Chicken Rice Bowls (Rumbi-style)

I had a few inspirations that drove the creation of this recipe.

First, we have a local restaurant that we love, but can't always afford - isn't that always how life goes?!  It's called Rumbi Island Grill.  One of our favorites is their chicken rice bowls.

(pictured below - 2 photos courtesy of rumbi.com)

Looks yummy, right?!?

Second inspiration - During the hot summertime, I love to serve meals that are light, fresh, and don't heat up my kitchen too much during preparation.

Third, I always like to find ways to re-create our favorite meals at home for much less money.

SO - This meal uses a slow cooker for the chicken and you whip up the veggies and rice just before serving -probably 15 minutes cooking, tops!  Plus, if I'm shopping sales, I can make this meal for about $12 for my family of 6 adults and teens.  And it feeds our Rumbi cravings too - It's perfect.

I found the recipe for the chicken portion of this meal on Pinterest.  The link (http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/07/slow-cooker-garlic-and-brown-sugar.html) took me to Six Sisters' Stuff - LOVE their blog!

The chicken recipe immediately reminded me of Rumbi - YAY! - When my family started making the yummy noises, I knew I had a winner.

Enjoy!

Chicken Rice Bowls - Rumbi-style

Chicken recipe from sixsistersstuff.com (link above)

Inspiration from Rumbi Island Grill

4-6 chicken breasts or thighs (frozen or thawed)

1 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup vinegar

1/4 cup lemon-lime soda (I double the soda to 1/2 cup)

2 Tblsp soy sauce

2-3 Tblsp minced garlic

1 tsp pepper

2 Tblsp cornstarch

2 Tblsp water

4-6 cups prepared long grain rice - white or brown - follow package directions

2-3 cups broccoli florets, steamed

1 cup shredded/julienned carrots

• Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
• Place chicken inside slow cooker. (Six Sisters' Stuff used frozen chicken, I used thawed chicken)
• Mix together brown sugar, vinegar, soda, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper. Pour over chicken in slow cooker.
• Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours, if using frozen chicken. For thawed chicken, cook on low 5-6 hours, on high for about 4 hours.

Before serving:

Prepare rice (according to package directions) and steam/boil your veggies.  We like broccoli & shredded carrots (throw the carrots in with the broccoli for the last 1 minute of cooking), but you can pick your favorite veggies here (zucchini, snow peas, stir fry mix, etc)

• Take chicken pieces out of slow cooker and lightly shred in a bowl.  Set aside.
• Pour remaining sauce from slow cooker into saucepan.
• Place saucepan over high heat.
• Mix together corn starch and water, pour into saucepan, and mix well.
• Let sauce come to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, or until it starts to thicken and turns into a glaze.  You'll need to watch the sauce and whisk it occasionally.
• Remove from heat and let sit for a minute or two (it will continue to thicken as it cools down).
  
  
  ** I often make an additional recipe of the glaze (because it's YUMMY!)
  ** Mix together the quantities noted in the ingredients list of brown sugar, vinegar, soda, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper. Pour into saucepan.  Follow the sauce directions above.

We like to serve this buffet-style, but you could build the rice bowls before bringing them to the table.  Rice in first, followed by veggies, top with shredded chicken & drizzle with sauce.

Oh my goodness, these are yummy!!  Leftovers keep well for a day or two, but I doubt you'll have any.

Kathryn



Easy Chicken

**My mom used to make a dish called Easy Chicken growing up. When I got the recipe from her, I could never seem to make it right. It never turned out. You would sprinkle the onion soup mix in the bottom of your baking dish, pour the uncooked rice over that, then lay the chicken breasts on top. Then you would pour chicken broth over the top and bake. For some reason, my chicken was always dry and my rice was always mushy. So, I was pretty happy when I found this recipe on Foods, Friends and fun blog. This was a much simpler way of achieving the same flavors, but with moist chicken and non-mushy rice. **

**I used 4 frozen chicken breasts and halfed this recipe. We served it over brown rice.**

Easy Chicken

Chicken Breasts or thighs

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 pkg Lipton onion soup mix

Lay your chicken breasts on bottom of your crock pot. Pour canned soup over top of chicken and sprinkle the onion soup mix over top. Cover and let cook in your crock pot on low 4 hours. (Times may vary depending on your crock pot)

Serve over rice or noodles.

