Slow Cooker Chicken In Creamy Sun-dried Tomato Sauce

One thing that I love is how almost any recipe can be adapted to use a Shirley J product. I found this recipe on the Campbell Soup's website. It looks amazing and I also love that it is a Slow Cooker recipe. I LOVE my slow cooker.

Anyways, with just by substituting for Whisk Bliss I was able to cut about 500 calories, 6 grams of fat and 800 mg of sodium. Plus I improved the taste. What?! Have you ever eaten a condensed cream soup plain? It's not very appetizing. I do eat Whisk Bliss plain and I love it! So easy, so much healthier and it will improve you favorite recipes!

Don't believe me! Try it!

 

 

Slow Cooker Chicken In Creamy Sun-dried Tomato Sauce

1 cup of Whisk Bliss and 2 cups water
1 cup Chablis or other dry white wine
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pitted kalamata or oil-cured olives
2 tablespoons drained capers ...
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup jarred sun-dried tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (optional)
2 cups regular long-grain white rice, cooked according to package directions (about 6 cups)


How to Make It

1 Mix your Whisk Bliss and water and bring to a simmer on your stove.

2 Stir the soup, wine, olives, capers, garlic, artichokes and tomatoes in a 3 1/2-quart slow cooker. Add the chicken and turn to coat.

3 Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or until the chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with the basil, if desired. Serve with the rice.
** adapted from Campbell Soups recipes

Crockpot Enchiladas

I was so excited to use this recipe. I got it from a friend and thought why not? I haven't made enchiladas in FOREVER. Why? It is very time consuming and my family doesn't always appreciate what I cook.
 To start off I stuck 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts in my crockpot and cooked on high for 4 to 6 hours. 
At about an hour before dinner I prepared the sauce and then layered the ingredients in my crockpot. What I found out about this recipe is that I had very little prep time, I used less ingredients than I would have with regular enchiladas and therefore I saved $$! Plus, I didn't have to turn on my oven to make a hot meal. That's a win/win situation for me!

Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas

3c. water
1 c. Whisk Bliss Original or Gluten Free
1 t. Shirley J's Chicken Bouillon
1 small bag of Velveeta's Mexican Style Cheese
1 or 2 small cans of chopped green chilies (I used one and it was enough for us)
1 to 2 c. cooked or caned chicken
12 tortillas (I used 4 and that seemed enough)

Directions:
Cook your chicken, if you need to. Mix and cook water, bouillon, and Whisk Bliss until thickened and smooth. Crumble Velveeta into mixture and cook until melted. Take the chicken and pour the green chilies and sprinkle in some cheese and mix until it holds together. Take sauce and spread it out onto the bottom of the crock pot. Then place a tortilla on top. Next spread some chicken and then repeat the layering. (I layered it 4 times and had a little sauce left over and  spread it on top and then placed some extra cheese on top!) Cook on high for an hour!

This is what the meat looked like after I added the chilies and the cheese. I couldn't find ANY Velveeta "Mexican Style" cheese and I went to 2 stores.

 The layering process!

 Now the sauce!

 Then another tortilla and then repeat! ENJOY!

Onion Baked Chicken

I like to try new recipes. I always feel like I am in a rut when it comes to cooking. We make a 2 weeks meal schedule and I always have the standbys: tacos, spaghetti, pizza, and alfredo. I love them and my family loves them, but come on....we need something new.

A few years back I purchased 101 things to do with Chicken and I never used it. So, I did this week.

The recipe calls for:
1 T of Onion Seasoning
3 T Butter
3 to 4 lbs of chicken
sliced onion (I used dehydrated onions from my food storage)

Directions: Place defrosted chicken in a baggie with the Onion Seasoning. Shake it up. Melt your butter. Place your chicken in a 9 by 13 inch pan. Pour your butter over the chicken. Lay the sliced onion on top of the chicken and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Simple, easy and it smelled and tasted sooooooo gooooooooddddd!

 

Let me tell you why I LOVE this seasoning so much! I love it because I am saving money! This little container replaces 30 Lipton Onion Soup Mixes. Yep! 30!! This container is only $8.95!! The average Lipton Soup Mix is $1 a packet! Also, I love it because it contains no Gluten! So if you have Celiac's you can consume this! Now just so you know, it isn't made in a Gluten Free environment so there could be some cross contamination. However, many Celiacs have no problem with it.

Ham & Cheese Ziti

Dinner tonight!

This is a modified recipe. The original recipe called for butter, flour, and milk. I was able to reduce the time it took to cook, the amount of calories (1065 calories!! That's a whole meal!), and the fat content just by using Whisk Bliss Original or Gluten Free.

Ingredients:

 

16oz packages ziti noodles

1 cup Whisk Bliss Original or Gluten Free

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 1/2 c. water

4 cups Colby cheese, shredded

8 oz cooked ham (deli style), cut into thin strips

3/4 cups Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions

Cook and drain pasta according to instructions (you may need to do it in two batches if your larges pot isn’t large enough.

This is what the cheese sauce looked like. Ignore the dirty stove, please!

