‘Chicken’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Recipe: Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken (NaBloPoMo)

November 1, 2017 · Narrative

Slow cooker meals are a lifesaver sometimes, and this Hawaiian Chicken is a tasty little godsend to have in your repertoire.

First things first. Have you heard of National Blog Posting Month (also known as NaBloPoMo)? It has been around, like, forever, but even though I’ve been blogging since 2005 (eeeks!), I have never done it. It’s when bloggers vow to blog (or try to blog!) every day during the month of November. Regular readers I’m sure have noticed that I don’t blog with the same consistency that I used to back in the day. I posted 6-7 days a week for the first few years, then I dropped to five days a week, and for the past few years, my goal has been 2-3 days a week. And even then, I struggle.

The struggle is for a variety of reasons. Over the years of this blog, I’ve had a baby. A miscarriage. Another baby. A divorce. A huge job change. In general, life has happened. And when something has to slip, it’s usually this space. I look at other successful bloggers and see they’re able to post crazy amounts of content weekly (like YoungHouseLove used to), and there are bloggers on the other end of the spectrum that only post a handful of times a year and still enjoy success (Orangette comes to mind). My posting frequency, or lack thereof, is just some arbitrary schedule that I started on my own, so, really, although I beat myself up about it sometimes, in the grand scheme of things … I’d rather blog because I’m inspired or passionate about something, not because I haven’t posted enough this week.

Ya feel me?

Some days I just don’t have anything to say (imagine that?!) and sometimes life just gets in the way. That being said, I’ve got some big goals for 2018, and this blog continues to be part of the journey. So when I saw a brief mention of NaBloPoMo in a facebook group I’m in, I thought it was just the motivation I needed to get back on track.

And! One of my oldest (and first) blogging friends is joining in the NaBloPoMo movement with me as well, so when you’re done here, be sure to visit Sarah at Sarah’s Cucina Bella to see how she’s kicking off the month.

So here goes!

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Recipe: Cracklin’ Chicken

July 6, 2015 · Narrative

A healthy, super delicious two ingredient dinner that you can get on the table in fifteen minutes? YES, a thousand times yes.

When you find yourself making the same recipe twice in less than seven days, you know it’s a winner.

This is that.

I originally discovered it in the Nom Nom Paleo cookbook some months back, and finally got around to making it. I’m not even sure why it took me so long … oh, right. Too many recipes, not enough time. But now that I have, and again a second time, it is guaranteed to be in heavy rotation.

Because two ingredients (I’m not counting spices from your cabinet) and it’s both healthy AND delicious?

Yes, please.

Bonus points for being kid-approved.

And it fits so many eating plans … Whole30, Paleo, Primal, clean eating… everything except vegetarian. Natch.

It calls for cooking the chicken thighs in ghee. Ghee is something I’ve been cooking with since I did my first round of Whole30 some months back. It’s clarified butter, which means it is butter without the dairy. You can definitely make it on your own, but, for now, I’ve just been buying it at the Indian grocery store. It’s super cheap there.

The recipe suggests buying a splatter guard, and although I hate have extra items in my kitchen, after making it twice already, I think I’m going to add one to my wish list. It’s not terrible without it, it would just save a few minutes of extra clean-up from the splatter.

Because you’re pounding the chicken so it’s very flat, which allows for even cooking, this cooks up in nothing flat. The ghee gives the skin a nice extra crispy coating. Almost like fried chicken, but not.

I cut the skin off Nick’s pieces, because he’s in a I-don’t-like-chicken-skin-phase, which was fine because it made the dogs happy.

Skin weirdness notwithstanding, it’s a meal that we all can agree on and love.

Make it; you won’t be disappointed.

*last night, I served it with Baked Cheesy Cauliflower Tots and homemade mayo. Last week, as shown in the first photo, it was a side of zucchini noodles with Parmesan

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Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Cheese Steak Sandwich

September 29, 2014 · Narrative

Prep this easy slow cooker meal the day before, and you’ll have a delicious Chicken Cheese Steak Sandwich ready for dinner on a busy weeknight.

Normally I could start by saying “Now that it’s the end of September, the cooler temperatures mean it’s the perfect time to dig out the slow cooker and start working on making comfort food recipes.”

But then Mother Nature decided to get seriously confused and has given us several days of near 90 degree temps.

But if you’ve been coming here long enough, you know that I don’t always cook or eat by the seasons. I’ve been known, on many an occasion, to make hot soup in the summer, and I drink iced coffee even when the temperatures drop to the negative numbers.