**If you want to make this and you don't have a crock pot or you don't have 4 hours, just combine all your ingredients in a large saucepan or stock pot pan. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Let it simmer until the chicken is cooked through. It will probably be close to an hour to be finished.**

Creamy Ranch Chicken

**This is one of those super easy family meals. My family really enjoyed this. This recipe is all over the internet as RANCH HOUSE PORK CHOPS, but I didn't have pork chops, and I don't know what Ranch House means, so I am calling it Creamy Ranch Chicken. As I was online this morning, I got the idea from Chef In Training. Check out her page. She has some yummy looking stuff.**

Creamy Ranch Chicken

4 Chicken breasts (Mine were 5oz each)

1 10oz can Cream of Chicken soup (I would think cream of mushroom would work too)

1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing

Mix together soup and ranch packet. Lay Chicken in a crock pot and pour soup over top. Cook on low for about 4 hours.

***I did not make this in the crock pot. I put the chicken in a covered saucepan, poured the soup mix over the top, put it on the stove and heated until it started to bubble. I turned the chicken over, and then turned the burner to simmer. It simmered for about 30 minutes.***

Parmesan Garlic Potatoes

I served this over instant potatoes. I added 1 tsp minced garlic and about 1/4 cup parmesan cheese at the same time I added the potato flakes to the water mixture. You could always do homemade potatoes and then add the garlic and parmesan. Yum.

Spiced Pumpkin Sippers

The chill of Fall is creeping into the air these days & warm, cozy foods are on our menu. Our treats are changing too - from Summer's cool treats to the belly-warming treats of Fall. It's one of my favorite times of year!

I found this treat on The Farm Chicks' blog. I made it this weekend and it's going to be a struggle not to make it every single day! SO yummy!!

A nice change from traditional hot chocolate & so perfect for Fall!!

Enjoy!

The Farm Chicks' Spiced Pumpkin Sippers

Serves 4-6

4 cups whole milk

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Add all ingredients to a saucepan & whisk together thoroughly.

Whisk occasionally, over medium heat, until hot.

Ladle into mugs. Top with softly whipped cream & sprinkle with nutmeg. Serve hot.

Notes & Tips:

If you prefer a less-sweet drink, you can reduce the sugar by half.

These sippers are a great drink to serve to guests. To ease the work at party time, prepare the recipe in advance and refrigerate until ready to use.

Keep a crockpot full of the mixture to serve warm throughout your gathering.

Or, drink it one cupful at a time, simply reheating in the microwave.

Balsamic Tri-Tip Roast in the Crock Pot

If you like balsamic vinegar, you'll LOVE this roast! If you don't like it, stop reading now.

This roast, for those who like balsamic vinegar, is amazing. Fall-apart, mouth-watering amazing! And SO easy!

Just a few ingredients & about 5 minutes in the morning for a delicious dinner that night. Especially satisfying now that the cooler days of Fall are here.

FYI - Balsamic vinegar is the dark vinegar they bring you to add to your olive oil for dipping bread at nicer Italian restaurants, in case you're not sure what it is. It has a strong, tangy, rich flavor. It's a flavor you either love or hate, so be sure you like it before making this dinner. It's easy to find at any grocery store. Don't spend the money for the super expensive brands since it's cooking all day in the crock pot, the store brands work just as well.

We serve this with mashed potatoes, gravy & usually green beans and corn on the side. DELISH!!

Balsamic Tri-Tip Roast in the Crock Pot

3 lbs tri-tip roast (You can buy 1 big roast or 2 smaller ones for this recipe. Watch for tri-tip on sale since it can be expensive, keep it in the freezer & take it out for this recipe.)
1 8-oz bottle balsamic vinegar
2 Tblsp minced garlic
Spices: salt, pepper, sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley


Turn crock pot on LOW.

Sprinkle minced garlic on the bottom of the crock pot. Place the lid on top to keep the heat in.

Sear tri-tip on all sides in a very hot pan. Use tongs to hold the roast upright to be sure you get all sides well-browned.



