Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken

I recently bought 2 whole chickens from Costco.  I cleaned the yucky insides out and popped them in the freezer (learned to clean out the insides before freezing them...heed this advice if you choose to freeze whole chickens!!).  So I thawed one over night last night and needed something that was quick, easy and delicious!  CROCK POT!!  It's my "quick and easy" solution to everything!

I went searching for a great recipe and ran across one from Kate O Lynch (original recipe here) and thought it looked amazing!  I had to do some modifications to the original because I was making this last minute and thought I had all the spices...but improvised instead!

Spicy Whole Chicken (Slow Cooker Style!)

2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper (My substitution was red pepper flakes about 1/3 tsp b/c I didn't have cayenne pepper!!)
1 tsp Onion Powder (my substitution was onion flakes...again b/c I didn't have the powder!)
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 Whole Roasting Chicken
1 Onion, sliced and broken in pieces

So...like you learned above, this was a "last minute" throw together.  I did not allow the chicken to soak in with the spices overnight, however you could do that to make the flavor deeper!

I cut up the onions and broke them apart to line in the crockpot.  Mixed together all the spices above and patted the chicken, bottom first an then top, covered it completely (and I used it all).  Placed the chicken on top of the onions and set my crock pot on low for 4 hours.  I'm sure you could leave it a bit longer if you'd like but you don't want to dry it out.

After it's cooked, remove from crock pot and let it sit for a few minutes to cool some and allow the juices to soak into the chicken.  Cut up the chicken as you like and it's ready to serve!

You can easily serve this with brown rice or quinoa or potatoes along with some veggies.  OR you could serve this in tortillas and turn it into more of a Mexican meal.  Either way is absolutely delicious!!

Hope you enjoy!!

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut squash is one of my most favorite foods...and then when you make it into a soup, it just makes everything better!!  I've had many different recipes with this. One I used to make was very time consuming and had lots of cream in it.  However, I discovered that you really don't need to add tons of extra calories to it to make it delicious!  Simple is delicious too!

This is super easy, healthy and delicious!

First, I'll say I take the easy way out now and buy the already cut into cubes butternut squash.  Personally I hate cutting squash.  If you're really looking to save money, buy a whole squash and cut it up!  I buy the precut at Costco and then roast the squash!

Ingredients:

2 lbs of Butternut Squash cubed
2 tsp Melted coconut oil
Kosher Salt to taste
1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic
Chicken Broth (as needed)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Toss squash and melted coconut oil together until coated
3. Bake butternut squash for 20-25 min or until soft and browned
4. Brown the chopped onion and garlic in a skillet
5. Transfer roasted squash and onion in blender
6. Add about a cup of broth to blender and blend
7. Continue to add liquid as needed for desired consistency
8. Add salt and pepper to taste

Serve hot!

21 Day Fix Containers (per serving of green container)
1 Green
1/2 tsp

Ground Turkey and Rice Soup

So I really don't know what to call this soup.  I was in the mood for something really easy after a long morning of cleaning the house...all my chicken was frozen and I had a pack of ground turkey to use.  So, I put my thinking cap on and started cooking and throwing ingredients into the crock pot (my best friend once school starts!).  And the outcome was absolutely delicious and my family LOVED it!

So for those of you who have never used a crock pot or don't have one...RUN, don't walk to go get one today!  This is seriously my favorite appliance in my kitchen (ok...VitaMix is right on up there too).  I need to do an entire series on crock pot meals because I love them so much!  I'm on my 3rd one!!

Ok, back to the soup!  Here's the ingredients below...everything is an "about" measurement.  When I'm making soups, I really don't measure things, I just throw them in!  You can't "mess up" a soup in my opinion (ok, I'm sure you can...but not the ones that I make...it's a free-for-all of whatever I have in the pantry and freezer!!).  So feel free to adapt and change as you see fit!

Ground Turkey and Rice Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound of ground turkey (browned and drained)
• chicken stock (I use "Better than Bouillon" about a tablespoon and then fill up my crockpot with water and taste as I go)  
• 1/2 onion, chopped - browned in skillet
• 2-3 carrots, chopped small and browned with onion
• 1 to 1-1/2 cups frozen corn
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of brown rice (no need to be cooked it will cook in crock pot, as it cooks a long time this gives the soup a little "thicker" consistency to it!)
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp Oregano (or more to taste)
• 1 tsp Thyme (or more to taste)

Put everything into the crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours or more.  Top with cheese!  Enjoy!