In large saucepan mix water and Whisk Bliss and bring to a simmer, on the stove. Add garlic

Once simmering, allow to continue to thicken for 1 minute, then add mustard and Colby cheese. Continue stirring until cheese is melted. Add ham and pasta, stirring well. Pour over cooked ham and noodles.

You can bake this or freeze for later. I thought that after baking that there needed to be more sauce. Just a thought.

Chicken and Dumplings and Pasta Salad

I really enjoyed this meal and I love it when I look over at my husband and he is shaking his head up and down, because I know that is a meal that he REALLY wants me to make again.

Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients:

3 c. chicken, cooked and shredded
1 - 16 oz. bag frozen mixed vegetables
4 c. water
2 c. Shirley J's Whisk Bliss
2 t. Chicken Bouillon

Dumplings
1 - 12 oz package Shirley J's Biscuit & Baking Mix
3/4 c. water

Directions:
In saucepan over medium heat, whisk together water and Whisk Bliss. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add chicken, chicken bouillon, and frozen vegetables. Bring back to a boil and simmer again for 5 minutes. Pour into 9 x 13 baking dish. Mix up one batch of biscuit mix according to package directions. Spoon large spoonfuls of dough directly on top of the sauce and chicken mixture-making eight to ten, big biscuits. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

 

Vegetable and Pasta Salad

**I halved this recipe and you can see that there was a lot there.

 

Ingredients:

1 lb penne pasta

2 1/2 T Shirley J Pizza and Pasta Seasoning

1/4 c. white vinegar

2/3 c. canola oil

2 T water

2 carrots, shredded (I diced mine)

1 cucumber, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/3 red onion, diced

1 1/2 c. spinach, chopped

2/3 c. Parmesan cheese

1 c. feta

1/4 t. pepper

1/2 t. salt

 

Directions: Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse and drain. Mix Pizza & Pasta Seasoning with oil, vinegar, and water; shake well. Toss the pasta with dressing, vegetables, cheese, salt, and pepper.

 

And as always, let me know what you think!!

Chili Con Queso

Football is here!
 We love eating cheesy dip in our home and so this is a great way to do it.
Also, this can be Gluten Free!!

Ingredients:

• 19 oz Black Beans, Drained
• 4 oz Cream Cheese
• 4 ea. Fresh Tomatoes, Diced
• 7 oz Green Chilies, Diced
• 1 bunch Green Onions Sliced (Using Much Of The Green Stem)
• 4 oz Olives, Diced Or Sliced
• 1/2 tsp Red Chili Flakes
• 1 1/2 c. Shirley J Whisk Bliss Original
• 12 oz Velveeta Cheese
• 4 c. Water

Directions:

In stock pot combine water and Whisk Bliss Original, stir well. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer add remaining ingredients except for onions and tomatoes. Simmer until cheese has melted. Remove from heat, stir in tomatoes and onions.

As always, please let me know if you try this recipe! I love to hear what you think!

Crock Pot Chicken Santa Fe

Now heating up your kitchen doesn't sound too good when it is over 100 degrees outside or if your like me you just don't want to cook a super involved meal. Crock pots are great for those days.
I found this excellent recipe from skinnytaste.com over a year ago. My husband loves it and I love it, never mind my kids with their super sensitive palate.
The recipe is Crock Pot Chicken Santa Fe. It is gluten fee and great for those on a diet.

Here is what you need.

1 1/2 lbs of Chicken
14 oz. can of diced tomatoes with green chilies
14 oz. can of black beans
8 oz. frozen corn
3/4 tsp. of Shirley J's Chicken Bouillon           14 oz. of water
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste, I don't add this because of my kids sensitive palate ;)
          salt to taste

Make your chicken broth by following the directions on the side of your Shirley J Chicken Bouillon. This is what I LOVE about this recipe, you don't have to cook the chicken beforehand. All you do is put everything in the crock pot and make sure the seasoning is mixed in. Heat on low for 10 hours. I cooked mine on high today for about 6 hours because I started the food late. Once the food has cooked, you will then shred the chicken with a fork. You can serve over rice or in a tortilla.

This is what it looks like in the crock pot.

This is how you see it in your bowl. I like to add some sour cream to the top. You can also add cheese to it. If you like to go even further you can use Shirley J Whisk Bliss Original or Gluten Free instead of the sour cream to mix into it.

Cheesy Chicken

So this is a recipe that I have had since college. I found it on the Internet many many moons ago. (Please don't ask, it will reveal how old I am.) My sisters started requesting this recipe every time I cooked and since then it has always been a family favorite. Now I share it with all of you.

Here is what you need:

2 cups of cooked, cubed chicken

1 box of stuffing (Chicken Flavor)

1/2 cup of Shirley J's Whisk Bliss and prepare it with 1 and 1/2 water

1/2 teaspoon of Shirley J's Chicken Bouillon

1 cup shredded cheese

 To prepare it:
 Set your oven to 350 degrees. Cook the chicken on the stove until thoroughly cooked. Then prepare the stuffing according to the box. Prepare your Whisk Bliss in a pan and add the 1/2 teaspoon of Chicken Bouillon. Layer your cooking pan 1st with chicken, then stuffing, then pour the Whisk Bliss mixture over the top. Do NOT mix the stuffing and the Whisk Bliss together, it will make the stuffing really soggy. Pour your cheese over the top and place your dish into the oven.