Use tongs to move browned tri-tip from the skillet to the crock pot. Try to lay the roast mostly flat, but don't push it down.




Sprinkle roast with spices - don't overload it, just a light covering (see below).

Pour balsamic vinegar into the crock pot. Don't pour it over the top of the roast or you'll wash away all the spices. Just pour it along the sides, into the bottom.

Replace lid & cook on LOW for at least 8 hours. (10 hours is best, but 8 is great too)

About 30 minutes before serving, use tongs to turn the roast in the crock pot. This will allow the vinegar to get into all sides of the roast. Replace lid & prepare side dishes.


To serve, remove from crock pot with tongs. (The roast will usually just fall apart. Sometimes, it holds its shape.) If necessary, move roast to a cutting board & cut into slices.

Serve with your favorite sides.

We like mashed potatoes & gravy, baked potatoes, or rice pilaf with this roast. Veggies on the sides are yummy too.

Enjoy!

Grilled Tri-Tip Roast

Seriously - doesn't that picture say "Summer Grilling"??

Tri-tip is a favorite cut around our house. It's not the cheapest cut, I know, but it's flavor & tenderness are amazing!

We usually cook our tri-tip in the crock pot with balsamic vinegar, garlic & spices. (recipe to come later) But since it's summer (and to be honest, I hadn't planned ahead for dinner...), we decided to grill it.



I am SO glad we did! It was tender, juicy & so flavorful - especially the crusty bits on the outside.

Watch for tri-tip on sale, store it in your freezer & plan on grilling some this summer!

We served this with a parmesan risotto & broccoli. It would be good with anything, really. Your favorite picnic sides or some fancier sides - it's that good.

I combined a couple of recipes I found online on foodnetwork.com, then adjusted them to fit our family's tastes.


Enjoy! :)


Grilled Tri-Tip Roast

2 tri-tip roasts, approx. 1.5 lbs each

Generous amount of seasoning salt (we used Emeril's & a little Lawry's - use your favorite or make your own)


Preheat your grill to 450*F.

Dust the roasts generously with seasoning salt all over & rub in gently.

Place the roasts on the grill, fatty side down.

Grill for 20 minutes total, turning about every 2-3 minutes, for a juicy medium rare. (about 130*F internal temp)

Remove from grill, cover & let rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing & serving.

Slice at an angle against the grain of the meat.


Serving suggestions:


Slice very thin & serve over salad.

Slice thinly & serve in tortillas with fresh salsa, avocado & lime.

Cut into smaller pieces, glaze with BBQ spices/sauce & grill.



Robert Irvine's BBQ Spice Rub (if you want to make your own)

1-2 Tblsp each:

Worcestershire sauce

black pepper

salt

garlic, minced

chili pepper

onion salt

ground cumin

ground cilantro


Coat tri-tip with rub & place in a bowl in the refrigerator for 1 hour before grilling per instructions above.

French Dip Sandwiches tonight!

We're having these YUMMY sandwiches tonight! (originally posted here in March 2011)

Love that I can get the roast in the crock pot in the morning & have dinner done. It's busy-busy around here as the school year is ending. Prepare-ahead meals are a must for our little family right now.

French Dip Sandwiches with Au Jus

Enjoy!!

French Dip Sandwiches with Au Jus

YUM!! The chuck roast & onions for these sandwiches cooked all day in the crock pot & filled the house with a delicious aroma!! We were super excited to get eating by the time dinner rolled around! 5 minutes prep in the morning & about 5 more just before dinner - a perfect busy-day dinner.

French Dip Sandwiches with Au Jus
Serves 6-8

6-8 bolillo rolls (or your favorite sub rolls - choose white though, wheat isn't as good with these sandwiches)
6-8 slices swiss or provolone cheese
1 2.5 lb beef roast (I used chuck, but whatever you have on-hand would do)
1 onion
1 14.5oz can beef broth
1-2 Tbsp minced garlic
salt & pepper - about 1 Tbsp each or more, if you like pepper

• In a large skillet, sear the roast on all sides. (You want it browned thorougly before you put it in the slow cooker).


