Chicken and Rice Soup

I am slowly falling in love with my crock pot. It is steadily making my life SO MUCH EASIER.  Like last night.  I tried this Chicken and Rice soup recipe and adapted it.  Basically I made an adaptation of an adaptation and ran with it.

Here is the recipe from the blog Pearls, Handcuffs and Happy Hour (a blog I have started going to A LOT for recipes).  Afterwards I'll let you in on what I did differently.

What you need:

1 rotisserie chicken

1 box {32 oz.} chicken broth

1/4 cup lime juice (2 limes)

1 cup salsa

1 can diced tomatoes with onion

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen chopped veggies (celery, green pepper, and onion)

2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

1/3 cup Mexican cheese

1-2 boil-in-a bag bags of rice

What you do:

First up, bring chicken broth, lime juice, and salsa to a boil.

Add in the diced tomatoes, frozen corn, and frozen chopped veggies. I definitely let the frozen items thaw out before I tossed ‘em in. Cook on medium high heat for about 10-12 minutes, reduce to low and add the shredded chicken. Cover and let simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook your rice. I’m a cheater and I always use the boil-in-a-bag version. I boiled 2 bags for this recipe. Drain and return to pot. Now take a spoonful{ish} of rice and dump it into your bowl.

Spoon a very generous helping of the soup mix on top of the rice. The more rice you add, the thicker your soup will be, so proceed with caution.

What I did differently:

First off I put all of the ingredients, other then the rice, in a crock pot and let it cook over night on low. 
I did not use the can of tomatoes/onions.  I just diced a little bit of onion instead. 
I used an Archer Farm (Target) brand salsa.
I used frozen peppers (red, yellow and green) instead of frozen celery, onion and peppers.

 

It was SO good! And when you add the rice you have plenty enough for lunch the next day!

 

Crock Pot phenomenon

I'm still a work in progress when it comes to the crockpot phenomenon.  I have made my first really good meal in one.  I found the recipe on About.com after googling crock pot pork loin recipes.
Teagan asked for seconds on this one so I am marking it up as a successful meal.  One that we will put on our recipe list!

Once again, I did make some changes.  I'll give the original recipe and then tell you the changes I made.  In trying new recipes I've realized that I don't always have to make it like the recipe says.  I can almost always alter it with what I do have.

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Pork Loin

Cook Time: 9 hoursIngredients:

• 1 boneless pork loin roast, 4 to 6 pounds
• 1 clove garlic, halved
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/3 cups brown sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:

Wash pork roast, trim excess fat, pat dry, and rub with garlic halves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then prick the roast all over with a fork or skewer.In a cup or bowl, combine 1 cup of the brown sugar, the mustard, and vinegar. Rub all over the roast.
Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours. Pour off the excess juices.
combine the remaining 1/3 cup brown sugar with cinnamon; Spread the mixture over the top of the roast. Cover and continue cooking on LOW for 1 hour longer. 

What I did differently:
I didn't have balsamic vinegar, I had Apple Cider Vinegar so I used that instead. 
Also, I forgot to prick the pork but it was crazy juicy anyway.  Like fall of the nonexistent bone juicy.
I also added some onion and apple slices just for added flavor. 

Crock pot recipe number 1.

I went flipping through one of those old home church recipe books yesterday for an idea for dinner.  I came across lasaugna in a crock pot but ended up having to alter it a bit because I didn't have everything for it. 

Basically this is what I did:

Browned the meat and then combined the sauce with it. 
The recipe said to break up lasaugna noodles and place in the bottom of the crockpot.  I just used ziti noodles instead.
Layer the noodles, meat and cheese like you would normally with lasaugna or ziti. *with the first layer of noodles also add 1/3 cup of water*
Put the crockpot on high for 3 hrs or low for 5 hrs (maybe a little longer, not all crockpots seem to be created equally) and cover.


I threw this together Sunday after we got home from church and it was finished by dinner time! I didn't have to worry about throwing something together and it taking time away from my family.  It took 15 minutes to prepare and BAM! Sunday dinner.

Crock pot phenomenon.

*picture via*

I am probably the last one to jump on this bandwagon.  As a newlywed I thought a crock pot was just something I needed to put on the registry.  Every good bride did.  It was kind of symbolic that I was going to take care of a family in the future and even on crazy nights there would be something hot and nutritious to eat.  I've used our crock pot MAYBE eight times in almost five years.  Yeah, crock pot user fail. 
Since I go back to work in,well, less time then I'd like. It's going to be crazy. I have three hungry people to feed with real food.  None of us will get home until right around 6.  Teagan goes to bed at 7:30pm.  What am I going to do? I plan to use the crock pot. 
To be honest, it kind of scares me.  I'm not really sure I like the idea of leaving something cooking and plugged in while I'm nowhere near my house.  But, I've been assured it's very safe and so I'm willing to try it.  However, if I come home to my house burned down then I'm coming after those of you who provided me with safety assurance.  Just sayin'. 
All that said simply to ask for help.  What are some of your favorite crock pot recipes?  Go easy on me now.  I like simple. I am a crock pot novice after all...