That’s just how we roll.

So this time, this slow cooker recipe isn’t brought to you because it’s Fall and we need comfort food. It’s brought to you because it’s the perfect thing to prep ahead for a busy weeknight.

And busy weeknights?

We all got ’em.

I made this on Sunday, when I knew I would have a stretch of time to play with the slow cooker, and then I just reheated it for dinner tonight.

Which means that tonight, it only took me about 15 minutes to get this on the table.

And that’s totally my favorite kind of dinner.

Because this doesn’t have yellow cheese and caramelized onions and steak, it’s, of course, not a legit Philly cheese steak.

It’s not trying to be that.

It is, however, doing very well as its counterpart … a chicken version with next to no ingredients and pretty much guilt-free, clean eating.

Winner winner, chicken dinner.

Put chicken, sliced green peppers, and onions in your slow cooker. Add a couple seasonings. Let it do its thing for a few hours.

Stuff it into toasted rolls.

Top with cheese.

Pop it under the broiler for a minute so the cheese melts.

Devour.

This is one of those you-can’t-screw-it-up kind of recipes, and you’ll find yourself putting it into regular rotation. And because it’s so simple, you can easily mix it up a bit. Add tomato sauce and make it into Italian Chicken Cheese Steaks. Or add sliced black olives and banana peppers to give it a little extra bit of oomph.

No matter how you make it, you can’t go wrong.

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Recipe: Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti

September 15, 2014 · Narrative

A one dish pasta chicken casserole that will warm you up from the inside out. Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti was on the menu last week and was a hit all around.

This recipe made exactly six adults and ten kids happy. And if you’re at all familiar with cooking for anyone other than yourself and their assorted taste buds.

And allergies.

And diets.

And general all ‘round food pickiness.

You know what an amazing feat this is.

That and although we followed the recipe, we snuck in zucchini too.

So, vegetables.

Winning.

I made this last weekend, when a friend and I got together to make a weeks’ worth of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. This was one of the dinners.

Natch.

We doubled it, put it into disposable tins (all the better for empty sinks), and did everything up to the “bake for twenty minutes” step. So it was the perfect, all-in-one meal to throw into the oven on a busy weeknight.

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Recipe: Creamy Chicken Mushroom Toast Points {Progresso Recipe Starters}

February 1, 2013 · Narrative

Does the phrase “toast points” bring you straight back to the 1970s or what?

When it comes to developing recipes for clients, the projects usually fall into two categories: 1) They’re looking for a new, original recipe along a certain theme (holiday, event, season, what have you) or 2) They would like you to use a certain product.

I love both angles of it, but the latter is a good opportunity for me to find out about new products I might have otherwise missed. Like it’s how I discovered Pillsbury’s whole wheat artisan pizza crust, which is now one of my favorites.

And this time? It introduced me to Progresso’s Recipe Starters. Whether you use it as a base to build a recipe, or just make a soup out of it, it’s a new, unique product that is worth hunting down.

When I saw that one of the flavors was a portobello mushroom one, I instantly thought of toast points. I don’t know why. Sometimes I can’t explain my mind.

Caramelizing an onion and some garlic first, and then adding a boat load of mushrooms, the recipe starter, and cooked chicken … and man, did it ever amount to a pan full of deliciousness.

To that point that as I was sampling the sauce, I burned my tongue.

And that didn’t stop me from going back for more.

Reduce the sauce a bit so it thickens up, and gently spoon it over a few pieces of toast.

Total comfort food from the inside out. And perfect for this arctic freeze that has been coming through over the past few days.

Did you hear there’s a big game this weekend? While this is *not* a finger food in the least, it is something super quick that you can make for your guests, leaving you more time to enjoy your company and the game, and less time slaving over the hot stove.

Like 20 minutes and you’re done.

Super savory. Simple. Comforting. Filling.

Touchdown.

You knew I had to go there.

If you’re looking for more tips, ideas, and recipes for your own Super Bowl Sunday party, you might want to check out this Land O’Lakes link for more. And now … a giveaway.

Leave me a comment and tell me your favorite party food or recipe to share and you’ll be entered to win a Land O’Lakes giveaway. The winner will receive an Emile Henry pizza stone, a large white serving platter from Crate & Barrel, a reusable refrigerated grocery bag and a high value coupon from Land O’Lakes. Extra entries allowed if you follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest (this is only for new followers), or if you follow Land O’Lakes on Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. And extra entries for tweeting this giveaway. Entries accepted up until midnight on Tuesday, EST. Good luck!
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