• Turn on slow cooker to LOW.


• Slice onion & place slices on the bottom of your slow cooker. Pour beef broth over the onions.


• Place beef roast on top of sliced onions/broth. Sprinkle salt, pepper & minced garlic over the top of the roast.


• Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. If possible, turn the roast over halfway through cooking.


• If you're using a larger roast (3-4 lbs), cook for 8-10 hours.

At dinnertime:

• Slice rolls open & set out with cheeses for building sandwiches. You can brown the rolls under the broiler or in the oven, if you like.


• Remove roast from crock pot to a large cutting board. Roughly slice roast, cutting away fat (if desired - my youngest loves the fat (yuck!)), to use in sandwiches.


• ** Get help for this step, if you need it - Crock pots are heavy! ** Pour liquid from crock pot through a fine strainer into a bowl or large glass measuring cup. (This is the au jus for dipping the sandwiches) Pour au jus into small bowls, big enough for dipping the sandwiches.


• Each person builds a sandwich with beef, cheese & cooked onions (from the crock pot).

These sandwiches are dipped into the au jus before each bite. Don't pour it on - it will soak the sandwich & ruin the roll. The onions are optional on the sandwiches, but I love 'em!

We always serve these with a big green salad.

Enjoy!!

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Perfect meal for a cold day. Easy meal for a busy-busy day. Low-cost meal when roast and/or veggies are on sale. All around - a classic, delicious, perfect meal. Enjoy! :)

Slow Cooker Pot Roast
8 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 8 hours (at least)

1 Tbsp oil (or spray with nonstick cooking spray)
3 - 3 1/2 lb boneless beef pot roast - rump, chuck or round
4 carrots, sliced (or a 1 lb pkg baby carrots)
4 medium potatoes (about 2 lbs), cut into 1-inch pieces
2 envelopes onion soup mix
3/4 cup water (I prefer to use beef broth. I pour the extra from the can into the bottom of the crock pot)

If making gravy from crock pot juices/liquid:
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat (or spray with nonstick cooking spray). Brown roast on all sides.
2. In slow cooker, place carrots & potatoes. Top with browned roast. Set aside.
3. In glass measuring cup, combine onion soup mix and water. Add to skillet, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of pan. The mixture will thicken & bubble.
4. Pour soup mixture into slow cooker, over the roast.
5. Cook covered on LOW 8-10 hours or HIGH 4-6 hours.
6. Remove roast & vegetables; place on serving platter. Trim roast into serving-size pieces, if desired.
7. To make gravy: Pour liquid/juices from the slow cooker into a medium saucepan. Turn heat to medium-high.
8. In a separate bowl, thoroughly combine 1/4 cup water and 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour. Add to liquid in saucepan.
9. Whisk flour/water mixture & liquid/juices until combined. Continue whisking & bring to a slow boil. Heat until thickened, about 5 minutes.
10. Pour gravy through seive (if desired) into serving dish.

We like to serve this with fresh breadsticks. Hope you enjoy it!

Crock Pot Pork Chops

**This recipe comes from http://www.thesweetslife.com/2009/10/crockpot-pork-chops.html It reminded me of a Teryaki and had good flavor. We served it with brown rice and salad**

Ingredients:
-6 boneless pork chops
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-1 teaspoon ground ginger
-1/2 cup soy sauce
-1/4 cup ketchup
-2 cloves garlic, crushed (I used minced garlic)
-salt and pepper, to taste

Place pork chops in crockpot. Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over pork chops. Cook on low setting for 4-6 hours.

Cranberry & Rosemary Chicken

**This is a recipe from a womens night activity we had, then my friend Brooke shared it with me the other day and reminded me of having it at church. My family thought this recipe was OK. My daughter said to use less rosemary and maybe she would like it better. I thought it was worth posting because it is easy and some people may have more appeal to these ingredients than we did.**

Cranberry & Rosemary Chicken
5 Chicken Breast (4oz size)
1 16oz whole cranberry sauce
8oz french salad dressing
1 packet dry onion soup mix
1 1/2 TB dried rosemary (my family said they would like less)

Put chicken breasts in the crock pot. In a seperate bowl, add all other ingredients and mix until all is blended together. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 5 hours. Shred chicken. Serve over rice.

