Crockpot Chicken and Rice

Afternoon fellow pinners!

Last nights dinner was awesome, I arrived home to a wonderfully smelling house with dinner nearly ready to go.  After a very long day at work - that's exactly what I needed.

This recipe is one of the easiest ones I have made in a while and man did it pack flavor, plus it was very filling.

Crockpot Chicken and Rice

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large onion chopped
1 8oz box of rice (like Rice-a-Roni, I used chicken/broccoli mix)
1 cup of cheddar cheese
1 10.5 oz of cream of chicken
1 15oz can of whole kernel corn, drained

Place chicken in the bottom of a slower cooker.  Scatter chopped onion over top.  Spoon cream soup over top.  Cover and cook low 7-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.  About 20 minutes before serving add the cooked rice, corn, and cheese.  Stir to combine.  Serve hot!

See how easy was that meal?  A few things I did different or to help prep...

The night before, I cooked the rice and added all the "after" ingredients into a glass dish.  That way I was able to walk in to the door, pour everything in and be done.  Additionally, I added a few slices of onion to the "after" as well.  It gave a good crunch and I think helped with flavor. 

When I stirred the mixture, I noticed my chicken was so tender it was falling apart (oh such a shame, not!)  So I ended up shredding it mildly into bite size pieces to eat easier.

The original recipe called for cheese.  Honestly, I forgot about that...so um, yeah, no missing flavor and less calorie intake.

Lastly, the original recipe called for yellow rice mix....that sounded a bit plain.  So I went with Rice-A-Roni chicken/broccoli mix.  I really think that made a difference in taste.

Again, this was really filling thanks to the rice.

Homemade Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

Hello friends!  Sorry for my absence - life has been, well crazy, to say the least. Lots of new things since my last post.  Instead of getting into all the details, let's move right on to a new favorite of mine, homemade crock pot chicken noodle soup. Yum, yum! 

If you want your house to smell, well more amazing that I am sure it already does - this is your kind of meal.  The best part, as with all the recipes I blog from Pinterest, it's super simple.  I actually ended up going with this dish because I had nearly every ingredient in my fridge already.

Here goes:

5 cups of chicken broth (I prefer boxed because I swear I can taste the tin)
One 10.75 oz can of cream of chicken soup *next time I may skip this, I thought it was a little strong
1/2 cup onions, chopped fine *I was closer to a cup
1/2 cup celery, chopped fine *I used about three four stocks
1/2 cup carrots, chopped fine *I used about four long carrots
1/2 cup green onions, chopped fine *had some leftover in the freezer
One 15oz can of whole kernel corn, drained
Salt and pepper to taste *I used a little garlic salt too
1 1/2 cup egg noodles *May have used closer to two cups
2 cups cooked chicken chopped into bite sized pieces *I was lazy and bought a rotisserie chicken from Safeway and shredded/cut it up, also added a little of the juice into the mix

Add everything, including the noodles and chicken into the crock pot.  (The original recipe said to wait, but I'd forget to add it - so I dumped in everything)  Turn your crock pot on low for 5-6 hours and bam your done.

Now if you'd like a little zest, throw in a few shakes of chili powder.  You won't add any heat to the dish but it adds a nice unexpected flavor.  The guys thought it was a hit!

Remember folks - this is soup.  Feel free to add a little more or a little less of your veggies or throw something else in as well.  You'll only loose flavor if you add extra broth and not enough veggies or you don't up your seasoning based on your contents.  The best thing about homemade soup, it's awesome to freeze for those times when you don't have a moment and heaven forbid eat a nasty sodium in a can soup. 

Since this is sooooooo hearty, I just made a quick batch of cornbread and some honey.  Now that's fall!

Let me know how this worked for you, I love your comments and emails!

Source: http://pinterest.com/pin/176836722839598026