 This is what it looks like.

Enjoy!

Cauliflower Pizza

So all over Pinterest is this new pizza recipe using cauliflower instead of pizza dough for the crust. I was curious and decided I might as well try it. This would give my kids their vegetables and pizza all in one. A win - win situation.

I got the crust recipe here.

The sauce I used came straight from Shirley J.

Alfredo Pizza Sauce

1/2 c. Shirley J Whisk Bliss

1 T. Parmesan cheese

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/8 t. black pepper

1 1/2 c. water

To make the sauce put all of the ingredients into a sauce pan and whisk. Whisk it occasionally until it starts to boil. Once it starts boiling, turn down the burner to simmer and allow the sauce to thicken. Once the sauce is done and the pizza crust is ready spread it on the crust.

This sauce will cover 2 good size pizzas.

If you still don't have some of Shirley J's Whisk Bliss you can order it from my website.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much we did.

Olive Garden? Well...almost.

I made it! I finally had all of the ingredients to make my husband's favorite soup, Zuppa Toscana. I will have to say I think I did a better job than Olive Garden with this recipe. I know that sounds a little conceited, but it did taste wonderful.
This recipe also contained a Shirley J product: Chicken Bouillon.
The Chicken Bouillon from Shirley J contains no MSG, preservatives, and contains less sodium than other similar products. Yeah! It is concentrated and well worth the price.

So you are probably saying, by now, "Get on with it lady and give us the recipe!"

Zuppa Toscana

	1   pound Italian sausage
	2   large russet baking potatoes sliced in half and then in ¼ inch slices
	1   large chopped onion
	1/2 can. Oscar Meyer Real Bacon Bits (these are less fatty than real bacon)
	2  cloves garlic, minced
	2  cups chopped kale or Swiss chard
	29 oz. water and 1 and 3/4 teaspoons Shirley J's Chicken Bouillon
	1  quart water
	1  cup heavy whipping cream Cook sausage in a 300-degree oven for approximately 1/2 hour; drain on paper towels and cut into slices. Place onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water, and garlic in a pot and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done. Add sausage, bacon, salt, and pepper to taste and simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn to low heat; add kale and cream. Heat thoroughly and serve. ** I didn't cook the sausage in the oven like the original recipe called for. The original recipe all commented that if you wanted a low carb. option you could substitute the potatoes for cauliflower. I will have to keep that in mind next time, since my husband and I are trying to lower our weight.

Potato Cheddar Soup

So, I decided to cook something special for my husband and then I went to get out all of the ingredients and found that I was missing a key ingredient. Ugh... I had already started cooking some of the ingredients from the recipe and thought to myself: "What can I do with potatoes?" Then I remembered I could make Potato Cheese Soup. So....Whisk Bliss to the rescue.

I got out my White Cheddar Whisk Bliss bag and started cooking it.
I measured out my 3 cups of water and then put the mix into the water.

After putting it into the water I whisked it up and waited for it to start boiling. While I waited I stirred it up a few times so as not burn the bottom of it.

 This is how it looked as it started to boil.

Meanwhile, my potatoes were boiling and cooking in another pot. Once the potatoes were done I smashed them up a bit and then threw them into the White Cheddar Whisk Bliss.

Finallly, I added a little salt and pepper for taste and dinner was ready. My husband enjoyed his soup and I was able to save some ingredients from a previously failed dinner plan.

You can also make this same recipe with the Original Whisk Bliss by just adding shredded cheese and potatoes to the Whisk Bliss.

Hawaiian Chicken

Ingredients
2 cups cooked chicken
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup green pepper (chopped big or small)
2 cups of water mixed with 1 cup of Whisk Bliss
1 can (15 oz.) pineapple (crushed)
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp Chicken Bouillon  (I like it without, but you can add it)
fresh cut tomatoes (optional)
Directions
Saute onion and green pepper till mostly soft. Cook chicken and dice. Whisk together 3 cups of water with 1 cup of Whisk Bliss and bring to a boil. Add pineapple, soy sauce, chicken bouillon, sauteed veggies and cooked chicken. Mix together well and simmer for a few minutes. Serve over cooked rice with tomato slices….. ENJOY!


This recipe easily freezes. I love to cook it and then put a little away for leftovers. The rest I put in a freezer bag and store away for another day. I have a family of 4, 2 of which are young and only eat small portions. This makes 2 meals for my small family. This can easily feed 8 people.

Easy Chicken Gravy

Ingredients:
2 tsp Shirley J Chicken Bouillon
1 c. Shirley J Whisk Bliss Original or Gluten Free
4 c. Water
Directions:
Whisk bouillon and Whisk Bliss into water, bring to a boil. For a richer color add a few drops of Kitchen Bouquet.

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to make the gravy. Pictures are included. Enjoy!