Cream Cheese Chicken

**This recipe comes from my friend Xian. When we first moved to Northern California, they had us over for dinner and this is what she made. I had never had it before and it was really good. It is super easy too. :)**

Cream Cheese Chicken
4 - 4oz chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 packet Good Seasonings Italian Dressing Mix (You buy it on the salad dressing aisle where the ranch packets are also sold. I believe they come in box of about 3. I don't remember if they are sold in individual packets like the ranch dressing, I have always only purchased the box of 3.)  The entire packet seems to be close to a TBSP)
1 8oz cream cheese (I have used the reduced fat before with great results)

Put chicken breast in crock pot. In seperate bowl mix the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the cream cheese together. Pour over chicken. Cook over low for about 4 hours. When chicken is done, shred the chicken into smaller pieces. Cut up the bar of cream cheese, and add to mix. Stir well until cheese is all melted. You could also add a little bit of water or chicken broth if you don't like the mixture so thick.

**If you don't want to do the crock pot, I have heard of mixing all ingredients including the cream cheese and pouring over the chicken in 9x13. Then bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until chicken is tender**

Serve over rice or noodles. YUM!

Serves 6

Our Weekly Meal Plan: Nov. 14-20

Weekly Meal Plan - Nov. 14 - 20

SUNDAY: Chicken Quesadillas, guacamole & salsa
MONDAY: Lemon-Garlic Pork Tenderloin (made by Hormel - just roast & serve), Rice-A-Roni Low-Sodium Butter-Herb flavor, broccoli & corn
TUESDAY: Macaroni & Cheese (we top this with breadcrumbs before baking), green salad & wheat rolls
WEDNESDAY: Rodizio Grill for my birthday :)
THURSDAY: French Dip Sandwiches & green salad
FRIDAY: Stouffers Frozen Lasagna (crazy day!), green salad & garlic bread
SATURDAY: Soup (choose your favorite from food storage) & "Old School" grill cheese (wheat bread buttered w/American cheese - cook 'em low & slow)


FREEZER: pre-cooked chicken, shredded & stirred w/green chilis, beef roast, Stouffers Lasagna, broccoli & corn (cut from fresh cobs this summer)
PANTRY: tortillas, salsa, guacamole spice mix, Rice-a-Roni, Mac-n-Cheese ingredients, soup, bread
FRIDGE: Mexican cheese blend, avacados, green salad ingredients, American cheese
GROCERY: pork tenderloins, wheat rolls


Enjoy!

Mexicali Shredded Pork

**This is a recipe from my friend Jen. We have been cooking it for a few years now. You can use corn tortillas and make tacos too, although in this picture we just used flour tortillas to make burritos. I added sliced bell peppers and red peppers to mine also. If you read the directions, I followed the crock pot cooking.**

Mexicali Shredded Pork

2 1/2 to 3 lb. pork shoulder roast (weight after
trimmed of fat)
1 Tbsp. oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 pkgs. taco seasoning mix
1 (14.5 oz.) can Mexican style diced tomatoes
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies
Tortillas, shredded jack or cheddar cheese,
green onions, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, avocado

Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 1 hour 30 min.

Cut pork into 1 1/2 inch chunks. In a large skillet sear
in hot oil until browned on all sides. Add onion, taco
seasoning mix, tomatoes and chilies; stir well.
Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour and
15 minutes. Remove cover and cook 15 minutes
more or until liquid has reduced and sauce is
thick. Shred meat with two forks. Spoon filling
into tortillas (corn or flour) and top with desired
fillings.

I’ve also cooked meat in crock pot for
4-6 hours and that works as well. Add to the
crock pot after you have seared the meat and
added all the other ingredients to the skillet.

