ½ T. fennel (opt.). This is nice to have around – just sprinkle it on regular tomato sauce to make pizza sauce.

Courtesy of Jenn Iverson

Chicken á la King

Chicken à la King

Ingredients:
3 tbsp margarine
3 tbsp flour
1 c chicken broth (1 c water: 1 chicken bouillon cube)
1 c milk
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 c diced, cooked chicken
Directions:Melt margarine. Whisk in flour. Let bubble. Add broth and milk. Cook and stir until sauce is thick and bubbly. Season to taste. Add chicken. Heat through. Serve over biscuits, rice, or toast.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Biscuits (Courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens)
Ingredients:
3 c flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
¾ tsp cream of tarter
¾ c butter or ½ c butter and ¼ c shortening
1¼ c buttermilk or 1 c milk
Directions:
In a larger bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add buttermilk all at once. Using a fork,stir just until moistened.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough by folding and gently pressing dough for 4-6 strokes or just until dough hold together. Pat or lightly roll dough until ¾" think. Cut the dough with a floured 2½" biscuit cutter.
Place biscuits 1" apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a 450° oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Remove biscuits from baking sheet and serve immediately.
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Courtesy of Desirae Young

Chilled Strawberry Soup

Chilled Strawberry Soup

1 cup apple juice
1 cup water, divided
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups fresh strawberries
3 small cartons (6 ounces each) strawberry or vanilla yogurt
2 drops red food coloring (optional) *it just makes it more red
*Additional strawberry halves for a garnish

In a sauce pan combine apple juice, 3/4 cup of the water, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Bring these to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and cool. Place strawberries, 1/4 cup water, and yogurt in blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add cooled apple juice mixture with stawberry/yogurt mixture and stir well. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled. Garnish with additional strawberry halves or slices if desired. Enjoy :)

Courtesy of Heather Koelliker

Overnight Caramel French Toast

Overnight Caramel French Toast

Ingredients:

French Baguette:

better if it's one day old--you may use French Bread but it is not as effective because it absorbs more of the egg mixture

Egg Topping:

3 Eggs

1/2 Cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

Caramel Sauce:

1 Cup brown sugar

6 Tbsp butter

1/3 Cup whipping or heavy cream

1 Tbsp corn syrup

Directions:

1. Slice bread into 1-1/4" pieces.

2. On medium heat, heat all caramel sauce ingredients just until the butter melts. Do not boil.

3. Pour heated sauce into 9x13" glass dish.

4. Combine all egg ingredients into a shallow dish. Dip bread slices and coat both sides.

5. Place coated bread slices in the caramel sauce in 9x13"dish.

6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

7. Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes (probably self explanatory but don't forget to take off the plastic wrap before baking).

Enjoy...I have found it is best served right out of the oven....if you wait too long the syrup gets really gooey and sticky and is a little harder to eat.

Courtesty of Heather Koelliker's best friend Hannah Stoehr