Makes: 8-10 servings

Crock Pot Lasagna

**This recipe came from a class at church a while back where we learned about crock pot cooking. What a yummy and easy dinner. It really is delicious and has great flavor.**

Crock Pot Lasagna
1 lb ground beef (optional for vegetarians)
**You could replace with vegetables or just use the red sauce**
1 onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 6oz can tomato paste
2 15oz cans tomato sauce
1 tsp oregano
1 12oz box lasagna noodles

1 12oz Cottage Cheese - You could probably sub Ricotta cheese, I like Cottage cheese better.
1/2 cup or more as desired Parmesan Cheese
2 cups or more as desired Mozarella Cheese

First, brown your meat over medium heat with the onion and garlic. Continue to cook until the meat is no longer pink. When the meat is done, drain any fat that may be in pan. Then add the oregano, tomato paste, and tomato sauce. Stir until mixture is well blended and warm.

My mixture did about 2 1/2 ladles of sauce per layer and I did 3 layers. So put a layer of red sauce on the bottom of the crock pot, then add a double layer of noodles. I had to break mine to get them to fit along the sides. The middle ones went down perfectly.

Then add a layer of cottage cheese, parmesan cheese and then mozarella cheese. Repeat this for 2 more layers ending with the cheese.

Put in your crock pot on low and cook for about 4 hours depending on your crock pot.

Lemon Herb Turkey Breast in the Crock Pot

During the summer months, I hate to turn on my oven! It's just too hot! That's when my Crock Pot saves the day.

This bone-in turkey breast is found in the frozen section of your supermarket. I used a 7.53 lb breast, so adjust your recipe if you choose one of a substantially different size.

My home smelled like Thanksgiving all day (YUM!), the kids kept coming in the kitchen to smell the air & say "I can't wait for dinner!", and my husband had a huge smile on his face when he came in the door after work. The meat was moist & so tender it fell right off the bone when we took it out of the Crock Pot.

We served this with a whole grain rice & bulgar wheat pilaf, broccoli & corn. We had about 1/3 left over which we mixed with the rest of the dinner leftovers & made a super yummy casserole for the next day - woohoo!!



Lemon Herb Turkey Breast in the Crock Pot

1 bone-in, skin-on whole turkey breast, thawed if frozen (5-7 lbs)
1 small onion, sliced
2 cups chicken broth
1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbls finely chopped fresh italian parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried sage leaves
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Tbls olive or vegetable oil

Preheat crock pot on high. Place onion slices in bottom of crock pot & pour in 1 cup of chicken broth.

Grate peel from lemon. Cut lemon into quarters, set aside. In small bowl, stir together lemon peel, garlic, parsley, salt, sage, pepper & oil.

Loosen skin covering turkey breast and pull away from breast meat, leaving skin attached at neck. If necessary, use kitchen shears or sharp knife to loosen.

Rub herb/oil mixture evenly over turkey breast, under skin. Replace skin & place turkey, breast-side down, in crock pot. Place lemon quarters in neck opening.

Cover & cook 1 hour on high. Lower temperature to LOW and cook all day (8-10 hours).

Remove from Crock Pot carefully - the turkey breast will fall apart - to cutting board. Separate meat from bone & serve.



NOTES:
When removing turkey breast from the packaging, separating the breast skin from the meat, and rubbing on the herb/oil mixture - do all of this in your kitchen sink to avoid a juicy, wet mess on your kitchen counters & floor!! (Can you tell I learned this the hard way years ago?!?)

Place the Crock Pot next to the sink before you begin. When you're done preparing the turkey breast, move it directly to the Crock Pot.

If any juice gets on your counters, be sure to clean them thoroughly. Make sure you also clean your sink thoroughly! (This is a "thing" of mine - poultry juices can be dangerous!)

Baked Potatoes.....In the crock pot!

YES, you can cook potatoes in a crock pot!!

**Do you feel like baked potatoes, but don't want to turn on your oven. You can wrap them up and just place them in the crock pot. I fold them up and put the bulk of the foil on the bottom so that it isn't sitting directly on the crock pot pan. I was afraid that it may make the potato hard on the bottom if it sat there that long. Whether it does or not, I don't know. I put the crock pot on high, and went to my daughters soccer game for a couple hours and came back and the potatoes were all ready to eat.**

**OR my favorite way, but it requires the oven, is to rub them in olive oil, and sprinkle a nice course salt all around them like Kosher salt and place them on a baking sheet and bake in the oven. It creates a yummy tasting skin.**

**I wish I could give you guys an exact timing for cooking but I can't. I didn't pay attention, and some times I just do things and then realize later that I could have blogged that. Next time I do it I will make sure to time it.**

Hawaiian Haystacks

I think everyone has a recipe for Hawaiian Haystacks, right? Please share yours too!

This is a go-to summer meal for our family. We probably have it 2-3 times each month when it's hot & heavy meals aren't on the menu.

There is a crock-pot option to this meal & I'll include that at the bottom.

This one uses my food storage soup & broth and pre-prepped chicken from my freezer. It's the recipe I use most often.



Hawaiian Haystacks
Serves 6

4 10.75 oz cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups chicken broth
2-4 cups cooked & shredded chicken or 2-3 cans chunk chicken, drained
5-6 cups cooked long-grain rice

Toppings:
Chow mein noodles
Tomatoes
Olives
Sunflower seeds
Celery
Green pepper
Green onion
Pineapple chunks
grated Cheddar cheese
slivered Almonds
shredded Coconut

1. Combine soup & broth in a saucepan to make sauce. Stir well to blend.
2. Add chicken. Simmer 8-10 minutes, until heated through. You can add more broth just before serving if the sauce is too thick.
   

3. Serve over prepared rice.
4. Serve other ingredients buffet style, in separate bowls.


Crock pot: for chicken sauce

1 26 oz can cream of chicken soup
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, frozen (or boneless skinless thighs)
1/2 - 1 cup liquid (water, milk, chicken broth)

Set on high for first hour, then switch to low & let it cook all day.
When chicken is cooked, shred with forks in the sauce.

Spoon chicken sauce over rice & top with favorite toppings.

2nd variation
This is from my friend Lisa C.

In a skillet, I sauté in butter green onions and a little garlic salt

I add to the butter and onions, cream cheese, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup to make a very nice thick gravy mixture. Add pepper to taste. NOTE- there were no measurements given, so I would do about 1/4-1/2 stick of cream cheese and 1/4-1/2 cup sour cream per can of cream of chicken soup. Your going to have to see what you like

When the chicken breasts are fully cooked, I cut into pieces and add to the gravy. At this point it is ready to be served over rice, but can be warmed in a crockpot for later if need be.

Taco Chicken

Thanks to my friend Jennifer D who shared this recipe when we were a part of a recipe group. Since then, I have heard of this recipe being made with salsa too, and I liked this version much better. Yummy!

Taco Chicken

2 can cream of chicken (or you could use 1 cream of chicken, and 1 cream of mushroom)
1/2 cup salsa
1 packet taco seasoning
1 cup sour cream
3-4 chicken breasts (depending on size)

Place soup, salsa and taco seasoning in crock pot. Stir well. Add chicken. Bake on low for 4-6 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to sauce. Add 1 cup of sour cream, stir all together and serve over rice.

BBQ Ribs

**These ribs were so fall off the bone tender and yummy. I actually cooked 8lbs of ribs and it all fit in my crock pot. I tripled the recipe below for the marinade. **

* I just made these ribs again for my husbands birthday and this time I used boneless ribs and they were yummy too! I took them out of the crock pot and just stuck them under broiler for about 7 minutes with extra BBQ sauce added on top, and Voila! *

Ingredients:
3 1/2 pounds pork loin back ribs
1/4 cup brown sugar -- packed
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons liquid smoke flavoring
2 cloves garlic -- chopped
1 medium onion -- sliced (I used dried minced onion)
1/2 cup cola
1 1/2 cup barbecue sauce


Directions:
Spray inside of 4- to 5-quart Crock-Pot slow cooker with cooking spray. (I put mine in a crock pot bag to reduce the clean up mess afterwards.)

Cut ribs into 4"-6" pieces. Mix brown sugar, pepper, liquid smoke, garlic and minced onion. Put ribs in crock pot bag or in a large bowl. Pour mixture into ribs. Let marinate overnight. The next morning layer ribs in slow cooker with marinade. Pour cola over ribs.

Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 8 hours or until tender. Remove ribs from slow cooker. Drain and discard liquid.

Place ribs back in slow cooker. Pour BBQ sauce over ribs. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 1 hour longer."